Problem: Have you ever heard of Back-to-Front Day? It is a festival in Britain. On that day, the adults have to go to school. And the children? They are the policemen and firemen; they sit in the offices and call New York and Paris; they are doctors and nurses. "Stand in the corner, Mr. Bass!" said Mary. Mary was six and had a class of twenty-three men and fifteen women. They were making too much noise. John was a policeman. Though his uniform was too big, he walked down the street with pride. "Hm, why are you not at school?" "Oh, I ... I have something important to do," said the man. "Fiddlesticks !" said John angrily. He took out his notebook. "Name?" he asked. "Mr. Green." John wrote it down and blew his whistle and a police car appeared. "I have a _ here," said John. "Drive him to school!" At the hospital a small doctor climbed on one chair in order to examine Mrs. Brown's throat, and Nurse Jenny took Granny Lisa's temperature. The best part of Back-to-Front Day is in the evening. The children put the adults to bed, very early. They tell them a story, too -- after the adults wash their faces and brush their teeth. How interesting Back-to-Front Day is!
1. Why was John's uniform too big?
2. What is Back to Front Day?
3. What do grownups do?
4. And the kids?
5. What was John
6. How did he feel about that?
7. Why was he mad at Mr. Green?
8. What was his excuse?
9. What did John do with him?
10. How did he summon the police car?
11. How old was Mary?
12. What was her job?
13. Who did she punish?
14. How?
15. What had he done?
16. How big was her class?
17. Who was a nurse?
18. What did she do?
19. What did the kids do early that evening?
20. What did the adults do before bed?
Answer: 1. unknown
2. a festival
3. They go to school
4. They are the policemen and firemen
5. a policeman.
6. Proud
7. Because he wasn't at school.
8. I have something important to do
9. Had him driven to the school
10. blew his whistle
11. six
12. She is a teacher
13. Mr. Bass
14. She made him stand in the corner
15. Made too much noise
16. 38 adults
17. Jenny
18. took Granny Lisa's temperature.
19. put the adults to bed, very early.
20. wash their faces and brush their teeth

Q: (CNN) -- Choosing to step down from a top job can be an extraordinary decision, whether the person is a pontiff or a politician. But George Pataki, former governor of New York, says making the switch from public figure to John Q. Public wasn't difficult for him.

"I made up my mind that I was never going to let my public title become my personal identity," he says. He embraced what he calls a sense of normalcy after he left office, going to movies and basketball games.

A year or two after he left office, Pataki went to Madison Square Garden with a group of friends to see the Knicks play. And he wanted to stand in line to get himself a hot dog -- something elected officials tend not to do.

"I loved it," he says. Even though fellow fans recognized him and offered to let him jump the queue, Pataki waited in line for his hot dog with mustard and sauerkraut. "I felt really good about the fact that it was just comfortable for me to be on line with the rest," he says.

Pataki decided in the middle of his third term in office that he would not seek a fourth term. He left office in 2006, after 12 years as governor.

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"I had no doubts that this was the right decision for me, for my family, for the team that had worked so hard with me, and for the state," he says.

Answer the following questions:
1. Who said the switch from public life to private wasn't hard for him?
2. What position did he have?
3. What kind of decision did he say it often is?
4. Did he confuse his personal/professional identities?
5. What did he embrace instead?
6. By doing what?
7. When did he go to Madison Square Garden?
8. Who with?
9. Why did he go?
10. What did he stand in line for?
11. Is this something politicans usually do?
12. Did he enjoy it?
13. How do we know?
14. Did others recognize him?
15. What did they offer to let him do?
16. Did he accept?
17. What did he get on his hot dog?
18. Did he enjoy waiting in line?
19. How many terms did he serve?
20. When did he leave office?
A: 1. George Pataki
2. governor of New York
3. an extraordinary decision
4. no
5. a sense of normalcy after he left office
6. going to movies and basketball games
7. A year or two after he left office
8. a group of friends
9. to see the Knicks play
10. a hot dog
11. no
12. yes
13. he said "I loved it,"
14. yes
15. jump the queue
16. no
17. mustard and sauerkraut
18. yes
19. Three
20. 2006

Problem: Ben Jones was walking home from school one day when he saw a black cat. It was walking across the srteet in front of him.Ben stopped, turned around, and walked down a different srteet to go home. Why did he do that? "It's unlucky when a black cat crossed the street in front of you," says Ben, "I did not want to walk down that street!" Many people think that some things bring bad luck or good luck. For example, some people think that 13 is an unlucky number. They never invite 13 people to a party. "I never walk under a ladder ," says Ben. "And I never open an umbrella inside the house. They both bring bad luck." And what brings good luck? "We have a horseshoe over the front door of our house for good luck," says Ben."And when I find a peney on the ground, I always pick it up. That brings me good luck all day!"
1. Did a dog walk in front of Ben?
2. What did?
3. Was it orange?
4. What color was it?
5. What did Ben do?
6. Does he travel under ladders?
7. What good things are there?
8. When did he see the cat?
9. What is his last name?
10. Why did he alter his route?
11. Does he use umbrellas indoors?
12. Why not?
Answer:
1. no
2. a cat
3. no
4. black
5. went another way
6. no
7. horseshoes and pennies
8. walking home from school
9. Jones
10. to avoid the black cat
11. no
12. bring bad luck