Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

Washington (CNN) -- A late evening meeting between President Barack Obama and the leaders of the House and Senate failed to reach agreement Wednesday on a spending plan to avert a government shutdown, but all the participants said progress was made and talks would continue.

If there is no deal by midnight Friday, when the current spending authorization measure expires, parts of the government will close down.

Obama called the 90-minute talks with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, "constructive" and he said they narrowed and clarified the outstanding issues.

"I remain confident that if we're serious about getting something done, we should be able to complete a deal and get it passed and avert a shutdown," Obama said in brief remarks to reporters. "But it's going to require a sufficient sense of urgency from all parties involved" to prevent a shutdown that "could have real effects on everyday Americans."

Both Reid and Boehner told reporters in their own brief comments that the meeting made progress in narrowing their differences, and that their staffs would work through the night to try to reach further consensus.

"I have confidence we can get this done," said Reid, who criticized Boehner and Republicans earlier in the day for intransigence. "We're not there yet."

Boehner, standing next to Reid, said "we do have some honest differences," and he emphasized there was no agreement on either a specific figure for spending cuts for the rest of the current fiscal year or on policy issues that the Republicans want included in the measure, such as specifically prohibiting funding for abortions.

1. Who did Barack Obama have a meeting with?
2. Did senator Reid have confidence they could get things done?
3. What was the meeting about in the first place?
4. What were they trying to avert?
5. Who is the Senate majority leaded that also met with Obama?
6. How id Obama think the talks went?
7. Did the House speaker think they had some differences they needed to resolve?
8. What is the time they needed to finish by to avoid government shutdown?
9. Were there any agreements on spending cuts?
10. Were the polititions staffs going to be working though the night?

Numbered answers:

A: 1. with John Boehner
2. yes
3. on a spending plan
4. a government shutdown
5. Harry Reid
6. "constructive"
7. yes
8. by midnight Friday
9. no
10. yes

Question: Clothes are very important in our life. Different people wear different clothes. Now let's listen to some people in France talking about clothes. Hello, I'm Betty. I started working this year, so I'm able to get new clothes more often than before. I think what I look like is really important to me, so I spent much money on clothes. I like to wear bright colors and always dress up when I go to parties. I often buy all kinds of clothes and try to follow the latest fashion. Hi, I'm Jack. I don't have much to say about clothes. _ aren't the thing I'm interested in. I know little about the way of dressing. In summer, I always wear a T-shirt or something else. My name is Alice. I would like to say that clothes must be comfortable and feel easy to put on. Sometimes I buy clothes in some small street markets -- they are cheap there. I change the look of my clothes quite often -- put some flowers on them or use different buttons, just for a change. They'll look good all the time. I go shopping for clothes about once a month. I see something comfortable and fashionable and it fits me well, I would go for it and then... 1. When did Betty start working?
2. What kind of colors does she like to wear?
3. Is Jack interested in fashion?
4. What does he wear in summer?
5. Where has Alice shopped for clothes?
6. Why?
7. What does she often put on her clothes?
8. Does she wear T-shirts too?
9. Who wears different buttons?
10. Does Betty shop for clothes less often than she used to?
11. How often does Alice shop for clothes?
12. Does she tend to wear the same things often?
13. Where do the people talking live? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers: 1. This year.
2. Bright
3. No
4. a T-shirt
5. street markets
6. They are cheap.
7. flowers
8. Probably.
9. Alice
10. Yes
11. Once a month.
12. No
13. France

Q: The day was sunny and warm. The birds were chirping and dancing around happily. Ashley, the daughter of the dressmaker in town, was walking and whistling and enjoying the day, carrying her fishing pole. She was on her way to the creek to meet her friend Ethan to go fishing. She was so excited; she loved to fish! As she was walking she took a time out to smell the flowers. She chose to pick some for her mother. "Mom may be so happy." she said out loud.

"Pleased with what?" she heard behind her.

Ashley jumped, dropping the flowers. "Oh Ethan! Why did you do that?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, I scared you" Ethan stated. "I didn't mean to, I was curious that's all."

Ashley turned to Ethan "That's alright, I was picking flowers for my mom, let's go fishing before it's too late".

Ashley and Ethan skipped off to the creek and had a wonderful time fishing. Even if they didn't catch anything.

1. sunny and warm
2. chirping and dancing around happily
3. Ashley
4. the daughter of the dressmaker in town
5. Ethan
6. fish
7. yes
8. flowers
9. she jumped
10. Ethan
11. go fishing
12. no
13. yes
14. no

Numbered questions:
1. What kind of day was it?
2. What were the birds doing?
3. Who was going to the see a buddy?
4. Who was she?
5. Who was she going to see?
6. What did she love to do?
7. Did she get something as she was strolling around the creek?
8. What did she get?
9. Why did she drop them?
10. Who scared her?
11. What did she want to do before it was too late?
12. Did they run to the back?
13. Did they have a good time?
14. Did they end up with something to take home?