text:
Chapter 1
"UP NEXT ON THE POLE VAULT, LITTLE ROCK HIGH'S OWN DEFENDING CHAMPION, MADI ENGLEHEARDT." A well figured girl walked up to the ready line, her silky black hair falling down behind her softly carved face as she stood up. This girl, Madeline Engleheardt, was getting ready to defend her record. She was the lead on her high school's gymnastic's team and the pole vault was her best feat on record. As she walked up to the line, the gymnasium practically erupted with cheers. Most everyone in attendance that night went to Little Rock, so inevitably they were cheering for Madeline. The rest of the crowd, didn't care, or were so drowned out by the Little Rock cheerers that you wouldn't know they were there.

  One of the loudest cheers was coming from Chad Robertson, Madeline's boyfriend of 3 years, and the resident stud man slash linebacker. Chad stood over most people at 6 foot 6 inches. His muscle build and attitude being very intimidating to someone who first met him. This was a far cry from Madeline's persona. She was an innocent girl, but as radiant as the sun, making friends with almost anyone she came in contact with. Most people were surprised when the two started dating, because of how different they were. Madeline wouldn't admit this, but her original intent was to change Chad into a nicer guy. Eventually she gave up on this intent, but he had grown on her by that point and she couldn't leave him. The person who was most surprised by these two, was Madeline's long time friend, Nate Gardner. Nate and her had been friends since the end of Elementary School. So long ago, that the two still had both their parents at the time.

  Nate was more of a behind the scenes kind of guy. He stood at 5 foot 10 inches and was slender, but had no muscle build on him. He had black wavy hair that was swooped to the side, and black hipster glasses that pulled his  outfit's together. He was hard to get to know, not because he was a difficult person to deal with, but because of his shyness, and lack of conversational skills. However, once you got to know him, he was a good friend. He would defend you in any way he knew how, and would stay by you. He was in a major dilemma, he had been for quite some time. If he was to be honest with himself, he wouldn't have even known why he was at this event. He wanted to support his friend, but that was the problem. He also wanted to be more than friends. He had a crush on Madeline as long as he could remember being able to have these feelings. He was a hopeless romantic, looking for a girl who would appreciate the things he would do for her, and who would return the favor. He had regular dreams of marrying Madeline, and having kids with her, growing old with her, and making her the happiest girl in the world. That's what made him downright angry about Madeline being with Chad. In his words, "that douchebag doesn't know the first thing about class, or treating a girl right". Of course, he wouldn't have said that in public, he wouldn't risk getting his ass kicked. Nevertheless, those were the feelings constantly floating in his head.

  Nate sat there on the bleachers watching his one true love getting ready to do what she did best, and he felt happy for her, although this feeling was quickly taken away, as Chad sat down next to him. "Shit, this is awesome isn't it bro? My babe about to accomplish another great record." Nothing irked Nate more than Chad calling Madeline his "babe". Nate responded with, "yeah man it's awesome". Although before he could finish his sentence, Chad was gone. It was about this time that Madeline stepped up to the starting line, and with the sound of a buzzer, she began her run. She ran majestically, like the well fit evolved creature she was. Picking up speed she went to push her pole into the ground to create the lift needed for the jump. However, this time was different then all the other times. This time, was a purely accidental situation. Her hands were dripping with sweat, nervous sweat to be exact. Even though she was defending a record already set, it was still a nerve racking task for her. As she planted the pole into the ground, the energy lifted her forward and into the air. However, before she could follow through with the rest of the move, her hands slipped and she was thrown on a sideways tilt. Her life practically flashed before her eyes as she now tumbled in flight. Even though it was a split second between her slip, and contacting the ground, it felt like an eternity.

  She hit the ground on her ankles with a cracking sound that could be heard all the way from the front row. Screaming in pain as she laid there on the hard wood floor, many audience members, whether they were pro Little Rock or not, rushed over to help in any way possible. Some people were yelling for somebody to call an ambulance, other's were asking her too many questions about the condition of her leg. Sitting there, she kept thinking, don't they know I cant move my damn leg. It's broken she thought, I screwed this one up, good going Madi.

  Nate tried to get close to her, but he was entrapped in a sea of people. He finally pushed through, and went to talk to her. However, before he could get to her, Chad tapped him on the shoulder and said, "I got this from here bruh". He went over to comfort his girlfriend, and Nate stood there steaming red with anger. This was the first time he actually felt like lashing out against Chad, his better judgement kept him from it though. He watched as Madi's mother and Chad followed the Paramedics out of the Gymnasium with Madi on a stretcher, still whimpering from the excruciating pain. At that moment, an announcement came over the speaker, "Ladies and Gentleman, due to the uh circumstances that just arose, tonight's event will be postponed to a later date. This date will be sent out in an email as soon as possible. Thank you for attending tonight, and we hope to see you again at the next event". The announcement was a strange one. Although, the whole evening had turned into a strange one. The Principal didn't really know what else to say. His star gymnast had just cracked her ankles, and would probably be out for the rest of the season. Everyone was still in shock, and that was about all that could be said at that moment.

  Nate laid in his bed that night, listening to his Green Day CD's and reflecting on that evening. One of the many things he had in common with Madeline was her taste of music. They were both into Green Day, Blink-182, Sum-41, and similar groups. But they both cared for the older stuff more than the newer stuff. Every time he heard any of those groups, he couldn't help but start thinking about her, and tonight was no exception. As he laid there, he thought about what his next course of action should be. He mulled over it and came to a decision. Supposing that Chad, being a creature of habit, wouldn't do much to care for his girlfriend while she was recovering. He knew that if he could wedge himself in between the two in this sensitive time, he'd possibly have a shot to explain his true feelings, and win her over. He could also use this as a way to test the waters. It wasn't a scenario he wanted to entertain, but he knew he had to. If she didn't think of him as more than a friend, then he could pull back and say he was only doing things for her as a good friend would, during a time like this. He would still be able to keep her as a friend. If it was one thing he couldn't stand the thought of, it was him accidentally fucking up their friendship and making things too awkward to work anymore.

  He was a little troubled by his plan at first. It sounded manipulating, and as if he would be taking away Madeline's happiness. But as he thought about it more he decided it had to be done for two reasons. The first being that he knew Chad. He knew that Chad would do nothing but hurt her, and he couldn't stand the thought of that. The second is that he knew she was the one for him, and he couldn't stand the thought of never knowing if she had feelings for him, or worse, knowing she did, too late. As Dexter Holland sang the final words of "The Kids Aren't Alright", he made his final decision. He was declaring war on Chad, and nothing could change his mind.

  The next morning seemed to come so fast, he was so tired the night before that as soon as he closed his eyes, he was asleep. He woke up at 7am, unusual for him on a Saturday morning, but he wasn't about to go back to sleep. He was far too excited to go see Madeline, but at the same time was having a bit of a problem. Deciding that he couldn't just walk in and see her, He figured he had to at least bring her flowers, or something. But what if she takes that as coming on too strong, he thought? After some mulling over the situation, he realized that the only flower shop in town didn't open until 12 on Saturday's. He wanted to see her before Chad got to her, so flower's weren't an option. He quickly took a shower, brushed his teeth, and picked out what he thought was his best outfit, and headed out the door.

  Heading over to Madeline's house on this day was unlike something Nate had ever experienced. Little Rock was not a very big town, and the school football and gymnastics teams we're their claim to fame. After Madeline's accident, the town, or at least those who cared about such things, developed a somber attitude. Football was out of season at the time, and with gymnastics being the only other thing they had, it was looking pretty grim for the town in terms of local sports. There were other's on the gymnastics team, but Madeline held them all together, and without her, they wouldn't do nearly as well.

  When he got to her house, someone was just leaving, it was her aunt who had brought over some meals for her and her mom. With her Mom working full time, Madeline was usually in charge of making dinner for the two, but with her inability to stand up, that wasn't an option. Her mom saw Nate and quickly greeted him and let him in. Her name was Victoria, and she was one of the brightest and most fun loving people anyone could ever meet. She stood short at a mere 5 foot, 1 inches, but being of Italian descent, size didn't take away from her authoritative image. She would give you the shirt off her back, but mess with her, or worse, her daughter, she would do you in, plain and simple. She was notorious in the town, and no one dared cross her, even the near 7 foot hustlers down at the bar had the utmost respect for her. She asked how he and his Dad were doing, to which he replied they were holding their own. After some small talk and catching up, she told him that Madi was in her room and had been hoping he would stop by.

  Walking down the hallway he noticed all the pictures and awards hanging on the wall, documenting her life and beyond. He found one picture at the end of her Mom wearing what looked to be a hippy outfit and standing next to a bunch of people with bong's and pipe's. He knew her Mom was cool, but didn't realize she had a past like that. Smirking, he knocked on Madeline's door saying, "Hey, Madeline it's Nate. Can I come in?" She quickly responded, her voice giving Nate butterflies. As he opened the door, he immediately felt pity on her. Here was a talented gymnast and an all around go getter kind of person, and she was stranded in her bed, stuck with her CD's and whatever was on TV at the time. Although amongst these issues, Nate noticed she still had a smile on her face, as if to say, it's all going to be ok. That smile was very reassuring to him, even though he wasn't the one who was suffering.

  "Hey you, what's up?" Madeline said with a smile. Nate replied that he had heard a soon to be olympic gymnast was in town and he wanted to possibly get her autograph before she left. Madi laughed in only a way Nate could make her, and she motioned for him to hug her. As the two locked together, Nate had trouble controlling his manhood. So much so that she felt it. "Woah there buddy, a little excited to see me?" Nate realized what had just happened and he was mortified, he thought that this was it, and he just really screwed up his chances big time. He stood there with an unknown expression locked on his face for a few seconds, until Madeline laughed and told him he was totally fine, and that, that kind of stuff happens to pretty girls all the time. Not sure what to say next, he nervously laughed and agreed, and she blushed, still smiling and looking at him. He attempted to quickly change subjects.

  "Did you hear Green Day's new album yet? American Idiot?", Nate asked Madi. She said she hadn't heard it yet, but was trying to get her hands on it. She told him about her life long dream of meeting Billie Joe Armstrong, Nate asked her about the other two in the band. She replied, "The bass player seems kind of hard to talk to, and the drummer is just weird", they both laughed. About that time, Madi's Mom came in and said that she should get some rest, she had a big day with the doctor's tomorrow. As she left, Madeline signaled for Nate to come over. She gave him a really strong hug and said, "Thanks for coming to see me, I'm really glad you did". Nate took one look at her smile, and his heart melted to mush. He smiled and said, "Any time". With that, he left and didn't see her for the next few days.

title: [RO] Madeline Chapter 1 (tell me what you think of the story so far)

question: Summarize Nate's feelings about Madeline?

answer: Nate is Madeline's good friend; they have been friends since the end of elementary school. With both of them in college, Madeline is now dating Chad, an imposing linebacker. This disappointed Nate who had been nurturing romantic feelings for Madeline for a long time and was sad to see her go with Chad. Nate wants to marry Madeline, make her happy, and grow old with her. He dislikes Chad calling Madeline "babe" and believes he doesn't know the first thing about treating a girl right.

question: Why did Madeline choose Chad over Nate?


split: test

text:
[The Royal Standard of Malta] [Cross of the Knights Hospitaller, called the Maltese Cross] The Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo have been ruled by Phoenician, Byzantine and Roman aristocrats, before passing to various European monarchies. Foreign monarchical rule over Malta lasted a total of 874 years. The Crown of Malta was “patriated” for the first time in 1964, with the achievement of Independence.

The history, languages and culture of Malta and Sicily share many key events, including occupation by the Fatimids and an invasion by Roger I of Sicily in 1091. The islands parted ways in a decisive and permanent manner in 1799, when Malta became a British Crown colony. British rule over Malta lasted 165 years and for a further 10 years, Malta retained the British monarch as its own independent head of state. Malta adopted a Republican constitution in 1974 and joined the European Union on 1 May 2004.[1]

Kingdom of Sicily and County of Malta

[125 px|Flag of the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta] From the years 1090 and 1530, the Maltese Islands were a non-autonomous part of the Kingdom of Sicily and thus had the same sovereign. At this time the Nobility of Malta resided in or around Mdina. A strong cultural (and, to a lesser extent, political) connection to Sicily survived from 1530 to 1798 throughout the 268-year rule over Malta by the Knights Hospitaller.

In terms of the regional divisions of the islands, Malta Island was part the _Valle di Mazzara_ province, Gozo was part of the _Valle di Demona_ province and Comino was part of the _Valle di Noto_ province.

Counts of Malta

-   Roger I of Sicily (1091-1101), conqueror of Malta
-   Simon of Sicily (1101-1105)
-   Roger II of Sicily (1105-1154)
-   William I of Sicily (1154-1166)
-   William II of Sicily (1166-1189)
-   Tancred of Sicily (1189-1190)
-   Margaritus of Brindisi (1192-1197)
-   Guglielmo Grasso (c.1197-1203)
-   Enrico “Pescatore” (c.1203-1232)
-   Nicoloso (c.1232-1266)
-   Charles I of Naples (direct rule 1266-1282), usurper during the Sicilian vespers; with Nicoloso as claimant (1266-1281)
-   Andreolo da Genova (1282-1300), with Roger de Flor as claimant (1285-1296)
-   Roger of Lauria (1300-1305)
-   Lukina de Malta and her husband Guglielmo Raimondo I (1305-1320)
-   Guglielmo II (c.1320-1330)
-   Alfonso Federigo d'Aragona (c.1330-1349)
-   Pietro Federigo d'Aragona (c.1349-1350)
-   Louis of Sicily (direct rule 1350-1355)
-   Frederick the Simple (direct rule 1355-1360), with Niccolo Acciaioli as claimant (c.1357-1360)
-   Guido Ventimiglia (c.1360-1362)
-   Frederick the Simple (direct rule 1362-1366)
-   Manfredo III Chiaramonte (c.1366-1370)
-   Guglielmo III d'Aragona (c.1370-1377)
-   Luigi Federigo d'Aragona (1377-1382)
-   Manfredo III Chiaramonte (1382-1391)
-   Elizabetta Peralta Chiaramonte (c.1391-1392)
-   Guglielmo Raimondo III Moncada (c.1392-1393)
-   Artale II Alagona (c.1393-1396/1398)
-   Guglielmo Raimondo III Moncada (c.1396-1397)
-   Maria of Sicily (direct rule 1397-1401) with her husband Martin I of Sicily (direct rule by jure uxoris 1397-1409)
-   Martin of Aragon (direct rule 1409-1410)
-   Ferdinand I of Aragon (direct rule 1412-1416)
-   Alfonso V of Aragon (direct rule 1416-1420)
-   Antonio de Cardona (c.1420-1425)
-   Gonsalvo Monroy (c.1426-1428),[2][3]
-   Alfonso V of Aragon (1428-1458)
-   John II of Aragon (1458-1479)
-   Ferdinand II of Aragon (1479-1516)
-   Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1516-1530)

Knights Hospitaller (1530–1798)

Although the Knights Hospitaller ruled Malta as sovereign princes, they held that privilege as a fiefdom, paying a tribute of the Maltese Falcon annually to the Viceroys of Sicily, payable on the feast of All Souls' Day.

-   See: List of Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller

France

-   Occupied by French First Republic (1798–1800)

British Crown (1799–1964)

House of Hanover

|- | GEORGE III
1799–1820 || [] || 4 June 1738
Norfolk House
son of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha || Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
St James's Palace
8 September 1761
15 children || 29 January 1820
Windsor Castle
aged 81 |- | GEORGE IV
29 January
1820–1830 || [] || 12 August 1762
St James's Palace
son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz || (2)[4] Caroline of Brunswick
St James's Palace
8 April 1795
1 daughter || 26 June 1830
Windsor
aged 67 |- | WILLIAM IV
26 June
1830–1837 || [] || 21 August 1765
Buckingham Palace
son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz || Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
Kew Palace
13 July 1818
2 children || 20 June 1837
Windsor Castle
aged 71 |- | VICTORIA
20 June
1837–1901 || [] || 24 May 1819
Kensington Palace
daughter of Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld || Albert, Prince Consort
St James's Palace
10 February 1840
9 children || 22 January 1901
Osbourne House
aged 81 |}

House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

| EDWARD VII
22 January
1901–1910[5] || [] || 9 November 1841
Buckingham Palace
son of Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort[6] || Alexandra of Denmark
Windsor Castle
10 March 1863
6 children[7] || 6 May 1910
Buckingham Palace
aged 68[8] |}

House of Windsor

_The house name Windsor was adopted in 1917, during the First World War. It was changed from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha because of wartime anti-German sentiment. The heirs of Elizabeth II, by royal proclamation, will remain part of the House of Windsor (even though their legal surname is Mountbatten-Windsor)._

| GEORGE V
6 May
1910–1936[9] || [] || 3 June 1865
Marlborough House
son of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark[10] || Mary of Teck
6 July 1893
St James's Palace
6 children[11] || 20 January 1936
Sandringham House
aged 70[12] |- | EDWARD VIII
20 January –
11 December 1936[13] || [] || 23 June 1894
Richmond
son of George V and Mary of Teck[14] || Wallis, The Duchess of Windsor
France
3 June 1937
no children[15] || 28 May 1972
Paris
aged 77[16] |- | GEORGE VI
11 December
1936–6 February
1952[17] || [] || 14 December 1895
Sandringham House
son of George V and Mary of Teck[18] || Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Westminster Abbey
26 April 1923
2 children[19] || 6 February 1952
Sandringham House
aged 56[20] |- | ELIZABETH II
6 February
1952–1964[21] || [] || 21 April 1926
Mayfair
daughter of George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon[22] || Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Westminster Abbey
20 November 1947
4 children[23] || |}

Crown of Malta (1964–1974)

| ELIZABETH II, QUEEN OF MALTA (REĠINA TA' MALTA)
1964–1974[24] || [] || 21 April 1926
Mayfair
daughter of George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon[25] || Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Westminster Abbey
20 November 1947
4 children[26] || |}

Malta acquired independence from the United Kingdom on 21 September 1964, but the Queen of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II, remained Queen of Malta. On 13 December 1974, Malta became a republic, and since that date, its head of state has been the President of Malta.

[1]

[2] De Lucca Denis, Mdina A history of its urban space and architecture, Said International, 1995, p. 126

[3] Dalli Charles, Malta The Medieval Millennium, Midsea Books Ltd, 2006, p. 98,152,155,168,182,183,188

[4] George IV first married Maria Anne Fitzherbert on 15 September 1785, but the marriage was void.

[5] NNDB Profile of Edward VII. URL last accessed on 21 January 2007.

[6]

[7] Royal Genealogies . URL last accessed on 21 January 2007.

[8]

[9] King George V. URL last accessed 21 January 2006.

[10] House of Windsor – George V. URL last accessed 21 January 2006.

[11] Mary of Teck. URL last accessed 21 January 2006.

[12]

[13] House of Windsor – Edward VIII. URL last accessed 23 March 2008.

[14]

[15]

[16] Royal Government's The House of Windsor – Edward VIII. URL last accessed 21 January 2006.

[17] House of Windsor – George VI. URL last accessed 21 January 2006.

[18]

[19] Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon: The Indomitable Queen Mum. URL last accessed 21 January 2006.

[20] King George VI dies in his sleep. URL last accessed 21 January 2006.

[21] BBC Historic Figures – Elizabeth II. URL last accessed 21 January 2006.

[22] House of Windsor – Elizabeth II. URL last accessed 21 January 2006.

[23] BBC Historic Encyclopædia Britannica Guide to Women's History – Elizabeth II. URL last accessed 21 January 2006.

[24]

[25]

[26]

title: List of monarchs of Malta

question: How long has foreign monarchical rule over Malta lasted?

answer: With rule of Malta by Phoenicians, Byzantines, Roman aristocrats, and European monarchies, foreign monarchical rule has lasted a total of 874 years. The Crown of Malta was patriated for the first time in 1964.

question: How many Counts of Malta have there been?

answer: From the years 1090 to 1530, the Maltese Islands were a non-autonomous part of the Kingdom of Sicily and thus had the same sovereigns. Starting with Roger I of Sicily, conqueror of Malta, through Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, there were thirty nine Counts of Malta.

question: How many presidents have there been for the Republic of Malta?

question: Until when was the Queen of the United Kingdom the Queen of Malta?

answer: Malta acquired independence from the United Kingdom on September 21, 1964. However, the Queen of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II, remained Queen of Malta. Not until December 13, 1974 when Malta became a republic, did the islands gain independence from foreign monarchy. Since that date, the head of state has been the President of Malta.

question: Why did the English monarchy change its name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the House of Windsor?

answer: The English monarchy changed its name to the House of Windsor during the first world war because of anti-German sentiment. They did not want to be associated with Germany, in spite of their German roots.


text:
[테스트]

The 2015 baseball season started in late March. With new team KT Wiz now on board, baseball industry insiders expect 8 million people to visit stadiums this year. Viewers cheer during a game at Wiz Park, the home of KT Wiz, located in Suwon, Gyeonggi. By Lim Hyun-dong

Baseball stadiums are no longer merely places to watch sports.

These venues have become multipurpose spaces for eating, dancing and chanting, not just for viewing games - a transformation that has led to local stadiums attracting 6 million visitors in total every year.

The professional baseball season for 2015 kicked off on March 28, with throngs of people flocking to stadiums.

Visitors of various ages - from toddlers who accompany their parents to die-hard male baseball fans who tend to be in their 30s and 40s - are now being catered to at these venues.

But the most striking change in this year’s league is the addition of a new team, KT Wiz.

The number of games this year has increased from 576 to 720 because of the extra side, leading industry insiders to project that 8 million people will make their way to the nation’s stadiums this year.

Whether they know the rules of the field or not, visitors are sure to enjoy the Korean baseball experience because of the unique cheer culture it has.

“It seems like Koreans’ cheering culture often combines with entertainment,” said Kim Jong-mun, the director of the content department at NC Dinos, one of the nation’s 10 professional baseball teams.

“Because of this, people tend to think of watching baseball games as a kind of picnic,” he added.

THE BRAND-NEW WIZ PARK

When it joined the professional baseball league this year, KT Wiz purchased Suwon Sports Complex, located in Suwon, Gyeonggi.

[테스트]

The Party Floor is located on the third floor of Wiz Park, home to the 10th professional baseball team, KT Wiz. People are able to watch baseball games and enjoy an all-you-can-eat dinner here. The area also has a dance floor. By Lim Hyun-dong

It cost 30 billion won ($27.5 million) to renovate and was renamed Wiz Park.

Since KT is the nation’s second-largest mobile carrier, the stadium is probably the most advanced in terms of IT.

For example, smartphone application called Wizzap facilitates a smoother experience at the complex.

People sitting inside certain zones at the stadium, such as BC Lounge Zone and M Mobile Zone, can order food through the app and get it delivered straight to their seats.

Visitors seated in ordinary zones can order dishes using the app and pick them up later at a kiosk.

While a majority of sports fans go to baseball stadiums to watch games, others jokingly say they visit just to gorge on food.

[테스트]

Almost all baseball stadiums have indoor playgrounds for children. [JoongAng Ilbo]

As KT Wiz is well aware of this, it has brought branches of some of the region’s famous eateries into the stadium.

Two of these are Jinmi Whole Chicken and Boyoung Dumpling, which have been operating in Suwon for the past three decades.

The original Jinmi Whole Chicken is located in Paldal District, Suwon, in an alley where deep-fried chicken restaurants are densely packed.

People queue up for at least 30 minutes during the week to buy a box of the restaurant’s chicken, which is well-known for its chewy texture and crispy skin as it is deep-fried inside huge iron pots.

A whole chicken costs 16,000 won.

Dumplings are also offered as tasty finger food for baseball fans.

Boyoung Dumpling became famous for its steamed dumplings, but only the pan-fried versions are available at Wiz Park.

[테스트]

Incheon SK Happydream Stadium has a barbecue zone where people can grill pork belly while watching baseball games. [JoongAng Ilbo]

Notably, the eatery makes its own dough from scratch.

Tacos, burritos, hamburgers and gimbap (rice wrapped inside seaweed) are also available at the venue.

Just like other baseball stadiums, Wiz Park has special seats for those who prefer to watch the game in a more relaxed setting.

Hite Pub is the only drinking establishment in the nation with a view of a baseball field.

Although the bar is located in a separate two-story building right next to Wiz Park’s electronic scoreboard, it has an up-close view of the baseball stadium.

The pub, which accommodates up to 100 people at one time, has an indoor space on the first floor while the second floor is out in the open.

Admission for two people costs 90,000 won and includes entry to the game, along with two jugs of draft beer and sides such as deep-fried chicken and grilled sausages.

Party Floor on the third floor of Wiz Park is for people who feel like bouncing around while watching baseball. It has a dance floor just like one you would find in a club.

[테스트]

Some baseball stadiums sell boxed meals containing grilled pork belly. [JoongAng Ilbo]

Tickets for two into this area cost 90,000 won and include an all-you-can-eat dinner.

Of all the 20,122 seats at the venue, special sections such as Hite Pub and Party Floor require reservations.

A room for nursing mothers and an indoor playground for toddlers are also available free-of-charge at the venue.

Parking spaces are limited, so making a reservation for a spot in advance is recommended by visiting the website ktwiz.co.kr or calling 1899-5916.

CATERING TO YOUR NEEDS

Since all baseball stadiums have different characteristics, it is always better to be informed about each one before visiting.

Incheon SK Happydream Stadium, formerly known as Incheon Munhak Stadium, is the most suitable destination for those who like to watch baseball picnic-style because a section of the stadium has stands covered in artificial turf.

This section is called the Green Zone and is located left of the outfield.

If you want to secure a good spot, get there early because the seats are not numbered and are first-come, first-serve.

People can bring their own picnic mats.

Entry into this zone costs 10,000 won per adult.

The stadium also has a barbecue area where people can grill pork belly while watching the game.

Admission into this section costs 80,000 won for four persons. Users are required to bring all the necessary equipment, including grills, cutlery and food.

For more information, call (032) 200-7500.

For Koreans who love to enjoy grilled meat, other baseball stadiums without barbecue zones sell cooked pork belly in boxes.

A meal containing meat and vegetables is delivered to your seat when you pre-order it at a kiosk at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. Call (02) 2240-8874 for this option.

Meanwhile, Masan Baseball Stadium in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, has seats covered in wooden decking.

Entry is priced at 90,000 won for six persons for this area, which is perfect for partying. People are able to sit on benches, which look like suntan lounge chairs, or just sit on the wooden decks as they like. Call 1644-9112 for more information.

The latest trend in these sports venues are the so-called “exciting zones.” One is available at Daejeon Baseball Stadium.

Unlike almost all sports venues in which the audience looks down on the field, viewers who choose to sit here are able to watch the game from the perspective of the players. Stands in the zone are located at the same level as the baseball field.

On occasion, members of the audience are able to catch foul balls if they are lucky.

Admission for two is 36,000 won during weekdays and 40,000 won on weekends.

UPDATES FOR THIS YEAR

Jamsil and Mokdong’s baseball stadiums renovated some of their worn-out stands before the new baseball season began.

The two are now equipped with power facilities that cannot be switched off because many previous baseball games were put on hold due to blackouts last year.

Jamsil Baseball Stadium also upgraded its toilets, shelling out a sum of 500 million won for the renovation, while Mokdong Baseball Stadium replaced its artificial turf in the infield.

Some of the rules have changed for all games in the professional league, too.

The pitcher has to be replaced within 2 minutes and 30 seconds, not in 2 minutes and 45 seconds as before, and background music is played for just 10 seconds when a new hitter appears on the ground.

The hitter should reach the batter’s box before the music ends.

HOW TO ENJOY BASEBALL TO THE FULL

There are plenty of smartphone apps that list the cheers for the country’s 10 professional baseball teams.

The apps provide songs for individual players, too, some of whom have up to three different cheers.

Many stadiums also offer various discounts almost every day.

“On weekends, we run kids’ days or ladies’ days, giving discounts, and we’ve been giving lectures on baseball at colleges for women,” said Lee Hyung-geun, who promotes the LG Twins baseball team.

Almost all the stadiums have indoor playgrounds for children, too.

“I’ve been using [the Jamsil Baseball Stadium] since 2013, and I’m content with using the facility because I can watch games without being bothered by kids,” said Cho Gyeong-su, a father of three.

BY LEE SEOK-HEE, AHN SONG-YI [sung.soyoung@joongang.co.kr]

question: What does the article say about the transformation of Korean baseball stadiums?

answer: Korean baseball stadiums are no longer merely places to watch sports but venues have become multipurpose spaces for eating, dancing, and chanting, not just for viewing games. This transformation has led to local stadiums attracting 6 million visitors in total every year. People sitting inside certain zones at the stadium can order food through the app and get it delivered straight to their seats. Almost all baseball stadiums have indoor playgrounds for children. Some baseball stadiums sell boxed meals, and some have a barbecue area where people can grill pork belly while watching the game.

question: What does the article say about local baseball teams?

question: What does the article say about Wiz park?

answer: Wiz Park is the home of KT Wiz and it is located in Suwon, Gyeonggi. Viewers cheer during a game at Wiz Park. The Party Floor is located on the third floor of Wiz Park. People are able to watch baseball games and enjoy an all-you-can-eat dinner here. The area also has a dance floor.


text:
First time making a short story and submitting it! I got the quick inspiration to write this as I was jogging around the park at midnight and as I was leaving to cross the street, a van ran a red light thats been red for a while and almost ran me over. So enjoy! Please tell me what you thought of it and any feedback is appreciated!

"It feels like one of these nights that I'll meet a ghost, lonely and as lost as I am. Running by myself at night in the park with not a soul around, quiet and alone to my thoughts as I like it.

A red light flashed somewhere far away, and on the swings is now a woman, with a long white gown fluttering as she flows along the swinging. Looking as sad as I am, just minding our own in a night as quiet as this, in a park as empty as ever. I don't know what made me stop and walk towards her; maybe it's the loneliness, maybe it's the urge to understand myself through another, maybe it's a feeling of something shared, or maybe it's a mix of it all.

As soon as she heard my foot steps, she turned around and smiled, then asked if I wanted to join her. Her smile had a tragic look to it, like one that had tasted disappointment and defeat too many times to count, one that said that she wasn't holding out for a hope of salvation but one that desperately needed it. Her eyes told of her broken hopes, dashed dreams, and the misery of her life.

By god, it was the most beautiful smile I've seen, molded just like kin to me, as broken and despairing as I am because I know that I am no saint. Only a devil trying to do right in the world. So I tried to smile back, only managing a slight upward curve as I said 'sure!'.

As I made my way toward the swings next to her, my heart felt the calmness of stilled waters, my feet moving by themselves. Everything around us was silent. As I got closer, I could feel my heartbeat slow and each step slowed it a bit more.

Right when I almost reached within 4 steps of her, there was a slight breeze as the wind rustled up the leaves lying around. Her dress fluttered once, and a look of sadness replaced the smile on her face. When I finally came to, the wind had blew past but so did it take her with it. She was nowhere in sight, and there was no traces of anyone ever having been there.

I turned back around to walk home, not knowing if I had been entranced by her smile, or her by my intentions. But I knew that it was a night like this, that felt familiar.

That one night like this, I will meet my ghost and finally accompany her as I begin to ask what she was doing here by herself.

One night like this that I will meet my ghost."

title: [RO][SP] My Ghost

question: What is the author trying to portray by writing this story?

answer: The author is trying to portray the feeling of something shared, a feeling that makes one not feel alone.

question: What does the narrator mean when they say "One night like this that I will meet my ghost?"

answer: The narrator is saying this phrase to imply that they wish another night will come when they see the ghost they liked.

question: How did the narrator feel when encountering the ghost?

answer: The narrator had a smile and felt a very familiar feeling when encountering the ghost.


text:
I'm lying in a hospital bed again, waiting for a team of medical professionals to decide whether or not to remove my big toe from the rest of my body. My feet are elevated, as instructed, atop three limp hospital pillows. I wiggle the toe half-heartedly. Mummified with gauze,  its wiggle is lonely and sad. Isolated from its four other friends, the only family it ever knew, it hangs its embattled head in shame.

This is my left big toe. The doctors here say “great toe” or “first toe,” because you don't go to school for eight years to say “big toe.” I imagine the resident podiatrist, Dr. Rice, will stand in the hall outside the doorway and whisper to his partner, Dr. Russell. Doctors Rice and Russell will enter my room gravely; even their footsteps will sound serious and the door will shut itself portentously as they loom over my bedside. I'll know the answer before they make it through the requisite disclaimer bullshit and verbal red tape – they did everything they could but it was too late, Ms. Sanchez, and we're afraid This Little Piggy just isn't going to make it all the way home.

This is my left big toe. I don't have much of a relationship with it. I don't even know its name. Is it male or female? The Spanish for big toe is dedo gordo. Fat digit. Masculine gender. I'll call him Charlie, as if I were naming a chicken whose neck I was about to wring.

No, Charlie and I have never been close. Almost 29 years together now and I've never acknowledged him with more than the perfunctory nod I'd direct at someone stepping into the elevator on my way to the ground floor. Not until three weeks ago, when I tore part of the nail and ripped a baked-bean sized quantity of flesh clean off the tip. Charlie flushed with embarrassment at his nakedness, the remaining nail and surrounding skin deepening to an ominous shade the color of a raw pork chop.

I can't remember exactly how the tear in the nail started; I've been telling the professional medical staff here I stubbed my toe on a rock while hiking with inappropriate footwear, which sounds so plausible that even I believe it might have happened. It didn't, of course. I'm still semi-confident that there was An Actual Toe-Stubbing Incident that took place in Objective Reality, but I don't remember when or where and I know it wasn't hiking. I just like the way the excuse sounds when I play it on repeat from my hospital bed, lying helpless, bandaged, unshowered, a useless lump of limbs and sack of skin. I believe it will make me appear slightly less pathetic, as if Usually I were some vibrant, sun-kissed, pony-tailed thing rock-climbing on the back of a box of granola bars. I wasn't always this way, I insist.

I doubt I'm fooling anyone.

I may or may not have stubbed my big toe, but what started as a tear in the nail I finished myself. I peeled it back with my fingers, shocked and fascinated by the depth of the injury and the richness of the emerging blood, and then it was too late to stop. I'm sorry, Charlie, I whisper to myself, to my toe. I'm sorry I couldn't leave you alone. I'm sorry for what I did to you, to us. If I could take it back, Charlie, if I could change any of the items on the infinitely long list of infinitely stupid things I've done in my infinitely short and stupid life, I promise I'd take back hurting you. I've made a real mess, love. I'm sorry. I don't know what to do.

If you've ever been in an emergency room, you know that it's essentially just an extension of the waiting room. A holding pattern for broken bodies, old people, drug addicts and drunks; a brightly-lit and beeping Hades where the souls of the unwell and self-destructive wait to be judged. If you haven't been in an emergency room, well - congratulate yourself. Sounds like you've really got it together.

A tech named Mike leads me to room 5, draws the curtain to the right and extends his arm as if seating me for brunch – your table, m'lady. The hospital bed looks like a coffin. I want to cry. This, reader, is where we first met a few hundred words ago.

Three hours later, IV inserted and tagged like a wild boar with a bar-code bearing hospital bracelet, I'm being wheeled in my coffin to the radiology center to get Charlie an MRI. Lying on my back, I watch as the white ceiling tiles pass above me, giving way to different patterns and colors of ceiling tiles as we move through departments. Sometimes we turn a corner in the maze and I can see a skylight up ahead. I wait with dread as we approach – there's a part of me that would do anything not to be reminded the world outside exists. A quadrilateral flash of blue, a blink of a square eye, and it's gone.

But I'm not thinking about Charlie as the MRI technicians secure my feet with what I assume can only be scotch tape. My toe and its precarious existence barely register in my mind as the lower half of my body is inserted into a yawning magnetic tube, the coffin into the tomb.

I'm remembering my great-grandmother's funeral. She had been over ninety years old, my mother's father's mother, an age-spotted Italian nonna with a trapezoidal shock of white cotton hair and a perpetual oversized red wool sweater draped over a form resembling a potato. We called her Big Grandma. For the last seven years of her life she filled me with mild terror during our weekly family visits to Yonkers, New York, where my grandparents lived and raised their children after immigrating from Italy in 1969. One by one, my little brother and sister and I would take turns gingerly hugging her hello or goodbye, nodding blankly at her incomprehensible Neapolitan dialect and trying not to squirm when she touched our faces. Her hands smelled like a room locked for twenty years.

She died one day. I had been told this was something that happened. My father drives the minivan through Westchester to the mausoleum after the service, and I feel vaguely important, imbued with a sense of gravitas I don't yet know how to name, on the way to my First Funeral.

Big Grandma will be laid to rest as her family in Recale, Italy are and many of her family here will later be, neatly interred in a recess in a marble wall filled with filing cabinets for the dead, a name and a label on every drawer, the ones closest to her reserved for my grandparents. This is a very Italian way to be dead.

I'm straining with childlike but nevertheless morbid curiosity to peer over the shoulders of taller family members to see the coffin. How will I feel, I wondered, at the exact moment when it disappears from sight for the last time? What does it look like at the end of something and the beginning of Forever?  Upon explaining death my father had been forced to introduce the concept of Infinity, and I was still a trifle unclear.

Only by hopping up and down am I able to catch a glimpse of brass-plated handles on gleaming wood as the coffin slides into its niche in the wall. The process seems to be happening too quickly; I can't hold the position long enough, and my mother is hissing at me to stop. A distant relative's dark sweater is all I can see when I hear the filing cabinet lock into place. The sound echoes through the marble room; people start to shuffle toward the exit with respectful relief, and I'm left wondering. Until now.

And now, I'm thinking about him. No, still not Charlie, who I wounded and banished alone to be violated by a magnetic field. I'm thinking about the one who wounded me, who banished me from his heart, who broke every promise to me he'd ever made. I'm thinking about the younger girl with the pretty face he's falling in love with now as I atrophy slowly on this bed, a prisoner in my own body. I'm knowing the anticipation and desire and feral joy that fills him when he can't stop thinking about her, can't stop dreaming about her, can't stop longing for and needing her.

He thinks about her when he wakes up, when he touches himself, when he's frying potatoes and eggs, when he sits down to eat, when he brushes his teeth. What is she doing now, he wonders, and is she thinking of me too? When he gets dressed, when he rides his bike to work, he imagines what it would be like if she were there with him. I would touch my forehead to hers gently, he decides, and kiss her goodbye long and soft– but goodbye only for a few hours! Only until I finish my evening shift making sandwiches at the cafe on Front Street! Then we'll kiss a thousand more times until I'm finally out the door, as many times as we can between here and outside, because we cannot bear to be apart. I will look back to wave as I cycle away, he thinks, until the figure of this girl I'm crazy in love with disappears from view, and nothing in the world can chase the smile from my face now, and I can't wait to get to work to text her “I miss you already.”

I know this because I've heard him say these things, all of them and more, in a different world when he was in love with me. When he thought he was in love with me. He told me these words by pressing his fingers to a screen, over two thousand miles away, before he even heard my voice.

I want to shake my head, to physically empty the thoughts from my mind, but I'm supposed to be completely still. I am getting an MRI, an MRI to determine if Charlie stays or if he goes. If he goes it will be trouble, if he stays it will be double, I hum to myself. You can't move when you're getting an MRI. Instead, I close my eyes tight and hard, wrinkling my nose and grimacing. He used to laugh when I made that face.

The magnetic tube honks and beeps at me angrily. It's a surprisingly musical instrument, with an impressive bank of tones and voices that range from dissonant organ chords to percussive taps and oscillating Moog beeps. How much does one of these cost, I wonder. Has anyone sampled an MRI before? I open my eyes.

I remember a long car trip; it must have been twenty years ago. What minivan did we have? The Trans Sport? The Windstar? In any case, some variety of American-manufactured egg-shaped vehicle with refugee camps of escaped Cheerios and action figures in every crevice. Where were we going? Was the trip for real long, or just little kid long? Maybe we were just going to New Jersey. Maybe we were going to Jones Beach.

My little brother and sister are bored and whining and I've been assigned the task of entertaining them. I have a pen with me and draw what today would be deemed emoticons on the pads of each of my toes – happy faces, pissed-off faces, despondent sad faces, wistful ones. I peer cautiously into the front of the Trans Sport or Windstar, the cockpit. Dad is at the helm; my mother's head is resting against the window, eyes closed. No one to see me unbuckle the seatbelt, turn around and hang upside down, swinging my legs over the back of the seat so my Toe People face brother and sister sitting in the minivan's third row. My head touching the crumb-strewn floor, redolent of dog hair and snacks, I hear them erupting with laughter as I make my toes dance back and forth. I make the Toe People say silly things in funny voices and laugh along with my brother and sister. We wake up mom. She turns around and tells me to Get Up This Instant Or We're Turning This Car Around. When I put my seatbelt back on, we're all still giggling. We are in the car and going someplace. And Charlie is there, and he has a face.

That's how I'll remember him. That's how I'll remember everything. I'm smiling to myself as I hear footsteps behind me and the door to the MRI room bang open.
Well, I wanted to take you out sooner, says one of the techs, but my partner here wouldn't let me.
He says that to everyone, the other tech explains.
I laugh out loud.
Oh, Charlie, I think to myself. How I hope you stay.

title: on getting my toe cut off [RF]

question: Summarize the narrator's plight.

answer: The narrator is in the hospital, waiting for the medical professionals to decide whether or not to remove her big toe. The toe may need to be amputated because the narrator tore part of the nail and ripped a baked-bean sized quantity of flesh clean off the tip three weeks prior. The narrator is embarrassed to admit this and so makes up a story about a hiking injury to tell the medical staff.

question: What does the story say about the narrator?

answer: The narrator is a 29-year-old named Ms. Sanchez of Italian heritage. Her grandparents immigrated to Yonkers, New York, where the narrator's family would visit every week while growing up. The narrator seems to have unresolved feelings for a man who once she believed was in love with her.

question: What does the story say about Milan?

question: What does the story say about Charlie's fate?

answer: The story does not resolve whether or not the big toe will be cut off. It ends with the narrator hoping it doesn't have to be.


text:
[]

DISCLAIMER: A FEW DAYS AFTER THE RELEASE OF THIS ARTICLE, NINTENDO GAVE US NEW INFORMATION REGARDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF _MAJORA’S MASK 3D_. SOME OF THE POINTS MADE HERE HAVE BEEN RENDERED MOOT BY THOSE NEWS. THE MAIN POINTS OF THE ARTICLE, HOWEVER, ARE STILL VALID. TAKE THIS INTO CONSIDERATION WHILE READING.

For the past few years—ever since the conception of the idea of a _Majora’s Mask_ __ remake—most of the _Zelda_ fanbase has been debating nonstop over one crucial aspect: should the remake be on the 3DS or the Wii U?

Even after the game was announced, after everything had been settled, thousands of people keep complaining about this; so many people are still mad that the game isn’t on the Wii U, and they fail to understand why this idea that they have is so impossible.

THE 3DS VERSION IS EASIER AND CHEAPER TO MAKE

As we all know very well, a 3DS version of this game would have much lesser graphics, as it doesn’t have to fit the high definition of the Wii U. That’s just common sense.

The company that’s being brought in is Grezzo, a subsidiary of Nintendo, who handled

_Ocarina of Time 3D_. So we know it’s not even Nintendo making the game; it’s in actuality a very small team, one that’s handled the development of very few games (they did some development for a game on _StreetPass Mii Plaza_ and released a game named _Line Attack Heroes_ on WiiWare, and worked on _Four Swords Anniversary Edition_ as well).

A small team like that, working off of a small budget with a six to seven month development time, would certainly be able to finish and polish

_Majora’s Mask 3D_. They did an amazing job with _Ocarina of Time 3D_, and I do personally have a lot of hopes for them, but they’re too small of a company to handle a Wii U remake; Nintendo would have to allocate a lot more money into the project, and the development time would be a lot longer.

Not to mention, the development of

_Majora’s Mask 3D_ would be particularly easy, because of the following reason.

[]MOST OF THE ASSETS FROM OCARINA OF TIME 3D CAN BE CARRIED OVER, SO DEVELOPMENT WOULD TAKE _VERY_ LITTLE TIME

Remakes already have a very short development time, right? With little to no creative work to be done—simply updating graphics, quickly building a new engine (or even working off the old one), and changing the control scheme, with very little added content—the whole idea behind video game remakes is that they’re quick, and bring the classic game to a whole new generation.

Now, think back to the original development of

_Majora’s Mask_; the whole point of the game was that it would only take a year to make, by repeating the same characters from _Ocarina_ and reusing the old game engine. The game focused on sidequests surrounding small areas, to make up for the lack of dungeons and expansive story, and the general mood of the game was the most intense and memorable part.

So it’s a remake for a particularly short game that was built to have a short development time, with the remake’s engine and graphical assets already built, no creative work to be done at all, and millions of fans waiting to buy it. If

_Ocarina of Time 3D_ only took about a year to develop by Grezzo, _Majora’s Mask_ shouldn’t take more than three or four months.

AS THE SEQUEL TO OCARINA OF TIME, A MAJORA’S MASK REMAKE CAN ONLY BE PUBLISHED ON A CONSOLE THAT ALREADY HAS THE ORIGINAL GAME

This is pretty self-explanatory;

_Majora’s Mask_ is the sequel to _Ocarina_, so Nintendo can’t just release it on a console without _Ocarina of Time_ on it already.

One of the main points of remakes is to bring an old game to a whole new generation, and that would be completely impossible if the target audience has no way to play

_Ocarina of Time_, and won’t understand _Majora’s Mask_. Kids today might not have both consoles, and it just doesn’t make sense to brand _Majora’s Mask_ on the Wii U as a sequel to a 3DS game, or to release it on the Wii U independently with no explanation for the backstory.

Additionally, it gets more people to buy and play

_Ocarina of Time_ 3D, which is obviously always a good thing.

(Yes, I realize that they could just buy the original game on the Wii Shop Channel, but not only is that a big generational gap, it’s also a complex process that can’t be easily explained to the public.)

[]THE PROFITS FROM A 3DS VERSION WOULD BE RIDICULOUSLY HIGHER FOR NINTENDO

This is a given fact. The 3DS version would be much cheaper to make, and sell a hell of a lot more, seeing as how it’s a much more popular console. Nintendo could potentially sell millions of copies—perhaps even more than

_Ocarina of Time 3D_—for a very small side-project of a remake. This is a small venture on their part, and gives massive profits to the _Zelda_ team.

A Wii U version would sell a lot less and cost a lot more to make, and take a lot longer as well, resulting in very slim profits on the part of Nintendo.

A 3DS VERSION WOULD RELEASE EARLIER, AND WOULD LIKELY BE MUCH MORE POLISHED

This is also a very simple concept; Grezzo is a small company, and making a 3DS version of

_Majora’s Mask_ would be a lot easier and take a lot less development than a version for the Wii U. With a development time like the one they’ve been given (the game will release in about five months, and they’ve likely been working on it for a month or two already, just as a quick estimation), there’s a lot more time to work on polishing the game, and possibly adding some extra content. The 3DS version of the game would likely be better and more complete, and release a lot sooner, as a Wii U remake would probably take around twice as much time to make, especially considering how everything is basically already finished on the 3DS.

_A WII U REMAKE WOULD NEVER LOOK ANYTHING LIKE THAT FANMADE VIDEO_

This is probably the most important part of this article, as it’s time to show people exactly why the hopes they’ve had for the Wii U are completely wrong.

When people envision

_Majora’s Mask_ on the Wii U, they always think of the same thing; that beautifully animated _Majora’s Mask Wii U_ trailer that was released around E3 back in 2012, to raise the hype for a game that would never exist.

What people fail to realize is that, if the game was made on the Wii U,

_it would look nothing like this_.

Think about it; this is a remake, reusing many of the old assets from the original game, made by a tiny subsidiary company over the course of a few months. There’s no way they could ever make the animation of their game come close to the quality that we see in this famous video; it would take years, even for a team the size of Nintendo’s actual

_Zelda_ developers, and would cost much more than this project is supposed to.

The trailer that we’re all familiar with was completely animated—there’s little chance that could run as an actual game—and had a completely different, pre-rendered art style. We still don’t know who made the trailer, but it must have taken months and months to complete; rendering an actual full game, and making it playable, would take years, even with an actual development team.

Realistically, the game would actually look the way it does now, with a very similar art style to that of

_Ocarina of Time 3D_, but in very sub-par 720p graphics.

Yeah, I understand how beautiful this trailer is. When I first saw it and thought it was real, I legitimately started crying and re-watched it about twelve thousand times. But this could never happen; it could never become a real game, without Nintendo losing millions of dollars and years’ worth of development time. Would it really even be worth it, just to make it prettier?

[]SO WHAT’S THE VERDICT?

_Majora’s Mask Wii U_ wasn’t ever going to happen; not today, not two years ago, not ever. The advantages of making the game on the 3DS far outweigh any possible reasons to make it on the Wii U, and if they had decided to make _Majora’s Mask HD_ rather than _Majora’s Mask 3D_, it would be one of Nintendo’s worst business decisions in years. And that’s definitely saying something.

Hopefully, people will stop complaining about the game that we have, and learn to celebrate it for how amazing it’s going to be, and be happier about the fact that our dream came true; the

_Majora_ remake is actually going to happen. I hate to put it so bluntly—people have a right to complain, after all—but it’s time we think about the situation pragmatically.

What do you think of this whole situation? Have you changed your mind, and accepted why we need

_Majora’s Mask 3D_ instead of _HD_? Do you still believe the Wii U version is a better idea, and want to try to make your case? Let us know in the comments below!

question: What does the article say about the debate over should Majora’s Mask be on the 3DS or the Wii U?

answer: Many people are mad that the game isn’t on the Wii U, and they fail to understand why this idea is impossible. 3DS version of this game has much lesser graphics, as it doesn’t have to fit the high definition of the Wii U. A Wii U version would sell a lot less and cost a lot more to make, and take a lot longer as well. Majora’s Mask would be a lot easier and take a lot less development than a version for the Wii U.

question: What does the article say about Grezzo?

answer: Grezzo is a small company, a subsidiary of Nintendo, that makes the game Majora’s Mask. It a very small team, one that’s handled the development of very few games. Grezzo did an amazing job with Ocarina of Time 3D, and only took about a year to develop it. It has likely been working on Majora’s Mask for a month or two already, and there’s a lot more time to work on polishing the game, and possibly adding some extra content.

question: What does the article say about Zelda's trailer?


text:
[]

At San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios rolled out their cast list for their upcoming Eternals and revealed most of the characters had been either race swapped or gender swapped from Jack Kirby’s original creation.

During their Hall H presentation Marvel confirmed the rumor that Game of Thrones actor Richard Madden would play Ikaris. In a twist, Angelina Jolie was announced to take on the role as Thena instead of the previous reports that she would play Sersi. The rest of the announced cast included Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, and Don Lee as Gilgamesh.

  The officially-announced main cast and lead characters of @MarvelStudios‘ #Eternals movie: pic.twitter.com/P9WdWZbi8Z

  — MCU Direct (@MCU_Direct) July 21, 2019

Here’s a better look.

[]

And here’s a look at Phastos from his appearance in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition.

[]

And a look at Gilgamesh from his appearance in Thor: The Deviants Saga.

[Gilgamesh]

As you can see, Marvel Studios kept Ikaris and Thena similar to Jack Kirby’s comic book creation. Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos is also similar to his original appearance in Sal Buscema and Peter Gillis’ Eternals #1. However, the rest have been completely changed.

-   Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari is now female, black, and deaf.
-   Kumail Najiana’s Kingo is now Indian instead of Japanese.
-   Salma Hayek’s Ajak is now female, Hispanic, and Lebanese.
-   Don Lee’s Gilgamesh is now Asian.
-   And Lia McHugh’s Sprite is now female and a young girl.

The miscast of Kingo is such a waste especially when you think of those they could have put in the role instead. For example, Ken Watanabe has experience playing a samurai as seen in The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise. You also have Takeshi Kaneshiro who, if you have seen House of Flying Daggers, you know that he had the chops to bring Kingo to life.

YouTuber Eric July reacted to the casting news and the changes from Jack Kirby’s characters calling it “inexcusable.” July states, “And why is it inexcusable? Because there are mountains and mountains and mountains of god damn source material out there in which there are so many different characters, so many different fresh characters that you can create. All the black characters that Marvel could be bringing in, instead of tokenizing the ones that exist or bringing in tokenized characters, unoriginal characters. They are sitting on all of these other guys. The Brother Voodoos of the world…there’s too many different characters to choose from. It’s not just with them. It’s with other minority groups as well.”

What do you think of all of these changes with The Eternals? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

(Visited 9,452 times, 4 visits today)

question: Why do you think the cast for Gilgamesh has been changed?

answer: The cast for Gilgamesh has been changed to show more diversity in race for the actors/actresses.

question: Would the switch of characters brought more attention to the movies and could it be seen as a strategic choice?

answer: Yes, most definitely, the switch of race and gender of the characters would bring more attention to the movies and definitely is a great strategic choice made on the behalf of Marvel Studios.


text:
The rules were simple, but the game itself impacts a lot thought. I have played this game with lots of people. I remember my first time. I told him, ‘here are the cards. There are five of them.’

The idea of the game is to have a card with a high number, but as you turn over a new card, you must discard the previous one. I tell him that every time I’ve showed someone else this game, they mostly make the same mistakes. I turn over the first card and reveal the very first number: [76]. When I first played even I thought, ‘is it out of a hundred?’ If it were out of a hundred, everyone would stick with the first card. But what if it were out of a thousand, or a million? It’s the uncertainty that makes people pick a second card. If they stuck with just seventy-six, and found out that the next card was in the thousands, they’d kick themselves.

Pete asked, “another card please?” Perhaps it was my long hair, but he wasn’t paying attention to me when I boldly said that almost everyone makes the same mistakes. The next card shows: [32]. The second card is about half the first value, but just below. People still think that it could possibly be out of a much larger number, and no matter what, thirty-two appears to be a scam. Without much delay, “another.”

I like to think that these cards represent opportunities in life. No one wants to look like a fool and stick with something when they don’t know its relative value. You’re offered five cards in this game, and they could hold any number, why stick with the first one? The next card reveals the number: [1]. “What? That’s horrible, I got the lowest number!” With two cards left, Pete’s next choice was predictable.

People are given first opportunities in many aspects of life. Whether it’s a job or love, people always wonder if there’s a better one out there. With no ability to compare, we are unable to decide if something is worth committing to. When Pete drew the number one, he felt bad for not sticking with either of the first two cards. Like a homeless person, he appreciates whatever he had before much more so.

Obviously the seventy-six would be most ideal, but normally if people are given the choice to go back to thirty-two or draw a new card, some would go back. “Well there’s nothing lower than one… I may as well turn over a new card. If it’s anywhere near around seventy-six I’m sticking with that.” By this point his hope for a thousand or maybe a million is gone, he now appreciates what he was given before. I turn over the new card, knowing what was coming. It’s never what people expect.

The new card shows: [0.01]. Pete’s assumption that one was the lowest number was a common mistake. Before he thought that things couldn’t be worse. While it would be nice if the next card were a million, or even just anything close to thirty, it really doesn’t matter anymore, he would accept a two. People with big dreams are unable to appreciate what they have. Why shouldn’t a child hope to be a millionaire or marry the most beautiful girl in the world? What is wrong with hoping for the best, and giving up on what you have to make room for something better? To Pete, seventy-six is now a large number, whereas before he doubted if it was even a fraction of the other cards held.

“I really should have stuck with seventy-six!” Pete laughs, as I smile. Perhaps this was all a lesson? Perhaps all it was for him to understand his mistakes, learn to appreciate what he’s given, and now he’ll be rewarded for that. Whether or not life treats him to a larger opportunity, he would walk away from this with a lesson learnt. Without waiting for him, I give him the final card. It’s blank.

I hope Pete, whoever he is, takes from this game a valuable lesson. Whether wealthy or poor, I hope he appreciates what he has. In the struggle to become better versions of ourselves, we put ourselves at risk of loss. Some would argue that, so long as we have our health it’s okay, that everything else is superficial; why not take the risk? But the fact is that we will only feel bad if we give up something we once had, not what we could have had. I tell Pete to enjoy the rest of his time at the fair, and give a bow to say goodbye.

When I looked up, he was gone. He turned over the card that had nothing on it, so as I packed them up I collected all of the other cards first. I put them face down over the fifth card to put it away in the small box they came in. But before I do, I glanced at the bottom of the fifth card. Seventy-six was written in ink.

read more: www.mostthings.net

title: [MF] Five Cards

question: Summarize the plot twist in the story.

answer: The narrator believes that Pete, an affable player, does not quite know the card game they are playing. It's not surprising when Pete loses-which he does so gracefully. However, after Pete has left, the narrator is sorting through the cards when they discover that Pete did, in fact, have a 76, which means he had actually won. In the twist also lies the fact that to the narrator's own eyes, that card had actually been blank.

question: Explain how the card turned from blank to displaying the numbers "76".

question: Summarize the moral of the story.

answer: The moral of the story seems to be, don't always believe what you see. The narrator-who has boasted a meticulous knowledge of this particular game-is clearly very secure in their forecasting abilities. They also seem certain of their ability to read people. However, at the end, they are baffled at how wrong they were, as the card seemed to either have been there the entire time, or something magical happened. The former seems likelier, which is a testament to the notion that you can always be wrong.

question: Summarize what the narrator has to say about opportunities.

answer: The narrator believes that everyone is given opportunities in myriad areas, and that people also have a tendency to not want to commit to the first opportunity for fear that there might be something better. The narrator posits that this is because we want something with which to compare opportunities and offers. The narrator believes that we do this in part with the hope of becoming better versions of ourselves, but in doing so we are risking loss and rendering ourselves vulnerable.


text:
QUAID-E-AZAM PUBLIC SCHOOL, KARACHI is a not-for-profit boarding school located in Karachi, Pakistan.[1] The school is run by the Sindh Madressah Board and is spread over 200-acre land.[2]

It was founded in 1987 by Pakistani educationist Nisar Hassanally Effendi.[3] The school provides education to poor boys and girls.[4]

[1] https://tribune.com.pk/story/959983/city-of-education-home-away-from-home-for-quaid-e-azam-school-students/

[2]

[3]

[4]

title: Quaid-e-Azam Public School

question: Who is the founder of the school?

answer: Nisar Hassanally Effendi.

question: When was the school established?

answer: 1987

question: How big is the school?

answer: The school is spread over 200 acres of land.

question: Who runs the school?

answer: The school is run by Sindh Madressah Board.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Quaid-E-Azam Public School is a boarding school located in Karachi. The school was established in 1987 by Nisar Hassanally Effendi. It spread over 200 acres of land. Currently run by the Sindh Madressah Board, the school provides education to the poor.


text:
	I stand on the stage, putting off the beginning of the performance as long as possible.  The band that I play guitar for was supposed to start four minutes ago. We're the opening act for two bands out from LA on there way through Small Town, Utah on their tour. Now, there just waiting on us to get the show started. Waiting on me. But I'm being selfish. I do that sometimes.
	Me – I'm waiting for something. *Someone* actually, but that's just semantics, and due to my motives it could be argued that what happens after she gets here is more important right now. And it probably is. Then, in she walks, standing next to my sister who made the eighty mile round trip to pick her up and bring her here for me. For a second I forget where I am; what I'm doing. It's like this every time I see her. The most gorgeous, perfect person in the world, with this never-fading energy coming off of her that makes my heart miss a few beats.
	She's my ex-girlfriend. We're *friends* now. My grandma calls her Hope, even though that's not her name. We'll call her Hope, too. Now, like every time I see her, I start acting off of instinct. Not the lower instinct of animals, but the higher instinct of the emotional beasts that humans are. I step off the stage, force my way to her, and pull her close.
	I say, pay attention.
	I say, I'm going to show you what my love for you means.

	Before she has a chance to even part her lips, I'm back on stage, and we're barreling through the intro to our set. Well, I'm pretty sure we are. Like I told her, I'm showing what I feel for her. Pouring every ounce of love, passion, happiness, anger, and sorrow into every note I play. It's probably not as impressive to everyone else as it is in my head.
	The set goes on, and with each verse, each chorus, each contrived guitar solo, and every cleverly placed stop, syncopation, and harmony we play, I'm emptying more and more of my soul into what I'm doing. She's gotta be fucking loving it.
	Twenty-eight minutes of this feels like a second and a lifetime simultaneously, because every moment with this girl is at once a blink of an eye, and the passing of an era. One beautiful second is a gorgeous eternity.
	After the finale of our opening set, I drop my guitar and run to her again.
	I say, meet me out back in five minutes.
	I say, I love you.

	Five minutes later, I've hauled my stuff off stage, and helped to get the next band's gear in it's place. Five minutes later, I'm outside standing face to face with the one I love.
	I say, you know this isn't the end for us, Hope. You know we can't go on like this anymore. I know that I hurt you, and you know that I'm sorry.
	I say, it's okay, though. Because there are two ways I see this going.
	I say, first is, you stop all this. You and I give us another chance, like I know you want to. And you know I want to. Everything's perfect. And no one has to hurt more than necessary. Not you, not me, and not John. You know you don't love him, and you know that you won't be happy with him, so you can stop it all now. Then, we end up together again.
	I say, second is, you keep it up. You keep fighting what you know in your heart just because you want to prove me wrong. You and John get together, and that's that. I go my own way, focus on school, and get my life in order. Then, somewhere down the road, we meet again. In my head, it's five years from now. I'm in London, teaching at a college, and I haven't moved on, because you know I won't. You happen to be in London, too, albeit just for the day. You're there for a photo shoot. The famous model you've become. We happen upon each other in the city, and we get talking. Turns out you haven't moved on, either. No one's surprised. You've had your heart broken a few more times, sure. And you've broken a few more hearts yourself. But you haven't moved on. Then, we end up together again.
	I say, your choice.
	I start backing away, and before I turn around to walk to my car I say, I love you, Hope. Goodbye.
	She gets that all-too-familiar bitter tone in her voice again when she says, so what? So now you're just leaving my life?
	I say, I'm going home to figure my life out. You could come with.
	She says, okay.

title: Final Performance.

question: What does the narrator do to get his ex-girlfriend back?

answer: The narrator has his sister drive her out so that she can see his set. He plays a ton of songs, pouring all his love for her into them. Then, after the set he gives her a passionate speech saying that either they can get together now, or they'll meet again in five years and get together because he knows she does not love John, the guy she is with. At the end he gives her a choice whether she wants to come with him or not, and she chooses to.


text:
GABRIEL BO DURKAC (born December 12, 1972) is an American college baseball coach and former third baseman. He is the hitting and infield coach at the University of South Florida. Durkac played college baseball at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1992 and Virginia Tech from 1993 to 1995 and Arizona State University before pursuing a professional career. He served as the head baseball coach at Illinois State University from 2015 to 2018.

Playing career

Durkac began his college career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he hit .226 as a freshman. After being told he would not have much of an opportunity to play much as a sophomore, he transferred to Virginia Tech.[1] While he was at Virginia Tech, he was twice named an All-Metro Conference honoree.

Coaching career

On June 10, 2002, Durkac was hired as an assistant at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.[2]

On June 23, 2014, Durkac was promoted to head baseball coach.[3] He was fired on May 29, 2018, after compiling a 82–134 record.[4]

On July 26, 2018, Durkac was named the volunteer assistant at the University of Miami, working with infielders and hitters.[5] He was then named the infielder and hitting coach at the University of South Florida, as well as recruiting coordinator on July 16, 2019.[6]

Head coaching record

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

title: Bo Durkac

question: What is Bo Durkac's full name?

answer: Gabriel Bo Durkac.

question: With which universities has Durkac been associated?

answer: University of South Florida, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Virginia Tech, Arizona State University, Illinois State University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and University of Miami.

question: When did Durkac become a coach?

answer: He became a head coach in 2014, and later an infielder and hitting coach in 2019.

question: What sport does Durkac play?

answer: Baseball, at the college level.

question: Describe Durkac's career as a player.

answer: Durkac was a third baseman in college baseball, hitting .226 as a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, before being told he would not play much as a sophomore. He transferred to Virginia Tech, where he was twice named an All-Metro Conference honoree.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Gabriel Bo Durkac is an American college baseball coach. He played as a third baseman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech. He became a head coach in 2014, was fired in 2018, and became an infielder and hitting coach in 2019.


text:
Published
    29 November 2016

image copyrightPA

image captionScottish councils could face a combined funding gap of more than £550m by 2018/19, auditors have warned

SCOTLAND'S COUNCILS FACE "SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES" MANAGING THEIR FINANCES IN FUTURE YEARS, ACCORDING TO A NEW REPORT FROM THE ACCOUNTS COMMISSION.

Auditors said local authorities were generally in good financial health in 2015/16, but face a difficult future.

They warned that rising demand for services and falling income could leave councils with a combined funding gap of £553m by 2018/19.

The Scottish government said it had treated local government "very fairly".

The Accounts Commission report warns that councils "need to change the way they work" and make long-term plans if they are to achieve the savings needed.

It found that councils had managed to reduce debt and increase their reserves slightly in 2015/16, but warned that "significant challenges" lie ahead due to shrinking income and rising expenditure.

'Increasing pressures'

The report notes that local authority budgets face a long-term decline in funding from the Scottish government - down 8.4% in real terms between 2010/11 and 2016/17 - alongside increasing demand on services and increasing costs on areas such as pensions.

Ronnie Hinds, deputy chairman of the Accounts Commission, said: "Councils are generally doing a good job with their finances in difficult circumstances. But pressures continue to increase on a number of fronts at the same time as they face the prospect of further reductions in their spending.

"It's vital that councillors and officers set medium and long-term financial plans based on clear priorities for the services they provide to their communities."

The report found that of Scotland's 32 local authorities, 14 had long-term financial strategies in place, with 15 more having at least a medium-term financial strategy.

image captionLocal councils run services such as road maintenance, refuse collections and education

Three councils - Glasgow City, Highland and East Renfrewshire - "do not have a financial strategy covering the medium or long term".

Kevin Keenan, a Dundee City councillor and finance spokesman for local government body Cosla, said it was "virtually impossible" for councils to set medium and long-term financial plans based on the yearly budgets provided by the Scottish government.

He said: "We all know the direction of travel for public sector finances. Indeed, the report actually warns of further reductions in funding for councils from central government while demand on council services, particularly social care, continues to rise.

"Whilst councils and councillors do their best to mitigate the damage to communities from political choices made at the centre, this is becoming harder and harder to do."

'Very fair'

However, a spokeswoman for the Scottish government insisted that local government had been treated "very fairly" by the Holyrood administration, "despite cuts to the Scottish government from the UK government".

She added: "This report highlights the pressures that councils - like other parts of the public sector - face, but also highlights that they are continuing to improve services.

"We expect local authorities to continue to use resources as efficiently and effectively as possible to ensure taxpayers get the best possible services and value for money.

"The report makes a number of recommendations aimed at helping councils to meet future challenges. We welcome the report, and would expect all councillors to consider and take any necessary action to implement its recommendations."

image copyrightWilliam Starkey

image captionGlasgow City Council was one of three local authorities judged to lack a medium or long-term financial plan

Scottish Conservative local government spokesman Graham Simpson said it was getting "more and more difficult" for councils to cope.

He said: "The report rightly warns that worse is to come, and we would urge the SNP to come clean on what lies in store for local authorities down the line.

"The funding pressures put on councils will undoubtedly see some increase in council tax next year."

Scottish Labour's deputy leader Alex Rowley said the report showed the SNP had cut £500m from local authority budgets.

He said: "The SNP shouldn't use the Scottish Parliament as a conveyor belt for Tory austerity. We should use the tax powers of the parliament to invest in public services and give everybody a fair chance in life."

The Scottish Greens are holding a Holyrood debate on local democracy later in the week.

MSP Andy Wightman said: "It is clear we now need to dedicate as much time and energy on negotiating a fiscal framework for local government to set the ground rules for future funding and to increase fiscal autonomy and democracy.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie added: "The figures published today paint a very concerning picture for local services like schools and social care. These local services are lifelines for local communities and, as such, must be funded properly."

-   Scottish government
-   Scotland economy

-   -   -   -

question: What is the main gist of this article?

answer: According to the Accounts Commission's latest report, financial management will be a primary issue for Scottish local authorities in years to come. In 2015/2016, auditors found that municipal governments were typically in good financial health. The future, on the other hand, seems bleak for them. Councils could face a combined financial deficit of £553 million by 2018/19 due to increased demand for services and decreasing revenue, according to the report.

question: What were the observations made by the Accounts Commission report?

answer: A report issued by the Accounts Commission urged municipalities to create long-term planning if they are going to save money. Although councils managed to cut debt and improve their reserves marginally in 2015/16, they warned of "severe problems" ahead because of falling income and growing expenditure. The research also stated that the Scottish government's financing for local authority budgets would decrease over time while demand for services and expenses, such as pensions, would rise. According to the research, 14 out of Scotland's 32 local councils had long-term financial plans in place, while 15 had at least a medium-term financial strategy.

question: What does the text say about the fiscal policy in Scotland?


text:
Dr. Edward Rozgut dreamily walked from the back of his office, smiled humbly at his waiting patients, and hinted to Miss Ann, the clinic secretary, to get Ron from his office. Miss Ann slid her slipper-covered feet across the checkered tile floor to a beat-up supply closet door in between the men and women's restrooms. Behind the door was an all concrete room with one lamp in the corner, an unusually short fold-out table, and an upside-down yellow bucket imprinted with “CAUTION” in large black letters. Sitting uneasily atop the bucket was Ron Smith, the clinic's only post-operation monitor. He saw himself as an asset to the clinic. He thought himself irreplaceable, as most working people tend to. As soon as he heard the turning of his doorknob, Ron leapt up, grabbing his latex gloves and POPTM. The POPTM, or Post-Operation Patient Transfer Machine, was merely a glorified mechanized cot but calling it such was blasphemous to Ron, so the clinic staff decided to humor the little goblin man. He jammed the cot past Miss Ann without a word. He stopped in the center of the lobby, nervously looking back and forth between the two operation room doors. Miss Ann, annoyed, pointed towards Room 2A. Ron, defending himself, grumbled, “I know what I’m doing, woman! Don’t rush me!” Miss Ann released a loud sigh and sat herself back at her neatly organized desk.

It was a bright colored room, void of decoration other than a shakily painted quote above the door stating one of the World Federation’s mottos, “What a Beautiful Waste is Life!” Ron approached the ETB, Ergonomic Tranquility Bed, and stared into the open-eyed, smiling face of the corpse of Walter P. Cavins, age sixty-five. Cavins, like any good citizen of the world, had come to the Tranquility Clinic upon reaching the Age of Service. Cavins was a patriot of the World Federation, a vehement nihilist, and coincidentally, Ron’s cousin on his mother’s side. Ron locked the ETB and the POPTM together, without taking an eye off of Cavins’ face. He watched as the hydraulic lift of the ETB rose, until Cavins’ corpse slid gently into the stationary position on the POPTM. Ron said to Cavins’ remains, “Wipe that smirk off your face, Walter,” before wheeling the corpse down the short hallway to the Organic Recycler, and dumping Cavins in headfirst, all without a single word from anyone else in the building.
Dr. Rozgut kept the same cheery demeanor as he stood and watched Ron's process. With the closing of Ron’s office door, the doctor waved to a young girl and her mother to follow him back to Room 1B. The girl was confined to a wheelchair and her tiny blonde head rested on the neck of a tiny crippled body. Her mother pushed the chair with little effort as the girl hummed a cute lullaby and rocked her head gently back and forth.

"How are you today, little Miss Abbi Wedgel?" smiled Dr. Rozgut as he brought his lanky body heavily onto his cushioned stool.

"Hi!" blurted the girl. She was mentally handicapped, but she was a gleaming beacon of petty childhood happiness. Her mother, on the other hand, was a stout and stoic woman closing in on the Age of Service. Her face was gentle and constantly rose blushed despite her seriousness, and she tended to keep her puckered, chapped lips together unless directly spoken to. This was much to Dr. Rozgut's dismay as he could never remember whether she was a Betty or Marge. He hated doing anything that he perceived would hurt someone's feelings, so he instead opted to continue his casual conversation with the slow girl.

"So what brings you and your lovely mother to my clinic today?"

"Mommy says...you're a good guy...and you're gunna help me!" Abbi yelped brokenly. Her mother stared vacantly at the various pictures on the room's drab green walls.

"Oh, is that so?" Dr. Rozgut chuckled. "Wanna know how?" he asked in the most playful voice he could conjure up.

"Yessuh," the girl slurred. Dr. Rozgut loved to keep things simple, and it overjoyed him that little Abbi Wedgel seemed suited just for the simple.

"You see, it's such a quick little thing. And it's completely about you, little Abbi. See, your mommy will take you out for the best day ever, see?" he pointed toward a colorful poster depicting ice cream, smiley faces, and lollipops. "Then you'll come back here and I'll give you a little something to make you sleepy, see? Your mommy and I will be with you the whole time. See, after your little nap, you'll wake up, see, and be up there," he pointed again, this time towards the speckled ceiling and bright fluorescent lights, "in heaven. See?"

The girl twirled her short blonde hair and gazed up at the lights with her light blue eyes. "Can I be an angel?" her smile doubled in size.

"Why, you're already an angel, little Miss Abbi Wedgel!"
______________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Rozgut took Abbi out of Room 1B back to the lobby. “Miss Ann,” he smiled, “you wouldn’t mind keeping our little friend company while her mother and I have a short conversation, would you?”

“Of course not,” Miss Ann beamed. She snatched the opportunity to have someone else to talk to other than Ron Smith, whom she aggressively and actively despised. Dr. Rozgut quietly closed the door behind him and attempted to lock eyes with Ms. Wedgel. He noticed something unsettling about her. Her eyes fidgeted around the room, trying desperately to cling to anything but Dr. Rozgut’s kind, deep-blue eyes. This disturbed Edward. Every visitor to the clinic took an instant liking to Edward. He had a trustworthy air about him and the tender, friendly features of a much younger man. He took pride in very few aspects of his life, but it had always satisfied him to know that he was trusted among his neighbors, even those that had never spoken with him directly.

“Ms. Wedgel, I…” he trailed off, and began to sweat from nervousness. Ms. Wedgel forced out words before Dr. Rozgut could compose himself.

“I know what I’m doing,” she choked. “I know that I’m giving her a death sentence.” She burst violently into tears. “What kind of mother kills her only daughter?”

“There’s no pain involved, if that’s what worries you,” Dr. Rozgut whimpered meekly. He had never encountered such sudden guilt, such anguish. Death was an essential part of society. Euthanasia had become a tenet of the Nihilist-Socialist doctrine long before Edward’s time, long before any living person’s time. Edward certainly didn't fear death. He would enjoy his life, reap the benefits of the World Federation while he could, and at the Age of Service, he would, like all other patriots, voluntarily end his own life for the common good. That was the way it was. That was the way it should be, he thought. How could society prosper as it did if the population wasn’t regulated?

“Pain? You think I’m worried about her pain?” she gave a sick sort of laugh. “She’s been in pain her entire life! I brought her into this world broken and twisted! It’s not the pain that bothers me, sir, it’s the principle!”

Her sudden wretched episode nauseated Dr. Rozgut. He could feel the contents of his stomach edging up his esophagus; his heart beat more and more rapidly after every passing second. “Principle?” he stammered. “But, Ms. Wedgel…”

“It’s Betty, dammit! Betty!” she screeched between tears.

“Sorry, Ms. Wedgel, I mean Betty. Look, you know as well as I that this is voluntary. No one can be forced to do this; you don’t have to euthanize Abbi. It’s against the Ethics. It’s all voluntary. It’s a service to society.”

“A service? Voluntary? Ethics?” she raged hysterically. “You don’t know the meaning of…” She stopped. Her eyes finally met Edward’s. He was visibly disturbed, confused terror filled his face. Ms. Wedgel wrested control of herself. Apathetically, she responded. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, doctor, I have to go. I’ll be back later in the week. I’ll bring dear little Abbi.” She stormed out of Room 1, slamming the door behind her unintentionally in her rush. Edward sat alone on his cushioned stool and put his face to his hands.

“Alright, okay,” he whispered. He ran his bony fingers through his coarse hair and stood. Miss Ann cracked the door open, and through the small space called to Dr. Rozgut.

“Edward? Ms. Wedgel just ran out of the office. Is everything alright?”

“I’m not sure,” Edward stood completely still.

“Do you mind if I come in? Edward?”

“No, no, don’t come in,” he said in a low, sad voice. “Tell Ron to go home. Close up the clinic. You can go home, too.”

“Are you sure? Old Mr. Johnson called; he said he was finally ready to come in today, though.”

“Tell old Mr. Johnson we can do it another day. Any other day will do.”

“But…”

“Miss Ann, I’m sorry, but I’m done for the day. I’m going home as soon as all of you are out of the clinic. Maybe it’s not the best day to be providing our Service.”
Edward listened with his ear to the door waiting for everyone to leave. Miss Ann was knocking at Ron’s door.

“What the hell do you want, woman?” Ron started to yell. “I know for a fact there ain’t more goddamn patients out there!”

“Ron,” Miss Ann tried to keep calm, “Edward said we could go home.”

“Why the fuck would he say that? He didn’t say nothing to me!” His door flung open, bashing against the wall, narrowly missing Miss Ann.

“Ron, listen. Listen for once. Get out right now. Get the hell out of the clinic. Edward’s done, so we’re done. Okay? Is that okay with you, Ron?” she snapped.

“Fine, woman! See if I come back!”

“Nobody gives a shit Ron, all you do is roll around cots all day!”

The fighting became more distant, and the bell above the door chimed. Edward finally left Room 1B, grabbed his things, and began his walk to the Commune’s living quarters.

title: "The Curly-Headed One" (Incomplete)

question: Summarize the emotions Mrs. Wedgel is going through as she visits Dr. Rozgut's office.

answer:
Mrs. Wedgel visited Dr. Rozgut's office with her daughter, Abbi. Abbi was mentally handicapped and was scheduled by her mother to be euthanized as sometimes voluntarily required by the law. As Rozgut chatted with Abbi, Mrs. Wedgel avoided any conversation, looking at the pictures on the wall. after a while, Abbi was relocated to the lobby as Rozgut wanted to have a private conversation with Mrs. Wedgel.
Mrs. Wedgel choked as she told Rozgut that she understands that she is killing off her own daughter. Rozgut tried to calm her down, saying there is no pain involved but Mrs. Wedgel laughed maniacally, saying she has watched Abbi being in pain all her life and that she is not bothered by the pain but the principle of the act. Dr. Rozgut told Mrs. Wedgel that the procedure is voluntary and in service to society so as to regulate the population. Mrs. Wedgel, however, was too upset to listen to the principle of killing her own daughter as a service to society. She ran out of Dr. Rozgut's office, taking her daughter along with her, and telling the doctor they will be back in a week's time.

question: Why was the use of euthanasia to control population voluntary?