Thomas looked up at the clock hanging on the wall of his room. He could not wait for his friend Ben to come over today. It was the weekend, so Thomas's dad had no work the next day. This meant his father would take them sledding. This was one of Thomas' favorite winter activities, even if he always got a few bumps and scrapes along the way. Thomas heard a knocking noise downstairs and knew it was Ben at the door. He got excited. This meant they would be sledding soon. He grabbed another mouthful of one of his mother's famous sugar cookies and made his way downstairs, tripping on his shoes. He opened the door to see Ben's mom giving him a friendly smile down the walk. Ben let himself in and his mother waved goodbye to them both. Thomas asked Ben if he wanted a cup of hot chocolate and then he went to find his dad for some sledding action. Both Ben and Thomas were very happy. They got their gloves on and made their way out to the garage to wait for Thomas' dad. Thomas dad would be driving them the long distance to the park. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. whose room was the clock in?
2. when was Ben coming over?
3. why wasn't thomas's dad working the next day?
4. what was he going to do?
5. who did thomas see when he answered the door?
6. who did she wave to?
7. what did he offer ben?
8. then what did he do?
9. what did he trip on?
10. where?
11. what did he eat?
12. who baked them?
13. what did they put on?
14. where did they wait?
15. who was going to drive?
16. how far was the drive going to be?
Answer: 1. Thomas
2. today
3. It was the weekend
4. go sledding
5. Ben's mom
6. Thomas and Ben
7. a cup of hot chocolate
8. he went to find his dad for some sledding action
9. his shoes
10. downstairs
11. sugar cookies
12. his mother
13. their gloves
14. the garage
15. Thomas dad
16. long distance

(CNN) -- Iran won't be attending this week's international peace conference on Syria because it won't embrace the framework laid out in a previous conference, U.N. and Iranian officials said Monday.

The last-minute invitation to Iran, a leading Syrian ally, had threatened to derail the talks after the leading Syrian opposition group and the United States spoke out against it. Louay Safi, a spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition, called Iran's attendance "a deal-breaker."

Iran announced Monday afternoon that it would not accept "any preconditions" for joining the talks, slated to begin Wednesday in Switzerland. That includes acceptance of the communique issued at the first Geneva conference in 2012, said Mohammad Khazaee, Tehran's U.N. ambassador.

"If the participation of Iran is conditioned to accept Geneva I communique, Iran will not participate in Geneva II conference," Khazaee said in a written statement Monday afternoon. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had made a similar declaration on Iranian state TV earlier Monday.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who issued the invitation Sunday, believed he had Iran's assurance that it accepted the original Geneva declaration, his spokesman, Martin Nesirky, told reporters.

"The secretary-general is deeply disappointed by Iranian public statements today that are not at all consistent with that stated commitment," Nesirky said.The declaration "remains the internationally agreed framework for ending the crisis," he said -- and without Iran's acceptance, this week's conference "will proceed without Iran's participation," he added.

The goal of the talks is to set up a transitional government to help end the violence that has wracked the country. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. Who will not be in attendance to the meeting?
2. why?
3. says who?
4. when?
5. What was the topic of the meeting?
6. Was Iran invited?
7. when?
8. who was against it?
9. what is the end result they want to achieve?
10. What kind of government do they want to establish?
11. why?
12. What as is caused?
13. Who made an announcement Monday?
14. What did Iran announce?
Answer: 1. Iran
2. because it won't embrace the framework laid out in a previous conference
3. U.N. and Iranian officials
4. Monday
5. Syria
6. Yes
7. at the last-minute
8. the leading Syrian opposition group
9. peace
10. transitional
11. to help end the violence
12. unknown
13. U.N. and Iranian officials
14. that it would not accept "any preconditions" for joining the talks

Grapes are a type of fruit that grow in clusters of 15 to 300, and can be crimson, black, dark blue, yellow, green, orange, and pink. "White" grapes are actually green in color, and are evolutionarily derived from the purple grape. Mutations in two regulatory genes of white grapes turn off production of anthocyanins, which are responsible for the color of purple grapes. Anthocyanins and other pigment chemicals of the larger family of polyphenols in purple grapes are responsible for the varying shades of purple in red wines. Grapes are typically an ellipsoid shape resembling a prolate spheroid.

The cultivation of the domesticated grape began 6,0008,000 years ago in the Near East. Yeast, one of the earliest domesticated microorganisms, occurs naturally on the skins of grapes, leading to the innovation of alcoholic drinks such as wine. The earliest archeological evidence for a dominant position of wine-making in human culture dates from 8,000 years ago in Georgia. The oldest winery was found in Armenia, dating to around 4000 BC.[citation needed] By the 9th century AD the city of Shiraz was known to produce some of the finest wines in the Middle East. Thus it has been proposed that Syrah red wine is named after Shiraz, a city in Persia where the grape was used to make Shirazi wine.[citation needed] Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics record the cultivation of purple grapes,[citation needed] and history attests to the ancient Greeks, Phoenicians, and Romans growing purple grapes for both eating and wine production[citation needed]. The growing of grapes would later spread to other regions in Europe, as well as North Africa, and eventually in North America. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. What is Syrah named after?
2. Where was that?
3. What that a state?
4. What color is it?
5. What color is Syrah wine?
6. What color are white grapes?
7. And what are they derived from?
8. What fruit grows in clusters?
9. Of how many?
10. What is their shape?
Answer:
1. Shiraz
2. Persia
3. unknown
4. unknown
5. red
6. green
7. from the purple grape
8. Grapes
9. 15 to 300
10. ellipsoid