1.

Adidas

Adidas will soon start selling its trainers for a dollar a pair in India. The idea is the
brainchild of Nobel Prize-winning micro-finance guru Mohammad Yunus. Despite a
similar plan failing in Bangladesh last year, the project in India is to go ahead. Adidas
boss Herbert Hainer said India was different from Bangladesh because it’s possible to
mass produce the shoes in India, where the population is booming. Mr Hainer explained
what happened in Bangladesh, saying: “We sold 5,000 pairs during a test phase but we
made only losses. The shoes cost us three dollars to make and we had to pay $3.50 in
import duty.” He believes India will be a whole different story. “The shoe will be sold
in villages through a distribution network. We want the product to be self-funding,” he
said.

Adidas bosses believe they can get India’s poor to replace their plastic and rubber
sandals with shoes made by an iconic global brand, and that this will create a loyal
customer base that will reap rewards for decades in what will be the world´s most
populated country.

Question:

Which of the following statements is true?

a) Adidas thinks this project will create customer loyalty in India.

b) Adidas has started selling $1 trainers all around India.
c) The idea for the $1 sneakers came from Adidas´ president.
d) The project worked out in Bangladesh because of an import tax

2. Chickenpox

Children whose chickenpox is contagious are allowed to infect items before packing
and shipping them to parents elsewhere in the country. Those parents then give the
items to their children in the hopes they will come down with chickenpox.

Dr. Bill Schaffner from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine says “You are
sending out other germs, other bacteria, and you have no idea what is in them” It’s not
even clear it will work. “It is not a good way to transmit chickenpox” he says.
“Typically somebody breathes out the virus and then somebody else breathes it in.”

The vaccine became available in the United States in 1995. Nearly 6% of parents don’t
vaccinate their children with it as recommended. Side effects of the vaccine include
soreness or swelling where the shot was given, a fever in one in 10 people, and a rash in
one out of 25. Seizure and pneumonia are also possible, but the CDC says they are
“very rare” adding “getting chickenpox vaccine is much safer than getting chickenpox
disease.”

Question:

Which of the following statements is true?

a) The chickenpox vaccine has dangerous side effects

b) Parents want their children to get chickenpox
c) The vaccine makes children´s bodies swell
d) The vaccine has been available for 20 years

3. Pixar’s First Female Lead

As much as everyone loves Pixar, it’s tough to defend the studio’s record on women
protagonists in its feature films because there haven’t been any. Yes, female Pixar
characters have helped drive and inspire the actions of their leading ¨men¨, but for every
strong character like Helen Parr in The Incredibles there are plenty of undifferentiated
¨girlfriend¨ roles, or even just a blue fish who is a complete idiot.

Fortunately, Pixar looks like it’s finally ready to let its protagonists cross the gender
divide with Brave. The trailer goes on to hint at Merida’s own battle against certain
expectations, namely those that rest on a princess. Yes, Merida is a princess, like dozens
of heroines before her in films released by Pixar’s owner Disney, but Pixar´s first
princess seems less interested in the trappings of court than in freedom and adventure.

Question:

What is true about this article?

a) Pixar has a reputation for creating good female roles

b) Merida seems to be a more adventurous and daring princess
c) Pixar hasn´t revealed any information about their latest film
d) Merida´s character is as traditional as other princesses

4. Teaching others

Students enlisted to tutor others work harder to understand the material, recall it more
accurately and apply it more effectively.

In what scientists have dubbed “the protégé effect,” student teachers score higher on
tests than pupils who are learning only for their own sake. But how can children, still
learning themselves, teach others? One answer: They can tutor younger kids. The
benefits of this practice were indicated by a pair of articles published in 2007 in the
journals Science and Intelligence. The studies concluded that first-born children are
more intelligent than their later-born brothers and sisters and suggested that their higher
IQs result from the time they spend showing their younger siblings.

The most cutting-edge tool under development is the “teachable agent” called Betty— a
computerized character who learns, tries, makes mistakes and asks questions just like a
real-world pupil. Even though users’ interactions with Betty are virtual, student teachers
are motivated to help Betty master the material, so they study it more thoroughly.

Question:

Which of the following statements is true?

a) Betty is a girl taught by all kinds of students

b) The youngest child is said to be the cleverest
c) Learning to teach has proved more efficient
d) The protégé effect makes kids feel more self confident

5. Bedbugs

Bedbugs don't mind sleeping with their sisters and brothers, if you know what I mean,
bedbugs' eagerness to mate with their kin is one reason their populations have taken off
so dramatically. Inbreeding comes naturally to them, and it doesn't seem to hurt their
offspring much, as is the case with most other creatures.

It is said that all it takes is one mated female to check into a room for the bedbug party
to get started. Once her sons and daughters become adults —about 35 days — they will
mate with each other. Their offspring will repeat the cycle and so on.

The good news is that bedbugs' incestuous ways can help people cut off a looming
invasion. Since most infestations start with only one or two bugs, Schal says, "if you
detect them early and get rid of them, chances are you won't see another infestation for a
while."

Question:

What do we learn from this article?

a) Bedbugs tend to mate with their own siblings

b) Inbreeding makes bedbug population stagnate
c) Bedbugs are only able to mate with their own kin
d) Bedbugs need to be 2 months old to be able mate
ANSWERS:

1. A.
2. B.
3. B.
4. C.
5. A.