Q: Something roared like thunder. The earth shook a little and we heard the rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire. "Father!" Hassan cried. We sprung to our feet and raced out of the living room. "Father! What's that sound? Hassan screamed, his hands outstretched toward Ali. Ali wrapped his arms around us. A white light flashed and lit the sky in silver. It flashed again and was followed by rapid sharp sounds of gunfire. "They're hunting ducks." Ali said in a hoarse voice. "They hunt ducks at night, you know." Don't be afraid. A siren went off in the distance. Somewhere glass broke and someone shouted. I heard people on the street, jolted from sleep and probably still in their pajamas, with ruffled hair and puffy eyes. Hassan was crying. Ali pulled him close, clutched him with tenderness. We stayed huddled that way until the early hours of the morning. The shootings and explosions had lasted less than an hour, but they had frightened us badly, because none of us had ever heard gunshots in the streets. They were foreign sounds to us then. The generation of Afghan children whose ears would know nothing but the sounds of bombs and gunfire was not yet born. Huddled together in the dining room and waiting for the sun to rise, none of us had any notion that a way of life had ended. The end came when Russian tanks were rolling into the very same streets where Hassan and I played, bringing the death of the Afghanistan I knew and marking the start of a still ongoing era of bloodletting. Just before sunrise, Baba's car peeled into the driveway. His door slammed shut and his running footsteps pounded the stairs. Then he appeared in the doorway and I saw something on his face. Something I didn't recognize right away because I'd never seen it before: fear. "Amir! Hassan!" He cried as he ran to us, opening his arms wide. "They blocked all the roads and the telephone didn't work. I was so worried!" We let him wrap us in his arms and, for a brief moment, I was glad about whatever had happened that night.

Answer the following questions:
1. What caused the loud sounds?
2. Who was causing the loud sounds?
A: 1. gunfire
2. unknown
Q: London, England (CNN) -- UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has ordered a full review of security measures at UK airports following the attempted Detroit plane bombing on December 25.

In a statement published Friday on the prime minister's official Web site, Brown said the UK government will be working with the U.S. to "examine a range of new techniques to enhance airport security systems beyond traditional measures, such as pat-down searches and sniffer dogs."

These new measures might include using "explosive trace technology, full body scanners and advanced x-ray technology."

Writing on the first day of a new decade, Brown issued a reminder of the ongoing threat posed by international terrorism.

"The new decade," he said, "is starting as the last began -- with al Qaeda creating a climate of fear. These enemies of democracy and freedom... are concealing explosives in ways which are more difficult to detect."

The Detroit incident highlighted an "urgent" need to tighten airport security measures, Brown said.

"The UK," Brown said, "will continually explore the most sophisticated devices capable of identifying explosives, guns, knives and other such items anywhere on the body."

The alleged plane bomber, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab is believed to have concealed explosives in his underwear.

The 23-year-old Nigerian is thought to have linked up with an al Qaeda group based in Yemen after attending the UK's University College London.

Brown said the plot was a reminder of al Qaeda's increasing influence away from "better-known homes of international terror such as Pakistan and Afghanistan."

Answer the following questions:
1. When did the primie minster write?
2. what incident was he responding to?
3. what did the event show was needed?
4. How many different types of thing will devices search for?
5. what are they?
6. when was his comments published?
7. where?
8. where will the new devices be searching for explosives?
9. who are the uk going to work with?
10. what traditional search methods are listed?
11. who is creating something bad?
A: 1. on the first day of a new decade
2. the attempted Detroit plane bombing on December 25.
3. an "urgent" need to tighten airport security
4. three
5. explosives, guns, knives
6. Friday
7. on the prime minister's Web site
8. anywhere on the body
9. the U.S.
10. pat-down searches and sniffer dogs.
11. al Qaeda
Q: The majority of astronauts from America have been men. At the start of the space programme there was strong resistance from some people against having women in space. However, some women were very keen to become astronauts and in the end they were successful. In 1978, NASA began the first training programme for women astronauts.

Judy Resnick and Christa McAuliffe were both astronauts and they were both women, but in many other ways they were very different. Both of them were on Flight STS-5L-L. Judy Resnick was born in 1949 and studied engineering at university and went on to obtain a PhD in 1977. She was a member of the first group of women selected for astronaut training in 1978, and in 1984, she became the second woman in space. During that flight, she helped to launch three new satellites and she carried out a programme of research. She was, in many ways, a professional astronaut whose whole life was devoted to space travel.

Christa McAuliffe was born in 1948 and she was an astronaut almost by accident. In 1984, NASA decided to find a teacher who could accompany astronauts into space. They hoped that she would be able to communicate with students from space and encourage every one of them to be interested in space travel. Christa was a secondary teacher in history and social studies. She was a gifted teacher and she was selected from over 11,000 applicants to go on flight STS-51-L. She was also a very good communicator and she immediately established a very good relationship with the news media(radio, television and newspapers). It was partly because of this that there was a great deal of interest and excitement about the flight. Thousands of students in schools and universities all around the country were looking forward to communicating with Christa in space. Millions of people were watching her flight with great interest. It is partly because of the excitement over McAuliffe's place in the flight that the disaster in 1986 had such an effect on people.

Answer the following questions:
1. what gender are most atronauts
2. were people against women being in it
3. did they do it anyway
4. were they successful
5. what year did their training begin
6. who were two women astronauts
7. what flight were they on
8. who studied engineering
9. did she ever get to go to space
10. was she the first or second woman
11. what did she help launch
12. what was her life devoted to
13. who was born in 1948
14. what year did NASA find her
15. why did they want a teacher
16. what did she teach
17. how many people applied for it
18. did she make people excited about the flight
19. what year was the disaster
A:
1. men
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. 1978
6. Judy Resnick and Christa McAuliffe
7. STS-5L-L
8. Judy Resnick
9. Yes
10. second
11. three new satellites
12. space travel.
13. Christa McAuliffe
14. 1984
15. They hoped that she would be able to communicate with students from space and encourage every one of them to be interested in space travel.
16. history and social studies.
17. 11,000
18. Yes
19. 1986