question: Michelle Obama has just started a campaign against childhood obesity with the admission that she put her girls Malia and Sasha on a diet because they were getting fat. Clearly, childhood obesity must be solved urgently. But is it a good idea for mothers to put their daughters on diets? Studies show that the more children diet, the more likely they are to become obese as adults. Research also shows that girls are highly influenced by their mothers when it comes to eating habits and body image. This was the case for Carly, 40, who blames her mother for her lifelong struggle with weight. "My mother was on a diet the whole time I was growing up," she says. "And she put me on my first diet when I was 10. I lost puppy fat, gained her approval and never ate normally again." America's First Lady clearly has a vital healthy eating message to convey. But could this be damaging for Malia and Sasha? Could they develop eating disorders because of it? "It's wrong just to blame mothers for their daughters' eating disorders," says Susan Ringwood, chief executive of the eating disorders charity. "There is a genetic component to eating disorders." However, "We do know that parents have a very strong influence over a child's eating. It's important to realize that you are your daughter's role model. Girls idolize their mothers." says Ringwood. "No food should ever be 'good 'or' bad'," Ringwood says. Instead, "You have to make it clear that food is a sociable, healthy and fun part of life, not something to be feared." "Talk to her about body image," Ringwood says. "Talk about how curves are an important and exciting part of being a woman. Show her that anorexic ) fashion models are not sexy, but ill. The pressure on girls today is immense," she says. Never forget that you are the authoritative voice, too.
1. Who are Michelle Obama's girls?
2. Were they getting heavy?
3. What do the studies show about diets
4. Who is susan ringwood?
5. Do girls idolize their mothers?
6. Is there a genetic component to eating disorders
7. Should food be" good or bad"?
8. Should food be feared?
9. What is the pressure on girls today?
10. How old is Carly?
11. Who does she blame?
12. Who has an eating message?
13. When did Carly go on her first diet?
14. What did she lose?
15. Is it wrong just to blame mothers?
****
answer: 1. Malia and Sasha
2. yes
3. they show that the more children diet, the more likely they are to become obese
4. chief executive of the eating disorders charity
5. yes
6. yes
7. no
8. no
9. immense
10. 40
11. her mother
12. America's First Lady
13. when she was 10
14. puppy fat
15. yes

question: What do you see when you look at abstract art? Does it make sense to you? Does it look like anything? Abstract art became popular in the early 20th century. Artists did not want to paint, draw, or sculpt things like they looked. They didn't want their art to be realistic . They were more interested in basic shapes and colours. Picasso is probably the most famous of these artists. He painted and drew in many, many styles. Sometimes he used a lot of blue colours (his "blue period"). Later, he used more red and pink colours (his "rose period"). Many of his other paintings are called "cubist " because they are made of painted squares. After a long time, Picasso's paintings became more and more abstract. He painted people and things using strange shapes. His work was so original, many his fellow artists didn't understand it. Kindinsky, another famous artist, used lines, shapes, and patterns to paint his subjects. His paintings also used strong colours to express feelings. Other artists like the surrealists , they were interested in the subconscious . Painters like Breton and Magritte used many symbols in their work. The meaning or subject of their work wasn't always clear. Dai, another artist, painted pictures that looked like dreams. There are still many abstract artists around the world. It's often hard to say what their art is about. That's the way many artists like better. They want each person to look at art and find their own meaning in it.
1. what does abstract art look like
2. when did they become popular
3. What do they want their art to be like
4. Who was the most famous
5. What was one of his famous periods
6. Did he have any other famous periods
7. What work Cubist
8. What did he paint and squares
9. Were there any other famous artist mentioned
10. Can you name one
****
answer: 1. strange shapes
2. the early 20th century
3. They didn't want their art to be realistic
4. Picasso
5. his "blue period"
6. "cubist "
7. because they are made of painted squares
8. paintings
9. yes
10. Kindinsky

question: CHAPTER XXIII. THE OVERWHELMING ODDS

At half-past ten that same evening, Blakeney, still clad in a workman's tattered clothes, his feet bare so that he could tread the streets unheard, turned into the Rue de la Croix Blanche.

The porte-cochere of the house where Armand lodged had been left on the latch; not a soul was in sight. Peering cautiously round, he slipped into the house. On the ledge of the window, immediately on his left when he entered, a candle was left burning, and beside it there was a scrap of paper with the initials S. P. roughly traced in pencil. No one challenged him as he noiselessly glided past it, and up the narrow stairs that led to the upper floor. Here, too, on the second landing the door on the right had been left on the latch. He pushed it open and entered.

As is usual even in the meanest lodgings in Paris houses, a small antechamber gave between the front door and the main room. When Percy entered the antechamber was unlighted, but the door into the inner room beyond was ajar. Blakeney approached it with noiseless tread, and gently pushed it open.

That very instant he knew that the game was up; he heard the footsteps closing up behind him, saw Armand, deathly pale, leaning against the wall in the room in front of him, and Chauvelin and Heron standing guard over him.

The next moment the room and the antechamber were literally alive with soldiers--twenty of them to arrest one man.
1. what was burning?
2. what city was he in?
3. what was between the door and main room?
4. was it lit?
5. was he heavyfooted?
6. was he followed?
7. by whom?
8. Who was being guarded?
****
answer:
1. a candle
2. Paris
3. soldiers
4. No
5. No
6. Yes
7. Armand,
8. Yes