Barbara Klein : Our VGA listener's question this week comes from Bangladesh. Murnna asks if Hawaii is an American state.

Experts believe that Polynesian people discovered the Hawaiian Islands about two thousand years ago. A king ruled the islands when British sea captain James Cook arrived in 1775.

In 1818, the Hawaiian King Kamehamcha said the group should be called the "Islands of the Kingdom of Hawaii".Britaingave the islands their independence in 1843. The king was ousted fifty years later by a group of American businessmen. Hawaii became the fiftieth state of theUnited Statesin 1959.

The state of Hawaii includes eight major islands in the middle of the North  Pacific Ocean. The main islands are Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Lanai and Hawaii, also called the Big Island. The island of Niihau is privately owned. Kahoolaw has no people.

Hawaii is far from other populated areas. It is more than three thousand kilometres from the state of Califor?nia. It is more than six thousand kilometres fromJapan.

Hot liquid rock called lava formed the Hawaiian Islands millions of years ago. The lava flowed up from the sea through openings in the sea floor. Visitors today can watch this process continue on the Big  Island where the world's most active volcano still produces lava.

Each of the Hawaiian  Islands has a wet side and a dry side. It rains much more on the north-east sides of the islands and much more in winter than in summer. This gives each island two separate climate areas. One area is dry and desert-like. The other area has green plants, rivers and waterfalls.

More than six million people visit Hawaii each year. They enjoy the beautiful land and the warm weath?er. They swim, watch the whales and other marine life and visit beautiful gardens. Hawaii has some of the most beautiful, interesting and unusual places on the earth.

1.    Who discovered Hawaii first according to the pas?sage?

A.    Murnna fromBangladesh.

B.    The Polynesian.

C.    James Cook.

D.    Some American businessmen.

2.    What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A.    The historical backgrounds of Hawaii.

B.    How Hawaii became a state ofAmerica.

C.    The history and geography of Hawaii.

D.    Hawaii was once part of theUK.

3.    Which of the following is TRUE about Hawaii?

A.    The climate of Hawaii is always rainy.

B.    Tourism brings in a lot of money for Hawaii.

C.    People live happily on the eight islands of Hawaii.

D.    Visitors enjoy watching lava flowing up on Hawaii.

4.    The underlined word "ousted" in Paragraph 3 is sim?ilar in meaning to " .

A.  visited     B. supported

C.   removed       D. welcomed

TIME is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It was created in 1923 by Briton Hadden and Henry Luce, making it the first weekly news magazine in the US. Hadden was considered carefree, liked to tease Luce and saw TIME as important but also fun. That accounted for its heavy coverage of celebrities ( including politicians ) , the entertainment industry, and pop culture—criticized as too light for serious news.

It tells the news through people, and for many decades, the magazine's cover depicted a single person. On Hadden's death in 1929, Luce became the most important man at TIME and a major figure in the history of 20th-century media.

TIME is also known for its signature red border, first introduced in 1927. It has only changed four times since then. The issue released shortly after the September 11 attacks on the United States featured a black border to symbolize mourning. However, this edition was a special "extra" edition published quickly for the breaking news of the event ; the next regularly-scheduled issue contained the red border. Additionally, the April 28, 2008 Earth Day issue, dedicated to environmental issues, contained a green border. The next change in border was in the September 19, 2011 issue , commemorating the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with a metallic silver border. The most recent change (again with a silver border) was in the December 31, 2012 issue, noting Barack Obama's selection as Man of the Year.

TIME has a division magazine, TIME FOR KIDS (TFK) , which is especially published for children and is mainly distributed in classrooms. TFK contains some national news, a Cartoon of the Week , and a variety of articles concerning popular culture that the younger US citizens are interested in. All the stories in TFK are written by young reporters.

In some advertising campaigns, the magazine has suggested that the letters TIME stand for The International Magazine of Events.

1.    TIME has a history of .

A. about 50 years   B.  about 70 years

C.  about 90 years D.   about 150 years

2.    Why   did   some   people   dislike   TIME   in the beginning?

A.    It had kept its cover the same since the 1920s.

B.    It didn't have a serious tone for important events.

C.    It   didn't   report   important   events quickly enough.

D.    Henry Luce was in charge of the magazine for too long.

3.    Why did TIME change its red border for the first time?

A.    To remember the 10th anniversary of an attack.

B.    To remind readers to protect the environment.

C.    To show great sadness about the deaths.

D.    To call on readers to vote for Obama.

4.    What do we know about TFK?

A.    It has young reporters writing articles.

B.    It has a division magazine called TIME.

C.    It is designed for kids and teachers.

D.    It mainly contains popular culture.

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