Q: CHAPTER XXXV.

RALPH A PRISONER.

At the appointed time, Ralph called again upon Horace Kelsey, and was given instructions in regard to the work he would be called on to do.

"But you had better not start in until you hear from your mother," said the insurance agent. "She may wish you to pay a visit home before you settle down here."

Ralph thought this good advice, and he resolved to act upon it.

"I ought to get a letter by to-morrow noon or night," he said. "And I will wait that long. If I don't get word, I'll take the trip home anyway, seeing as you say you will be kind enough to wait for me."

Kelsey then asked him what he intended to do while waiting, and learning Ralph had nothing in particular in view, he advised the boy to get a guide-book of the city and walk about, so that he might become familiar with the streets.

"The work I have for you will take you out more or less," he said. "And it is a great help if you understand how to get around."

At a nearby bookseller's Ralph purchased a guide-book for twenty-five cents. He studied it off and on the entire afternoon, walking around in the meantime. Before he retired that night at the hotel, he had taken in the city from Fourteenth street down to the Battery.

"It's awful big and crooked," he thought. "But I guess I'll manage to get around, especially if I keep the guide-book on hand for reference."

1. Horace Kelsey
2. At the appointed time
3. he was given instructions
4. the work he would be called on to do
5. Insurance agent
6. until he hears from his mother
7. by to-morrow noon or night
8. Yes
9. home
10. Young
11. guide-book
12. walk about
13. so that he might become familiar with the streets
14. At a nearby bookseller's
15. twenty-five cents
16. Yes
17. the Battery
18. Fourteenth street
19. No
20. unknown

Numbered questions:
1. Who did Ralph contact?
2. When?
3. What was Ralph told?
4. For what?
5. What is Horace's occupation?
6. Who did Horace tell Ralph to wait for?
7. When is Ralph receiving a note?
8. Will he wait for it?
9. Where will he go if he doesn't receive the note?
10. Is Ralph young or old?
11. What purchase does Kelsey recommend?
12. And then what should he do?
13. Why?
14. Where did he go to buy the guidebook?
15. How much did it cost?
16. Did he read it?
17. What was one place he visited?
18. Another?
19. Did he think the town was well-organized?
20. When was he done exploring?

Q: Twenty years are just a blink in time. But 20 years is also long enough for a man to grow up. It is always painful. For Andre Agassi, maturing in the spotlight of international tennis competition was even harder.

On September 3, the American tennis player said a tearful goodbye to his 21-year career after a third-round defeat in the US Open. The 36-year-old tried his best, but was unable to keep up with German Benjamin Becker, _ years his _

"The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what I've found," Agassi said to the fans. "I have found inspiration and you willed me to succeed." It was an emotional speech at the end of a long career.

Agassi hated tennis as a teenager as much as he loves it now. His father made him play when he was a child. He got bored, and became a rebel . The strict training that his father pushed upon him got in the way of his wild lifestyle. He grew hair long, wore colourful clothes and spat at a judge. Over the years, he has made bad jokes during news conferences Asked what he would say to his 17-year-old self, Agassi answered, "I would say, I understand you a lot more than I want to be you."

The turning point in Agassi's career came in 1992 when he unexpectedly won his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon. It was the first time Agassi understood what real champions finally understand: winning is a test of courage and not just power, it's a marathon, not a sprint .

And what a marathon Agassi was about to begin. He cut his long hair, got fitter and tightened up emotionally. On the court, he was ranked No. 1 for almost two years. His lowest point came in 1997 when his ranking dropped to No. 141. He didn't quit though. "I knew that I would try to get the most out of myself every day from that day forward. That was my promise," he said. "That never stopped."

1. Andre Agassi.
2. No.
3. Almost two years.
4. 21 years.
5. 36.
6. 1992.
7. 1997.
8. His ranking dropped.
9. 141.
10. September 3.

Numbered questions:
1. Who's the subject of the article?
2. Did he always love tennis?
3. How many years was he at the number 1 rank?
4. How many years did he play professionally?
5. How old was he at the time?
6. When did he win his first at Wimbledon?
7. When was his lowest point?
8. Why was it low?
9. To what?
10. What day did he retire?

Q: Department stores today have sections that sell the following: clothing, furniture, home appliances, toys, cosmetics, gardening, toiletries, sporting goods, do it yourself, paint, and hardware and additionally select other lines of products such as food, books, jewelry, electronics, stationery, photographic equipment, baby products, and products for pets. Customers check out near the front of the store or, alternatively, at sales counters within each department. Some are part of a retail chain of many stores, while others may be independent retailers. In the 1970s, they came under heavy pressure from discounters. Since 2010, they have come under even heavier pressure from online stores such as Amazon.

The origins of the department store lay in the growth of the conspicuous consumer society at the turn of the 19th century. As the Industrial Revolution accelerated economy expansion, the affluent middle-class grew in size and wealth. This urbanized social group, sharing a culture of consumption and changing fashion, was the catalyst for the retail revolution. As rising prosperity and social mobility increased the number of people, especially women (who found they could shop unaccompanied at department stores without damaging their reputation), with disposable income in the late Georgian period, window shopping was transformed into a leisure activity and entrepreneurs, like the potter Josiah Wedgwood, pioneered the use of marketing techniques to influence the prevailing tastes and preferences of society.

1. Josiah Wedgwood
2. marketing techniques
3. to influence
4. prevailing tastes and preferences of society.
5. Department
6. near the front of the store
7. at sales counters within each department
8. Yes
9. In the 1970s
10. No
11. Amazon
12. online stores
13. at the turn of the 19th century
14. Industrial
15. middle-class
16. Yes
17. women
18. shop unaccompanied

Numbered questions:
1. Who was the potter?
2. What did he pioneer?
3. why?
4. What?
5. What type of business has lots of different sections?
6. Where do customers pay?
7. Or where else?
8. Do they get competition from discount outfits?
9. When did that start?
10. Have conditions improved?
11. WHo is the modern competition?
12. What kind of business is that?
13. When did they start?
14. What revolution spurred the growth?
15. Which social group flourished?
16. Did they cause the changes?
17. Which sex primarily caused this?
18. What could they do that didn't harm their reputation?