Problem: Andy loved the first grade. He loved his teacher,Mrs.Parks. He loved playing games on the playground. He loved learning about dinosaurs and the solar system .

Every morning Andy's mother dropped him off in front of his school on South Street. One foggy morning,the traffic was so bad on South Street that she decided to drop him off behind the school. Andy walked for about ten minutes and got to the gate. He held the icy handle,but it didn't move!Using both hands,he tried his hardest and finally the gate opened.

After Andy closed the gate behind him,he looked in the direction of the teaching building. But all he could see was fog. He got to the spot where the slide had always been,but it was not there."The slide is gone!" he cried. He walked a little more to look for the swings,but they were not where they had always been."The swings are gone!" he cried again.

Andy kept walking. He was so anxious to see the school that he fell and landed on the ground. He still couldn't see the school. A terrible thought appeared in his head."The school is gone!" he cried sadly. No more games with Jennie,Angel and Dillon,he thought. No more reading about dinosaurs. No more watching videos on the solar system...

Suddenly the boy saw something up ahead."It's Jennie!"he shouted. Then he saw the outline of a school building. His school was still there!He was full of excitement!

"Hi,Jennie!" he stood up and caught up with the girl."I couldn't see the school. I thought it was gone." Jennie just laughed."You're so silly." "What happened to the slide and the swings?" Andy asked.

"We will have new playground equipment today," Jennie answered."The old equipment was taken away last night. Don't you remember Mrs. Parks telling us about it yesterday?" "I guess I forgot," Andy said,smiling."Anyway,I'm glad the school is here."
1. what grade was Andy in?
2. who was his teacher?
3. does he like his teacher?
4. what else does he like?
5. where?
6. who took him to school?
7. where does she drop him off?
8. what about the day when the weather was bad?
9. could he see the building?
10. why not?
11. was he happy?
12. who did he see?
13. what did she tell him?
14. why?
15. did the teacher tell them it wouldn't be there?
16. why was it not there?
17. what will they have today?
Answer: 1. the first grade
2. Mrs.Parks
3. yes
4. playing games
5. on the playground
6. Andy's mother
7. in front of his school
8. she decided to drop him off behind the school
9. no
10. all he could see was fog
11. no
12. Jennie
13. You're so silly.
14. Andy thought the equipment was gone
15. yes
16. The old equipment was taken away last night
17. new playground equipment

Problem: Walter owns three Italian restaurants which are running very well in Rhode Island in America. Every day his restaurants welcome crowds of customers all over the world. He studied to be a cook, but he sees now that his success is the result of a lifetime education. When he opened his first restaurant, all of a sudden his schooling knowledge , the history of his family and his ethics of his father _ . It made him a person who studied and explored the secrets in the food business. Walter's learning never stops. He says " The food business is one where you need to stay on top. Cooks should be trained. You have to keep on studying or you will be left behind." So he spent more time in reading. Every time he gets new ideas from the book, he brings them into his work. Walter also has a clear understanding about success. That is he would like to be remembered as a person who is creative, who believes in the Italian cooking culture in America. Food is like a bridge connecting to the past, to the family and to the country. He says "Success to me is not how much money I make, but if at the end of the day I am able to make fifteen or twenty customers happy, I'm a happy man."
1. What's the name of the person the story is about?
Answer: 1. Walter

Problem: They can be seen more frequently than ever before on college campuses, wearing thick-rimmed glasses while listening to indie music. One might find them playing unusual musical instruments, shopping at second-hand stores or expressing themselves in other unique ways. They call themselves hipsters. Being "hip" used to mean following the latest fashion. But gradually the word has evolved into a synonym for "cool".

Hipsters value independent thinking, progressive politics, an appreciation of creativity and intelligence. Hipsters take pains and pride in not being mainstream. However, their culture has become quite trendy. This irony is central to their culture and offers an interesting paradox.

"I do take things in the mainstream with a grain of salt," says Ben Polson, a college student at Brown University in the US. Polson describes himself as a hipster and says he often questions what determines popularity, especially regarding music.When lesser-known bands become popular they often lose their former fan base in exchange for a new one. There is a famous hipster saying that goes: I used to like that band before it got popular.

According to Polson, bands' music changes when they go mainstream. They become "less experimental, doing things just to save popularity and fans. The original elements that we were drawn to slowly _ for the sake of popularity."

Many young adults have started to view hipsters' outlook as cool and are adopting their counterculture mindset themselves. This has led to specialized brands, stores and music for the hipster position. Ironically, some such stores, including clothing labels Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, have gained mainstream popularity. This has seemingly diluted the anti-mainstream culture.

"A lot of people that are self-defined hipsters aren't really hipsters, they're just trying to conform to the non-conformist to seem cooler," says Amanda Leopold, a college student from Oberlin College, US. Although Leopold has many unconventional tastes and seems quite individualist, she refuses to classify herself as a hipster.

There is a conflict among hipsters about the very definition of the label. To some, to be a hipster is to be free from cultural constraints. To others, it means wearing a certain style and listening to a specific style of music. The former constantly strives for uniqueness, while the latter strives not to be mainstream.

And yet, the movement is gaining mainstream popularity. "It's kind of the trend these days; _ " says Leopold. "There have been hipsters since the seventies. It's only become popular recently."

Hipsters reject materialism and laugh at mainstream culture. But are they really beyond material comforts? Do they have any ideas of their own if they despise mainstream so much?

Christy Wampole, an associate professor of literature at Princeton University, US, is not so sure. She says the hipster is a contradiction in himself and an easy target of mockery . Writing in The New York Times, Wampole paints a less appreciative picture of a typical hipster.

"The hipster is a scholar of social forms, a student of cool. He studies continuously, searching for what has yet to be found by the mainstream. He is a walking citation ; his clothes refer to much more than themselves. He tries to negotiate the age-old problem of individuality, not with concepts, but with material things."
1. What does being hip mean today's context?
2. What kind of music do hip people listen to nowadays?
3. What kinds of shops to they frequent?
4. According to hipsters, what is a determining factor regarding music?
5. What expression epitomises this concept?
6. According to the self described hipster from Brown University, what makes a band change?
7. Why do the bands go mainstream?
8. What are people doing to try to be more like hipsters?
9. Are those types of people true hipsters, according to the real hipsters?
10. How long have the hipsters been around?
11. What do the true hipsters reject?
Answer:
1. being cool
2. indie music
3. second-hand stores
4. Lesser known bands become popular makes them lose their former hip fan base
5. I used to like that band before it got popular
6. going mainstream
7. to save popularity and fans
8. conform to the non-conformist to seem cooler
9. no
10. since the seventies
11. materialism