Problem-Solving

UNIT 1

Curious problems and puzzles

How many miles a day?

Harry walked 117 miles, beginning on Sunday morning and fishing on Monday evening of the following week. He walked each day one mile farther than the day before. How many miles did he walk each day?

When will Harry have a bicycle?

Harry was 12 years old when his father promised him a bicycle. “I’ll buy a bicycle for you when you are one-third of my age”, said his father who was 56 years old then. When will Harry get a bicycle?

How much does the man weigh?

A man weighs 60 kilograms plus one-third of his weight. How much does he weigh?

Divide the Camels

Many years ago an Egyptian died and left 17 camels to his three sons. He left half of the camels to his eldest son, the second son was left a third of the camels and the youngest son was left one-ninth of the camels. The sons couldn’t divide the camels without cutting up one of them. So they went to a judge for advice. The judge listened to the problem, thought for a moment and then announced the solution. What was the solution?

How did they cross the River?

Fred and Albert, with their father and village postman, were standing near the river. They had to cross it, because their village was on the other side of the river. Fred and Albert each weighed 112 pounds. Their father and postman each weighed 224 pounds. But the boat could carry only 224 pounds at a time. How did they cross?

UNIT 2

The English Language Quiz

1. How many words do you think there are in the English language?

a) 70,000 b) 170,000 c) 500,000 d) 2 million+

2. The following English words come from other languages. Can you guess which language they are borrowed from?

a) Tea b) Coffee c) Casserole d) Potato e) Shampoo

3. The majority of English words fall into a small number of types of words. These are called word classes. Name the word classes in this table. The first one has been done for you.

   TYPE OF WORD	WORD CLASS	EXAMPLE
   1. A word which names	1) noun	petal
   2. A word which describes	2)	pretty
   3. A word which describes an action	3)	push
   4. A word which adds information about verbs	4)	smoothly
   5. A word which connects parts of speech	5)	and
   6. A word which replaces a noun	6)	I
   7. A word which indicates relationships	7)	before
   8. Words which can be used before all common nouns	8)	the

4. The American English word 'zucchini' means what in Standard British English?

a) beet b) courgette c) radish d) spring onion e) garlic

5. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066 what language was spoken by the Royal Court and the ruling class?

a) Latin b) German c) English d) French e) Swedish

6. Approximately how many languages are spoken in the world?

a) 1070 b) 1250 c) 2100 d) 2700 e) 3200

7. What percentage of the Internet is in English?

a) 55% b) 69% c) 86% d) 92% e) 95% 

8. According to the U.S. Census, how many languages are spoken in the United States?

a) 457 b) 329 c) 275 d) 203 e) 162