Q: (CNN) -- The way some Republicans talk about the Environmental Protection Agency, you would think it was created by a bunch of pot-smoking hippies communing at a nudist camp in northern California -- when in fact, the EPA was created by one of their own, Richard Nixon, in 1970.

Much as Republicans don't like to bring up the huge tax increases instituted by their hero, Ronald Reagan, they prefer to sidestep their role in the EPA's humble beginnings and blame it on Democrats. They characterize the whole thing as an albatross hanging around the economy's neck.

To be fair, Nixon did not ride into the White House as a conservationist, and he did veto the Clean Water Act. But he said he did so because of the price tag of the policy, not its purpose. After the Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969 -- which at the time was the largest in U.S. history -- Nixon agreed with the rest of thinking society that clean water and air were a good thing. And his fingerprints are all over such tree-hugging initiatives as the Clean Air Act.

Sadly, if he tried any of that funny business today, his own party would probably impeach him. That's how far down the oil well some in the Republican leadership have fallen.

Rep. Michelle Bachmann said she would lock the EPA's doors and turn off its lights if she were president (thankfully there's no chance of that); Newt Gingrich said he would shut down the EPA and create a replacement to work with businesses to create jobs (making it more of a lapdog than watchdog); Rick Perry asked the president to halt all regulations, adding "his EPA regulations are killing jobs all across America."

1. Richard Nixon
2. 1970
3. Republicans
4. No
5. unknown
6. unknown

Numbered questions:
1. Who created the EPA?
2. When was that?
3. What political part was he part of?
4. Were they proud he started it?
5. Why did he start it?
6. What happened to cause him to start it?

Q: Starting from this month, you won't be hearing the word "NBA" on sports programs on CCTV. Instead, sport hosts will give the full Chinese name when they refer to the NBA - National Basketball Association. You also won't hear any other English abbreviations on CCTV's Chinese programs, such as GDP (gross domestic product) or WTO (World Trade Organization). You will hear their Chinese translations. CCTV received a notice from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, telling it to avoid using English-language abbreviations in their reports to protect the "purity" of the Chinese language. A few other TV stations also received the notice. Fu Zhenguo, an editor of People's Daily, is one of the people who proposed the change. "Using English in a Chinese-speaking environment is against Chinese law," he said. "Using English on Chinese TV programs is unfair to people who don't understand English. It will have a bad language influence on kids and teenagers." But some experts have a different opinion. Liu Yaoying, a professor at the Communications University of China, said the move shows cultural conservatism . "If Western countries can accept some Chinglish words, why can't the Chinese language be mixed with English?" Liu said. A lot of people have criticized the move, saying that it will cause problems for them. "I understand what CD, VCD and DVD mean when I hear them. But I won't know what the TV programs are talking about if I hear those products' full Chinese names," a person wrote in a BBS post. Following the same post, another person wrote jokingly: "I'm not listening to my MP3 now. I'm listening to my Moving Picture Experts Group-1 Audio Layer 3. Some people also question why CCTV is keeping its logo, since it is also an English abbreviation.

1. National Basketball Association
2. gross domestic product
3. World Trade Organization
4. No
5. to protect the "purity" of the Chinese language.
6. the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television
7. No
8. A few
9. Yes
10. No
11. People's Daily
12. Communications University of China

Numbered questions:
1. What does NBA stand for?
2. What about GDP?
3. And WTO?
4. Will those acronyms be used on CCTV?
5. Why not?
6. Who said that?
7. Was CCTV the only one to be told that?
8. How many other places got the message?
9. Is speaking English in China illegal?
10. Will acronyms have a good influence on children?
11. Where does Fu Zhenguo work?
12. And Liu Yaoying?

Q: CHAPTER XVI

SOMETHING ABOUT A CANE

But if Koswell and Larkspur were guilty, they kept very quiet about it, and the Rover boys were unable to prove anything against them. The bill for the cut-up tire came to Dick, and he paid it.

The college talk was now largely about football, and one day a notice was posted that all candidates for admission on the big eleven should register at the gymnasium.

"I think I'll put my name down," said Tom.

"And I'll do the same," returned Dick, "but I doubt if well get much of a show, since they know nothing of our playing qualities here."

There were about thirty candidates, including thirteen who had played on the big team before. But two of these candidates were behind in then studies, and had to be dropped, by order of the faculty.

"That leaves a full eleven anyway of old players," said Sam. "Not much hope for you," he added to his brothers.

"They'll do considerable shifting; every college team does," said Dick; and he was right. After a good deal of scrub work and a general sizing up of the different candidates, four of the old players were dropped, while another went to the substitutes' bench.

It was now a question between nine of the new candidates, and after another tryout Dick was put in as a guard, he having shown an exceptional fitness for filling that position. Tom got on the substitutes' bench, which was something, if not much. Then practice began in earnest, for the college was to play a game against Roxley, another college, on a Saturday, ten days later.

1. about thirty
2. thirteen
3. two
4. they were behind in studies
5. the gymnasium
6. no
7. they knew nothing of their playing qualities
8. considerable shifting
9. four
10. yes
11. nine
12. yes
13. substitute
14. yes
15. guard
16. yes
17. Dick
18. Koswell and Larkspur
19. the Rover boys
20. Roxley,

Numbered questions:
1. How many candidates were there?
2. How many had prior experience?
3. How many were dropped?
4. Why?
5. Where were they registering at?
6. Did Dick think they had much of a shot?
7. Why not?
8. What did correctly say all teams do?
9. How many of the old players were let go?
10. Did one become a substitute?
11. How many new potential players did it come down to?
12. Did Tom get picked?
13. What did he end up doing on the team?
14. Did Dick get picked, too?
15. What position did he get?
16. Did he seem like an excellent fit for that position?
17. Who paid for a torn up tire?
18. Who might have been guilty, but they weren't saying anything about it?
19. Who failed at proving them guilty of anything?
20. Who was the first football game going to be against?