Q: Babylon ( ; Aramaic: , "Babel"; , "Babil"; , "Bavel") was a key kingdom in ancient Mesopotamia. The city was built on the Euphrates river and divided in equal parts along its left and right banks, with steep embankments to contain the river's seasonal floods. Babylon was originally a small Akkadian city dating from the period of the Akkadian Empire c. 2300 BC.

The town became an independent city-state with the rise of the First Amorite Babylonian Dynasty in the nineteenth century BC. After the Amorite king Hammurabi created a short-lived empire in the 18th century BC, southern Mesopotamia became known as Babylonia and Babylon eclipsed Nippur as its "holy city". The empire waned under Hammurabi's son Samsu-iluna and Babylon spent long periods under Assyrian, Kassite and Elamite domination. After being destroyed and then rebuilt by the Assyrians, Babylon became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 609 to 539BC. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. After the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, the city came under the rule of the Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, Roman, and Sassanid empires.

It has been estimated that Babylon was the largest city in the world from c. 1770 to 1670BC, and again between c. 612 and 320BC. It was perhaps the first city to reach a population above 200,000. Estimates for the maximum extent of its area range from 890 to . The remains of the city are in present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about south of Baghdad, comprising a large tell of broken mud-brick buildings and debris.

1. Babylon
2. from c. 1770 to 1670BC
3. yes
4. a short-lived empire
5. in the 18th century BC
6. Iraq
7. south of Baghdad
8. Nippur
9. yes
10. the Euphrates river
11. Achaemenid
12. Romans
13. Seleucids
14. Parthians
15. and Sassanid empires
16. The Hanging Gardens
17. a key kingdom in ancient Mesopotamia
18. it was built on steep embankments
19. yes
20. 2300 BC

Numbered questions:
1. What city is the article about?
2. When was it the largest city in the world?
3. Was Nippur ever a holy city?
4. What did Hammurabi create?
5. when?
6. In what country are the remains today?
7. where in Iraq?
8. What was it known as before babylonia?
9. did it have a large population?
10. What river was it built on?
11. Who ruled the city after the fall of neo-babylonian Empire?
12. and?
13. who else?
14. any more?
15. and?
16. what was one of the ancient wonder of the world?
17. what was Babylon?
18. what was done to stop the floods?
19. was it ever a small city?
20. when?

Q: A lamb named Lana woke up on an early Monday morning. After taking a shower and getting dressed, she chose to start making something to eat. In the end, she made eggs, toast and coffee for her breakfast. While she was eating, she was called on the telephone by her good friend Drake the dog. They chose to meet up after Lana finished eating so they could take a walk around the park. Drake also told her that their friend, Terry the turtle, would not be joining them. As soon as Lana finished cleaning her dishes, she heard a knock on her door - it was Drake! She threw on her coat and went outside, so they could start their walk. In the end, they spent a few hours walking along the park's sidewalk, until ending up back near Lana's house. "Let's do this again soon!" Drake said, as he wagged his tail. "Sure!" Lana said, as she walked back into her home. Lana made a light dinner, cleaned up, then chose to hop into bed. She soon fell asleep.

1. Lana
2. early Monday morning
3. shower
4. got dressed
5. made something to eat
6. eggs, toast and coffee
7. she got a phone call
8. her good friend
9. Drake the dog
10. meet up

Numbered questions:
1. What was the lamb's name?
2. When did she wake up?
3. What did she do first?
4. Then what?
5. And next?
6. What did she make?
7. What happened while she was eating?
8. From who?
9. What's his name?
10. What did they decide to do?

Q: Pearl and June were good friends and spent most of their time together. They were both very old and they worried about their health. Most of the time they talked about nothing else. They worried about their food. Was it clean? Would it give them pains in the stomach? They worried about the weather. Was it too cold and wet? Would it give them pains in their bones? They worried about pollution in the air. would it give them pains in their chests and throats? They worried about being hurt in a car accident, killed in a plane crash, getting sick, and so on. All they could think about was being ill or hurt. One day they went on a train journey together. "We'll need some food," Pearl said. "We'll buy some bananas," June said. "They are good to eat and always clean." And so they bought two bananas to eat on the train. It was not long before they were hungry. Pearl took out the bananas and gave one to June. Then she peeled the skin of her banana and took a large bite of it. At that moment the train went into a tunnel. Everything went black. "Don't eat your banana," Pearl shouted at June. "Mine has made me go blind!"

1. Pearl
2. most of their time
3. no
4. their health
5. it might not be clean
6. it give them pains
7. weather, pollution, car accidents, plane crashes, getting sick
8. it might give them pains in their chests and throats
9. train
10. the train went into a tunnel
11. she went blind
12. . Don't eat your banana

Numbered questions:
1. Who was Jane's friend?
2. How much time did they spend together?
3. Were they young?
4. What did they discuss?
5. Why did they worry about their food?
6. What did they thin would happen?
7. What else were they concerned about?
8. What was their concern about pollution?
9. What kind of journey did they go on?
10. Why did everything go black when Pearl took a bite?
11. What did she think happened?
12. What did she tell June?