Last month we spent a few wonderful days visiting our friends Rosa and Massimo who live just outside of Trento. It was our third visit to the area (on one of them I snapped up this recipe for persimmon cake), so I feel it's about time to share some our favourite things that we've been shown by locals. Trento is only a four hour drive from Florence passing Bologna and Verona on the way, which could make very good pit stops if you feel the need to, FYI yet it feels a world away in terms of the landscape and the food, from the golden, rolling hills of Tuscany. Cue towering mountains harbouring mushrooms and berries, lush valleys and turquoise lakes, vines grown on pergolas, enormous plates of sauerkraut and polenta in abundant portions, delicious wines and rustic cakes with German names. Trento is the capital of Trentino, an unusual region of Italy because its official languages are Italian and German and it is actually made up of two self-governing provinces and is known as Trentino-Alto Adige or Trentino-Sudtirol. Confused? Since the eighth century, it has been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and only a century ago did it become Italian. It is squeezed between Lombardy and the Veneto to the west and southeast and to the north lies Austria and Switzerland. So it is no surprise that many of the food influences come from its neighbours particularly the northern ones. Eating in the region means eating heartily, even in the summer sunshine, we enjoyed abundant portions of canederli (large rustic dumplings made of bread, herbs and meat, ham or cheese in broth), masses of soft, creamy polenta with thinly sliced roast pork or sausage ragu and slow-cooked beans or thick venison steaks, sauerkraut and gnocchi (sometimes made of out of polenta). I think one waiter was highly disappointed that we weren't able to finish our gargantuan plates one hot day on a mountain with a view of the Dolomites. Somehow there was always room for dessert, though adopted from German and Austrian specialties, you can find cakes... According to the above context, choose the correct option to answer the following question. Question: How long was the author's dinner in the region of Trento? Options: - about 2 hours - not enough information - about an hour - about 4 hours
about an hour

President Donald Trump made a fresh appeal Friday for support to arm some teachers to help stem mass shootings targeting schools. Trump's pitch came during a speech before a friendly conservative crowd at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) meeting near Washington. Trump spent much of the past week dealing with the aftermath of the tragic high school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Although a new experience for Trump, it is a situation many of his predecessors are all too familiar with. Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all faced similar tragedies while in office. They also dealt with political pressures in the aftermath demanding action. Trump is also beginning to see why presidents are often frustrated when they try to bridge what pollsters and political pundits often refer to as the great divide over guns in the United States. In the aftermath of the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999, President Clinton sought to calm the nation. "We must do more to reach out to our children and teach them to express their anger and to resolve their conflicts with words, not weapons," he said. In 2007, it was left to President Bush to lead the grieving at Virginia Tech after a gunman killed 32 people before committing suicide. "May God bless and keep the souls of the lost, and may his love touch all of those who suffer in grief," he said at an on campus memorial service. And in 2012, an emotional President Obama wiped away a tear as he addressed the nation in the wake of the massacre of grade-school students in Newtown, Connecticut. "We've endured too many of these tragedies in the last few years. The majority of those who died today were children, beautiful little kids between the ages of five and 10 years old," he said. Trump has expressed sympathy for the victims and families in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. But he has also been forceful in pushing for solutions, including the controversial idea of... According to the above context, choose the correct option to answer the following question. Question: Why was Obama crying? Options: - because they were dealing with the issue of guns - because people were being killed with guns - not enough information - because children were being shot in schools
because they were dealing with the issue of guns

The southern state of Alabama is the center of the U.S. political universe this week as voters on Tuesday choose a senator to replace Jeff Sessions, who left the Senate to become attorney general. The race pits controversial Republican Roy Moore, who is battling sexual harassment allegations, against Democrat Doug Jones, a former prosecutor. The outcome of the race could have national implications for both political parties and for President Donald Trump. Moore has denied several allegations of sexual misconduct when he was in his 30s involving women who were teenagers at the time, including one who was 14. "I do not know them. I had no encounter with them. I never molested anyone," Moore said in a televised interview Sunday with the Voice of Alabama Politics. Jones says the accusations make Moore unfit to serve in the Senate. "It is crystal clear that these women are telling the truth and Roy Moore is not!" Jones said. Trump recorded a get-out-the-vote phone message for Moore and spoke on his behalf at a rally in neighboring Florida on Friday. "And we want jobs, jobs, jobs. So get out and vote for Roy Moore. Do it. Do it," he said. Trump held off on endorsing Moore for several weeks in the wake of the sexual misconduct allegations, but now says electing Moore is a priority for him. "We certainly don't want to have a liberal Democrat who is controlled by Nancy Pelosi and controlled by Chuck Schumer. We don't want to have that for Alabama," Trump said. In the final days of the campaign, Moore is highlighting his support for the president's agenda. "We are going to see if the people of Alabama will support the president and support his agenda in Washington by electing somebody that is not part of the establishment there," Moore said. Democrat Jones told supporters that Moore's character is the issue. "We know who we are, Alabama, we know who we are. This is an election to tell the world who we are and what we stand for." According to the above context, choose the correct option to answer the following question. Question: What is probably true about the Senate position in Alabama? Options: - The position has fluctuated throughout the years between Democratic and Republican candidates. - It has a history of Republican candidates filling that position. - not enough information - It has not once been filled by a Democratic candidate.
It has a history of Republican candidates filling that position.