It was hot. The smell of blood already hung heavy in the air. The white sands, imported from the far west mountains of limestone, sucked up the fire of the huge red sun. It was always hot in the south desert. Even in the deep of night the stones of Gazu Kadem kept the city warm. Now, at mid-day, it was at its hottest. A quarter of a million people at the arena didn't make it any cooler. The merchants, nobles, and the slaves lucky enough to attend had waited outside Dan Trex's arena for days. They knew the value of entertainment in such a dark world. They wore cowls to protect themselves from the sun as they waited. Entire businesses thrived on the forced mercantile of the captive audience. Food went for thrice its cost to those waiting near the entrance. Water went for five times as much. The arena was as old as the city, built in the days of the old empire for a king now long forgotten. The octagonal arena was a machine, an engine that built warriors out of the raw material of flesh, blood, and steel. Now, thousands of years later, it still served that purpose. The machine had built Dan Trex's army, half a million of the most ruthless and well trained soldiers to ever walk the planet. While one hundred and fifty thousand civilians and slaves got drunk, gambled, shat, fucked, and slept on the stone steps; one hundred thousand of his men sat in silence wearing black and bronze and watching him as Trex walked out into the arena alone and unhelmed. His soldiers watched the games in silence. They made not a sound when twelve of the most beautiful girls to walk on small bare feet were raped and flayed apart by dark priests in a ritual to Gazu Kadem's god-king, Danken Ovelde. They studied the three-horned desert bull as it gored five slaves. They watched the spear technique of four slave armies as they warred in a single great battle. They watched blades of silver spray fans of red blood into the air. They watched vital organs spill onto the white sands. They heard men and women scream as life left them. They... who belives girls were raped A. The narrator B. civilians C. 12 slave men D. not enough information
A

(Question)
WHITE HOUSE A controversial clothing choice is overshadowing a surprise visit by U.S. first lady Melania Trump to a Texas facility to meet immigrant children separated from their families because of her husband's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy. Boarding a U.S. Air Force jet at and returning to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Thursday, the first lady was spotted wearing an olive green jacket. The back of the jacket read "I really don't care. Do U?" in white graffiti-style lettering. The first lady's team insisted that there was no hidden meaning behind the sartorial choice. "It's a jacket. There was no hidden message. After today's important visit to Texas, I hope the media isn't going to choose to focus on her wardrobe," said her communications director, Stephanie Grisham. President Donald Trump, however, contradicted the assertion there was no message conveyed by his wife's choice of apparel. Trump, in a tweet, said what was written on the back of the jacket "refers to the Fake News Media. Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she truly no longer cares!" Television news channels brought pundits in the studio to discuss the meaning conveyed by the jacket. "I think she may have had an audience of one in mind her husband," said USA Today newspaper Washington bureau chief Susan Page, who has covered six presidential administrations, appearing on MSNBC. "I think it was Melania giving the middle finger to the media," Kate Anderson Brower, author of First Women: The Grace & Power of America's Modern First Ladies, told VOA. "But someone should have told her that it could also be read that she doesn't care about the children, which is clearly not the case." Fashion bloggers quickly identified the jacket as one selling for $39 by Zara, a fast fashion global retailer. It was a relatively humble selection by Trump, a former Paris runway model who is frequently clad for public appearances in haute couture dresses and coats. The flight to the Texas facility probably took: A. under three minutes B. one whole day C. about three hours D. not enough information
(Answer)
C

New Year's resolutions are great, unless you don't really resolve to do anything. Then they become a list of wishes. Unless you are going to determine steps to make your wishes turn into goals AND you're going to follow through with those steps, you probably should not make New Year's resolutions. Full disclaimer before we completely dive in: I'm not against setting goals. I have always been a goal setter and sometimes even a goal achiever. If you're the same, you may enjoy this audible, or if you're interested in developing and achieving SMART goals try this e-book or this book. Why You Shouldn't Make New Year's Resolutions You'll probably write the same things on a sheet of paper that you did the year before. Some of the common resolutions we've all heard are: Lose weight, exercise, spend less, save more, travel, go to church, and so on and so forth. There's a reason these are common. We hear them (or write them) time and time again andnothing changes. By mid-January, they'll be long forgotten. Maybe even before January 15th, they aren't a thought in our minds. They were good ideas two weeks prior (and the years before that), but that's what they have remainedideas. You didn't think of a route to your destination. Saving money sounds great, but do you know what you're already spending? Do you know what you need to cut and where you'll put that amount? Have you factored in your new gym membership? What will you do with it? Will the autodraft payment that comes out each month help you shed those pounds? What churches are in your area? Do they have programs your family will be interested in? Do you know when the services are? You're overwhelmed. You try to better yourself constantly. Maybe. Let's say some of you try to better yourselves constantly. Which can be a good thing. But it can also be the reason you fail yourselves time and time again. You say yes when you should say no, sign up when you should wait a few more months, and have a list of ten New Year's resolutions when you should focus on two. What did the narrator write? A. not enough information B. A poem C. A book D. A goal
C