Q: The Sahara (Arabic: , as-sahra al-kubra, 'the Greatest Desert') is the largest hot desert in the world. It is the third largest desert after Antarctica and the Arctic. Its surface area of 9,400,000 square kilometres (3,600,000 sq mi)[citation needed]including the Libyan Desertis comparable to the respective land areas of China or the United States. The desert comprises much of the land found within North Africa, excluding the fertile coastal region situated against the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlas Mountains of the Maghreb, and the Nile Valley of Egypt and Sudan. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea in the east and the Mediterranean in the north, to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, where the landscape gradually transitions to a coastal plain. To the south, it is delimited by the Sahel, a belt of semi-arid tropical savanna around the Niger River valley and Sudan Region of Sub-Saharan Africa. The Sahara can be divided into several regions, including the western Sahara, the central Ahaggar Mountains, the Tibesti Mountains, the Air Mountains, the Tenere desert, and the Libyan Desert. Its name is derived from the plural Arabic language word for desert ( sahara [sr]).

Answer the following questions:
1. What is the passage about?
2. Is it a Gaelic word?
3. What is it known for being?
4. How many areas can it be classifieded into?
5. Does it include any fertile ground?
6. Is it 10,000,000 sq km?
7. How large is it?
8. What is it's ranking among all the world's deserts?
9. What are the other 2?
10. Are they considered hot?
11. What mass is the hot one considered comparable to?
12. How far east does it reach?
13. Are there any other notable borders?
A: 1. The Sahara
2. unknown
3. the largest hot desert in the world
4. several regions
5. No
6. No
7. 9,400,000 square kilometres
8. third largest
9. Antarctica and the Arctic
10. No
11. the respective land area of China
12. from the Red Sea
13. Yes

Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

(CNN) -- It was the moment the world had been waiting for, and as he has so often in his glittering career, Lionel Messi delivered.

After a frantic opening to the World Cup in Brazil with entertainment and goals aplenty, one of its gold-plated stars announced his arrival in style.

A trademark slaloming run from the Barcelona striker ended in the fashion soccer fans have become well accustomed to -- with the net rippling.

In truth, Argentina were far from their best against the World Cup debutantes Bosnia and Herzegovina despite going 1-0 up thanks to the quickest goal at the World Cup to date.

Sead Kolasinac was the unwitting scorer, diverting the ball into his own net after a Messi free kick was glanced on by Marcos Rojo.

Alejandro Sabella's men couldn't build on that early lead though as Bosnia and Herzegovina held their own until the interval.

Argentina's lead was doubled on 65 minutes thanks to a piece of magic from their talisman.

Messi swapped passes with Gonzalo Higuain and sidestepped two challenges before firing home off the inside of the post via a slight deflection.

His vigorous celebration perhaps showed the pressure he was under to perform, as the endless comparisons to Argentina's other world famous player -- Diego Maradona -- go on.

A goal from substitute Vedad Ibisevic ensured a nervy final six minutes but Argentina held out to secure three important points.

France 3-0 Honduras

The first World Cup goal to be awarded via goal-line technology helped France to a convincing 3-0 victory over 10-man Honduras in Porto Alegre.

1. what had the world been waiting for?
2. who?
3. what country did he play for?
4. was Messi compared to anyone?
5. What was Messi playing in?
6. was it played in a country?
7. what type of opening was it?
8. why?
9. were there stars?
10. What happened to Argentina's lead?
11. for what duration?
12. why did it double?

Numbered answers:

A: 1. For him to deliver
2. Lionel Messi
3. Argentina
4. Diego Maradona
5. the World Cup
6. in Brazil
7. It was a frantic opening
8. It had entertainment and many goals
9. Lionel Messi was one of its stars
10. It doubled
11. After 65 minutes
12. He fired home off the inside post after a deflaction

Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

Consumer electronics once again topped the list of the most wanted gifts this holiday season. "Seventy-six percent of consumers who plan to buy holiday gifts say that they will spend money buying at least one technology product; definitely a solid vote of confidence for technology." Steve Koenig is with the Consumer Electronics Association. He says the group's latest research also shows that Americans this year are spending more on technology products.

"Here in 2012, $252 on average-the technology spend for consumers this year." From tablet computers to smartphones, American shoppers have been lining up to get the newest and coolest electronic devices on the market. There are more choices today than ever before. "It's kind of hard to make a decision."

Tablet computers are one of the best-selling products this year. Brian Tong is Senior Editor of CNET.com. The website reports on tech news and examines the latest electronic products. He says the Apple iPad Mini is one of the most popular tablets. Its starting price is $329. One of Apple's biggest competitors is the Google Nexus 7. It starts at $199.

"The hardware inside is more powerful than what's in the iPad Mini, but also it offers you a lot of things like maps that work better than Apple's maps." Brian Tong says there is one reason why people may like the iPad Mini more than the Nexus 7. "If you just want to read books and surf the Internet, you don't really need to get an iPad Mini, but if you want the largest group of apps that's where the iPad and Apple's ecosystem shines the most."

Elman Chacon is with the electronics store Best Buy. He says another hot product this season is smart cameras. They connect to the Internet through Wi-Fi. This makes it easy for users to email or upload photographs directly from the camera. "You can literally take a picture, upload it into your Facebook in a matter of seconds. These things are pretty cool because they do a lot of things."

Streaming media boxes also connect to the Internet. People are able to watch web content such as movies and YouTube videos on their televisions. Another popular item is wireless speaker systems. The newest ones work with any device that has Bluetooth technology, including smartphones, laptops and tablets.

With the growing popularity of Internet shopping, many consumers will visit a store first to look at a product, and then go online to find it at a lower price. Stores like Best Buy understand that and they want to stay competitive.

"We have something called the perfect match promise which means if you buy a certain device and you find it cheaper within 30 days we'll go ahead and price match that for you." Elman Chacon said.

1. What's the cost of the Nexus 7?
2. Who makes it?
3. What is the competition?
4. How many plan to by technological Christmas gifts?
5. Who gave the percentage?
6. With what group?
7. Who is spending more on tech goods?
8. When?
9. What was the average spend in 2012?
10. On what?
11. Are there fewer options?
12. How does this affect decisions?
13. Name a best-seller now?
14. According to whom?
15. Of what website?
16. What does the site do?
17. Who is with the electronic biz?
18. Which one?
19. How long is the price match guarantee?
20. Where can photos be uploaded?

Numbered answers:

A:
1. $199
2. Google
3. Apple
4. Seventy-six percent
5. Steve Koenig
6. Consumer Electronics Association
7. Americans
8. this year
9. $252
10. From tablet computers to smartphones
11. No
12. hard
13. Tablet computers
14. Brian Tong
15. CNET.com
16. reports on tech news
17. Elman Chacon
18. Best Buy
19. 30 days
20. Facebook