text:
John MacAndrew bent to the ground, picking up the last piece of wood, he placed it with the others.  John's wife sent him out to the woods to find firewood for the night.

On his way back to the farm, John noticed three men in the woods, traveling down an animal made path.  John was expecting them.  Reivers who were sent out to find John and kill him.  Reivers were raiders along the Scottish/English border consisting of both nationalities.  John had earlier joined forces with the Ross clan who where pursuing a group of reivers who had stolen the cattle of the Ross Clan.  John was one archer of supreme skill and made a name for himself killing reivers with his bow.  At the end of the pursuit, John pulled out his bow and struck the Chief reiver in the eye.

As the men walked down the path they noticed a young man carrying a bundle of wood.  The young man was not a tall one, actually he was rather short in stature, and seemed to have trouble carrying the wood as he stumbled and dropped one piece after another.
"You there boy," the reiver said.  "Do you know a John MacAndrew?"
"I know him," John said.  "I'm the servant."
"I need you to show us where he lives."
"Not sure if I can do that, he doesn't like visitors."
What a surprise, thought the reivers.  John MacAndrew was known for his run-ins with border raiders and was constantly in danger from one seeking a vendetta.
"Tell you what," one of the reivers said.  "I will give you two shillings if you bring us to MacAndrew."
"Two shillings? I guess I could take you to his house."
They followed the boy up the path to a small farm and up to the farm house.  The house was not much to look at, at most it looked like it held two rooms.  Outside the house was an old oak tree, it looked as if it been there for centuries.

Claire MacAndrew placed the last log into the fireplace.  She sat at the large table at the center of the room, the table itself almost took up the entire room, leaving little space to walk.  Where is he?  John should be home by now, thought Claire.  It was a cold night and the fire would not last much longer.  There was a knock on the door.  Claire got up from her seat and opened the small wooden door.  Standing outside was her husband and three large men.  John took off his hat and held it with both hands.
"Excuse me Ms,"  John said.  "Is your husband around?"
"He ran off about an hour ago, but he should be around here somewhere."
Claire and her husband had many encounters with reivers.  She knew all about the dangers that seemed to follow John wherever he went.  Once again she would have to help John escape his troubles.  Where would he be without me?  Dead, perhaps, thought Claire.
"Would you like to come in?"
"Do you have food?" said one of the reivers.
"We always have food for guests, please sit down."
The reivers one by one walk in and sat down at the table.  John also walked it with his hat still in hand as he stood patently by the door.
"Samuel,"  Claire turned to John.  "Go fetch the master,  I think he went to check on the cows."
"Yes Ms."
With a smile John put his hat back on and ran out the door, closing the door behind him.

Once outside, John made his way to the barn located behind the house.  The barn was where the MacAndrew's kept farm equipment and newly slaughtered animals.  Inside there was a newly killed cow.  John placed the cow on his shoulder and carried it back to the house.  Placing the cow against the door, with the flesh side up, made it more of a challenge to open the door from the inside.  John turned around to face the old oak tree.  My favorite tree, thought John as he started to climb.  About six meters up, John reached into a hollow crevice within the tree.  He pulled out a bow and a quiver with a supply of arrows.

Placing three cups on the table, Claire poured water for each of the three men at the table.
"I thought you had food."
"I'm bringing you food, I thought you would want some water first."
At the far end of the house Claire opened the pantry where she stored a small provision of food.  She gathered a arm full of small whole wheel size of cheese.
"I hope you all like cheese."
"Cheese?" said one man.  "She has cheese!"
"A whole wheel of cheese." Claire said.  She made her way over to the men, still seated, eagerly awaiting the first meal in half a day of travel.  While walking to the reivers she slipped and fell onto the newly swept dirt floor.  The balls of cheese bounced and rolled away from her in every direction.  The three men all in a hurry flew from their seats and dived for the cheese, fighting each other for the food.  As if they where rodents, desperate for food, crammed the food into their own mouths as if there was no time to chew.  Suddenly the room was filled with the cry of the young man.
"MacAndrew is coming!"  the boy yelled.  "John MacAndrew is on his way!"
The men struggled to get to their feet.  One choked as he tried to spit a large piece of cheese from his mouth.  They rushed for the door, but there was something pressing against the small wooden door, slowing their escape.

John watched as if someone was struggling to open the door.  The fresh cow carcass was doing what he wished.  John pulled out an arrow from his quiver.  Pulled back on his bow, aimed at the door and waited.  The door slowly by little budged open more and more.  A large jut finally flew the door open as the carcass fell in front of the door with the skinned side facing upwards.  The first of the reivers rushed out.  He slipped on the skinned carcass and landed on his back.  John released his first arrow.  The arrow struck the man in the neck entering from the lower part of the neck and traveled upwards towards the skull.  Reiver number two emerged from the farm house, sword in hand.  He looked around, as if he was scanning his surroundings.  John released his second arrow.  The reiver looked upwards towards the oak tree.  The arrow struck the man in the head, killing him instantly.  The third and final reiver staggered out, still choking on his piece of cheese roll, sword in hand.  The third arrow left John MacAndrew's bow.  Striking the man in the spleen.  The man fell as he screamed in agony.  John released a fourth arrow.  Hitting the man in the stomach, followed by a fifth arrow to the chest.

John placed his quiver of arrows and bow back into the crevice of the old oak tree.  As the climbed back down his wife came out to see what had happened.
"You know they will send more men to find you."
"Let them come,"  John said.  "They are not the first, and they will not be the last raiders I kill."
"Don't you think it would be wise to move north?"  Claire said.  "I mean--away from the border, away from the cattle raiders?"
"Why?  John asked.  "This is our home.  If they want to steal my cattle and my way of living they will have to get past me first.  I'm not going to be chased away from my home."
"I'm just not sure how many times I can get you out of trouble John."
"Don't worry, I'm the best archer this place has ever seen.  I'm not going anywhere soon."

title: John MacAndrew and the Reivers

question: Describe John MacAndrew.

answer: A young man skilled with a bow who has made a name for himself killing reivers.

question: Who/what are the reivers?

answer: Raiders along the Scottish/English border.

question: Describe the story's setting.

answer: Historical farmland.

question: Who is Claire MacAndrew?

answer: John's wife, who often has to get him out of trouble.

question: Why is there conflict between John and the reivers?

answer: The reivers steal cattle from the area, including John's farm, and John has killed plenty of them while protecting his land and his neighbors.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: John MacAndrew has a reputation for killing the cattle raiders known as reivers along the Scottish/English border, defending his  farm and his neighbors. He runs into three reivers looking for him and, pretending to be a servant, leads them to his home, where his wife Claire distracts the men with food. John sets a trap that allows him to kill the three reivers one at a time. Claire asks if they should move north for safety, but John says this is his home, and he's the best archer this place has ever seen.


split: train

text:
A couple of people asked me to post this on an askreddit thread when I mentioned it, so I thought I'd post it here, it seemed like it fitted.

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Michael stood with his back to the body of his dead wife, and took a long, weary drag on his cigarette. A lonely pearl of sorrow rolled down his pale cheek, and fell to the ground below. He was told it would help to cry. He was told it would give him ‘closure’. But all it did was remind him how much he missed her. He breathed out, allowing a suited arm to fall to his side and watched, detached, as the smoke drifted away on the breeze, carefree and untroubled by the worries of men.

The cigarette was nearing its end. A second tear cruised down his cheek. He sighed.

"Dadda”

That one word carried for him more emotion than anything he had heard in his miserable life, a stark contrast to the innocence with which it was muttered. Michael turned with a heavy heart to see the short, stunted steps of his beautiful son.
His cigarette was almost entirely finished now. Another tear crawled towards his chin.
Felix’s messy, blonde hair matched his fathers, but he had his mother’s eyes, pools of wisdom, fascinating and vivid. But they only served to remind Michael of his guilt. Her eyes had been the last thing Michael saw that day. She had died of asphyxiation, from the smoke of the fire. The emergency services were already there when he returned from the shop with Felix. The stove had been left on; Michael had been the one to cook that night.

The cigarette was gone now, lost in the jungle of grass. Michael shed one final tear, before wiping the sadness from his face and pulling his son into a tight embrace.

Michael took a deep breath, and they turned to face her together. He resolved there and then to do everything to protect Felix, all he had left in the whole world, and to never let him go.

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Michael was at war. He slashed left and right through the enemy, dragging them to their knees. But all too soon it was over, and Michael stood, resolute among the bodies of the fallen, his vindication shining through the destruction surrounding him.

He knew it had been necessary, to protect his son. His young, vulnerable son. He found relief, not pleasure in his actions, seeking only to shield Felix from the world.

Only then was the billhook allowed to fall to the ground, replaced by a can of petrol. Michael spent a minute catching his breath, before dousing the ground in petrol. He reached into the recesses of his pocket, withdrew a box of matches, and lit one; it twirled through the air on to the bed of nettles. He looked on grimly as they slowly began to wither and curl in the flames, painfully aware that he could not prevent their return.

Michael lit a cigarette.

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Michael sat in the empty, desolate shell of his house, on a dark September morning gripped in the throes of an autumnal battle, and watched the son he had spent 19 years nurturing and protecting leave his life.

He was not a happy man. He had spent the years since his wife’s death keeping his son away from the world, and now he had failed. His son was leaving for a university on the other side of the country, where Michael could not protect him. Where Michael could not ensure he went to bed at the right time, or ate well, or went to the doctor for every tiny ache and pain.

So he wept. He allowed the cascade of emotion to erupt from his very soul, and welcomed the feel of pain in his chest, comforting him with its familiarity, until no more tears came.

Then he lit a cigarette. But it did not hold the same appeal now, the arid smoke slowly choking him like ash filling up his battered lungs. So he cast it aside, and once again began to weep.

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Michael stood with his back to the body of his dead son, and stared out across the rolling green ocean stretching out in front of him, punctuated by regular markers of death. There were no tears now; he had none left to give. He knew now it would not help to cry. He knew he would never get ‘closure’.

He turned, this time alone, to face the graves of his family. He remarked on their passing to himself. A fire and a car accident. His son had been drunk. It was the last in a chain of mad stunts. Michael blamed his constant restraint and protection. To him, his grave was here now too.

This time, there was no cigarette.

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EDIT: Some formatting stuff

title: Smoke - A story about an overprotective father and his beloved son

question: Summarize everything relating to the theme of loss.

answer: Michael stands with his back to the body of his dead wife. He was told crying would help by giving him closure, but it only reminds him how much he misses her. Michael is also sad when his son leaves for university, traveling to the other side of the country where Michael cannot protect him. At the end of the story, Michael mourns his son, who died in a car accident.

question: What does the story say about the type of father Michael is?

answer: After the death of his wife, Michael resolves to do everything to protect his son Felix. He seeks to shield Felix from the world. He weeps when his son leaves for university to the other side of the country, where Michael cannot protect him. When his son dies, he blames himself for being overprotective.

question: What does the story say about the theme of moving on?


text:
Every day while walking to school three friends would always pass the same eerie old building.  Broken windows with silky spider webs caught the light of the rising sun.  Jungle like weeds grew, taking over the once walkable stone pathway to the door.  A sign on an old oak tree read: “Danger, Do Not Enter.”  Everyone had heard different rumors about the broken down flat.  Some say that a newlywed couple and their young child were murdered there.  Others are certain that there is an infestation of mutant hobos.  A couple of people think a witch named Chaney lives in the attic.

The idea was born one day at lunch.  While eating the horrific cafeteria food a thought popped into Benny’s head.  “We always have amazing parties but don’t you have all the cleaning up after?” he said.  “Oh I know!!” Cody answered.  “Well wouldn’t you want a place we can party at once and then leave, not worrying about all of the trash and filth we create?”   Benny then told them about his amazing plan.  Cody, Benny and the third boy named Zander worked on this plan for a few weeks and then on a Tuesday they decided they were ready to start telling others.  They told all of their friends and their friends told friends and so on and so forth.  Then they started collection funds and donations.  Cups, chips bottles and dollars started rapidly coming in to support the future event.  “People keep asking where it’s going to go down.” Zander told Benny.  “Don’t worry they will find out the day of, that’s part of the plan.”
Friday, 5:00am. Three boys sneak out and head for the deserted homestead.  The boarded up human habitat looked even spookier in the early morning mist.  With them they carried the snacks and supplies they obtained throughout the week.  The setup was simple and within an hour they were out.  When they arrived at the school everyone was eager to find out where the party would be.  Even though they were bugged throughout the day the three boys did not export the information into the fellow classmates.  Finally, as the bell rang, the location was released.

Young souls entered the building at nightfall, full of excitement and wonder.  The floorboards creaked as the unfamiliar weight of human bodies filled the once furnished living room.  Students treated themselves to food and drink.  Laughter filled the area as the effects of the beverages started to surface.  A girl was distressed when she couldn’t find her phone.  Cody saw it in the middle of the dance floor where teens jumped up and down to music like the floor was a trampoline.  Swiftly he adventured through the dense pack of sweaty minors to retrieve the fair damsel’s item.  Nobly he returned it, miraculously undamaged, to the fair female who then took him into another room to thank him.

More and more students left the safety of their parent’s homes and traversed through the moonlit night into the party house.  The building started to sway back and forth in response to the dancing and sheer mass of humans filling the house like the stuffing of a Thanksgiving turkey.  Little did they know, this party would be their last through the effects of three events.
The first inevitable accident happened in an unlikely place, the bathroom.  Entering the bathroom to find a quiet place to get away two schoolmates, one being Zander, decided to try something new.  Their love brought them close together and they kissed for the first time.  Unfortunately, the combined weight was too much for the rotting floor to hold them up.  Reluctantly the boards gave way and the two lovebirds plummeted through to the basement.  Breaking their legs from the fall they tried to call for help.  Sadly, the booming music drowned out their calls and no one upstairs could hear them.  In the basement, however, their shouting was heard.  Hungry rats, also looking for a safe quiet place, attacked the two.  Greatly outnumbered and unable to move, the couple was eaten alive by the ravenous rats.

The blaring music mixed with alcoholic beverages added to the ignorance of the teens.  They could not tell but the floor was bending down under their weight.  The party house creaked and groaned trying as much as it could to stay upright.  Trying not to take the lives of the children inside, it stayed up.  At this point the worst thing any kid could imagine showed up outside the borrowed residence.  Not the devil, the Pope or even death… it was the police.  Even through the three boys efforts to not give the location away to snitches or adults they still found out.  Thus, the second undesirable event occurred.
The third event happened shortly after the second.  At the sight of police cars outside the music suddenly stopped.  The crowd of teenagers stumbled to the back door, as fast as their drunken bodies’ would let them.  Pushing, shoving, quietly yelling everyone wanted to get out.  This unexpected rush of energy pushed the house to its breaking point.  The walls shook, old paintings fell off the walls, the remaining unbroken windows shattered with an earsplitting crash and within seconds the roof pancaked the children trying to escape.  The only survivors were the termites feasting on the decaying wood and three cockroaches.

title: A Story I Wrote For My English Class

question: What did Cody, Benny and Zander start a collection of funds for?

answer: For party supplies to throw a party with their friends.

question: When was the location of the party released?

answer: As the bell rang.

question: Explain how Zander and his love ended up in the basement of the party house.

answer: They began to kiss in a bathroom but the rotting floor gave way and they plummeted.

question: Summarize what happened when the police arrived at the party house.

answer: The teenagers rushed out the back door and the house collapsed, crushing them. There were no survivors.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Three teenagers came up with a plan to throw a party at an abandoned house and collected funds for it. At first, the party was a success with a big turnout but the police showed up. The crowed panicked and tried to escape the back door but the house gave way and collapsed, crushing them, leaving no survivors.


text:
The Queen did what she could do to relax in her sitting room—pondering questions that lives would hinge on—when a knock came at her door. Through her exhaustion she stood to her feet and stepped to the mirror to check her reflection. There she smoothed the worry from her face, softening her aspect with a tender smile at the edges of her lips, placed her crown atop her head, and then stepped to the door.

A Soldier stood proudly before her. His gaze was hard, his face tough, providing a look that could only be attained from bitter time spent on a battlefield. In the doorway he spoke bluntly, harshly, to his Queen, “I am not fighting for you anymore.”

She recognized him, she wasn’t sure from where—she knew she had never met him. The Queen motioned for him to enter the room and to take a seat across from her ornate chair. Both postured, backs stiff, without comfort, and exchanged looks.

“I’ve watched your palace up here on this hill and I’ve wondered who the woman we all fight and kill for is. But now,” he pauses, shoulders breaking under the weight they held, he lets out a deep breath, slouching in the chair. “I’m leaving tomorrow. From then you can do what you will, I won’t care. But before I go, I must ask you, why?”

Her sitting room was decorated with historic tapestries. Her crown was adorned with priceless jewels. Her face held onto a youth and beauty that may not have been rivaled in the rest of the world.

Quietly the Soldier sucked in the deep breath that he had released and straightened his back once again, “I see you now. You are so very young. I don’t think you’re able to understand all the men I’ve seen fallen.” His blunt military voice justified his one demand. “I deserve you to tell me why.”

The Queen stared back at the Soldier, back straighter than his, stiffened with a weight of responsibility that her man took as grandeur and arrogance. “You won’t understand, and may as well not try.”

In her face, the Queens smile quivered and tears well up in her eyes. But with a blink she closed herself up like a book.

She looked sternly at the Soldier and spoke, “The secrets that I’ve swallowed, they burn and cut me inside. Often I’ve bled. You are not the only one who knows the battle field.”

“Tell me,” the Soldier ordered, unable to read the woman, unfamiliar with royalty, not knowing what he demanded was impossible. “How hungry are you? How weak you must feel living up here alone, never revealed, while the battle rages on.” he pushed the chair back and stood violently, his face reddened with passion, passion that he had never felt for the people that he had fought against, passion only for the one responsible for it all. “When have you had to tell a daughter, a mother or a wife, that her man wasn’t coming back?” The Soldier looked down at his Queen. “I feel no pity for you, and I won’t march again on your battlefield.” He turned his back on her, and looked out the window to the view that she had.

At that window he saw a golden sun surrounded by a dark grey sky. A light breeze cooled the anger from his face, returning his shoulders to a relaxed state, and he confessed his thoughts, “All I’ve ever wanted was to live an honest life. To get all I deserve and to give all I can, to love a young woman who I don’t understand.” He paused, turning to stare at the back of the woman who he had laid some much out for. “Your Highness, your ways are very strange.”

She had stood and was looking into her mirror, back to her faithful servant. In the reflection she saw the man, feeling that she wanted much less than her position demanded from her. Her head fell to her chest, her crown to tumbled to her feet, she thought she would break. Frightened and ashamed at what her heart felt, she could no longer face the Soldier.

The Queen turned and walked the Soldier to the door. There she told him to wait, she would only be a moment inside.

She gave an order that was received.

Outside the door the Soldier was killed, still waiting her word, while the Queen picked up her crown, she was choked by the solitude she sadly preferred. Meanwhile the battle continued on.

title: Queen and Soldier (765 Words)

question: Summarize the plot twist in the story.

answer: The soldier has dared approach the Queen in her quarters to inform her he can no longer fight for her because he does not agree with her tactics and rulings. In his explanation, he insults her, and makes the bitter assumption that she seeks to be loved-that his love meant anything to her. She walks him to the door and tells him to wait, then gives the order for him to be killed.

question: Summarize the war in which the Queen and her subjects, including the soldier, are involved.

question: What does the story say about loyalty?

answer: Loyalty is only good for the sake of loyalty; that is to say, one should not be loyal and expect a reward beyond recognition of their loyalty. Loyalty is not something one uses to barter for better conditions or for the love and affection of another. Once the soldier identifies himself as an unloyal subject, the Queen does not hesitate to permanently remove him by having him killed.

question: Describe the tension between the soldier and the Queen.

answer: The soldier is exhausted from having fought countless battles for a Queen out of love for his country, and possibly, love for her. He is not sure the real reason why, as it seems she keeps unnecessarily involving herself-and, by default, her kingdom-in wars due to greed and other reasons she does not disclose. When she is accused, the Queen feels herself clam up, as it seems she cannot trust the knight with her worries and woes. In fact, whatever she is guarding and keeping close to her heart, her instincts, her intel, is so furtive and sacred that she would sooner see the knight killed than answer him. Perhaps that is why she issues the order.


text:
…and as he lay there against the wall, resting on a bed of pillows on the cold floor of a tiny bathroom, he knew it was time.
The rain beat steadily against the thin roof, like four thousand tiny hooves of a thousand tiny horses.  Or at least that’s how it sounded from the bed in the room below.  He’d always liked the rain; there was a sort of natural, chaotic peace that resonated in him. It was the sound of home.
	It was 1.37am on Wednesday and just like the week before and the week before that he couldn’t sleep.  The dog across the road was barking again, always at this time, always on a Wednesday.  He rose from the bed and approached the window.  Unsurprisingly there he was, the drunk. The same drunk that stopped to throw rocks at the dog every Wednesday. What a wonderful display of millions of years of evolution and thousands of years of culture.  He returned to his bed because he didn’t want to watch it again, there are only so many times you can watch a man get mauled by a dog.
	Thursdays had been hard recently, it’s difficult to concentrate on uninteresting things when you haven’t slept properly and don’t care to begin with. He rose from his cubicle chair and headed towards the break room. On his left was the coward, who watched her son get beaten on a daily basis. On his right was the boring man who was slowly siphoning company funds into his own private bank account and just ahead was the new one. He didn’t know her secret yet.
	The break room was a dull affair, bland coffee, cheap tea and chipped mugs.  The mistress was there, her whip wasn’t. She was one of the few people he liked, at least her secret didn’t hurt anyone…
	Friday, that day most people look forward to because the weekends near, but he didn’t. The weekend was no different, he just worked on personal things; shelves that needed repaired, chairs that needed sat in. You know the stuff.  The new girl was there today, she seemed like the hard working type. He wondered what she was hiding.
	Monday, he awoke again to the sound of rain and looking out the window he saw the new girl. It was her dog apparently. They smiled at each other at work. The drove home just behind each other but they both just got on with it, like everyone always does.
	And then it was Wednesday again, it was 12.23am when the barking started. The drunk was early tonight, maybe one less drink, maybe a new more heavy handed bouncer. Either way maybe this meant he’d get a decent night’s sleep.  The dog went quiet, and then the screaming started. Maybe this time the dog would finish him off.
	Thursday was unusual this week. He’d slept well.  He even had time to get a paper, he noticed new girl wasn’t there but the rest of them were. He sipped the shit coffee and began to flick through the paper. There she was, he wouldn’t be finding out her secret. Not from her. Strangled by a drunk, no witnesses but a confession and all for a good night’s sleep.
 	The rain beat steadily against the thin roof, like four thousand tiny hooves of a thousand tiny horses and as he lay there against the wall, resting on a bed of pillows on the cold floor of a tiny bathroom, he knew it was time. The paper was calling.

title: Subtract

question: What does the story say about the bar the drunk goes to?

question: What does the story say about the narrator?

answer: The narrator has trouble sleeping. His sleep issues are particularly problematic on Wednesdays, at exactly 1:37 am. Wednesdays seem like the schedule of the drunk who passes by the narrator's street and throws rocks at the neighbor's dog, who then mauls the drunk. The narrator sees this scene play out every week, same place, same day, same time. He sleeps on the floor of a tiny bathroom listening to the rain because he likes it and it sounds like home.

question: What does the story say about the narrator's colleagues?

answer: The narrator seemed to know the secrets of his colleagues. His cowardly officemate watched her son get beaten every day and did nothing to stop it. Another colleague was a boring man who slowly siphoned company funds into his own private bank account. There was the woman whom the narrator calls the mistress, who (presumably) uses a whip for dominatrix sexual fantasies. He didn't know the secrets of his two new colleagues, both women, but one was his neighbor who owned the dog.

question: What does the story say about the narrator's neighbor?

answer: The narrator's neighbor became his new workmate. She seemed like the hard-working type. She turned out to be the narrator's neighbor, the one who owned the barking dog the drunk always throws rocks at on Wednesdays. She died at the hands of the drunk, who strangled her.


text:
When I was growing up in Limerick my mother had to go to the St. Vincent de Paul Society to see if she could get a bed for me and my brothers, Malachy, Michael, and Alphie who was barely walking. The man at the St. Vincent de Paul said he could give her a docket to go down to the Irishtown to a place that sold secondhand beds. My mother asked him couldn't we get a new bed because you never know what you're getting with an old one. There could be all kinds of diseases.

The man said beggars can't be choosers and my mother shouldn't be so particular.

But she wouldn't give up. She asked if it was possible at least to find out if anyone had died in the bed. Surely that wasn't asking too much. She wouldn't want to be lying in her own bed at night thinking about her four small sons sleeping on a mattress that someone had died on, maybe some that had a fever or consumption.

The St Vincent de Paul man said, Missus, if you don't want this bed give me back the docket and I'll give it to someone that's not so particular.

Mam said, Ah, no, and she came home to get Alphie's pram so that we could carry the mattress, the spring and the bedstead. The man in the shop in the Irishtown wanted her to take a mattress with hair sticking out and spots and stains all over but my mother said she wouldn't let a cow sleep on a bed like that, didn't the man have another mattress over there in the corner? The man grumbled and said, All right, all right. Bejesus, the charity cases is gettin' very particular these days, and he stayed behind his counter watching us drag the mattress outside.

We had to push the pram up and down the streets of Limerick three times for the mattress and the different parts of the iron bedstead, the head, the end, the supports, and the spring. My mother said she was ashamed of her life and wished she could do this at night. The man said he was sorry for her troubles but he closed at six sharp and wouldn't stay open if the Holy Family came for a bed.

It was hard pushing the pram because it had one bockety wheel that wanted to go its own way and it was harder still with Alphie buried under the mattress screaming for his mother.

My father was there to drag the mattress upstairs and he helped us put the spring and the bedstead together. Of course he wouldn't help us push the pram two miles from the Irishtown because he'd be ashamed of the spectacle. He was from the North of Ireland and they must have a different way of bringing home the bed.

We had old overcoats to put on the bed because the St. Vincent de Paul Society wouldn't give us a docket for the sheets and blankets. My mother lit the fire and when we sat around it drinking tea she said at least we're all off the floor and isn't God good.

title: The Bed by Frank McCourt

question: Where is Limerick?

answer: It's suggested it is somewhere in Ireland

question: What is the St. Vincent de Paul Society?

answer: Some kind of charity organization

question: How does the family get the new bed to their house?

answer: They move it piece by piece on a pram

question: Why doesn't the narrator's father help them move the bed?

answer: He is too embarrassed to be seen doing it

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator recalls an event when he was growing up when his mother went to a charity to get a new bed for him and his brothers. She could only get a used bed, and she had to transport it herself, piece by piece on a pram to their house.


text:
was the 71st emperor of Japan,[1] according to the traditional order of succession.[2]

Go-Sanjō's reign spanned the years from 1068 through 1073.[3]

This 11th century sovereign was named after Emperor Sanjō and _go-_ (後), translates literally as “later;” and thus, he is sometimes called the “Later Emperor Sanjō”, or, in some older sources, may be identified as “Sanjō, the second” or as “Sanjo II.”

It was during, and due to, his reign that the Fujiwara grip on power was broken; following Go-Sanjo's rule, their power continued to wane until 1150, where any semblance of their power disappeared.

Biography

[Retired Emperor Go-Sanjo, Ukiyo-e]

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (_imina_)[4] was Takahito_-shinnō_ (尊仁親王).[5]

Takahito_-shinnō_ was the second son of Emperor Go-Suzaku. His mother was Empress (_kōgō_) Sadako (禎子内親王), the third daughter of Emperor Sanjō, making him the first Emperor in 170 years (since Emperor Uda) whose mother was NOT of Fujiwara descent paternally. His father and mother were grandchildren of Fujiwara no Michinaga maternally. The Empress mother of the future Emperor Go-Sanjō was also known as Tishi, and a Yōmei-mon In (1012–94).[6] His lack of connection with the Fujiwara meant he owed them no special loyalty - this meant that he could afford to oppose them.

Events of Go-Sanjō's life

Because Prince Takahito was not of Fujiwara descent, the _Kampaku_, Fujiwara no Yorimichi neglected him, but Emperor Go-Suzaku decreed that upon his elder brother Chikahito's enthronement (as Emperor Go-Reizei), that Takahito would become the heir (_kōtaitei_). As Go-Reizei had no children of his own, upon his death, Takahito became emperor.

-   MAY 22, 1068 (_Jiryaku 4, 19th day of the 4th month_) : In the 4th year of Emperor Go-Reizei's reign (後冷泉天皇四年), he died at age 44; and the succession (_senso_) was received by his younger half-brother. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Go-Sanjo is said to have acceded to the throne (_sokui_).[7]

Yorimichi's younger brother Norimichi became _kampaku_, but Go-Sanjō was determined to rule personally.

-   1069 (_Enkyū 1_): Go-Sanjō issued the _Enkyū_ Shōen Regulation Decree (Enkyū is the name of the era in which the decree was issued); and the emperor called for the establishment of a government office to certify Shōen records.
-   1070 (_Enkyū 2_): Go-Sanjō ordered a preliminary system of laws and a bureaucracy for regulating silk.
-   1072 (_Enkyū 4_): As the Ritsuryō system of centralized authority had largely failed by this time, Go-Sanjō became interested in strengthening the finances of the Imperial Household.
-   JANUARY 18, 1073 (_Enkyū 4, 8th day of the 12th month_)<!--

延久四年十二月八日 -->: In the 6th year of Emperor Go-Sanjō's reign (桓武天皇六年), the emperor abdicated in favor of his son, and the succession (_senso_) was received by his son. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Shirakawa is said to have acceded to the throne (_sokui_).[8]

-   MAY 11, 1073 (_Enkyū 5, 21st day of the 4th month_) : Go-Sanjō entered the Buddhist priesthood; and his new priestly name became Kongō-gyō.[9]
-   JUNE 15, 1073 (_Enkyū 5, 7th day of the 5th month_) : The former-Emperor Go-Sanjō died at the age of 40.[10]

[Decorative emblems (_kiri_) of the Hosokawa clan are found at Ryoan-ji. Go-Sanjo is amongst six other emperors entombed near what had been the residence of Hosokawa Katsumoto before the Ōnin War.] Go-Sanjō is buried amongst the “Seven Imperial Tombs” at Ryōan-ji in Kyoto.[11]

The actual site of Go-Sanjō's grave is known.[12] This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (_misasagi_) at Kyoto.

The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Go-Sanjō's mausoleum. It is formally named _Yensō-ji no misasagi_.[13]

The mound which commemorates the Hosokawa Emperor Go-Sanjō is today named _Shu-zan_. The emperor's burial place would have been quite humble in the period after Go-Sanjō died.[14]

These tombs reached their present state as a result of the 19th century restoration of imperial sepulchers (_misasagi_) which were ordered by Emperor Meiji.[15]

Kugyō

is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras. Even during those years in which the court's actual influence outside the palace walls was minimal, the hierarchic organization persisted.

In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Go-Sanjō's reign, this apex of the ''Daijō-kan included:

-   _Kampaku_, Fujiwara Norimichi (997–1075).[16]
-   _Daijō-daijin_, Fujiwara Norimichi.[17]
-   _Sadaijin_, Fujiwara Morozone, 1042–1101.[18]
-   _Udaijin_
-   _Naidaijin_
-   _Dainagon_

Eras of Go-Sanjō's reign

The years of Go-Sanjō's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or _nengō_.[19]

-   _Jiryaku_ (1065–1069)
-   _Enkyū_ (1069–1074)

Consorts

Go-Sanjō had three consorts.[20]

Empress (_chugō_): Imperial Princess Kaoruko (馨子内親王) later Saiin-no Kogo (西院皇后), [21] Emperor Go-Ichijō‘s daughter

Consort: Fujiwara Shigeko (藤原茂子; d.1062), Fujiwara Kinnari‘s daughter and Fujiwara Yoshinobu‘s adopted daughter

-   First Daughter: Imperial Princess Satoko (聡子内親王; 1050-1131)
-   First son: Imperial Prince Sadahito (貞仁親王) later Emperor Shirakawa
-   Second Daughter: Imperial Princess Toshiko (俊子内親王; 1056-1132)
-   Third Daughter: Imperial Princess Yoshiko (佳子内親王; 1057-1130)
-   Fourth Daughter: Imperial Princess Tokushi (篤子内親王; 1060–1114) married Emperor Horikawa

Consort: Minamoto Motoko (源基子; 1047-1134), Minamoto Motohira‘s daughter

-   Second son: Imperial Prince Sanehito (実仁親王; 1071-1085)
-   Third son: Imperial Prince Sukehito (輔仁親王; 1073-1119)

Consort: Fujiwara Akiko (藤原昭子), Fujiwara Yorimune’s daughter

Lady-in-waiting: Taira Chikako (平親子), Taira Tsunakuni’s daughter

-   Son: Fujiwara Arisuke (藤原有佐; d.1131), adopted by Fujiwara no Akitsuna

Ancestry

[22]

Notes

[Japanese Imperial kamon — a stylized chrysanthemum blossom]

[1] Imperial Household Agency (_Kunaichō_): 陽成天皇 (71)

[2] Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). _The Imperial House of Japan,_ p. 76.

[3] Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). _Annales des empereurs du Japon,_ pp. 166–168; Brown, Delmer _et al._ (1979). _Gukanshō,_ pp. 314–315; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). _Jinnō Shōtōki._ p. 198-199.

[4] Brown, pp. 264; prior to Emperor Jomei, the personal names of the emperors were very long and people did not generally use them. The number of characters in each name diminished after Jomei's reign.

[5] Titsingh, p. 166; Brown, p. 314; Varley, p. 198.

[6] Brown, p. 314.

[7] Titsingh, p. 166; Brown, p. 313; Varley, p. 44; a distinct act of _senso_ is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have _senso_ and _sokui_ in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.

[8] Titsingh, p. 169; Brown, p. 314; Varley, p. 44.

[9] Brown, p. 315.

[10]

[11] The “Seven Imperial Tombs” at Ryoan-ji are the burial places of Uda, Kazan, Ichijō, Go-Suzaku, Go-Reizei, Go-Sanjō, and Horikawa.

[12]

[13] Ponsonby-Fane, p. 421.

[14] Moscher, G. (1978). _Kyoto: A Contemplative Guide,_ pp. 277–278

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19] Titsingh, p. 165-168; Brown, p. 313-315.

[20]

[21] Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1915). _The Imperial Family of Japan,_ p. x.

[22]

title: Emperor Go-Sanjō

question: How might history have played out differently if Go-Sanjo hadn't been emperor?

answer: Fujiwara might not have lost their power.


text:
The _MADHYAMAKĀVATĀRA_ () is a text by Candrakīrti (600–c. 650) on the Mādhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy. It is a commentary on the meaning of Nagarjuna's _Mūlamadhyamakakārikā_ and the _Ten Stages Sutra_.[1][2] As such, within the Tibetan Buddhist canon this text is classified as commentarial literature.[3]

The text

The Madhyamakāvatāra relates the Mādhyamaka doctrine of śūnyatā to the “spiritual discipline” (Sanskrit: sādhanā) of a bodhisattva. The Madhyamakāvatāra contains eleven chapters, where each addresses one of the ten pāramitās or “perfections” fulfilled by bodhisattvas as they traverse the 'ten stages' (Sanskrit: bhūmi) to buddhahood, which is the final chapter.[4][5]

Commentarial literature

-   Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso (1846–1912) wrote a commentary on the Madhyamakavatara entitled: dbu ma la 'jug pa'i 'grel pa zla ba'i zhal lung dri me shel phreng; the title has been rendered into English by Duckworth (2008: p. 232) as: _Immaculate Crystal Rosary_[6] and by Padmakara Translations in it is titled _The Word of Chandra: The Necklace of Spotless Crystal_ [7]

-   Khenpo Shenga, dbu ma la 'jug pa'i 'grel mchan legs par bshad pa zla ba'i 'od zer
-   Khenpo Ngawang Palzang, dbu ma 'jug pa'i 'bru 'grel blo gsal dga' ba'i me long
-   Jeffrey Hopkins (1980). _Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism_. Ithaca: Snow Lion. (first five chapters based on Tsongkhapa’s commentary)
-   Rendawa Shonnu Lodro (1997). _Commentary on the Entry into the Middle, Lamp which Elucidates Reality_, translated by Stotter-Tillman & Acharya Tashi Tsering, Sarnath, Varanasi.

English translations

-   Geshe Rabten (translator, commentator) Stephen Batchelor (translator, editor) (1983). _Echoes of Voidness_, London : Wisdom Publications
-   Huntington, C. W. (1989). _The Emptiness of Emptiness_. University of Hawaii Press
-   Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. _Ocean of Nectar: Wisdom and Compassion in Mahayana Buddhism_. London: Tharpa Publications, 1995.
-   Padmakara Translation Group (2002). _Introduction to the Middle Way_ (Candrakirti's Madhyamakāvatāra with Mipham Rinpoche's Commentary). Shambhala
-   Introduction to the Middle Way: Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara with commentary by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, edited by Alex Trisoglio, Khyentse Foundation, 2003
-   A translation of the Madhyamakavatara and its Auto-Commentary by Chandrakirti with additional commentary by Khenpo Namdrol Rinpoche

[1] Rigpa Shedra (January 2009). 'Introduction to the Middle Way'. Source: 1 (accessed: April 10, 2009)

[2] 'Sutra of the Ten Bhumis' (Skt. Daśabhūmika-sūtra, Wyl. phags pa sa bcu pa'i mdo), the nomenclature given to the thirty-first chapter of the _Avatamsaka Sutra_.

[3] Gyamtso, Khenpo Tsultrim (2003) _The Sun of Wisdom: Teachings on the Noble Nagarjuna's Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way_ , p.168

[4] Keown, Damien (2004). _A Dictionary of Buddhism_. Oxford University Press.

[5] Rigpa Shedra (January 2009). 'Introduction to the Middle Way'. Source: 2 (accessed: April 10, 2009)

[6] Source: 3 (Wednesday November 11, 2009)

[7] Padmakara Translation Group (2002). _Introduction to the Middle Way_ (Candrakirti's Madhyamakāvatāra with Mipham Rinpoche's Commentary). Shambhala

title: Madhyamakāvatāra

question: Who wrote the Madhyamakāvatāra?

answer: Candrakīrti wrote the Madhyamakāvatāra.

question: What is the Madhyamakāvatāra a commentary on?

answer: The Madhyamakāvatāra is a commentary on the meaning of Nagarjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and the TenStages Sutra.

question: How many chapters does the Madhyamakāvatāra have?

answer: The Madhyamakāvatāra has eleven chapters.

question: Who wrote a commentary on the Madhyamakāvatāra?

answer: Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso wrote a commentary on the Madhyamakāvatāra.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The Madhyamakāvatāra is a Buddhist text written by Candrakīrti around 600 - 650. It is a commentary on earlier Buddhist texts, and is considered important in Buddhist philosophy. The Madhyamakāvatāra has had several English translations, and Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso wrote a commentary on it.


text:
Diplomats from several EU states have accused Germany of using threats, intimidation and blackmail to sideline green cars legislation in an unprecedented display of hubris within the Brussels’ corridors of power.

EURACTIV has heard allegations that the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, used what one diplomat called “nasty pressure” against EU countries to stall debate on new regulations aimed at limiting car emissions to 95 grams of CO₂ per km by 2020.

Rumours have circulated that Merkel threatened future bail-out funds to Dublin, in a phone call to the Irish Taioseach, Enda Kenny, the night before a 27 June EU Summit was scheduled to vote on the package.

One credible source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told EURACTIV that in the phone call, “pressure was being applied [on Kenny] that related to the current economic situation and banking crisis.”

Others say the German demarche went further, and was not contained to Ireland.

“You can always have trade-offs and fair or unfair games exchanging support for some file or another,” one diplomat told EURACTIV. “But in this case it has mostly been threats and intimidation and you can’t fight that. People do what you ask only out of fear.”

The official claimed that Hungary was won to Germany’s position by threats of German car plant closures in that country. The Netherlands and one other member state also received warnings that future BMW investment in MINI plants would go elsewhere, if they voted incorrectly.

“It is rogue behaviour for a member state,” an EU source said.

In the hours before the 27 June summit, Berlin persuaded France to support postponing the vote by committing to bring it back unchanged in the weeks ahead.

EURACTIV understands that the UK also agreed to support Germany’s manoeuvre, after a quid-pro-quo was offered of German quiescence in the stymieing of a planned vote on the UK’s budgetary rebate at the summit.

POLICY-MAKING INTEGRITY

But neither country is thought intrinsically sympathetic to Berlin, and another postponement of debate on the green cars law until after German elections in September, at a Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) meeting on 17 July, was not warmly-received.

“It is a really bitter feeling,” one diplomat said. “People are just stunned at the way it is evolving.”

Another source spoke of a “strong degree of ill-feeling towards Germany with regard to their antics on the CO₂ in cars file, which have no precedent to my knowledge."

“There is bad blood within Council over this,” a third diplomat confirmed. “Some member states are becoming very agitated about this as it undermines the whole negotiating process between Council and Parliament in particular.”

At a European Parliament meeting in early July, the German MEP Matthias Groote (S&D) said that if a deal on the legislation could not be conducted quickly, “this would have serious knock-on effects for other trilogues” currently being conducted.

Trilogues are three-way meetings between the European Commission, Council and parliament to agree the smooth passage of legislation.

VEILED THREAT

“There was a veiled threat there,” a diplomat said. “It could be that in future, any trilogues will be conducted at a lower level of cooperation between Parliament and Council, or in concluding agreements under the Lithuanians.”

Others doubt that it will come to a campaign of disobedience, not least because MEPs – including Groote – have key packages to legislate, such as the ‘backloading’ of the EU’s Emissions Trading System.

Even so, EURACTIV has learned that the representative of Catherine Day, the European Commission’s Secretary-General, expressed concern about the integrity of the policy-making process.

It is considered highly irregular for a mandate approved by a qualified majority vote to be removed from the table in such circumstances.

Inevitably, speculation has focused on why Germany would spend such political capital on a file which is generally seen as an inoffensive compromise deal.

GERMAN AUTO-POWER

German car manufacturers such as BMW and Daimler want a more generous application of ‘super credit’ provisions in the current legislation, which they say would incentivise the manufacture of low carbon cars.

Environmentalists on the other hand, see the super-credits as a trick to water down the existing targets, and riddle them with loopholes. The final give-and-take offered both side something to carry home.

But “Merkel needs to keep her image with BMW and Daimler until after the election, and a promise that she made to them,” one EU diplomat told EURACTIV.

Germany's car industry is not without influence. One of Merkel’s ministers, Eckart von Klaeden, recently announced that he was quitting politics to lobby for Daimler AG. The external affairs chief he is replacing will become the new German ambassador to Afghanistan.

“It could be about campaign funding,” the diplomat said.

CAMPAIGN DONATIONS

In 2013, Daimler gave €100,000 in campaign contributions to both the Christian Democrat (CDU) and Social Democrat (SPD) parties in Germany, down from the €150,000 they gave in the two years previously.

BMW though has given nothing to Merkel’s CDU this year – compared to €57,048 in 2012. Instead, it offered €143,817 to the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, €107,376 to the SPD, and €69,081 to the Federal Democratic Party.

BMW is also providing Lithuania with 180 free new cars for the duration of the country’s six-month rotating presidency of the EU, via its authorised representative, Krasta Auto.

Greg Archer, a spokesman for the green think tank Transport & Environment, said that it was time for other member states to act in the wider European interest.

“Germany is abusing its political power to block a vote on a fairly-negotiated agreement,” he said, in emailed comments to EURACTIV. “The deal must be confirmed as soon as possible without further amendment. Europe’s drivers and its environment can't afford to wait any longer.”

question: What is the objective behind Germany pressuring the EU?

answer: Germany is pressurizing the EU to stall a debate on new regulations that aim at limiting car emissions to 95 grams of Carbon Dioxide per KM by 2020.

question: What threats did Germany give?

answer: The threat of a German car plant closure won Hungary to Germany's position. While the Netherlands and one other member state received warnings that future BMW investment in MINI plants would go elsewhere if they voted incorrectly.

question: Was the new debate on the regulation stalled?

answer: Yes.

question: Is Germany using its power?

answer: Yes, Germany was using its political power to block a vote on a fairly negotiated agreement.

question: Write a ~7 sentence summary.

answer:
Germany has been accused of threatening and blackmailing other EU states to stall legislation. The regulation is aimed at limiting car emissions to 95 grams CO2 per KM by 2020.

Officials claim that Hungary won to Germany's position by threats of German car plant closures. While the Netherlands and one other EU state also received warnings that future BMW investment in MINI plants would go elsewhere if they voted incorrectly.

The German car industry is not without influence. Car manufacturers have provided campaigning funds to political parties. The country is abusing its political power.


text:
Introduction

Before we begin, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is not important, but who I am is. I am the last and only remaining observer of the apocalypse. The story you are about to read is about you and everyone you love.

Part 1 – Heat

“I can’t wait for the winter.” Zach says to himself, staring out his bedroom window at an empty park across the street. Zach is a 20 year old human, a college drop out. He was a political science major before the announcement. He didn’t see any reason to have any ambitions given the situation.

He sits on the edge of his bed and turns on the television in his room. He grew up in this house, and he knows it intimately. The volume on the television is too low to hear, Zach still looks outside of the window. “It will be better in the winter” he sighs.

The local 6 o’clock news plays silently. The closed captioning on the news reads “farmers are leaving their crops at a quickening pace, food prices are skyrocketing”.

Zach is still day dreaming about the cold when he is startled by a knock at the door.

“Dinner is ready!”

It was obvious to Zach’s mother that she had startled him. She already knew what was on his mind.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. We’re all a bit jumpy this time of year.”

Zach’s family didn’t have to worry about food prices. Zach’s parents were both involved in lucrative careers, and he has always enjoyed most everything he has ever wanted. Today all he wanted was to go outside and run for miles. If he ever got the chance, he decided he wouldn’t plan on stopping, and that he would run until he couldn’t run anymore.  Running outside is against the law now, and has been since the announcement. Only the police are allowed to run outside, and even then only under special circumstances. A boy who lived down the street ignored these rules a couple weeks ago and there has been no word of what happened to him since. Zach envied him, and hated himself for being too scared to follow his lead.

At the dinner table the discussion was brief and short as usual. Humans don’t talk as much as they used to. Humans are funny; they will do anything to keep living. Actually almost everything has changed since the U.N. made the announcement last April. The humans have migrated to rural areas at a staggering rate, and businesses have their employees work from home whenever possible.  Air conditioning is mandated for every property. The more comfortable people are, the lower their heart rate is. This keeps them alive longer. This helps them survive.

Zach finished his food and went back to his room. He spends most of his time there, watching television and drawing. He finds peace in solitude. As an optimist he tries to keep his brain on the move, just in case there is a solution. Apathy is his death and he knows it.

He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, chasing sleep. He dreams about Christmas as a child, the presents, family gatherings, and snowball fights.

title: O - Part 1

question: Why exactly did the government stop people from running outside?

answer: Unknown, but it seems to be as a result of some environmental mishap.


text:
The EXECUTIVE OFFICE is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive with overall responsibility for the running of the Executive. The Ministers with overall responsibility for the department are the First Minister and deputy First Minister.

The department was originally known as the OFFICE OF THE FIRST MINISTER AND DEPUTY FIRST MINISTER, with the same capitalisation used in the department's logo. Following a change in policy in 2007 (see First Minister and deputy First Minister), the word “deputy” was then spelt with a lower-case d, but the older version of the name is retained in the logo. In May 2016, the department was renamed the Executive Office as a result of the Fresh Start Agreement.

Ministers

Until 9 January 2017, the First Minister and deputy First Minister were Arlene Foster (Democratic Unionist Party) and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin) respectively. On 9 January 2017, McGuinness resigned, forcing the vacancy of Foster's position under the rules of the Assembly. On 11 January 2020, Arlene Foster was reappointed First Minister with Michelle O'Neill of Sinn Féin appointed deputy First Minister.[1]

They are assisted by two junior ministers: Gordon Lyons (DUP) and Declan Kearney (Sinn Féin).[2]

Responsibilities

The Executive Office's overall aim is to “deliver a peaceful, fair, equal and prosperous society". Its key stated objectives include: “driving investment and sustainable development”; “Tackling disadvantage and promoting equality of opportunity”; and the “effective operation of the institutions of government”.[3]

The office has the following main responsibilities:[4]

-   administrative support for the Northern Ireland Executive (co-chaired by the First Minister and Deputy First Minister)
-   children and young people
-   equality of opportunity and good relations
-   emergency planning
-   infrastructure investment
-   international relations
-   liaison with the Northern Ireland Assembly, the North/South Ministerial Council, the British-Irish Council, the Civic Forum for Northern Ireland (suspended) and departments of the UK Government
-   poverty and social exclusion
-   sustainable development
-   victims and survivors of the Troubles

The Executive Office's main counterparts in the United Kingdom Government are:

-   the Northern Ireland Office (oversees the devolution settlement);[5]
-   the Cabinet Office (on the machinery of government and honours);[6][7]
-   the Department for Communities and Local Government (on community relations and emergency planning);[8][9]
-   the Government Equalities Office;[10]
-   the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (on sustainable development);[11]
-   the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (on international relations).[12]

History

[The office's first logo, used until the name change to Executive Office in May 2016] A Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was appointed on its formation in June 1921, supported by the Department of the Prime Minister,[13] but the office was abolished in March 1972, on suspension of the Parliament of Northern Ireland and introduction of direct rule.

The Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972 transferred the powers of the Prime Minister to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland within the British Government. A Chief Executive of Northern Ireland briefly held office in the 1974 Northern Ireland Executive. The Secretary of State was supported by the Northern Ireland Office, which was responsible for security and political affairs during the Troubles.

Following a referendum on the Belfast Agreement on 23 May 1998 and the granting of royal assent to the Northern Ireland Act 1998 on 19 November 1998, a Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive were established by the United Kingdom Government under Prime Minister Tony Blair. The process was known as devolution and was set up to return devolved legislative powers to Northern Ireland. OFMDFM was one of five new devolved Northern Ireland departments created in December 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

The First Minister and Deputy First Minister first took office on 2 December 1999. Devolution was suspended for four periods, during which the department came under the responsibility of direct rule ministers from the Northern Ireland Office:

-   between 12 February 2000[14] and 30 May 2000;[15]
-   on 11 August 2001;[16][17]
-   on 22 September 2001;[18][19]
-   between 15 October 2002[20] and 8 May 2007.[21]

[1]

[2]

[3] Northern Ireland Budget 2011–15, page 105

[4] OFMDFM Ministers

[5] Northern Ireland Office: About the NIO

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11] Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: About Defra

[12]

[13] Alan J. Ward, _The Irish Constitutional Tradition_, p.116.

[14] Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Commencement) Order 2000

[15] Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) Order 2000

[16] Article 1, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Suspension of Devolved Government) Order 2001

[17] Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) Order 2001

[18] Article 1, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Suspension of Devolved Government) (No.2) Order 2001

[19] Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) (No.2) Order 2001

[20] Article 1, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Suspension of Devolved Government) Order 2002

[21] Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) Order 2007

title: Executive Office (Northern Ireland)

question: What does the article say about the Ministers of the Northern Ireland government?

answer: The Ministers of the Northern Ireland government are the First Minister and the deputy First Minister. They are mainly responsible for the administrative support for the Northern Ireland Executive. The current First Minister is Arlene Foster, and the deputy First Minister is Sinn Fein. Their junior ministers are Gordon Lyons and Declan Declan Kearney.

question: What does the article say about  Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972?

answer: In 1921, the Executive Office was formed and a Prime Minister was appointed. However, this office was abolished in 1972. In the Northern Ireland Act 1972, the powers of the Prime Minister were transferred to the Secretary of State, which was responsible for the state's security and political affairs during conflicts.

question: What does the article say about the responsibilities of the Executive Office?

answer: The Executive Office's overall runs the Executive of North Ireland and mainly looks after the wellbeing of society. The office is responsible for the youth, the victims and survivors, sustainable development, good relations, among others.

question: What does the article say about Arlene Foster's accomplishments as the First Minister?


text:
I was early as usual, the parking lot was empty except for me and the key man. It was kind of a strange habit of mine to always be early. Even though time and time again I would be some where fifteen to twenty minutes early, I never bothered to change when I thought I needed to leave. Too much would be left to chance, I would never risk endangering my appearance due to lack of time management.

Others began to join us in the parking lot. Some of them I knew well, others I had only met in passing. Is she in that car? I could only speculate, and time would tell. I needed to use the restroom and so I locked my car and walked over only to find them locked, it was going to be a long class. I walk to the building and see him going up the stairs to class, I join him.

He and I made small talk in the classroom, and as others joined us we included them in our discussion. A pretty young girl and her younger brother walked in and sat next to me. I guess she was closer to me than anyone else in the class. Which is understandable, I saw her more as a friend despite her undeniable attractiveness. The teacher came and class started, she never showed up.

Class ended and he and I talked afterwards till nearly everyone was gone, he wondered if we could get something to eat and talk about life. I didn’t have anything to do the next day so I obliged him. I followed him in my car until we reached a Denny's in between our houses. We both ordered our food and our conversation took a more serious tone.

I had my hand ready to play to try and get clarity on the situation I was in. I knew I was going to have to be careful in how I approached it, since I didn’t know his hand. I knew that the time was coming near when I would be forced into playing. Then, he played his hand without even knowing it. He and she were still talking about being together. At long last I have been given vision. I can see the ending.

title: I can see the ending

question: Who is the key man?

answer: This is not explained.

question: Why does the narrator want to get into the building?

answer: They need to use the restroom.

question: Why did the girl close in age to the narrator not show up to class again?

answer: The text does not explain.

question: Where do the narrator and the man go to eat?

answer: Denny's.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator discusses meeting with a mysterious "key man". The narrator waits in a parking lot before heading inside. They follow the man to a classroom. The narrator seems to recall a class in which a woman their age was seated next to them, but this woman never returned to the class. After this class, in the present, the narrator asks the man to get a bite to eat, so they head to Denny's in separate vehicles.


text:
[Representatives Elijah E. Cummings, left, and Darrell Issa at a hearing of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.]

Credit...Gabriella Demczuk/The New York Times

-   Nov. 13, 2013
-

WASHINGTON — Anxious congressional Democrats are threatening to abandon President Obama on a central element of his signature health care law, voicing increasing support for proposals that would allow Americans who are losing their health insurance coverage because of the Affordable Care Act to retain it.

The dissent comes as the Obama administration released enrollment figures on Wednesday that fell far short of expectations, and as House Republicans continued their sharp criticism of administration officials at congressional hearings examining the performance of the health care website and possible security risks of the online insurance exchanges.

In addition, a vote is scheduled Friday in the Republican-controlled House on a bill that would allow Americans to keep their existing health coverage through 2014 without penalties. The measure, drafted by Representative Fred Upton, the Michigan Republican who is the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, is opposed by the White House, which argues that it would severely undermine the Affordable Care Act by allowing insurance companies to continue to sell health coverage that does not meet the higher standard of Mr. Obama’s health care law.

But a growing number of House Democrats, reflecting a strong political backlash to the rollout of the law, are warning the White House that they may support the measure if the administration does not provide a strong alternative argument. The approaching House vote is shaping up as an important test for both the health measure and the unity that Democratic leaders have so far been able to maintain around it despite a fierce Republican attack.

In a closed-door meeting Wednesday of House Democrats and White House officials, tensions flared as several lawmakers upbraided the administration, saying that the president had put Democrats in a tough political position by wrongly promising consumers that they could keep their existing health care plans. In fact, hundreds of thousands of Americans have received cancellation notices from their insurers because their health care coverage does not meet the minimum standards dictated by the new law.

“I’m frustrated in how it rolled out, and I let them know in no uncertain terms,” said Representative Mike Doyle, Democrat of Pennsylvania. “The point I was making in caucus to the administration is don’t give us this techno-babble that you’re going to do some administrative fix down the road. There’s a bill being put on the floor on Friday.”

The overall message of the meeting, said several attendees, was that the White House and the House Democratic leadership have until Friday to come up with a satisfactory alternative, or House Democrats may be forced to support Mr. Upton’s bill, which already has two Democratic co-sponsors: Representatives John Barrow of Georgia and Mike McIntyre of North Carolina, who represent more conservative districts.

“I think the Upton bill is terrible, but we need something else to vote for in order to keep our word to the American people,” Mr. Doyle added. “We told people in those plans that they were grandfathered in, and if they wanted to stay in them, they could, and we need to honor that.”

A similar proposal, which would allow people to keep their current health insurance permanently, is also drawing support in the Senate under an effort led by Senator Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana. Ms. Landrieu said she remained committed to her bill, despite White House expressions of reluctance to embrace a legislative fix. Still, the White House spokesman, Jay Carney, said Wednesday that the Landrieu proposal “shares a similar goal to what the president has asked his team to explore.”

“We are happy to work with her and any member of Congress who has ideas on how to make the Affordable Care Act better,” he said.

Ms. Landrieu drew a distinction between her plan — which she said would maintain the key provisions of the Affordable Care Act — and those offered by Republicans that would dismantle the law, like the one introduced by Mr. Upton.

“That bill guts the Affordable Care Act. It does not fix it,” she said. “It guts it, and I don’t support it and would urge the Democrats in the House not to support it. My bill is not meant to undermine the Affordable Care Act; it’s meant to strengthen it.”

She expressed confidence that more Democrats would sign on to her plan, which is designed to encourage people to move eventually to better insurance on the federal exchange. “Every day I think we’ll pick up co-sponsors,” she said, pointing to Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, who said Tuesday that she was on board. On Wednesday, Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, also signed on to her plan as a co-sponsor.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said Wednesday that he had had “quite a long conversation” with the president on Tuesday evening about the health care law, as well as other issues, and would be holding a special Democratic caucus meeting on Thursday with White House officials to discuss the next steps.

Administration officials conceded that the bungled health care rollout had produced a turbulent political situation in Washington. But they said they were confident that fixing the website, HealthCare.gov, would help Democrats in next year’s elections.

Mr. Carney said the president’s top aides were working to come up with an administrative fix to the problem of the cancellation of health insurance plans. But he declined to say when that would be announced or whether it would come before Democrats are asked to vote on Friday.

“Sooner rather than later,” Mr. Carney said several times.

White House officials said they recognized the need for Democrats to vent their frustration about the health care problems. Mr. Carney said that the dissatisfaction felt by Democrats on Capitol Hill “is similar to the frustration that the president feels.”

But they continued to oppose Mr. Upton’s bill, saying it would create more problems than it would solve.

“Intentionally or not, the bill would not just address the problem,” Mr. Carney said, adding that it would “essentially allow insurers to sell new plans that are substandard and potentially undermine the central promise of the Affordable Care Act.”

Insurance companies, already deeply worried about the low enrollment in the plans they are offering on the insurance exchanges, say congressional proposals to force them to allow canceled policies to be reissued could be disastrous. Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, the industry’s lobby, said insurers “have significant concerns on how it would work operationally.”

But with no alternative proposal from the White House as of Wednesday, Democrats were increasingly critical.

“This has been a complete embarrassment,” Representative Patrick Murphy, Democrat of Florida, said. “It doesn’t matter what party you are. The focus needs to be how do we get this right.”

question: Why are congressional Democrats nervous about Obama's health care law?

answer: The released enrollment figures fell short of expectations, and it continues to suffer sharp criticism from House Republians.

question: What is the issue with the Republican plan from Obama's perspective?

answer: The White House argues that the Republican plan would undermine the Affordable Care Act by allowing insurance companies to sell coverage plans of a lower standard than Obamacare. However House Democrats are warning that they may support the Republican plan if the White House does not offer a strong enough alternative argument.

question: What is Mary L. Landrieu's bill about?

answer: She has proposed a bill in which anyone could keep their current healthcare if they so chose. It is an important middle point between the Republican plan, which many find terrible, and allowing time for House representatives to work out the kinks of Obamacare.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Obama is suffering harsh criticism on both sides of the isle for his healthcare plan. Many House Democrats are nervous about it and are threatening support of the Republican plan if Obamacare is not better presented. Obama thinks the Republican plan dangerous because it would allow healthcare providers to sell policies of lower standards than Obamacare would provide. Mary L. Landrieu has proposed a bill which would allow people to keep their existing healthcare plans but is also willing to work with House representatives to work out the kinks of Obamacare in the meantime.


text:
Charlie sat at his desk, eyeing Helen suspiciously. He drummed his fingers against the hardwood surface of his desktop, staring at it as if gazing into a crystal ball. Then he suddenly stopped, and looked at her.
“You killed him again, didn’t you.”
“Permanently,” she said.
He laughed and said, “Yeah, you wish!”
“No, I definitely did this time. Got him in the heart and the head. He’s not coming back.”
Charlie’s face blanked. “Well, you know what this means.”
“Yeah, it means I’m going to have to kill you before you kill me.”
“Yup. But that’s not gonna happen.”
“It just did.”
Helen took the gun and pointed it at Charles’s head. Pressed the barrel against his cheek, and pulled the trigger.
The impact knocked Charlie and his chair over. As the pool of blood drained his body, he started to drum his fingers against his legs, and looked up at her expectantly.
“Yeah, I know…” She shot him in the heart. The light went out of his eyes. Then, the eyeballs went out of his eyes, onto the floor, like raw eggs.
Permanently.

title: [MF] Permanently

question: What is the significance of the title?

answer: The story is about killing people permanently.

question: Where does this story take place?

answer: It seems to take place in an office of some sort, although this is not explicitly stated.

question: Who dies at the end of the story?

answer: Charlie

question: Describe the relationship between Helen and Charlie.

answer: The story does not explain the nature of their relationship.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Helen announces to Charlie that she has killed a certain person permanently by shooting them through the head and heart. Charlie says that means one of them will now have to kill the other. Helen acts quick, shooting Charlie in the head and then in the heart, killing him permanently.


text:
[Zoé Prévost by Henri Grevedon] GENEVIÈVE-AIMÉ-ZOË PRÉVOST (15 April 1802, Paris – 10 April 1861, Paris) was a French operatic soprano.[1] She created leading roles in some of the most notable French opéras comiques of the first half of the nineteenth century, including “Fra Diavolo” by Daniel Auber and “Le postillon de Lonjumeau” by Adolphe Adam.

Career

Geneviève-Aimé-Zoë Prévost, also known as Zoé Prévost, had a younger brother, Eugene, who was a composer and conductor. Zoé studied singing at the Paris Conservatoire and made her debut at the Opéra-Comique, Paris, in 1821.[2] The Opéra-Comique at that time presented operas light in tone and with spoken dialogue between the musical numbers. She created leading roles in many opéras comiques including the title role in “La marquise de Brinvilliers”, a collaborative work between nine composers, and in works by Fromental Halévy, Ambroise Thomas, and others. Considered one of the major stars of the lyric stage of her day,[3] Prévost was esteemed for her unaffected stage presence, her charm of person and manner, her skills as a comic actress, and her excellent singing technique.[4] She created the leading soprano roles in two opéras comiques still performed today, Zerlina in “Fra Diavolo” by Auber in 1830 and Madeleine in “Le postillon de Lonjumeau” by Adam in 1836, the most successful works of those two composers. In the latter work, as in others, she appeared opposite her husband, leading tenor Jean-Baptiste Chollet, by whom she had one daughter, Caroline, who also achieved success as a singer under the stage name Mademoiselle Monrose. Geneviève-Aimé-Zoë Prévost also appeared in other French and Belgian opera houses.

Notes

Category:1802 births Category:1861 deaths Category:Conservatoire de Paris alumni Category:French operatic sopranos Category:19th-century French opera singers Category:19th-century women singers

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

title: Geneviève-Aimé-Zoë Prévost

question: What were some of Zoé Prévost most notable roles?

answer: Some of Prévost's notable roles include "Fra Diavolo" by Daniel Auber and "Le postillon de Lonjumeau" by Adolphe Adam.

question: Where did Zoé Prévost study?

answer: Prévost studied at the Paris Conservatoire.

question: Who was Zoé Prévost's husband?

answer: Prévost'S husband was Jean-Baptiste Chollet.

question: What were some of things that Zoé Prévost was known for?

answer: Prévost was known for her unaffected stage presence, her charm of person and manner, her skills as a comic actress, and her excellent singing technique.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article gives a brief description of the career of Zoé Prévost, a French operatic soprano, who had several notable roles in French "opéras comiques" of the first half of the nineteenth century.


text:
SIR BRIAN MELLOR GREENWOOD, CBE, FRCP, FRS (born 1938) is a British physician, biomedical research scientist, academic, and recipient of the first Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize.

Greenwood is the Manson Professor of Clinical Tropical Medicine, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.[1][2][3]

Malaria research and mitigation

Greenwood's career has focused on mitigating the effects of malaria and research.[4] In his ten years experience working in Nigeria, and his fifteen years as the head of the Medical Research Council Laboratories in the Gambia, his main research interests were malaria and infections caused by capsulated bacteria such as the meningococcus (_Neissera meningitidis_).[5]

Malaria's stubborn resistance to control and treatment has been demonstrated in his West African clinical experience.[6] Setbacks in a series of promising drug treatments have proven frustrating.[7]

Although successes in research for a reliable vaccine have continued to prove elusive, Dr. Greenwood has also persisted in promoting a simpler preventive approach. He has been in the forefront of those who are encouraging the use of chemically treated mosquito nets to shield sleeping villagers from attack by the malaria-infected insects.[8]

Greenwood was knighted in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to malaria research in Africa.[9]

Honours

-   1977 – Chalmers Medal, Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (RSTMH).[10]
-   1987 – Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours.[11]
-   1991 – Donald Mackay Medal, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.[12]
-   1993 – an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Science and Mathematics at Uppsala University, Sweden[13]
-   1995 – Adesuyi Prize, West African Health Community (1995).[14]
-   2001 – Manson Medal, Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.[15]
-   2008 - Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize in the Medical Research category
-   2011 – Appointed Knight Bachelor in the Queen's New Year Honours[16]
-   2012 – John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award

Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize

The Japanese Government established the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize in July 2006 as a new international medical research and services award. The announcement of tentative plans for the prize were timed to mark the official visit to by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to Africa in May 2006. The announcement also marked the 80th anniversary of Dr. Noguchi's death.[17] The Prize aims to honour individuals with outstanding achievements in combating various infectious diseases in Africa or in establishing innovative medical service systems.[18]

The inaugural presentation ceremony and the initial laureate lectures coincide with the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), which was held in Yokohama in late April 2008.[19] This year's conference venue was moved from Tokyo to Yokohama as another way of honouring the man after whom the prize was named. In 1899, Dr. Noguchi worked at the Yokohama Port Quarantine Office as an assistant quarantine doctor.[20]

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda made the actual award presentation; and the Emperor and Empress were present at the 2008 ceremony along with a large number of African heads of state.[21]

Greenwood was honoured in the Medical Research category; and his announced laureate lecture topic was “Malaria elimination – Is it possible?”[22]

The first awards of this international prize—consisting of a citation, a medal and an honorarium of 100 million yen (US$843,668) were only intended to be the first in a continuing series; and subsequently the Prize is expected to be awarded every five years.[23] The prize has been made possible through a combination of government funding and private donations.[24]

[1] Greenwood, Brian. [http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/328/7439/534?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=1&andorexacttitle=and&andorexac “Editorial: Treating Malaria in Africa,”] _British Medical Journal_ – BMJ 2004;328:534–535 (6 March), .

[2] Greenwood, Brian M. (1992). “Malaria chemoprophylaxis in endemic regions,” _Malaria: Waiting for the Vaccine,_ G.A.T. Target, ed. London: John Wiley and Sons.

[3] __________________. "A global action plan for the prevention and control of pneumonia, _Bulletin of the World Health Organization._ Vol. 86, No. 5, May 2008, 321–416.

[4]

[5] Dawood, Richard M. (2003). _Travellers' Health: How to Stay Healthy Abroad,_ p. 110.

[6] Greenwood, Brian M. (1992). “Malaria chemoprophylaxis in endemic regions,” _Malaria: Waiting for the Vaccine,_ pp. 83-101.

[7] French, Howard W. “Scientist Says Tests Show New Vaccine May Prevent Malaria,” _The New York Times_. 22 September 1994; French, Howard W. “Hope in Africa; Anti-Malarial Vaccine May Be Breakthrough,” _New York Times._ 15 September 1994.

[8] “Nets Cut Malaria Deaths, Study Says,” _The New York Times_. 16 July 1991.

[9]

[10] RSTMH, Chalmers Medal.

[11]

[12] US/National Institutes of Health: Gorgas Lecture (2003)

[13] http://www.uu.se/en/about-uu/traditions/prizes/honorary-doctorates/

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17] Japan Science and Technology Agency: " Commemorative Lecture: The First Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize," Science Links Japan web site.

[18] Rockefeller Foundation: Noguchi Prize, history

[19] Japan, Cabinet Office: Noguchi Prize, chronology

[20] Hideyo Noguchi Memorial Museum: Noguchi, life events

[21] “Mama Miriam receives the Hideyo Noguchi Prize,” UZIMA Foundation News. 29 May 2008; “Japan awards Kenyan, Briton new Africa health prize” (Agence France Press). 28 May 2008.

[22] Japan, Cabinet Office: Noguchi Prize, fact sheet.

[23] World Health Organization: Noguchi Prize, WHO/AFRO involved

[24] “Noguchi Africa Prize short by 70% of fund target,” _Yomiuri Shimbun_ (Tokyo). 30 March 2008.

title: Brian Greenwood

question: In what ways does the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize honor its namesake?

answer: The Japanese government established the prize in 2006 to honor Doctor Hideyo Noguchi. The date in July marked the 80th anniversary of the doctor's death. The Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development was moved from Tokyo to Yokohama to honor him.

question: Describe Dr. Greenwood's lifelong passion.

answer: Dr. Greenwood has dedicated his life to mitigating the effects of malaria. He worked in West Africa where he was frustrated by how difficult malaria was to control and treat. He was knighted in 2012 for services in malaria research in Africa.

question: Why did Dr. Greenwood choose to research malaria in Africa?

answer: Why did Brian Greenwood choose to research malaria.

question: What would Sir Brian Greenwood's CV look like?

answer: Sir Brian is a biomedical research scientist and recipient of the first Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize. He worked for ten years in Gambis and was Head of Medical Research Council Laboratories in the Gambia for 15. He was knighted in 2012 for services to malaria research in Africa.


text:
NORELGESTROMIN/ETHINYLESTRADIOL, sold under the brand name ORTHO EVRA among others, is a contraceptive patch containing the progestin norelgestromin and the estrogen ethinylestradiol.[1][2] As of December 2016, the product Ortho Evra has been discontinued in the U.S. while the product Xulane continues to be marketed.[3][4][5]

The most common side effects include headache, nausea (feeling sick), breast tenderness, and irregular uterine bleeding.[6][7]

Norelgestromin/ethinyl estradiol was approved for medical use in the United States in November 2001, and in the European Union in August 2002.[8][9]

Norelgestromin/ethinyl estradiol is a transdermal patch (a patch that delivers a medicine across the skin).[10] For the first three weeks of the menstrual cycle a new patch should be applied every week, followed by a fourth week, which is patch-free.[11] The patch-free interval must not be longer than seven days; otherwise, additional non-hormonal contraceptive methods must be used, such as condoms.[12] Transdermal patches must always be applied on the same day of the week to the buttock, abdomen (belly), upper arm or upper back.[13] The same area of skin should not be used for two consecutive patches.[14] Norelgestromin/ethinyl estradiol may work less well in women weighing or more.[15]

Medical uses

In the United States norelgestromin/ethinyl estradiol is indicated for the prevention of pregnancy in women with a BMI < 30 kg/m² for whom a transdermal delivery system is an appropriate method of contraception.[16]

In the European Union, norelgestromin/ethinyl estradiol is indicated for use as female contraception.[17]

[1]

[2]  Text was copied from this source which is © European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged.

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

title: Norelgestromin/ethinylestradiol

question: What is norelgestromin/ethinylestradiol

answer: a contraceptive patch containing the progestin norelgestromin and the estrogen ethinylestradiol

question: What are the side effects of norelgestromin/ethinylestradiol?

answer: headache, nausea, breast tenderness, and irregular uterine bleeding

question: How often should norelgestromin/ethinylestradiol be applied?

answer: once a week, in three week cycles, with a fourth week in which the patch is not applied

question: What is norelgestromin/ethinylestradiol sold as in the U.S.?

answer: Xulane

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Norelgestromin/ethinylestradiol is a contraceptive patch containing the progestin norelgestromin and the estrogen ethinylestradiol.


text:
LEE JONG-WOOK (Hangul: 이종욱; Hanja: 李鍾旭; born June 18, 1980) is a South Korean outfielder who plays for the Doosan Bears in the Korean professional baseball league.

Professional career

In , he joined the Hyundai Unicorns after graduating from Youngnam University in Daegu. However, he did not play any games since he joined the military service in December of that year.

In , when he was discharged from the military, he joined the Doosan Bears as a trainee. At that time, he tried to practice and develop his skill. At last, The Doosan's Head coach Kim Kyung-Moon selected him and Lee tried to survive, not to lose the opportunity. As a result, he could settle down the major group of Bears.

In Summer Olympic Games 2008, Lee contributed to win the gold medal for his national team.[1] In the team's first game of round-robin play against the United States, he hit the game-winning sacrifice fly to score Lee Taek-Keun in the bottom of the 9th inning.

His biggest advantage was to run fast. Therefore, he made fifty-one steals in that season even though his team failed to join the post-season in 2006. Next year, he made forty-seven steals while he hit a homer and made a 0.316 hitting average. He can run to the third base if he hit a ball to the further course of a stadium. He can steal to the second or third base in any situation even a good pitcher marks tightly or a catcher throws a ball exactly. In addition, he can catch a flying ball which drops into the point in which any outfielder get hardly or miss.

He contributed and led the Bears to the Final round of and post-season. Especially he made 0.517 hitting average and three SBs in playoffs 2008. And won the Most Valuable Player straight two years in 2007 and 2008 playoff of two post-seasons.

Awards and honors

-   2007 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)
-   2008 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)
-   2010 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)

Achievements

-   2006 Stolen Bases Title
-   2008 Runs Leader

Career statistics

  Year    Age   Team     Lg    Pos   G     AB     R     H     2B   3B   HR   RBI   TB    SB    CS   SH   BB    HBP   K     GIDP   E   AVG    OBP    SLG    OPS
  ------- ----- -------- ----- ----- ----- ------ ----- ----- ---- ---- ---- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---- ----- ----- ----- ------ --- ------ ------ ------ ------
  2006    26    Doosan   KBO   OF    120   388    76    110   14   6    1    32    139   51    7    12   40    7     60    1      6   .284   .351   .358   .709
  2007    27    Doosan   KBO   OF    123   465    84    147   20   12   1    46    194   47    14   10   48    4     74    6      0   .316   .378   .417   .795
  2008    28    Doosan   KBO   OF    122   458    98    138   14   5    0    28    162   47    8    8    52    4     53    4      2   .301   .372   .354   .726
  Total                  KBO   OF    365   1311   258   395   48   23   2    106   495   145   29   30   140   15    187   11     8   .301   .368   .378   .746

BOLD = led KBO

[1] Olympic results

title: Lee Jong-wook (baseball)

question: What does the text say about Lee Jong-wook?

answer: Lee Jong-Wook was born on June 18, 1980, is a South Korean outfielder. He plays for the Doosan Bears in the Korean professional baseball league.

question: What does the text say about Lee Jong-Wook's professional career?

answer: Lee Jong-Wook joined the Hyundai Unicorns after graduating from Youngnam University in Daegu. However, he had to join the military service in December of that year and was unable to play. After he was discharged he joined the Doosan Bears.

question: What does the text say about Lee Jong-Wook's biggest advantage?

answer: Lee Jong-Wook's biggest advantage was to run fast. He made 51 steals during the Summer Olympic Games 2008.

question: What does the text say about Lee Jong-Wook's Awards and Achievements?

answer: Lee Jong-Wook won three Golden Glove Awards in 2007, 2008, and 2010. He also won the 2006 Stolen Bases Title and 2008 Runs Leader.


text:
EL SOCIO is a census-designated place (CDP) in Starr County, Texas, United States. It is a new CDP formed from part of the old La Victoria CDP prior to the 2010 census with a population of 130.[1]

Geography

El Socio is located at (26.340454, -98.637097).[2]

[1]

[2]

title: El Socio, Texas

question: What is El Socio?

answer: a census-designated place in Starr County, Texas, United States

question: When was El Socio formed?

answer: prior to the 2010 census

question: What is the population of El Socio?

answer: 130

question: Where is El Socio located?

answer: 26.340454, -98.637097

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: El Socio is a census-designated place in Starr County, Texas, United States formed in 2010, with a population of 130.