text:
It was my first visit to this dentist. I noticed that the office was just a tad off. There were a number of teenagers, who seemed too young to be working in a dentist’s office. Rock and roll music was playing, I believe Led Zeppelin, and it gave the place and air of a club house.

The dentist would see me shortly, but I was pretty sure I was seeing him at the reception area sniffing like mad. It could have been a cold, but with my extreme paranoia, coupled with the music and the teenage kids, I assumed he was a coke addict. I may or may not have been on cocaine at the time. I can’t remember. It gets fuzzy at this age.

One does not come to such an assumption (that a dentist is a coke fiend) lightly, but it was a new dentist and no one likes the dentist and the mind wonders with nothing but a Time magazine and a Keurig coffee.

Finally, the time approached and I was called in to receive my cleaning. I was approached by a beautiful blond who instructed me to lie still while she began my cleaning.

I couldn’t help but notice all the women in the office were beautiful blonds. My theory on coke use soon was compounded by a theory of wanton women cleaning teeth and giving happy endings.

But no happy ending was given. I was left alone after the cleaning to talk to the dentist. Most dentists and orthodontists will leave the cleaning and maintenance work to staff and just come by to just look at your mouth and make the extreme decisions that make their PhDs worthwhile and notable.

The dentist approached me and commented on my shoes. He liked them. In my mind, I formed an idea of a swinging dentist who ran a brothel, snorted cocaine, and occasionally dabbled in same sex couplings. There’s nothing wrong with the latter, but I was in no mood to shoot down a PhD. I don’t think I would have it in me. Heterosexual or not, there is something about doctors orders – you take them.

He began talking and I volunteered the information that I was a smoker. I wanted him braced for any staining and bad breath. Dirty smokers do have some nerve coming to see dentists when they have no care for not only their teeth, but there lungs, heart, etc. I felt bad for the man and his being forced to look down the barrel of a tobacco’d maw.

He didn’t seem to mind the admission, however, and he related to me that his friend had tried to quit smoking and told him that it was tougher than giving up cocaine.

For those that thought the paranoia was just paranoia – AH HA!

“Really?” I said.

He went on to tell me about the friend and then began asking me about work. I explained my job the best I could. Having little or no interest in one’s own job makes it a hard conversational piece.

But he nodded in all the right parts and continued sniffing. He could have had a cold or he could have been smuggling smack out the back on donkeys, anything was possible.

He then began talking about some of the dumb things he did as a kid. I laughed along until he got to a part where he was explaining his carefree youth. He started the story on the end of another story about toilet papering houses. His mood was jovial and with each word you heard a laugh at the back of his throat, like he was explaining some elaborate joke. He began:

“Then there was this one time. Me and my buddy, well we decided to get all dressed up in Mormon garb and go biking around town.”

It came out as the beginning of a joke. And with my idea of a coke-addled polygamist bisexual I was ready to assume the worst: that this man had dressed up as a Mormon missionary with a buddy as a joke. It was at this point I decided to not return. But to just take the tension out of his admission of mean-spirited religious joking, I:

“You mean as a goof?”

His face turned sour. He then “No. I was a missionary in the Mormon church.”

My reality from coming into the office to that moment was shattered. This was not a coke sniffing polygamist bisexual, but an upstanding Mormon of the utmost decency.

I felt like a royal bastard. The man had to have thought I decided the only reason you would dress up in Mormon gear was as a goof. I began back peddling. I began explaining how much I admired the Mormon religion. I pledged allegiance to Mitt Romney…

The man had his hands in my mouth – what else could I do?

The moral of the story is never assume a dentist is a coked out polygamist bisexual who runs a brothel and makes light of other religions – because you would be wrong.

Most of the time.

title: New Dentist

question: What does the story say about the narrator's first impression of their new dentist?

answer: The narrator suspected his new dentist of being a coke addict based on the dentist sniffing mad, teenage workers, the music playing in the office, a seemingly cheerful mood, and beautiful blonds working in the office. The use of drugs made the narrator assume the dentist would dance while he carried out his duties and give happy endings. During the cleaning, the dentist did nothing but observe the narrator's mouth, so he deduced he was just coming to look at it rather than give him a cleaning or maintenance. After the cleaning and examination of the narrator's mouth, the dentist began talking about his own life, and he candidly opened up to the narrator, who believed that the dentist was a coke-sniffing polygamist bisexual. During this conversation, the dentist revealed that he was a Mormon missionary. The narrator's impression of his new dentist changed drastically, and he felt like a royal bastard.

critique: The narrator's impression of the dentist changes after he reveals he was a Mormon missionary.

critique: It's omitted that the dentist liked the narrator's shoes.

critique: The narrator's impression of the dentist was not that he was a coke-sniffing polygamist bisexual.

critique: The narrator's impression of the dentist did not change drastically. The narrator felt like a royal bastard.

critique: The narrator's assumption about the dentist's cheerful mood is irrelevant.

critique: The narrator's assumptions about their dentist are irrelevant.

critique: The narrator's impression of the dentist changed drastically because he realized the dentist was a Mormon missionary.

text: There is a lot of irrelevant information

refinement: The narrator suspected his new dentist of being a coke addict based on the dentist sniffing mad, teenage workers, the music playing in the office, a seemingly cheerful mood, and beautiful blonds working in the office. The use of drugs made the narrator assume the dentist would dance while he carried out his duties and give happy endings. During the cleaning, the dentist did nothing but observe the narrator's mouth, so he deduced he was just coming to look at it rather than give him a cleaning or maintenance. After the cleaning and examination of the narrator's mouth, the dentist began talking about his own life, and he candidly opened up to the narrator, who believed that the dentist was a coke-sniffing polygamist bisexual. During this conversation, the dentist revealed that he was a Mormon missionary. The narrator's impression of his new dentist changed drastically, and he felt like a royal bastard.

question: What does the story say about Mormon religious rules?

answer: No answer

critique: There is an answer. The story describes the main character assuming the narrator is a Mormon, but there is no particular prohibition against missionary-style activities.

critique: The answer should mention that the narrator dresses up as a Mormon missionary.


split: train

text:
_SWING_ is a soundtrack for the 1999 film of the same name, which stars Lisa Stansfield, who also recorded ten songs for the soundtrack and co-wrote four of them. The album was released in Europe on 10 May 1999 and in North America on 13 July 1999. _Swing_ garnered favorable reviews from music critics who called it a “gem” among the soundtracks. The album, full of jazz and swing songs, reached number six on _Billboard_'s Top Jazz Albums chart. On 2 June 2003, it was remastered and re-released in Europe with an alternative cover art.

Background

In 1999, Stansfield starred in the Nick Mead-directed film _Swing_ with actor Hugo Speer, and recorded cover versions of swing songs and a few original songs written in this style for the soundtrack. The film premiered on 7 May 1999, and the soundtrack was released three days later.

Content

The album contains fifteen jazz and swing songs performed by Stansfield (ten tracks), Georgie Fame (two tracks) and Ian Devaney (three instrumental tracks). Among them, Stansfield co-wrote four new songs: “Gotta Get on This Train”, “Why Do We Call It Love”, “I Thought That's What You Liked About Me” and “Two Years Too Blue”. She has also recorded eight covers: “Ain't What You Do” (from 1939), “Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens” (from 1946) “Baby I Need Your Lovin'” (from 1964), “Our Love Is Here to Stay” (from 1938), “Watch the Birdie” (from 1941), “The Best Is Yet to Come” (from 1959), “Blitzkrieg Baby” (from 1940) and “Mack the Knife” (from 1928).

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews from music critics. According to Mark Allan from AllMusic, _Swing_ is a “gem of a soundtrack. [...] The bright, sassy arrangements are fine showcases for Stansfield's confident, take-charge vocals.” Allan also said that “[e]ven if the movie stinks, there's the music to remember.”[1]

Commercial reception

_Swing_ reached number six on _Billboard_'s Top Jazz Albums and number 165 on the UK Albums Chart.

Track listing

Charts

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Chart (1999)                      | Peak                              |
|                                   | position                          |
+===================================+===================================+
| UK Albums (OCC)[2]                | 165                               |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| US _Billboard_ Top Jazz Albums[3] | 6                                 |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
|  |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

Credits and personnel

Credits taken from AllMusic.[4]

-   Tim Baxter - assistant engineer
-   Vicky Brown - violins, additional arrangements
-   Hugh Buckley - guitars
-   Richie Buckley - saxophone
-   Clarence Clemons - saxophone
-   Tony Cousins - mastering
-   Jacquie Darbyshire - personal management
-   John Thirkell - trumpet
-   Snake Davis - saxophone
-   Ian Devaney - producer, arranger, keyboards, guitars
-   Georgie Fame - vocals
-   Geoff Gascoyne - bass
-   Rachel George - personal assistant
-   Carl Geraghty - saxophone
-   Leo Green - saxophone
-   Gavin Harrison - drums
-   Matt Holland - trumpet
-   Tommy Manzi - management
-   Stephen McDonnell - trumpet, additional arrangements
-   Adrian McGovern - recording, mix engineer
-   Nigel Mooney - guitars
-   Martin Rhodes - studio management
-   Karl Ronan - trombone
-   Lisa Stansfield - vocals
-   John Wadham - drums
-   Kevin Whitehead - drums

Release history

  Region             Date           Label             Format          Catalog
  ------------------ -------------- ----------------- --------------- ---------------
  Europe[5]          10 May 1999    BMG Soundtracks   CD              74321 66923 2
  North America[6]   13 July 1999   RCA Victor        09026 63541 2
  Europe[7]          2 June 2003    BMG               Remastered CD   28765 22452 9

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

title: Swing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

question: Summarize Swing's Motion Picture Soundtrack's reception.

answer: Swing's Motion Picture Soundtrack received favorable reviews from music critics. Mark Allan from AllMusic called it a "gem of a soundtrack."

critique: The answer should mention the chart performance of the album.

critique: The answer should mention the album's chart performance.

critique: Most of the points are irrelevant, forgettable, and could be removed.

critique: The answer should mention the commercial reception of the album.

critique: The answer should mention the commercial reception.

question: Summarize the content of Swing's Motion Picture Soundtrack.

answer: The album contains 15 jazz and swing songs performed by Stansfield, Georgie Fame, and Ian Devaney. Stansfield co-wrote four new songs for the album, and recorded eight covers.

critique: The answer should mention that the album was released in 1999.

critique: The answer should mention the names of the four songs Stansfield co-wrote.

critique: The answer should mention the number of songs Stansfield wrote.

critique: The answer should mention the songwriter and artist who recorded the songs.

question: Summarize everyone who was involved with the making of the Swing's Motion Picture Soundtrack.

answer: Lisa Stansfield was involved in writing four songs for the soundtrack and recording eight cover songs for the soundtrack. Ian Devaney was involved in producing, arranging, and playing keyboards and guitars for the soundtrack. Georgie Fame was involved in singing two songs for the soundtrack.

critique: The answer should mention the musicians.


text:
					The Laughing Man

					       Chapter 1:

Summer was supposed to be a time of fun and adventure.  Traversing the woodland realm, hiking down new paths to find some
new camping locations.  Admiring nature in all her glory.  Well, that's what summer was supposed to be anyway.  This summer however, had
decided to take on a rather dreary turn.  The raining has gone on for well over a month now.  Had this been England or some such far off land, I
could understand.  "But this is Georgia!" I thought to myself, glaring out the window towards the woodline.  "We're directly above the damn
Sunshine State, and I'm stuck in here!" No matter, there's no way this could last.  So I'll make do inside.   "Ugh, the thought of being stuck in this
dreadful farmhouse for days just makes me sick."  It's the type of old house that you just can't keep clean.  Day in and day out of dusting,
sweeping cobwebs, clearing rat bodies, the familiar signs of a house past its prime.  Cleaning alone is enough to keep you occupied full time.
So many days have been spent waking up just to look around and be so overwhelmed that you give up.  Luckily, we have the computer and
the television.  Sometimes it can be your only escape from the dull, dusty walls, the rattling pipes, and the other little quirks that make a house
a home.

It was around this time that our little town tucked away in the mountains began to have somewhat of a suspicious presence.  Somewhere
along the lines, we seem to have had a bout of depression sweep over our little town.  The news would later attribute this to the ceaseless rain.
It seemed as though every other week or so, we were hearing of yet another suspicious suicide.  Rumors began to spring up about possible
contaminants in our water, spread only quicker by the rain.  As those who would take their lives, would exhibit peculiar personality changes for
days, leading up to their eventual demise.  It was so bad that anyone acting strangely would be rounded up by their friends and families and taken
to the hospital immediately.  Usually it was nothing.  There was one that did commit suicide after being taken to the hospital.  Even stranger,
is that the girl who killed herself in the hospital was helped by the head nurse.  Who in turn killed herself later that week.  No one quite knew
the cause, but needless to say, the town was on edge.  With good cause, as the death toll had reached in to the double digits now.

This of course was all just news to me.  I had been staying indoors more and more lately, and didn't know any of the victims personally.
All of this was nothing more than a story on the television to me.  "Just another day on Earth" I remember thinking to myself.  I guess I've always
been the cynical type.  So days later, when someone I actually knew became affected by the strange phenomenon, I was struck to say the least.  Travis
was a distant acquaintance of mine.  Just a kid I hung out with in highschool, back in my wilder days.  Still, it's always weird to know a person who dies.
Especially when that person dies from something so strange as a "Plague of suicide".  Travis was always pretty popular, and up until a few days before
he died, alone in his little Airstream trailer, still a fairly well known, affable fellow.  Since this was the first victim of the sickness that I had known, I felt
compelled to go to the funeral.  Something, that in hindsight, I never should have done...

The funeral was held atop a hill, near the local cemetary.  It was one of those funerals that seemed more of a social gathering than a way
to remember a person, and immortalize their passing.  But with the types of friends we shared, one could only expect as much.  It was here that I
became familiar with the intimate details of the sickness sweeping our sleepy little town.  Amongst the crowds you could hear people talking about
Travis up to his last few days.  How he was becoming more and more paranoid.  Always feeling as though someone was watching him, messing with
him. Trying to to make him break.  I would overhear his neighbors discussing how he would come storming out of his trailer, shotgun in tow in full
blown panic, multiple times during the day and night.  Even firing back in to his trailer's front door on one occasion.  As if he were chasing some
unknown assailant.  How they could hear him sobbing sometimes. The odd part however, is how they would describe his cries.  It seems he would be
heard sobbing, softly.  The soft cries of a man on the verge of breaking.  His cries however, as they described it, began to become very peculiar.  He
would begin to cry, head in his hands.  And then, as if he had just snapped, laughter.  The type of laughter when you had just had enough.  Or the type
of laughter when you realized you had gone insane.  They would describe him sitting alone in his little garden outside his trailer, in his humble little lawn
chair just crying.  A PBR to his side, a shotgun in his lap, and his head in his hands.  Just sobbing... And laughing...

The funeral had ended, and the people were beginning to clear out.  I was still socializing with a few other old aquantances when my eyes
became repeatably drawn to his small, close nit family.  These were mountain folk, and to say they were superstitious would be an incredible
understatement.  Overhearing them talk of demons and "Jaysus Christ" and all sorts of things made an Atheist city boy like myself cringe.  But I was
still filled with compassion for them.  I began to slowly inch my way towards them, all the while listening to their conversation as to find the right time
to sort of "butt in".  To find some way I could console this poor family.  When I heard them mention of just burning the Airstream and all that was in
it down to ashes.  "Wow, these people are absolutely terrified" I thought to myself.  "I just wish we could have something, anything to remember him
by before we do this." I heard the grandmother say between sobs.  Without even thinking, my mouth opened and out it came.  "I'd be happy to go get
some pictures and specific items you guys might want if it would help!".  What in the ever loving fuck was I thinking?  This was none of my business.
And I barely even knew the guy anymore.  But my mouth had opened, and what was said had been said.  Of course they would try to talk me out of it,
but I wasn't having any of it.  I'm not the greatest guy on earth, but I do keep my word.  So here I am, tasked to retrieve a few personal belongings of
a man I hardly knew, for a family I didn't know, in the middle of what seemed to be some sort of disease outbreak.  Me and my big mouth...

**Sorry about the poor formatting. I just copy/pasted it from my notepad.**

I guess this could also serve as proof I'm the actual writer if the need ever arises lol

title: This is chapter 1 of a story I'm writing. Hope you guys like it! Criticism welcome!

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

answer: The narrator's town is located in the mountains in the south. It had been suffering from the rain for over a month, depressing everyone. Recently, there have been an unusual amount of suicide cases in their town. Isolating themselves from the outside world was not a good idea as suicide victims' favorite place was their bathrooms, taking advantage of the gas jets. Methods used by the victims include using shotguns. While the narrator thinks the town could have been far from home (Georgia? USA?) because it takes time to be affected by suicide, it wasn't the case. It simply took time for the victims to notice how they were being affected.

critique: The answer is a summary of the story and not a summary of the town.

critique: The narrator thought that their town was in the southern part of the state of Georgia but it was not that far due to the suicide cases.

critique: It may mention the victims' quest of a way to detach themselves from the outside world in the town, thus they suicide to end their agony.

critique: The narrator's town is not in Georgia, they are in Georgia.

critique: It is not stated that the victims committed suicide in the bathroom.

critique: "It simply took time for the victims to notice how they were being affected." - this was never mentioned in the story.

critique: The first sentence is unclear because the narrator is not from Georgia.

critique: The narrator's town is not in the mountains in the south. It is in the mountains in the south.

critique: The response contains inaccurate information.

critique: The narrator is not sure if the town could be far away from home.

text: "Isolating themselves from the outside world was not a good idea as suicide victims' favorite place was their bathrooms, taking advantage of the gas jets. Methods used by the victims include using shotguns. While the narrator thinks the town could have been far from home (Georgia? USA?) because it takes time to be affected by suicide, it wasn't the case. It simply took time for the victims to notice how they were being affected." - this part is inaccurate and irrelevant. It should be removed.

category: accuracy

refinement: The narrator's town is located in the mountains in the south. It had been suffering from the rain for over a month, depressing everyone. Recently, there have been an unusual amount of suicide cases in their town. Isolating themselves from the outside world was not a good idea as suicide victims' favorite place was their bathrooms, taking advantage of the gas jets. Methods used by the victims include using shotguns. While the narrator thinks the town could have been far from home (Georgia? USA?) because it takes time to be affected by suicide, it wasn't the case. It simply took time for the victims to notice how they were being affected.


text:
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []

BrahMos providing food to homeless & needy in its fight against COVID-19

Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh applauds BRAHMOS @ DefExpo 2020

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat visits BrahMos @ DefExpo 2020

Indian Navy Chief Adm. Karambir Singh Visits BrahMos @ DefExpo 2020

Indian Army Chief Gen. Manoj Mukund Naravane at BrahMos @ DefExpo

Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, IAF Chief Visits BrahMos @ DefExpo 2020

Russian State Duma delegates visit BrahMos HQ

Excellence in Aerospace Industry Award

Perfect Role Model to Emulate MAKE IN INDIA

Release of Brahmand World Defence Update 2017

The future belongs to those who prepare for it today

BRAHMOS, a symbol of 'Make in India'

[]

[COVID-19] Annual Report: FY 2019-2020 [COVID-19]

[COVID-19] BrahMos Prevention and Protection Handbook Against COVID-19  [COVID-19]

News in MediaRead more

-

    []BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile successfully test-fired from Indian Navy's stealth destroyer, INS Chennai

    October 18, 2020

-

    []India successfully test-fires BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile from Chandipur ITR in Odisha

    September 30, 2020

-

    []BrahMos Aerospace helps Jabalpur with PPE kits, N-95 masks

    April 21, 2020

-

    []South's first BRAHMOS-armed Sukhoi-30MKI squad to guard strategic Indian Ocean Region

    January 20, 2020

-

    []BRAHMOS missiles successfully test-fired from land and air platforms

    December 17, 2019

BrahMos Culture

[]At BrahMos, we are committed to motivating technological and strategic progress, establishing a common culture and developing a milieu for learning by leveraging our strengths into the supremacy of our performance...

About Joint Venture

[]BrahMos Aerospace was formed as a joint venture between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India and Military Industrial Consortium NPO Mashinostroyenia of Russia through an Inter-Governmental Agreement on February 12, 1998...

Our Mission

[]Thrive to attain greater heights and make ‘BrahMos’ a synonym of achievement, innovation and success in the international arena of missile and aerospace, to be market leader with a product which dictates quality, commitment and most cost effective system...

BrahMos System on Various Platforms

 [] []

Ship-based Weapon      Complex System

BrahMos missile is capable of hitting sea based targets beyond radar horizons. It can be launched in either inclined or vertical configuration based on the type of the ship or user requirements.

Learn More

 [] []

Land-based Weapon      Complex System

BrahMos Land based Weapon Complex comprises of four to six Mobile Autonomous Launchers (MAL) controlled by a Mobile Command Post (MCP), and a Mobile Replenishment Vehicle.

Learn More

 [] []

Air Launched Weapon       System

BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile created history on 22nd Nov 2017 after it was successfully flight-tested first time from the IAF's Sukhoi-30MKI against a sea based target in the Bay of Bengal.

Learn More

 [] []

Submarine Based Weapon System

BrahMos missile is capable of being launched from submarine from a depth of 40-50 metres. The missile is installed in a modular launcher vertically in the pressure hull of the submarine.

Learn More

Event Gallery

question: Describe some interesting facts about the BrahMos System.

answer: The BrahMos system has a ship-based weapon system, a land-based weapon system, an air-launched weapon system, and a submarine-based weapon system. The BrahMos missile is capable of being launched from a submarine from a depth of 40-50 meters.

critique: The answer should mention the date of the founding of the joint venture.

critique: The answer could mention the date of the article.

critique: The article doesn't say the depth requirement for launching.

critique: The answer should mention the different platforms.

critique: The answer omits the land-based weapon system.

critique: The answer could be more specific about the different systems.

question: Would China and North Korea be interested in the BrahMos system?

answer: It is not stated.

critique: The article does not mention China or North Korea.

critique: The answer is incorrect. It is stated that BrahMos is a joint venture between India and Russia.

critique: The answer is incorrect. The article states that the system is a joint venture between India and Russia.

critique: It is not stated, but it is implied that China and North Korea would not be interested in the BrahMos system.

critique: The answer should note that the question is assumptive.

critique: The answer is incorrect. The article states that the BrahMos system is a supersonic cruise missile developed by India and Russia.

critique: This is false as the article pragmatically states that the named states are interested.


text:
*November 21, 2077 02:33 AM*

*Allen William Brier, 1st Class Mechanical Technician aboard the Belle Celeste.*

               Wormholes, it turns out, are real. They don’t have shape or structure like a worm, but more of a layer on another layer. Coming in or out of one? I’m not sure how that feels, possibly similar to being forced hard against a wall, turning it sideways and being thrown into an unknown oblivion. There may be paths wormholes take, but all I experienced was the ship coming out, or ‘layering’ on top of us; and the damage was extraordinary.

               I am a survivor, being outside of the ship at the time, doing repairs to an external fuel tank. I do not consider myself lucky, but how I survived the explosions and splintering metal collisions...I’ll never know. A word washes over me as I move silently through space…*walking*.

               *Walking*…that word, it makes me nauseous. I think how an amputated arm might feel; reminiscent it existed, but still no tangible way to reflect its memories. *Walking*…that word meant nothing now…swimming with a sick twist knotting my stomach and complete freedom washing over my body. The non-structure heats an intrinsic need to pull my body into a fetal position. I don’t want my limbs dangling out there, and I need to feel close to myself. I was all I had left to grasp. Arms pressed, knitted tightly across my chest, the suit wouldn’t allow them to get closer than six inches to my body, but I try to pull them close, holding them tightly; until my muscles scream at me. I refuse to let go. I try to bring my legs up to my chest and grip the slippery suit with my arms, which is no good, the suit is too bulky...so all I can muster is my knees bent and legs crossed.

               Memories leak out, of a dark tunnel in a water park, the water gushing past and my body sliding up the walls, being in a fetal position, trying to catch my breath. The feeling of nostalgia is overwhelming and I weep.

               Terrible dreams, my mind in denial…I fall asleep after my muscles give out and my arms fall apart and legs uncross. I’m dreaming I am sitting up in a bed and looking through the window, the blurriness of sleep coating my eyes. I coughed into my hand and black mucus slaps into my palm. With a grunt of disgust I rub it onto the bed sheets and stare as the blackness spreads slowly across the cotton, sinking in and then expanding and pulsing. The substance begins to pour out of the spot where I initially rubbed, and as though reaching for me, it touches my leg, very wet and very cold. All at once the bed was soaked in black, and my face twisted into horror as I sunk into it. I prop my hands on the bed and made for a small jump onto the floor…

               This is where I wake up, disoriented and my feet flailing. Sudden terror hits me, and my heart begins to spasm and race, my limbs search out for something to hold onto. There was nothing; nothing to grab or step on, kick or rest against. I was floating, and there was nothing to stop me, and nowhere to go. I was obliviously lost to myself, and swallowed up by darkness; murky, cold, oily darkness.

               My stomach bows, and I am going to be sick. My legs kick out and hyper extend, causing a burning sensation in the back of my knees, and I try twisting my body, but it doesn’t work. Maybe I am upside down…but that concept doesn’t apply anymore. I am whichever way, down or up. All at once, I contract my body into a fetal position, slam my eyes shut and breathe heavily, my heart pounding in the back of my ears. My sickness subsides, and I start to cry again. After some time, a rage sinks in and I tear my vocal cords screaming and howling. I would pass out if I didn’t hyperventilate first with infinite insecurity. Endorphins bubble out of my brain. I black out; my body goes limp.

               Drifting in and out of consciousness, I realize my oxygen is running low, having only approached the work outside the ship with enough in my tank for a few hours.

               My body begins to take in the air with long hard breaths, my fears subsiding for the moment. As I stare out into the darkness, small shapes of dimly lit suns and galaxies glow softly as if a painting in the distance. I begin to cough, causing flares of pain in my torn throat tissue. Blood spat out into the inside of my helmet, causing my view to be through a red Rorschach image, complete with mental interpretation. Blood slowly drips down, leaving opaque streaks of red, drying there, permanently hazing my only view.

               I can feel blood drying on my neck and lips, itching me, and the inside of my helmet is beginning to smell of old copper and sweat, my tears mixing with the blood, invigorating my sense of being alive. This was not what I wanted. I know the eventuality…but wish for my mind to stop analyzing. I told myself to just stop…I wouldn’t listen, and darkness takes me over.

               Some time has passed; everything is calmer now, my oxygen is running out. Drifting in and out of consciousness, my body feels limp and drained.

               I open my eyes for the last few seconds and stare into the distance, the painting in the background is beautiful. So beautiful, it is only fate to be enjoyed for the last few seconds of my life. Dying alone, to the only sound, my faint shallow breathing; the blackness swallows me, and everything is gone.

title: [SF][HR] Float

question: What does the story say about Allen William Brier's fellow technicians?

answer: No answer

critique: The answer should mention that there is no mention of other technicians.

critique: The passage mentions that there were other technicians aboard the Belle Celeste.

critique: The answer should mention that the story does not mention anything about Allen William Brier's fellow technicians.

critique: The answer should mention that the story doesn't say anything about Allen William Brier's fellow technicians.

question: What does the story say about the cold?

answer: The narrator is floating in space. He's outside the ship. He's wearing a suit that keeps him insulated and protected. However, it seems the suit isn't designed particularly well for space walking. He tries to pull his methods close, but the suit is too bulky. He's floating in space, outside his ship. He also gets very cold.

critique: The response contains inaccurate information.

critique: The answer does not quite make any sense-the coldness is not mentioned at all.

question: What does the story say about darkness?

answer: The narrator is floating in darkness. He can't tell whether he's upside down or not. He is swallowed up by the darkness.

critique: Doesn't mention the dreams and visions the darkness triggers.

critique: The story also mentions that the darkness is murky, cold, and oily.

critique: The answer should mention that the darkness is murky, cold, and oily.

critique: The answer should mention that darkness is murky, cold, and oily.

critique: The answer should mention the darkness of space.

question: What does the story say about legs?

answer: The narrator is a first class mechanical technician aboard the Belle Celeste. He is outside the ship repairing an external fuel tank. He doesn't want his limbs dangling out there, and needs to feel close to himself. He tries to bring his legs up to his chest and grip the slippery suit with his arms but can't. He can't uncross his legs. He falls asleep and dreams he is sitting up in a bed. He coughed into his hand and black mucus slaps into his palm. He rubs it on the bed sheets and it spreads slowly across the cotton. The substance touches his leg and is very wet and very cold. He wakes up disoriented and his feet flailing. He kicks out and hyper extends his legs. He tries twisting his body but it doesn't work.

critique: The response includes extraneous information not useful for the task.


text:
Sources within House Republican leadership told Breitbart News on Thursday that they believe former 2016 presidential candidate Evan McMullin may have spied on them last year, while he was policy director of the House Republican Conference.

Suspicions arose after the _Washington Post_‘s Adam Entous reported Wednesday that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) “made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation on Capitol Hill with his fellow GOP leaders: that Trump could be the beneficiary of payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

The story was treated by other news outlets as a potential “smoking gun” implicating Trump. A closer look, however, raises serious questions about the story, as well as its sources.

The _Post_ based its reporting on an audio recording of a conversation between McCarthy and Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Steve Scalise (R-LA), and Patrick McHenry (R-NC) on June 15, 2016.

It is not clear who recorded the conversation, or what kind of device was used. (Entous did not return a request for comment.)

The _Post_ did not post the actual audio recording for readers to listen to and judge for themselves. Instead, it posted a supposed transcript of the recording, riddled with typographical errors that would be atypical for the _Post_, at least in an important story.

(The _Post_ routinely accuses conservative journalists like James O’Keefe — falsely — of editing their videos in a misleading manner. In 2012, the _Post_‘s media critic, Erik Wemple, mocked O’Keefe: “A great deal of work is required to heavily edit surreptitious encounters with folks throughout the professional world.” Yet now the _Post_ has published a blockbuster story based on audio that may be edited deceptively — and there is no way to know.)

On Wednesday evening, Entous told Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC: “The source, which basically let us listen to the recording, has not provided us with the audio for us to release, otherwise I think we would. So I have listened to it, and some of my colleagues have listened to it several times … There’s about four of us that listened to it.”

He did not say how they had listened to it — whether over the telephone, or in a voice mail, or as an email attachment.

The _Post_ does not appear ever to have had the audio in its possession. Entous merely wrote that the audio “was listened to and verified by The Washington Post.”

The term “verified” could mean anything — it could simply mean the audio Entous heard matched the transcript. It does not mean that the _Post_ had confirmed that the audio was unedited, nor does it mean that the _Post_ confirmed the authenticity of the recording with the people present.

Curiously, the dateline on Entous’s story was Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. McCarthy and Ryan held talks earlier that day with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman on Capitol Hill. None of the _Post_ reporters involved in the story — including “Andrew Roth in Moscow, Michael Birnbaum in Brussels and Robert Costa in Washington” — is based in Ukraine. It is not clear why overseas reporters were involved in the story.

Breitbart News’ sources, who agreed to speak about the _Post_ story without attribution, raised suspicions about Evan McMullin, a former CIA agent who ran a small third-party presidential campaign in 2016.

McMullin was the policy director of the House Republican Conference at the time of the conversation, and reportedly participated in the discussion.

In February, McMullin publicly encouraged U.S. intelligence officials to leak information about President Trump, taking to Twitter and appearing on CNN to claim that intelligence agents who were breaking the law were doing so in service of their oath to defend the Constitution against “domestic and foreign enemies.” He told CNN that “Donald Trump presents a threat to the country,” and referred to “a security threat coming from the White House.”

He also offered Entous a comment for his story in the _Post_: “It’s true that Majority Leader McCarthy said that he thought candidate Trump was on the Kremlin’s payroll. Speaker Ryan was concerned about that leaking,” he said.

The transcript itself suggests McCarthy was joking. The context of the private conversation was a discussion about how Russian propaganda has infiltrated Ukraine and beyond.

McCarthy told his colleagues that the Russians had hacked the Democratic National Committee to find opposition research on Trump, and then laughed. According to the transcript at the _Post_, the conversation then proceeded as follows — punctuated by repeated bouts of laughter:

  McCarthy: The Russians hacked the DNC and got the opp [sic] research that they had on Trump.

  McCarthy: laughs

  [Crosstalk]

  Ryan: The Russian’s [sic] hacked the DNC…

  McHenry: …to get oppo…

  Ryan: …on Trump and like delivered it to…to who?

  [Unintelligible]

  McCarthy: There’s…there’s two people, I think, Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump…[laughter]…swear to God.

  Ryan: This is an off the record…[laughter]…NO LEAKS…[laughter]…alright?! [Laughter]

  Ryan: This is how we know we’re a real family here.

Entous seemed determined to portray that exchange as a serious revelation of evidence against Trump. Several paragraphs into his article, he admitted: “It is difficult to tell from the recording the extent to which the remarks were meant to be taken literally.” Yet he has since been at pains to paint McCarthy’s statement as a serious one.

On MSNBC’s _Hardball_, Entous told Chris Matthews: “I listened to it very carefully, and he says it very seriously.” Later, he told O’Donnell, “I want to be really honest … Frankly, it’s kind of hard to tell. Certainly the conversation is very, very serious.” (O’Donnell chimed in to offer “Catholic boy guidance,” saying that “people with names like Kevin McCarthy and Paul Ryan,” the phrase “swear to God” means that a statement is to be taken literally.)

Entous went on to say that McCarthy had spoken “very matter-of-factually,” but admitted “some people in the room laugh[ed].”

_Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. He is the co-author of _How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution_, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak._

question: Why was the audio transcript riddled with errors?

answer: The transcript appears to be ainterpretit either heard on the phone, being circulated via email or attachment, or they listened to the excerpted audio and then transcribed it. The conversation if listened to would be more of a natural flow, as stated by the witnesses to it. Obviously there are details to omit some things because they are not scripted.

critique: "The transcript appears to be ainterpretit either heard on the phone, being circulated via email or attachment, or they listened to the excerpted audio and then transcribed it. The conversation if listened to would be more of a natural flow, as stated by the witnesses to it. Obviously there are details to omit some things because they are not scripted." - this is incorrect and should be removed.

critique: "The transcript appears to be ainterpretit either heard on the phone, being circulated via email or attachment" is not stated in the text and should be removed.

text: The response has a fair bit of typos and grammatical errors. This impacts the ability to decipher its meaning.

category: coherence


text:
[Teach Java in 21 Days]Free download Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days in PDF written by Laura Lemay, Charles L. Perkins and published by Sams.net.

According to the Authors, “This book teaches you all about the Java language and how to use it to create applets and applications. By the time you get through with this book, you’ll know enough about Java to do just about anything, inside an applet or out. This book is intended for people with at least some basic programming background, which includes people with years of programming experience or people with only a small amount of experience. If you understand what variables, loops, and functions are, you’ll be just fine for this book. The sorts of people who might want to read this book include you, if:

-   You’re a real whiz at HTML, understand CGI programming (in perl, Apple Script, Visual Basic, or some other popular CGI language) pretty well, and want to move on to the next level in Web page design.
-   You had some Basic or Pascal in school and you have a basic grasp of what programming is, but you’ve heard Java is easy to learn, really powerful, and very cool.
-   You’ve programmed C and C++ for many years, you’ve heard this Java thing is becoming really popular and you’re wondering what all the fuss is all about.
-   You’ve heard that Java is really good for Web-based applets, and you’re curious about how good it is for creating more general applications.

What if you know programming, but you don’t know object-oriented programming? Fear not. This book assumes no background in object-oriented design. If you know object-oriented programming, in fact, the first couple of days will be easy for you.

This book is intended to be read and absorbed over the course of three weeks. During each week, you’ll read seven chapters that present concepts related to the Java language and the creation of applets and applications.

Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days describes Java primarily in its current state—what’s known as the beta API (Application Programming Interface). This is the version of Java that Netscape and other browsers, such as Spyglass’s Mosaic, support. A previous version of Java, the alpha API, was significantly different from the version described in this book, and the two versions are not compatible with each other. There are other books that describe only the alpha API, and there may still be programs and browsers out there that can only run using alpha Java programs.
Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days uses primarily Java beta because that is the version that is most current and is the version that will continue to be used in the future. The alpha API is obsolete and will eventually die out. If you learn Java using beta API, you’ll be much better prepared for any future changes (which will be minor) than if you have to worry about both APIs at once.
Java is still in development. “Beta” means that Java is not complete and that things may change between the time this book is being written and the time you read this. Keep this in mind as you work with Java and with the software you’ll use to create and compile programs. If things aren’t behaving the way you expect, check the Web sites mentioned at the end of this introduction for more information.
Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days covers the Java language and its class libraries in 21 days, organized as three separate weeks. Each week covers a different broad area of developing Java applets and applications.

Table of Contents

1.  An Introduction to Java Programming
2.  Object Oriented Programming and Java
3.  Java Basics
4.  Working with Objects
5.  Arrays, Conditional and Loops
6.  Creating Classes and Applications in Java
7.  More About Methods
8.  Java Applet Basics
9.  Graphics, Fonts and Color
10. Simple Animation and Threads
11. More Animation, Images and Sound
12. Managing Simple Events and Interactivity
13. The Java Abstract Windowing Toolkit
14. Windows, Networking and Other Tidbits
15. Modifiers
16. Packages and Interfaces
17. Exceptions
18. Multi-Threading
19. Streams
20. Native Methods and Libraries
21. Under the Hood

    A. Language Summary

    B. Class Hierarchy Diagrams

    C. The Java Class Library

Free download Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days in PDF written by Laura Lemay, Charles L. Perkins from following download links.

Download Link 1

Download Link 2

Download Link 3

FILE SIZE: 5.7 MB                 PAGES: 516              Please Read DISCLAIMER

Don’t forget to drop a comment below after downloading this book.

NOTE: If download links are not working, kindly drop a comment below, so we’ll update the download link for you

Happy downloading!

You may also like to download JAVA ALL-IN-ONE FOR DUMMIES FOURTH EDITION IN PDF

question: Summarize the conditions under which someone could really learn from this book.

answer: The book is intended for people with at least some basic programming background, which includes people with years of programming experience or people with only a small amount of experience. If you understand what variables, loops, and functions are, you'll be just fine for this book.

critique: The answer does not mention that the book is for people who are interested in learning Java.

question: Summarize the history of Java as a programming language.

answer: No answer

critique: The answer should mention that the book does not cover the history of Java.

critique: The answer should mention the alpha and beta APIs.


text:
Find Your E-collar Remote Training Product

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[Consider the Dog]

Our Most Popular Training Solutions

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[] What Makes Us Different
E-Collar Technologies has been helping owners train their dogs of all temperaments and obedience levels. Learn more about how our e-collars are made and how you can use them to improve your relationship with your dog! Continue Reading

Helpful News & Information from the E-Collar Team

[] How an E-Collar Saved Our Reactive Aussie
Have a dog struggling with reactivity? Read Layla's amazing turn-around story.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Remote Dog Training Collar Buyers Guide: E-Collar Technologies] Dog Training Collar Buyers Guide
Don’t let their similar appearances confuse you; there are some very important differences among dog training collars. Consider these factors to evaluate options and find the right one for you.

[E-Collar Technologies EZ Educator Remote Training Collars - E-Collar Technologies]

An E-Collar is a remote dog training system that usually consists of a wireless remote and a wireless receiver. E-collars allow you to remotely send signals to your dog to help them understand "good behavior" and "bad behavior." The different E-collar models you can select from have functions that allow you to send either a tone, vibration, or a stimulating sensation to the dog.

Why Are E-Collars Better for Your Dog?

Unlike most traditional "shock collars" our E-Collars use a form of stimulus that targets the neck muscles of the dog; mimicking the loving touch of their mother.  With stimulation levels ranging from 1 to 100, our E-Collars allow you to adjust the stimulation to a level that is best suited to gently communicate with your dog. This “best level” can be locked to prevent over-stimulation and easily adjusted for a higher distraction environment when necessary. This level of control gives our electronic dog collars the clear advantage. The choice is clear: When it comes to getting the best dog collar for training your dog, without applying too much stimulus, then an E-Collar Remote Dog Trainer is the choice for you!

Are you considering which dog training collar IS BEST?

-   The size of dog (shock collars for small dogs are different than big dog shock collars)
-   The dog training collar range (hunting dog collars and working dog collars typically need a longer range than a pet training collar for average yards)
-   Do you need bark collar functionality? No bark collars differ from remote dog trainers.
-   How many dogs are you training? Some dog training collars feature multiple receivers, so you don't need to carry additional remotes.
-   Do you need waterproofing and shock resistance? Don't worry, all of our dog training collars are shock resistant (up to 5000 G-force) and water resistant (up to 500' below sea level).

Simply put, our superior construction, durability, and features make E-Collar Technologies' products the best dog collars available on the market today.

Shock Collars VS E-Collars

The term "shock collars" for some, has a negative connotation. Many people incorrectly assume that shock collars cause physical harm or lasting damage to a dog as a form of punishment. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Electric collars are designed to get your dog's attention, not as a form of punishment. When used in combination with positive reinforcement, E-collars provide the feedback that dogs need to learn when to pay attention to the handler. E-collars do not burn or cause lasting damage to a dog. Our educational videos and guides can help to dispel some of the myths associated with dog shock collars.

question: What does the text say about how to potty train a dog?

answer: No answer

critique: The article does not talk about potty training a dog.

critique: The article does not mention anything about potty training.

question: What does the text say about the definition of an E-Collar?

answer: An E-collar is a remote dog training system that usually consists of a wireless remote and a wireless receiver. The e-collar allows you to remotely send signals to your dog to help it understand "good behavior" and "bad behavior." The unit also has many adjustable levels so the dog won't receive too much stimulus.

critique: The answer should mention that the collar can also send a tone, vibration, or a stimulating sensation.

question: Why should dog owners get an E-Collar instead of a traditional shock collar?

answer: The E-Collar uses a form of stimulus that targets the neck muscles of the dog. The other collars use a shock that can cause more harm and damage than E-Collar's.

critique: The last part of the answer may be considered misleading.

critique: The other collars do not cause more harm and damage than E-Collar's.

critique: The second sentence is not relevant to the question.

critique: The answer should mention the adjustable stimulation levels.

critique: The answer should mention that the E-Collar is adjustable.

question: What is the general misconception about electronic dog collars?

answer: The misconception is that they cause harm to a dog as a form of punishment.

critique: The question does not presume to answer a misconception. It asks for a misconception, not an actual fact. It then goes further to define what is the misconception.

critique: The answer should mention that the misconception is that they cause physical harm.


text:
It was 1:30am after a grueling Day 3 on the Inca trail. I haven't pooped since day 1. I had hoped to hold it until we returned to the hotel the following night.  But I knew when I crawled into my bag that this night might have other plans.  It was such a strange mixture of feelings.  On the one hand, there was almost an inevitability that pooping would happen this night.  I was afraid if I stayed in the tent there might be an extremely embarrassing situation. On the other hand, I was freezing and I didn't want to leave the tent.  I didn't want to wake up my travel companion.  I was afraid that the poop might be a messy affair, and just maybe I could hold it for another day.

After hours of tossing and turning, I decided I must get up.  I put my freezing FiveFingers on my already freezing feet.  Upon exiting the tent, I'm greeted by the most haunting, beautiful gift of a vista.  It was a clear night, the first since we had started hiking.  Machu Picchu Mountain was visible bathed in silvery moonlight.  In the distance were the snow capped peaks of the Andes, also reflecting the brilliance of June's supermoon.   I saw constellations I've always read about but never seen: the Crab, Pegasus and his Great Square--even Orion was here!  I didn't expect to see him in the Southern Hemisphere!  The Big Dipper, low on the horizon and upside down, pointing towards home.  And Cruz, the beautiful Southern Cross.  CSN kept repeating in my head--"When you see the Southern Cross for the first time.  You understand now why you came this way.  The truth that you've been running from is so small, but it's as big as the promise, the promise of a coming day!"  The truth is that I'm a worthwhile person.

I could've stood mesmerized there for hours, except that I had a job to do, a biological imperative.

I walked up a lonely trail to the restroom.  My experience with the free restrooms on the trail was that they were nasty.  This one proved to be no exception.  I open the door and look in.  There's shit all over the floor, but it doesn't matter.  This is my destiny.  There's no toilet, just a porcelain hole in the ground.  I drop trou, being as careful as I can not to let my hiking pants touch the turdy tile floor.  I squat slightly, with no idea what's going to happen.  I'm afraid it's going to be a drawn out watery affair, and I will have to stay in this tiring squatting position a long time while my insides flush out.   I'm afraid I might slip on the floor, damp with piss and excrement.  I'm afraid I might miss the hole and make the room even more unsanitary.  Was I standing in exactly the right position?

It was the moment of truth.  In less than a minute, there was a solid compact mass of well-formed shit.  It felt like a beautiful black birth.  I knew in an instant that that was going to be all, and it was enough.  It seemed to fall towards the porcelain hole for an eternity.  And…

Bullseye.

My job done, I wipe (though I hardly had to).  I open the door and walk to the hand washing station.  When I'm done, I turn to revel in the light of the moon, the stars, and the promise of a coming day.

title: Pooping On The Inca Trail [500 words, OC]

question: According to the passage, why is the floor of the toilet covered with poo?

answer: It is unattended, and the bathroom has so many users.

critique: The response is incorrect. There is no mention of the bathroom having so many users.

critique: This is not the case, the bathroom is unattended.

text: The answer would be more accurate if it mentioned how the toilet is just a hole in the ground. This could explain the mess.

category: coverage


text:
Okay Reddit. First time I'm posting something to an audience outside of my small circle of friends. Hope you like it. I'm from India so you have the references here and there. Shouldn't stop you from getting it, though. Hope you like it :)

This story formed itself on three separate occasions and was finally written on a cold winter day on a Lutyens' Delhi building's terrace. It became more special after I recited it to someone immediately after its completion. Not very often do I get to read stories out but for the one time I did, it sure feels good. This story for me (like the others) is like winter. Cold, numb fingers and dull aches, but some warmth inside, and just about enough. I hope you like it :)

"Do ghosts live on Peepul trees?" I ask, peering across the terrace into the hazy silhouette of a clump of trees far away. The winter sun trying its best to warm my bones against the chilly wind that plays with my messy hair. "Ghosts and Gods both." says my aunt knowingly as she pours me yet another cup of strong, milky tea. A mug, rather. I warm my numb fingers on it. I am cold. I'm in a village for all practical purposes. My phone does not work here, buffaloes sit lazily basking in the faded sun, children quarrel over a game of marbles, and a twenty-year-old misfit sips tea sitting on a cot.

Needless to say, this is not my natural habitat. For one, I can see the sky in all its sprawling, blue glory. Two birds skip off the draft and dive one after the other to swoop onto some unknowing prey. Somewhere, a rooster crows, which is quite odd for two o clock in the afternoon. Also odd for this time of the day is the cold that seeps through to my bones. I tell my aunt about life in the city. She listens wide-eyed. She cannot fathom the coldness of it all, the steel and glass prison that I work in, the dreadful fact that I know exactly how each day is going to be. She does not understand how free I feel here without my cell phone chaining me like an invisible umbilical cord, how clear the air here is without a thousand conversations riding the airwaves form tower to tower. All is well in my world though, as she pours me yet another cup of tea. I smile. Family.

As the clock strikes four, children start pouring into the terrace. My cousin sister, all of nineteen, is the neighbourhood teacher, a prestigious title earned through months of reading aloud the alphabet, teaching children to dot their i's and cross their t's and much red ink spread over her soft palms. The children eye me suspiciously. After a while they decide I'm no threat and a couple of them greet me. "Good Morning, Sir!" they say in that sing song chorus I used to be a part of, long back. I smile again.

This class is quite different from any I have seen. The children, aging from five to ten, do not sit still. They laugh and cry freely. They sing their lessons. Some are struggling to hold pencils while some are proud to be old enough to wield pens, prized possessions no doubt for those little fingers. It is, in a way, like an overgrown garden. Disordered and chaotic but oh, so beautiful.

One little boy stands out, though. There's something strange about him even in this scene which is none too familiar to me. He takes and exceptionally long time to write. I kneel next to him and peer into his notebook, bound with thread. All the words are misspelt, the letters are fractured,misshapen little creatures, and the boy's face is a mixture of confusion and terror. I look at my sister with concern. She nods silently and tells the class to write numeral to a hundred. She walks over to me and looks into his book. Then she looks at me, her eyes full of exasperation and silent despair. "There's something wrong with him." she says, the winter haze making its way into her voice. "He's just slow to learn. He's not too rich. His father was supposed to come see me today." She looks at him with sadness. He merely smiles as he squints into the sun. "Take care of him will you?" she says and leaves me with him.

I am now a helpless subject of the boy's scrutiny. he squints at me face, the winter sun giving me a halo. I try to smile, but it falters. This will not go well, I think. I need something to say, to engage his mind, so much more free than mine. "Do you like aeroplanes? I ask him , finding my saviour in a flash of supposed brilliance. "Planes." he says after a couple of seconds of incomprehension, his face lighting up. "Planes!" he says again, his hands tracing a flight path, cutting through the cold air. "Let's make one!" I say with poorly disguised relief and I tear out two pages from his notebook and give him one. I make the first folds quickly, my fingers using their own memory saved from eons ago when I used to fly. He sits there confused, his fingers not grasping the movements, ever so slightly out of his control. I repeat slowly. He follows this time. He laughs clearly as he does and the air is warmer, if only by a fraction.

As his small hands struggle to give life to the piece of paper, I see him deep in penance, wanting nothing more to bend the paper and his own limbs to his will. Ages pass by with me lost in the slow dance his fingers play with the paper, becoming more and more refined until he makes the final fold with all the grace of a finishing pirouette. As we walk to the boundary I silently pray that it flies well, to some unknown tree-dwelling deity, lord of planes and the winter wind.

The child blows into the paper plane in a ritual he is sure will lend it magical wings, and jumps slightly as he releases it into the vast, cold expanse of air.

And it flies majestically, circling us and riding a draft into a slow dive reminiscent of the two birds, then stalling, then diving again and continuing its graceful pirouette as the boy's wide eyes follow it in flight, even as he dives and stalls with the plane, no longer bound by his form, and having lived its short life with the grace of a dying star, the plane lands on a buffalo sitting some distance away. The animal merely grunts and goes promptly back to chewing its cud, a business more important than all the machinations of this world.

I look at him. He is laughing. He is in fits. "You did well." is all I can muster. I ruffle his hair gleaming brown in the sun, and he nods with twinkling eyes. I turn around to see an old man, whose eyes tell me he is the father. "He did well." I say weakly to him. He merely nods, other gestures being foreign to him. He picks the child up into his arms, never too weak for his son. Then he looks at me with a smile and moist eyes. I cannot look away. They are too deep for me to swim away.

My mind goes back five years when I had returned with my examination results to my father. "You could have done better." was all he had said. I remember sitting there under the same sun with the result sheep in my hand, a piece of paper that would never, ever fly.

I look at the child and his father again. It's not cold anymore. The wind stands still as if in respect, and for a moment the sun shines brighter.

Then it hits me .

The boy isn't broken.

I am.

I walk away silently and gaze across the open fields into infinity until my eyes are moist.

Perhaps it is just the cold wind.

Perhaps.

title: Broken

question: Describe how the boy's laugher leads to the narrator's revelation.

answer: The boy is laughing because he has made a plane, and it flies well. The narrator ruffles his hair and says he did well. The boy's father, who is also his teacher, comes and picks him up. The narrator feels a sudden rush of emotion and thinks back to when his father told him he could have done better. The narrator realizes that he is the one who is broken.

question: Name three themes in this piece and describe where they come into play.

answer:
Gods/Spirituality/ Supernatural - Ghosts are mentioned as living on a type of tree, "Gods both.". There's a reference to the cold wind being halted for a moment.
Thetrends of the conversation switch between city and village experience. The narrator asks the boy if he likes aeroplanes. The structure of the story is repeated and rhythmic.
Communication between adults and children are a recurring subject.

critique: The response includes extraneous information not useful for the task.

critique: The part about the boy liking aeroplanes is not relevant.

question: Explain the symbolism of the plane that the little boy flies.

answer: The plane is symbolic of the boy's life. It is made out of paper, and is fragile. The boy is slow to learn, and the plane fails to fly. The father picks the boy up and the plane is no longer bound by the boy's form. The plane is also a reference to the narrator's father, who is never too weak for his son.

critique: The plane doesn't fail to fly. It is the boy's father who picks him up.

critique: The plane is not symbolic of the boy's life. It is symbolic of the boy's spirit, which is not broken.

question: What do you think the narrator will do after they come to understand that it is they who are broken?

answer: They will probably reflect on their own childhood and the way their father treated them.

critique: This doesn't seem to be a likely answer to the question.

critique: The answer should better reflect the tone of the story.


text:
If there is one thing in life people underestimate, it is the impact of their daily habits.

Whether you want to admit it or not, the truth is that just about everything in life can be directed back to your habits. Long-term success is the result of good habits. Positive relationships are the result of good habits. Improvement and growth are the result of good habits. Even personal health and wellness can be traced back to the foundation set by your daily habits.

That said, if you are guilty of any of these habits, you need to eliminate them immediately. Because even if they don't seem like a glaring issue right now, they will be.

1. Constantly Checking Your Phone

Let's skip the cliché here.

The real reason you need to stop constantly checking your phone is because it instills probably the worst habit you could possibly acquire: distraction. People don't realize that 99 percent of the time they check their phone because they want to avoid thinking. They get confronted with some sort of task or obstacle, and out of impulse they check their phone instead. It's a distraction.

Instead, try to catch yourself when your impulse is to reach into your pocket to refresh your email again. There's nothing new there--and even if there is, it can wait.

2. Not Really Listening

There are two kinds of listeners.

The first is the person who sits opposite you, quiet, and is intently following every word you say. They are connected to the conversation, and diligently following your thoughts along with you.

The second is the person who sits opposite you, quiet, and isn't really listening at all. What they're doing is rambling on and on in their head with their own inner dialogue. They are thinking about something else. They are wondering what they're going to say next. They are absent from the moment.

Don't be that second person. Listening is an art--and in order to do it, you need to keep your head clear and be focused on the conversation at hand. Why? Because nothing kills productivity faster than having to say, "I'm sorry, I zoned out for a second--what did you say?"

3. Multitasking

I don't care how amazing you think you are at multitasking. It's not a thing.

If you don't believe me, try taking a sip of water out of a glass with one hand while typing with the other. You'll catch yourself taking a tiny sip and then typing. Or typing and then taking a sip. Multitasking is not "doing two things at once." It's "trying to do two things really close to each other." And it is never as effective as concentrating on a single task. Ever.

People who multitask lack any clear focus on the task at hand. Their attention is divided. So even if they get two things "done," neither one of them will be of much quality.

Instead, do one thing at a time--or even better, "clump" similar tasks together. Look for things that share common elements, find your flow, and crank them out. For example: Look at all the emails you have to respond to and devote an hour to answering them. Don't respond to an email, then try to work on a proposal, and then call your friend back, and then go back to emails, etc. It will exhaust you.

4. Working With the Television On

I realize certain things work for certain people, but I have never found a secondary input to be very productive.

Having noise (or even a visual distraction) on in the background does your productivity no good. Really good work happens when you find your flow--and in order to get in that zone, you have to be quiet (shhh...). It's almost like a meditation. This is where you lose track of time, pick your head up, and realize four hours has gone by. And if you notice, when you get in that zone, you forget the television was even on at all. So why have it on in the first place?

Turn off all distractions. Find your flow.

5. Working in Unproductive Environments

One of the places where I work frequently here in Chicago is Soho House--and when I travel, I tend to prefer working out one of Soho House's other spaces.

However, I'll be the first to admit that there are certain rooms (and times of day) in which productivity is absolutely not happening. Like Sunday brunch. Sounds great in theory, right? Open up your laptop. Grab a table nearby. But when you've got a house packed full of people, that energy can mean death to your productivity.

Too many times, people think they can be productive in environments that are not built for getting things done. But they try! They want to feel like they're "being productive" while at the same time "being social." Rarely do the two go hand-in-hand.

Find a quiet space of your own and get to work. When you're done, you can go hang out.

6. Working With Unproductive People

Another huge mistake people make is thinking that getting together with a bunch of friends for a "work session" is going to be remotely productive.

Let me note: There are times when this works. However, the only times I have found this to work effectively are when everyone is working together on something. For example: Maybe you're all working on a short film together. Or all brainstorming on design ideas for a website. Great! Everybody is engaged, and that's productive.

But at a certain point, the project will require "grind time." The fun stuff (brainstorming) is a very small piece of the larger puzzle. Everyone is going to have tasks or things they need to get done, and the truth is, everyone just needs to crank. In silence.

When you have a lot to work through, you need your own space. You can be in the same room with other people, but everyone has to understand it's work time. It's not "hey, let's all hang out and sort of do stuff" time. There is a difference.

So round up your friends. Tell everyone to bring headphones. Sit around a table and grind together. And after two hours, take a little break.

7. Lack of Preparation

I love when people say, "This Sunday, I am going to be so productive," when they haven't put any time or effort into the thing they need to get done for days, or weeks, or even months.

Realize that if you do not sit down prepared, you won't be productive. If you haven't touched your project in weeks, it's going to take you a bit to remember where you are and what you need to get done. Or maybe you've forgotten how to use a certain program. Or your skills have gotten dull--and it takes you some time to sharpen them again.

Productivity isn't just about the moment. It's about all the moments that lead up to that moment. Your productivity increases over time through consistency. So, even if it's just 10 or 15 minutes a day, make that time so your skills don't get dull and whatever you're working on stays top of mind.

8. Notifications...OFF!

And of course, the famed but so casually ignored culprit known as "notifications."

It's astounding to me how many people say (as if announcing to the world), "Time to grind!" and then, before the sentence has even left their mouth, their eyes are darting to the top right corner of their laptop because two texts, a tweet, a calendar invite, and an alert from Facebook all popped up at the same time.

If you want to get anything of value done, turn off your notifications.

Turn. Off. Your. Notifications.

Why do you think people enjoy vacationing in the middle of nowhere?

Why do you think everyone travels across the world to seek peace and quiet?

Because they think the only time they can afford to turn off the notifications in their life is when they retreat to a foreign beach, or a forest, or a prized vacation spot.

Guess what...?

You can find that peace and quiet anytime, anywhere.

All you have to do is turn off your notifications--and nobody can disturb you!

question: List the behaviors that the author says are gauche and tell us why.

answer: Constantly checking off your phone because you're bored or distracted is a bad habit. Multitasking isn't an effective way to get things done and will waste your time. Constantly eating or talking while working is also distracting.

critique: This answer is a list of behaviors failing to cover the reasons why it is bad to practice. A sentence needs to be added to cover "constantly eating."

critique: The answer omits the other behaviors listed in the article.

critique: The response misses to mention that the author also says working with the television on is a bad habit.

critique: The answer omits the other behaviors the author says are gauche.

critique: The answer omits the behaviors of not listening and working with the television on.

question: What does the author say about multitasking?

answer: It is not a thing, you are trying to do two things at once and its not effective.

critique: The answer omits the part about multitasking being ineffective.

critique: The answer could be phrased as a complete sentence.

critique: The answer should mention the author's advice.

critique: It's omitted that the author says multitasking is bad because it divides attention.

critique: The answer could be clearer in its pronoun use.

critique: The answer should mention that the author recommends doing similar tasks together.

critique: The answer should mention that multitasking is not effective because it divides your attention.

critique: The answer omits the author's idea that multitasking should really be called "clumping", as it's not really splitting your time between tasks.

question: Why did the author write this article?

answer: Unclear

critique: The article can't be described as "unclear"

critique: The answer is unclear because it does not mention the purpose of the article.

critique: The answer is incorrect and should be rewritten.

critique: The answer is too vague. It should mention that the article is meant to help the reader improve productivity.


text:
	Whenever I'm on campus I always make it a point to stop for a drink from the same fountain in an alcove of the English building around the corner from my creative writing lab. My intentions are not  so much directed by my physical thirst, but by the certainty of her presence. Perpetually hanging out in her frame above the fountain, she gazes out at me from amidst a charcoal tangle of bed sheets. Her shoulders and clavicle are curves of smooth brown velum stroked by her maker's pencil. He created perfection in her eyes. They draw me to her like inky pools of pulsing gravity. Often, I end up stooped over with my gaze averted towards the ceiling slurping much longer than I need to.
	The sketch is titled, In the Morning. How many times I have wished to have actually been there on that morning, to be the lucky one who first saw her lying there in the flesh, a vision to inspire any form. He's the one who gets all the credit on the placard though. “Troy Munro, American, b. 1986. Troy's works in many mediums are inspired by placid scenes of everyday reality.” Everyday reality? Who are these curators kidding? Girls like that don't exist in everyday life! They inexplicably manifest out of some interdimensional field of radical perfection, on a collective mission to populate artists' receptions and backstage band interviews. “So,” the man with the tape recorder asks, “where do you draw your inspiration from?”
	What was it like on that first morning when he woke up in her bed? Was he so smitten that he immediately leapt up and reached for his notebook and pencil to immortalize the moment? Would she have thought he was weird if he did? Was she complicit? Is she a model? One thing I know for certain is that she was drawn in her natural habitat, completely at home, wrapped half modestly in those rumpled sheets. No, it can't have been the very first morning because no human being could possible exude that kind of perfectly serene languor after such an uncertain, seminal night as the one which surely preceded, could they? That would be so cool. I wish I knew who she was, and whether or not her and Troy Munro's relationship came to the eventual, fortuitous demise that I'm imagining.
	I live with my girlfriend, Jenny, in an apartment off campus, and we mostly get along. Sometimes we seem to get so busy though that we exist merely as images passing through each other's space. The cohabitation thing really didn't come about as the result of a well thought out plan, it more or less just happened. My old roommate dropped out of school in the middle of last semester and bailed on the lease. Two weeks went by and nobody responded to the fliers I hung on billboards around campus. My ad said, “Space available. Potential applicants should be fastidiously undistinguished, not lacking in discretion, and tasteful in habit and manner. 1 bedroom, separate bath, $400/mo. plus utilities.” I guess I was looking for another ultra-ironic English major. At least Jenny puts up with my mess making.
	Last week I left a Facebook conversation up on my monitor with a girl from my Film and Lit. class about an extracurricular movie we watched together. During the ensuing hostilities I tried to cobble together some kind of scholastic justification for our liaison, but Jenny tested my fumbling excuses like a tuning fork and they all rang hollow. That night I slept in the computer room, on the floor in a sleeping bag, staring up at the glow of my desktop.
	The next day I found myself back at the fountain, head bowed as if in wistful supplication. Please relieve the futility of my situation. As I gaze at her portrait her voice glides smooth as pulp into my ear, “It's already a perfect morning, Robert.” Now that I'm lying next to her I'm beginning to understand the image from a different perspective. That stack of books on her nightstand wasn't visible from the other side of the fountain. She's obviously a grad student; every volume meets my perspicuous approval- discourses by Barthes, a collection of Thoreau, confessions of Augustine, even a door stopping volume of DFW. The same voices flow through her supple mind as through mine. We hardly need to speak, but we do. Dialog after dialog, bantering easily in the most natural poetry and prose, there in her room, in the morning.
	Back at the apartment that evening and Jenny can't believe that I didn't bring home any take-out for dinner. Seriously, after yesterday, I can't even bother to grab some Chinese? The cable has been cutting in and out all evening and she tried to call but the account is in my name and they won't do anything unless I talk to them. But the call center is closed now because I took my sweet time coming home. Don't I understand that she would have cleaned the kitchen if she hadn't had her class and then her internship, and what had I been doing all morning at home by myself anyway? Maybe if I controlled my time better, both of our lives would be a lot easier. Oh yeah, and have I checked my fucking Facebook lately?
	That night I lay curled up on the floor and dreamed of stealing that picture.
	In the morning, when I am with her, time ceases to function in its usual jet propulsed way. Her artfully tossed sheets freeze sloping rifts in the continuum between space, time, and everything else. We clamber barely clothed among the many incidental ridges, trekking the badland hills of her linens like a couple of early morning wanderers trying to rediscover where we pitched our tent. She stokes the smoldering campfire and boils organic fair-trade coffee for us in a speckled green percolator. Even in the desert wilds, this one has class.
	It's nine P.M. and students and faculty are clearing the academic building in mass exodus. I have very little desire to go home, and my company has already been politely declined via text from the girl from Film and Lit.. Sitting on a bench in a deserted hallway reading Don Delillo, I must look like I'm waiting for someone. In a way, I suppose I am. I unzip my backpack and wander around the corner to the fountain. There's a moment where my adrenaline jumps and I am petrified that someone is about to come out of the restroom while I'm stuffing her into my bag. I feel kind of creepy to be honest, but I can tell that she wants to come home with me. So I commence with the theft. At the last second I decide to snatch the descriptive tag along with it. Now the only evidence left of her abduction is a tiny white hook. These corridors are hung like art galleries; nobody will even notice that she's gone.
	When I get home, Jenny is already shut off in the bedroom watching HBO on the DVR. Right now I am ever so grateful to be separated, even just by walls and noise. I don't dare get a hammer and nail out right now to hang her properly, so I just lean the frame up against the wall on the back of my computer desk. I check online to make sure I haven't missed any messages, fiddling around with the title placard while I click around and think. This tag is evidence against me. It has got to go. I already know the title of the piece, and of course the preeminent Troy Munro signed his own work. There's no getting around that, but it's mine now. Sorry about it friend. I'll just throw this card in the dumpster tomorrow when I go out for a smoke. But that's in the morning. For right now I'm just going to sit here in my computer chair for a while and just stare at her.

title: [MF] Stolen Work

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

answer: The narrator's girlfriend is Jenny, and they mostly get along. Sometimes they seem to get so busy that they exist merely as images passing through each other's space. The narrator lives with Jenny in an apartment off campus. He moved in with her two weeks after their old roommate dropped out of school and bailed on the lease. The narrator's old roommate's departure made him desperate for a new roommate, eventually leading him to his current situation. The narrator thought it odd that he moved in with his girlfriend, but Jenny puts up with his mess-making.

critique: The narrator's old roommate's departure is irrelevant.

critique: The narrator's old roommate's departure does not make him desperate for a new roommate. He already had a roommate.

critique: The narrator's old roommate's departure is irrelevant to the question.

critique: The narrator's old roommate's departure was not the reason he moved in with Jenny.

critique: Only the first two sentences are necessary for the task; delete the last two.

text: The answer misses to mention the hostilities that ensue between the narrator and his girlfriend due to  the narrator's new liaison with a classmate.

question: What does the story say about the theme of obsession?

answer: The narrator is obsessed with the woman in the picture. He thinks about her all the time, and he even dreams of stealing the picture from the wall of the school. He is so obsessed with the woman that he does not mind stealing the picture from the wall and would not mind that he has to throw the picture away.

critique: The narrator doesn't throw the picture away, he plans to do it the next day.

critique: He's not so much obsessed with the woman as he is with her image.

critique: The narrator does not dream of stealing the picture from the wall of the school. The response is confusing and does not explain what the narrator's obsession is.

critique: The narrator is not the only one who is obsessed with the woman in the picture.

critique: The narrator's obsession is not with the woman, but with the artist.

critique: He lets himself think about her all the time but he doesn't act on it. He is not obsessed.

question: What does the story say about the narrator's relationship with Troy Munro?

answer: The narrator admire some of Troy Munro's work-a girl sketched by him. It appears the girl shows up at Troy's drawings, and the narrator takes a picture of her. He then steals the work and takes it to his apartment. The narrator feels bad about taking the art without asking, but after a while, he hangs it in his room.

critique: The narrator doesn't take a picture of the girl.

critique: The narrator does not take a picture of the girl. He admires her over a fountain.

critique: The narrator does not take the art without asking, but he steals it.

critique: The answer omits that the narrator and Troy are not friends.

critique: The narrator doesn't take a picture of the girl. He steals the work.

critique: The narrator doesn't steal the picture of the girl. He steals the picture of the girl.

critique: The narrator doesn't take a picture of the girl, he steals the drawing.

question: Summarize the negative events.

answer: The main character is being confronted by his girlfriend Jenny. She is upset that he did not replace the Chinese he brought home last night and did not get the cable help he promised to get.

critique: It is omitted that he got into an argument with his girlfriend.

critique: The response is missing the narrator's stealing of the artwork.

critique: The response is missing the part where the narrator steals the art.

critique: The answer omits the narrator's theft of the drawing.

critique: The response is missing the negative events that happened to the narrator.

critique: The answer should mention that the narrator can't stand the awkwardness of another night in close quarters with Jenny, which is why he decides to take the drawing home that evening.

critique: The narrator's girlfriend is upset about his lack of dinner and the fact that he didn't get the cable company to fix the problem. The answer omits that the narrator has also stolen a picture from the art gallery.

critique: The answer omits the narrator's confrontation with his girlfriend over the Facebook conversation.


text:
	(1)

"Well."
"Do ya like it sweetie? Do ya?" The father pleads.
"It will be a fun thing for you to practice on and get good at. Maybe one day, you'll be an expert!" The mother sells, but her heart is not in it.

The anxious parents lean over the unwrapped present, the muscles on their faces contorted into taut smiles. What is that saying? It takes 21 muscles to frown but only 2 to smile? The muscular faces of Elise's parents are evidence that the saying is an oversimplification. How tight do the drums stretch? Elise looked at the taut corners of her mother's mouth. So close to tearing. Will it feel like a paper cut, or worse?

Of course, Elise had known that her 'surprise gift' would be a handmade marionette for some time. She had noticed an extravagant expense on the Visa bill, and very nearly done something drastic, but since it was for her (and, boy did she ever deserve it) she let it slide for just a few dozen points. The points might not seem like much, but they add up.  They sure do.

Aside from being expensive, Elise liked the marionette because it provided an innocuous way to further intimidate and dominate her peer group. She used peer group in a broad sense; her IQ was more than a bit of an anomaly, something she had been smart enough keep hidden. Let them underestimate you. Let them take down their guard. Oh the neighbors need an emergency babysitter? Do they now? Oh, the wheel wall of the rear right tire appears to have collapsed? How very... unexpected. Is everyone OK? No I don't mind staying later. Just get home safe. I can stay all night.

"Well. It does not seem like much of anything went into this gift. Not much thought, that is clear as day. It wasn't cheap, no, but it barely clears the gift I received after my friend Sven left when you account for changes in the cost of living. Perhaps most hurtful, at least to me, is that the website selling these marionettes has a very intuitive interface for customizing individual dolls. Does a unique girl such as myself deserve a simple toy that could just as easily belong to any  other little girl? Are my talents so indelibly stamped with the stench of fungible mediocrity that further cultivation would be tantamount to teaching the niceties of calligraphy to fruit flies?"

"I ask these questions not to hurt you. The toy, though useless, is not repugnant. I don't see it as a harbinger of the proverbial nuclear winter that looms. Always. But I do really want you to think; what was successful, and what was not, about this very specific action? I imagine the desolate blankness of the former will weigh on you heavily. Let it. It's deserved. But remember it is a learning experience." Elise's voice exuded curt wisdom.

"I will be taking my evening meal tonight, and for the foreseeable future, at quarter to 8 in the aft. You know my secretary's hours and contact information. When you're prepared a proper apology, and have a meaningful plan of action to rectify your failure, please do contact her. If it merits my attention, I shan't withhold. I am your firmest believer, Cindy. And yours as well, Ray."

"What impeccable manners." Cindy (almost) said reflexively.

It was the first time since the recent cut in the corner of her mouth had blossomed from a sore dryness to actual bleeding wound. The pain, though slight in the scheme of things, combined in her mouth with the iron from her blood, and very very nearly completely annulled the 'sweet' part bittersweet.

	(2)

Mrs. Cullin's third-grade class in Detroit was run with clockwork precision.

"Yes, ma'am."

"No, ma'am."

"If you please, ma'am."

"Pardon me, ma'am. Truly, that was my mistake."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, ma'am."

"All it takes is an iron fist," Mrs. Cullin would say, waiving her right arm and the plaster cast encasing it for dramatic effect. The teachers all championed her. "That Mrs. Cullin! What a sport." "Boy, she sure is. Coming back after a freak accident like that." Mrs. Cullin was right, all it takes is an iron fist.

"Mrs. Cullin?"

"Why yes Elise. What is the matter?"

"Can we see what your handwriting looks like, now that you're hand is broken?"

"Well, Elise, Mrs. Cullin is  an old woman with arthritis. I could hardly write before, ya know…,"

"Before what, Mrs. Cullin?"

"Before I foolishly slammed my hand in the freezer."

"That was quite, quite dumb Mrs. Cullin. You should write out 100 times how dumb it was. Then do the same in cursive. Don't worry about making it right on the first go-round; I'll make inspections when you're done, so you can get your penmanship back up to speed."

"Well, Elise won't that cut into the our social studies lesson plan?"

"Mrs. Cullin, your situational awareness must truly be beyond reproach to make such an astute observation. If only you could apply that very same skill, situational awareness I mean, when operating mechanically complex devices, like the door of a freezer."

"Thank you, Elis-."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Cullin, I don't believe I was finished. You had raised the issue of social studies, which I did not address in my initial comment. Whether social studies is interrupted or not, Mrs. Cullen, depends quite a bit on the accuracy and speed with which you can attack the assignment you've been given. After all, those lines are hardly going to write themselves, are they?"

(3)

"Mrs. Cullin?"

"Elise?"

"I just thought you should hear it from me first. Whilst you stood like a dope selfishly improving your handwriting, our fellow and classmate Randall Finley seems to have gone missing. The suspected culprit, or culprits, have fled through the wetland area behind the school with Mr. Finley in tow. Specifics about his condition are unknown, but I must say, having seen the wounds first-hand, things really do not look good. Unfortunately we may be looking at yet another funeral in this class. The luck we have, can you believe it?"

"My it truly is something you have to see to believe."

"One more thing, Mrs. Cullin. On a rather bizarre note, it appears that Mr. Finley shares not only your selective clumsiness, but his is also activated in the presence of freezer doors. Perhaps one of the higher-ups should look into, what do you think?"

"No… just a coincidence, Elise."

"Let me hear you say that again."

"It is just a bizarre coincidence."

"Again."

title: Simple Toys

question: What does the story say about Elise?

answer: Elise is a precocious girl who intimidates and dominates her peer group. She is smart enough to hide her IQ, which is a bit of an anomaly. Elise loves her handmade marionette, a gift from her parents. She uses the marionette to intimidate her peers. She also intimidates her teacher, Mrs. Cullin, who gifts her with a broken hand by slamming it in the freezer after an altercation with Elise.

critique: Mrs. Cullin's hand was broken before the altercation.

critique: It is incorrectly stated that Elise intimidates her teacher.

critique: The answer omits that Elise also intimidates her parents.

critique: The answer should mention that Elise is a bit of a bully.

critique: The response includes extraneous information not useful for the task.

critique: The answer should mention that Elise is also a bit of a bully.

question: What does the story say about the adults?

answer: The parents are anxious about the gift they bought for Elise. They are also worried about the fact that the toy is not unique. The parents are also very strict with Elise and make her write lines for her. The teacher, Mrs. Cullin, is also strict with the children and is described as having an iron fist.

critique: The answer should mention the missing classmate.

critique: The answer should mention that the parents encourage Elise to intimidate her peers.

text: No one is strict with Elise, who habitually bullies adults.

question: What does the story say about how to raise a kid?

answer: No answer

critique: The answer should mention that the story doesn't really say anything about how to raise a kid.