Q: London (CNN) -- Alex Salmond, Scotland's First Minister, is fond of saying that when the United Nations was first formed in 1945, it had just 50 members. Today, he adds, that figure has risen to almost 200. It's a nice line, although in reality the emergence of a new nation remains relatively rare.

But there does seem to be a pattern emerging, in Europe and beyond. In Spain (Catalonia) and Belgium (Flanders), as well as the United Kingdom (Scotland), secessionist movements appear to be on the rise. All three have existed for decades, yet they seem particularly lively in the second decade of the 21st century.

Thus Salmond, who this weekend addresses delegates at the Scottish National Party's annual conference in the Scottish city of Perth, likes to talk of Scotland's "home rule journey" being part of a bigger international trend. His point is clear: "independence," far from being dangerous or unusual, is a natural state of affairs.

Professor Robert Young, an expert in secession, says all three countries have a history of regional -- or devolved -- government (relatively recently in the case of the UK). "I was considering the old question," he says, "about whether regional government structures aid or inhibit secessionist movements.

"It seems to me that they aid them, other things being equal. The secessionist party will come to power, sooner or later, because governments become unpopular. If they then govern well, this serves as a further mobilizing mechanism."

Only recently a secessionist movement, the nationalist party Convergencia i Unio first took office in Catalonia in 1980, while in Scotland the SNP formed a minority government in 2007 -- becoming a majority four years later. In Flanders the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie, which wants gradual secession from Belgium, recently swept the board in municipal elections.

Answer the following questions:
1. What seems to be on the rises at the UN?
2. Who is Alex Salmond?
3. When was the UN formed?
4. With how many members?
5. How many are there now?
6. Who is Salmond addressing soon?
7. at what?
8. Where?
9. What does he like to talk about?
10. What is his main point?
11. Does he think it's dangerous?
12. What is Robert Young's job?
13. What is he an expert in?
14. What will happen to the secessionist party?
15. Does he think governments are becoming popular?
16. What happened in 1980?
17. And in 2007?
18. What happened later?
19. How much later did that happen?
20. Who won the municipal elections?
A: 1. Membership.
2. Scotland's First Minister
3. 1945
4. 50
5. 200
6. delegates
7. Tthe Scottish National Party's annual conference
8. Perth.
9. The "home rule journey"
10. "independence," is a natural state of affairs.
11. No
12. Professor
13. Secession
14. It will come to power
15. No.
16. Convergencia i Unio took office.
17. The SNP formed a minority government.
18. They became a majority.
19. Four years later.
20. Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie

Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

Hello Sandy, We have just returned form our holiday. We went with our friends,Edward Smith and his wife Tina, to the Yorkshire Moors. It is a beautiful natural park. There are lots of places to walk on the tops of the hills,miles of grassland with no people,just sheep and birds. Edward had just come out of hospital and he could not walk as far as before. However, this meant that we walked in the mornings, and then stopped at a restaurant for lunch each day before returning to the place we lived in. Edward and I slept in front of the fire all afternoon, while the ladies went for another walk. Very pleasant! I took lots of photos from the place we lived in, across the valley below us, of the morning sunrise, and the mist in the valley. Also, in England, the old steam-powered trains are very popular. I took many photos of the train. Yesterday we had the first snow of this winter. It is very early. We usually have snow in January. It rained all day, then snowed in the evening .Today we have bright sunshine! Both Jenny and I are well. I don't know if I told you, in the last e-mail , that Jenny is now working in a hotel. Although she has to work hard, people there are nice, and she is enjoying the work. Please write to us to tell us your news. Yours, Victor

1. Is this written like a letter would be written?
2. Who wrote it?
3. To whom was it written?
4. what is the overall subject?
5. where did they go on vacation?
6. is it ugly there?

Numbered answers:

A: 1. Yes
2. Victor
3. Sandy
4. unknown
5. Yorkshire Moors
6. No

Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

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.

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?

Numbered answers:

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