How many parts does the palace of westminster consist of? a) one b) two c) three 2. what are the main colors of the houses of parliament? a) gold, red and blue b) gold, green and red c) red and green 3. who writes the queen’s speech? a) the queen b) the government c) the lord chancellor 4. which are britain’s two main political parties? a) the democratic, the republican and the conservative b) the conservative and the democratic c) the labour and the conservative. 5. whose shoe should a conservative touch? a) david lloyd george’s b) winston churchill’s c) the queen’s 6. why do mps sometimes sit on the steps? a) there are more mps than seats in the house of commons. b) it’s a part of an old tradition. c) it’s punishment for those who are late. 7. when can you see the mace in the house of commons? a) it’s always there. b) only when the queen comes. c) when the house is debating. 8. how old is westminster hall? a) more than a thousand years old b) more than a hundred years old c) more than four hundred years old

computer dreamer who invented the mouse

douglas c. engelbart was 25, just engaged to (be married) and

thinking about his future when he had a dream in 1950 that

(would change/has changed) the world.

he had a good job working at a government aerospace

laboratory in california, but he wanted to do something

(more) with his life, something of value that might last,

even outlive him. then it came to him. in a single stroke

he (had) what might be safely called a complete

vision of the information age.

the angel in his dream spoke to him of technology’s

potential (expanding) human intelligence, and from it he

made out a career that indeed had lasting impact. it led to a

host of inventions that became the basis for the internet

and the modern personal computer.

in (later) years, one of those inventions was given a

warmhearted name, reminding of a small, furry creature

given to scurrying across flat surfaces: the computer

mouse.

computing was in its infancy when dr. engelbart entered

the field. computers were ungainly room-size calculating

machines that could (be used) by only one person at a

time. someone would feed them information in stacks of

punched cards and then wait hours for a printout of

answers. interactive computing was a thing of the future,

or in science fiction. but it was growing in (dr. engelbart's)

restless mind.

in his dream, he saw himself (sitting) in front of a large

computer screen full of different symbols. the screen, he

thought, would serve as a display for a workstation that

would organize all the information and communications

for a given project.

helping hands

i think nobody likes it when his house is in a mess. doing household chores and keeping the house clean and cozy are necessary in every flat.

my parents work hard and they get rather tired after work. so it goes without saying that they don’t have to manage all the housework and i have to help them. everyone in our family has some household chores. but frankly speaking i must admit that my mother does the majority of the housework. some things must be done every day, others need to be done once or twice a week (like watering the plants).

my daily chores are making my bed, washing up, tidying my room in the evening, cleaning my shoes and taking out the rubbish. this is my usual routine. i also pick up my little sister from the kindergarten. fortunately i don’t have to cook any food because my mum and granny do that and they really enjoy cooking. i just sometimes help them and serve the table. once or twice a week my mother asks me to go shopping to the nearest food supermarket. i usually buy some bread, milk, fruits and vegetables.

once a week, on sundays my parents give the flat a big cleaning. there is a lot of work to do: dusting the furniture, ironing the clothes, mopping the floor, clearing out the bathroom and the kitchen. i am busy with vacuum-cleaning the carpets in our bedrooms and cleaning the mirrors.  

i don’t consider my household chores difficult and i can cope with them easily, but sometimes i feel a bit lazy or i may be too busy with my school homework.