Q: As young Chinese increasingly forget how to write characters because they don't have to, using keyboards and touch screen technology on mobile phones is changing the trend.

For Yin Liang, a 26-year-old purchasing agent at a company, his embarrassment over forgetting how to write characters has gradually disappeared since he started to use the handwriting input method on his iPhone 4 a month ago.

"When you write on the touch screen, you use your finger, instead of a mouse or keyboard," Yin says.

"Actually, your finger is like a pen, writing the complicated characters that have long been spelled by pinyin, an alphabet-based input system. Whether typing on computers or texting on phones, most users in China type by phonetically spelling out the sounds of the characters and the software then gives a menu of characters that fit the pronunciation, so users only need to recognize the character.

Handwriting technology on a mobile phone touch screen has been around for years and became popular with the iPhone, which recognizes the input and offers a wide selection of characters.

"It's efficient and accurate," Yin says.

Chinese characters are the oldest continuously used system of writing in the world, but as pinyin-based typing has become more widespread, youths have started forgetting how to write out characters. This was one of the main topics for debate at the first Cross-Straits Chinese Character Art Festival, held recently in Beijing, which attracted experts from Taiwan and the mainland.

According to Zhang Zikang, president of the Culture and Art Publishing House, writing with a pen on the touch screen brings handwriting into the digital age. It is even better when you write with your finger, feeling the flow of the cursive script and the grace and art of Chinese characters, he says.

"Smart gadgets don't take life from the square-shaped characters, instead they offer a new and advanced platform to show the charm of Chinese characters, which are always evolving," Zhang says.

Answer the following questions:
1. What is like a pen?
2. Who are fogetting how to draw letters?
3. Why?
4. What is helping to change that?
5. What is the name of a purchasing agent?
6. How old is he?
7. How long has handwriting ability been available on phones?
8. Which phone made it popular?
A: 1. your finge
2. young Chinese
3. they don't have to, using keyboards and touch screen technology on mobile phones
4. the handwriting input method on his iPhone 4
5. Yin Liang
6. 26
7. Handwriting technology on a mobile phone touch screen has been around for years
8. popular with the iPhone
Q: The man who jumped the White House fence earlier this month and breached the mansion's doors actually made it farther than originally thought, officials said Monday.

White House fence jumper has PTSD, former stepson says

Omar Gonzalez, a 42-year-old Iraq war veteran who had a knife in his pocket, overcame one Secret Service officer and ran into the East Room of the White House, where he was then subdued, a federal law enforcement said.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who was provided the information by whistleblowers during his congressional investigation into the incident, also confirmed the details of what now appears to be a wild chase through the main floor of the White House, first reported by the Washington Post.

The Secret Service had previously stated that Gonzalez was stopped after entering the front door of the North Portico.

Gonzalez ran through much of the main floor, past a stairway that leads up to the first family's residence, and was ultimately stopped at the far southern end of the East Room. He also reached the doorway to the Green Room, an area that looks out on the South Lawn.

No shots were fired inside the White House, the federal law official said.

Official: Secret Service twice interviewed, released would-be White House intruder

The Secret Service has not yet commented on the new details.

"I could not be more proud of the individual agents, but I worry that Director (Julia) Pierson and the leadership there at the Secret Service is failing them," Chaffetz said Monday on "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer."

Answer the following questions:
1. What did the White house fence jumper have?
2. What mental illness did the fence jumper have?
3. Who stated that Gonzalez was stopped after entering the front door?
4. Gonzalez ran through which floor?
5. Where was he finally stopped?
6. Did anyone shoot?
7. Who provided Chaffetz with information?
8. Did he make it further than they originally thought?
9. How old is Omar?
10. What country was he a war vet from?
11. Did he have any weapons on him?
A: 1. knife
2. unknown
3. Rep. Jason Chaffetz
4. main floor,
5. the far southern end of the East Room
6. No
7. whistleblowers
8. made it farther than originally thought
9. 42
10. Iraq
11. knife
Q: The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group that formed in the Balkans. The majority of Serbs inhabit the nation state of Serbia (with a minority in disputed Kosovo), as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia. They form significant minorities in Macedonia and Slovenia. There is a large Serb diaspora in Western Europe, and outside Europe there are significant communities in North America and Australia.

The Serbs share many cultural traits with the rest of the peoples of Southeast Europe. They are predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christians by religion. The Serbian language is official in Serbia, co-official in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is spoken by the plurality in Montenegro.

The modern identity of Serbs is rooted in Eastern Orthodoxy and traditions. In the 19th century, the Serbian national identity was manifested, with awareness of history and tradition, medieval heritage, cultural unity, despite living under different empires. Three elements, together with the legacy of the Nemanjic dynasty, were crucial in forging identity and preservation during foreign domination: the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Serbian language, and Kosovo Myth. When the Principality of Serbia gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, Orthodoxy became crucial in defining the national identity, instead of language which was shared by other South Slavs (Croats and Bosniaks). The tradition of "slava", the family saint feast day, is an important ethnic marker of Serb identity, and is usually regarded their most significant and most solemn feast day.

Answer the following questions:
1. Who inhabit Serbia?
2. What are they called?
3. Where did they form?
4. Where else do they live
5. Where are they minorities?
6. Are there other places they live?
7. Who do they share cultural traits with
8. What is their religion
9. Do they have a language?
10. What is it
11. is it official in Serbia
A:
1. South Slavic ethinic group
2. Serbs
3. Balkans
4. Bosnia
5. Macedonia and Slovenia
6. Western Europe, North America and Austrailia
7. Southeast Europe
8. Eastern Orthodox Chrstians
9. Yes
10. Serbian language
11. Yes