1.

Hurricane on the Pacific

When experienced ocean voyagers Tami Oldham Ashcraft and her fiancee Richard
Sharp set out on a job to deliver a yacht from Tahiti to San Diego, they never dreamed
that they would be stuck in a category four hurricane. Hurricane Raymond's 50-foot
waves and 140 knot winds put the couple in the middle of a battle for their own
survival.

The boat capsized, and Ashcraft, who sought shelter below deck, was rendered
unconscious. When she woke up hours later, her fiancee was gone. When the boat
righted itself, Sharp's safety line had snapped.

Ashcraft resolutely rationed her supplies, crafted a makeshift sail and mast and figured
out a course to Hawaii, a forty day journey 1,500 miles away. Amazingly, she continues
to sail.

Question:

Which of these statements is true?

a) Despite wearing a safety line Sharp disappeared.

b) Ashcraft was knocked unconscious while outside.
c) Ashcraft went below deck to get protective equipment.
d) The safety line broke when Ashcraft lost consciousness.

2. Lost

In April 2006, ranchers in a remote area of Australia were shocked when a skeletal
figure appeared at their cattle station. The man, Ricky Megee, thought that his car had
been stolen after he was drugged by a hitchhiker. The last thing he recalled was
breaking down while he was driving along the Buntine highway on business. He told
police that he awoke to find dogs scratching at him.

Suffering from exposure and malnutrition, McGee lived off of a diet of leeches, insects,
snakes, frogs and lizards for 71 days. He drank water from a dam and constructed a
makeshift shelter. Luckily, McGee's ordeal took place during the wet season, and he
was able to obtain enough water to drink. He weighed 230 pounds (105 kilograms)
before he got lost and weighed 105 pounds (48 kilograms) when he was finally rescued.
Question:

What is true about McGee?

a) He spent 71 days without any protection from the elements.

b) He had mechanical problems as he was driving.
c) He suspects someone of robbing his car while he was asleep.
d) He remembers getting lost while on a holiday.

3. Climate change

A flash point has emerged in American science education that echoes the battle over
evolution, as scientists and educators report mounting resistance to the study of man-
made climate change in middle and high schools.

Although scientific evidence increasingly shows that fossil fuel consumption has caused
the climate to change rapidly, the issue has grown so politicized that skepticism of the
broad scientific consensus has seeped into classrooms.

Some states have introduced education standards that require educators to teach climate
change denial as a valid scientific position, others have even passed resolutions denying
climate change. In May, a school board in Los Alamitos, Calif., passed a measure, later
rescinded, identifying climate science as a controversial topic that required special
instructional oversight.

Against this backdrop, the National Center for Science Education, a watchdog group
that supports the teaching of evolution through advocacy and educational materials,
plans to announce an initiative to monitor the teaching of climate science and evaluate
the sources of resistance to it.

Question:

Which of these statements is true?

a) Teachers are struggling to include climate change as part of their subjects.

b) Teachers don’t deny the effect of men on the environment but won’t teach it.
c) Climate change is becoming a taboo subject in middle and high schools.
d) Teachers who deny climate change haven’t been supported by state authorities.
4. Hungary

Hungary’s government has been accused of using its two-thirds majority to pass
measures that entrench the governing party's power. Some of the new laws will require
a two-thirds majority to amend them; giving future governments limited room for
manoeuvre.

A new electoral law adopted on 23 December is said to favour the strongest party.
Concerns have also been raised over curbs on the powers of the constitutional court.
Changes in the rules governing appointments to the judiciary, the electoral commission,
the data protection agency and the central bank have prompted fears over their
independence.

Hungary's media law has been criticised for the powers it confers on a government-
appointed media council. Some of those powers, including the ability to regulate print
and online content, were struck down by the constitutional court on 19 December 2011.
But the following day the council allocated the broadcast frequency of the country's
only national opposition radio, Klubradio, to another radio station.

Question:

Which of these statements is true?

a) Hungary’s constitutional court has unchallenged power over the government.

b) Hungary’s governing party is decentralizing power through new rules.
c) The autonomy of different political organs is being questioned in Hungary.
d) Freedom of expression is not being threatened by the new media law.

5. Caviar

The United Nations has effectively banned international trading in caviar. The
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) has said it will not renew caviar export quotas for the Caspian Sea basin until
exporters provide more information about stock levels, illegal sales and the
sustainability of the threatened wild sturgeon, the fish that provides caviar.

Exporters must collectively agree on scientifically ascertained data on catches and the
populations of sturgeon. They must also adopt and adhere to a shared management plan.
Importing countries also have to take responsibility for ensuring fish stocks are not
overly depleted. Importers such as the European Union have important obligations to
ensure the legality of all caviar destined for its markets. CITES stated: “They must
establish registration systems for their domestic processing and repackaging plants and
rules for the labelling of repackaged caviar.
Question:

Which of these statements is true?

a) The UN has permanently banned the export of caviar.

b) A UN agency wants information on the poaching of sturgeon.
c) Caviar-importing countries are under no obligation to check imports.
d) The EU leaves the labelling and packaging of caviar to the exporters.

ANSWERS
1. A.
2. C.
3. C.
4. C.
5. B.