question: CHAPTER XVI

One sunny forenoon, as Agatha sat reading on the doorstep of the conservatory, the shadow of her parasol deepened, and she, looking up for something denser than the silk of it, saw Trefusis.

"Oh!"

She offered him no further greeting, having fallen in with his habit of dispensing, as far as possible, with salutations and ceremonies. He seemed in no hurry to speak, and so, after a pause, she began, "Sir Charles--"

"Is gone to town," he said. "Erskine is out on his bicycle. Lady Brandon and Miss Lindsay have gone to the village in the wagonette, and you have come out here to enjoy the summer sun and read rubbish. I know all your news already."

"You are very clever, and, as usual, wrong. Sir Charles has not gone to town. He has only gone to the railway station for some papers; he will be back for luncheon. How do you know so much of our affairs?"

"I was on the roof of my house with a field-glass. I saw you come out and sit down here. Then Sir Charles passed. Then Erskine. Then Lady Brandon, driving with great energy, and presenting a remarkable contrast to the disdainful repose of Gertrude."

"Gertrude! I like your cheek."

"You mean that you dislike my presumption."

"No, I think cheek a more expressive word than presumption; and I mean that I like it--that it amuses me."

"Really! What are you reading?"

"Rubbish, you said just now. A novel."

"That is, a lying story of two people who never existed, and who would have acted very differently if they had existed."
1. Who was reading?
2. On the doorstep of what?
3. Who did she see?
4. Did he have a habit of dispensing?
5. Who was gone to town?
6. What about Erskine?
7. What was Agatha enjoying?
8. Where did the two ladies go?
9. Where was it?
10. Was Agatha reading a noveL?
****
answer: 1. Agatha
2. the conservatory
3. Trefusis
4. Yes
5. Sir Charles
6. on his bicycle
7. the summer sun
8. to the village
9. unknown
10. Yes

question: Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal Argead dynasty, which was followed by the Antipatrid and Antigonid dynasties. Home to the ancient Macedonians, the earliest kingdom was centered on the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, and bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south.

Before the 4th century BC, Macedonia was a small kingdom outside of the area dominated by the great city-states of Athens, Sparta, and Thebes, and briefly subordinate to Achaemenid Persia. During the reign of the Argead king PhilipII (359336 BC), Macedonia subdued mainland Greece and Thrace through conquest and diplomacy. With a reformed army containing phalanxes wielding the "sarissa" pike, PhilipII defeated the old powers of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338BC; Sparta was occupied a century later by Antigonus III Doson. PhilipII's son Alexander the Great, leading a federation of Greek states, accomplished his father's objective of commanding the whole of Greece when he destroyed Thebes after the city revolted. During Alexander's subsequent campaign of conquest, he overthrew the Achaemenid Empire and conquered territory that stretched as far as the Indus River. For a brief period, his Macedonian empire was the most powerful in the worldthe definitive Hellenistic state, inaugurating the transition to a new period of Ancient Greek civilization. Greek arts and literature flourished in the new conquered lands and advances in philosophy, engineering, and science spread throughout much of the ancient world. Of particular importance were the contributions of Aristotle, tutor to Alexander, whose writings became a keystone of Western philosophy.
1. what was the anicent kingdom
2. Was it in Greece?
3. Who borders this area?
4. who dominated this area?
5. what about when PhilipII was king?
6. what did Alexander the Great lead?
7. did it have any significant in Anicent Greek?
8. What does Aristotle have to do with Alexander?
9. for what?
10. who overthrew the Achaemendid empire?
****
answer: 1. Macedonia or Macedon
2. Yes
3. Epirus and Paeonia
4. great city-states of Athens, Sparta, and Thebes,
5. Macedonia subdued mainland Greece and Thrace
6. a federation of Greek states
7. it inaugurated the transition to a new period of Ancient Greek civilization.
8. He was his tutor
9. Western philosophy.
10. Alexander

question: On a stormy day last August, Tim heard someone shouting. Looking at the sea carefully, he saw that two kids in a rowboat were being pulled out to sea. Two 12-year-old boys, Christian and Jack, had rowed out in a boat to _ a football. Once they'd rowed beyond the calm waters, a beach umbrella tied to the boat caught the wind and pulled the boat into open water. The boys were terrified and tried to row back to shore. But they were no match for _ and the boat was out of control. Tim knew that it would soon be swallowed by the waves. "Everything went quiet in my head," Tim recalls. "I'm trying to figure out how to swim to the boys in a straight line." Tim took off his clothes and jumped into the water. Every 500 yards or so, he raised his head to judge his progress. "At one point, I considered turning back," he says. "I wondered if I was putting my life at risk." After 30 minutes of struggling, he was close enough to shout to the boys, "Take down the umbrella!" "Let's aim for the pier ," Jack said. Tim turned the boat toward it. Soon afterward, waves crashed over the boat, and it began to sink. "Can you swim?" he cried. "A little bit," the boys said. Once they were in the water, Tim decided it would be safer and faster for him to pull the boys toward the pier. Christian and Jack were wearing life jackets and floated on their backs. Tim swam toward land as water washed over the boys' faces. "Are we almost there?" they asked again and again. "Yes," Tim told them each time. After 30 minutes, they reached the pier. ,.
1. How old were the boys who went out to sea?
2. What were there names?
3. Who heard them shouting?
4. What was caught in the wind and pulled the boat out?
5. What did Tim do before he jumped in the ocean?
6. Did he turn back?
7. What did he wonder?
8. Did he struggle for 60 minutes?
9. What did he do after 30 minutes?
10. What did he tell them to do?
11. Could the boys swim?
12. Where did Tim pull the boys toward?
13. Did they only have one life jacket?
14. What did they ask over and over?
15. Did it take them 45 minutes to get back?
16. How long did it take them?
****
answer:
1. 12
2. Christian and Jack
3. Tim
4. a beach umbrella
5. took off his clothes
6. no
7. if he was putting his life at risk
8. no
9. he shouted to the boys
10. Take down the umbrella
11. A little bit
12. the pier
13. no
14. Are we almost there?
15. no
16. 30 minutes