What was one concern discussed regarding the use of AI in subjects like history and English?

It undermines critical thinking skills.

It provides too many resources.

It helps students memorize facts.

It makes grading easier for teachers.

According to the video, why is the accessibility of AI tools beneficial for students?

It provides support for those lacking resources.

It serves as a distraction during class.

It simplifies all subjects equally.

What ethical consideration was highlighted regarding AI use in education?

Maintaining academic integrity.

Increasing the use of technology without limits.

Requiring all students to use AI tools.

Encouraging students to submit AI-generated work.

What suggestion was made for educators concerning AI assignments?

Assignments should encourage critical thinking.

Assignments should be completed online.

What impact can AI algorithms on social media have on students?

They can negatively affect mental health.

They provide accurate information only.

They are solely for entertainment.

What did the students express about their need for AI policies in schools?

They want transparency and inclusivity.

They want policies without student input.

They believe AI should replace teachers.

What environmental concern related to AI was mentioned in the video?

High water usage in data centers.

AI has no environmental impact.

AI reduces waste in classrooms.

What approach did students suggest for educators to better integrate AI?

Use a balanced approach with human instruction.

Rely solely on digital assignments.

Only use AI tools in all classes.

Remove teachers from the process.

What did the students stress regarding AI use in assignments?

Assignments should minimize opportunities for cheating.

Cheating is acceptable in some cases.

All assignments must be digital.

Teachers should not verify student work.

What common concern did students express regarding AI detectors?

They are often inaccurate and can mislabel human work as AI-generated.

They are not needed for assignments.

They can help improve student essays.

What did students feel was necessary for schools to effectively implement AI policies?

Ongoing communication between students and educators.

AI should be banned in schools.

Only strict rules against using AI.

No policies should be needed altogether.

How do students believe AI affects their mental health?

AI can lead to misinformation and anxiety due to social media algorithms.

AI improves mental health by providing support.

AI only affects older generations.

AI has no effect on mental health.

What method do students suggest to engage peers in understanding AI's environmental impact?

Have student organizations raise awareness about AI's negative effects.

Rely solely on faculty to inform students.

What was a key takeaway about AI's impact on learning according to students?

AI should be a supportive tool, not a replacement for traditional teaching.

AI can completely replace teachers.

AI should only be used for homework.

From A to GenZ: Students Discuss the Future of AI - Part 2 (CDE)

From A to GenZ: Students Discuss the Future of AI - Part 1

Question 1 Category: Current Events Question: What was the primary demand of the Kenyan Gen Z protesters featured in the BBC documentary Unmasked: The Truth Behind the Gen Z Protests? Options: A) Free education B) Repeal of the Finance Bill 2024 C) Climate change action D) New elections Correct Answer: B) Repeal of the Finance Bill 2024 Explanation: The BBC documentary highlights that Kenyan youth protested to demand the repeal of the Finance Bill 2024, which proposed tax hikes raising $2.7 billion. Question 2 Category: Science Question: Which gas, discovered on the sun before Earth, is the second most abundant element in the universe? Options: A) Hydrogen B) Oxygen C) Helium D) Nitrogen Correct Answer: C) Helium Explanation: Helium was first detected in the sun’s spectrum in 1868 and is the second most abundant element after hydrogen in the universe. Question 3 Category: Current Events Question: Which Kenyan city was the epicenter of the Gen Z protests covered in the BBC documentary Unmasked: The Truth Behind the Gen Z Protests? Options: A) Mombasa B) Nairobi C) Kisumu D) Eldoret Correct Answer: B) Nairobi Explanation: Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, was the main hub for the #OccupyParliament protests, with significant events like the Parliament breach occurring there, as shown in the documentary. Question 4 Category: History Question: Which empire, known for its vast trade networks, was centered in modern-day Turkey and lasted until the early 20th century? Options: A) Roman Empire B) Ottoman Empire C) Mongol Empire D) Byzantine Empire Correct Answer: B) Ottoman Empire Explanation: The Ottoman Empire, spanning over 600 years until 1922, was a major trade and cultural power centered in modern-day Turkey. Question 5 Category: Current Events Question: According to the BBC documentary, what technology helped document evidence of police brutality during the Kenyan Gen Z protests? Options: A) Drones B) Smartphone videos C) Facial recognition software D) Satellite tracking Correct Answer: B) Smartphone videos Explanation: The documentary used smartphone videos from protesters and bystanders, analyzed via open-source data, to document police brutality during the 2024 protests. Question 6 Category: Geography Question: What is the smallest country in the world by land area? Options: A) Monaco B) Vatican City C) San Marino D) Liechtenstein Correct Answer: B) Vatican City Explanation: Vatican City, with an area of about 44 hectares, is the smallest sovereign state in the world by land area. Question 7 Category: Current Events Question: What hashtag became synonymous with the Kenyan Gen Z protests, as featured in the BBC documentary Unmasked: The Truth Behind the Gen Z Protests? Options: A) #KenyaRising B) #OccupyParliament C) #TaxRevolt D) #GenZFight Correct Answer: B) #OccupyParliament Explanation: The #OccupyParliament hashtag was widely used by protesters to rally against the Finance Bill 2024, as documented by the BBC. Question 8 Category: Entertainment Question: Which actor starred as the lead in the 2023 film Barbie and also played a role in La La Land? Options: A) Emma Stone B) Margot Robbie C) Zendaya D) Saoirse Ronan Correct Answer: B) Margot Robbie Explanation: Margot Robbie starred as Barbie in the 2023 film and played a supporting role in La La Land (2016). Question 9 Category: Sports Question: Which sport is played at the Wimbledon Championships? Options: A) Cricket B) Rugby C) Tennis D) Golf Correct Answer: C) Tennis Explanation: Wimbledon, held annually in London, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world. Question 10 Category: Technology Question: In web development, what does the acronym “CSS” stand for? Options: A) Computer Style System B) Cascading Style Sheets C) Creative Script Syntax D) Centralized Style Standard Correct Answer: B) Cascading Style Sheets Explanation: CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is used to style and format the appearance of web pages written in HTML.

Scrambled Letters from A to Z

Attendance and Absences Quiz Instructions: Choose the correct answer for each question. What is required for a student to have a lawful absence? A) A verbal excuse from the student B) A written excuse signed by a parent, guardian, or medical practitioner C) No excuse is needed D) A note from a friend Where should students submit their written excuses for absences? A) To their teacher directly B) In the basket outside the PowerSchool/Attendance clerk’s window C) To the principal's office D) In their backpack How many days does a student have to present a valid excuse for an absence? A) One day B) Three days C) Five days D) Ten days What happens if a student does not bring a valid excuse within three days? A) The absence is considered lawful B) The student will receive a detention C) The absence is considered unexcused and unlawful D) The absence is ignored What is the maximum time allowed to complete makeup work after returning to school? A) Five days B) Seven days C) Ten days D) Two weeks What kind of absences can be considered lawful? A) Absences for family vacations B) Absences due to a student's own illness C) Absences due to playing sports D) Absences for oversleeping Which of the following is NOT a lawful absence? A) Absence due to illness in the student's immediate family B) Absence for a recognized religious holiday C) Absence without the knowledge of the parent D) Absence for a medical appointment What action is taken if a student submits a false excuse? A) The student will be congratulated B) The excuse will be ignored C) The student will be referred to school administration for disciplinary action D) The student will be given a warning Which of the following is a reason for an absence that is considered unlawful? A) Absence due to a medical appointment B) Absence due to death in the family C) Absence without acceptable cause, with knowledge of the parent D) Absence due to a school-approved activity Who has the discretion to accept medical excuses beyond three days? A) The student's friends B) The teacher C) The principal D) The school nurse

Generate exact multiple choice questions as give below 1. **Which round of negotiations led to the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO)?** - (a) Doha Round - (b) Tokyo Round - (c) Uruguay Round - (d) Kennedy Round **Answer:** (c) Uruguay Round 2. **The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) dealt with:** - (a) Goods only - (b) Services only - (c) Intellectual property only - (d) All of the above **Answer:** (a) Goods only 3. **The 'National Treatment' principle means:** - (a) Exported products are treated equally in the domestic market - (b) Imported goods are treated the same as local goods in the domestic market - (c) Exported products should have the same tariff - (d) None of the above **Answer:** (b) Imported goods are treated the same as local goods in the domestic market 4. **'Bound tariff' refers to:** - (a) A limit on tariffs for imports based on WTO commitments - (b) The tax rate on all exports - (c) The overall cost of tariffs - (d) A tariff-free trade condition **Answer:** (a) A limit on tariffs for imports based on WTO commitments 5. **The Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) principle ensures:** - (a) Equal treatment for all WTO members - (b) Only certain countries receive benefits - (c) Tariffs are raised annually - (d) One country is favored over others **Answer:** (a) Equal treatment for all WTO members 6. **The Agreement on Agriculture includes commitments in:** - (a) Market access, domestic support, and export subsidies - (b) Increasing crop yield and technology access - (c) Subsidizing imports only - (d) Agricultural tariffs only **Answer:** (a) Market access, domestic support, and export subsidies 7. **Which agreement replaced the Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA)?** - (a) Agreement on Textiles and Clothing - (b) Agreement on Agriculture - (c) TRIPS Agreement - (d) Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement **Answer:** (a) Agreement on Textiles and Clothing 8. **The WTO's TRIPS Agreement pertains to:** - (a) Agricultural products - (b) Intellectual property rights - (c) Investment measures - (d) Customs valuation **Answer:** (b) Intellectual property rights 9. **The Doha Round primarily focuses on:** - (a) Tariffs on manufactured goods - (b) Trade in agricultural goods - (c) Technology trade - (d) Intellectual property in medicine **Answer:** (b) Trade in agricultural goods 10. **The WTO aims to:** - (a) Restrict all trade - (b) Facilitate free and fair trade - (c) Promote monopoly - (d) Limit member negotiations **Answer:** (b) Facilitate free and fair trade 11. **RTAs aim to:** - (a) Block international trade - (b) Reduce trade barriers within a group of countries - (c) Increase tariffs among members - (d) Promote non-trade-related policies **Answer:** (b) Reduce trade barriers within a group of countries 12. **Customs unions require members to:** - (a) Keep individual external tariffs - (b) Impose the same external tariff on non-members - (c) Remove tariffs only temporarily - (d) Avoid any tariffs within the union **Answer:** (b) Impose the same external tariff on non-members 13. **The WTO's highest decision-making body is:** - (a) General Council - (b) Ministerial Conference - (c) TRIPS Council - (d) Dispute Settlement Body **Answer:** (b) Ministerial Conference 14. **Which principle prevents discrimination between WTO members?** - (a) MFN - (b) National Treatment - (c) Market Access - (d) Subsidy Reduction **Answer:** (a) MFN 15. **A common market involves:** - (a) A shared currency - (b) Free movement of goods, services, and factors of production - (c) Only trade agreements for goods - (d) No tariffs on agriculture **Answer:** (b) Free movement of goods, services, and factors of production 16. **The Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures addresses:** - (a) Trade in textiles - (b) Subsidies that distort trade - (c) All intellectual property laws - (d) Agricultural trade only **Answer:** (b) Subsidies that distort trade 17. **The WTO's TRIMs Agreement regulates:** - (a) Investments - (b) Trade in goods - (c) Trade in services - (d) Agricultural products **Answer:** (a) Investments 18. **The primary goal of the WTO's SPS Agreement is:** - (a) To allow subsidies on food exports - (b) To prevent arbitrary sanitary restrictions on trade - (c) To regulate intellectual property - (d) To impose environmental standards **Answer:** (b) To prevent arbitrary sanitary restrictions on trade 19. **A trading bloc is:** - (a) A group of countries with no trade agreements - (b) A group of countries that may have a common external tariff - (c) Only formed by countries from the same continent - (d) An agreement that restricts all trade **Answer:** (b) A group of countries that may have a common external tariff 20. **The GATT was succeeded by the WTO because:** - (a) GATT was only for developed countries - (b) WTO covers more areas like services and intellectual property - (c) GATT was non-binding - (d) WTO allows subsidies for agriculture **Answer:** (b) WTO covers more areas like services and intellectual property Certainly! Here are an additional 30 multiple-choice questions based on the document content, with answers provided after each question. --- ### Additional Questions and Answers 21. **The WTO’s Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) seeks to:** - (a) Restrict imports to a minimum - (b) Prevent standards from becoming unnecessary trade barriers - (c) Allow countries to set any standard for goods - (d) Promote only national standards for products **Answer:** (b) Prevent standards from becoming unnecessary trade barriers 22. **The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) is designed to:** - (a) Impose tariffs on certain goods - (b) Regularly review and assess national trade policies - (c) Regulate customs duties globally - (d) Control intellectual property rights **Answer:** (b) Regularly review and assess national trade policies 23. **The principle of “progressive liberalization” means that:** - (a) Trade barriers are reduced gradually over time - (b) All tariffs are removed immediately - (c) Only developed countries reduce trade barriers - (d) No commitments are required from developing countries **Answer:** (a) Trade barriers are reduced gradually over time 24. **Which council oversees the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)?** - (a) General Council - (b) Services Council - (c) TRIPS Council - (d) Agriculture Council **Answer:** (c) TRIPS Council 25. **The WTO’s 'Dispute Settlement Body' is responsible for:** - (a) Deciding on national trade policies - (b) Settling trade disputes between member countries - (c) Creating new trade agreements - (d) Setting tariffs for member countries **Answer:** (b) Settling trade disputes between member countries 26. **A customs union differs from a free trade area because it:** - (a) Allows tariffs between member countries - (b) Establishes a common external tariff for non-members - (c) Applies only to services - (d) Imposes import quotas on all goods **Answer:** (b) Establishes a common external tariff for non-members 27. **Which of the following agreements deals with cross-border investments?** - (a) TRIPS - (b) TBT - (c) TRIMs - (d) GATS **Answer:** (c) TRIMs 28. **In a preferential trade agreement, member countries:** - (a) Impose the same tariffs as non-members - (b) Reduce trade barriers for each other only - (c) Apply high tariffs to non-member countries - (d) Have no external trade barriers **Answer:** (b) Reduce trade barriers for each other only 29. **The WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture includes which commitment?** - (a) Export subsidies for all agricultural goods - (b) Reduction of domestic support for farmers - (c) Complete elimination of tariffs on food products - (d) Increase in import quotas on agricultural goods **Answer:** (b) Reduction of domestic support for farmers 30. **The Agreement on Anti-Dumping allows countries to:** - (a) Increase exports by lowering prices - (b) Impose duties on imports sold below fair market value - (c) Eliminate all tariffs on certain goods - (d) Restrict domestic production of certain goods **Answer:** (b) Impose duties on imports sold below fair market value 31. **The main objective of WTO’s “National Treatment” principle is to:** - (a) Prevent imports altogether - (b) Treat foreign goods the same as domestic goods - (c) Impose tariffs on all foreign products - (d) Promote exports **Answer:** (b) Treat foreign goods the same as domestic goods 32. **Which of the following is a major goal of the WTO?** - (a) Ensuring trade restrictions remain high - (b) Promoting international free trade and competition - (c) Limiting access to global markets - (d) Supporting only developed countries **Answer:** (b) Promoting international free trade and competition 33. **An economic and monetary union involves:** - (a) A free trade area only - (b) A common currency among members - (c) No external trade agreements - (d) Different currencies for each member country **Answer:** (b) A common currency among members 34. **The WTO's Ministerial Conference meets:** - (a) Annually - (b) Every two years - (c) Quarterly - (d) Every five years **Answer:** (b) Every two years 35. **The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) mandates:** - (a) Free trade for all countries - (b) Uniform intellectual property protection standards - (c) Different IP laws for each country - (d) No IP protection for developing countries **Answer:** (b) Uniform intellectual property protection standards 36. **The WTO principle of 'transparency' requires member countries to:** - (a) Keep trade policies secret - (b) Publicly disclose trade policies and practices - (c) Have identical trade policies - (d) Eliminate tariffs on all goods **Answer:** (b) Publicly disclose trade policies and practices 37. **One of the WTO's objectives in dispute settlement is to:** - (a) Resolve trade disputes peacefully - (b) Impose sanctions on non-members - (c) Regulate global tariffs - (d) Control member states' import quotas **Answer:** (a) Resolve trade disputes peacefully 38. **Under the WTO's Market Access commitment, member countries agree to:** - (a) Allow unrestricted imports - (b) Set maximum tariff levels on imported goods - (c) Ban certain goods from other countries - (d) Only trade with specific countries **Answer:** (b) Set maximum tariff levels on imported goods 39. **GATS, or the General Agreement on Trade in Services, governs trade in:** - (a) Agricultural goods - (b) Intellectual property - (c) Services - (d) Manufactured products **Answer:** (c) Services 40. **The Agreement on Pre-shipment Inspection (PSI) aims to:** - (a) Ensure high tariffs on all imports - (b) Allow for inspection of goods before shipping - (c) Eliminate export taxes - (d) Control intellectual property trade **Answer:** (b) Allow for inspection of goods before shipping 41. **Which of the following agreements aims to harmonize customs valuation?** - (a) Anti-Dumping Agreement - (b) Customs Valuation Agreement - (c) TRIMs Agreement - (d) Agreement on Subsidies **Answer:** (b) Customs Valuation Agreement 42. **A significant aspect of the Doha Round is:** - (a) Reducing tariffs on agricultural products - (b) Restricting intellectual property rights - (c) Eliminating all forms of trade - (d) Blocking services trade agreements **Answer:** (a) Reducing tariffs on agricultural products 43. **The term “dumping” in international trade refers to:** - (a) Exporting goods at prices lower than domestic market prices - (b) Importing goods illegally - (c) Increasing domestic prices - (d) Imposing excessive tariffs **Answer:** (a) Exporting goods at prices lower than domestic market prices 44. **WTO members are expected to follow which key principle in reducing tariffs?** - (a) National Treatment - (b) Progressive Liberalization - (c) Quota System - (d) Non-Discrimination **Answer:** (b) Progressive Liberalization 45. **The WTO aims to promote fair competition by:** - (a) Allowing tariffs as the only form of protection - (b) Supporting MFN and anti-dumping measures - (c) Limiting access to agricultural products - (d) Increasing subsidies **Answer:** (b) Supporting MFN and anti-dumping measures 46. **A plurilateral agreement within the WTO:** - (a) Includes all WTO members - (b) Involves only specific countries with shared interests - (c) Bans all tariffs for members - (d) Imposes global trade restrictions **Answer:** (b) Involves only specific countries with shared interests 47. **Trade facilitation in the WTO context means:** - (a) Making trade faster, cheaper, and more predictable - (b) Increasing tariffs on imports - (c) Eliminating all customs procedures - (d) Restricting trade with non-members **Answer:** (a) Making trade faster, cheaper

She went by the name of Belisa Crepusculario, not because she had been baptized with that name or given it by her mother, but because she herself had searched until she found the poetry of "beauty" and "twilight" and cloaked herself in it. She made her living selling words. She journeyed through the country from the high cold mountains to the burning coasts, stopping at fairs and in markets where she set up four poles covered by a canvas awning under which she took refuge from the sun and rain to minister to her customers. She did not have to peddle her merchandise because from having wandered far and near, everyone knew who she was. Some people waited for her from one year to the next, and when she appeared in the village with her bundle beneath her arm, they would form a line in front of her stall. Her prices were fair. For five centavos she delivered verses from memory, for seven she improved the quality of dreams, for nine she wrote love letters, for twelve she invented insults for irreconcilable enemies. She also sold stories, not fantasies but long, true stories she recited at one telling, never skipping a word. This is how she carried news from one town to another. People paid her to add a line or two: our son was born, so-and-so died, our children got married, the crops burned in the field. Wherever she went a small crowd gathered around to listen as she began to speak, and that was how they learned about each others' doings, about distant relatives, about what was going on in the civil war. To anyone who paid her fifty centavos in trade, she gave the gift of a secret word to drive away melancholy. It was not the same word for everyone, naturally, because that would have been collective dece it. Each person received his or her own word, with the assurance that no one else would use it that way in this universe or the Beyond. Belisa Crepusculario had been born into a family so poor they did not even have names to give their children. She came into the world and grew up in an inhospitable land where some years the rains became avalanches of water that bore everything away before them and others when not a drop fell from the sky and the sun swelled to fill the horizon and the world became a desert. Until she was twelve, Belisa had no occupation or virtue other than having withstood hunger and the exhaustion of centuries. During one interminable drought, it fell to her to bury four younger brothers and sisters, when she realized that her turn was next, she decided to set out across the 2 plains in the direction of the sea, in hopes that she might trick death along the way. The land was eroded, split with deep cracks, strewn with rocks, fossils of trees and thorny bushes, and skeletons of animals bleached by the sun. From time to time she ran into families who, like her, were heading south, following the mirage of water. Some had begun the march carrying their belongings on their back or in small carts, but they could barely move their own bones, and after a while they had to abandon their possessions. They dragged themselves along painfully, their skin turned to lizard hide and their eyes burned by the reverberating glare. Belisa greeted them with a wave as she passed, but she did not stop, because she had no strength to waste in acts of compassion. Many people fell by the wayside, but she was so stubborn that she survived to cross through that hell and at long last reach the first trickles of water, fine, almost invisible threads that fed spindly vegetation and farther down widened into small streams and marshes. Belisa Crepusculario saved her life and in the process accidentally discovered writing. In a village near the coast, the wind blew a page of newspaper at her feet. She picked up the brittle yellow paper and stood a long while looking at it, unable to determine its purpose, until curiosity overcame her shyness. She walked over to a man who was washing his horse in the muddy pool where she had quenched her thirst. "What is this?" she asked. "The sports page of the newspaper," the man replied, concealing his surprise at her ignorance. The answer astounded the girl, but she did not want to seem rude, so she merely inquired about the significance of the fly tracks scattered across the page. "Those are words, child. Here it says that Fulgencio Barba knocked out El Negro Tiznao in the third round." That was the day Belisa Crepusculario found out that words make their way in the world without a master, and that anyone with a little cleverness can appropriate them and do business with them. She made a quick assessment of her situation and concluded that aside from becoming a prostitute or working as a servant in the kitchens of the rich there were few occupations she was qualified for. It seemed to her that selling words would be an honorable alternative. From that moment on, she worked at that profession, and was never tempted by any other. At the beginning, she offered her merchandise unaware that words could be written outside of newspapers. When she learned otherwise, she calculated the infinite possibilities of her trade and with her savings paid a priest twenty pesos to teach her to read and write, with her three 3 remaining coins she bought a dictionary. She poured over it from A to Z and then threw it into the sea, because it was not her intention to defraud her customers with packaged words. One August morning several years later, Belisa Crepusculario was sitting in her tent in the middle of a plaza, surrounded by the uproar of market day, selling legal arguments to an old man who had been trying for sixteen years to get his pension. Suddenly she heard yelling and thudding hoofbeats. She looked up from her writing and saw, first, a cloud of dust, and then a band of horsemen come galloping into the plaza. They were the Colonel's men, sent under orders of El Mulato, a giant known throughout the land for the speed of his knife and his loyalty to his chief. Both the Colonel and El Mulato had spent their lives fighting in the civil war, and their names were ineradicably linked to devastation and calamity. The rebels swept into town like a stampeding herd, wrapped in noise, bathed in sweat, and leaving a hurricane of fear in their trail. Chickens took wing, dogs ran for their lives, women and children scurried out of sight, until the only living soul left in the market was Belisa Crepusculario. She had never seen El Mulato and was surprised to see him walking toward her. "I'm looking for you," he shouted, pointing his coiled whip at her, even before the words were out, two men rushed her -- knocking over her canopy and shattering her inkwell -- bound her hand and foot, and threw her like a sea bag across the rump of El Mulato's mount. Then they thundered off toward the hills. Hours later, just as Belisa Crepusculario was near death, her heart ground to sand by the pounding of the horse, they stopped, and four strong hands set her down. She tried to stand on her feet and hold her head high, but her strength failed her and she slumped to the ground, sinking into a confused dream. She awakened several hours later to the murmur of night in the camp, but before she had time to sort out the sounds, she opened her eyes and found herself staring into the impatient glare of El Mulato, kneeling beside her. "Well, woman, at last you've come to," he said. To speed her to her senses, he tipped his canteen and offered her a sip of liquor laced with gunpowder. She demanded to know the reason for such rough treatment, and El Mulato explained that the Colonel needed her services. He allowed her to splash water on her face, and then led her to the far end of the camp where the most feared man in all the land was lazing in a hammock strung between two trees. She could not see his face, because he lay in the deceptive shadow of the leaves and the indelible shadow of all his years as a bandit, but she imagined from the way his 4 gigantic aide addressed him with such humility that he must have a very menacing expression. She was surprised by the Colonel's voice, as soft and well-modulated as a professor's. "Are you the woman who sells words?" he asked. "At your service," she stammered, peering into the dark and trying to see him better. The Colonel stood up, and turned straight toward her. She saw dark skin and the eyes of a ferocious puma, and she knew immediately that she was standing before the loneliest man in the world. "I want to be President," he announced. The Colonel was weary of riding across that godforsaken land, waging useless wars and suffering defeats that no subterfuge could transform into victories. For years he had been sleeping in the open air, bitten by mosquitoes, eating iguanas and snake soup, but those minor inconveniences were not why he wanted to change his destiny. What truly troubled him was the terror he saw in people's eyes. He longed to ride into a town beneath a triumphal arch with bright flags and flowers everywhere, he wanted to be cheered, and be given newly laid eggs and freshly baked bread. Men fled at the sight of him, children trembled, and women miscarried from fright, he had had enough, and so he had decided to become President. El Mulato had suggested that they ride to the capital, gallop up to the Palace, and take over the government, the way they had taken so many other things without anyone's permission. The Colonel, however, did not want to be just another tyrant, there had been enough of those before him and, besides, if he did that, he would never win people's hearts. It was his aspiration to win the popular vote in the December elections. "To do that, I have to talk like a candidate. Can you sell me the words for a speech?" the Colonel asked Belisa Crepusculario. She had accepted many assignments, but none like this. She did not dare refuse, fearing that El Mulato would shoot her between the eyes, or worse still, that the Colonel would burst into tears. There was more to it than that, however, she felt the urge to help him because she felt a throbbing warmth beneath her skin, a powerful desire to touch that man, to fondle him, to clasp him in her arms. All night and a good part of the following day, Belisa Crepusculario searched her repertory for words adequate for a presidential speech, closely watched by El Mulato, who could not take his eyes from her firm wanderer's legs and virginal breasts. She discarded harsh, cold words, words 5 that were too flowery, words worn from abuse, words that offered improbable promises, untruthful and confusing words, until all she had left were words sure to touch the minds of men and women's intuition. Calling upon the knowledge she had purchased from the priest for twenty pesos, she wrote the speech on a sheet of paper and then signaled El Mulato to untie the rope that bound her ankles to a tree. He led her once more to the Colonel, and again she felt the throbbing anxiety that had seized her when she first saw him. She handed him the paper and waited while he looked at it, holding it gingerly between thumbs and fingertips. "What the shit does this say," he asked finally. "Don't you know how to read?" "War's what I know," he replied. She read the speech aloud. She read it three times, so her client could engrave it on his memory. When she finished, she saw the emotion in the faces of the soldiers who had gathered round to listen, and saw that the Colonel's eyes glittered with enthusiasm, convinced that with those words the presidential chair would be his. "If after they've heard it three times, the boys are still standing there with their mouths hanging open, it must mean the thing's damn good, Colonel" was El Mulato's approval. "All right, woman. How much do I owe you?" the leader asked. "One peso, Colonel." "That's not much," he said, opening the pouch he wore at his belt, heavy with proceeds from the last foray. "The peso entitles you to a bonus. I'm going to give you two secret words," said Belisa Crepusculario. "What for?" She explained that for every fifty centavos a client paid, she gave him the gift of a word for his exclusive use. The Colonel shrugged. He had no interest at all in her offer, but he did not want to be impolite to someone who had served him so well. She walked slowly to the leather stool where he was sitting, and bent down to give him her gift. The man smelled the scent of a mountain cat issuing from the woman, a fiery heat radiating from her hips, he heard the terrible whisper of her hair, and a breath of sweetmint murmured into his ear the two secret words that were his alone. "They are yours, Colonel," she said as she stepped back. "You may use them as much as you 6 please." El Mulato accompanied Belisa to the roadside, his eyes as entreating as a stray dog's, but when he reached out to touch her, he was stopped by an avalanche of words he had never heard before; believing them to be an irrevocable curse, the flame of his desire was extinguished. During the months of September, October, and November the Colonel delivered his speech so many times that had it not been crafted from glowing and durable words it would have turned to ash as he spoke. He travelled up and down and across the country, riding into cities with a triumphal air, stopping in even the most forgotten villages where only the dump heap betrayed a human presence, to convince his fellow citizens to vote for him. While he spoke from a platform erected in the middle of the plaza, El Mulato and his men handed out sweets and painted his name on all the walls in gold frost. No one paid the least attention to those advertising ploys; they were dazzled by the clarity of the Colonel's proposals and the poetic lucidity of his arguments, infected by his powerful wish to right the wrongs of history, happy for the first time in their lives. When the Candidate had finished his speech, his soldiers would fire their pistols into the air and set off firecrackers, and when finally they rode off, they left behind a wake of hope that lingered for days on the air, like the splendid memory of a comet's tail. Soon the Colonel was the favorite. No one had ever witnessed such a phenomenon: a man who surfaced from the civil war, covered with scars and speaking like a professor, a man whose fame spread to every corner of the land and captured the nation's heart. The press focused their attention on him. Newspapermen came from far away to interview him and repeat his phrases, and the number of his followers and enemies continued to grow. "We're doing great, Colonel," said El Mulato, after twelve successful weeks of campaigning. But the Candidate did not hear. He was repeating his secret words, as he did more and more obsessively. He said them when he was mellow with nostalgia; he murmured them in his sleep; he carried them with him on horseback; he thought them before delivering his famous speech; and he caught himself savoring them in his leisure time. And every time he thought of those two words, he thought of Belisa Crepusculario, and his senses were inflamed with the memory of her feral scent, her fiery heat, the whisper of her hair, and her sweetmint breath in his ear, until he began to go around like a sleepwalker, and his men realized that he might die before he ever sat in the presidential chair. "What's got hold of you, Colonel," El Mulato asked so often that finally one day his chief broke 7 down and told him the source of his befuddlement: those two words that were buried like two daggers in his gut. "Tell me what they are and maybe they'll lose their magic," his faithful aide suggested. "I can't tell them, they're for me alone," the Colonel replied. Saddened by watching his chief decline like a man with a death sentence on his head, El Mulato slung his rifle over his shoulder and set out to find Belisa Crepusculario. He followed her trail through all that vast country, until he found her in a village in the far south, sitting under her tent reciting her rosary of news. He planted himself, spraddle-legged, before her, weapon in hand. "You! You're coming with me," he ordered. She had been waiting. She picked up her inkwell, folded the canvas of her small stall, arranged her shawl around her shoulders, and without a word took her place behind El Mulato's saddle. They did not exchange so much as a word in all the trip; El Mulato's desire for her had turned into rage, and only his fear of her tongue prevented his cutting her to shreds with his whip. Nor was he inclined to tell her that the Colonel was in a fog, and that a spell whispered into his ear had done what years of battle had not been able to do. Three days later they arrived at the encampment, and immediately, in view of all the troops, El Mulato led his prisoner before the Candidate. "I brought this witch here so you can give her back her words, Colonel," El Mulato said, pointing the barrel of his rifle at the woman's head. "And then she can give you back your manhood." The Colonel and Belisa Crepusculario stared at each other, measuring one another from a distance. The men knew then that their leader would never undo the witchcraft of those accursed words, because the whole world could see the voracious-puma eyes soften as the woman walked to him and took his hand in hers. Copyright © 1989 by Isabel Allende From The Stories of Eva Luna, Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden

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