Question: Charles Dickens is often thought of as one of the greatest British writers. February 7 marked the 200th anniversary of his birthday. Yet for many, his language is old-fashioned and his stories often improbable. So why do so many people know and read Dickens today?

One reason is the British government's insistence that every child studies a Dickens novel at school. Alongside William Shakespeare, Dickens is on every English literature school reading list.

His stories, though often long by today's standards, are great moral tales. They are filled with colorful characters.

Earlier this month, a ceremony was held in Portsmouth, where Dickens was born. Prince Charles said at the ceremony, "Dickens used his creative genius to campaign passionately for social justice... His characterization is as fresh today as on the day it was written."

His books stand out from many other writers because of his insight into human nature. Dickens, like Shakespeare, tells us truths about human behavior. They are as true in the 21st century as they were to his readers in the 19th century.

Readers have returned to Dickens' books again and again over the years to see what he has to say about their own times.

No surprise then that it was Dickens whom Britons turned to during the economic crisis in the last couple of years. Dickens helped them make sense of a world that was rapidly falling apart. The BBC adapted one of his less well-known novels, Little Dorrit, into a popular television drama that introduced many Brits to the novel for the first time. A dark story about greed and money, it was the perfect illustration of bad times.

As long as Dickens's novels have something to say to modern audiences, it seems likely that he will remain one of Britain's best-loved writers. 1. who is the story about?
2. was he alive 300 years ago?
3. Was his birth in the month that follows January?
4. on what day?
5. where was he born?
6. what happened there recently?
7. did anyone prominent attend?
8. who?
9. was one of his works mentioned?
10. which one?
11. does it have an upbeat plot?
12. what is it about?
13. has it recently been reinterpreted?
14. by who?
15. in what medium?
16. was it a dark comedy?
17. what was it?
18. where is the Dickens from? Provide a numbered list of answers.
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A numbered of answers: 1. Charles Dickens
2. No
3. Yes
4. the 7th
5. Portsmouth
6. a ceremony was held
7. Yes
8. Prince Charles
9. Yes
10. Little Dorrit
11. No
12. greed and money
13. Yes
14. The BBC
15. television
16. No
17. a drama
18. England

Question: In order to save money for a trip to Thailand to visit her family and friends, Emma White, a keeper in California, worked overtime. She saved more than 900 dollars and was planning to buy a ticket, but she lost her purse with all her money and credit cards .

Emma looked through the garbage and all the buildings where she worked but came up empty-handed. She went home heartbroken. She believed that she had lost her money forever. While Emma was at home, sad and depressed, a homeless man was searching through the garbage looking for things to sell. As he was looking through a garbage bag, he found something wrapped in a plastic bag.

The homeless man, who did not want to be recognized, took the purse to Sherry Wesley, because Sherry Wesley knew him from her volunteer work at a homeless shelter. The homeless man came to Sherry Wesley with the wad of money and said, "This probably belongs to someone that you work with; can you find the owner?" Sherry Wesley works in one of the buildings that Emma cleans and she knew Emma had lost her purse.

Emma was amazed when she heard the good news. "I couldn't believe it when they called me," she said. "He has a very big heart. If someone else had found the purse, the money would be gone." As a reward, Emma gave the man 100 dollars. The homeless man gave half of the money to Sherry Wesley and asked her to donate it to charity for him. 1. How much was rewarded?
2. To whom?
3. Who got 1/2?
4. What was she supposed to do with it?
5. Did she know Emma?
6. How?
7. Where was it found?
8. Was somebody going on a vacation?
9. Where?
10. Why?
11. Who was going?
12. Did she have a job?
13. What was it?
14. Where?
15. Did she work many hours?
16. Was she able to save anything?
17. what?
18. How did the man know Sherry?
19. What did he show her?
20. Did he expect recognization? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers: 1. 100 dollars
2. The homeless man
3. Sherry Wesley
4. donate it to charity
5. yes
6. works in building that Emma cleans
7. the garbage
8. yes
9. Thailand
10. visiting family and friends
11. Emma
12. yes
13. a keeper
14. California
15. yes
16. yes
17. 900 dollars
18. volunteer work at a homeless shelter
19. money
20. no

Question: Babylonia was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). A small Amorite-ruled state emerged in 1894 BC, which contained at this time the minor administrative town of Babylon. Babylon greatly expanded from the small provincial town that it had originally been during the Akkadian Empire (2335-2154 BC) during the reign of Hammurabi in the first half of the 18th century BC, becoming a major capital city. During the reign of Hammurabi and afterwards, Babylonia was called "Mat Akkadi" "the country of Akkad" in the Akkadian language. It was often involved in rivalry with its older fellow Akkadian-speaking state of Assyria in northern Mesopotamia, as well as Elam to the east, in Ancient Iran. Babylonia briefly became the major power in the region after Hammurabi (fl. c. 1792 1752 BC middle chronology, or c. 1696 1654 BC, short chronology) created a short-lived empire, succeeding the earlier Akkadian Empire, Third Dynasty of Ur, and Old Assyrian Empire; however, the Babylonian empire rapidly fell apart after the death of Hammurabi and reverted back to a small kingdom.

The Babylonian state, like Assyria to the north, retained the written Akkadian language for official use (the language of its native populace), despite its Northwest Semitic-speaking Amorite founders and Kassite successors, who spoke a language isolate, not being native Mesopotamians. It retained the Sumerian language for religious use (as did Assyria), but already by the time Babylon was founded, this was no longer a spoken language, having been wholly subsumed by Akkadian. The earlier Akkadian and Sumerian traditions played a major role in Babylonian and Assyrian culture, and the region would remain an important cultural center, even under its protracted periods of outside rule. 1. What is this about?
2. Where is that?
3. When was it created?
4. What did it have in it?
5. Did it stay small?
6. When did it get bigger?
7. Who ruled during this time?
8. What did it turn into then?
9. What did they speak there?
10. What was it called in that?
11. What does that mean? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers:
1. The Babylonia State
2. central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq).
3. 1894 BC,
4. minor administrative town of Babylon.
5. No
6. first half of the 18th century BC
7. Hammurabi
8. a major capital city.
9. Akkadian language
10. Mat Akkadi
11. the country of Akkad