Question:
Read the text and answer the questions.
Andrew Ritchie, inventor of the Brompton folding bicycle, once said that the perfect portable bike would be "like a magic carpet...You could fold it up and put it into your pocket or handbag". Then he paused: "But you'll always be limited by the size of the wheels. And so far no one has invented a folding wheel." It was a rare -- indeed unique -- occasion when I was able to put Ritchie right. A 19th-century inventor, William Henry James Grout, did in fact design a folding wheel. His bike, predictably named the Grout Portable, had a frame that split into two and a larger wheel that could be separated into four pieces. All the bits fitted into Grout's Wonderful Bag, a leather case. Grout's aim: to solve the problems of carrying a bike on a train. Now doesn't that sound familiar? Grout intended to find a way of making a bike small enough for train travel: his bike was a huge beast. And importantly, the design of early bicycles gave him an advantage: in Grout's day, tyres were solid, which made the business of splitting a wheel into four separate parts relatively simple. You couldn't do the same with a wheel fitted with a one-piece inflated tyre. So, in a 21st-century context, is the idea of the folding wheel dead? It is not. A British design engineer, Duncan Fitzsimons, has developed a wheel that can be squashed into something like a slender ellipse . Throughout, the tyre remains inflated. Will the young Fitzsimons's folding wheel make it into production? I haven't the foggiest idea. But his inventiveness shows two things. First, people have been saying for more than a century that bike design has reached its limit, except for gradual advances. It's as silly a concept now as it was 100 years ago: there's plenty still to go for. Second, it is in the field of folding bikes that we are seeing the most interesting inventions. You can buy a folding bike for less than PS1,000 that can be knocked down so small that it can be carried on a plane -- minus wheels, of course -- as hand baggage. Folding wheels would make all manner of things possible. Have we yet got the magic carpet of Andrew Ritchie's imagination? No. But it's progress.
1. Who invented the folding bicycle?
2. He once compared the perfect portable bike to what?
3. Who eventually invented the folding wheel?
4. What was Grout's bike called?
5. The case was made of what material?
6. He wanted a bike small enough for what?
7. In the 21st century, is the folding wheel concept dead?
8. What is the name of the British designer?
9. What did he create?
10. Can you buy a folding bike?

Numbered answers:
1. Andrew Ritchie
2. a magic carpet
3. William Henry James Grout
4. Grout Portable
5. Leather
6. train travel
7. No
8. Duncan Fitzsimons
9. wheel
10. Yes

Question:
Read the text and answer the questions.
Jack Brown, an office worker, lives in Washington. He inherited a million dollars when he was 23, but he wasn't happy at all.When his college friends were looking for their jobs, he didn't have to. Jack decided to keep living a simple life like everyone else. He gave $ 10,000 of his money to a charity to help poor children live a happy life. Today he is 36. He still wears cheap shoes and clothes and drives a small car only, but he is very happy. Up to now Jack has helped some children from poor countries all over the world, by sending them each $200 a month. The money is used for the children's study, food, medicine and clothing. Jack receives a report each year on the children's progress They can write to each other, but usually the children do not speak English. When Jack first heard about these children, he wanted to help them. "It was nothing special,"he said."Until I went to these countries and met the children I was helping, I didn't know anything about their life." Once Jack went to meet a little girl in Africa, he said that the meeting was very exciting. "When I met her, I felt very,very happy,"he said."And I saw that the money was _ . It brought me happiness. I want to do everything I can to go on helping these children."
1. What is jack's occupation?
2. how old is he?
3. when did he inherit money?
4. how much did he get?
5. did it make him happy?
6. what decision did he make?
7. does he drive an expensive car?
8. do his cheap shoes make him sad?
9. How much of his money did he originally donate?
10. what does he do every month?
11. who?
12. where are they from?
13. what is the money used for?
14. anything else?
15. was it used for education?
16. do the children often speak English?
17. prior ot meeting any of the children, what was Jack's attitude towards helping them>
18. how did hefeel after meeting the little African girl?
19. did it ispire him to keep helping?
20. Does he follow their progress?

Numbered answers:
1. an office worker
2. 36
3. when he was 23
4. a million dollars
5. No
6. to keep living a simple life
7. No
8. No
9. $ 10,000
10. sending them each $200
11. some children
12. poor countries
13. medicine and clothing
14. food
15. Yes
16. No
17. It was nothing special
18. very,very happy
19. Yes
20. Yes

Question:
Read the text and answer the questions.
British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, with a population of more than four and a half million people. It is located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. British Columbia is also a component of the Pacific Northwest and the Cascadia bioregion, along with American states Alaska, Idaho, Montana (western portion), Oregon and Washington.

The first British settlement in the area was Fort Victoria, established in 1843, which gave rise to the city of Victoria, at first the capital of the separate Colony of Vancouver Island. Subsequently, on the mainland, the Colony of British Columbia (185866) was founded by Richard Clement Moody and the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, in response to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. Moody was Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works for the Colony and the first Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia: he was hand-picked by the Colonial Office in London to transform British Columbia into the British Empire's "bulwark in the farthest west", and "to found a second England on the shores of the Pacific". Moody selected the site for and founded the original capital of British Columbia, New Westminster, established the Cariboo Road and Stanley Park, and designed the first version of the Coat of arms of British Columbia. Port Moody is named after him.
1. How many people live in British Columbia?
2. what was established in 1843?
3. which was?
4. what did this give rise to?
5. What was founded by Richard Clement Moody?
6. where was this located?
7. in what years was this considered a colony?
8. it was founded in response to what?
9. What is named after Moody?
10. What was Moody's position in British Columbia?
11. What did he design?
12. What part of Canada can you find Bristish Columbia?
13. its situated in between what?
14. Who picked Moody to transform British Columbia?
15. where was this?
16. He was to found a second what?
17. where?
18. What part of Montana is part of the Pacific Northwest?
19. are there other US states included?
20. Did Moody select the site of British Columbia?
Numbered answers:
1. more than four and a half million people.
2. The first British settlement in the area
3. Fort Victoria
4. the city of Victoria
5. the Colony of British Columbia
6. on the mainland
7. 185866
8. the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
9. Port Moody
10. Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works
11. a version of the Coat of arms of British Columbia.
12. west
13. between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains
14. the Colonial Office
15. in London
16. England
17. on the shores of the Pacific
18. western portion
19. yes
20. he selected the site for and founded the original capital of British Columbia