Problem: Edmund Halley was an English scientist who lived over 200 years ago. He studied the observations of comets which other scientists had made. The orbit of one particular comet was a very difficult mathematical problem. He could not figure it out. Neither could other scientists who dealt with such problems.

However, Halley had a friend named Isaac Newton, who was a brilliant mathematician. Newton thought he had already worked out that problem, but he could not find the papers on which he had done it. He told Halley that the orbit of a comet had the shape of an ellipse .

Now Halley set to work. He figured out(,)the orbits of some of the comets that had been observed by scientists. He made a surprising discovery. The comets that had appeared in the years 1531, 1607, and 1682 all had the same orbit. Yet their appearance had been 75 to 76 years apart.

This seemed very strange to Halley. Three different comets followed the same orbit. The more Halley thought about it, the more he thought that there had not been three different comets as people thought. He decided that they had simply seen the same comet three times. The comet had gone away and had come back again.

It was an astonishing idea! Halley felt certain to make a prediction of what would happen in the future. He decided that this would appear in the year 1758. There were 53 years to go before Halley's prediction could be tested. In 1758 the comet appeared in the sky. Halley did not see it, for he had died some years before. Ever since then that comet had been called Halley's comet, in his honor.
1. Who is the article about?
2. Was Halley from France?
3. Where was he from?
4. What did he do for a living?
5. Who was Halley's friend?
6. What shape orbit did Newton say comets had?
7. What surprising discovery did Halley make?
8. What prediction did Halley make?
9. Was Halley alive to see it?
10. What was the comet called in his honor?
Answer: 1. Edmund Halley
2. no
3. england
4. Studied comets
5. Newton
6. Ellipse
7. Multiple comets had the same orbit
8. The comet would appear 1758
9. no
10. Halley's comet

Problem: Beijing (CNN) -- It's the Chinese crime story of the century and a major embarrassment for the country's all-powerful Communist Party.

In late July, Bo Xilai, a former darling of the party, was finally indicted on corruption charges. His trial is expected to begin on Thursday, August 22, the latest chapter in a gripping tale of murder, betrayal and political factionalism.

The authorities claim he abused his official state position to seek financial benefits, resulting in "huge losses to the nation and the people."

"The circumstances are extremely serious," a statement in the state-run Xinhua news agency declared a few days later.

But a source close to the Bo family for decades says the claims are "ridiculous."

"The charges go way back when Bo was in Dalian. That's more than 20 years ago. So they cannot find anything more recent?"

READ MORE: Bo Xilai indicted for corruption

Until March 2012, the charismatic, populist leader was a member of the policy-making politburo of the Communist Party and party chief of Chongqing, a megacity in southwestern China.

Bo, 64, is currently in detention, awaiting a trial that could cap the biggest political scandal to hit China in decades. He has not been seen in public since news of the scandal emerged, and he was stripped of his role as Chongqing party chief and later his prestigious politburo post.

TIMELINE: Bo's fall from grace

Bo stands accused of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power. According to the indictment documents, as a civil servant he took advantage of his position to seek profit from others and accepted an extremely large amount of money and properties, Xinhua reported. The documents don't quantify the amount of bribes allegedly accepted, but published reports say it could be as much as 20 million yuan ($3.3 million).
1. Who was indicted?
2. When will the trial start?
3. What he he accused of?
4. Is it a serious offense?
5. What does the famiy think?
6. How long ago did this start?
7. Where was he?
8. What was he a member of until 2012?
9. Where is Chongging?
10. How old is he?
11. Where is he now?
12. Has he been seen recently?
13. Since when?
14. What was he stripped of?
15. What is one o f the charges he is accused of?
16. What is another?
17. Is that all?
18. What's the third?
19. Do the documents include the amount?
20. What is the estimated amount?
Answer:
1. Bo Xilai
2. August 22
3. corruption
4. yes
5. it's ridiculous
6. more than 20 years ago
7. Dalian
8. policy-making politburo
9. China
10. 64
11. in detention
12. no
13. news of the scandal emerged
14. his role as chief
15. bribery
16. embezzlement
17. no
18. buse of power
19. no
20. 20 million yuan