Toddler Bitten by Snake

Three-year-old Teddy Lasry was napping yesterday in his cowboy outfit yesterday at his
family's Fifth Ave. apartment when he shot up in bed screaming. A 3-foot-long black-and-
white snake was coiled around his left arm and had just bitten his pinky.

"The baby-sitter freaked out," said Teddy's father, David Lasry, who, along with his wife,
Evelyn, was at work when the reptile showed up about 4 p.m.

The horrified nanny called 911 and the building's doorman. The doorman and two cable TV
workers helped pry the snake off the boy's arm and stow it in a garbage bag, Lasry said.

Police rushed Teddy to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where his parents said he spent two
hours attached to a heart monitor as a precaution in case the snake was poisonous.

It wasn't. Experts at the snakebite treatment center at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx,
where cops took the critter, determined it was a non-venomous California king snake.

But how did it end up in Teddy's bed?

A little sleuthing determined that the serpent had escaped two weeks ago from its cage in
the apartment of a doctor whose family lives four floors below the Lasrys. The apologetic
owner said his son's pet snake likely traveled up the radiator pipes and into his neighbor's
apartment.

"It's a very docile, very harmless snake," he said. "It's handled by our family all the time."

Lasry, 42, a fine arts publisher, said he believed the pet was simply hungry after two weeks
of cruising. Teddy's mother, Evelyn Lasry, 37, said her son seems to have gotten over his
fright by thinking of himself as a hero cowboy as he rode in the back of the police cruiser to
the hospital.

"I told Teddy he's a pretty snake, a nice pet snake who got out of his cage," Evelyn Lasry
said. "But he asked, 'Why did he bite my finger, Mamma?' And I said, 'Because he saw that
you are a big boy, Teddy, in your cowboy outfit and he got scared.'"
Credit: http://articles.nydailynews.com/2001-03-29/news/18170344_1_pet-snake-
california-king-snake-cowboy

Questions:

1. What did the babysitter do?

a) She ran out of the apartment.
b) She took the snake off Teddy's arm.
c) She called for help.
d) She called the television company.

2. What do we learn about the snake?

a) It was poisonous
b) It had escaped from a zoo.
c) It was about a meter long.
d) It had escaped earlier in the afternoon.

3. Which of these statements is true?

a) Teddy was awake when the snake arrived.
b) Teddy's father was working and his mother was at home.
c) Teddy needed a heart machine to stay alive for two hours.
d) The snake is used to being touched.

4. What does Teddy think now of the snake attack?

a) He was attacked because the snake was scared of him.
b) He was attacked because he was asleep.
c) He was attacked because the snake was hungry.
d) He was attacked because his parents weren't at home.

Toddler Bitten by Snake

Questions:
1. What did the babysitter do?

a) She ran out of the apartment.

b) She took the snake off Teddy's arm.

c)** She called for help.

d) She called the television company.

2. What do we learn about the snake?

a) It was poisonous

b) It had escaped from a zoo.

c)** It was about a meter long.

d) It had escaped earlier in the afternoon.

3. Which of these statements is true?

a) Teddy was awake when the snake arrived.

b) Teddy's father was working and his mother was at home.

c) Teddy needed a heart machine to stay alive for two hours.

d)** The snake is used to being touched.

4. What does Teddy think now of the snake attack?

a)** He was attacked because the snake was scared of him.

b) He was attacked because he was asleep.

c) He was attacked because the snake was hungry.

d) He was attacked because his parents weren't at home.

The Earth's Plates

1. the edges

2. seas

3. because of the way the plates fit together

4. because of the age of the Earth

5. yes

6. it was very different from previous ideas in this area

7. the existence of similar races of people

The Earth's Plates

Most earthquakes are caused by large-scale movements of the Earth's lithospheric plates.
and occur at the boundaries between the plates. Experts recognize seven to twelve major
plates and a number of smaller ones. The plates take their names from continents (the North
American plate): from oceans (the Pacific plate): and from geographic areas (the Arabian
plate).

Slow and Steady Motion

The plates are in very slow but constant motion, so that seen from above, the Earth's
surface might look like a slowly moving spherical jigsaw puzzle. The plates move at rates
of 2 to 15 cm or several inches in a year, about as fast as our fingernails grow. On a human
scale, this is a rate of movement that only the most sophisticated instruments can detect.
But on the scale of geological time, it's a dizzying speed. At this rate, those almost-four-
billion-year old rocks could have traveled all the way around the Earth eleven times.

The movement of the plates is generally one of three kinds: spreading, colliding or sliding.
When plates are spreading, or separating from each other, we call their movement
divergent. When they are colliding, or pushing each other, we call the movement
convergent. Movement in which plates slide past each other is called lateral (or transform)
plate movement. Earthquakes can accompany each of the three types of movement.

Plate Tectonics

The revolutionary theory of plate tectonics originated early in the 20th century, although it
did not gain general acceptance until the late 1960s. The German meteorologist,
geophysicist, and explorer Alfred L Wegener is now given credit for the first step in
understanding the movement of the lithosphere. In the period 1910-1912 he formulated the
theory called continental drift and collected evidence from the rocks, fossils, and climate of
various continents to show that they had once been joined together. Wegener had little data
on the oceanic crust, so he thought that the continents merely moved through that crust.

Questions:

1. Earthquakes occur when what parts of the tectonic plates collide?

a. the peaks
b. the edges
c. the centres

2. Tectonic plates can get their names from what?

a. rivers
b. cities
c. seas

3. Why is the phrase "jigsaw puzzle" used in the second paragraph?

a. because of the way the plates fit together
b. to show how complex everything is
c. because of the number of plates

4. Why have the plates travelled so far?

a. because they are moving quite fast
b. because Earth is not very big
c. because of the age of the Earth

5. Can earthquakes be caused when plates are moving away from each other?
a. yes
b. no
c. only if they are touching

6. Why did Wegener's theory take so long to be accepted?

a. he had no understanding of the ocean floor
b. it was very different from previous ideas in this area
c. he made several errors in his theory

7. What evidence did Wegener NOT use to support his theory of Continental Drift when
looking at two now-distant locations?
a. the existence of similar rocks
b. the existence of similar races of people
c. the existence of similar extinct animals
Reading Comprehension - Sentence Gap Fill 4

In the following text, six sentences or parts of sentences have been removed. Below the
extract you will find the six removed sentences PLUS one sentence which doesn't fit.
Choose from the sentences (A-G) the one which fits each gap (1-6). Remember, there is one
extra sentence you do not need to use.

Indian Doctor Jailed for Determining Gender of Unborn Child

In India, medical professionals have been sentenced to prison for the first time for using
ultrasound technology to determine the sex of an unborn baby. The practice has facilitated
the abortion of millions of female fetuses in a country where boys have traditionally been
preferred over girls.

A doctor and his assistant in the northern state of Haryana have been jailed for two years,
after local authorities sent decoy patients to the doctor's clinic to determine the gender of
the women's fetuses.

The prosecution said the doctor used ultrasound to determine the fetuses' sex. (1)
____________________

India banned ultrasound tests done to determine the sex of a fetus in 1994, after it was
realized how parents across the country were using the technology. (2)
____________________

Indian experts say at least six-million female fetuses have been eliminated during the past
20 years due to sex-selective abortions. (3) ____________________

A consultant with the Center for Women's Development Studies, Sabu George, says
authorities must do more to clamp down on doctors for whom such tests and abortions have
become a multi-million dollar business.
"It is not difficult to stop the crime, everybody knows which doctors are doing it in any
town or any village. (4) ____________________ "But somehow the civil society
organizations do not give it adequate priority in terms of stopping the crime, they are not
seeing it as genocide."

Social activists campaigning to stop the practice hope the recent conviction and jailing will
act as a deterrent to thousands of doctors who conduct such tests, but have never faced
prison due to a lax enforcement system.

There has only been one previous prosecution under the law banning ultrasound for sex
determination. (5) ____________________

The practice of aborting females has led to a highly skewed sex ratio in the country. The
2001 census found that the number of women for every 1,000 men had dipped to 933, from
972 a century ago. (6) ____________________

Social activists say the practice cuts across urban and rural areas as well as social classes.

They say gender selection is part of a larger problem in a society where a girl child is
discriminated against, and is considered a liability because parents must pay a dowry when
she gets married.

This article reprinted from VOA.

Choose from the following sentences to fill the spaces in the text. There is one extra.

A. A recent study by the British medical journal The Lancet put the number as high as 10
million.

B. It led to a fine for improper maintenance of records.

C. In some parts of the affluent north, including the Indian capital, the ratio of women to
men is even lower.
D. When one was found to be a female, he promised the mother he would "take care" of it.

E. The U.N intervened at this point and the Indian government was informed that action
must be taken.

F. But the practice continues.

G. So this is public knowledge where it is happening," George said.

Indian Doctor Jailed for Determining Gender of Unborn Child

In India, medical professionals have been sentenced to prison for the first time for using
ultrasound technology to determine the sex of an unborn baby. The practice has facilitated
the abortion of millions of female fetuses in a country where boys have traditionally been
preferred over girls.

A doctor and his assistant in the northern state of Haryana have been jailed for two years,
after local authorities sent decoy patients to the doctor's clinic to determine the gender of
the women's fetuses.

The prosecution said the doctor used ultrasound to determine the fetuses' sex. (1) WHEN
ONE WAS FOUND TO BE A FEMALE, HE PROMISED THE MOTHER HE
WOULD "TAKE CARE" OF IT.

India banned ultrasound tests done to determine the sex of a fetus in 1994, after it was
realized how parents across the country were using the technology. (2) BUT THE
PRACTICE CONTINUES.
Indian experts say at least six-million female fetuses have been eliminated during the past
20 years due to sex-selective abortions. (3) A RECENT STUDY BY THE BRITISH
MEDICAL JOURNAL THE LANCET PUT THE NUMBER AS HIGH AS 10
MILLION.

A consultant with the Center for Women's Development Studies, Sabu George, says
authorities must do more to clamp down on doctors for whom such tests and abortions have
become a multi-million dollar business.

"It is not difficult to stop the crime, everybody knows which doctors are doing it in any
town or any village. (4) SO THIS IS PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE WHERE IT IS
HAPPENING," GEORGE SAID. "But somehow the civil society organizations do not
give it adequate priority in terms of stopping the crime, they are not seeing it as genocide."

Social activists campaigning to stop the practice hope the recent conviction and jailing will
act as a deterrent to thousands of doctors who conduct such tests, but have never faced
prison due to a lax enforcement system.

There has only been one previous prosecution under the law banning ultrasound for sex
determination. (5) IT LED TO A FINE FOR IMPROPER MAINTENANCE OF
RECORDS.

The practice of aborting females has led to a highly skewed sex ratio in the country. The
2001 census found that the number of women for every 1,000 men had dipped to 933, from
972 a century ago. (6) IN SOME PARTS OF THE AFFLUENT NORTH, INCLUDING
THE INDIAN CAPITAL, THE RATIO OF WOMEN TO MEN IS EVEN LOWER.

Social activists say the practice cuts across urban and rural areas as well as social classes.

They say gender selection is part of a larger problem in a society where a girl child is
discriminated against, and is considered a liability because parents must pay a dowry when
she gets married.
The cruelty of a Siberian winter

It was only minus 28 degrees Celsius when we landed in Irkutsk. But that was cold enough
to make breathing an effort - the air felt like ice as it scraped the back of my throat. Five
minutes later, I needed a second pair of gloves and pulled my scarf tight over my nose and
mouth. I was obviously a beginner at this.

At the petrol station, Mikhail the attendant laughed when we asked if he wasn't freezing.
He'd spent the whole day outside with no more than his fur hat and a sheepskin coat for
warmth. It was mid-afternoon and icicles were hanging from his moustache like Dracula's
fangs. He said he never drank to stay warm - unlike many others.

Vodka

There's a belief in Siberia that enough vodka will insulate you from the cold. It's been
proved tragically wrong in the past few weeks. Dozens of bodies of the homeless or men
walking drunkenly back from the pub were hauled out of the snowdrifts, frozen or so badly
frost-bitten that many will never walk again.

The local hospital in Irkutsk is overwhelmed. Ironically, it's the burns unit that's taken all
the frostbite victims - 200 of them in just two weeks in one town. Even here, icicles are
hanging down on the inside of the windows, though the heating is on full power. The doctor
was too busy performing amputations to talk to us.

Shortages

But we could hear the screams from the operating room. They'd run out of anaesthetic after
performing 60 amputations that week. The other patients could hear it too, and one girl in
the corridor, clinging to her mother for support, was near to tears.
Nastya is only 16. Last week she missed her last bus home, so she walked instead - seven
kilometres through the snow, in temperatures of minus 40. She had no gloves. Now her
hands are bandaged and hang down uselessly. She'll find out soon if they need to be
amputated.

She was far from the worst case. In one bed, Nikolai Dobtsov lay quietly staring at the
ceiling. Underneath the sheets, blood was seeping through his bandages, from where his
feet and hands had been amputated the day before. He was a truck driver, he explained,
with a good job delivering wood - and recently there'd been a lot of demand. So he'd set out
to deliver a last load upcountry. The weather forecast - just minus 25 in Irkutsk - seemed to
suggest that the journey was safe. It wasn't. His truck broke down miles from anywhere,
and for 6 desperate hours he fought to repair the axle. He even greased his hands for
protection, and finally managed to get the truck going again. Somehow he found the
strength to drive himself back and straight to hospital, but it was already too late.

I asked Nikolai what would happen to him now. He just laughed, and shrugged. Nikolai has
no wife or family in Irkutsk - and invalidity benefit is a pittance. Life in an institution may
be the best he can hope for, and he'll almost certainly never work again.

Resilience

That incredible stoicism is everywhere. In Irkutsk at least, people seem simply to accept
that winter is harsh - and this one especially so. It is without doubt the cruelest Siberian
winter in living memory. Yet outdoors, everything appears to function normally - even
schools re-opened as the temperature rose briefly to minus 25.

The trams and buses are back on the roads, though everyone drives slowly to avoid
skidding on the layers of ice below the grit. The main street bustles with people wrapped in
layers against the cold. But even indoors, the chill is inescapable. After her shift as a tram
conductor, Natasha Fillipova comes home to a freezing house. She shows us the bedroom -
where ice has built up on the inside walls. She scrapes it off with her fingers, but that has
little effect. One night, Natasha says, she washed her hair before going to bed. When she
woke up, it was frozen solid to the wall. The children are doing their homework in the
bathroom - the only room warm enough to sit in. Natasha doesn't want to complain. But she
is angry with the state and the architects for building shoddy houses.

The flats here are supposed to withstand up to minus 40 degrees. They don't, and her
children are ill with coughs and colds. Natasha's anger is brief, and she seems faintly
embarrassed about it. Siberians are used to cold weather, she explains. Here, she tells us,
people prefer to rely on themselves - and the knowledge that eventually, spring will come.

Questions

Choose the best answer:

1. What do we learn in the opening paragraph.

a) The author arrived by bus.

b) The author wasn't accustomed to such cold.

c) The author wished he had had another pair of gloves.

d) The author ate some ice when he arrived.

2. What is the local theory about vodka?

a) If you drink too much, you may never walk again.

b) If you don't drink it, you may lose your legs.

c) If you drink it, you may suffer less from the cold.

d) You shouldn't drink it if you are old.

3. Which sentence is true about the hospital?

a) It is too warm inside.

b) They don't have enough supplies and equipment.

c) The staff didn't want to talk to the journalist.

 d) Most frost-bite victims need to have operations.

4. What happened to Nikolai?

a) He almost lost his hands.

b) He ignored the weather forecast.

c) He had a problem with his engine.

d) He had had to help himself.

5. Houses in Irkutsk..

a) don't have separate bathrooms.

b) were built by private companies for profit.

c) are too cold if the temperature is less than -40C.

d) cause health problems for their residents.

The cruelty of a Siberian winter

Questions

Choose the best answer:

1. What do we learn in the opening paragraph.

 a) The author arrived by bus.

b)** The author wasn't accustomed to such cold.

c) The author wished he had had another pair of gloves.

d) The author ate some ice when he arrived.

2. What is the local theory about vodka?

a) If you drink too much, you may never walk again.

b) If you don't drink it, you may lose your legs.

c)** If you drink it, you may suffer less from the cold.

d) You shouldn't drink it if you are old.

3. Which sentence is true about the hospital?

a) It is too warm inside.

b)** They don't have enough supplies and equipment.

c) The staff didn't want to talk to the journalist.

d) Most frost-bite victims need to have operations.

4. What happened to Nikolai?

a) He almost lost his hands.

b) He ignored the weather forecast.

c) He had a problem with his engine.

d)** He had had to help himself.

5. Houses in Irkutsk..

a) don't have separate bathrooms.

b) were built by private companies for profit.

c) are too cold if the temperature is less than -40C.

d)** cause health problems for their residents.