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[
"the influences of their instructors",
"the financial goals they seek in life",
"their own interpretations of the courses",
"their understanding of the contributions of others"
] | The students' criteria for selecting majors today have much to do with _ . | According to a survey, which was based on the responses of over 188,000 students, today's traditional-age college freshmen are "more materialistic and less altruistic " than at any time in the 17 years of the poll.
Not surprising in these hard times, the student's major objective "is to be financially well off. Less important than ever is developing a meaningful philosophy of life." It follows then that today the most popular course is not literature or history but accounting.
Interest in teaching, social service and the "altruistic" fields is at a low. On the other hand, enrollment in business programs, engineering and computer science is way up.
That's no surprise either. A friend of mine (a sales representative for a chemical company) was making twice the salary of her college instructors her first year on the job-even before she completed her two-year associate degree.
While it's true that we all need a career, it is equally true that our civilization has accumulated an incredible amount of knowledge in fields far removed from our own and that we are better for our understanding of these other contributions-be they scientific or artistic. It is equally true that, in studying the diverse wisdom of others, we learn how to think. More important, perhaps, education teaches us to see the connections between things, as well as to see beyond our immediate needs.
Weekly we read of unions who went on strike for higher wages, only to drive their employer out of business. No company; no job. How shortsighted in the long run!
But the most important argument for a broad education is that in studying the accumulated wisdom of the ages, we improve our moral sense. I saw a cartoon recently which shows a group of businessmen looking puzzled as they sit around a conference table; one of them is talking on the intercom : "Miss Baxter," he says, "could you please send in someone who can distinguish right from wrong?"
From the long-term point of view, that's what education really ought to be about. | 1205.txt | 1 |
[
"business management should be included in educational programs",
"human wisdom has accumulated at an extraordinarily high speed",
"human intellectual development has reached new heights",
"the importance of a broad education should not be overlooked"
] | By saying "While it's true that... be they scientific or artistic" (Lines 1-3, Para. 5), the author means that _ . | According to a survey, which was based on the responses of over 188,000 students, today's traditional-age college freshmen are "more materialistic and less altruistic " than at any time in the 17 years of the poll.
Not surprising in these hard times, the student's major objective "is to be financially well off. Less important than ever is developing a meaningful philosophy of life." It follows then that today the most popular course is not literature or history but accounting.
Interest in teaching, social service and the "altruistic" fields is at a low. On the other hand, enrollment in business programs, engineering and computer science is way up.
That's no surprise either. A friend of mine (a sales representative for a chemical company) was making twice the salary of her college instructors her first year on the job-even before she completed her two-year associate degree.
While it's true that we all need a career, it is equally true that our civilization has accumulated an incredible amount of knowledge in fields far removed from our own and that we are better for our understanding of these other contributions-be they scientific or artistic. It is equally true that, in studying the diverse wisdom of others, we learn how to think. More important, perhaps, education teaches us to see the connections between things, as well as to see beyond our immediate needs.
Weekly we read of unions who went on strike for higher wages, only to drive their employer out of business. No company; no job. How shortsighted in the long run!
But the most important argument for a broad education is that in studying the accumulated wisdom of the ages, we improve our moral sense. I saw a cartoon recently which shows a group of businessmen looking puzzled as they sit around a conference table; one of them is talking on the intercom : "Miss Baxter," he says, "could you please send in someone who can distinguish right from wrong?"
From the long-term point of view, that's what education really ought to be about. | 1205.txt | 3 |
[
"create varying artistic interests",
"help people see things in their right perspective",
"help improve connections among people",
"regulate the behavior of modern people"
] | Studying the diverse wisdom of others can _ . | According to a survey, which was based on the responses of over 188,000 students, today's traditional-age college freshmen are "more materialistic and less altruistic " than at any time in the 17 years of the poll.
Not surprising in these hard times, the student's major objective "is to be financially well off. Less important than ever is developing a meaningful philosophy of life." It follows then that today the most popular course is not literature or history but accounting.
Interest in teaching, social service and the "altruistic" fields is at a low. On the other hand, enrollment in business programs, engineering and computer science is way up.
That's no surprise either. A friend of mine (a sales representative for a chemical company) was making twice the salary of her college instructors her first year on the job-even before she completed her two-year associate degree.
While it's true that we all need a career, it is equally true that our civilization has accumulated an incredible amount of knowledge in fields far removed from our own and that we are better for our understanding of these other contributions-be they scientific or artistic. It is equally true that, in studying the diverse wisdom of others, we learn how to think. More important, perhaps, education teaches us to see the connections between things, as well as to see beyond our immediate needs.
Weekly we read of unions who went on strike for higher wages, only to drive their employer out of business. No company; no job. How shortsighted in the long run!
But the most important argument for a broad education is that in studying the accumulated wisdom of the ages, we improve our moral sense. I saw a cartoon recently which shows a group of businessmen looking puzzled as they sit around a conference table; one of them is talking on the intercom : "Miss Baxter," he says, "could you please send in someone who can distinguish right from wrong?"
From the long-term point of view, that's what education really ought to be about. | 1205.txt | 1 |
[
"Businessmen absorbed in their career are narrow-minded.",
"Managers often find it hard to tell right from wrong.",
"People engaged in technical jobs lead a more rewarding life.",
"Career seekers should not focus on immediate interests only."
] | Which of the following statements is true according to the passage? | According to a survey, which was based on the responses of over 188,000 students, today's traditional-age college freshmen are "more materialistic and less altruistic " than at any time in the 17 years of the poll.
Not surprising in these hard times, the student's major objective "is to be financially well off. Less important than ever is developing a meaningful philosophy of life." It follows then that today the most popular course is not literature or history but accounting.
Interest in teaching, social service and the "altruistic" fields is at a low. On the other hand, enrollment in business programs, engineering and computer science is way up.
That's no surprise either. A friend of mine (a sales representative for a chemical company) was making twice the salary of her college instructors her first year on the job-even before she completed her two-year associate degree.
While it's true that we all need a career, it is equally true that our civilization has accumulated an incredible amount of knowledge in fields far removed from our own and that we are better for our understanding of these other contributions-be they scientific or artistic. It is equally true that, in studying the diverse wisdom of others, we learn how to think. More important, perhaps, education teaches us to see the connections between things, as well as to see beyond our immediate needs.
Weekly we read of unions who went on strike for higher wages, only to drive their employer out of business. No company; no job. How shortsighted in the long run!
But the most important argument for a broad education is that in studying the accumulated wisdom of the ages, we improve our moral sense. I saw a cartoon recently which shows a group of businessmen looking puzzled as they sit around a conference table; one of them is talking on the intercom : "Miss Baxter," he says, "could you please send in someone who can distinguish right from wrong?"
From the long-term point of view, that's what education really ought to be about. | 1205.txt | 3 |
[
"more difficult to handle than wood and",
"of their stable social conditions",
"of the unique stylistic features of their art",
"available only in specific locations"
] | According to the passage , gold, copper, and silver are | Perhaps the most obvious way artistic creation reflects how people live is by mirroring the environment - the materials and technologies available to a culture. Stone, wood, tree bark, clay, and sand are generally available materials. In addition, depending on the locality, other resources may be accessible: shells, horns, gold, copper, and silver. The different uses to which societies put these materials are of interest to anthropologists who may ask, for example, why people choose to use clay and not copper when both items are available. Although there are no conclusive answers yet, the way in which a society views its environment is sometimes apparent in its choice and use of artistic materials. The use of certain metals, for example, may be reserved for ceremonial objects of special importance. Or the belief in the supernatural powers of a stone or tree may cause a sculptor to be sensitive to that material.
What is particularly meaningful to anthropologist is the realization that although the materials available to a society may to some extent limit or influence what it can do artistically, the materials by no means determine what is done. Why do the artists in Japanese society rake sand into patterns; and the artists in Roman society melt sand to form glass? Moreover, even when the same material is used in the same way by members of different societies, the form or style of the work varies enormously from culture to culture. A society may simply choose to represent objects or phenomena that are important to its population. An examination of the art of the Middle Ages tells us something about the medieval preoccupation with theological doctrine. In addition to revealing the primary concerns of a society, the content of that society's art may also reflect the culture's social stratification. | 2114.txt | 3 |
[
"definitive",
"controversial",
"concurrent",
"realistic"
] | The word "conclusive" in line 7 is closest in meaning to | Perhaps the most obvious way artistic creation reflects how people live is by mirroring the environment - the materials and technologies available to a culture. Stone, wood, tree bark, clay, and sand are generally available materials. In addition, depending on the locality, other resources may be accessible: shells, horns, gold, copper, and silver. The different uses to which societies put these materials are of interest to anthropologists who may ask, for example, why people choose to use clay and not copper when both items are available. Although there are no conclusive answers yet, the way in which a society views its environment is sometimes apparent in its choice and use of artistic materials. The use of certain metals, for example, may be reserved for ceremonial objects of special importance. Or the belief in the supernatural powers of a stone or tree may cause a sculptor to be sensitive to that material.
What is particularly meaningful to anthropologist is the realization that although the materials available to a society may to some extent limit or influence what it can do artistically, the materials by no means determine what is done. Why do the artists in Japanese society rake sand into patterns; and the artists in Roman society melt sand to form glass? Moreover, even when the same material is used in the same way by members of different societies, the form or style of the work varies enormously from culture to culture. A society may simply choose to represent objects or phenomena that are important to its population. An examination of the art of the Middle Ages tells us something about the medieval preoccupation with theological doctrine. In addition to revealing the primary concerns of a society, the content of that society's art may also reflect the culture's social stratification. | 2114.txt | 0 |
[
"attractive",
"logical",
"evident",
"distinct"
] | The word "apparent" in line 8 is closest in meaning to | Perhaps the most obvious way artistic creation reflects how people live is by mirroring the environment - the materials and technologies available to a culture. Stone, wood, tree bark, clay, and sand are generally available materials. In addition, depending on the locality, other resources may be accessible: shells, horns, gold, copper, and silver. The different uses to which societies put these materials are of interest to anthropologists who may ask, for example, why people choose to use clay and not copper when both items are available. Although there are no conclusive answers yet, the way in which a society views its environment is sometimes apparent in its choice and use of artistic materials. The use of certain metals, for example, may be reserved for ceremonial objects of special importance. Or the belief in the supernatural powers of a stone or tree may cause a sculptor to be sensitive to that material.
What is particularly meaningful to anthropologist is the realization that although the materials available to a society may to some extent limit or influence what it can do artistically, the materials by no means determine what is done. Why do the artists in Japanese society rake sand into patterns; and the artists in Roman society melt sand to form glass? Moreover, even when the same material is used in the same way by members of different societies, the form or style of the work varies enormously from culture to culture. A society may simply choose to represent objects or phenomena that are important to its population. An examination of the art of the Middle Ages tells us something about the medieval preoccupation with theological doctrine. In addition to revealing the primary concerns of a society, the content of that society's art may also reflect the culture's social stratification. | 2114.txt | 2 |
[
"to show that some sculptors avoid working with specific materials",
"to emphasize the unusual properties of certain materials",
"as an example of how art can be influenced by cultural beliefs",
"as an illustration of the impact of the environment on religious beliefs"
] | Why does the author mention the "supernatural powers of a stone or tree" in line 10? | Perhaps the most obvious way artistic creation reflects how people live is by mirroring the environment - the materials and technologies available to a culture. Stone, wood, tree bark, clay, and sand are generally available materials. In addition, depending on the locality, other resources may be accessible: shells, horns, gold, copper, and silver. The different uses to which societies put these materials are of interest to anthropologists who may ask, for example, why people choose to use clay and not copper when both items are available. Although there are no conclusive answers yet, the way in which a society views its environment is sometimes apparent in its choice and use of artistic materials. The use of certain metals, for example, may be reserved for ceremonial objects of special importance. Or the belief in the supernatural powers of a stone or tree may cause a sculptor to be sensitive to that material.
What is particularly meaningful to anthropologist is the realization that although the materials available to a society may to some extent limit or influence what it can do artistically, the materials by no means determine what is done. Why do the artists in Japanese society rake sand into patterns; and the artists in Roman society melt sand to form glass? Moreover, even when the same material is used in the same way by members of different societies, the form or style of the work varies enormously from culture to culture. A society may simply choose to represent objects or phenomena that are important to its population. An examination of the art of the Middle Ages tells us something about the medieval preoccupation with theological doctrine. In addition to revealing the primary concerns of a society, the content of that society's art may also reflect the culture's social stratification. | 2114.txt | 2 |
[
"realization",
"society",
"extent",
"influence"
] | The word "it" in line 13 refers to | Perhaps the most obvious way artistic creation reflects how people live is by mirroring the environment - the materials and technologies available to a culture. Stone, wood, tree bark, clay, and sand are generally available materials. In addition, depending on the locality, other resources may be accessible: shells, horns, gold, copper, and silver. The different uses to which societies put these materials are of interest to anthropologists who may ask, for example, why people choose to use clay and not copper when both items are available. Although there are no conclusive answers yet, the way in which a society views its environment is sometimes apparent in its choice and use of artistic materials. The use of certain metals, for example, may be reserved for ceremonial objects of special importance. Or the belief in the supernatural powers of a stone or tree may cause a sculptor to be sensitive to that material.
What is particularly meaningful to anthropologist is the realization that although the materials available to a society may to some extent limit or influence what it can do artistically, the materials by no means determine what is done. Why do the artists in Japanese society rake sand into patterns; and the artists in Roman society melt sand to form glass? Moreover, even when the same material is used in the same way by members of different societies, the form or style of the work varies enormously from culture to culture. A society may simply choose to represent objects or phenomena that are important to its population. An examination of the art of the Middle Ages tells us something about the medieval preoccupation with theological doctrine. In addition to revealing the primary concerns of a society, the content of that society's art may also reflect the culture's social stratification. | 2114.txt | 1 |
[
"they influenced each other stone",
"commonly used by artists in all societies",
"essential to create ceremonial objects",
"they used the same artistic material in very different ways"
] | It can be inferred that the author mentions the Japanese and Roman societies because | Perhaps the most obvious way artistic creation reflects how people live is by mirroring the environment - the materials and technologies available to a culture. Stone, wood, tree bark, clay, and sand are generally available materials. In addition, depending on the locality, other resources may be accessible: shells, horns, gold, copper, and silver. The different uses to which societies put these materials are of interest to anthropologists who may ask, for example, why people choose to use clay and not copper when both items are available. Although there are no conclusive answers yet, the way in which a society views its environment is sometimes apparent in its choice and use of artistic materials. The use of certain metals, for example, may be reserved for ceremonial objects of special importance. Or the belief in the supernatural powers of a stone or tree may cause a sculptor to be sensitive to that material.
What is particularly meaningful to anthropologist is the realization that although the materials available to a society may to some extent limit or influence what it can do artistically, the materials by no means determine what is done. Why do the artists in Japanese society rake sand into patterns; and the artists in Roman society melt sand to form glass? Moreover, even when the same material is used in the same way by members of different societies, the form or style of the work varies enormously from culture to culture. A society may simply choose to represent objects or phenomena that are important to its population. An examination of the art of the Middle Ages tells us something about the medieval preoccupation with theological doctrine. In addition to revealing the primary concerns of a society, the content of that society's art may also reflect the culture's social stratification. | 2114.txt | 3 |
[
"It is used to create glass.",
"Roman artists mix it into their paints.",
"Its use varies from culture to culture.",
"Japanese artists use it to create artistic patterns."
] | According to the passage , all of the following statements about sand are true EXCEPT | Perhaps the most obvious way artistic creation reflects how people live is by mirroring the environment - the materials and technologies available to a culture. Stone, wood, tree bark, clay, and sand are generally available materials. In addition, depending on the locality, other resources may be accessible: shells, horns, gold, copper, and silver. The different uses to which societies put these materials are of interest to anthropologists who may ask, for example, why people choose to use clay and not copper when both items are available. Although there are no conclusive answers yet, the way in which a society views its environment is sometimes apparent in its choice and use of artistic materials. The use of certain metals, for example, may be reserved for ceremonial objects of special importance. Or the belief in the supernatural powers of a stone or tree may cause a sculptor to be sensitive to that material.
What is particularly meaningful to anthropologist is the realization that although the materials available to a society may to some extent limit or influence what it can do artistically, the materials by no means determine what is done. Why do the artists in Japanese society rake sand into patterns; and the artists in Roman society melt sand to form glass? Moreover, even when the same material is used in the same way by members of different societies, the form or style of the work varies enormously from culture to culture. A society may simply choose to represent objects or phenomena that are important to its population. An examination of the art of the Middle Ages tells us something about the medieval preoccupation with theological doctrine. In addition to revealing the primary concerns of a society, the content of that society's art may also reflect the culture's social stratification. | 2114.txt | 1 |
[
"similarly",
"in addition",
"in contrast",
"frequently"
] | The word "Moreover" in line 16 is closest in meaning to | Perhaps the most obvious way artistic creation reflects how people live is by mirroring the environment - the materials and technologies available to a culture. Stone, wood, tree bark, clay, and sand are generally available materials. In addition, depending on the locality, other resources may be accessible: shells, horns, gold, copper, and silver. The different uses to which societies put these materials are of interest to anthropologists who may ask, for example, why people choose to use clay and not copper when both items are available. Although there are no conclusive answers yet, the way in which a society views its environment is sometimes apparent in its choice and use of artistic materials. The use of certain metals, for example, may be reserved for ceremonial objects of special importance. Or the belief in the supernatural powers of a stone or tree may cause a sculptor to be sensitive to that material.
What is particularly meaningful to anthropologist is the realization that although the materials available to a society may to some extent limit or influence what it can do artistically, the materials by no means determine what is done. Why do the artists in Japanese society rake sand into patterns; and the artists in Roman society melt sand to form glass? Moreover, even when the same material is used in the same way by members of different societies, the form or style of the work varies enormously from culture to culture. A society may simply choose to represent objects or phenomena that are important to its population. An examination of the art of the Middle Ages tells us something about the medieval preoccupation with theological doctrine. In addition to revealing the primary concerns of a society, the content of that society's art may also reflect the culture's social stratification. | 2114.txt | 1 |
[
"involvement",
"separation",
"relationship",
"argument"
] | The word "preoccupation" in line 20 is closest in meaning to | Perhaps the most obvious way artistic creation reflects how people live is by mirroring the environment - the materials and technologies available to a culture. Stone, wood, tree bark, clay, and sand are generally available materials. In addition, depending on the locality, other resources may be accessible: shells, horns, gold, copper, and silver. The different uses to which societies put these materials are of interest to anthropologists who may ask, for example, why people choose to use clay and not copper when both items are available. Although there are no conclusive answers yet, the way in which a society views its environment is sometimes apparent in its choice and use of artistic materials. The use of certain metals, for example, may be reserved for ceremonial objects of special importance. Or the belief in the supernatural powers of a stone or tree may cause a sculptor to be sensitive to that material.
What is particularly meaningful to anthropologist is the realization that although the materials available to a society may to some extent limit or influence what it can do artistically, the materials by no means determine what is done. Why do the artists in Japanese society rake sand into patterns; and the artists in Roman society melt sand to form glass? Moreover, even when the same material is used in the same way by members of different societies, the form or style of the work varies enormously from culture to culture. A society may simply choose to represent objects or phenomena that are important to its population. An examination of the art of the Middle Ages tells us something about the medieval preoccupation with theological doctrine. In addition to revealing the primary concerns of a society, the content of that society's art may also reflect the culture's social stratification. | 2114.txt | 0 |
[
"discrete",
"preliminary",
"ideal",
"fundamental"
] | The word "primary" in line 21 is closest in meaning to | Perhaps the most obvious way artistic creation reflects how people live is by mirroring the environment - the materials and technologies available to a culture. Stone, wood, tree bark, clay, and sand are generally available materials. In addition, depending on the locality, other resources may be accessible: shells, horns, gold, copper, and silver. The different uses to which societies put these materials are of interest to anthropologists who may ask, for example, why people choose to use clay and not copper when both items are available. Although there are no conclusive answers yet, the way in which a society views its environment is sometimes apparent in its choice and use of artistic materials. The use of certain metals, for example, may be reserved for ceremonial objects of special importance. Or the belief in the supernatural powers of a stone or tree may cause a sculptor to be sensitive to that material.
What is particularly meaningful to anthropologist is the realization that although the materials available to a society may to some extent limit or influence what it can do artistically, the materials by no means determine what is done. Why do the artists in Japanese society rake sand into patterns; and the artists in Roman society melt sand to form glass? Moreover, even when the same material is used in the same way by members of different societies, the form or style of the work varies enormously from culture to culture. A society may simply choose to represent objects or phenomena that are important to its population. An examination of the art of the Middle Ages tells us something about the medieval preoccupation with theological doctrine. In addition to revealing the primary concerns of a society, the content of that society's art may also reflect the culture's social stratification. | 2114.txt | 3 |
[
"She couldn't get admitted to medical school",
"She decided to further her education in Paris",
"A serious eye problem stopped her",
"It was difficult for her to start a practice in the United States"
] | Why couldn't Elizabeth Blackwell realize her dream of becoming a surgeon? | Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters asking for admission to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. She was so determined that she taught school and gave music lessons to get money for the cost of schooling.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school. she decided to further her education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon , but a serious eye problem forced her to give up the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another woman doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children Besides being the first woman physician and founding her own hospital , she also set up the first medical school for women. | 2097.txt | 2 |
[
"She was a woman.",
"She wrote too many letters.",
"She couldn't graduate from medical school.",
"She couldn't set up her hospital."
] | What main obstacle almost destroyed Elizabeth's chances for becoming for a doctor? | Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters asking for admission to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. She was so determined that she taught school and gave music lessons to get money for the cost of schooling.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school. she decided to further her education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon , but a serious eye problem forced her to give up the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another woman doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children Besides being the first woman physician and founding her own hospital , she also set up the first medical school for women. | 2097.txt | 0 |
[
"Eight years",
"Ten years",
"Nineteen years",
"Thirty-six years"
] | How many years passed between her graduation from medical school and the opening of her hospital? | Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters asking for admission to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. She was so determined that she taught school and gave music lessons to get money for the cost of schooling.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school. she decided to further her education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon , but a serious eye problem forced her to give up the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another woman doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children Besides being the first woman physician and founding her own hospital , she also set up the first medical school for women. | 2097.txt | 0 |
[
"became the first woman physician",
"was the first woman doctor",
"and several other women founded the first hospital for women and children",
"set up the first medical school for women"
] | According to the passage, all of the following are "firsts" in the life of Elizabeth Blacekwell, except that she _ . | Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters asking for admission to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. She was so determined that she taught school and gave music lessons to get money for the cost of schooling.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school. she decided to further her education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon , but a serious eye problem forced her to give up the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another woman doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children Besides being the first woman physician and founding her own hospital , she also set up the first medical school for women. | 2097.txt | 1 |
[
"England",
"Paris",
"the United States",
"New York City"
] | Eilzabeth Blackwell spent most of her lift in _ . | Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters asking for admission to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. She was so determined that she taught school and gave music lessons to get money for the cost of schooling.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school. she decided to further her education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon , but a serious eye problem forced her to give up the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another woman doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children Besides being the first woman physician and founding her own hospital , she also set up the first medical school for women. | 2097.txt | 2 |
[
"no drive and ambition",
"noelectric lighting",
"the best sleep habits",
"nothing to do in the evening"
] | People in the 18th and 19th centuries used to sleep about 9.5 hoursa night because they had _ . | Judging from recent surveys,most experts in sleep behavior agree that there is virtually an epidemic of sleepiness in the nation. "I can'tthink of a single study that hasn't found Americans getting less sleep thanthey ought to," says Dr. David. Even people who think they are sleeping enoughwould probably be better off with more rest.
The beginning of our sleep-deficit crisis can betraced to the invention of the light bulb a century ago. From diary entries andother personal accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists havereached the conclusion that the average person used to sleep about 9.5 hours anight. "The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to doin the evening down on the farm, and it was dark." By the 1950s and 1960s, thatsleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to between 7.5 and eight hours,and most people had to wake to an alarm clock. "People cheat on their sleep,and they don't even realize they're doing it," says Dr. David. "They thinkthey're okay because they can get by on 6.5hours, when they really need 7.5, eight or even more to feel ideallyvigorous."
Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep,researchers say, is the complexity of the day. Whenever pressures from work,family, friends and community mount, many people consider sleep the leastexpensive item on his programme. 'In our society, you're considered dynamic ifyou say you only need 5.5 hours' sleep. If you've got to get 8.5 hours, peoplethink you lack drive and ambition."
To determine the consequences of sleep deficit,researchers have put subjects through a set of psychological and performancetests requiring them, for instance, to add columns of numbers or recall apassage read to them only minutes earlier. "We've found that if you're insleep deficit, performance suffers," says Dr. David. "Short-term memory isweakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to concentrate." | 1747.txt | 1 |
[
"areideally vigorous even under the pressure of life",
"ofienneglect the consequences of sleep deficit",
"do notknow how to relax themselves properly",
"can getby on 6.5 hours of sleep"
] | According to Dr. David, Americans _ . | Judging from recent surveys,most experts in sleep behavior agree that there is virtually an epidemic of sleepiness in the nation. "I can'tthink of a single study that hasn't found Americans getting less sleep thanthey ought to," says Dr. David. Even people who think they are sleeping enoughwould probably be better off with more rest.
The beginning of our sleep-deficit crisis can betraced to the invention of the light bulb a century ago. From diary entries andother personal accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists havereached the conclusion that the average person used to sleep about 9.5 hours anight. "The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to doin the evening down on the farm, and it was dark." By the 1950s and 1960s, thatsleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to between 7.5 and eight hours,and most people had to wake to an alarm clock. "People cheat on their sleep,and they don't even realize they're doing it," says Dr. David. "They thinkthey're okay because they can get by on 6.5hours, when they really need 7.5, eight or even more to feel ideallyvigorous."
Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep,researchers say, is the complexity of the day. Whenever pressures from work,family, friends and community mount, many people consider sleep the leastexpensive item on his programme. 'In our society, you're considered dynamic ifyou say you only need 5.5 hours' sleep. If you've got to get 8.5 hours, peoplethink you lack drive and ambition."
To determine the consequences of sleep deficit,researchers have put subjects through a set of psychological and performancetests requiring them, for instance, to add columns of numbers or recall apassage read to them only minutes earlier. "We've found that if you're insleep deficit, performance suffers," says Dr. David. "Short-term memory isweakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to concentrate." | 1747.txt | 1 |
[
"sleep isthe first thing that can be sacrificed when one is busy",
"they needmore sleep to cope with the complexities of everyday life",
"to sleepis something one can do at any time of the day",
"enoughsleep promotes people's drive and ambition"
] | Many Americans believe that _ . | Judging from recent surveys,most experts in sleep behavior agree that there is virtually an epidemic of sleepiness in the nation. "I can'tthink of a single study that hasn't found Americans getting less sleep thanthey ought to," says Dr. David. Even people who think they are sleeping enoughwould probably be better off with more rest.
The beginning of our sleep-deficit crisis can betraced to the invention of the light bulb a century ago. From diary entries andother personal accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists havereached the conclusion that the average person used to sleep about 9.5 hours anight. "The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to doin the evening down on the farm, and it was dark." By the 1950s and 1960s, thatsleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to between 7.5 and eight hours,and most people had to wake to an alarm clock. "People cheat on their sleep,and they don't even realize they're doing it," says Dr. David. "They thinkthey're okay because they can get by on 6.5hours, when they really need 7.5, eight or even more to feel ideallyvigorous."
Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep,researchers say, is the complexity of the day. Whenever pressures from work,family, friends and community mount, many people consider sleep the leastexpensive item on his programme. 'In our society, you're considered dynamic ifyou say you only need 5.5 hours' sleep. If you've got to get 8.5 hours, peoplethink you lack drive and ambition."
To determine the consequences of sleep deficit,researchers have put subjects through a set of psychological and performancetests requiring them, for instance, to add columns of numbers or recall apassage read to them only minutes earlier. "We've found that if you're insleep deficit, performance suffers," says Dr. David. "Short-term memory isweakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to concentrate." | 1747.txt | 0 |
[
"the performancetests used in the study of sleep deficit",
"specialbranches of knowledge that are being studied",
"peoplewhose behavior or reactions are being studied",
"thepsychological consequences of sleep deficit"
] | The word "subjects" (Line 1, Para. 4) refers to _ . | Judging from recent surveys,most experts in sleep behavior agree that there is virtually an epidemic of sleepiness in the nation. "I can'tthink of a single study that hasn't found Americans getting less sleep thanthey ought to," says Dr. David. Even people who think they are sleeping enoughwould probably be better off with more rest.
The beginning of our sleep-deficit crisis can betraced to the invention of the light bulb a century ago. From diary entries andother personal accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists havereached the conclusion that the average person used to sleep about 9.5 hours anight. "The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to doin the evening down on the farm, and it was dark." By the 1950s and 1960s, thatsleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to between 7.5 and eight hours,and most people had to wake to an alarm clock. "People cheat on their sleep,and they don't even realize they're doing it," says Dr. David. "They thinkthey're okay because they can get by on 6.5hours, when they really need 7.5, eight or even more to feel ideallyvigorous."
Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep,researchers say, is the complexity of the day. Whenever pressures from work,family, friends and community mount, many people consider sleep the leastexpensive item on his programme. 'In our society, you're considered dynamic ifyou say you only need 5.5 hours' sleep. If you've got to get 8.5 hours, peoplethink you lack drive and ambition."
To determine the consequences of sleep deficit,researchers have put subjects through a set of psychological and performancetests requiring them, for instance, to add columns of numbers or recall apassage read to them only minutes earlier. "We've found that if you're insleep deficit, performance suffers," says Dr. David. "Short-term memory isweakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to concentrate." | 1747.txt | 2 |
[
"improveone's memory dramatically",
"beconsidered dynamic by other people",
"maintainone's daily schedule",
"feelenergetic and perform adequately"
] | It can be concluded fromthe passage that one should sleep as many hours as is necessary to _ . | Judging from recent surveys,most experts in sleep behavior agree that there is virtually an epidemic of sleepiness in the nation. "I can'tthink of a single study that hasn't found Americans getting less sleep thanthey ought to," says Dr. David. Even people who think they are sleeping enoughwould probably be better off with more rest.
The beginning of our sleep-deficit crisis can betraced to the invention of the light bulb a century ago. From diary entries andother personal accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists havereached the conclusion that the average person used to sleep about 9.5 hours anight. "The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to doin the evening down on the farm, and it was dark." By the 1950s and 1960s, thatsleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to between 7.5 and eight hours,and most people had to wake to an alarm clock. "People cheat on their sleep,and they don't even realize they're doing it," says Dr. David. "They thinkthey're okay because they can get by on 6.5hours, when they really need 7.5, eight or even more to feel ideallyvigorous."
Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep,researchers say, is the complexity of the day. Whenever pressures from work,family, friends and community mount, many people consider sleep the leastexpensive item on his programme. 'In our society, you're considered dynamic ifyou say you only need 5.5 hours' sleep. If you've got to get 8.5 hours, peoplethink you lack drive and ambition."
To determine the consequences of sleep deficit,researchers have put subjects through a set of psychological and performancetests requiring them, for instance, to add columns of numbers or recall apassage read to them only minutes earlier. "We've found that if you're insleep deficit, performance suffers," says Dr. David. "Short-term memory isweakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to concentrate." | 1747.txt | 3 |
[
"occasionally aim at acertain fluidity",
"appear to shunperfection",
"from time to time showregard for the finishing touch",
"make use of economical shortcuts"
] | The writer relateslinguistic slovenliness to tendencies in the arts today in that they both _ | Language is, and should be, a livingthing, constantly enriched with new words and forms of expression. Butthere isa vital distinction between good developments, which add to the language,enabling us to say things wecould not say before, and bad developments, whichsubtract from the language by rendering it less precise. Avivacious, colorfuluse of words is not to be confused with mere slovenliness. The kind ofslovenliness in whichsome professionals deliberately indulge is perhaps akin tothe cult ( . of theunfinished work, which haseroded most of the arts in our time. And the trueanswer to it is the same that art is enhanced, not hindered, bydiscipline. Youcannot carve satisfactorily in butter.
The corruption of written English hasbeen accompanied by an even sharper decline in the standard of spoken English. We speak very much less well than wascommon among educated Englishmen a generation or two ago.
The modem theatre has played a baneful part in dimming our appreciation oflanguage. Instead ofthe immensely articulate dialogue of, for example, Shaw(who was also very insistent on good pronunciation.,audiences are now subjectedto streams of barely literate trivia, often designed, only too well, toexhibit'laek ofcommunication', and larded (. with theobscenities (. and grammatical errors of theintellectually impoverished. Emily Post once advised her readers: "Thetheatre is the best possible place to hear correctly-enunciated speech. "Alas, no more. One young actress was recently reported to be taking lessons inhow to speakbadly, so that she should fit in better.
But the BBC is the worst traitor. Aideryears of very successfully helping to raise the general standard ofspokenEnglish, it suddenly went into reverse. As the head of the Pronunciation Unitcoyly (. put it, "In the1960s the BBC opened thefield to a much wider range of speakers." To hear a BBC disc jockeytalking to thelatest ape-like pop idol is a truly shocking experience of verbalsqualor. And the prospect seems to be of evenworse to come. School teachers areactively encouraged to ignore little Johnny's incoherent grammar,atrociousspelling and haphazard punctuation, because worrying about such thingsmight inhibit his creative genius. | 653.txt | 1 |
[
"an artist's work will befiner if he observes certain aesthetic standards",
"an unfinished work is boundto be comparatively inferior",
"the skill of certain artistsconceals their slovenliness",
"artistic expression isinhibited by too many rules"
] | "Art is enhanced, nothindered, by discipline" (Lines 6-7, Paragraph 1 ) means _ | Language is, and should be, a livingthing, constantly enriched with new words and forms of expression. Butthere isa vital distinction between good developments, which add to the language,enabling us to say things wecould not say before, and bad developments, whichsubtract from the language by rendering it less precise. Avivacious, colorfuluse of words is not to be confused with mere slovenliness. The kind ofslovenliness in whichsome professionals deliberately indulge is perhaps akin tothe cult ( . of theunfinished work, which haseroded most of the arts in our time. And the trueanswer to it is the same that art is enhanced, not hindered, bydiscipline. Youcannot carve satisfactorily in butter.
The corruption of written English hasbeen accompanied by an even sharper decline in the standard of spoken English. We speak very much less well than wascommon among educated Englishmen a generation or two ago.
The modem theatre has played a baneful part in dimming our appreciation oflanguage. Instead ofthe immensely articulate dialogue of, for example, Shaw(who was also very insistent on good pronunciation.,audiences are now subjectedto streams of barely literate trivia, often designed, only too well, toexhibit'laek ofcommunication', and larded (. with theobscenities (. and grammatical errors of theintellectually impoverished. Emily Post once advised her readers: "Thetheatre is the best possible place to hear correctly-enunciated speech. "Alas, no more. One young actress was recently reported to be taking lessons inhow to speakbadly, so that she should fit in better.
But the BBC is the worst traitor. Aideryears of very successfully helping to raise the general standard ofspokenEnglish, it suddenly went into reverse. As the head of the Pronunciation Unitcoyly (. put it, "In the1960s the BBC opened thefield to a much wider range of speakers." To hear a BBC disc jockeytalking to thelatest ape-like pop idol is a truly shocking experience of verbalsqualor. And the prospect seems to be of evenworse to come. School teachers areactively encouraged to ignore little Johnny's incoherent grammar,atrociousspelling and haphazard punctuation, because worrying about such thingsmight inhibit his creative genius. | 653.txt | 0 |
[
"is incoherent andlinguistically objectionable",
"is far too ungrammatical formost people to follow",
"unintentionally shocks theaudience",
"tries to hide the author'sintellectual inadequacies"
] | Many modem plays, theauthor finds, frequently contain speech which _ | Language is, and should be, a livingthing, constantly enriched with new words and forms of expression. Butthere isa vital distinction between good developments, which add to the language,enabling us to say things wecould not say before, and bad developments, whichsubtract from the language by rendering it less precise. Avivacious, colorfuluse of words is not to be confused with mere slovenliness. The kind ofslovenliness in whichsome professionals deliberately indulge is perhaps akin tothe cult ( . of theunfinished work, which haseroded most of the arts in our time. And the trueanswer to it is the same that art is enhanced, not hindered, bydiscipline. Youcannot carve satisfactorily in butter.
The corruption of written English hasbeen accompanied by an even sharper decline in the standard of spoken English. We speak very much less well than wascommon among educated Englishmen a generation or two ago.
The modem theatre has played a baneful part in dimming our appreciation oflanguage. Instead ofthe immensely articulate dialogue of, for example, Shaw(who was also very insistent on good pronunciation.,audiences are now subjectedto streams of barely literate trivia, often designed, only too well, toexhibit'laek ofcommunication', and larded (. with theobscenities (. and grammatical errors of theintellectually impoverished. Emily Post once advised her readers: "Thetheatre is the best possible place to hear correctly-enunciated speech. "Alas, no more. One young actress was recently reported to be taking lessons inhow to speakbadly, so that she should fit in better.
But the BBC is the worst traitor. Aideryears of very successfully helping to raise the general standard ofspokenEnglish, it suddenly went into reverse. As the head of the Pronunciation Unitcoyly (. put it, "In the1960s the BBC opened thefield to a much wider range of speakers." To hear a BBC disc jockeytalking to thelatest ape-like pop idol is a truly shocking experience of verbalsqualor. And the prospect seems to be of evenworse to come. School teachers areactively encouraged to ignore little Johnny's incoherent grammar,atrociousspelling and haphazard punctuation, because worrying about such thingsmight inhibit his creative genius. | 653.txt | 0 |
[
"is the worst among allbroadcasting networks",
"has taken a turn for theworse since the 1960s",
"has raised English-speakingup to a new level",
"is terrible because of a fewpopular disc jockeys"
] | The author says that thestandard of the spoken English of BBC _ | Language is, and should be, a livingthing, constantly enriched with new words and forms of expression. Butthere isa vital distinction between good developments, which add to the language,enabling us to say things wecould not say before, and bad developments, whichsubtract from the language by rendering it less precise. Avivacious, colorfuluse of words is not to be confused with mere slovenliness. The kind ofslovenliness in whichsome professionals deliberately indulge is perhaps akin tothe cult ( . of theunfinished work, which haseroded most of the arts in our time. And the trueanswer to it is the same that art is enhanced, not hindered, bydiscipline. Youcannot carve satisfactorily in butter.
The corruption of written English hasbeen accompanied by an even sharper decline in the standard of spoken English. We speak very much less well than wascommon among educated Englishmen a generation or two ago.
The modem theatre has played a baneful part in dimming our appreciation oflanguage. Instead ofthe immensely articulate dialogue of, for example, Shaw(who was also very insistent on good pronunciation.,audiences are now subjectedto streams of barely literate trivia, often designed, only too well, toexhibit'laek ofcommunication', and larded (. with theobscenities (. and grammatical errors of theintellectually impoverished. Emily Post once advised her readers: "Thetheatre is the best possible place to hear correctly-enunciated speech. "Alas, no more. One young actress was recently reported to be taking lessons inhow to speakbadly, so that she should fit in better.
But the BBC is the worst traitor. Aideryears of very successfully helping to raise the general standard ofspokenEnglish, it suddenly went into reverse. As the head of the Pronunciation Unitcoyly (. put it, "In the1960s the BBC opened thefield to a much wider range of speakers." To hear a BBC disc jockeytalking to thelatest ape-like pop idol is a truly shocking experience of verbalsqualor. And the prospect seems to be of evenworse to come. School teachers areactively encouraged to ignore little Johnny's incoherent grammar,atrociousspelling and haphazard punctuation, because worrying about such thingsmight inhibit his creative genius. | 653.txt | 2 |
[
"they find that children nolonger respond to this kind of discipline nowadays",
"they fear the children maybecome less coherent",
"more importance is nowattached to oral expression",
"the children may bediscouraged from expressing their ideas"
] | Teachers are likely tooverlook the linguistic lapses in their pupils since _ | Language is, and should be, a livingthing, constantly enriched with new words and forms of expression. Butthere isa vital distinction between good developments, which add to the language,enabling us to say things wecould not say before, and bad developments, whichsubtract from the language by rendering it less precise. Avivacious, colorfuluse of words is not to be confused with mere slovenliness. The kind ofslovenliness in whichsome professionals deliberately indulge is perhaps akin tothe cult ( . of theunfinished work, which haseroded most of the arts in our time. And the trueanswer to it is the same that art is enhanced, not hindered, bydiscipline. Youcannot carve satisfactorily in butter.
The corruption of written English hasbeen accompanied by an even sharper decline in the standard of spoken English. We speak very much less well than wascommon among educated Englishmen a generation or two ago.
The modem theatre has played a baneful part in dimming our appreciation oflanguage. Instead ofthe immensely articulate dialogue of, for example, Shaw(who was also very insistent on good pronunciation.,audiences are now subjectedto streams of barely literate trivia, often designed, only too well, toexhibit'laek ofcommunication', and larded (. with theobscenities (. and grammatical errors of theintellectually impoverished. Emily Post once advised her readers: "Thetheatre is the best possible place to hear correctly-enunciated speech. "Alas, no more. One young actress was recently reported to be taking lessons inhow to speakbadly, so that she should fit in better.
But the BBC is the worst traitor. Aideryears of very successfully helping to raise the general standard ofspokenEnglish, it suddenly went into reverse. As the head of the Pronunciation Unitcoyly (. put it, "In the1960s the BBC opened thefield to a much wider range of speakers." To hear a BBC disc jockeytalking to thelatest ape-like pop idol is a truly shocking experience of verbalsqualor. And the prospect seems to be of evenworse to come. School teachers areactively encouraged to ignore little Johnny's incoherent grammar,atrociousspelling and haphazard punctuation, because worrying about such thingsmight inhibit his creative genius. | 653.txt | 3 |
[
"The development of trade routes through United States cities",
"Contrasts in settlement patterns in United States",
"Historical differences among three large United States cities",
"The importance of geographical situation in the growth of United States cities"
] | What does the passage mainly discuss? | Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of a city. If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces east-west transportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world's finest large farming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardless of the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding during thunderstorm activity.
Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City's importance stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York's location at the western end of one of the world's most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowlanD. to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New York's primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain why some cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope, drainage, power resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help to determine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stages of city development than later. | 371.txt | 3 |
[
"wealth",
"resourcefulness",
"traditions",
"organization"
] | The word "ingenuity" in line 2. is closest in meaning to | Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of a city. If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces east-west transportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world's finest large farming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardless of the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding during thunderstorm activity.
Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City's importance stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York's location at the western end of one of the world's most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowlanD. to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New York's primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain why some cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope, drainage, power resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help to determine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stages of city development than later. | 371.txt | 1 |
[
"hinterland",
"situation",
"site",
"function"
] | The passage suggests that a geographer would consider a city's soil type part of its | Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of a city. If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces east-west transportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world's finest large farming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardless of the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding during thunderstorm activity.
Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City's importance stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York's location at the western end of one of the world's most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowlanD. to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New York's primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain why some cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope, drainage, power resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help to determine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stages of city development than later. | 371.txt | 2 |
[
"long-term growth and prosperity",
"ability to protect its citizenry",
"possession of favorable weather conditions",
"need to import food supplies"
] | According to the passage , a city's situation is more important than its site in regard to the city's | Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of a city. If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces east-west transportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world's finest large farming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardless of the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding during thunderstorm activity.
Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City's importance stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York's location at the western end of one of the world's most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowlanD. to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New York's primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain why some cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope, drainage, power resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help to determine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stages of city development than later. | 371.txt | 0 |
[
"hinterland",
"nearness to a large lake",
"position in regard to transport routes",
"flat terrain"
] | The author mentions each of the following as an advantage of Chicago's location EXCEPT its | Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of a city. If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces east-west transportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world's finest large farming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardless of the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding during thunderstorm activity.
Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City's importance stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York's location at the western end of one of the world's most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowlanD. to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New York's primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain why some cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope, drainage, power resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help to determine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stages of city development than later. | 371.txt | 3 |
[
"choices",
"attitudes",
"qualities",
"inhabitants"
] | The word "characteristics" in line 14 is closest in meaning to | Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of a city. If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces east-west transportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world's finest large farming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardless of the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding during thunderstorm activity.
Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City's importance stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York's location at the western end of one of the world's most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowlanD. to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New York's primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain why some cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope, drainage, power resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help to determine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stages of city development than later. | 371.txt | 2 |
[
"summarize past research and introduce a new study",
"describe a historical period",
"emphasize the advantages of one theory over another",
"define a term and illustrate it with an example"
] | The primary purpose of paragraph 1 is to | Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of a city. If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces east-west transportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world's finest large farming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardless of the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding during thunderstorm activity.
Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City's importance stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York's location at the western end of one of the world's most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowlanD. to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New York's primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain why some cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope, drainage, power resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help to determine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stages of city development than later. | 371.txt | 3 |
[
"size of population",
"age",
"site",
"availability of rail transportation"
] | According to the passage , Philadelphia and Boston are similar to New York City in | Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of a city. If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces east-west transportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world's finest large farming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardless of the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding during thunderstorm activity.
Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City's importance stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York's location at the western end of one of the world's most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowlanD. to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New York's primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain why some cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope, drainage, power resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help to determine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stages of city development than later. | 371.txt | 2 |
[
"alternate",
"unknown",
"original",
"usable"
] | The word "functional" in line 20 is closest in meaning to | Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of a city. If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces east-west transportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world's finest large farming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardless of the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding during thunderstorm activity.
Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City's importance stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York's location at the western end of one of the world's most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowlanD. to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New York's primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain why some cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope, drainage, power resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help to determine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stages of city development than later. | 371.txt | 3 |
[
"account",
"primacy",
"connection",
"hinterland"
] | The word "it" in line 21 refers to | Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of a city. If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces east-west transportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world's finest large farming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardless of the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding during thunderstorm activity.
Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City's importance stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York's location at the western end of one of the world's most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowlanD. to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New York's primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain why some cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope, drainage, power resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help to determine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stages of city development than later. | 371.txt | 0 |
[
"threatening",
"meaningful",
"obvious",
"available"
] | The word "significant" in line 26 is closest in meaning to | Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of a city. If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces east-west transportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world's finest large farming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardless of the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding during thunderstorm activity.
Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City's importance stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York's location at the western end of one of the world's most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowlanD. to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New York's primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain why some cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope, drainage, power resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help to determine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stages of city development than later. | 371.txt | 1 |
[
"The pass rate of baccalaureat is too low now given the quality of the present education.",
"There exists serious problem in the education of baccalaureat period.",
"Students can easily get the baccalaureat at present.",
"The advance of society requires people to be equipped with higher degree."
] | The president of the Sorbonne-University of Paris IV thinks the bac is worth nothing because _ | Laden with hefty backpacks, French children filed back to school this week amid fresh agonising about the education system. Given its reputation for rigour and secular egalitarianism, and its well-regarded baccalauréat exam, this is surprising. What do the French think is wrong?
Quite a lot, to judge from a 30-page "letter to teachers" just sent by President Nicolas Sarkozy. Too many school drop-outs; not enough respect or authority in the classroom (pupils, he says, should stand up when the teacher enters); too little value placed on the teaching profession; too little art and sport in the curriculum; too much passive rote-learning; and too much "theory and abstraction". France, the president concludes, needs "to rebuild the foundations" of its education system.
The criticisms touch all levels. A government-commissioned report reveals that two in five pupils leave primary school with "serious learning gaps" in basic reading, writing and arithmetic. One in five finish secondary school with no qualification at all. Even the baccalauréat is under attack. This year's pass rate of 83% is up from just over 60% in the early 1960s. "The bac is worth absolutely nothing," asserts Jean-Robert Pitte, president of the Sorbonne-University of Paris IV.
The bac is not under review, but other changes have begun. Xavier Darcos, the education minister, has loosened school-catchment rules, to allow children from poor areas to get places in good schools elsewhere. He has set up an after-hours service for lower secondary schools, to supervise homework and keep kids off the streets. Mr Sarkozy has established a commission under Michel Rocard, a former prime minister and yet another of his recruits from the left, to look into the teaching profession-and perhaps to soften up the unions before less palatable changes.
Some hard questions remain. France's rigorous system suits able pupils: half of all 15-year-olds match the standards in writing, maths and science of the very best performers in the rich-country OECD. But schools fail the weakest. The bottom 15% of French 15-year-olds rank among the OECD's worst. The main cure for struggling pupils is redoublement, the repeat of a school year. By the age of 15, 38% of French pupils have repeated a year, more than in any other OECD country. Yet an official report suggests that redoublement has no noticeable effect on a child's progress.
Mr Darcos told Le Parisien this week that he "believed very little in the efficiency of redoublement". But it is unclear what he would put in its place. He plans to trim teacher numbers. He hints at more streaming of pupils by ability, so that children can stay with their age group, but the unions are hostile. Mr Sarkozy suggests another answer: less abstract teaching, which might engage less academic pupils. Mr Sarkozy will find it hard to translate his ambitious ideas into concrete plans. His wish-list for the curriculum is daunting: more art and sport, but also more "civic education", comparative religion, "general culture", trips to the theatre, walks in the forest, visits to businesses. Yet French 15-year-olds already spend an average of 1,042 hours a year in the classroom-150 more than German pupils, and 282 more than English ones. | 3528.txt | 2 |
[
"radical.",
"moderate.",
"demanding.",
"acceptable."
] | The word "palatable " (Line 7, Paragraph 4) most probably means _ | Laden with hefty backpacks, French children filed back to school this week amid fresh agonising about the education system. Given its reputation for rigour and secular egalitarianism, and its well-regarded baccalauréat exam, this is surprising. What do the French think is wrong?
Quite a lot, to judge from a 30-page "letter to teachers" just sent by President Nicolas Sarkozy. Too many school drop-outs; not enough respect or authority in the classroom (pupils, he says, should stand up when the teacher enters); too little value placed on the teaching profession; too little art and sport in the curriculum; too much passive rote-learning; and too much "theory and abstraction". France, the president concludes, needs "to rebuild the foundations" of its education system.
The criticisms touch all levels. A government-commissioned report reveals that two in five pupils leave primary school with "serious learning gaps" in basic reading, writing and arithmetic. One in five finish secondary school with no qualification at all. Even the baccalauréat is under attack. This year's pass rate of 83% is up from just over 60% in the early 1960s. "The bac is worth absolutely nothing," asserts Jean-Robert Pitte, president of the Sorbonne-University of Paris IV.
The bac is not under review, but other changes have begun. Xavier Darcos, the education minister, has loosened school-catchment rules, to allow children from poor areas to get places in good schools elsewhere. He has set up an after-hours service for lower secondary schools, to supervise homework and keep kids off the streets. Mr Sarkozy has established a commission under Michel Rocard, a former prime minister and yet another of his recruits from the left, to look into the teaching profession-and perhaps to soften up the unions before less palatable changes.
Some hard questions remain. France's rigorous system suits able pupils: half of all 15-year-olds match the standards in writing, maths and science of the very best performers in the rich-country OECD. But schools fail the weakest. The bottom 15% of French 15-year-olds rank among the OECD's worst. The main cure for struggling pupils is redoublement, the repeat of a school year. By the age of 15, 38% of French pupils have repeated a year, more than in any other OECD country. Yet an official report suggests that redoublement has no noticeable effect on a child's progress.
Mr Darcos told Le Parisien this week that he "believed very little in the efficiency of redoublement". But it is unclear what he would put in its place. He plans to trim teacher numbers. He hints at more streaming of pupils by ability, so that children can stay with their age group, but the unions are hostile. Mr Sarkozy suggests another answer: less abstract teaching, which might engage less academic pupils. Mr Sarkozy will find it hard to translate his ambitious ideas into concrete plans. His wish-list for the curriculum is daunting: more art and sport, but also more "civic education", comparative religion, "general culture", trips to the theatre, walks in the forest, visits to businesses. Yet French 15-year-olds already spend an average of 1,042 hours a year in the classroom-150 more than German pupils, and 282 more than English ones. | 3528.txt | 1 |
[
"It has the highest rate of redoublement than that of the other OECD countries.",
"It pays more attention to the academic education than that of the other OECD countries.",
"It gives students more equal opportunity to achieve education than that of the other OECD countries.",
"It results in students' being more polarized than that of the other OECD countries in terms of academic performance."
] | Which one of the following statements is NOT true of France's education system compared to other OECD countries? | Laden with hefty backpacks, French children filed back to school this week amid fresh agonising about the education system. Given its reputation for rigour and secular egalitarianism, and its well-regarded baccalauréat exam, this is surprising. What do the French think is wrong?
Quite a lot, to judge from a 30-page "letter to teachers" just sent by President Nicolas Sarkozy. Too many school drop-outs; not enough respect or authority in the classroom (pupils, he says, should stand up when the teacher enters); too little value placed on the teaching profession; too little art and sport in the curriculum; too much passive rote-learning; and too much "theory and abstraction". France, the president concludes, needs "to rebuild the foundations" of its education system.
The criticisms touch all levels. A government-commissioned report reveals that two in five pupils leave primary school with "serious learning gaps" in basic reading, writing and arithmetic. One in five finish secondary school with no qualification at all. Even the baccalauréat is under attack. This year's pass rate of 83% is up from just over 60% in the early 1960s. "The bac is worth absolutely nothing," asserts Jean-Robert Pitte, president of the Sorbonne-University of Paris IV.
The bac is not under review, but other changes have begun. Xavier Darcos, the education minister, has loosened school-catchment rules, to allow children from poor areas to get places in good schools elsewhere. He has set up an after-hours service for lower secondary schools, to supervise homework and keep kids off the streets. Mr Sarkozy has established a commission under Michel Rocard, a former prime minister and yet another of his recruits from the left, to look into the teaching profession-and perhaps to soften up the unions before less palatable changes.
Some hard questions remain. France's rigorous system suits able pupils: half of all 15-year-olds match the standards in writing, maths and science of the very best performers in the rich-country OECD. But schools fail the weakest. The bottom 15% of French 15-year-olds rank among the OECD's worst. The main cure for struggling pupils is redoublement, the repeat of a school year. By the age of 15, 38% of French pupils have repeated a year, more than in any other OECD country. Yet an official report suggests that redoublement has no noticeable effect on a child's progress.
Mr Darcos told Le Parisien this week that he "believed very little in the efficiency of redoublement". But it is unclear what he would put in its place. He plans to trim teacher numbers. He hints at more streaming of pupils by ability, so that children can stay with their age group, but the unions are hostile. Mr Sarkozy suggests another answer: less abstract teaching, which might engage less academic pupils. Mr Sarkozy will find it hard to translate his ambitious ideas into concrete plans. His wish-list for the curriculum is daunting: more art and sport, but also more "civic education", comparative religion, "general culture", trips to the theatre, walks in the forest, visits to businesses. Yet French 15-year-olds already spend an average of 1,042 hours a year in the classroom-150 more than German pupils, and 282 more than English ones. | 3528.txt | 2 |
[
"a leftist.",
"a rightist.",
"an idealist.",
"a reformist."
] | From the ideas of Mr Sarkozy to reform the education system, it can be inferred that he is _ | Laden with hefty backpacks, French children filed back to school this week amid fresh agonising about the education system. Given its reputation for rigour and secular egalitarianism, and its well-regarded baccalauréat exam, this is surprising. What do the French think is wrong?
Quite a lot, to judge from a 30-page "letter to teachers" just sent by President Nicolas Sarkozy. Too many school drop-outs; not enough respect or authority in the classroom (pupils, he says, should stand up when the teacher enters); too little value placed on the teaching profession; too little art and sport in the curriculum; too much passive rote-learning; and too much "theory and abstraction". France, the president concludes, needs "to rebuild the foundations" of its education system.
The criticisms touch all levels. A government-commissioned report reveals that two in five pupils leave primary school with "serious learning gaps" in basic reading, writing and arithmetic. One in five finish secondary school with no qualification at all. Even the baccalauréat is under attack. This year's pass rate of 83% is up from just over 60% in the early 1960s. "The bac is worth absolutely nothing," asserts Jean-Robert Pitte, president of the Sorbonne-University of Paris IV.
The bac is not under review, but other changes have begun. Xavier Darcos, the education minister, has loosened school-catchment rules, to allow children from poor areas to get places in good schools elsewhere. He has set up an after-hours service for lower secondary schools, to supervise homework and keep kids off the streets. Mr Sarkozy has established a commission under Michel Rocard, a former prime minister and yet another of his recruits from the left, to look into the teaching profession-and perhaps to soften up the unions before less palatable changes.
Some hard questions remain. France's rigorous system suits able pupils: half of all 15-year-olds match the standards in writing, maths and science of the very best performers in the rich-country OECD. But schools fail the weakest. The bottom 15% of French 15-year-olds rank among the OECD's worst. The main cure for struggling pupils is redoublement, the repeat of a school year. By the age of 15, 38% of French pupils have repeated a year, more than in any other OECD country. Yet an official report suggests that redoublement has no noticeable effect on a child's progress.
Mr Darcos told Le Parisien this week that he "believed very little in the efficiency of redoublement". But it is unclear what he would put in its place. He plans to trim teacher numbers. He hints at more streaming of pupils by ability, so that children can stay with their age group, but the unions are hostile. Mr Sarkozy suggests another answer: less abstract teaching, which might engage less academic pupils. Mr Sarkozy will find it hard to translate his ambitious ideas into concrete plans. His wish-list for the curriculum is daunting: more art and sport, but also more "civic education", comparative religion, "general culture", trips to the theatre, walks in the forest, visits to businesses. Yet French 15-year-olds already spend an average of 1,042 hours a year in the classroom-150 more than German pupils, and 282 more than English ones. | 3528.txt | 0 |
[
"The Reform of Education in France.",
"New Policy on Education by New President.",
"Mr Sarkozy, the Reformist in Education.",
"The Future of France's Education."
] | The best title of the passage could be _ | Laden with hefty backpacks, French children filed back to school this week amid fresh agonising about the education system. Given its reputation for rigour and secular egalitarianism, and its well-regarded baccalauréat exam, this is surprising. What do the French think is wrong?
Quite a lot, to judge from a 30-page "letter to teachers" just sent by President Nicolas Sarkozy. Too many school drop-outs; not enough respect or authority in the classroom (pupils, he says, should stand up when the teacher enters); too little value placed on the teaching profession; too little art and sport in the curriculum; too much passive rote-learning; and too much "theory and abstraction". France, the president concludes, needs "to rebuild the foundations" of its education system.
The criticisms touch all levels. A government-commissioned report reveals that two in five pupils leave primary school with "serious learning gaps" in basic reading, writing and arithmetic. One in five finish secondary school with no qualification at all. Even the baccalauréat is under attack. This year's pass rate of 83% is up from just over 60% in the early 1960s. "The bac is worth absolutely nothing," asserts Jean-Robert Pitte, president of the Sorbonne-University of Paris IV.
The bac is not under review, but other changes have begun. Xavier Darcos, the education minister, has loosened school-catchment rules, to allow children from poor areas to get places in good schools elsewhere. He has set up an after-hours service for lower secondary schools, to supervise homework and keep kids off the streets. Mr Sarkozy has established a commission under Michel Rocard, a former prime minister and yet another of his recruits from the left, to look into the teaching profession-and perhaps to soften up the unions before less palatable changes.
Some hard questions remain. France's rigorous system suits able pupils: half of all 15-year-olds match the standards in writing, maths and science of the very best performers in the rich-country OECD. But schools fail the weakest. The bottom 15% of French 15-year-olds rank among the OECD's worst. The main cure for struggling pupils is redoublement, the repeat of a school year. By the age of 15, 38% of French pupils have repeated a year, more than in any other OECD country. Yet an official report suggests that redoublement has no noticeable effect on a child's progress.
Mr Darcos told Le Parisien this week that he "believed very little in the efficiency of redoublement". But it is unclear what he would put in its place. He plans to trim teacher numbers. He hints at more streaming of pupils by ability, so that children can stay with their age group, but the unions are hostile. Mr Sarkozy suggests another answer: less abstract teaching, which might engage less academic pupils. Mr Sarkozy will find it hard to translate his ambitious ideas into concrete plans. His wish-list for the curriculum is daunting: more art and sport, but also more "civic education", comparative religion, "general culture", trips to the theatre, walks in the forest, visits to businesses. Yet French 15-year-olds already spend an average of 1,042 hours a year in the classroom-150 more than German pupils, and 282 more than English ones. | 3528.txt | 1 |
[
"special lanes on highways",
"many commuters",
"four rush hours",
"many cars on the street"
] | Big cities have traffic problems during rush hours because there are -- | Rush hour traffic is a problem in many big cities around the world.Commuters rush to and from their jobs in cars,buses,subways,trains,and even on bicycles.Large cities in the United States have two rush hours-one in the morning and one in the evening.But in cities in other parts of the world,there are four rush hours.In Athens and Rome,for example,many workers go home for lunch and a nap.After this midday break,they rush back to their jobs and work for a few more hours.
In Tokyo,there's a big rush hour underground.Most of the people in Tokyo take the subways.The trains are very crowded.Subway employees called packers wear whitegloves and help pack the commuters into the trains when the doors close.They make sure that all purses,briefcases,clothes,and hands are inside the trains.
In Seoul,many commuters prefer to take taxis to get to work.To hail a cab,many people stand at crossroads and raise two fingers.This means they'll pay the cab driver double the usual fare.Some people even raise three fingers! They'll pay THREE times the normal rate。
Streets in Rome are very crowded with automobiles and mopedsduring rush hours.The city can't make its streets wider,and it can't build new highways,because it doesn't want to disturb the many historic sites in the city,such as the Forum and the Colosseum.It took the city fifteen years to construct a new subway system.Construction had to stop every timeworkers found old artifacts and discovered places of interest to archaeologists.
In many big cities,there are special lanes on highways for carpools.These are groups of three or more people who drive to and from work together.They share the costs of gas and parking and take turns driving into the city.
Getting to work and getting home can be difficult in many places around the world.Rush hour traffic seems to be a universalproblem. | 3300.txt | 1 |
[
"take subway trains to work",
"are packers",
"take taxis to work",
"carry briefcases to work"
] | Most of the commuters in Tokyo -- | Rush hour traffic is a problem in many big cities around the world.Commuters rush to and from their jobs in cars,buses,subways,trains,and even on bicycles.Large cities in the United States have two rush hours-one in the morning and one in the evening.But in cities in other parts of the world,there are four rush hours.In Athens and Rome,for example,many workers go home for lunch and a nap.After this midday break,they rush back to their jobs and work for a few more hours.
In Tokyo,there's a big rush hour underground.Most of the people in Tokyo take the subways.The trains are very crowded.Subway employees called packers wear whitegloves and help pack the commuters into the trains when the doors close.They make sure that all purses,briefcases,clothes,and hands are inside the trains.
In Seoul,many commuters prefer to take taxis to get to work.To hail a cab,many people stand at crossroads and raise two fingers.This means they'll pay the cab driver double the usual fare.Some people even raise three fingers! They'll pay THREE times the normal rate。
Streets in Rome are very crowded with automobiles and mopedsduring rush hours.The city can't make its streets wider,and it can't build new highways,because it doesn't want to disturb the many historic sites in the city,such as the Forum and the Colosseum.It took the city fifteen years to construct a new subway system.Construction had to stop every timeworkers found old artifacts and discovered places of interest to archaeologists.
In many big cities,there are special lanes on highways for carpools.These are groups of three or more people who drive to and from work together.They share the costs of gas and parking and take turns driving into the city.
Getting to work and getting home can be difficult in many places around the world.Rush hour traffic seems to be a universalproblem. | 3300.txt | 0 |
[
"pay double the normal fare",
"try to get a cab",
"prefer to take taxis",
"to stand at crossroads"
] | To "hail a cab"means to --- | Rush hour traffic is a problem in many big cities around the world.Commuters rush to and from their jobs in cars,buses,subways,trains,and even on bicycles.Large cities in the United States have two rush hours-one in the morning and one in the evening.But in cities in other parts of the world,there are four rush hours.In Athens and Rome,for example,many workers go home for lunch and a nap.After this midday break,they rush back to their jobs and work for a few more hours.
In Tokyo,there's a big rush hour underground.Most of the people in Tokyo take the subways.The trains are very crowded.Subway employees called packers wear whitegloves and help pack the commuters into the trains when the doors close.They make sure that all purses,briefcases,clothes,and hands are inside the trains.
In Seoul,many commuters prefer to take taxis to get to work.To hail a cab,many people stand at crossroads and raise two fingers.This means they'll pay the cab driver double the usual fare.Some people even raise three fingers! They'll pay THREE times the normal rate。
Streets in Rome are very crowded with automobiles and mopedsduring rush hours.The city can't make its streets wider,and it can't build new highways,because it doesn't want to disturb the many historic sites in the city,such as the Forum and the Colosseum.It took the city fifteen years to construct a new subway system.Construction had to stop every timeworkers found old artifacts and discovered places of interest to archaeologists.
In many big cities,there are special lanes on highways for carpools.These are groups of three or more people who drive to and from work together.They share the costs of gas and parking and take turns driving into the city.
Getting to work and getting home can be difficult in many places around the world.Rush hour traffic seems to be a universalproblem. | 3300.txt | 1 |
[
"Because the streets were very crowded.",
"Because there are many historic sites.",
"Because the workers discovered many artifacts and places of interest.",
"Because the traffic always stopped the construction"
] | Why did it take a long time to build a subwasystem in Rome? | Rush hour traffic is a problem in many big cities around the world.Commuters rush to and from their jobs in cars,buses,subways,trains,and even on bicycles.Large cities in the United States have two rush hours-one in the morning and one in the evening.But in cities in other parts of the world,there are four rush hours.In Athens and Rome,for example,many workers go home for lunch and a nap.After this midday break,they rush back to their jobs and work for a few more hours.
In Tokyo,there's a big rush hour underground.Most of the people in Tokyo take the subways.The trains are very crowded.Subway employees called packers wear whitegloves and help pack the commuters into the trains when the doors close.They make sure that all purses,briefcases,clothes,and hands are inside the trains.
In Seoul,many commuters prefer to take taxis to get to work.To hail a cab,many people stand at crossroads and raise two fingers.This means they'll pay the cab driver double the usual fare.Some people even raise three fingers! They'll pay THREE times the normal rate。
Streets in Rome are very crowded with automobiles and mopedsduring rush hours.The city can't make its streets wider,and it can't build new highways,because it doesn't want to disturb the many historic sites in the city,such as the Forum and the Colosseum.It took the city fifteen years to construct a new subway system.Construction had to stop every timeworkers found old artifacts and discovered places of interest to archaeologists.
In many big cities,there are special lanes on highways for carpools.These are groups of three or more people who drive to and from work together.They share the costs of gas and parking and take turns driving into the city.
Getting to work and getting home can be difficult in many places around the world.Rush hour traffic seems to be a universalproblem. | 3300.txt | 1 |
[
"live in the city",
"take the subway to work",
"save money on gas and parking fees",
"have special license plates"
] | Commuters in carpools probably-- | Rush hour traffic is a problem in many big cities around the world.Commuters rush to and from their jobs in cars,buses,subways,trains,and even on bicycles.Large cities in the United States have two rush hours-one in the morning and one in the evening.But in cities in other parts of the world,there are four rush hours.In Athens and Rome,for example,many workers go home for lunch and a nap.After this midday break,they rush back to their jobs and work for a few more hours.
In Tokyo,there's a big rush hour underground.Most of the people in Tokyo take the subways.The trains are very crowded.Subway employees called packers wear whitegloves and help pack the commuters into the trains when the doors close.They make sure that all purses,briefcases,clothes,and hands are inside the trains.
In Seoul,many commuters prefer to take taxis to get to work.To hail a cab,many people stand at crossroads and raise two fingers.This means they'll pay the cab driver double the usual fare.Some people even raise three fingers! They'll pay THREE times the normal rate。
Streets in Rome are very crowded with automobiles and mopedsduring rush hours.The city can't make its streets wider,and it can't build new highways,because it doesn't want to disturb the many historic sites in the city,such as the Forum and the Colosseum.It took the city fifteen years to construct a new subway system.Construction had to stop every timeworkers found old artifacts and discovered places of interest to archaeologists.
In many big cities,there are special lanes on highways for carpools.These are groups of three or more people who drive to and from work together.They share the costs of gas and parking and take turns driving into the city.
Getting to work and getting home can be difficult in many places around the world.Rush hour traffic seems to be a universalproblem. | 3300.txt | 2 |
[
"A Doctor in Qatar.",
"Nurse Maitland.",
"Dr. Brown.",
"Agatha Christie."
] | Who first suggested the correct cause of the baby's illness? | In 1977 , a dead author of detective storiessaved the life of a nineteen-month-old baby in amost unusual way. The author was Agatha Christie,a gentle married lady and one of the most successfulwriters of detective stories in the world.
In June 1977 , a baby girl became seriously ill inQatar , near Sandi Arabia.Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness, so she was flown to London and sent toHammersmith Hospital. A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only to discover thatthey, too, were puzzled by the very unusual signs of illness. While they were having adiscussion about the baby's illness, a nurse asked to speak to them.
―Excuse me,‖ said Nurse Marsha Maitland, ―but I think the baby is suffering from thalliumpoisoning.‖
―What makes you think that?‖ Dr. Brown asked. ―Thallium poisoning is very rare.‖
―A few days ago, I was reading a novel called ?A Pale Horse' by Agatha Christie,‖ NurseMaitland explained."In the book, somebody uses thallium poison, and all the signs are exactlythe same as the baby' s. "
―You are very careful and you may be right,‖ another doctor said. ―we‘ll carry out sometests and find out whether it' s thallium or not.‖
Tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium. Once they knew thecause of the illness, the doctors were able to give the baby the correct treatment. She soonrecovered and was sent back to Qatar. Later on it was proved that the poison might have comefrom an insecticide used in Qatar. | 2500.txt | 1 |
[
"She was a British girl whose parents were working in Qatar.",
"The hospitals in Qatar were full at that time.",
"She was the daughter of a doctor in one of the places.",
"The Qatar doctors were not sure they could cure her."
] | Why was the baby sent to London? | In 1977 , a dead author of detective storiessaved the life of a nineteen-month-old baby in amost unusual way. The author was Agatha Christie,a gentle married lady and one of the most successfulwriters of detective stories in the world.
In June 1977 , a baby girl became seriously ill inQatar , near Sandi Arabia.Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness, so she was flown to London and sent toHammersmith Hospital. A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only to discover thatthey, too, were puzzled by the very unusual signs of illness. While they were having adiscussion about the baby's illness, a nurse asked to speak to them.
―Excuse me,‖ said Nurse Marsha Maitland, ―but I think the baby is suffering from thalliumpoisoning.‖
―What makes you think that?‖ Dr. Brown asked. ―Thallium poisoning is very rare.‖
―A few days ago, I was reading a novel called ?A Pale Horse' by Agatha Christie,‖ NurseMaitland explained."In the book, somebody uses thallium poison, and all the signs are exactlythe same as the baby' s. "
―You are very careful and you may be right,‖ another doctor said. ―we‘ll carry out sometests and find out whether it' s thallium or not.‖
Tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium. Once they knew thecause of the illness, the doctors were able to give the baby the correct treatment. She soonrecovered and was sent back to Qatar. Later on it was proved that the poison might have comefrom an insecticide used in Qatar. | 2500.txt | 3 |
[
"had never even met this baby.",
"had spent a long time as a police officer.",
"visited the baby in the hospital at Hammersmith.",
"gave Nurse Maitland some advice on the phone."
] | As far as we can tell from passage, Agatha Christie. | In 1977 , a dead author of detective storiessaved the life of a nineteen-month-old baby in amost unusual way. The author was Agatha Christie,a gentle married lady and one of the most successfulwriters of detective stories in the world.
In June 1977 , a baby girl became seriously ill inQatar , near Sandi Arabia.Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness, so she was flown to London and sent toHammersmith Hospital. A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only to discover thatthey, too, were puzzled by the very unusual signs of illness. While they were having adiscussion about the baby's illness, a nurse asked to speak to them.
―Excuse me,‖ said Nurse Marsha Maitland, ―but I think the baby is suffering from thalliumpoisoning.‖
―What makes you think that?‖ Dr. Brown asked. ―Thallium poisoning is very rare.‖
―A few days ago, I was reading a novel called ?A Pale Horse' by Agatha Christie,‖ NurseMaitland explained."In the book, somebody uses thallium poison, and all the signs are exactlythe same as the baby' s. "
―You are very careful and you may be right,‖ another doctor said. ―we‘ll carry out sometests and find out whether it' s thallium or not.‖
Tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium. Once they knew thecause of the illness, the doctors were able to give the baby the correct treatment. She soonrecovered and was sent back to Qatar. Later on it was proved that the poison might have comefrom an insecticide used in Qatar. | 2500.txt | 0 |
[
"when she heard them discussing the possibility ofthallium poison.",
"because she could see that the doctors had made a mistake.",
"to suggest a possible reason for the patient' s illness.",
"after she had read about a horse which had been poisoned."
] | Nurse Maitland spoke to the doctors | In 1977 , a dead author of detective storiessaved the life of a nineteen-month-old baby in amost unusual way. The author was Agatha Christie,a gentle married lady and one of the most successfulwriters of detective stories in the world.
In June 1977 , a baby girl became seriously ill inQatar , near Sandi Arabia.Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness, so she was flown to London and sent toHammersmith Hospital. A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only to discover thatthey, too, were puzzled by the very unusual signs of illness. While they were having adiscussion about the baby's illness, a nurse asked to speak to them.
―Excuse me,‖ said Nurse Marsha Maitland, ―but I think the baby is suffering from thalliumpoisoning.‖
―What makes you think that?‖ Dr. Brown asked. ―Thallium poisoning is very rare.‖
―A few days ago, I was reading a novel called ?A Pale Horse' by Agatha Christie,‖ NurseMaitland explained."In the book, somebody uses thallium poison, and all the signs are exactlythe same as the baby' s. "
―You are very careful and you may be right,‖ another doctor said. ―we‘ll carry out sometests and find out whether it' s thallium or not.‖
Tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium. Once they knew thecause of the illness, the doctors were able to give the baby the correct treatment. She soonrecovered and was sent back to Qatar. Later on it was proved that the poison might have comefrom an insecticide used in Qatar. | 2500.txt | 2 |
[
"They were very quick to agree with her.",
"They were unhappy over her interruption.",
"They said that she was wrong because thallium poisoning is very rare.",
"They thought it was a possibility worth considering."
] | What did the doctor think of the suggestion which Nurse Maitland made? | In 1977 , a dead author of detective storiessaved the life of a nineteen-month-old baby in amost unusual way. The author was Agatha Christie,a gentle married lady and one of the most successfulwriters of detective stories in the world.
In June 1977 , a baby girl became seriously ill inQatar , near Sandi Arabia.Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness, so she was flown to London and sent toHammersmith Hospital. A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only to discover thatthey, too, were puzzled by the very unusual signs of illness. While they were having adiscussion about the baby's illness, a nurse asked to speak to them.
―Excuse me,‖ said Nurse Marsha Maitland, ―but I think the baby is suffering from thalliumpoisoning.‖
―What makes you think that?‖ Dr. Brown asked. ―Thallium poisoning is very rare.‖
―A few days ago, I was reading a novel called ?A Pale Horse' by Agatha Christie,‖ NurseMaitland explained."In the book, somebody uses thallium poison, and all the signs are exactlythe same as the baby' s. "
―You are very careful and you may be right,‖ another doctor said. ―we‘ll carry out sometests and find out whether it' s thallium or not.‖
Tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium. Once they knew thecause of the illness, the doctors were able to give the baby the correct treatment. She soonrecovered and was sent back to Qatar. Later on it was proved that the poison might have comefrom an insecticide used in Qatar. | 2500.txt | 3 |
[
"Many young Americans will never be able to pay off their debts.",
"Credit cards play an increasingly important role in college life.",
"Credit cards are doing more harm than students loans.",
"The American credit card system is under criticism."
] | What is the main idea of the first paragraph? | When we talk about Americans barely into adulthood who are saddled with unbearable levels of debt, the conversation is almost always about student loan debt. But there's a growing body of evidence suggesting that today's young adults are also drowning in credit-card debt - and that many of them will take this debt to their graves.
More than 20% overspent their income by more than $100 every single month. Since they haven't built up their credit histories yet, it's a safe bet that these young adults are paying relatively high interest rates on the resulting credit card debt.
Although many young people blame "socializing" as a barrier to saving money, most of them aren't knocking back $20 drinks in trendy lounges. They're struggling with much more daily financial demands.
To a disturbingly large extent, the young and the broke are relying on credit cards to make it until their next payday. This obviously isn't sustainable in the long run, and it's going to put a huge drag on their spending power even after they reach their peak earning years, because they'll still be paying interest on that bottle of orange juice or box of spaghetti they bought a decade earlier.
A new study out of Ohio State University found that young adults are accumulating credit card debt at a more rapid rate than other age groups, and that they're slower at paying it off. "If what we found continues to hold true, we may have more elderly people with substantial financial problems in the future," warns Lucia Dunn, professor of economics at Ohio State. "If our findings persist, we may be faced with a financial crisis among elderly people who can't pay off their credit cards."
Dunn says a lot of these young people are never going to get out from under their credit card debt. "Many people are borrowing on credit cards so heavily that payoff rates at these levels are not sufficient to recover their credit card debt by the end of their life, which could have loss implications for the credit card issuing banks." | 2148.txt | 0 |
[
"They tend to forget about the deadlines.",
"They haven't developed a credit history.",
"They are often unable to pay back in time.",
"They are inexperienced in managing money."
] | Why do young people have to pay a higher interest on their credit card debt? | When we talk about Americans barely into adulthood who are saddled with unbearable levels of debt, the conversation is almost always about student loan debt. But there's a growing body of evidence suggesting that today's young adults are also drowning in credit-card debt - and that many of them will take this debt to their graves.
More than 20% overspent their income by more than $100 every single month. Since they haven't built up their credit histories yet, it's a safe bet that these young adults are paying relatively high interest rates on the resulting credit card debt.
Although many young people blame "socializing" as a barrier to saving money, most of them aren't knocking back $20 drinks in trendy lounges. They're struggling with much more daily financial demands.
To a disturbingly large extent, the young and the broke are relying on credit cards to make it until their next payday. This obviously isn't sustainable in the long run, and it's going to put a huge drag on their spending power even after they reach their peak earning years, because they'll still be paying interest on that bottle of orange juice or box of spaghetti they bought a decade earlier.
A new study out of Ohio State University found that young adults are accumulating credit card debt at a more rapid rate than other age groups, and that they're slower at paying it off. "If what we found continues to hold true, we may have more elderly people with substantial financial problems in the future," warns Lucia Dunn, professor of economics at Ohio State. "If our findings persist, we may be faced with a financial crisis among elderly people who can't pay off their credit cards."
Dunn says a lot of these young people are never going to get out from under their credit card debt. "Many people are borrowing on credit cards so heavily that payoff rates at these levels are not sufficient to recover their credit card debt by the end of their life, which could have loss implications for the credit card issuing banks." | 2148.txt | 1 |
[
"It will place an unnecessary burden on society.",
"It will give them no motivation to work hard.",
"It will exert psychological pressure on them.",
"It will affect their future spending power."
] | What is said to be the consequence of young adults relying on credit cards to make ends meet? | When we talk about Americans barely into adulthood who are saddled with unbearable levels of debt, the conversation is almost always about student loan debt. But there's a growing body of evidence suggesting that today's young adults are also drowning in credit-card debt - and that many of them will take this debt to their graves.
More than 20% overspent their income by more than $100 every single month. Since they haven't built up their credit histories yet, it's a safe bet that these young adults are paying relatively high interest rates on the resulting credit card debt.
Although many young people blame "socializing" as a barrier to saving money, most of them aren't knocking back $20 drinks in trendy lounges. They're struggling with much more daily financial demands.
To a disturbingly large extent, the young and the broke are relying on credit cards to make it until their next payday. This obviously isn't sustainable in the long run, and it's going to put a huge drag on their spending power even after they reach their peak earning years, because they'll still be paying interest on that bottle of orange juice or box of spaghetti they bought a decade earlier.
A new study out of Ohio State University found that young adults are accumulating credit card debt at a more rapid rate than other age groups, and that they're slower at paying it off. "If what we found continues to hold true, we may have more elderly people with substantial financial problems in the future," warns Lucia Dunn, professor of economics at Ohio State. "If our findings persist, we may be faced with a financial crisis among elderly people who can't pay off their credit cards."
Dunn says a lot of these young people are never going to get out from under their credit card debt. "Many people are borrowing on credit cards so heavily that payoff rates at these levels are not sufficient to recover their credit card debt by the end of their life, which could have loss implications for the credit card issuing banks." | 2148.txt | 3 |
[
"They will have to pay an increasingly higher interest rate.",
"They may experience a financial crisis in their old age.",
"Their quality of life will be affected.",
"Their credit cards may be cancelled."
] | What will happen to young adults if their credit card debt keeps accumulating according to Lucia Dunn? | When we talk about Americans barely into adulthood who are saddled with unbearable levels of debt, the conversation is almost always about student loan debt. But there's a growing body of evidence suggesting that today's young adults are also drowning in credit-card debt - and that many of them will take this debt to their graves.
More than 20% overspent their income by more than $100 every single month. Since they haven't built up their credit histories yet, it's a safe bet that these young adults are paying relatively high interest rates on the resulting credit card debt.
Although many young people blame "socializing" as a barrier to saving money, most of them aren't knocking back $20 drinks in trendy lounges. They're struggling with much more daily financial demands.
To a disturbingly large extent, the young and the broke are relying on credit cards to make it until their next payday. This obviously isn't sustainable in the long run, and it's going to put a huge drag on their spending power even after they reach their peak earning years, because they'll still be paying interest on that bottle of orange juice or box of spaghetti they bought a decade earlier.
A new study out of Ohio State University found that young adults are accumulating credit card debt at a more rapid rate than other age groups, and that they're slower at paying it off. "If what we found continues to hold true, we may have more elderly people with substantial financial problems in the future," warns Lucia Dunn, professor of economics at Ohio State. "If our findings persist, we may be faced with a financial crisis among elderly people who can't pay off their credit cards."
Dunn says a lot of these young people are never going to get out from under their credit card debt. "Many people are borrowing on credit cards so heavily that payoff rates at these levels are not sufficient to recover their credit card debt by the end of their life, which could have loss implications for the credit card issuing banks." | 2148.txt | 1 |
[
"They go bankrupt as a result of over-lending.",
"They lose large numbers of their regular clients.",
"Their clients leave their debts unpaid upon death.",
"Their interest rates have to be reduced now and then."
] | What does Lucia Dunn think might be a risk for the credit card issuing banks? | When we talk about Americans barely into adulthood who are saddled with unbearable levels of debt, the conversation is almost always about student loan debt. But there's a growing body of evidence suggesting that today's young adults are also drowning in credit-card debt - and that many of them will take this debt to their graves.
More than 20% overspent their income by more than $100 every single month. Since they haven't built up their credit histories yet, it's a safe bet that these young adults are paying relatively high interest rates on the resulting credit card debt.
Although many young people blame "socializing" as a barrier to saving money, most of them aren't knocking back $20 drinks in trendy lounges. They're struggling with much more daily financial demands.
To a disturbingly large extent, the young and the broke are relying on credit cards to make it until their next payday. This obviously isn't sustainable in the long run, and it's going to put a huge drag on their spending power even after they reach their peak earning years, because they'll still be paying interest on that bottle of orange juice or box of spaghetti they bought a decade earlier.
A new study out of Ohio State University found that young adults are accumulating credit card debt at a more rapid rate than other age groups, and that they're slower at paying it off. "If what we found continues to hold true, we may have more elderly people with substantial financial problems in the future," warns Lucia Dunn, professor of economics at Ohio State. "If our findings persist, we may be faced with a financial crisis among elderly people who can't pay off their credit cards."
Dunn says a lot of these young people are never going to get out from under their credit card debt. "Many people are borrowing on credit cards so heavily that payoff rates at these levels are not sufficient to recover their credit card debt by the end of their life, which could have loss implications for the credit card issuing banks." | 2148.txt | 2 |
[
"how much more wisdom we have now than before",
"what wisdom is and how to develop it，",
"if there is a great increase of wisdom in our age",
"whether wisdom can be developed or not"
] | Disagreement arises when people try to decide | Most people would agree that，although our age exceeds all previous ages in knowledge，there has been no corresponding increase in wisdom.But agreement ceases as soon as we attempt to define"wisdom" and consider means of promoting it.
There are several factors that contribute to wisdom.Of these I should put first a sense of proportion：the capacity to take account of all the important factors in a problem and to attach to each its due weight.This has become more difficult than it used to be owing to the extent and complexity of the special knowledge required of various kinds of technicians.Suppose，for example，that you are engaged in research in scientific medicine.
The work is difficult and is likely to absorb the whole of your mind.You have no time to consider the effect which your discoveries or inventions may have outside the field of medicine.You succeed(let us say)as modem medicine has succeeded，in enormously lowering the infant death-rate，not only in Europe and America，but also in Asia and Africa.This has the entirely unintended result of making the food supply inadequate and lowering the standard of life in the parts of the world that have the greatest populations.To take an even more dramatic example，which is in everybody's mind at the present time：you study the makeup of the atom from a disinteresteddesire for knowledge，and by chance place in the hands of a powerful mad man the means of destroying the human race.
Therefore，with every increase of knowledge and skill，wisdom becomes more necessary, for every such increase augmentsour capacity for realizing our purposes，and therefore augments our capacity for evil，if our purposes are unwise. | 1518.txt | 1 |
[
"carefully consider the bad effects of any kind of research work",
"give each important problem some careful consideration",
"acquire a great deal of complex and special knowledge",
"give suitable consideration to all the possible elements in a problem"
] | According to the author, "wisdom" is the ability to _ | Most people would agree that，although our age exceeds all previous ages in knowledge，there has been no corresponding increase in wisdom.But agreement ceases as soon as we attempt to define"wisdom" and consider means of promoting it.
There are several factors that contribute to wisdom.Of these I should put first a sense of proportion：the capacity to take account of all the important factors in a problem and to attach to each its due weight.This has become more difficult than it used to be owing to the extent and complexity of the special knowledge required of various kinds of technicians.Suppose，for example，that you are engaged in research in scientific medicine.
The work is difficult and is likely to absorb the whole of your mind.You have no time to consider the effect which your discoveries or inventions may have outside the field of medicine.You succeed(let us say)as modem medicine has succeeded，in enormously lowering the infant death-rate，not only in Europe and America，but also in Asia and Africa.This has the entirely unintended result of making the food supply inadequate and lowering the standard of life in the parts of the world that have the greatest populations.To take an even more dramatic example，which is in everybody's mind at the present time：you study the makeup of the atom from a disinteresteddesire for knowledge，and by chance place in the hands of a powerful mad man the means of destroying the human race.
Therefore，with every increase of knowledge and skill，wisdom becomes more necessary, for every such increase augmentsour capacity for realizing our purposes，and therefore augments our capacity for evil，if our purposes are unwise. | 1518.txt | 3 |
[
"prove to be helpful everywhere in the world",
"give rise to an increase in population in Europe",
"cause food shortages in Asia and Africa",
"raise the living standard of the people in Africa"
] | Lowering the infant death-rate may _ | Most people would agree that，although our age exceeds all previous ages in knowledge，there has been no corresponding increase in wisdom.But agreement ceases as soon as we attempt to define"wisdom" and consider means of promoting it.
There are several factors that contribute to wisdom.Of these I should put first a sense of proportion：the capacity to take account of all the important factors in a problem and to attach to each its due weight.This has become more difficult than it used to be owing to the extent and complexity of the special knowledge required of various kinds of technicians.Suppose，for example，that you are engaged in research in scientific medicine.
The work is difficult and is likely to absorb the whole of your mind.You have no time to consider the effect which your discoveries or inventions may have outside the field of medicine.You succeed(let us say)as modem medicine has succeeded，in enormously lowering the infant death-rate，not only in Europe and America，but also in Asia and Africa.This has the entirely unintended result of making the food supply inadequate and lowering the standard of life in the parts of the world that have the greatest populations.To take an even more dramatic example，which is in everybody's mind at the present time：you study the makeup of the atom from a disinteresteddesire for knowledge，and by chance place in the hands of a powerful mad man the means of destroying the human race.
Therefore，with every increase of knowledge and skill，wisdom becomes more necessary, for every such increase augmentsour capacity for realizing our purposes，and therefore augments our capacity for evil，if our purposes are unwise. | 1518.txt | 2 |
[
"it's extremely difficult to consider all the important elements in problem",
"success in medical research has its negative effects",
"scientists may unknowingly cause destruction to the human race",
"it's unwise to be totally absorbed in research in scientific medicine"
] | The author uses the examples in the passage to illustrate his point that | Most people would agree that，although our age exceeds all previous ages in knowledge，there has been no corresponding increase in wisdom.But agreement ceases as soon as we attempt to define"wisdom" and consider means of promoting it.
There are several factors that contribute to wisdom.Of these I should put first a sense of proportion：the capacity to take account of all the important factors in a problem and to attach to each its due weight.This has become more difficult than it used to be owing to the extent and complexity of the special knowledge required of various kinds of technicians.Suppose，for example，that you are engaged in research in scientific medicine.
The work is difficult and is likely to absorb the whole of your mind.You have no time to consider the effect which your discoveries or inventions may have outside the field of medicine.You succeed(let us say)as modem medicine has succeeded，in enormously lowering the infant death-rate，not only in Europe and America，but also in Asia and Africa.This has the entirely unintended result of making the food supply inadequate and lowering the standard of life in the parts of the world that have the greatest populations.To take an even more dramatic example，which is in everybody's mind at the present time：you study the makeup of the atom from a disinteresteddesire for knowledge，and by chance place in the hands of a powerful mad man the means of destroying the human race.
Therefore，with every increase of knowledge and skill，wisdom becomes more necessary, for every such increase augmentsour capacity for realizing our purposes，and therefore augments our capacity for evil，if our purposes are unwise. | 1518.txt | 0 |
[
"It is unwise to place the results of scientific research in the hands of a powerful mad man.",
"The more knowledge one has，the wiser one becomes.",
"Any increase of knowledge could lead to disastrous results without the guidance of Wisdom.",
"Wisdom increases in proportion to one's age."
] | What is the main idea of the passage? | Most people would agree that，although our age exceeds all previous ages in knowledge，there has been no corresponding increase in wisdom.But agreement ceases as soon as we attempt to define"wisdom" and consider means of promoting it.
There are several factors that contribute to wisdom.Of these I should put first a sense of proportion：the capacity to take account of all the important factors in a problem and to attach to each its due weight.This has become more difficult than it used to be owing to the extent and complexity of the special knowledge required of various kinds of technicians.Suppose，for example，that you are engaged in research in scientific medicine.
The work is difficult and is likely to absorb the whole of your mind.You have no time to consider the effect which your discoveries or inventions may have outside the field of medicine.You succeed(let us say)as modem medicine has succeeded，in enormously lowering the infant death-rate，not only in Europe and America，but also in Asia and Africa.This has the entirely unintended result of making the food supply inadequate and lowering the standard of life in the parts of the world that have the greatest populations.To take an even more dramatic example，which is in everybody's mind at the present time：you study the makeup of the atom from a disinteresteddesire for knowledge，and by chance place in the hands of a powerful mad man the means of destroying the human race.
Therefore，with every increase of knowledge and skill，wisdom becomes more necessary, for every such increase augmentsour capacity for realizing our purposes，and therefore augments our capacity for evil，if our purposes are unwise. | 1518.txt | 2 |
[
"it looks like brains",
"it has animal brains in it",
"Fu‘s mother liked the name",
"it makes one clever and live longer"
] | The food is called brains because | Fu‘s soup became the talk of the town. Many people came to see him. Once a restaurant owner asked him what was in the soup. "I'll tell you，" Fu said. "But if your restaurant going to sell the soup you must call it brains because of its shape and colour. And your restaurant should be renamed after my mother. " | 3762.txt | 0 |
[
"the restaurant shouldn‘t offer any other food",
"the restaurant should use his mother‘s name",
"the shape of the food must never be changed",
"the food must be used to help sick people"
] | Before Fu told the restaurant owner what was in the food， one of the things he demanded was that | Fu‘s soup became the talk of the town. Many people came to see him. Once a restaurant owner asked him what was in the soup. "I'll tell you，" Fu said. "But if your restaurant going to sell the soup you must call it brains because of its shape and colour. And your restaurant should be renamed after my mother. " | 3762.txt | 1 |
[
"Laws governing the printing industry.",
"Competition among printers",
"Types of publications produced",
"Advances in printing technology"
] | Which aspect of colonial printing does the passage mainly discuss? | The lack of printing regulations and the unenforceability of British copyright law in the American colonies made it possible for colonial printers occasionally to act as publishers. Although they rarely undertook major publishing project because it was difficult to sell books as cheaply as they could be imported from Europe, printers in Philadelphia did publish work that required only small amounts of capital, paper, and type. Broadsides could be published with minimal financial risk. Consisting of only one sheet of paper and requiring small amounts of type, broadsides involved lower investments of capital than longer works. Furthermore, the broadside format lent itself to subjects of high, if temporary, interest, enabling them to meet with ready sale. If the broadside printer miscalculated, however, and produced a sheet that did not sell, it was not likely to be a major loss, and the printer would know this immediately, There would be no agonizing wait with large amounts of capital tied up, books gathering dust on the shelves, and creditors impatient for payment.
In addition to broadsides, books and pamphlets, consisting mainly of political tracts, catechisms, primers, and chapbooks were relatively inexpensive to print and to buy. Chapbooks were pamphlet-sized books, usually containing popular tales, ballads, poems, short plays, and jokes, small, both in formal and number of pages, they were generally bound simply, in boards (a form of cardboarD. or merely stitched in paper wrappers (a sewn antecedent of modern-day paperbacks). Pamphlets and chapbooks did not require fine paper or a great deal of type to produce they could thus be printed in large, cost-effective editions and sold cheaply.
By far, the most appealing publishing investments were to be found in small books that had proven to be steady sellers, providing a reasonably reliable source of income for the publisher. They would not, by nature, be highly topical or political, as such publications would prove of fleeting interest. Almanacs, annual publications that contained information on astronomy and weather patterns arranged according to the days, week, and months of a given year, provided the perfect steady seller because their information pertained to the locale in which they would be used. | 391.txt | 2 |
[
"Few colonial printers owned printing machinery that was large enough to handle major projects.",
"There was inadequate shipping available in the colonies.",
"Colonial printers could not sell their work for a competitive price.",
"Colonial printers did not have the skills necessary to undertake large publishing projects."
] | According to the passage , why did colonial printers avoid major publishing projects? | The lack of printing regulations and the unenforceability of British copyright law in the American colonies made it possible for colonial printers occasionally to act as publishers. Although they rarely undertook major publishing project because it was difficult to sell books as cheaply as they could be imported from Europe, printers in Philadelphia did publish work that required only small amounts of capital, paper, and type. Broadsides could be published with minimal financial risk. Consisting of only one sheet of paper and requiring small amounts of type, broadsides involved lower investments of capital than longer works. Furthermore, the broadside format lent itself to subjects of high, if temporary, interest, enabling them to meet with ready sale. If the broadside printer miscalculated, however, and produced a sheet that did not sell, it was not likely to be a major loss, and the printer would know this immediately, There would be no agonizing wait with large amounts of capital tied up, books gathering dust on the shelves, and creditors impatient for payment.
In addition to broadsides, books and pamphlets, consisting mainly of political tracts, catechisms, primers, and chapbooks were relatively inexpensive to print and to buy. Chapbooks were pamphlet-sized books, usually containing popular tales, ballads, poems, short plays, and jokes, small, both in formal and number of pages, they were generally bound simply, in boards (a form of cardboarD. or merely stitched in paper wrappers (a sewn antecedent of modern-day paperbacks). Pamphlets and chapbooks did not require fine paper or a great deal of type to produce they could thus be printed in large, cost-effective editions and sold cheaply.
By far, the most appealing publishing investments were to be found in small books that had proven to be steady sellers, providing a reasonably reliable source of income for the publisher. They would not, by nature, be highly topical or political, as such publications would prove of fleeting interest. Almanacs, annual publications that contained information on astronomy and weather patterns arranged according to the days, week, and months of a given year, provided the perfect steady seller because their information pertained to the locale in which they would be used. | 391.txt | 2 |
[
"required a small financial investment and sold quickly",
"were in great demand in European markets",
"were more popular with colonists than chapbooks and pamphlets",
"generally dealt with topics of long-term interest to many colonists"
] | Broadsides could be published with little risk to colonial printers because they | The lack of printing regulations and the unenforceability of British copyright law in the American colonies made it possible for colonial printers occasionally to act as publishers. Although they rarely undertook major publishing project because it was difficult to sell books as cheaply as they could be imported from Europe, printers in Philadelphia did publish work that required only small amounts of capital, paper, and type. Broadsides could be published with minimal financial risk. Consisting of only one sheet of paper and requiring small amounts of type, broadsides involved lower investments of capital than longer works. Furthermore, the broadside format lent itself to subjects of high, if temporary, interest, enabling them to meet with ready sale. If the broadside printer miscalculated, however, and produced a sheet that did not sell, it was not likely to be a major loss, and the printer would know this immediately, There would be no agonizing wait with large amounts of capital tied up, books gathering dust on the shelves, and creditors impatient for payment.
In addition to broadsides, books and pamphlets, consisting mainly of political tracts, catechisms, primers, and chapbooks were relatively inexpensive to print and to buy. Chapbooks were pamphlet-sized books, usually containing popular tales, ballads, poems, short plays, and jokes, small, both in formal and number of pages, they were generally bound simply, in boards (a form of cardboarD. or merely stitched in paper wrappers (a sewn antecedent of modern-day paperbacks). Pamphlets and chapbooks did not require fine paper or a great deal of type to produce they could thus be printed in large, cost-effective editions and sold cheaply.
By far, the most appealing publishing investments were to be found in small books that had proven to be steady sellers, providing a reasonably reliable source of income for the publisher. They would not, by nature, be highly topical or political, as such publications would prove of fleeting interest. Almanacs, annual publications that contained information on astronomy and weather patterns arranged according to the days, week, and months of a given year, provided the perfect steady seller because their information pertained to the locale in which they would be used. | 391.txt | 0 |
[
"chapbooks",
"tales",
"jokes",
"pages"
] | The word "they" in line 17 refers to | The lack of printing regulations and the unenforceability of British copyright law in the American colonies made it possible for colonial printers occasionally to act as publishers. Although they rarely undertook major publishing project because it was difficult to sell books as cheaply as they could be imported from Europe, printers in Philadelphia did publish work that required only small amounts of capital, paper, and type. Broadsides could be published with minimal financial risk. Consisting of only one sheet of paper and requiring small amounts of type, broadsides involved lower investments of capital than longer works. Furthermore, the broadside format lent itself to subjects of high, if temporary, interest, enabling them to meet with ready sale. If the broadside printer miscalculated, however, and produced a sheet that did not sell, it was not likely to be a major loss, and the printer would know this immediately, There would be no agonizing wait with large amounts of capital tied up, books gathering dust on the shelves, and creditors impatient for payment.
In addition to broadsides, books and pamphlets, consisting mainly of political tracts, catechisms, primers, and chapbooks were relatively inexpensive to print and to buy. Chapbooks were pamphlet-sized books, usually containing popular tales, ballads, poems, short plays, and jokes, small, both in formal and number of pages, they were generally bound simply, in boards (a form of cardboarD. or merely stitched in paper wrappers (a sewn antecedent of modern-day paperbacks). Pamphlets and chapbooks did not require fine paper or a great deal of type to produce they could thus be printed in large, cost-effective editions and sold cheaply.
By far, the most appealing publishing investments were to be found in small books that had proven to be steady sellers, providing a reasonably reliable source of income for the publisher. They would not, by nature, be highly topical or political, as such publications would prove of fleeting interest. Almanacs, annual publications that contained information on astronomy and weather patterns arranged according to the days, week, and months of a given year, provided the perfect steady seller because their information pertained to the locale in which they would be used. | 391.txt | 0 |
[
"predecessor",
"format",
"imitation",
"component"
] | The word "antecedent" in line 19 is closest in meaning to | The lack of printing regulations and the unenforceability of British copyright law in the American colonies made it possible for colonial printers occasionally to act as publishers. Although they rarely undertook major publishing project because it was difficult to sell books as cheaply as they could be imported from Europe, printers in Philadelphia did publish work that required only small amounts of capital, paper, and type. Broadsides could be published with minimal financial risk. Consisting of only one sheet of paper and requiring small amounts of type, broadsides involved lower investments of capital than longer works. Furthermore, the broadside format lent itself to subjects of high, if temporary, interest, enabling them to meet with ready sale. If the broadside printer miscalculated, however, and produced a sheet that did not sell, it was not likely to be a major loss, and the printer would know this immediately, There would be no agonizing wait with large amounts of capital tied up, books gathering dust on the shelves, and creditors impatient for payment.
In addition to broadsides, books and pamphlets, consisting mainly of political tracts, catechisms, primers, and chapbooks were relatively inexpensive to print and to buy. Chapbooks were pamphlet-sized books, usually containing popular tales, ballads, poems, short plays, and jokes, small, both in formal and number of pages, they were generally bound simply, in boards (a form of cardboarD. or merely stitched in paper wrappers (a sewn antecedent of modern-day paperbacks). Pamphlets and chapbooks did not require fine paper or a great deal of type to produce they could thus be printed in large, cost-effective editions and sold cheaply.
By far, the most appealing publishing investments were to be found in small books that had proven to be steady sellers, providing a reasonably reliable source of income for the publisher. They would not, by nature, be highly topical or political, as such publications would prove of fleeting interest. Almanacs, annual publications that contained information on astronomy and weather patterns arranged according to the days, week, and months of a given year, provided the perfect steady seller because their information pertained to the locale in which they would be used. | 391.txt | 0 |
[
"fine paper",
"cardboard covers",
"elaborate decoration",
"a large number of pages"
] | Chapbooks produced in colonial America were characterized by | The lack of printing regulations and the unenforceability of British copyright law in the American colonies made it possible for colonial printers occasionally to act as publishers. Although they rarely undertook major publishing project because it was difficult to sell books as cheaply as they could be imported from Europe, printers in Philadelphia did publish work that required only small amounts of capital, paper, and type. Broadsides could be published with minimal financial risk. Consisting of only one sheet of paper and requiring small amounts of type, broadsides involved lower investments of capital than longer works. Furthermore, the broadside format lent itself to subjects of high, if temporary, interest, enabling them to meet with ready sale. If the broadside printer miscalculated, however, and produced a sheet that did not sell, it was not likely to be a major loss, and the printer would know this immediately, There would be no agonizing wait with large amounts of capital tied up, books gathering dust on the shelves, and creditors impatient for payment.
In addition to broadsides, books and pamphlets, consisting mainly of political tracts, catechisms, primers, and chapbooks were relatively inexpensive to print and to buy. Chapbooks were pamphlet-sized books, usually containing popular tales, ballads, poems, short plays, and jokes, small, both in formal and number of pages, they were generally bound simply, in boards (a form of cardboarD. or merely stitched in paper wrappers (a sewn antecedent of modern-day paperbacks). Pamphlets and chapbooks did not require fine paper or a great deal of type to produce they could thus be printed in large, cost-effective editions and sold cheaply.
By far, the most appealing publishing investments were to be found in small books that had proven to be steady sellers, providing a reasonably reliable source of income for the publisher. They would not, by nature, be highly topical or political, as such publications would prove of fleeting interest. Almanacs, annual publications that contained information on astronomy and weather patterns arranged according to the days, week, and months of a given year, provided the perfect steady seller because their information pertained to the locale in which they would be used. | 391.txt | 1 |
[
"dependable",
"respectable",
"enduring",
"attractive"
] | The word "appealing" in line 22 is closest in meaning to | The lack of printing regulations and the unenforceability of British copyright law in the American colonies made it possible for colonial printers occasionally to act as publishers. Although they rarely undertook major publishing project because it was difficult to sell books as cheaply as they could be imported from Europe, printers in Philadelphia did publish work that required only small amounts of capital, paper, and type. Broadsides could be published with minimal financial risk. Consisting of only one sheet of paper and requiring small amounts of type, broadsides involved lower investments of capital than longer works. Furthermore, the broadside format lent itself to subjects of high, if temporary, interest, enabling them to meet with ready sale. If the broadside printer miscalculated, however, and produced a sheet that did not sell, it was not likely to be a major loss, and the printer would know this immediately, There would be no agonizing wait with large amounts of capital tied up, books gathering dust on the shelves, and creditors impatient for payment.
In addition to broadsides, books and pamphlets, consisting mainly of political tracts, catechisms, primers, and chapbooks were relatively inexpensive to print and to buy. Chapbooks were pamphlet-sized books, usually containing popular tales, ballads, poems, short plays, and jokes, small, both in formal and number of pages, they were generally bound simply, in boards (a form of cardboarD. or merely stitched in paper wrappers (a sewn antecedent of modern-day paperbacks). Pamphlets and chapbooks did not require fine paper or a great deal of type to produce they could thus be printed in large, cost-effective editions and sold cheaply.
By far, the most appealing publishing investments were to be found in small books that had proven to be steady sellers, providing a reasonably reliable source of income for the publisher. They would not, by nature, be highly topical or political, as such publications would prove of fleeting interest. Almanacs, annual publications that contained information on astronomy and weather patterns arranged according to the days, week, and months of a given year, provided the perfect steady seller because their information pertained to the locale in which they would be used. | 391.txt | 3 |
[
"Printers whose incomes were quite large",
"People who traveled from town to town selling Books and pamphlets",
"Investors who provided reliable financial Support for new printers",
"Publications whose sales were usually consistent from year to year"
] | What were "steady sellers" (line 23)? | The lack of printing regulations and the unenforceability of British copyright law in the American colonies made it possible for colonial printers occasionally to act as publishers. Although they rarely undertook major publishing project because it was difficult to sell books as cheaply as they could be imported from Europe, printers in Philadelphia did publish work that required only small amounts of capital, paper, and type. Broadsides could be published with minimal financial risk. Consisting of only one sheet of paper and requiring small amounts of type, broadsides involved lower investments of capital than longer works. Furthermore, the broadside format lent itself to subjects of high, if temporary, interest, enabling them to meet with ready sale. If the broadside printer miscalculated, however, and produced a sheet that did not sell, it was not likely to be a major loss, and the printer would know this immediately, There would be no agonizing wait with large amounts of capital tied up, books gathering dust on the shelves, and creditors impatient for payment.
In addition to broadsides, books and pamphlets, consisting mainly of political tracts, catechisms, primers, and chapbooks were relatively inexpensive to print and to buy. Chapbooks were pamphlet-sized books, usually containing popular tales, ballads, poems, short plays, and jokes, small, both in formal and number of pages, they were generally bound simply, in boards (a form of cardboarD. or merely stitched in paper wrappers (a sewn antecedent of modern-day paperbacks). Pamphlets and chapbooks did not require fine paper or a great deal of type to produce they could thus be printed in large, cost-effective editions and sold cheaply.
By far, the most appealing publishing investments were to be found in small books that had proven to be steady sellers, providing a reasonably reliable source of income for the publisher. They would not, by nature, be highly topical or political, as such publications would prove of fleeting interest. Almanacs, annual publications that contained information on astronomy and weather patterns arranged according to the days, week, and months of a given year, provided the perfect steady seller because their information pertained to the locale in which they would be used. | 391.txt | 3 |
[
"topic",
"season",
"interest",
"place"
] | The word "locale" in line 28 is closest in meaning to | The lack of printing regulations and the unenforceability of British copyright law in the American colonies made it possible for colonial printers occasionally to act as publishers. Although they rarely undertook major publishing project because it was difficult to sell books as cheaply as they could be imported from Europe, printers in Philadelphia did publish work that required only small amounts of capital, paper, and type. Broadsides could be published with minimal financial risk. Consisting of only one sheet of paper and requiring small amounts of type, broadsides involved lower investments of capital than longer works. Furthermore, the broadside format lent itself to subjects of high, if temporary, interest, enabling them to meet with ready sale. If the broadside printer miscalculated, however, and produced a sheet that did not sell, it was not likely to be a major loss, and the printer would know this immediately, There would be no agonizing wait with large amounts of capital tied up, books gathering dust on the shelves, and creditors impatient for payment.
In addition to broadsides, books and pamphlets, consisting mainly of political tracts, catechisms, primers, and chapbooks were relatively inexpensive to print and to buy. Chapbooks were pamphlet-sized books, usually containing popular tales, ballads, poems, short plays, and jokes, small, both in formal and number of pages, they were generally bound simply, in boards (a form of cardboarD. or merely stitched in paper wrappers (a sewn antecedent of modern-day paperbacks). Pamphlets and chapbooks did not require fine paper or a great deal of type to produce they could thus be printed in large, cost-effective editions and sold cheaply.
By far, the most appealing publishing investments were to be found in small books that had proven to be steady sellers, providing a reasonably reliable source of income for the publisher. They would not, by nature, be highly topical or political, as such publications would prove of fleeting interest. Almanacs, annual publications that contained information on astronomy and weather patterns arranged according to the days, week, and months of a given year, provided the perfect steady seller because their information pertained to the locale in which they would be used. | 391.txt | 3 |
[
"\"Broadsides\" (line 6)",
"\"catechisms\" (line 15)",
"\"chapbooks\" (line l6)",
"\"Almanacs\" (line 25)"
] | All of the following are defined in the passage EXCEPT | The lack of printing regulations and the unenforceability of British copyright law in the American colonies made it possible for colonial printers occasionally to act as publishers. Although they rarely undertook major publishing project because it was difficult to sell books as cheaply as they could be imported from Europe, printers in Philadelphia did publish work that required only small amounts of capital, paper, and type. Broadsides could be published with minimal financial risk. Consisting of only one sheet of paper and requiring small amounts of type, broadsides involved lower investments of capital than longer works. Furthermore, the broadside format lent itself to subjects of high, if temporary, interest, enabling them to meet with ready sale. If the broadside printer miscalculated, however, and produced a sheet that did not sell, it was not likely to be a major loss, and the printer would know this immediately, There would be no agonizing wait with large amounts of capital tied up, books gathering dust on the shelves, and creditors impatient for payment.
In addition to broadsides, books and pamphlets, consisting mainly of political tracts, catechisms, primers, and chapbooks were relatively inexpensive to print and to buy. Chapbooks were pamphlet-sized books, usually containing popular tales, ballads, poems, short plays, and jokes, small, both in formal and number of pages, they were generally bound simply, in boards (a form of cardboarD. or merely stitched in paper wrappers (a sewn antecedent of modern-day paperbacks). Pamphlets and chapbooks did not require fine paper or a great deal of type to produce they could thus be printed in large, cost-effective editions and sold cheaply.
By far, the most appealing publishing investments were to be found in small books that had proven to be steady sellers, providing a reasonably reliable source of income for the publisher. They would not, by nature, be highly topical or political, as such publications would prove of fleeting interest. Almanacs, annual publications that contained information on astronomy and weather patterns arranged according to the days, week, and months of a given year, provided the perfect steady seller because their information pertained to the locale in which they would be used. | 391.txt | 1 |
[
"countless.",
"occasional.",
"large.",
"repeated."
] | The word "innumerable" in the passage is closest in the meaning to | A heated debate has enlivened recent studies of evolution. Darwin' s original thesis, and the viewpoint supported by evolutionary gradualists, is that species change continuously but slowly and in small increments. Such changes are all but invisible over the short time scale of modern observations, and, it is argued, they are usually obscured by innumerable gaps in the imperfect fossil record. Gradualism, with its stress on the slow pace of change, is a comforting position, repeated over and over again in generations of textbooks. By the early twentieth century, the question about the rate of evolution had been answered in favor of gradualism to most biologists' satisfaction.
Sometimes a closed question must be reopened as new evidence or new arguments based on old evidence come to light. In 1972 paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge challenged conventional wisdom with an opposing viewpoint, the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis, which posits that species give rise to new species in relatively sudden bursts, without a lengthy transition period. These episodes of rapid evolution are separated by relatively long static spans during which a species may hardly change at all.
The punctuated equilibrium hypothesis attempts to explain a curious feature of the fossil record - one that has been familiar to paleontologist for more than a century but has usually been ignored. Many species appear to remain unchanged in the fossil record for millions of years - a situation that seems to be at odds with Darwin' s model of continuous change. Intermediated fossil forms, predicted by gradualism, are typically lacking. In most localities a given species of clam or coral persists essentially unchanged throughout a thick formation of rock, only to be replaced suddenly by a new and different species.
The evolution of North American horse, which was once presented as a classic textbook example of gradual evolution, is now providing equally compelling evidence for punctuated equilibrium. A convincing 50-million-year sequence of modern horse ancestors - each slightly larger, with more complex teeth, a longer face, and a more prominent central toe -seemed to provide strong support for Darwin' s contention that species evolve gradually. But close examination of those fossil deposits now reveals a somewhat different story. Horses evolved in discrete steps, each of which persisted almost unchanged for millions of years and was eventually replaced by a distinctive newer model. The four-toed Eohippus preceded the three-toed Miohippus, for example, but North American fossil evidence suggests a jerky, uneven transition between the two. If evolution had been a continuous, gradual process, one might expect that almost every fossil specimen would be slightly different from every year
If it seems difficult to conceive how major changes could occur rapidly, consider this: an alteration of a single gene in files is enough to turn a normal fly with a single pair of wings into one that has two pairs of wings.
The question about the rate of evolution must now be turned around: does evolution ever proceed gradually, or does it always occur in short bursts? Detailed field studies of thick rock formations containing fossils provide the best potential tests of the competing theories.
Occasionally , a sequence of fossil-rich layers of rock permits a comprehensive look at one type of organism over a long period of time. For example, Peter Sheldon' s studies of trilobites, a now extinct marine animal with a segmented body, offer a detailed glimpse into three million years of evolution in one marine environment. In that study, each of eight different trilobite species was observed to undergo a gradual change in the number of segments - typically an increase of one or two segments over the whole time interval. No significant discontinuous were observed, leading Sheldon to conclude that environmental conditions were quite stable during the period he examined.
Similar exhaustive studies are required for many different kinds of organisms from many different periods. Most researchers expect to find that both modes of transition from one species to another are at work in evolution. Slow, continuous change may be the norm during periods of environmental stability, while rapid evolution of new species occurs during periods of environment stress. But a lot more studies like Sheldon' s are needed before we can say for sure. | 3878.txt | 0 |
[
"Darwin saw evolutionary change as happening slowly and gradually.",
"Gaps in the fossil record were used to explain why it is difficult to see continuous small changes in the evolution of species.",
"Darwin's evolutionary thesis was rejected because small changes could not be observed in the evolutionary record.",
"By the early twentieth century, most biologists believed that gradualism explained evolutionary change."
] | According to paragraph 1, all of the following are true EXCEPT | A heated debate has enlivened recent studies of evolution. Darwin' s original thesis, and the viewpoint supported by evolutionary gradualists, is that species change continuously but slowly and in small increments. Such changes are all but invisible over the short time scale of modern observations, and, it is argued, they are usually obscured by innumerable gaps in the imperfect fossil record. Gradualism, with its stress on the slow pace of change, is a comforting position, repeated over and over again in generations of textbooks. By the early twentieth century, the question about the rate of evolution had been answered in favor of gradualism to most biologists' satisfaction.
Sometimes a closed question must be reopened as new evidence or new arguments based on old evidence come to light. In 1972 paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge challenged conventional wisdom with an opposing viewpoint, the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis, which posits that species give rise to new species in relatively sudden bursts, without a lengthy transition period. These episodes of rapid evolution are separated by relatively long static spans during which a species may hardly change at all.
The punctuated equilibrium hypothesis attempts to explain a curious feature of the fossil record - one that has been familiar to paleontologist for more than a century but has usually been ignored. Many species appear to remain unchanged in the fossil record for millions of years - a situation that seems to be at odds with Darwin' s model of continuous change. Intermediated fossil forms, predicted by gradualism, are typically lacking. In most localities a given species of clam or coral persists essentially unchanged throughout a thick formation of rock, only to be replaced suddenly by a new and different species.
The evolution of North American horse, which was once presented as a classic textbook example of gradual evolution, is now providing equally compelling evidence for punctuated equilibrium. A convincing 50-million-year sequence of modern horse ancestors - each slightly larger, with more complex teeth, a longer face, and a more prominent central toe -seemed to provide strong support for Darwin' s contention that species evolve gradually. But close examination of those fossil deposits now reveals a somewhat different story. Horses evolved in discrete steps, each of which persisted almost unchanged for millions of years and was eventually replaced by a distinctive newer model. The four-toed Eohippus preceded the three-toed Miohippus, for example, but North American fossil evidence suggests a jerky, uneven transition between the two. If evolution had been a continuous, gradual process, one might expect that almost every fossil specimen would be slightly different from every year
If it seems difficult to conceive how major changes could occur rapidly, consider this: an alteration of a single gene in files is enough to turn a normal fly with a single pair of wings into one that has two pairs of wings.
The question about the rate of evolution must now be turned around: does evolution ever proceed gradually, or does it always occur in short bursts? Detailed field studies of thick rock formations containing fossils provide the best potential tests of the competing theories.
Occasionally , a sequence of fossil-rich layers of rock permits a comprehensive look at one type of organism over a long period of time. For example, Peter Sheldon' s studies of trilobites, a now extinct marine animal with a segmented body, offer a detailed glimpse into three million years of evolution in one marine environment. In that study, each of eight different trilobite species was observed to undergo a gradual change in the number of segments - typically an increase of one or two segments over the whole time interval. No significant discontinuous were observed, leading Sheldon to conclude that environmental conditions were quite stable during the period he examined.
Similar exhaustive studies are required for many different kinds of organisms from many different periods. Most researchers expect to find that both modes of transition from one species to another are at work in evolution. Slow, continuous change may be the norm during periods of environmental stability, while rapid evolution of new species occurs during periods of environment stress. But a lot more studies like Sheldon' s are needed before we can say for sure. | 3878.txt | 2 |
[
"Whether the fossil record is complete.",
"Whether all species undergo change.",
"Whether evolution proceeds an a constant rate.",
"How many new species occur over long periods of time."
] | According to paragraph 1 and paragraph 2, the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis and the gradualism hypothesis differed about | A heated debate has enlivened recent studies of evolution. Darwin' s original thesis, and the viewpoint supported by evolutionary gradualists, is that species change continuously but slowly and in small increments. Such changes are all but invisible over the short time scale of modern observations, and, it is argued, they are usually obscured by innumerable gaps in the imperfect fossil record. Gradualism, with its stress on the slow pace of change, is a comforting position, repeated over and over again in generations of textbooks. By the early twentieth century, the question about the rate of evolution had been answered in favor of gradualism to most biologists' satisfaction.
Sometimes a closed question must be reopened as new evidence or new arguments based on old evidence come to light. In 1972 paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge challenged conventional wisdom with an opposing viewpoint, the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis, which posits that species give rise to new species in relatively sudden bursts, without a lengthy transition period. These episodes of rapid evolution are separated by relatively long static spans during which a species may hardly change at all.
The punctuated equilibrium hypothesis attempts to explain a curious feature of the fossil record - one that has been familiar to paleontologist for more than a century but has usually been ignored. Many species appear to remain unchanged in the fossil record for millions of years - a situation that seems to be at odds with Darwin' s model of continuous change. Intermediated fossil forms, predicted by gradualism, are typically lacking. In most localities a given species of clam or coral persists essentially unchanged throughout a thick formation of rock, only to be replaced suddenly by a new and different species.
The evolution of North American horse, which was once presented as a classic textbook example of gradual evolution, is now providing equally compelling evidence for punctuated equilibrium. A convincing 50-million-year sequence of modern horse ancestors - each slightly larger, with more complex teeth, a longer face, and a more prominent central toe -seemed to provide strong support for Darwin' s contention that species evolve gradually. But close examination of those fossil deposits now reveals a somewhat different story. Horses evolved in discrete steps, each of which persisted almost unchanged for millions of years and was eventually replaced by a distinctive newer model. The four-toed Eohippus preceded the three-toed Miohippus, for example, but North American fossil evidence suggests a jerky, uneven transition between the two. If evolution had been a continuous, gradual process, one might expect that almost every fossil specimen would be slightly different from every year
If it seems difficult to conceive how major changes could occur rapidly, consider this: an alteration of a single gene in files is enough to turn a normal fly with a single pair of wings into one that has two pairs of wings.
The question about the rate of evolution must now be turned around: does evolution ever proceed gradually, or does it always occur in short bursts? Detailed field studies of thick rock formations containing fossils provide the best potential tests of the competing theories.
Occasionally , a sequence of fossil-rich layers of rock permits a comprehensive look at one type of organism over a long period of time. For example, Peter Sheldon' s studies of trilobites, a now extinct marine animal with a segmented body, offer a detailed glimpse into three million years of evolution in one marine environment. In that study, each of eight different trilobite species was observed to undergo a gradual change in the number of segments - typically an increase of one or two segments over the whole time interval. No significant discontinuous were observed, leading Sheldon to conclude that environmental conditions were quite stable during the period he examined.
Similar exhaustive studies are required for many different kinds of organisms from many different periods. Most researchers expect to find that both modes of transition from one species to another are at work in evolution. Slow, continuous change may be the norm during periods of environmental stability, while rapid evolution of new species occurs during periods of environment stress. But a lot more studies like Sheldon' s are needed before we can say for sure. | 3878.txt | 2 |
[
"has been extensively studied by paleontologist for over a century.",
"contradicts the idea that most species have remained unchanged for millions of years.",
"challenges the view that evolutionary change is gradual.",
"is most common in the fossil records of clam and coral species."
] | According to paragraph 3, the lack of intermediate fossils in the fossil record of some species | A heated debate has enlivened recent studies of evolution. Darwin' s original thesis, and the viewpoint supported by evolutionary gradualists, is that species change continuously but slowly and in small increments. Such changes are all but invisible over the short time scale of modern observations, and, it is argued, they are usually obscured by innumerable gaps in the imperfect fossil record. Gradualism, with its stress on the slow pace of change, is a comforting position, repeated over and over again in generations of textbooks. By the early twentieth century, the question about the rate of evolution had been answered in favor of gradualism to most biologists' satisfaction.
Sometimes a closed question must be reopened as new evidence or new arguments based on old evidence come to light. In 1972 paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge challenged conventional wisdom with an opposing viewpoint, the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis, which posits that species give rise to new species in relatively sudden bursts, without a lengthy transition period. These episodes of rapid evolution are separated by relatively long static spans during which a species may hardly change at all.
The punctuated equilibrium hypothesis attempts to explain a curious feature of the fossil record - one that has been familiar to paleontologist for more than a century but has usually been ignored. Many species appear to remain unchanged in the fossil record for millions of years - a situation that seems to be at odds with Darwin' s model of continuous change. Intermediated fossil forms, predicted by gradualism, are typically lacking. In most localities a given species of clam or coral persists essentially unchanged throughout a thick formation of rock, only to be replaced suddenly by a new and different species.
The evolution of North American horse, which was once presented as a classic textbook example of gradual evolution, is now providing equally compelling evidence for punctuated equilibrium. A convincing 50-million-year sequence of modern horse ancestors - each slightly larger, with more complex teeth, a longer face, and a more prominent central toe -seemed to provide strong support for Darwin' s contention that species evolve gradually. But close examination of those fossil deposits now reveals a somewhat different story. Horses evolved in discrete steps, each of which persisted almost unchanged for millions of years and was eventually replaced by a distinctive newer model. The four-toed Eohippus preceded the three-toed Miohippus, for example, but North American fossil evidence suggests a jerky, uneven transition between the two. If evolution had been a continuous, gradual process, one might expect that almost every fossil specimen would be slightly different from every year
If it seems difficult to conceive how major changes could occur rapidly, consider this: an alteration of a single gene in files is enough to turn a normal fly with a single pair of wings into one that has two pairs of wings.
The question about the rate of evolution must now be turned around: does evolution ever proceed gradually, or does it always occur in short bursts? Detailed field studies of thick rock formations containing fossils provide the best potential tests of the competing theories.
Occasionally , a sequence of fossil-rich layers of rock permits a comprehensive look at one type of organism over a long period of time. For example, Peter Sheldon' s studies of trilobites, a now extinct marine animal with a segmented body, offer a detailed glimpse into three million years of evolution in one marine environment. In that study, each of eight different trilobite species was observed to undergo a gradual change in the number of segments - typically an increase of one or two segments over the whole time interval. No significant discontinuous were observed, leading Sheldon to conclude that environmental conditions were quite stable during the period he examined.
Similar exhaustive studies are required for many different kinds of organisms from many different periods. Most researchers expect to find that both modes of transition from one species to another are at work in evolution. Slow, continuous change may be the norm during periods of environmental stability, while rapid evolution of new species occurs during periods of environment stress. But a lot more studies like Sheldon' s are needed before we can say for sure. | 3878.txt | 2 |
[
"surprising.",
"persuasive.",
"controversial.",
"detailed."
] | The word "compelling" in the passage paragraph 4 is closest in the meaning to | A heated debate has enlivened recent studies of evolution. Darwin' s original thesis, and the viewpoint supported by evolutionary gradualists, is that species change continuously but slowly and in small increments. Such changes are all but invisible over the short time scale of modern observations, and, it is argued, they are usually obscured by innumerable gaps in the imperfect fossil record. Gradualism, with its stress on the slow pace of change, is a comforting position, repeated over and over again in generations of textbooks. By the early twentieth century, the question about the rate of evolution had been answered in favor of gradualism to most biologists' satisfaction.
Sometimes a closed question must be reopened as new evidence or new arguments based on old evidence come to light. In 1972 paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge challenged conventional wisdom with an opposing viewpoint, the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis, which posits that species give rise to new species in relatively sudden bursts, without a lengthy transition period. These episodes of rapid evolution are separated by relatively long static spans during which a species may hardly change at all.
The punctuated equilibrium hypothesis attempts to explain a curious feature of the fossil record - one that has been familiar to paleontologist for more than a century but has usually been ignored. Many species appear to remain unchanged in the fossil record for millions of years - a situation that seems to be at odds with Darwin' s model of continuous change. Intermediated fossil forms, predicted by gradualism, are typically lacking. In most localities a given species of clam or coral persists essentially unchanged throughout a thick formation of rock, only to be replaced suddenly by a new and different species.
The evolution of North American horse, which was once presented as a classic textbook example of gradual evolution, is now providing equally compelling evidence for punctuated equilibrium. A convincing 50-million-year sequence of modern horse ancestors - each slightly larger, with more complex teeth, a longer face, and a more prominent central toe -seemed to provide strong support for Darwin' s contention that species evolve gradually. But close examination of those fossil deposits now reveals a somewhat different story. Horses evolved in discrete steps, each of which persisted almost unchanged for millions of years and was eventually replaced by a distinctive newer model. The four-toed Eohippus preceded the three-toed Miohippus, for example, but North American fossil evidence suggests a jerky, uneven transition between the two. If evolution had been a continuous, gradual process, one might expect that almost every fossil specimen would be slightly different from every year
If it seems difficult to conceive how major changes could occur rapidly, consider this: an alteration of a single gene in files is enough to turn a normal fly with a single pair of wings into one that has two pairs of wings.
The question about the rate of evolution must now be turned around: does evolution ever proceed gradually, or does it always occur in short bursts? Detailed field studies of thick rock formations containing fossils provide the best potential tests of the competing theories.
Occasionally , a sequence of fossil-rich layers of rock permits a comprehensive look at one type of organism over a long period of time. For example, Peter Sheldon' s studies of trilobites, a now extinct marine animal with a segmented body, offer a detailed glimpse into three million years of evolution in one marine environment. In that study, each of eight different trilobite species was observed to undergo a gradual change in the number of segments - typically an increase of one or two segments over the whole time interval. No significant discontinuous were observed, leading Sheldon to conclude that environmental conditions were quite stable during the period he examined.
Similar exhaustive studies are required for many different kinds of organisms from many different periods. Most researchers expect to find that both modes of transition from one species to another are at work in evolution. Slow, continuous change may be the norm during periods of environmental stability, while rapid evolution of new species occurs during periods of environment stress. But a lot more studies like Sheldon' s are needed before we can say for sure. | 3878.txt | 1 |
[
"the number of toes they have.",
"the length of their face.",
"their overall size.",
"the number of years they live."
] | Paragraph 4 mentions that North American horses have changed in all the following ways EXCEPT in | A heated debate has enlivened recent studies of evolution. Darwin' s original thesis, and the viewpoint supported by evolutionary gradualists, is that species change continuously but slowly and in small increments. Such changes are all but invisible over the short time scale of modern observations, and, it is argued, they are usually obscured by innumerable gaps in the imperfect fossil record. Gradualism, with its stress on the slow pace of change, is a comforting position, repeated over and over again in generations of textbooks. By the early twentieth century, the question about the rate of evolution had been answered in favor of gradualism to most biologists' satisfaction.
Sometimes a closed question must be reopened as new evidence or new arguments based on old evidence come to light. In 1972 paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge challenged conventional wisdom with an opposing viewpoint, the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis, which posits that species give rise to new species in relatively sudden bursts, without a lengthy transition period. These episodes of rapid evolution are separated by relatively long static spans during which a species may hardly change at all.
The punctuated equilibrium hypothesis attempts to explain a curious feature of the fossil record - one that has been familiar to paleontologist for more than a century but has usually been ignored. Many species appear to remain unchanged in the fossil record for millions of years - a situation that seems to be at odds with Darwin' s model of continuous change. Intermediated fossil forms, predicted by gradualism, are typically lacking. In most localities a given species of clam or coral persists essentially unchanged throughout a thick formation of rock, only to be replaced suddenly by a new and different species.
The evolution of North American horse, which was once presented as a classic textbook example of gradual evolution, is now providing equally compelling evidence for punctuated equilibrium. A convincing 50-million-year sequence of modern horse ancestors - each slightly larger, with more complex teeth, a longer face, and a more prominent central toe -seemed to provide strong support for Darwin' s contention that species evolve gradually. But close examination of those fossil deposits now reveals a somewhat different story. Horses evolved in discrete steps, each of which persisted almost unchanged for millions of years and was eventually replaced by a distinctive newer model. The four-toed Eohippus preceded the three-toed Miohippus, for example, but North American fossil evidence suggests a jerky, uneven transition between the two. If evolution had been a continuous, gradual process, one might expect that almost every fossil specimen would be slightly different from every year
If it seems difficult to conceive how major changes could occur rapidly, consider this: an alteration of a single gene in files is enough to turn a normal fly with a single pair of wings into one that has two pairs of wings.
The question about the rate of evolution must now be turned around: does evolution ever proceed gradually, or does it always occur in short bursts? Detailed field studies of thick rock formations containing fossils provide the best potential tests of the competing theories.
Occasionally , a sequence of fossil-rich layers of rock permits a comprehensive look at one type of organism over a long period of time. For example, Peter Sheldon' s studies of trilobites, a now extinct marine animal with a segmented body, offer a detailed glimpse into three million years of evolution in one marine environment. In that study, each of eight different trilobite species was observed to undergo a gradual change in the number of segments - typically an increase of one or two segments over the whole time interval. No significant discontinuous were observed, leading Sheldon to conclude that environmental conditions were quite stable during the period he examined.
Similar exhaustive studies are required for many different kinds of organisms from many different periods. Most researchers expect to find that both modes of transition from one species to another are at work in evolution. Slow, continuous change may be the norm during periods of environmental stability, while rapid evolution of new species occurs during periods of environment stress. But a lot more studies like Sheldon' s are needed before we can say for sure. | 3878.txt | 3 |
[
"imperfection.",
"replacement.",
"change.",
"duplication."
] | The word "alteration" in the passage paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to | A heated debate has enlivened recent studies of evolution. Darwin' s original thesis, and the viewpoint supported by evolutionary gradualists, is that species change continuously but slowly and in small increments. Such changes are all but invisible over the short time scale of modern observations, and, it is argued, they are usually obscured by innumerable gaps in the imperfect fossil record. Gradualism, with its stress on the slow pace of change, is a comforting position, repeated over and over again in generations of textbooks. By the early twentieth century, the question about the rate of evolution had been answered in favor of gradualism to most biologists' satisfaction.
Sometimes a closed question must be reopened as new evidence or new arguments based on old evidence come to light. In 1972 paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge challenged conventional wisdom with an opposing viewpoint, the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis, which posits that species give rise to new species in relatively sudden bursts, without a lengthy transition period. These episodes of rapid evolution are separated by relatively long static spans during which a species may hardly change at all.
The punctuated equilibrium hypothesis attempts to explain a curious feature of the fossil record - one that has been familiar to paleontologist for more than a century but has usually been ignored. Many species appear to remain unchanged in the fossil record for millions of years - a situation that seems to be at odds with Darwin' s model of continuous change. Intermediated fossil forms, predicted by gradualism, are typically lacking. In most localities a given species of clam or coral persists essentially unchanged throughout a thick formation of rock, only to be replaced suddenly by a new and different species.
The evolution of North American horse, which was once presented as a classic textbook example of gradual evolution, is now providing equally compelling evidence for punctuated equilibrium. A convincing 50-million-year sequence of modern horse ancestors - each slightly larger, with more complex teeth, a longer face, and a more prominent central toe -seemed to provide strong support for Darwin' s contention that species evolve gradually. But close examination of those fossil deposits now reveals a somewhat different story. Horses evolved in discrete steps, each of which persisted almost unchanged for millions of years and was eventually replaced by a distinctive newer model. The four-toed Eohippus preceded the three-toed Miohippus, for example, but North American fossil evidence suggests a jerky, uneven transition between the two. If evolution had been a continuous, gradual process, one might expect that almost every fossil specimen would be slightly different from every year
If it seems difficult to conceive how major changes could occur rapidly, consider this: an alteration of a single gene in files is enough to turn a normal fly with a single pair of wings into one that has two pairs of wings.
The question about the rate of evolution must now be turned around: does evolution ever proceed gradually, or does it always occur in short bursts? Detailed field studies of thick rock formations containing fossils provide the best potential tests of the competing theories.
Occasionally , a sequence of fossil-rich layers of rock permits a comprehensive look at one type of organism over a long period of time. For example, Peter Sheldon' s studies of trilobites, a now extinct marine animal with a segmented body, offer a detailed glimpse into three million years of evolution in one marine environment. In that study, each of eight different trilobite species was observed to undergo a gradual change in the number of segments - typically an increase of one or two segments over the whole time interval. No significant discontinuous were observed, leading Sheldon to conclude that environmental conditions were quite stable during the period he examined.
Similar exhaustive studies are required for many different kinds of organisms from many different periods. Most researchers expect to find that both modes of transition from one species to another are at work in evolution. Slow, continuous change may be the norm during periods of environmental stability, while rapid evolution of new species occurs during periods of environment stress. But a lot more studies like Sheldon' s are needed before we can say for sure. | 3878.txt | 2 |
[
"They underwent gradual change over a long time period.",
"They experienced a number of discontinuous transitions during their history.",
"They remained unchanged during a long period of environmental stability.",
"They evolved in ways that cannot be counted for by either of the two competing theories."
] | According to paragraph 7, Peter Sheldon's studies demonstrated which ofthe following about trilobites? | A heated debate has enlivened recent studies of evolution. Darwin' s original thesis, and the viewpoint supported by evolutionary gradualists, is that species change continuously but slowly and in small increments. Such changes are all but invisible over the short time scale of modern observations, and, it is argued, they are usually obscured by innumerable gaps in the imperfect fossil record. Gradualism, with its stress on the slow pace of change, is a comforting position, repeated over and over again in generations of textbooks. By the early twentieth century, the question about the rate of evolution had been answered in favor of gradualism to most biologists' satisfaction.
Sometimes a closed question must be reopened as new evidence or new arguments based on old evidence come to light. In 1972 paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge challenged conventional wisdom with an opposing viewpoint, the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis, which posits that species give rise to new species in relatively sudden bursts, without a lengthy transition period. These episodes of rapid evolution are separated by relatively long static spans during which a species may hardly change at all.
The punctuated equilibrium hypothesis attempts to explain a curious feature of the fossil record - one that has been familiar to paleontologist for more than a century but has usually been ignored. Many species appear to remain unchanged in the fossil record for millions of years - a situation that seems to be at odds with Darwin' s model of continuous change. Intermediated fossil forms, predicted by gradualism, are typically lacking. In most localities a given species of clam or coral persists essentially unchanged throughout a thick formation of rock, only to be replaced suddenly by a new and different species.
The evolution of North American horse, which was once presented as a classic textbook example of gradual evolution, is now providing equally compelling evidence for punctuated equilibrium. A convincing 50-million-year sequence of modern horse ancestors - each slightly larger, with more complex teeth, a longer face, and a more prominent central toe -seemed to provide strong support for Darwin' s contention that species evolve gradually. But close examination of those fossil deposits now reveals a somewhat different story. Horses evolved in discrete steps, each of which persisted almost unchanged for millions of years and was eventually replaced by a distinctive newer model. The four-toed Eohippus preceded the three-toed Miohippus, for example, but North American fossil evidence suggests a jerky, uneven transition between the two. If evolution had been a continuous, gradual process, one might expect that almost every fossil specimen would be slightly different from every year
If it seems difficult to conceive how major changes could occur rapidly, consider this: an alteration of a single gene in files is enough to turn a normal fly with a single pair of wings into one that has two pairs of wings.
The question about the rate of evolution must now be turned around: does evolution ever proceed gradually, or does it always occur in short bursts? Detailed field studies of thick rock formations containing fossils provide the best potential tests of the competing theories.
Occasionally , a sequence of fossil-rich layers of rock permits a comprehensive look at one type of organism over a long period of time. For example, Peter Sheldon' s studies of trilobites, a now extinct marine animal with a segmented body, offer a detailed glimpse into three million years of evolution in one marine environment. In that study, each of eight different trilobite species was observed to undergo a gradual change in the number of segments - typically an increase of one or two segments over the whole time interval. No significant discontinuous were observed, leading Sheldon to conclude that environmental conditions were quite stable during the period he examined.
Similar exhaustive studies are required for many different kinds of organisms from many different periods. Most researchers expect to find that both modes of transition from one species to another are at work in evolution. Slow, continuous change may be the norm during periods of environmental stability, while rapid evolution of new species occurs during periods of environment stress. But a lot more studies like Sheldon' s are needed before we can say for sure. | 3878.txt | 0 |
[
"undoubtedly.",
"basically.",
"once in a while.",
"to some extent."
] | The word "occasionally" in the passage paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to | A heated debate has enlivened recent studies of evolution. Darwin' s original thesis, and the viewpoint supported by evolutionary gradualists, is that species change continuously but slowly and in small increments. Such changes are all but invisible over the short time scale of modern observations, and, it is argued, they are usually obscured by innumerable gaps in the imperfect fossil record. Gradualism, with its stress on the slow pace of change, is a comforting position, repeated over and over again in generations of textbooks. By the early twentieth century, the question about the rate of evolution had been answered in favor of gradualism to most biologists' satisfaction.
Sometimes a closed question must be reopened as new evidence or new arguments based on old evidence come to light. In 1972 paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge challenged conventional wisdom with an opposing viewpoint, the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis, which posits that species give rise to new species in relatively sudden bursts, without a lengthy transition period. These episodes of rapid evolution are separated by relatively long static spans during which a species may hardly change at all.
The punctuated equilibrium hypothesis attempts to explain a curious feature of the fossil record - one that has been familiar to paleontologist for more than a century but has usually been ignored. Many species appear to remain unchanged in the fossil record for millions of years - a situation that seems to be at odds with Darwin' s model of continuous change. Intermediated fossil forms, predicted by gradualism, are typically lacking. In most localities a given species of clam or coral persists essentially unchanged throughout a thick formation of rock, only to be replaced suddenly by a new and different species.
The evolution of North American horse, which was once presented as a classic textbook example of gradual evolution, is now providing equally compelling evidence for punctuated equilibrium. A convincing 50-million-year sequence of modern horse ancestors - each slightly larger, with more complex teeth, a longer face, and a more prominent central toe -seemed to provide strong support for Darwin' s contention that species evolve gradually. But close examination of those fossil deposits now reveals a somewhat different story. Horses evolved in discrete steps, each of which persisted almost unchanged for millions of years and was eventually replaced by a distinctive newer model. The four-toed Eohippus preceded the three-toed Miohippus, for example, but North American fossil evidence suggests a jerky, uneven transition between the two. If evolution had been a continuous, gradual process, one might expect that almost every fossil specimen would be slightly different from every year
If it seems difficult to conceive how major changes could occur rapidly, consider this: an alteration of a single gene in files is enough to turn a normal fly with a single pair of wings into one that has two pairs of wings.
The question about the rate of evolution must now be turned around: does evolution ever proceed gradually, or does it always occur in short bursts? Detailed field studies of thick rock formations containing fossils provide the best potential tests of the competing theories.
Occasionally , a sequence of fossil-rich layers of rock permits a comprehensive look at one type of organism over a long period of time. For example, Peter Sheldon' s studies of trilobites, a now extinct marine animal with a segmented body, offer a detailed glimpse into three million years of evolution in one marine environment. In that study, each of eight different trilobite species was observed to undergo a gradual change in the number of segments - typically an increase of one or two segments over the whole time interval. No significant discontinuous were observed, leading Sheldon to conclude that environmental conditions were quite stable during the period he examined.
Similar exhaustive studies are required for many different kinds of organisms from many different periods. Most researchers expect to find that both modes of transition from one species to another are at work in evolution. Slow, continuous change may be the norm during periods of environmental stability, while rapid evolution of new species occurs during periods of environment stress. But a lot more studies like Sheldon' s are needed before we can say for sure. | 3878.txt | 2 |
[
"Describe one test of the competing theories.",
"Provide an example of punctuated equilibrium.",
"Describe how segmented animals evidence both competing theories.",
"Explain why trilobites became extinct."
] | The main purpose of paragraph 7 is to | A heated debate has enlivened recent studies of evolution. Darwin' s original thesis, and the viewpoint supported by evolutionary gradualists, is that species change continuously but slowly and in small increments. Such changes are all but invisible over the short time scale of modern observations, and, it is argued, they are usually obscured by innumerable gaps in the imperfect fossil record. Gradualism, with its stress on the slow pace of change, is a comforting position, repeated over and over again in generations of textbooks. By the early twentieth century, the question about the rate of evolution had been answered in favor of gradualism to most biologists' satisfaction.
Sometimes a closed question must be reopened as new evidence or new arguments based on old evidence come to light. In 1972 paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge challenged conventional wisdom with an opposing viewpoint, the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis, which posits that species give rise to new species in relatively sudden bursts, without a lengthy transition period. These episodes of rapid evolution are separated by relatively long static spans during which a species may hardly change at all.
The punctuated equilibrium hypothesis attempts to explain a curious feature of the fossil record - one that has been familiar to paleontologist for more than a century but has usually been ignored. Many species appear to remain unchanged in the fossil record for millions of years - a situation that seems to be at odds with Darwin' s model of continuous change. Intermediated fossil forms, predicted by gradualism, are typically lacking. In most localities a given species of clam or coral persists essentially unchanged throughout a thick formation of rock, only to be replaced suddenly by a new and different species.
The evolution of North American horse, which was once presented as a classic textbook example of gradual evolution, is now providing equally compelling evidence for punctuated equilibrium. A convincing 50-million-year sequence of modern horse ancestors - each slightly larger, with more complex teeth, a longer face, and a more prominent central toe -seemed to provide strong support for Darwin' s contention that species evolve gradually. But close examination of those fossil deposits now reveals a somewhat different story. Horses evolved in discrete steps, each of which persisted almost unchanged for millions of years and was eventually replaced by a distinctive newer model. The four-toed Eohippus preceded the three-toed Miohippus, for example, but North American fossil evidence suggests a jerky, uneven transition between the two. If evolution had been a continuous, gradual process, one might expect that almost every fossil specimen would be slightly different from every year
If it seems difficult to conceive how major changes could occur rapidly, consider this: an alteration of a single gene in files is enough to turn a normal fly with a single pair of wings into one that has two pairs of wings.
The question about the rate of evolution must now be turned around: does evolution ever proceed gradually, or does it always occur in short bursts? Detailed field studies of thick rock formations containing fossils provide the best potential tests of the competing theories.
Occasionally , a sequence of fossil-rich layers of rock permits a comprehensive look at one type of organism over a long period of time. For example, Peter Sheldon' s studies of trilobites, a now extinct marine animal with a segmented body, offer a detailed glimpse into three million years of evolution in one marine environment. In that study, each of eight different trilobite species was observed to undergo a gradual change in the number of segments - typically an increase of one or two segments over the whole time interval. No significant discontinuous were observed, leading Sheldon to conclude that environmental conditions were quite stable during the period he examined.
Similar exhaustive studies are required for many different kinds of organisms from many different periods. Most researchers expect to find that both modes of transition from one species to another are at work in evolution. Slow, continuous change may be the norm during periods of environmental stability, while rapid evolution of new species occurs during periods of environment stress. But a lot more studies like Sheldon' s are needed before we can say for sure. | 3878.txt | 0 |
[
"homing pigeons and their training",
"how to buy a homing pigeon",
"protection of homing pigeons againstthe threat of extinction",
"liberation of homing pigeons"
] | This passage is mainly about _ . | Homing pigeons are placed in a training program from about the time they are twenty-eight days of age. They are taught to enter the cage through a trap and to exercise above and around the loft, and gradually they are taken away for short distances in willow baskets and released. They are then expected to find their way home in the shortest possible time.
In their training flights or in actual races, the birds are taken to prearranged distant points and released to find their way back to their own lofts. Once the birds are liberated, their owners, who are standing by at the home lofts, anxiously watch the sky for the return of their entries. Since time is of the essence, the speed with which the birds can be induced to enter the loft trap may make the difference between gaining a win or a second place.
The head of a homing pigeon is comparatively small, but its brain is one quarter larger than that of the ordinary pigeon. The homing pigeon is very intelligent and will persevere to the point of stubbornness; some have been known to fly a hundred miles off course to avoid a storm.
Some homing pigeon experts claim that this bird is gifted with a form of built-in radar that helps it find its own loft after hours of flight, for hidden under the head feathers are two very sensitive ears, while the sharp, prominent eyes can see great distances in daytime.
Why do homing pigeons fly home? They are not unique in this inherent skill; it is found in most migratory birds, in bees, ants, toads, and even turtles, which have been known to travel hundreds of miles to return to their homes. But in the animal world, the homing pigeon alone can be trusted with its freedom and trained to carry out the missions that people demand. | 906.txt | 0 |
[
"They are kept in a trap.",
"They enter their first race.",
"They begin a training program.",
"They get their wings clipped andmarked."
] | According to the passage, whathappens to homing pigeons when they are about a month old? | Homing pigeons are placed in a training program from about the time they are twenty-eight days of age. They are taught to enter the cage through a trap and to exercise above and around the loft, and gradually they are taken away for short distances in willow baskets and released. They are then expected to find their way home in the shortest possible time.
In their training flights or in actual races, the birds are taken to prearranged distant points and released to find their way back to their own lofts. Once the birds are liberated, their owners, who are standing by at the home lofts, anxiously watch the sky for the return of their entries. Since time is of the essence, the speed with which the birds can be induced to enter the loft trap may make the difference between gaining a win or a second place.
The head of a homing pigeon is comparatively small, but its brain is one quarter larger than that of the ordinary pigeon. The homing pigeon is very intelligent and will persevere to the point of stubbornness; some have been known to fly a hundred miles off course to avoid a storm.
Some homing pigeon experts claim that this bird is gifted with a form of built-in radar that helps it find its own loft after hours of flight, for hidden under the head feathers are two very sensitive ears, while the sharp, prominent eyes can see great distances in daytime.
Why do homing pigeons fly home? They are not unique in this inherent skill; it is found in most migratory birds, in bees, ants, toads, and even turtles, which have been known to travel hundreds of miles to return to their homes. But in the animal world, the homing pigeon alone can be trusted with its freedom and trained to carry out the missions that people demand. | 906.txt | 2 |
[
"the span of the wings",
"the shape ofthe eyes",
"the texture of the feathers",
"thesize of the brain"
] | According to the passage, thedifference between a homing pigeon and an ordinary one is _ . | Homing pigeons are placed in a training program from about the time they are twenty-eight days of age. They are taught to enter the cage through a trap and to exercise above and around the loft, and gradually they are taken away for short distances in willow baskets and released. They are then expected to find their way home in the shortest possible time.
In their training flights or in actual races, the birds are taken to prearranged distant points and released to find their way back to their own lofts. Once the birds are liberated, their owners, who are standing by at the home lofts, anxiously watch the sky for the return of their entries. Since time is of the essence, the speed with which the birds can be induced to enter the loft trap may make the difference between gaining a win or a second place.
The head of a homing pigeon is comparatively small, but its brain is one quarter larger than that of the ordinary pigeon. The homing pigeon is very intelligent and will persevere to the point of stubbornness; some have been known to fly a hundred miles off course to avoid a storm.
Some homing pigeon experts claim that this bird is gifted with a form of built-in radar that helps it find its own loft after hours of flight, for hidden under the head feathers are two very sensitive ears, while the sharp, prominent eyes can see great distances in daytime.
Why do homing pigeons fly home? They are not unique in this inherent skill; it is found in most migratory birds, in bees, ants, toads, and even turtles, which have been known to travel hundreds of miles to return to their homes. But in the animal world, the homing pigeon alone can be trusted with its freedom and trained to carry out the missions that people demand. | 906.txt | 1 |
[
"instinct",
"air sacs",
"sensitive ears",
"good eyes"
] | The author mentions all of thefollowing attributes that enable a homing pigeon to return home EXCEPT _ . | Homing pigeons are placed in a training program from about the time they are twenty-eight days of age. They are taught to enter the cage through a trap and to exercise above and around the loft, and gradually they are taken away for short distances in willow baskets and released. They are then expected to find their way home in the shortest possible time.
In their training flights or in actual races, the birds are taken to prearranged distant points and released to find their way back to their own lofts. Once the birds are liberated, their owners, who are standing by at the home lofts, anxiously watch the sky for the return of their entries. Since time is of the essence, the speed with which the birds can be induced to enter the loft trap may make the difference between gaining a win or a second place.
The head of a homing pigeon is comparatively small, but its brain is one quarter larger than that of the ordinary pigeon. The homing pigeon is very intelligent and will persevere to the point of stubbornness; some have been known to fly a hundred miles off course to avoid a storm.
Some homing pigeon experts claim that this bird is gifted with a form of built-in radar that helps it find its own loft after hours of flight, for hidden under the head feathers are two very sensitive ears, while the sharp, prominent eyes can see great distances in daytime.
Why do homing pigeons fly home? They are not unique in this inherent skill; it is found in most migratory birds, in bees, ants, toads, and even turtles, which have been known to travel hundreds of miles to return to their homes. But in the animal world, the homing pigeon alone can be trusted with its freedom and trained to carry out the missions that people demand. | 906.txt | 3 |
[
"To describe some unusual kinds ofpets.",
"To measure distances traveled byvarious animals.",
"To compare their home-findingabilities with those of homing pigeons.",
"To interest the reader in learningabout other animals."
] | Why does the author mention bees,ants, toads, and turtles in the last paragraph? | Homing pigeons are placed in a training program from about the time they are twenty-eight days of age. They are taught to enter the cage through a trap and to exercise above and around the loft, and gradually they are taken away for short distances in willow baskets and released. They are then expected to find their way home in the shortest possible time.
In their training flights or in actual races, the birds are taken to prearranged distant points and released to find their way back to their own lofts. Once the birds are liberated, their owners, who are standing by at the home lofts, anxiously watch the sky for the return of their entries. Since time is of the essence, the speed with which the birds can be induced to enter the loft trap may make the difference between gaining a win or a second place.
The head of a homing pigeon is comparatively small, but its brain is one quarter larger than that of the ordinary pigeon. The homing pigeon is very intelligent and will persevere to the point of stubbornness; some have been known to fly a hundred miles off course to avoid a storm.
Some homing pigeon experts claim that this bird is gifted with a form of built-in radar that helps it find its own loft after hours of flight, for hidden under the head feathers are two very sensitive ears, while the sharp, prominent eyes can see great distances in daytime.
Why do homing pigeons fly home? They are not unique in this inherent skill; it is found in most migratory birds, in bees, ants, toads, and even turtles, which have been known to travel hundreds of miles to return to their homes. But in the animal world, the homing pigeon alone can be trusted with its freedom and trained to carry out the missions that people demand. | 906.txt | 2 |
[
"Summers were very warm and winters werevery cold.",
"Shallow seas on the continents causedfrequent temperature changes.",
"The climate was very similar to today'sclimate.",
"The climate did not change dramaticallyfrom season to season."
] | According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of the Late Cretaceous climate? | Paleozoic Era 334 to 248 million years ago
Mesozoic Era 245 to 65 million years ago
-Triassic Period
-Jurassic Period
-Cretaceous Period
Cenozoic Era 65 million years ago to the present
Paleontologists have argued for a long time that the demise of the dinosaurs was caused by climatic alterations associated with slow changes in the positions of continents and seas resulting from plate tectonics. Off and on throughout the Cretaceous (the last period of the Mesozoic era, during which dinosaurs flourisheD., large shallow seas covered extensive areas of the continents. Data from diverse sources, including geochemical evidence preserved in seafloor sediments, indicate that the Late Cretaceous climate was milder than today's. The days were not too hot, nor the nights too cold. The summers were not too warm, nor the winters too frigid. The shallow seas on the continents probably buffered the temperature of the nearby air, keeping it relatively constant.
At the end of the Cretaceous, the geological record shows that these seaways retreated from the continents back into the major ocean basins. No one knows why. Over a period of about 100,000 years, while the seas pulled back, climates around the world became dramatically more extreme: warmer days, cooler nights; hotter summers, colder winters. Perhaps dinosaurs could not tolerate these extreme temperature changes and became extinct.
If true, though, why did cold-blooded animals such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles survive the freezing winters and torrid summers? These animals are at the mercy of the climate to maintain a livable body temperature. It's hard to understand why they would not be affected, whereas dinosaurs were left too crippled to cope, especially if, as some scientists believe, dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Critics also point out that the shallow seaways had retreated from and advanced on the continents numerous times during the Mesozoic, so why did the dinosaurs survive the climatic changes associated with the earlier fluctuations but not with this one? Although initially appealing, the hypothesis of a simple climatic change related to sea levels is insufficient to explain all the data.
Dissatisfaction with conventional explanations for dinosaur extinctions led to a surprising observation that, in turn, has suggested a new hypothesis. Many plants and animals disappear abruptly from the fossil record as one moves from layers of rock documenting the end of the Cretaceous up into rocks representing the beginning of the Cenozoic (the era after the MesozoiC. Between the last layer of Cretaceous rock and the first layer of Cenozoic rock, there is often a thin layer of clay. Scientists felt that they could get an idea of how long the extinctions took by determining how long it took to deposit this one centimeter of clay and they thought they could determine the time it took to deposit the clay by determining the amount of the element iridium (Ir) it contained.
Ir has not been common at Earth's since the very beginning of the planet's history. Because it usually exists in a metallic state, it was preferentially incorporated in Earth's core as the planet cooled and consolidated. Ir is found in high concentrations in some meteorites, in which the solar system's original chemical composition is preserved. Even today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard Earth, falling on both land and sea. By measuring how many of these meteorites fall to Earth over a given period of time, scientists can estimate how long it might have taken to deposit the observed amount of Ir in the boundary clay. These calculations suggest that a period of about one million years would have been required. However, other reliable evidence suggests that the deposition of the boundary clay could not have taken one million years. So the unusually high concentration of Ir seems to require a special explanation.
In view of these facts, scientists hypothesized that a single large asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers across, collided with Earth, and the resulting fallout created the boundary clay. Their calculations show that the impact kicked up a dust cloud that cut off sunlight for several months, inhibiting photosynthesis in plants; decreased surface temperatures on continents to below freezing; caused extreme episodes of acid rain; and significantly raised long-term global temperatures through the greenhouse effect. This disruption of food chain and climate would have eradicated the dinosaurs and other organisms in less than fifty years. | 1048.txt | 3 |
[
"Changes in the lengths of the days andnights during the late Cretaceous period",
"Droughts caused by the movement ofseaways back into the oceans",
"The change from mild to severe climatesduring the Late Cretaceous period",
"An extreme decrease in the average yearlytemperature over 10,ooo years"
] | Which of the following reasons issuggested in paragraph 2 for the extinction of the dinosaurs? | Paleozoic Era 334 to 248 million years ago
Mesozoic Era 245 to 65 million years ago
-Triassic Period
-Jurassic Period
-Cretaceous Period
Cenozoic Era 65 million years ago to the present
Paleontologists have argued for a long time that the demise of the dinosaurs was caused by climatic alterations associated with slow changes in the positions of continents and seas resulting from plate tectonics. Off and on throughout the Cretaceous (the last period of the Mesozoic era, during which dinosaurs flourisheD., large shallow seas covered extensive areas of the continents. Data from diverse sources, including geochemical evidence preserved in seafloor sediments, indicate that the Late Cretaceous climate was milder than today's. The days were not too hot, nor the nights too cold. The summers were not too warm, nor the winters too frigid. The shallow seas on the continents probably buffered the temperature of the nearby air, keeping it relatively constant.
At the end of the Cretaceous, the geological record shows that these seaways retreated from the continents back into the major ocean basins. No one knows why. Over a period of about 100,000 years, while the seas pulled back, climates around the world became dramatically more extreme: warmer days, cooler nights; hotter summers, colder winters. Perhaps dinosaurs could not tolerate these extreme temperature changes and became extinct.
If true, though, why did cold-blooded animals such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles survive the freezing winters and torrid summers? These animals are at the mercy of the climate to maintain a livable body temperature. It's hard to understand why they would not be affected, whereas dinosaurs were left too crippled to cope, especially if, as some scientists believe, dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Critics also point out that the shallow seaways had retreated from and advanced on the continents numerous times during the Mesozoic, so why did the dinosaurs survive the climatic changes associated with the earlier fluctuations but not with this one? Although initially appealing, the hypothesis of a simple climatic change related to sea levels is insufficient to explain all the data.
Dissatisfaction with conventional explanations for dinosaur extinctions led to a surprising observation that, in turn, has suggested a new hypothesis. Many plants and animals disappear abruptly from the fossil record as one moves from layers of rock documenting the end of the Cretaceous up into rocks representing the beginning of the Cenozoic (the era after the MesozoiC. Between the last layer of Cretaceous rock and the first layer of Cenozoic rock, there is often a thin layer of clay. Scientists felt that they could get an idea of how long the extinctions took by determining how long it took to deposit this one centimeter of clay and they thought they could determine the time it took to deposit the clay by determining the amount of the element iridium (Ir) it contained.
Ir has not been common at Earth's since the very beginning of the planet's history. Because it usually exists in a metallic state, it was preferentially incorporated in Earth's core as the planet cooled and consolidated. Ir is found in high concentrations in some meteorites, in which the solar system's original chemical composition is preserved. Even today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard Earth, falling on both land and sea. By measuring how many of these meteorites fall to Earth over a given period of time, scientists can estimate how long it might have taken to deposit the observed amount of Ir in the boundary clay. These calculations suggest that a period of about one million years would have been required. However, other reliable evidence suggests that the deposition of the boundary clay could not have taken one million years. So the unusually high concentration of Ir seems to require a special explanation.
In view of these facts, scientists hypothesized that a single large asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers across, collided with Earth, and the resulting fallout created the boundary clay. Their calculations show that the impact kicked up a dust cloud that cut off sunlight for several months, inhibiting photosynthesis in plants; decreased surface temperatures on continents to below freezing; caused extreme episodes of acid rain; and significantly raised long-term global temperatures through the greenhouse effect. This disruption of food chain and climate would have eradicated the dinosaurs and other organisms in less than fifty years. | 1048.txt | 2 |
[
"To argue that dinosaurs may have becomeextinct because they were not cold-blooded animals",
"To question the adequacy of thehypothesis that climatic change related to sea levels caused the extinction ofthe dinosaurs",
"To present examples of animals that couldmaintain a livable body temperature more easily than dinosaurs",
"To support a hypothesis that theseanimals were not as sensitive to climate changes in the Cretaceous period asthey are today"
] | Why does the author mention the survivalof "snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles" in paragraph 3? | Paleozoic Era 334 to 248 million years ago
Mesozoic Era 245 to 65 million years ago
-Triassic Period
-Jurassic Period
-Cretaceous Period
Cenozoic Era 65 million years ago to the present
Paleontologists have argued for a long time that the demise of the dinosaurs was caused by climatic alterations associated with slow changes in the positions of continents and seas resulting from plate tectonics. Off and on throughout the Cretaceous (the last period of the Mesozoic era, during which dinosaurs flourisheD., large shallow seas covered extensive areas of the continents. Data from diverse sources, including geochemical evidence preserved in seafloor sediments, indicate that the Late Cretaceous climate was milder than today's. The days were not too hot, nor the nights too cold. The summers were not too warm, nor the winters too frigid. The shallow seas on the continents probably buffered the temperature of the nearby air, keeping it relatively constant.
At the end of the Cretaceous, the geological record shows that these seaways retreated from the continents back into the major ocean basins. No one knows why. Over a period of about 100,000 years, while the seas pulled back, climates around the world became dramatically more extreme: warmer days, cooler nights; hotter summers, colder winters. Perhaps dinosaurs could not tolerate these extreme temperature changes and became extinct.
If true, though, why did cold-blooded animals such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles survive the freezing winters and torrid summers? These animals are at the mercy of the climate to maintain a livable body temperature. It's hard to understand why they would not be affected, whereas dinosaurs were left too crippled to cope, especially if, as some scientists believe, dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Critics also point out that the shallow seaways had retreated from and advanced on the continents numerous times during the Mesozoic, so why did the dinosaurs survive the climatic changes associated with the earlier fluctuations but not with this one? Although initially appealing, the hypothesis of a simple climatic change related to sea levels is insufficient to explain all the data.
Dissatisfaction with conventional explanations for dinosaur extinctions led to a surprising observation that, in turn, has suggested a new hypothesis. Many plants and animals disappear abruptly from the fossil record as one moves from layers of rock documenting the end of the Cretaceous up into rocks representing the beginning of the Cenozoic (the era after the MesozoiC. Between the last layer of Cretaceous rock and the first layer of Cenozoic rock, there is often a thin layer of clay. Scientists felt that they could get an idea of how long the extinctions took by determining how long it took to deposit this one centimeter of clay and they thought they could determine the time it took to deposit the clay by determining the amount of the element iridium (Ir) it contained.
Ir has not been common at Earth's since the very beginning of the planet's history. Because it usually exists in a metallic state, it was preferentially incorporated in Earth's core as the planet cooled and consolidated. Ir is found in high concentrations in some meteorites, in which the solar system's original chemical composition is preserved. Even today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard Earth, falling on both land and sea. By measuring how many of these meteorites fall to Earth over a given period of time, scientists can estimate how long it might have taken to deposit the observed amount of Ir in the boundary clay. These calculations suggest that a period of about one million years would have been required. However, other reliable evidence suggests that the deposition of the boundary clay could not have taken one million years. So the unusually high concentration of Ir seems to require a special explanation.
In view of these facts, scientists hypothesized that a single large asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers across, collided with Earth, and the resulting fallout created the boundary clay. Their calculations show that the impact kicked up a dust cloud that cut off sunlight for several months, inhibiting photosynthesis in plants; decreased surface temperatures on continents to below freezing; caused extreme episodes of acid rain; and significantly raised long-term global temperatures through the greenhouse effect. This disruption of food chain and climate would have eradicated the dinosaurs and other organisms in less than fifty years. | 1048.txt | 1 |
[
"adapt",
"move",
"continue",
"compete"
] | The word "cope" in the passage (paragraph3) is closest in meaning to | Paleozoic Era 334 to 248 million years ago
Mesozoic Era 245 to 65 million years ago
-Triassic Period
-Jurassic Period
-Cretaceous Period
Cenozoic Era 65 million years ago to the present
Paleontologists have argued for a long time that the demise of the dinosaurs was caused by climatic alterations associated with slow changes in the positions of continents and seas resulting from plate tectonics. Off and on throughout the Cretaceous (the last period of the Mesozoic era, during which dinosaurs flourisheD., large shallow seas covered extensive areas of the continents. Data from diverse sources, including geochemical evidence preserved in seafloor sediments, indicate that the Late Cretaceous climate was milder than today's. The days were not too hot, nor the nights too cold. The summers were not too warm, nor the winters too frigid. The shallow seas on the continents probably buffered the temperature of the nearby air, keeping it relatively constant.
At the end of the Cretaceous, the geological record shows that these seaways retreated from the continents back into the major ocean basins. No one knows why. Over a period of about 100,000 years, while the seas pulled back, climates around the world became dramatically more extreme: warmer days, cooler nights; hotter summers, colder winters. Perhaps dinosaurs could not tolerate these extreme temperature changes and became extinct.
If true, though, why did cold-blooded animals such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles survive the freezing winters and torrid summers? These animals are at the mercy of the climate to maintain a livable body temperature. It's hard to understand why they would not be affected, whereas dinosaurs were left too crippled to cope, especially if, as some scientists believe, dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Critics also point out that the shallow seaways had retreated from and advanced on the continents numerous times during the Mesozoic, so why did the dinosaurs survive the climatic changes associated with the earlier fluctuations but not with this one? Although initially appealing, the hypothesis of a simple climatic change related to sea levels is insufficient to explain all the data.
Dissatisfaction with conventional explanations for dinosaur extinctions led to a surprising observation that, in turn, has suggested a new hypothesis. Many plants and animals disappear abruptly from the fossil record as one moves from layers of rock documenting the end of the Cretaceous up into rocks representing the beginning of the Cenozoic (the era after the MesozoiC. Between the last layer of Cretaceous rock and the first layer of Cenozoic rock, there is often a thin layer of clay. Scientists felt that they could get an idea of how long the extinctions took by determining how long it took to deposit this one centimeter of clay and they thought they could determine the time it took to deposit the clay by determining the amount of the element iridium (Ir) it contained.
Ir has not been common at Earth's since the very beginning of the planet's history. Because it usually exists in a metallic state, it was preferentially incorporated in Earth's core as the planet cooled and consolidated. Ir is found in high concentrations in some meteorites, in which the solar system's original chemical composition is preserved. Even today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard Earth, falling on both land and sea. By measuring how many of these meteorites fall to Earth over a given period of time, scientists can estimate how long it might have taken to deposit the observed amount of Ir in the boundary clay. These calculations suggest that a period of about one million years would have been required. However, other reliable evidence suggests that the deposition of the boundary clay could not have taken one million years. So the unusually high concentration of Ir seems to require a special explanation.
In view of these facts, scientists hypothesized that a single large asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers across, collided with Earth, and the resulting fallout created the boundary clay. Their calculations show that the impact kicked up a dust cloud that cut off sunlight for several months, inhibiting photosynthesis in plants; decreased surface temperatures on continents to below freezing; caused extreme episodes of acid rain; and significantly raised long-term global temperatures through the greenhouse effect. This disruption of food chain and climate would have eradicated the dinosaurs and other organisms in less than fifty years. | 1048.txt | 0 |
[
"Climate changes associated with themovement of seaways before the Cretaceous period did not cause dinosaurs tobecome extinct.",
"Changes in climate before the Cretaceousperiod caused severe fluctuations in sea level, resulting in the extinction ofthe dinosaurs.",
"Frequent changes in climate before theCretaceous period made dinosaurs better able to maintain a livable bodytemperature.",
"Before the Cretaceous period there werefew changes in climate, and dinosaurs flourished."
] | According to paragraph 3, which of the following is true of changes in climate before the Cretaceous period and theeffect of these changes on dinosaurs? | Paleozoic Era 334 to 248 million years ago
Mesozoic Era 245 to 65 million years ago
-Triassic Period
-Jurassic Period
-Cretaceous Period
Cenozoic Era 65 million years ago to the present
Paleontologists have argued for a long time that the demise of the dinosaurs was caused by climatic alterations associated with slow changes in the positions of continents and seas resulting from plate tectonics. Off and on throughout the Cretaceous (the last period of the Mesozoic era, during which dinosaurs flourisheD., large shallow seas covered extensive areas of the continents. Data from diverse sources, including geochemical evidence preserved in seafloor sediments, indicate that the Late Cretaceous climate was milder than today's. The days were not too hot, nor the nights too cold. The summers were not too warm, nor the winters too frigid. The shallow seas on the continents probably buffered the temperature of the nearby air, keeping it relatively constant.
At the end of the Cretaceous, the geological record shows that these seaways retreated from the continents back into the major ocean basins. No one knows why. Over a period of about 100,000 years, while the seas pulled back, climates around the world became dramatically more extreme: warmer days, cooler nights; hotter summers, colder winters. Perhaps dinosaurs could not tolerate these extreme temperature changes and became extinct.
If true, though, why did cold-blooded animals such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles survive the freezing winters and torrid summers? These animals are at the mercy of the climate to maintain a livable body temperature. It's hard to understand why they would not be affected, whereas dinosaurs were left too crippled to cope, especially if, as some scientists believe, dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Critics also point out that the shallow seaways had retreated from and advanced on the continents numerous times during the Mesozoic, so why did the dinosaurs survive the climatic changes associated with the earlier fluctuations but not with this one? Although initially appealing, the hypothesis of a simple climatic change related to sea levels is insufficient to explain all the data.
Dissatisfaction with conventional explanations for dinosaur extinctions led to a surprising observation that, in turn, has suggested a new hypothesis. Many plants and animals disappear abruptly from the fossil record as one moves from layers of rock documenting the end of the Cretaceous up into rocks representing the beginning of the Cenozoic (the era after the MesozoiC. Between the last layer of Cretaceous rock and the first layer of Cenozoic rock, there is often a thin layer of clay. Scientists felt that they could get an idea of how long the extinctions took by determining how long it took to deposit this one centimeter of clay and they thought they could determine the time it took to deposit the clay by determining the amount of the element iridium (Ir) it contained.
Ir has not been common at Earth's since the very beginning of the planet's history. Because it usually exists in a metallic state, it was preferentially incorporated in Earth's core as the planet cooled and consolidated. Ir is found in high concentrations in some meteorites, in which the solar system's original chemical composition is preserved. Even today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard Earth, falling on both land and sea. By measuring how many of these meteorites fall to Earth over a given period of time, scientists can estimate how long it might have taken to deposit the observed amount of Ir in the boundary clay. These calculations suggest that a period of about one million years would have been required. However, other reliable evidence suggests that the deposition of the boundary clay could not have taken one million years. So the unusually high concentration of Ir seems to require a special explanation.
In view of these facts, scientists hypothesized that a single large asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers across, collided with Earth, and the resulting fallout created the boundary clay. Their calculations show that the impact kicked up a dust cloud that cut off sunlight for several months, inhibiting photosynthesis in plants; decreased surface temperatures on continents to below freezing; caused extreme episodes of acid rain; and significantly raised long-term global temperatures through the greenhouse effect. This disruption of food chain and climate would have eradicated the dinosaurs and other organisms in less than fifty years. | 1048.txt | 0 |
[
"extremes",
"retreats",
"periods",
"variations"
] | The word "fluctuations" in the passage(paragraph 3) is closest in meaning to | Paleozoic Era 334 to 248 million years ago
Mesozoic Era 245 to 65 million years ago
-Triassic Period
-Jurassic Period
-Cretaceous Period
Cenozoic Era 65 million years ago to the present
Paleontologists have argued for a long time that the demise of the dinosaurs was caused by climatic alterations associated with slow changes in the positions of continents and seas resulting from plate tectonics. Off and on throughout the Cretaceous (the last period of the Mesozoic era, during which dinosaurs flourisheD., large shallow seas covered extensive areas of the continents. Data from diverse sources, including geochemical evidence preserved in seafloor sediments, indicate that the Late Cretaceous climate was milder than today's. The days were not too hot, nor the nights too cold. The summers were not too warm, nor the winters too frigid. The shallow seas on the continents probably buffered the temperature of the nearby air, keeping it relatively constant.
At the end of the Cretaceous, the geological record shows that these seaways retreated from the continents back into the major ocean basins. No one knows why. Over a period of about 100,000 years, while the seas pulled back, climates around the world became dramatically more extreme: warmer days, cooler nights; hotter summers, colder winters. Perhaps dinosaurs could not tolerate these extreme temperature changes and became extinct.
If true, though, why did cold-blooded animals such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles survive the freezing winters and torrid summers? These animals are at the mercy of the climate to maintain a livable body temperature. It's hard to understand why they would not be affected, whereas dinosaurs were left too crippled to cope, especially if, as some scientists believe, dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Critics also point out that the shallow seaways had retreated from and advanced on the continents numerous times during the Mesozoic, so why did the dinosaurs survive the climatic changes associated with the earlier fluctuations but not with this one? Although initially appealing, the hypothesis of a simple climatic change related to sea levels is insufficient to explain all the data.
Dissatisfaction with conventional explanations for dinosaur extinctions led to a surprising observation that, in turn, has suggested a new hypothesis. Many plants and animals disappear abruptly from the fossil record as one moves from layers of rock documenting the end of the Cretaceous up into rocks representing the beginning of the Cenozoic (the era after the MesozoiC. Between the last layer of Cretaceous rock and the first layer of Cenozoic rock, there is often a thin layer of clay. Scientists felt that they could get an idea of how long the extinctions took by determining how long it took to deposit this one centimeter of clay and they thought they could determine the time it took to deposit the clay by determining the amount of the element iridium (Ir) it contained.
Ir has not been common at Earth's since the very beginning of the planet's history. Because it usually exists in a metallic state, it was preferentially incorporated in Earth's core as the planet cooled and consolidated. Ir is found in high concentrations in some meteorites, in which the solar system's original chemical composition is preserved. Even today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard Earth, falling on both land and sea. By measuring how many of these meteorites fall to Earth over a given period of time, scientists can estimate how long it might have taken to deposit the observed amount of Ir in the boundary clay. These calculations suggest that a period of about one million years would have been required. However, other reliable evidence suggests that the deposition of the boundary clay could not have taken one million years. So the unusually high concentration of Ir seems to require a special explanation.
In view of these facts, scientists hypothesized that a single large asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers across, collided with Earth, and the resulting fallout created the boundary clay. Their calculations show that the impact kicked up a dust cloud that cut off sunlight for several months, inhibiting photosynthesis in plants; decreased surface temperatures on continents to below freezing; caused extreme episodes of acid rain; and significantly raised long-term global temperatures through the greenhouse effect. This disruption of food chain and climate would have eradicated the dinosaurs and other organisms in less than fifty years. | 1048.txt | 3 |
[
"Why is there a layer of clay between therocks of the Cretaceous and Cenozoic",
"Why were scientists interested indetermining how long it took to deposit the layer of clay at the end of theCretaceous",
"What was the effect of the surprisingobservation scientists made",
"Why did scientists want more informationabout the dinosaur extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous"
] | In paragraph 4, all the following questionsare answered EXCEPT: | Paleozoic Era 334 to 248 million years ago
Mesozoic Era 245 to 65 million years ago
-Triassic Period
-Jurassic Period
-Cretaceous Period
Cenozoic Era 65 million years ago to the present
Paleontologists have argued for a long time that the demise of the dinosaurs was caused by climatic alterations associated with slow changes in the positions of continents and seas resulting from plate tectonics. Off and on throughout the Cretaceous (the last period of the Mesozoic era, during which dinosaurs flourisheD., large shallow seas covered extensive areas of the continents. Data from diverse sources, including geochemical evidence preserved in seafloor sediments, indicate that the Late Cretaceous climate was milder than today's. The days were not too hot, nor the nights too cold. The summers were not too warm, nor the winters too frigid. The shallow seas on the continents probably buffered the temperature of the nearby air, keeping it relatively constant.
At the end of the Cretaceous, the geological record shows that these seaways retreated from the continents back into the major ocean basins. No one knows why. Over a period of about 100,000 years, while the seas pulled back, climates around the world became dramatically more extreme: warmer days, cooler nights; hotter summers, colder winters. Perhaps dinosaurs could not tolerate these extreme temperature changes and became extinct.
If true, though, why did cold-blooded animals such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles survive the freezing winters and torrid summers? These animals are at the mercy of the climate to maintain a livable body temperature. It's hard to understand why they would not be affected, whereas dinosaurs were left too crippled to cope, especially if, as some scientists believe, dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Critics also point out that the shallow seaways had retreated from and advanced on the continents numerous times during the Mesozoic, so why did the dinosaurs survive the climatic changes associated with the earlier fluctuations but not with this one? Although initially appealing, the hypothesis of a simple climatic change related to sea levels is insufficient to explain all the data.
Dissatisfaction with conventional explanations for dinosaur extinctions led to a surprising observation that, in turn, has suggested a new hypothesis. Many plants and animals disappear abruptly from the fossil record as one moves from layers of rock documenting the end of the Cretaceous up into rocks representing the beginning of the Cenozoic (the era after the MesozoiC. Between the last layer of Cretaceous rock and the first layer of Cenozoic rock, there is often a thin layer of clay. Scientists felt that they could get an idea of how long the extinctions took by determining how long it took to deposit this one centimeter of clay and they thought they could determine the time it took to deposit the clay by determining the amount of the element iridium (Ir) it contained.
Ir has not been common at Earth's since the very beginning of the planet's history. Because it usually exists in a metallic state, it was preferentially incorporated in Earth's core as the planet cooled and consolidated. Ir is found in high concentrations in some meteorites, in which the solar system's original chemical composition is preserved. Even today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard Earth, falling on both land and sea. By measuring how many of these meteorites fall to Earth over a given period of time, scientists can estimate how long it might have taken to deposit the observed amount of Ir in the boundary clay. These calculations suggest that a period of about one million years would have been required. However, other reliable evidence suggests that the deposition of the boundary clay could not have taken one million years. So the unusually high concentration of Ir seems to require a special explanation.
In view of these facts, scientists hypothesized that a single large asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers across, collided with Earth, and the resulting fallout created the boundary clay. Their calculations show that the impact kicked up a dust cloud that cut off sunlight for several months, inhibiting photosynthesis in plants; decreased surface temperatures on continents to below freezing; caused extreme episodes of acid rain; and significantly raised long-term global temperatures through the greenhouse effect. This disruption of food chain and climate would have eradicated the dinosaurs and other organisms in less than fifty years. | 1048.txt | 0 |
[
"approach",
"strike",
"pass",
"circle"
] | The word "bombard" in the passage(paragraph 5) is closest in meaning to | Paleozoic Era 334 to 248 million years ago
Mesozoic Era 245 to 65 million years ago
-Triassic Period
-Jurassic Period
-Cretaceous Period
Cenozoic Era 65 million years ago to the present
Paleontologists have argued for a long time that the demise of the dinosaurs was caused by climatic alterations associated with slow changes in the positions of continents and seas resulting from plate tectonics. Off and on throughout the Cretaceous (the last period of the Mesozoic era, during which dinosaurs flourisheD., large shallow seas covered extensive areas of the continents. Data from diverse sources, including geochemical evidence preserved in seafloor sediments, indicate that the Late Cretaceous climate was milder than today's. The days were not too hot, nor the nights too cold. The summers were not too warm, nor the winters too frigid. The shallow seas on the continents probably buffered the temperature of the nearby air, keeping it relatively constant.
At the end of the Cretaceous, the geological record shows that these seaways retreated from the continents back into the major ocean basins. No one knows why. Over a period of about 100,000 years, while the seas pulled back, climates around the world became dramatically more extreme: warmer days, cooler nights; hotter summers, colder winters. Perhaps dinosaurs could not tolerate these extreme temperature changes and became extinct.
If true, though, why did cold-blooded animals such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles survive the freezing winters and torrid summers? These animals are at the mercy of the climate to maintain a livable body temperature. It's hard to understand why they would not be affected, whereas dinosaurs were left too crippled to cope, especially if, as some scientists believe, dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Critics also point out that the shallow seaways had retreated from and advanced on the continents numerous times during the Mesozoic, so why did the dinosaurs survive the climatic changes associated with the earlier fluctuations but not with this one? Although initially appealing, the hypothesis of a simple climatic change related to sea levels is insufficient to explain all the data.
Dissatisfaction with conventional explanations for dinosaur extinctions led to a surprising observation that, in turn, has suggested a new hypothesis. Many plants and animals disappear abruptly from the fossil record as one moves from layers of rock documenting the end of the Cretaceous up into rocks representing the beginning of the Cenozoic (the era after the MesozoiC. Between the last layer of Cretaceous rock and the first layer of Cenozoic rock, there is often a thin layer of clay. Scientists felt that they could get an idea of how long the extinctions took by determining how long it took to deposit this one centimeter of clay and they thought they could determine the time it took to deposit the clay by determining the amount of the element iridium (Ir) it contained.
Ir has not been common at Earth's since the very beginning of the planet's history. Because it usually exists in a metallic state, it was preferentially incorporated in Earth's core as the planet cooled and consolidated. Ir is found in high concentrations in some meteorites, in which the solar system's original chemical composition is preserved. Even today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard Earth, falling on both land and sea. By measuring how many of these meteorites fall to Earth over a given period of time, scientists can estimate how long it might have taken to deposit the observed amount of Ir in the boundary clay. These calculations suggest that a period of about one million years would have been required. However, other reliable evidence suggests that the deposition of the boundary clay could not have taken one million years. So the unusually high concentration of Ir seems to require a special explanation.
In view of these facts, scientists hypothesized that a single large asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers across, collided with Earth, and the resulting fallout created the boundary clay. Their calculations show that the impact kicked up a dust cloud that cut off sunlight for several months, inhibiting photosynthesis in plants; decreased surface temperatures on continents to below freezing; caused extreme episodes of acid rain; and significantly raised long-term global temperatures through the greenhouse effect. This disruption of food chain and climate would have eradicated the dinosaurs and other organisms in less than fifty years. | 1048.txt | 1 |
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