Q: A shire is a traditional term for a division of land, found in the United Kingdom and some other English speaking countries. It was first used in Wessex from the beginning of Anglo-Saxon settlement, and spread to most of the rest of England in the tenth century. In some rural parts of Australia, a shire is a local government area; however, in Australia it is not synonymous with a "county", which is a lands administrative division.

The word derives from the Old English "scir", itself a derivative of the Proto-Germanic "skizo" (cf. Old High German "scira"), meaning care or official charge. In the UK, "shire" is the original term for what is usually known now as a "county"; the word "county" having been introduced at the Norman Conquest of England. The two are nearly synonymous. Although in modern British usage counties are referred to as "shires" mainly in poetic contexts, terms such as Shire Hall remain common. Shire also remains a common part of many county names.

In regions with so-called rhotic pronunciation such as Scotland, the word "shire" is pronounced or . In non-rhotic areas the final R is silent unless the next word begins in a vowel. When "shire" is a suffix as part of a placename in England, the vowel is unstressed and thus usually shortened and/or monophthongised: pronunciations include , or sometimes , with the pronunciation of the final R again depending on rhoticity. In many words, the vowel is normally reduced all the way to a single schwa, as in for instance "Leicestershire" or "Berkshire" . Outside England, and especially in Scotland and the US, it is more common for "shire" as part of a placename to be pronounced identically to the full word, as a result of spelling pronunciation.

1. a term
2. a division of land
3. in the United Kingdom
4. in Wessex
5. the beginning of Anglo-Saxon settlement
6. Yes
7. in Australia
8. no
9. "scir"
10. Old English
11. care or official charge
12. yes

Numbered questions:
1. What is a shire?
2. For what?
3. Where is the word found?
4. When was it first used?
5. When?
6. Is it used outside of England?
7. Where?
8. Anyplace else?
9. What word does it come from?
10. Which is what language?
11. Meaning?
12. Does it mean the same as county?

Q: James is going to the baseball field with his friend Tommy.

James has to practice because baseball season starts in a week.

He wants to be a good player when the season starts.

James has been lazy in practicing so he is not very good at baseball right now.

He has to make up for it by playing baseball for 5 hours every day for a week.

James thinks this is enough practice for him to catch up and be a good player when the season starts.

So James and Tommy practice every day. They throw the ball around. They practice batting and they practice fielding.

Tommy begins to see that James is getting better every day. He says "I do not believe it, James, but I think you are going to be pretty good when the season starts!"

Usually a week is not enough time to get pretty good at baseball but James is practicing so much he is fitting a month of practice into one week.

Then James has a setback. His glove rips during practice. He can't keep playing with a broken glove!

So Tommy and James go around town collecting bottles to trade in for five cents for each bottle.

James misses a day of practicing but they find enough bottles to turn in for thirty dollars.

This is enough money for James to buy a new glove!

So James buys a new glove and he and Tommy go back to the field and practice some more.

By the time the season comes James is one of the best players on his team.

1. the baseball field
2. his friend Tommy.
3. to practice baseball
4. in a week
5. No
6. Yes
7. practicing 5 hours a day for a week
8. They throw the ball around. They practice batting and they practice fielding
9. Yes
10. Yes
11. Yes
12. Yes
13. a broken glove
14. Yes
15. To collect bottle caps?
16. thirty dollars
17. Yes
18. Practiced more

Numbered questions:
1. Where was James going?
2. Who with?
3. Why were they going their?
4. When did their season start?
5. Is james a good player?
6. Does he want to be?
7. What is he going to do to improve?
8. What do they do to practice?
9. Does this help james get better?
10. Does Tommy notice?
11. Does he tell him so?
12. Did he have any set backs?
13. What was it?
14. Did they do anything to fix this?
15. What was it?
16. How much did they make collecting them?
17. Was it enough money for a new glove?
18. What did they do after they bought the new glove?

Q: New Yorkers are gradually getting used to more bicyclers on those hot blue City Bikes.But what about local bike shops? Is City Bike rolling up riders at their expense? At Gotham Bikes in Tribeca,manager W.Ben said the shop has seen an increase in its overall sales due to the bike-share program."It's getting more people on the road,"he said.James Ryan,an employee at Danny's Cycles,said City Bike is a good option for people to ease in a city famous for its traffic jams."They can try out a bike without buying one."he said.

Rentals are not a big part of the business at either Gotham Bikes or Danny's Cycles.But for Frank's Bike Shop,a small business on Christopher St.,the bike--share program has been bad news.Owner Frank Arroyo said his rental business has decreased by 90% since City Bike was rolled out last month.Arroyo's main rental customers are European tourists,who have since been drawn away by City Bikes.

However,Ben said the bike--share is good for bike sales at his shop."People have used the bike--share and realized how great it is to bike in the city,then decide that they want something Dicer for themselves,"he noted.Andrew Crooks,owner of NYC Velo,at 64 Second Ave.,said at first he Was concerned about bike--share,though,he admitted,"I was happy to see people on bikes.It seemed like a great idea,but one that would be difficult to implement ."Crooks said he worried about inexperienced riders' lack of awareness of biking rules and strong negative reaction from non--cyclists.However,he said.it's still too early to tell if his business has been impacted.While it's possible that bike--share will cause a drop in business,Crooks thought that the idea was a positive step forward for New York City.

1. a small business on Christopher St.,the bike--share program has been bad news
2. a small business on Christopher St.
3. business has decreased by 90%
4. main rental customers are European tourists
5. been drawn away by City Bikes
6. hot blue City Bikes
7. New Yorkers are gradually
8. Gotham Bikes in Tribeca
9. has seen an increase in its overall sales
10. ncrease in its overall sales

Numbered questions:
1. Whose business is City Bikes hurting?
2. What street is it located on?
3. How much has his business gone down?
4. Who made up the bulk of his customers?
5. What happened to them?
6. What color are City Bikes?
7. What city are they in?
8. Where is Gotham Bikes?
9. Has their business gone down?
10. What have they had?