Problem: Everybody in London knew Mr. Scrooge. He was very rich but also very mean. The most important thing in his life was money! At six o'clock Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's clerk, went to Mr. Scrooge. "Excuse me. sir. Tomorrow is Christmas Day, can l stay at home?" "Stay at home," shouted Scrooge. "I don't pay you to stay at home!" "But it is Christmas," said Cratchit. "Very well," said Scrooge. "but you must work double hours on Boxing Day!" "Yes sir, certainly sir, Merry Christmas, sir." "Get out," shouted Scrooge. "Christmas! Everybody talks about Christmas!" said Scrooge. "It's just an excuse not to work. People want money too. Always money! For doing nothing!" Scrooge put on his hat and coat and left the office. It was Christmas Eve and everyone was shopping. It was dark and Scrooge was alone. He saw a person dressed in black. "Are you the Spirit of Christmas to come?" asked Scrooge. The Spirit didn't speak. It pointed to a group of people. The people were talking. "Is he dead?" asked one man. "Yes. No-one will cry for him," said another. "He was a horrible, unkind man. He never gave money to us poor people. He wasn't a happy man." "Who's dead?" asked Scrooge. The Spirit pointed down. It was a grave . There were no flowers and no people there. "Who is it?" asked Scrooge nervously. The Spirit pointed again. "No, I don't want to look, I want to go home." But the Spirit didn't move. Very slowly Scrooge rubbed the snow away. On the grave were the words EBENEZER SCROOGE. It was morning. Christmas morning. Scrooge was in bed! "I'm alive, I'm alive, how wonderful!" He jumped out of bed, singing and dancing as he went around the room. "What a beautiful day it is. I love Christmas. I love everybody." He went to the butcher's and said, "Take the biggest turkey you have to Bob Cratchit's house." Scrooge met the two men collecting money for the poor. "Please take this," said Scrooge to the men and gave them a big sum of money for the poor. From that Christmas Scrooge was a new man. He helped the poor and was kind to everyone. He became a happy man and everybody loved him.
1. Who worked for Scrooge?
2. what was his job?
3. What did Cratchi want?
4. If he gets off Christmas, what must he do on Boxing Day?
5. What did Scrooge think Christmas was?
6. What were people doing Christmas Eve?
7. What was written on the gravestone?
8. Was there anyone at his grave?
9. Where did scrooge go on Christmas day?
10. To buy what?
11. who did he want to give it to?
12. who did he give currency to?
13. to help whom?
Answer: 1. Bob Cratchit
2. He was a clerk.
3. to stay home for Christmas
4. work double hours
5. an excuse not to work
6. shopping
7. EBENEZER SCROOGE
8. no
9. the butcher's
10. the biggest turkey
11. Bob Cratchit
12. two men
13. the poor

Problem: Micro blogs like Weibo are nothing new for the young Chinese. A newspaper in Chengdu did a survey last month. It found that 90 percent of junior high school students use micro blogs. They give students an outlet for emotion. "I use micro blogs to record my life. I let everyone 'see' my feelings and complaints ," said Liu Fangyue, 14, from Xiamen No. 1 Middle School. They have fun with classmates even after school. "I would send a message to praise someone who came first in the exam," said Liu. Teachers also join in the fun. "When I sit down to talk to my students, they may not tell me their real thoughts," said Lu Dongping at Nanning No. 2 Middle School. "But on micro blogs, they are more relaxed. They even make fun of me." You would be wrong if you think micro blogs are all about fun. Zhong Yun from Xiamen Haicang Experimental School sees it as a tool to learn English. The 13-year-old girl follows foreign stars such as Avril Lavigne and Justin Bieber. "In order to understand their English posts, I have to check the dictionary and learn many new words," said Zhong. "Micro blogs widen students' perspectives , but there are rules to follow," said Shi Zhongying, a professor from Beijing Normal University. He shares some of them with micro bloggers. "Manage your time, and don't let micro-blogging affect your studies and health," said Shi. "Don't give out your name, family address or phone number on micro blogs. You should also respect truth and other people's privacy ."
1. Who uses the blogs?
2. What is a name of one of the types of blogs?
3. How old are the people that tend to use them?
4. What amount of kids use them?
5. Who realized it was 90?
6. A newspaper where?
7. When did they learn this?
8. Who is one of the instructors that uses blogging?
9. Where does she work?
10. What does she think about the blogging?
Answer: 1. Chinese
2. Weibo
3. junior high school aged
4. 90 percent
5. A newspaper
6. Chengdu
7. last month
8. Lu Dongping
9. Nanning No. 2 Middle School
10. they are more honest

Problem: New York (CNN) -- The mother of one of the two New Jersey men arrested last week at a New York airport allegedly on their way to fight with an al Qaeda-affiliated group in Somalia says the two men are guilty of stupidity -- but not of the sinister plan described by authorities.

"Anything makes him angry. But he's not a terrorist; he's a stupid kid," Nadia Alessa said of her U.S.-born son, Mahmood.

Mohamed Mahmood Alessa, 20, of North Bergen, New Jersey, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 24, of Elmwood Park, New Jersey, are charged with one count each of conspiracy to kill, maim and murder persons outside of the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The men, who were taken into custody at John F. Kennedy International Airport on June 5, intended to take separate flights to Egypt on their way to Somalia "to join designated foreign terrorist organization Al-Shabaab and wage violent jihad," according to federal prosecutors.

The criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Newark alleges that in 2007, Alessa and Almonte traveled together to Jordan, where they intended to enter Iraq to commit violence against U.S. troops there.

Nadia Alessa told CNN that her son went to 16 or 17 psychiatrists for what she called "anger management issues" that surfaced when he was a boy. He lived at his parents well-kept home, where his angry outbursts were common.

However, she said, he wasn't particularly religious. "He slept late. If he was devout, he would make his prayers on time. He didn't," she said.
1. Who is being charged?
2. For what?
3. Where were they planning to do it?
4. Were they both religious?
5. How do we know that?
6. How did she know he wasn't religious?
7. Does she agree that her son is a terrorist?
8. What does she think he is, then?
9. Did he get angry easily?
10. Did he see anyone about anger management?
11. How many people?
12. Were his parents divorced?
13. Abusive?
14. Do we know of anything wrong with his home life?
15. What is his name?
16. His mother's name?
17. The other man's name?
18. When did they try to go join an al Qaeda group?
19. What is the group's name?
Answer:
1. two New Jersey men
2. conspiracy to kill, maim and murder persons outside of the United States
3. fight with an al Qaeda-affiliated group in Somalia
4. no
5. His mother
6. If he was devout, he would make his prayers on time
7. No
8. a stupid kid
9. yes
10. yes
11. 16 or 17 psychiatrists
12. no
13. unknown
14. no
15. Mohamed Mahmood Alessa
16. Nadia Alessa
17. Carlos Eduardo Almonte
18. 2007
19. Al-Shabaab