Problem: British writer John Bunyan was born at Elstow, Bedfordshire, England, in November, 1628. His father was a maker and mender of pots and kettles, and the son followed the same trade. Though he is usually called a tinker, Bunyan had a settled home and place of business. He had little schooling, and he describes his early surroundings as poor and mean. He became much interested in religions, but it was only after a tremendous spiritual conflict, lasting three or four years, that he found peace. His struggles are related with extraordinary vividness and intensity in his "Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners." His writing began with a controversy against the Quakers , and shows from the first the command of a homely but vigorous style.

Like most working men at the time, Bunyan had a deep hatred for the corrupted, hypocritical rich who accumulated their wealth "by hook and by crook." As a stout Puritan , he had made a conscientious study of the Bible and firmly believed in salvation through spiritual struggle.

Bunyan's style was modeled after that of the English Bible. With his concrete and living language and carefully observed and vividly presented details, he made it possible for the reader of the least education to share the pleasure of reading his novel and to relive the experience of his characters.

Bunyan's works include Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666), The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680), The Holy War (1682) and The Pilgrim's Progress (1684).

The Pilgrim's Progress is the most successful religious allegory in the English language. Its purpose is to urge people to observe Christian doctrines and seek salvation through constant struggle with their own weaknesses and all kinds of social evils. It is not only about something spiritual but also bears much relevance to the time. Its predominant metaphor -- life as a journey -- is simple and familiar. The objects that Christian meets are homely and commonplace, and the scenes presented are typical English ones, but throughout the allegory a spiritual significance is added to the commonplace details. Here the strange is combined with the familiar and the trivial joined to the divine, and, a rich imagination and a natural talent for storytelling also contribute to the success of the work which is at once entertaining and morally instructive.

"The Vanity Fair," is an excerpt from The Pilgrim's Progress. The story starts with a dream in which the author sees Christian the Pilgrim, with a heavy burden on his back, reading the Bible. When he learns from the book that the city in which he and his family live shall be burnt down in a fire, Christian tries to convince his family and his neighbors of the oncoming disaster and asks them to go with him in search of salvation, but most of them simply ignore him. So he starts off with a friend, Pliable. Pliable turns back after they stumble into a pit, the Slough of Despond. Christian struggles on by himself. Then he is misled by Mr. Wordly Wiseman and is brought back onto the right road by Mr. Evangelist. There he joins Faithful, a neighbor who has set out later but has made better progress. The two go on together through many adventures, including the great struggle with Apollyon, who claims them to be his subjects and refuse to accept their allegiance to God. After many other adventures they come to the Vanity Fair where both are arrested as alien agitators. They are tried and Faithful is condemned to death. Christian, however manages to escape and goes on his way, assisted by a new friend, Hopeful. Tired of the hard journey, they are tempted to take pleasant path and are then captured by Giant Despair. Finally they get away and reach the Celestial City, where they enjoy eternal life in the fellowship of the blessed.
1. What was the British writers name?
2. Where was he born?
3. When?
4. What did his father do?
5. What was Bunyan usually?
6. Was he educated extensively?
7. What was his religion a source of?
8. How long did it last?
9. His writing began with what?
10. What did he hold deep hatred for?
11. What was his style modeled after?
12. What was one of his works?
13. Another?
14. What was another?
15. The last one listed?
16. What was the most successful religious allegory?
17. It observed what?
18. Vanity Fair was an excerpt from?
19. Mr. Wordly Wiseman is brought back by who?
20. Where is the final location reached?
Answer: 1. John Bunyan
2. Elstow, Bedfordshire, England
3. November, 1628
4. maker and mender of pots and kettles
5. tinker
6. no
7. a tremendous spiritual conflict,
8. three or four years
9. controversy against the Quakers
10. corrupted, hypocritical rich who accumulated their wealth
11. the English Bible
12. Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners
13. The Life and Death of Mr. Badman
14. The Holy War
15. The Pilgrim's Progress
16. The Pilgrim's Progress
17. Christian doctrines
18. The Pilgrim's Progress
19. Mr. Evangelist
20. Celestial City

Problem: Ashleigh Fraser and Leah Guskjolen, both 18, wondered why they would not be allowed to wear nail polish or artificial nails during their training to become certified nursing assistants. But when they asked, the only response which they got was that "rules are rules." Not satisfied, the teens decided to explore the issue themselves.

For their new study, Ashleigh and Leah, seniors at Willcox High School in Willcox, Arizona., borrowed materials from the hospital where they had been trained as nursing assistants. Ten nurses there agreed to give them little scrapings off the top side of their nails. Half of the participants had natural nails. The other half wore nail polish or fake nails on top of their natural nails. The teens grew bacteria from the scrapings on plates; these are plastic dishes with a gel that feeds bacterial growth.

Natural nails produced an average of 4.3 bacterial colonies. In contrast, scrapings from nail polish or artificial nails produced an average of 17.5 colonies! Leah and Ashleigh had their answer to the question. Only natural nails are allowed because polished or artificial nails tend to harbor far more bacteria. The germs could be dangerous to sick patients.

Leah notes that they are not the first to look at nails in a medical setting. Still, she says, "It is something that should be taken much more seriously than it is." To emphasize that, she points to the large list of similar studies she and Ashleigh uncovered during their research.

When nurses touch patients, they often wear gloves, but many small tasks are performed bare-handed. The teens hope to raise awareness of how dangerous artificial nails can be in the medical setting. "What shocked me," Leah says, "is how unconcerned some of the nurses were. They did not think their nails were dangerous." Ashleigh agrees and observes that to preserve their manicures , nurses with polish or fake nails tended to scrub less vigorously when washing their hands. Their nails might look nice, but this might contribute to the large numbers of germs that hang onto their nails.

Ashleigh has never really liked nail polish, so she will not have to change much to pursue her dream of being a surgeon. But the results have reminded Leah, who wants to be a nurse, to give up her artificial nails for good. "They are very pretty," she says, "I love them." But now that she knows the risks they can cause, she admits that for a health professional they just are "not worth it."
1. What question did the two 18 year olds have?
2. Who were they?
3. Their names?
4. What did Ashleigh want to become?
5. After that?
6. What about Leah?
7. What was the answer they received to their question?
8. Did they find an answer themselves?
9. What was it?
10. On average, how much more bacteria do fake nails produce?
11. What's one of the reasons for this?
12. Who helped them with this research?
13. How did they help?
14. How did they collect the bacteria?
15. Were they the first to do a study like this?
Answer:
1. why they were not allowed to wear nail polish
2. teens
3. Ashleigh Fraser and Leah Guskjolen
4. certified nursing assistants
5. unknown
6. nurse
7. unknown
8. Yes
9. bacterial colonies
10. 13.2 bacterial colonies
11. bacteria
12. Ten nurses
13. give them little scrapings off the top side of their nails
14. unknown
15. No