Question: 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 the most ancient and continuously used system of writing?
2. What has become more popular now?
3. What's the effect of that?
4. What gathering just occurred in China?
5. In what city was it held?
6. Were only Chinese invited?
7. Did they discuss the subject of Chinese characters?
8. What technology is beginning to change things back?
9. How does Yin Liang feel about not remembering how to write characters?
10. Is that going away?
11. What kind of phone does he have?
12. Has he been using the touch screen method of writing for over a year now?
13. How long?
14. Does one use a mouse to write on the screen?
15. What do you use then?
16. What object does your finger replicate?
17. How do Chinese normally input their language on a computer?
18. After doing that, what does the software do?
19. Who is the head of the Culture and Art Publishing House?
20. Does he think it is better to use your finger or a writing utensil? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers: 1. Chinese characters.
2. pinyin-based typing
3. youths have started forgetting how to write out characters
4. Cross-Straits Chinese Character Art Festival
5. Beijing
6. No.
7. Yes.
8. keyboards and touch screen technology on mobile phones
9. embarrassment
10. Yes.
11. iPhone 4
12. No.
13. A month.
14. No.
15. Finger
16. A pen
17. By phonetically spelling out the sounds of the characters.
18. gives a menu of characters that fit
19. Zhang Zikang
20. Yes.

Question: (CNN) -- Audiences will be getting a new look at Abraham Lincoln this weekend with the wide release of director Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," and they'll be seeing a lot of America, too.

The film, which recreates the former president's life through the crucible of the Civil War, was filmed at several historic locations. Lincoln's life took him through a number of states before and during the war, which gave Spielberg and his crew a wide geographic canvas.

It was while shooting "War of the Worlds" in Rockbridge County, Virginia, that Spielberg began discussing returning to the state, said Andy Edmunds, interim director of the Virginia Film Office. Edmunds worked with production designer Rick Carter for nine years, helping him scout locations across the state.

Yet there is so much more to Lincoln than the movie that bears his name.

For history and film buffs looking to explore Lincoln's life, here are five locales that go beyond a trek to the National Mall.

DON'T watch these 11 movies on a plane

City Point: Hopewell, Virginia

One of Spielberg's Virginia stops was City Point, now Hopewell, which served as Ulysses S. Grant's headquarters during the Siege of Petersburg.

Lincoln spent two weeks there in 1865 with his family, traveling aboard the war ship River Queen, which filmmakers replicated in full, said Rita McClenny, chief executive officer of the Virginia Tourism Board.

From there, Lincoln watched the fall of Petersburg, later visiting the city, which was also shot on location, Edmunds said.

Indeed, many pivotal wartime decisions "were made on Virginia soil," McClenny said. 1. Where was "War of the Worlds" shot?
2. In what city?
3. What is the last name of the director at the film office?
4. And his first name?
5. Is he the permanent director?
6. What term described his position specifically?
7. Who was at the helm of "Lincoln"?
8. What is the first name of the man that the film is about?
9. What war was occurring at the time of the film's setting?
10. Were famously known locals used in the filming?
11. What is the surname of the production designer?
12. What city was Grant's base at one point?
13. Is that city called something different now?
14. What?
15. What sort of release was the film given?
16. From what news outlet is this press release?
17. For how long did Edmunds collaborate with Carter?
18. How many?
19. How long did Lincoln stay in City Point?
20. In what year? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers: 1. Virginia
2. Rockbridge County
3. Edmunds
4. Andy
5. No
6. Interim
7. Steven Spielberg
8. Abraham
9. Civil War
10. Yes
11. Carter
12. City Point
13. Yes
14. Hopewell
15. Wide
16. CNN
17. Years
18. Nine
19. Two weeks
20. 1865

Question: In mathematics, a group is an algebraic structure consisting of a set of elements equipped with an operation that combines any two elements to form a third element. The operation satisfies four conditions called the group axioms, namely closure, associativity, identity and invertibility. One of the most familiar examples of a group is the set of integers together with the addition operation, but the abstract formalization of the group axioms, detached as it is from the concrete nature of any particular group and its operation, applies much more widely. It allows entities with highly diverse mathematical origins in abstract algebra and beyond to be handled in a flexible way while retaining their essential structural aspects. The ubiquity of groups in numerous areas within and outside mathematics makes them a central organizing principle of contemporary mathematics.

Groups share a fundamental kinship with the notion of symmetry. For example, a symmetry group encodes symmetry features of a geometrical object: the group consists of the set of transformations that leave the object unchanged and the operation of combining two such transformations by performing one after the other. Lie groups are the symmetry groups used in the Standard Model of particle physics; Point groups are used to help understand symmetry phenomena in molecular chemistry; and Poincare groups can express the physical symmetry underlying special relativity. 1. In math, what is a group called?
2. What pair is a group made of?
3. Does it merge any two to form a third?
4. How many conditions does it meet?
5. What are the four called?
6. Groups share a closeness with the notion of what?
7. What does a symmetry group encode features of?
8. What are point groups used to help figure out?
9. The ubiquity of groups in few areas?
10. What are group axioms?
11. Is it detached from the group? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers:
1. An algebraic structure
2. Elements
3. Yes.
4. Four.
5. Group axioms
6. Symmetry.
7. A geometrical object:
8. Phenomena
9. Numerous.
10. Closure, associativity, identity and invertibility
11. Yes.