Q: CHAPTER XVI

Mr. William Hayter, in the solitude of his chambers at the Milan Court, was a very altered personage. He extended no welcoming salutation to his midnight visitor but simply motioned him to a chair.

"Well," he began, "is your task finished that you are in London?"

"My task," Lessingham replied, "might just as well never have been entered upon. The man you sent me to watch is nothing but an ordinary sport-loving Englishman."

"Really! You have lived as his neighbour for nearly a month, and that is your impression of him?"

"It is," Lessingham assented. "He has been away sea-fishing, half the time, but I have searched his house thoroughly."

"Searched his papers, eh?"

"Every one I could find, and hated the job. There are a good many charts of the coast, but they are all for the use of the fishermen."

"Wonderful!" Hayter scoffed. "My young friend, you may yet find distinction in some other walk of life. Our secret service, I fancy, will very soon be able to dispense with your energies."

"And I with your secret service," Lessingham agreed heartily. "I dare say there may be some branches of it in which existence is tolerable. That, however, does not apply to the task upon which I have been engaged."

"You have been completely duped," Hayter told him calmly, "and the information you have sent us is valueless. Sir Henry Cranston, instead of being the type of man whom you have described, is one of the greatest experts upon coast defense and mine-laying, in the English Admiralty."

1. midnight
2. Lessingham
3. William Hayter
4. Hayter's chambers
5. the Milan Court,
6. No
7. Sir Henry Cranston
8. nearly a month
9. coast defense
10. Yes
11. mine-laying,
12. he is an ordinary sport-loving Englishman
13. at sea
14. fishing
15. Yes
16. charts
17. the coast

Numbered questions:
1. What time is it?
2. Who is visiting?
3. Who is being visited?
4. Where are they?
5. Which is where?
6. Was it a warm welcome?
7. Who was being watched?
8. For how long?
9. Is he really good at anything?
10. Anything else?
11. Like what?
12. Did the watcher think this about him?
13. Where did he seem to spend a bunch of his time?
14. Doing what?
15. Was his home looked through?
16. What was found?
17. Of what?

Q: The wedding between Prince Wiliam and Kate Middleton on April 29 has focused the world's camera lenses on the UK.

In Britain, there is a constant debate about the relevance of the royal family to modern British society. However, Windsor (the family name of the British Royal Family) and Middleton have been seen to represent a more modern, forward-looking nation.

Nigel Baker, the British ambassador to Bolivia, believes that the royal wedding is "about modern Britain". "The estimated 2 billion spectators across the world will see that Britain is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse nations in the world, home to 270 nationalities speaking 300 different languages, founded on tolerance and respect for difference," wrote Baker on his blog.

According to Baker, the wedding could help viewers to see "why Britain is one of the most dynamic and creative countries in the world": The television on which most people watched the event was invented by John Logie Baird, a Briton, and the World Wide Web that broadcast the event to millions more was invented by another Briton, Tim Berners-Lee.

The guests who attended the wedding ceremony gave more than a few clues as to the nature of modern Britain. David and Victoria Beckham represent Britain's obsession with football and celebrity.

Leaders from different religious backgrounds supported Baker's comments on the multicultural nature of modern British society.

Before the wedding, David Elliott, arts director of the British Council China, agreed that the wedding would be a showcase for modern Britain: "I think, and hope, that it (modern British influence) would be values like openness, multiculturalism, creativity, sense of humor and the traditional British sense of fair play," he said.

Furthermore, events such as the Olympics in London in 2012 may also increase people's sense of Britishness.

According to a poll published in Daily Telegraph, more than a third of people in the UK admitted they felt "very British" when watching the Olympics.

1. The relevance of the royal family in modern society
2. Yes
3. A wedding.
4. Prince William.
5. Kate Middleton
6. April 29
7. "An estimated 2 billion
8. britain is one of the most diverse cultures in the world.
9. 300
10. Yes
11. David Beckham
12. Football
13. Yes
14. Victoria Beckham
15. A celebrity
16. No
17. more than a third
18. A poll
19. The Daily Telegraph
20. Yes

Numbered questions:
1. What is there a debate about?
2. Was there a special event?
3. What was it?
4. Who was getting married?
5. Who was he going to wed?
6. When was the wedding to be?
7. How many will view the nuptuals?
8. What will they see?
9. How many languages are spoken there?
10. Did any athletes attend the wedding?
11. Who?
12. What does he play?
13. Did anyone attend with him?
14. Who?
15. Is she an ahlete as well?
16. Did half the country feel "very British" watching the Olympics?
17. What percentage reported feeling so?
18. According to what?
19. Who published the poll?
20. Was the wedding shown streaming on the web

Q: Once upon a time there was a man who needed to write story. His name was Mark. He had a bad case of writer's block. After a bit, he wrote a story about writing a story. This may seem a bit odd. Well, it was. The important thing to know is that Mark wanted money. This was so he could show off for his girl, Wendy. Wendy had two living parents named Greg and Gail. The exciting thing about Mark writing these stories, was that he could write whatever he wanted to. He could have written about bears. Or it could have been his best friend Error. There were so many choices for Mark. He was very happy. He was happy because he was almost done writing the story. Wendy, had she known about the writing would have been sad that Mark spent so much time thinking of odd stories.

1. write a story
2. he wanted money
3. writer's block.
4. he was almost done writing the story.
5. no
6. he could write whatever he wanted to
7. bears, his friend
8. she did not know about it
9. sad
10. because he spent so much time thinking of odd stories

Numbered questions:
1. What did the man need to do?
2. Why did he want to write them?
3. What was standing in his way?
4. What made him content?
5. Was the topic of the story the normal thing to write about?
6. What was so great about writing these stories?
7. What type of things could be included in the stories?
8. How did his girlfriend feel about the stories?
9. How would she have felt had she found out about them?
10. Why?