Read the poem and copy the correct answers from the given alternatives. Earth has not anything to show more air: Dull would he be of soul who could pass by A sight so touching in its majesty: This City now doth, like a garment, wear The beauty of the morning; silent, bare, Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie Open unto the fields, and to the sky; All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. Never did sun more beautifully steep In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill; Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep! The river glideth at his own sweet will: Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; And all that mighty heart is lying still!

Read the text and do the tasks. After years of eating beans and driving up his debts, Disney finally brought Mickey Mouse to life on film starting in the late 1920 and earned his way back to the top of his industry. But it was not easy. Investors rejected the concept of his famous mouse over 300 times before one accepted it. Even with the success of Mickey Mouse, Disney still faced challenges in keeping his business afloat. Not only was he overworked, but tensions with his employer, who eventually stole his longtime and best animator from him, led to Disney having a nervous breakdown. After taking some time off with his wife to recover, Disney returned with a bold new idea: He would develop a full-length animation feature, which he would call Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). It would become a huge success at the box office, yet the films that followed, Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940) and Bambi (1942), would end up being duds. If Disney didn't already have enough burdens to shoulder, more were on the way. His animators went on strike at the start of World War II and contributed to his mounting debt that ran upwards of four million dollars. After the war was over, his company was slow to rebuild, but during this time, Disney learned to diversify his business by turning to television, despite pressures from the film studios to stay on the big screen. His gamble paid off. With the success of TV shows like The Mickey Mouse Club and Davy Crockett, Disney was able to harness enough capital to launch his biggest venture yet: Disneyland.

Read the text and do the tasks. One cold evening, a shivering porcupine wandered through the forest searching for a warm place to rest. Eventually, he came upon a small cave where a family of snakes lived, curled together for warmth. Seeing the porcupine trembling, the snake leader felt pity and invited him inside. Gratefully, the porcupine settled among them. At first, everyone tried to be polite, but the porcupine's sharp quills made it difficult for the snakes to stay comfortable. Each time he moved, his quills pricked their soft scales. The snakes shifted, twisted, and squeezed together to avoid being hurt, but the porcupine kept insisting he couldn't help it. Soon the snakes were aching from the constant jabs. Finally, the leader gathered his courage and said, "Friend, we welcomed you when you were cold, but your quills are harming us. Would you please leave and find another shelter?" The porcupine refused, claiming he had nowhere else to go. "If you want peace," he said stubbornly, "you'll have to leave yourselves." The snakes realized they could no longer stay without suffering. Reluctantly, they slithered out into the cold night, abandoning their home. As they search for a new shelter, they learned a hard lesson: some guests, once admitted, are harder to remove than to refuse in the first place.

Read the text and do the tasks. On our recent trip to the Philippines, we spent a good five days or so in Cebu. Our main motivation for visiting the island was to attend our friend's wedding ceremony. Since we knew that our main priorities were hanging out with our friends and reuniting with a couple of long-lost playmates, we put very little thought into what we should see or do in Cebu. Our slack attitude totally paid off, though. With nothing planned, we were totally and completely free to do whatever our friends suggested. Laziness pays off! For once! We stayed at the Shangri-la Mactan Resort, on Mactan Island, which is just a couple of kilometers from Cebu City. The resort is really close to the airport, which was a major plus considering that traffic in the Philippines rivals that of Indonesia. The resort seems to be the place to stay with young kids, and if you ask my children, it was a veritable paradise on Earth. There were two swimming pools, a water playground, and a beach with almost no surf, perfect for little ones. I will tell you, though, that this resort is a factory. There are like 1000 beds, and the place is heaving on the weekends. And as with most hospitality institutions of mass production, the food is not good; however, it is one thing to pay top dollar for fresh, delicious, expertly prepared food. But, to pay top dollar for cheap, tepid, pre-ready meals? Well, that's not something I'm willing to do. I suggest if you stay there, stock up on groceries. And, don't bother with the club lounge upgrade. The lounge is packed the minute the doors open, and the guests dive-bomb the buffet, scavenging morsels of cold, barely palatable food as though it were made of gold most rare.