Mujica

            José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano ( born 20 May 1935) is an Uruguayan politician, and President of Uruguay since 2010. A former guerrilla fighter and a member of the Broad Front coalition of left-wing parties, Mujica was Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries from 2005 to 2008 and a Senator afterwards. As the candidate of the Broad Front, he won the 2009 presidential election and took office as President on 1 March 2010. He has been described as "the world's 'poorest' president", as he donates around 90 percent of his $12,000 monthly salary to charities to benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs.

            In 2005, Mujica married Lucía Topolansky, a fellow Tupamaro member and current senator, after many years of co-habitation. They have no children and live on an austere farm in the outskirts of Montevideo where they cultivate chrysanthemums as an economic activity, having declined to live in the opulent presidential palace or use its staff. His humble lifestyle is reflected by his choice of an aging Volkswagen Beetle as transport. His wife owns the farm they live on. The Economist in an article writes that some Uruguayans see him as "a roly-poly former guerrilla who grows flowers on a small farm and swears by vegetarianism". He does not believe in a god.

                                      TEXT COMPREHENSION

01-Check the correct sentence according to the text:

a)Mujica is a former senator                       b)Mujica’s wife is vice president

c)Mujica is a guerrilla fighter                       d)Mujica hates poor people

e)Mujica donates all his salary to charities

 

02-Mujica’s wife is ________________.

a)mayor          b)senator         c)president        d)vice president

e)minister of livestock, agriculture and fisheries

 

03-Mujica was born in nineteen ______________________.

a)thirty one   b)thirty two   c)thirty three    d)thirty four     e)thirty five

 

04-Choose the correct sentence according to the text:

a)Mujica is a very religious man

b)Mujica and Lucia got married in 2010

c)$12,000 is around 90 percent of Mujica’s salary

d)Mujica and his wife live in the presidential palace in Montevideo

e)Mujica owns a Volkswagen Beetle

 

05-Roly-poly (line 16) stands for _________________________________.

a)tall

b)wealthy

c)pudgy; short and plump

d)proud

 

e)poor

Bob Marley

                                                  T E X T 

          Robert “Bob” Nesta Marley (February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, guitarist and activist. He is the most widely known performer of reggae music. A faithful Rastafari, Marley is regarded by many as a prophet of the religion.

           Marley was born in the small village of Nine Mile in the Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. His father, Norval Sinclair Marley born in 1895, was a white Jamaican of English descent, with parents from Sussex. Norval was a Marine officer and captain, as well as a plantation overseer, when he married Cedella Booker, then an eighteen-year-old Jamaican. Norval provided financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. Marley was ten years old when his father died of a heart attack in 1955 at age 60.

           Marley suffered racial prejudice as a youth, because of his mixed racial origins, and faced questions about his own racial identity throughout his life. He once reflected:

          “I don’t have prejudice against myself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don’t dip on nobody’s side. Me don’t dip on the black man’s side nor the white man’s side. Me dip on God’s side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white.”

          Marley and his mother moved to Kingston Trenchtown slum after Norval’s death.

He was forced to learn self-defense, as he became the target of bullying because of his  racial makeup and small structure. He gained a reputation for his physical strength, which earned him the nickname “Tuff Gong”.

         Marley became friends with Neville “Bunny” Livingston (later known as Bunny Wailer), with whom he started to play music. He left school at the age of 14 and started as an apprentice at a local welder’s shop. In his free time, he and Livingston made music with Joe Higgs, a local singer and devout Rastafari who is regarded by many as Marley’s mentor. It was at a jam session with Higgs and Livingston that Marley met Peter McIntosh (later known as Peter Tosh), who had similar musical ambitions.

         In 1962, Marley recorded his first two singles, “Judge Not” and “One Cup of Coffee”, with local music producer Leslie Kong. These songs, released on Beverley’s label under the pseudonym of Bobby Martell, attracted little attention.

                                         T E X T      C O M P R E H E N S I O N

 01-Check the correct sentence according to the text:

a)Bob Marley was born in Kingston

b)Bob Marley’s dad was a faithful Rastafari

c)Bunny Waler left school at the age of 14

d)Bob Marley’s first two singles were successful

e)Cedella Booker was Bob Marley’s mother

02-Bob Marley died when he was thirty __________________years old.

a) two              b)four             c)six                d)eight                e)nine

 

03-Choose the correct alternative:

a)Bob Marley had racial prejudice against himself

b)Bob Marley lived in a slum

c)Norval Sinclair was an army officer

d)Tuff Gong was Marley’s nickname because of his structure

e)Norval Sinclair was born in Sussex

 

04-Bob Marley’s paternal grandparents were from _______________.

a)England       b)Jamaica          c)France         d)Germany              e)USA

 

05-When Bob Marley recorded his first singles he was _______________years old.

a)sixteen        b)seventeen       c)eighteen     d)nineteen              e)twenty

 

duel

Duel is a prearranged combat between two persons, fought according to formal procedure with deadly weapons, typically to settle a point of honor.

The most notorious American duel was the Burr-Hamilton duel, in which notable Federalist Alexander Hamilton was fatally wounded by his political rival, the sitting Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr. Alexander Hamilton was the first U.S Secretary of the Treasury. Another American politician, Andrew Jackson, later to serve as a General Officer in the U.S. Army and to become the seventh U.S. president, fought two duels, though some legends claim he fought many more. On May 30, 1806, he killed prominent duellist Charles Dickinson, suffering himself from a chest wound which caused him a lifetime of pain. Jackson also reportedly engaged in a bloodless duel with a lawyer and in 1803 came very near duelling with John Sevier; In 1813 Jackson engaged in a frontier brawl, which does not count as a duel, with Senator Thomas Hart Benton.

TEXT COMPREHENSION

01- Choose the correct alternative according to the text:

a) Aaron Burr was Vice President of the USA

under Andrew Jackson

b) All people involved in the duels were politicians

c) Jackson fought just one duel during his lifetime

d) John Savier was killed by Andrew Jackson

e) Charles Dickinson passed away in the nineteenth century

02- The seventh president of the USA was ________________________.

a) Andrew Jackson

b) John Sevier

c) Thomas Benton

d) Alexander Hamilton

e) Aaron Burr

03- _________________was a 19^th century famous duelist.

a) Aaron Burr

b) John Sevier

c) Thomas Benton

d) Charles Dickinson

e) Andrew Jackson

04- Check the correct sentence according to the text:

a) Alexander Hamilton killed Aaron Burr

b) Alexander Hamilton was Secretary of the Treasury

c) Charles Dickinson was killed by Aaron Burr

d) Andrew Jackson was President of the USA when he killed Dickinson in a duel

e) Andrew Jackson engaged in a duel with Thomas Hart Benton

05- In the first paragraph...

a) ...there are two adverbs

b) ...there are three adverbs

c) ...there is one adverb

d) ...there are four adverbs

e) ...there are five adverbs

verbs 1

01-There was a sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center that said 'Keep off the Grass'.

a)one                      b)two                    c)three                  d)four                    e)five

02-No one knew she had a dental implant until it came out in a conversation.

a)one                  b)two                c)three               d)four                  e)five

 

03-A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

a)one                 b)two                 c)three              d)four                  e)five

 

04-When William joined the army he disliked the phrase 'fire at will'.

a)one                b)two                  c)three              d)four                  e)five

 

05-The two geologists lived only a stone’s throw apart.

a)one               b)two                   c)three              d)four                  e)five

 

06-Smaller babies may be delivered by stork but the heavier ones need a crane.

a)one              b)two                    c)three             d)four                   e)five

 

07-A prisoner's favorite punctuation mark is the period. It marks the end of his sentence.

a)one              b)two                    c)three             d)four                   e)five

 

08-Some people's noses and feet are built backwards: their feet smell and their noses run.

a)one                b)two                        c)three                 d)four                      e)five

09-I used to be addicted to soap, but I'm clean now.

a)one            b)two                     c)three             d)four                   e)five

 

10-I wanted to lose weight so I went to the paint store. And I could get thinner there.

a)one              b)two                         c)three                d)four                       e)five

 

 

                                                

 

 

 

A sound

01-Choose a word with the sound /Ā/:

a)plaid              b)hazard             c)pagan                d)granary         e)enamel

 02-Check the word with the sound /Æ/:

a)radius            b)Avon                c)Romania         d)radar             e)NASA

 03-Choose the word with the sound /Ā/:

a)atheist            b)addict              c)accurate         d)mackerel      e)labyrinth

 04-Check the word with the sound /Æ/:

a)amber           b)Amy                   c)Cambridge     d)Australia       e)amicable

 05-Choose the word with the sound /Æ/:

a)bracelet        b)parody               c)lathe               d)potato           e)paste

 06-Check the word with the sound /Ā/:

a)manioc         b)damage             c)clamor            d)chasm            e)mange

 07-Choose the word with the sound /Æ/:

a)Athens         b)hiatus                c)drake            d)Barbados          e)plagiarist

 08-Check the word with the sound /Ā/:

a)stature         b)dragonfly          c)apex             d)flamboyant    e)gamut

 09-Choose the word with the sound /Æ/:

a)navel           b)havoc                 c)gable             d)spa                  e)naval

 10-Check the word with the sound /Ā/:

a)chapel        b)bachelor             c)Danish                 d)Saxon      e)attic

verbs

A)     How many verbs are there in each sentence?

01-  The most demanding teacher in the world enjoys sitting on an easy chair.

a)one        b)two          c)three            d)four          e)five

 

02-  The wise blonde told that the old chef has always used the thyme.

a)one        b)two          c)three            d)four          e)five

 

03-  The foolish farmer doesn’t like to travel but he enjoys eating a lot of roots.

a)one        b)two          c)three            d)four          e)five

 

04-  The cripple knows that his disease runs in the family.

a)one        b)two          c)three            d)four          e)five

 

05-  The industrious lawyer is trying to talk to Sioux people.

a)one        b)two          c)three           d)four           e)five

 

06-  The bald spin doctor performed a lousy trick in Medicine Hat.

a)one        b)two          c)three           d)four           e)five

 

07-  If all the Canadian women pass away, Canada will be a stag nation.

a)one       b)two           c)three           d)four           e)five

 

08-  If all the public money goes down the drain, the country will become a sink.

a)one       b)two           c)three           d)four           e)five

 

09-  The former history teacher was single because he couldn’t find a date.

a)one       b)two           c)three           d)four           e)five

 

10-  Peter Johnson said the steamy maid is busy as a beaver.

a)one       b)two           c)three           d)four           e)five

Juliane Köpcke

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Juliane Diller (born 1954 in Lima as Juliane Margaret Köpcke) is best known for being the sole survivor of 93 passengers and crew in the December 24, 1971, crash of (a LANSA Lockheed Electra OBLANSA Flight 508-R-941 commercial airliner) in the Peruvian rainforest.

Airplane crash

Juliane Köpcke was a German high school senior studying in Lima, intending to become a zoologist, like her parents. She and her mother, famed ornithologist Maria Köpcke, were traveling to meet with her father, biologist Hans-Wilhelm Köpcke, who was working in Pucallpa.

The airplane was struck by lightning during a severe thunderstorm and exploded in mid-air, disintegrating 3.2 km up. Köpcke, who was 17 years old at the time, fell to earth still strapped into her seat. She survived the fall with only a broken collarbone, a gash to her right arm and her right eye swollen shut.

Her first priority was to find her mother, who had been seated next to her on the plane but her search was unsuccessful. She later found out her mother had died in the crash.

Köpcke was soon able to locate a small stream. She then waded through knee-high water downstream from her landing site, relying on the survival principle her father had taught her that tracking downstream should eventually lead to civilization. The stream also provided clean water and a natural path through the dense rainforest vegetation. After 9 days, she found a canoe and a nearby shelter, where she waited.

Hours later, the lumbermen who resided in the shelter arrived and tended to her injuries & bug infestations. The next morning they took her via a 7-hour canoe ride down the river to a lumber station in Tournavista, from where she was airlifted with the help of a local pilot to her father and a hospital in Pucallpa.
Subsequent events

Her experience is the subject of two films, the first being the 1974 Giuseppe Maria Scotese film Miracoli accadono ancora, I (Miracles Still Happen), and the most recent being the 2000 Werner Herzog film Wings of Hope. Herzog was inspired to make the film as he narrowly avoided taking the very same flight while he was location scouting for Aguirre, Wrath of God. His reservation was canceled due to a last minute change in itinerary.

Köpcke returned to Germany, where she fully recovered from her injuries and continued her studies, eventually earning a PhD degree in zoology, like her parents, in 1987. Now known as Dr. Juliane Diller, she specializes in mammalogy, studying bats in Munich, Germany, and working at the Munich Zoological Center, where she is a librarian. Juliane Koepcke's memoir Als ich vom Himmel fiel [When I Fell From the Sky] will be published on March 10, 2011 by the German publisher Piper Malik.

TEXT COMPREHENSION

01- Juliane Diller lives in______________.

a) Munich

b) Hamburg

c) Lima

d) Pucallpa

e) Cusco

02- Juliane's _________helped her survive immediately after the fall.

a) friends

b) knowledge

c) seat

d) mom

e) dad

03- On the airplane, there were ___________

passengers.

a) ninety one

b) ninety two

c) ninety three

d) ninety four

e) ninety five

04- The airplane crash happened in the ________________century.

a) seventeenth

b) eighteenth

c) nineteenth

d) twentieth

e) twenty first

05- Check the correct alternative according to the text:

a) Aguirre, Wrath of God is a film about the flight 508

b) The air crash happened 49 years ago

c) Juliane was rescued after seven days

d) Juliane's dad was a victim of flight 508 too

e) The air crash happened on Christmas Eve

06-Choose the correct sentence according to the text:

a) Juliane is fifty five years old

b) Juliane lives in Peru nowadays

c) The flight was from Lima to Berlin

d) Juliane escaped 'cos she had a parachute

e) juliane's memoir was published by Piper Malik.