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[
"rain falls",
"it gets very hot or very cold",
"it gets very dry",
"it gets very salty"
] | A rock cracks when _ . | When the weather is hot, you go to a lake or an ocean and may feel cool. Why? The sun makes the earth hot, but it cannot make the water very hot. Although the air over the earth becomes hot, the air over the water stays cool. The hot air over the earth rises. Then the cool air over the water moves in and takes the place of the hot air. When you are near a lake or an ocean, you feel the cool air when it moves in. You feel the wind, which makes you cool.
Of course, scientists cannot answer all of our questions. If we ask, "Why is the ocean full of salt?" scientists will say that the salt comes from rocks. When a rock gets very hot or very cold, it cracks. Rain falls into the cracks. The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers. The rivers carry the salt into the ocean. But then we ask, "What happens to the salt in the ocean? The ocean does not get more salty every year." Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question. We know a lot about our world. But there are still many answers that we do not have and we are curious. | 710.txt | 1 |
[
"they know nothing about the world",
"they know little about the world",
"there are answers they do not have",
"all of the above"
] | People are always curious because _ . | When the weather is hot, you go to a lake or an ocean and may feel cool. Why? The sun makes the earth hot, but it cannot make the water very hot. Although the air over the earth becomes hot, the air over the water stays cool. The hot air over the earth rises. Then the cool air over the water moves in and takes the place of the hot air. When you are near a lake or an ocean, you feel the cool air when it moves in. You feel the wind, which makes you cool.
Of course, scientists cannot answer all of our questions. If we ask, "Why is the ocean full of salt?" scientists will say that the salt comes from rocks. When a rock gets very hot or very cold, it cracks. Rain falls into the cracks. The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers. The rivers carry the salt into the ocean. But then we ask, "What happens to the salt in the ocean? The ocean does not get more salty every year." Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question. We know a lot about our world. But there are still many answers that we do not have and we are curious. | 710.txt | 2 |
[
"the pursuit of rationality through imagination.",
"an unemotional search for the truth.",
"a purposeful and unbiased quest for what is best.",
"a short-sighted way of pursuing happiness"
] | As used in the passage, the author would define "wisdom" as | Religion and Rationality
Yet the difference in tome and language must strike us, so soon as it is philosophy that speaks: that change should remind usthat even if the function of religion and that of reason coincide,this function is performed in the two cases by very different organs. Religions are many, reason one. Religion consists of conscious ideas, hopes, enthusiasms, and objects of worship; it operates by grace and flourishes by prayer. Reason, on the other hand, is a mere principle or potential order, on which indeed we may come to reflect but which exists in us ideally only, without variation or stress of any kind. We conform or do not conform to it; it does not urge or chide us, not call for any emotions on our part other than those naturally aroused by the various objects which it unfolds in their true nature and proportion.Religion brings some order into life by weighting it with new materials. Reason adds to the natural materials only the perfect order which it introduces into them. Rationality is nothing but a form, anideal constitution which experience may more or less embody. Religion is a part of experience itself,a mass of sentiments and ideas. The one is an inviolate principle, the other a changing and struggling force. And yet this struggling and changing force of religion seems to direct man toward something eternal. It seems to make for an ultimate harmony within the soul and for an ultimate harmony between the soul and all that the soul depends upon. Religion, in its intent, is a more conscious and direct pursuit of the Life of Reason than is society, science, or art, for these approach and fill out the ideal life tentatively and piecemeal, hardly regarding the foal or caring forthe ultimate justification of the instinctive aims. Religion also has an instinctive and blind side and bubbles up in all manner of chance practices and intuitions; soon, however, it feels its way towardthe heart of things, and from whatever quarter it may come, veers in the direction of the ultimate.
Nevertheless, we must confess that this religious pursuit of the Life of Reason has been singularly abortive. Those within the pale of each religion may prevail upon themselves, to express satisfaction with its results, thanks to a fond partiality in reading the past and generous draughts of hope for the future; but any one regarding the various religions at once and comparing their achievements with what reason requires, must feel how terrible is the disappointment which they have one and all prepared for mankind. Their chief anxiety has been to offer imaginary remediesfor mortal ills, some of which are incurable essentially, while others might have been really cured bywell-directed effort. The Greed oracles, for instance, pretended to heal out natural ignorance, whichhas its appropriate though difficult cure, while the Christian vision of heaven pretended to be anantidote to our natural death-the inevitable correlate of birth and of a changing and conditioned existence. By methods of this sort little can be done for the real betterment of life. To confuse intelligence and dislocate sentiment by gratuitous fictions is a short-sighted way of pursuing happiness. Nature is soon avenged. An unhealthy exaltation and a one-sided morality have to befollowed by regrettable reactions. When these come. The real rewards of life may seem vain to arelaxed vitality, and the very name of virtue may irritate young spirits untrained in and natural excellence. Thus religion too often debauches the morality it comes to sanction and impedes the science it ought to fulfill.
What is the secret of this ineptitude? Why does religion, so near to rationality in its purpose, fall soshort of it in its results? The answer is easy; religion pursues rationality through the imagination.When it explains events or assigns causes, it is an imaginative substitute for science. When it gives precepts, insinuates ideals, or remoulds aspiration, it is an imaginative substitute for wisdom-Imean for the deliberate and impartial pursuit of all food. The condition and the aims of life are both represented in religion poetically, but this poetry tends to arrogate to itself literal truth and moral authority, neither of which it possesses. Hence the depth and importance of religion becomes intelligible no less than its contradictions and practical disasters. Its object is the same as that ofreason, but its method is to proceed by intuition and by unchecked poetical conceits. | 245.txt | 2 |
[
"Religion seeks the truth through imagination, reason, in its search, utilizes the emotions.",
"Religion has proved an ineffective tool in solving man's problems.",
"Science seeks a piece meal solution to man's questions.",
"The functions of philosophy and reason are the same."
] | Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE? | Religion and Rationality
Yet the difference in tome and language must strike us, so soon as it is philosophy that speaks: that change should remind usthat even if the function of religion and that of reason coincide,this function is performed in the two cases by very different organs. Religions are many, reason one. Religion consists of conscious ideas, hopes, enthusiasms, and objects of worship; it operates by grace and flourishes by prayer. Reason, on the other hand, is a mere principle or potential order, on which indeed we may come to reflect but which exists in us ideally only, without variation or stress of any kind. We conform or do not conform to it; it does not urge or chide us, not call for any emotions on our part other than those naturally aroused by the various objects which it unfolds in their true nature and proportion.Religion brings some order into life by weighting it with new materials. Reason adds to the natural materials only the perfect order which it introduces into them. Rationality is nothing but a form, anideal constitution which experience may more or less embody. Religion is a part of experience itself,a mass of sentiments and ideas. The one is an inviolate principle, the other a changing and struggling force. And yet this struggling and changing force of religion seems to direct man toward something eternal. It seems to make for an ultimate harmony within the soul and for an ultimate harmony between the soul and all that the soul depends upon. Religion, in its intent, is a more conscious and direct pursuit of the Life of Reason than is society, science, or art, for these approach and fill out the ideal life tentatively and piecemeal, hardly regarding the foal or caring forthe ultimate justification of the instinctive aims. Religion also has an instinctive and blind side and bubbles up in all manner of chance practices and intuitions; soon, however, it feels its way towardthe heart of things, and from whatever quarter it may come, veers in the direction of the ultimate.
Nevertheless, we must confess that this religious pursuit of the Life of Reason has been singularly abortive. Those within the pale of each religion may prevail upon themselves, to express satisfaction with its results, thanks to a fond partiality in reading the past and generous draughts of hope for the future; but any one regarding the various religions at once and comparing their achievements with what reason requires, must feel how terrible is the disappointment which they have one and all prepared for mankind. Their chief anxiety has been to offer imaginary remediesfor mortal ills, some of which are incurable essentially, while others might have been really cured bywell-directed effort. The Greed oracles, for instance, pretended to heal out natural ignorance, whichhas its appropriate though difficult cure, while the Christian vision of heaven pretended to be anantidote to our natural death-the inevitable correlate of birth and of a changing and conditioned existence. By methods of this sort little can be done for the real betterment of life. To confuse intelligence and dislocate sentiment by gratuitous fictions is a short-sighted way of pursuing happiness. Nature is soon avenged. An unhealthy exaltation and a one-sided morality have to befollowed by regrettable reactions. When these come. The real rewards of life may seem vain to arelaxed vitality, and the very name of virtue may irritate young spirits untrained in and natural excellence. Thus religion too often debauches the morality it comes to sanction and impedes the science it ought to fulfill.
What is the secret of this ineptitude? Why does religion, so near to rationality in its purpose, fall soshort of it in its results? The answer is easy; religion pursues rationality through the imagination.When it explains events or assigns causes, it is an imaginative substitute for science. When it gives precepts, insinuates ideals, or remoulds aspiration, it is an imaginative substitute for wisdom-Imean for the deliberate and impartial pursuit of all food. The condition and the aims of life are both represented in religion poetically, but this poetry tends to arrogate to itself literal truth and moral authority, neither of which it possesses. Hence the depth and importance of religion becomes intelligible no less than its contradictions and practical disasters. Its object is the same as that ofreason, but its method is to proceed by intuition and by unchecked poetical conceits. | 245.txt | 0 |
[
"it is unaware of ultimate goals.",
"it is unimaginative.",
"its findings are exact and final.",
"it resembles society and art."
] | According to the author, science differs from religion in that | Religion and Rationality
Yet the difference in tome and language must strike us, so soon as it is philosophy that speaks: that change should remind usthat even if the function of religion and that of reason coincide,this function is performed in the two cases by very different organs. Religions are many, reason one. Religion consists of conscious ideas, hopes, enthusiasms, and objects of worship; it operates by grace and flourishes by prayer. Reason, on the other hand, is a mere principle or potential order, on which indeed we may come to reflect but which exists in us ideally only, without variation or stress of any kind. We conform or do not conform to it; it does not urge or chide us, not call for any emotions on our part other than those naturally aroused by the various objects which it unfolds in their true nature and proportion.Religion brings some order into life by weighting it with new materials. Reason adds to the natural materials only the perfect order which it introduces into them. Rationality is nothing but a form, anideal constitution which experience may more or less embody. Religion is a part of experience itself,a mass of sentiments and ideas. The one is an inviolate principle, the other a changing and struggling force. And yet this struggling and changing force of religion seems to direct man toward something eternal. It seems to make for an ultimate harmony within the soul and for an ultimate harmony between the soul and all that the soul depends upon. Religion, in its intent, is a more conscious and direct pursuit of the Life of Reason than is society, science, or art, for these approach and fill out the ideal life tentatively and piecemeal, hardly regarding the foal or caring forthe ultimate justification of the instinctive aims. Religion also has an instinctive and blind side and bubbles up in all manner of chance practices and intuitions; soon, however, it feels its way towardthe heart of things, and from whatever quarter it may come, veers in the direction of the ultimate.
Nevertheless, we must confess that this religious pursuit of the Life of Reason has been singularly abortive. Those within the pale of each religion may prevail upon themselves, to express satisfaction with its results, thanks to a fond partiality in reading the past and generous draughts of hope for the future; but any one regarding the various religions at once and comparing their achievements with what reason requires, must feel how terrible is the disappointment which they have one and all prepared for mankind. Their chief anxiety has been to offer imaginary remediesfor mortal ills, some of which are incurable essentially, while others might have been really cured bywell-directed effort. The Greed oracles, for instance, pretended to heal out natural ignorance, whichhas its appropriate though difficult cure, while the Christian vision of heaven pretended to be anantidote to our natural death-the inevitable correlate of birth and of a changing and conditioned existence. By methods of this sort little can be done for the real betterment of life. To confuse intelligence and dislocate sentiment by gratuitous fictions is a short-sighted way of pursuing happiness. Nature is soon avenged. An unhealthy exaltation and a one-sided morality have to befollowed by regrettable reactions. When these come. The real rewards of life may seem vain to arelaxed vitality, and the very name of virtue may irritate young spirits untrained in and natural excellence. Thus religion too often debauches the morality it comes to sanction and impedes the science it ought to fulfill.
What is the secret of this ineptitude? Why does religion, so near to rationality in its purpose, fall soshort of it in its results? The answer is easy; religion pursues rationality through the imagination.When it explains events or assigns causes, it is an imaginative substitute for science. When it gives precepts, insinuates ideals, or remoulds aspiration, it is an imaginative substitute for wisdom-Imean for the deliberate and impartial pursuit of all food. The condition and the aims of life are both represented in religion poetically, but this poetry tends to arrogate to itself literal truth and moral authority, neither of which it possesses. Hence the depth and importance of religion becomes intelligible no less than its contradictions and practical disasters. Its object is the same as that ofreason, but its method is to proceed by intuition and by unchecked poetical conceits. | 245.txt | 0 |
[
"it relies on intuition rather than reasoning .",
"it is not concerned with the ultimate justification of its instinctive aims.",
"it has disappointed mankind.",
"it has inspired mankind."
] | The author states that religion differs from rationality in that | Religion and Rationality
Yet the difference in tome and language must strike us, so soon as it is philosophy that speaks: that change should remind usthat even if the function of religion and that of reason coincide,this function is performed in the two cases by very different organs. Religions are many, reason one. Religion consists of conscious ideas, hopes, enthusiasms, and objects of worship; it operates by grace and flourishes by prayer. Reason, on the other hand, is a mere principle or potential order, on which indeed we may come to reflect but which exists in us ideally only, without variation or stress of any kind. We conform or do not conform to it; it does not urge or chide us, not call for any emotions on our part other than those naturally aroused by the various objects which it unfolds in their true nature and proportion.Religion brings some order into life by weighting it with new materials. Reason adds to the natural materials only the perfect order which it introduces into them. Rationality is nothing but a form, anideal constitution which experience may more or less embody. Religion is a part of experience itself,a mass of sentiments and ideas. The one is an inviolate principle, the other a changing and struggling force. And yet this struggling and changing force of religion seems to direct man toward something eternal. It seems to make for an ultimate harmony within the soul and for an ultimate harmony between the soul and all that the soul depends upon. Religion, in its intent, is a more conscious and direct pursuit of the Life of Reason than is society, science, or art, for these approach and fill out the ideal life tentatively and piecemeal, hardly regarding the foal or caring forthe ultimate justification of the instinctive aims. Religion also has an instinctive and blind side and bubbles up in all manner of chance practices and intuitions; soon, however, it feels its way towardthe heart of things, and from whatever quarter it may come, veers in the direction of the ultimate.
Nevertheless, we must confess that this religious pursuit of the Life of Reason has been singularly abortive. Those within the pale of each religion may prevail upon themselves, to express satisfaction with its results, thanks to a fond partiality in reading the past and generous draughts of hope for the future; but any one regarding the various religions at once and comparing their achievements with what reason requires, must feel how terrible is the disappointment which they have one and all prepared for mankind. Their chief anxiety has been to offer imaginary remediesfor mortal ills, some of which are incurable essentially, while others might have been really cured bywell-directed effort. The Greed oracles, for instance, pretended to heal out natural ignorance, whichhas its appropriate though difficult cure, while the Christian vision of heaven pretended to be anantidote to our natural death-the inevitable correlate of birth and of a changing and conditioned existence. By methods of this sort little can be done for the real betterment of life. To confuse intelligence and dislocate sentiment by gratuitous fictions is a short-sighted way of pursuing happiness. Nature is soon avenged. An unhealthy exaltation and a one-sided morality have to befollowed by regrettable reactions. When these come. The real rewards of life may seem vain to arelaxed vitality, and the very name of virtue may irritate young spirits untrained in and natural excellence. Thus religion too often debauches the morality it comes to sanction and impedes the science it ought to fulfill.
What is the secret of this ineptitude? Why does religion, so near to rationality in its purpose, fall soshort of it in its results? The answer is easy; religion pursues rationality through the imagination.When it explains events or assigns causes, it is an imaginative substitute for science. When it gives precepts, insinuates ideals, or remoulds aspiration, it is an imaginative substitute for wisdom-Imean for the deliberate and impartial pursuit of all food. The condition and the aims of life are both represented in religion poetically, but this poetry tends to arrogate to itself literal truth and moral authority, neither of which it possesses. Hence the depth and importance of religion becomes intelligible no less than its contradictions and practical disasters. Its object is the same as that ofreason, but its method is to proceed by intuition and by unchecked poetical conceits. | 245.txt | 3 |
[
"imaginative.",
"a provider of hope for the future.",
"a highly intellectual activity",
"ineffectual."
] | According to the author, the pursuit of religion has proved to be | Religion and Rationality
Yet the difference in tome and language must strike us, so soon as it is philosophy that speaks: that change should remind usthat even if the function of religion and that of reason coincide,this function is performed in the two cases by very different organs. Religions are many, reason one. Religion consists of conscious ideas, hopes, enthusiasms, and objects of worship; it operates by grace and flourishes by prayer. Reason, on the other hand, is a mere principle or potential order, on which indeed we may come to reflect but which exists in us ideally only, without variation or stress of any kind. We conform or do not conform to it; it does not urge or chide us, not call for any emotions on our part other than those naturally aroused by the various objects which it unfolds in their true nature and proportion.Religion brings some order into life by weighting it with new materials. Reason adds to the natural materials only the perfect order which it introduces into them. Rationality is nothing but a form, anideal constitution which experience may more or less embody. Religion is a part of experience itself,a mass of sentiments and ideas. The one is an inviolate principle, the other a changing and struggling force. And yet this struggling and changing force of religion seems to direct man toward something eternal. It seems to make for an ultimate harmony within the soul and for an ultimate harmony between the soul and all that the soul depends upon. Religion, in its intent, is a more conscious and direct pursuit of the Life of Reason than is society, science, or art, for these approach and fill out the ideal life tentatively and piecemeal, hardly regarding the foal or caring forthe ultimate justification of the instinctive aims. Religion also has an instinctive and blind side and bubbles up in all manner of chance practices and intuitions; soon, however, it feels its way towardthe heart of things, and from whatever quarter it may come, veers in the direction of the ultimate.
Nevertheless, we must confess that this religious pursuit of the Life of Reason has been singularly abortive. Those within the pale of each religion may prevail upon themselves, to express satisfaction with its results, thanks to a fond partiality in reading the past and generous draughts of hope for the future; but any one regarding the various religions at once and comparing their achievements with what reason requires, must feel how terrible is the disappointment which they have one and all prepared for mankind. Their chief anxiety has been to offer imaginary remediesfor mortal ills, some of which are incurable essentially, while others might have been really cured bywell-directed effort. The Greed oracles, for instance, pretended to heal out natural ignorance, whichhas its appropriate though difficult cure, while the Christian vision of heaven pretended to be anantidote to our natural death-the inevitable correlate of birth and of a changing and conditioned existence. By methods of this sort little can be done for the real betterment of life. To confuse intelligence and dislocate sentiment by gratuitous fictions is a short-sighted way of pursuing happiness. Nature is soon avenged. An unhealthy exaltation and a one-sided morality have to befollowed by regrettable reactions. When these come. The real rewards of life may seem vain to arelaxed vitality, and the very name of virtue may irritate young spirits untrained in and natural excellence. Thus religion too often debauches the morality it comes to sanction and impedes the science it ought to fulfill.
What is the secret of this ineptitude? Why does religion, so near to rationality in its purpose, fall soshort of it in its results? The answer is easy; religion pursues rationality through the imagination.When it explains events or assigns causes, it is an imaginative substitute for science. When it gives precepts, insinuates ideals, or remoulds aspiration, it is an imaginative substitute for wisdom-Imean for the deliberate and impartial pursuit of all food. The condition and the aims of life are both represented in religion poetically, but this poetry tends to arrogate to itself literal truth and moral authority, neither of which it possesses. Hence the depth and importance of religion becomes intelligible no less than its contradictions and practical disasters. Its object is the same as that ofreason, but its method is to proceed by intuition and by unchecked poetical conceits. | 245.txt | 3 |
[
"The index is increased by 154% compared with the previous year.",
"The index keeps track on the trade cost of all sorts of dry goods.",
"The index has been breaking records for at least a few years.",
"The index is monotonous during this period."
] | Which one of the following statements is TRUE of the Baltic Dry Index? | Breaking records can become monotonous after a while. The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks the costs of shipping "dry" goods such as iron ore, coal and grain around the world, dipped this week after hitting an all-time high on November 13th. But it is still up 154% from a year earlier.
As with so much to do with commodities, the extraordinary rise in freight rates is partly because of China's appetite for raw materials. A dearth of new ships, and flotillas waiting to berth in overcrowded ports (especially in AustraliA., are also driving rates higher. The cost of shipping iron ore from Brazil to China is now more than the cost of digging up the ore itself. Yet what makes the problem worse (or better, if you are a ship-owner) are the ways in which shifts in supply and demand are altering trade patterns around the world, especially in commodities like iron ore and coal, which are the most frequently traded cargoes in international shipping.
Take iron ore. China's biggest suppliers-Australia and India-have been unable to cope with the surge in demand. According to Icap Hyde, a firm of shipbrokers, Australia's market share of China's iron-ore imports fell from 70% around 15 years ago to about 40% last year. Earlier this year, to ensure enough iron ore for its own industries, India imposed tariffs on sales of iron ore abroad. Over the years, Chinese steel producers have scouted elsewhere for the metal-mainly in Brazil, where they have secured long-term supply contracts. But it takes three times as long to move cargo from Brazil to China as it does from Australia, which, in effect, reduces shipping capacity for each shipment of Brazilian iron ore to China that comes at Australia's expense.
Meanwhile, China used to export much more coal than it imported, according to Jon Chappell of JPMorgan. As recently as 2001, its net exports of coal were 89m tons. So far this year, it has imported almost as much as it has exported. Other East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea relied heavily on China for coal and now have to import it from Australia, South Africa and the Americas. So does India. Meanwhile, drought in Australia has meant that large Asian importers have had to ship grain from as far away as America.
In general, points out Icap Hyde, there is an "oceanic imbalance" between the Atlantic and Pacific. Supply is spread across both oceans, even as demand is concentrated in Asia. Shipping ton-miles for the major "dry" goods, which indicates the extent to which more freight is moved over longer distances, rose by 45% between 2001 and 2006. That is good news for freight rates, if any more were needed. By all accounts, the bull run is likely to last until 2009, when a huge number of new ships are due to be launched. Let's hope they are built for trans-oceanic travel. | 3664.txt | 2 |
[
"change",
"turn",
"seek",
"outsource"
] | The word "scout" (Line 5, Paragraph 3) most probably means _ | Breaking records can become monotonous after a while. The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks the costs of shipping "dry" goods such as iron ore, coal and grain around the world, dipped this week after hitting an all-time high on November 13th. But it is still up 154% from a year earlier.
As with so much to do with commodities, the extraordinary rise in freight rates is partly because of China's appetite for raw materials. A dearth of new ships, and flotillas waiting to berth in overcrowded ports (especially in AustraliA., are also driving rates higher. The cost of shipping iron ore from Brazil to China is now more than the cost of digging up the ore itself. Yet what makes the problem worse (or better, if you are a ship-owner) are the ways in which shifts in supply and demand are altering trade patterns around the world, especially in commodities like iron ore and coal, which are the most frequently traded cargoes in international shipping.
Take iron ore. China's biggest suppliers-Australia and India-have been unable to cope with the surge in demand. According to Icap Hyde, a firm of shipbrokers, Australia's market share of China's iron-ore imports fell from 70% around 15 years ago to about 40% last year. Earlier this year, to ensure enough iron ore for its own industries, India imposed tariffs on sales of iron ore abroad. Over the years, Chinese steel producers have scouted elsewhere for the metal-mainly in Brazil, where they have secured long-term supply contracts. But it takes three times as long to move cargo from Brazil to China as it does from Australia, which, in effect, reduces shipping capacity for each shipment of Brazilian iron ore to China that comes at Australia's expense.
Meanwhile, China used to export much more coal than it imported, according to Jon Chappell of JPMorgan. As recently as 2001, its net exports of coal were 89m tons. So far this year, it has imported almost as much as it has exported. Other East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea relied heavily on China for coal and now have to import it from Australia, South Africa and the Americas. So does India. Meanwhile, drought in Australia has meant that large Asian importers have had to ship grain from as far away as America.
In general, points out Icap Hyde, there is an "oceanic imbalance" between the Atlantic and Pacific. Supply is spread across both oceans, even as demand is concentrated in Asia. Shipping ton-miles for the major "dry" goods, which indicates the extent to which more freight is moved over longer distances, rose by 45% between 2001 and 2006. That is good news for freight rates, if any more were needed. By all accounts, the bull run is likely to last until 2009, when a huge number of new ships are due to be launched. Let's hope they are built for trans-oceanic travel. | 3664.txt | 2 |
[
"the ports in Australia are overcrowded.",
"the shipping capacity is reduced.",
"the iron-ore demand of China is increased greatly.",
"the tariffs are imposed on sales of iron ore."
] | Australia's market share of China's iron-ore imports went through a steep fall because _ | Breaking records can become monotonous after a while. The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks the costs of shipping "dry" goods such as iron ore, coal and grain around the world, dipped this week after hitting an all-time high on November 13th. But it is still up 154% from a year earlier.
As with so much to do with commodities, the extraordinary rise in freight rates is partly because of China's appetite for raw materials. A dearth of new ships, and flotillas waiting to berth in overcrowded ports (especially in AustraliA., are also driving rates higher. The cost of shipping iron ore from Brazil to China is now more than the cost of digging up the ore itself. Yet what makes the problem worse (or better, if you are a ship-owner) are the ways in which shifts in supply and demand are altering trade patterns around the world, especially in commodities like iron ore and coal, which are the most frequently traded cargoes in international shipping.
Take iron ore. China's biggest suppliers-Australia and India-have been unable to cope with the surge in demand. According to Icap Hyde, a firm of shipbrokers, Australia's market share of China's iron-ore imports fell from 70% around 15 years ago to about 40% last year. Earlier this year, to ensure enough iron ore for its own industries, India imposed tariffs on sales of iron ore abroad. Over the years, Chinese steel producers have scouted elsewhere for the metal-mainly in Brazil, where they have secured long-term supply contracts. But it takes three times as long to move cargo from Brazil to China as it does from Australia, which, in effect, reduces shipping capacity for each shipment of Brazilian iron ore to China that comes at Australia's expense.
Meanwhile, China used to export much more coal than it imported, according to Jon Chappell of JPMorgan. As recently as 2001, its net exports of coal were 89m tons. So far this year, it has imported almost as much as it has exported. Other East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea relied heavily on China for coal and now have to import it from Australia, South Africa and the Americas. So does India. Meanwhile, drought in Australia has meant that large Asian importers have had to ship grain from as far away as America.
In general, points out Icap Hyde, there is an "oceanic imbalance" between the Atlantic and Pacific. Supply is spread across both oceans, even as demand is concentrated in Asia. Shipping ton-miles for the major "dry" goods, which indicates the extent to which more freight is moved over longer distances, rose by 45% between 2001 and 2006. That is good news for freight rates, if any more were needed. By all accounts, the bull run is likely to last until 2009, when a huge number of new ships are due to be launched. Let's hope they are built for trans-oceanic travel. | 3664.txt | 2 |
[
"the imbalance in dry goods supply.",
"the imbalance in dry goods demand.",
"the imbalance in shipping ton-miles for the dry goods.",
"the imbalance in freight rates."
] | The "oceanic imbalance" between Atlantic and Pacific refers to _ | Breaking records can become monotonous after a while. The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks the costs of shipping "dry" goods such as iron ore, coal and grain around the world, dipped this week after hitting an all-time high on November 13th. But it is still up 154% from a year earlier.
As with so much to do with commodities, the extraordinary rise in freight rates is partly because of China's appetite for raw materials. A dearth of new ships, and flotillas waiting to berth in overcrowded ports (especially in AustraliA., are also driving rates higher. The cost of shipping iron ore from Brazil to China is now more than the cost of digging up the ore itself. Yet what makes the problem worse (or better, if you are a ship-owner) are the ways in which shifts in supply and demand are altering trade patterns around the world, especially in commodities like iron ore and coal, which are the most frequently traded cargoes in international shipping.
Take iron ore. China's biggest suppliers-Australia and India-have been unable to cope with the surge in demand. According to Icap Hyde, a firm of shipbrokers, Australia's market share of China's iron-ore imports fell from 70% around 15 years ago to about 40% last year. Earlier this year, to ensure enough iron ore for its own industries, India imposed tariffs on sales of iron ore abroad. Over the years, Chinese steel producers have scouted elsewhere for the metal-mainly in Brazil, where they have secured long-term supply contracts. But it takes three times as long to move cargo from Brazil to China as it does from Australia, which, in effect, reduces shipping capacity for each shipment of Brazilian iron ore to China that comes at Australia's expense.
Meanwhile, China used to export much more coal than it imported, according to Jon Chappell of JPMorgan. As recently as 2001, its net exports of coal were 89m tons. So far this year, it has imported almost as much as it has exported. Other East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea relied heavily on China for coal and now have to import it from Australia, South Africa and the Americas. So does India. Meanwhile, drought in Australia has meant that large Asian importers have had to ship grain from as far away as America.
In general, points out Icap Hyde, there is an "oceanic imbalance" between the Atlantic and Pacific. Supply is spread across both oceans, even as demand is concentrated in Asia. Shipping ton-miles for the major "dry" goods, which indicates the extent to which more freight is moved over longer distances, rose by 45% between 2001 and 2006. That is good news for freight rates, if any more were needed. By all accounts, the bull run is likely to last until 2009, when a huge number of new ships are due to be launched. Let's hope they are built for trans-oceanic travel. | 3664.txt | 1 |
[
"rise of the shipping ton-miles for the major \"dry\" goods.",
"the shifts in supply and demand.",
"the increase of the shipping capacity.",
"the launch of new ships in great number."
] | The bull run of dry goods shipping will most probably be ended by _ | Breaking records can become monotonous after a while. The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks the costs of shipping "dry" goods such as iron ore, coal and grain around the world, dipped this week after hitting an all-time high on November 13th. But it is still up 154% from a year earlier.
As with so much to do with commodities, the extraordinary rise in freight rates is partly because of China's appetite for raw materials. A dearth of new ships, and flotillas waiting to berth in overcrowded ports (especially in AustraliA., are also driving rates higher. The cost of shipping iron ore from Brazil to China is now more than the cost of digging up the ore itself. Yet what makes the problem worse (or better, if you are a ship-owner) are the ways in which shifts in supply and demand are altering trade patterns around the world, especially in commodities like iron ore and coal, which are the most frequently traded cargoes in international shipping.
Take iron ore. China's biggest suppliers-Australia and India-have been unable to cope with the surge in demand. According to Icap Hyde, a firm of shipbrokers, Australia's market share of China's iron-ore imports fell from 70% around 15 years ago to about 40% last year. Earlier this year, to ensure enough iron ore for its own industries, India imposed tariffs on sales of iron ore abroad. Over the years, Chinese steel producers have scouted elsewhere for the metal-mainly in Brazil, where they have secured long-term supply contracts. But it takes three times as long to move cargo from Brazil to China as it does from Australia, which, in effect, reduces shipping capacity for each shipment of Brazilian iron ore to China that comes at Australia's expense.
Meanwhile, China used to export much more coal than it imported, according to Jon Chappell of JPMorgan. As recently as 2001, its net exports of coal were 89m tons. So far this year, it has imported almost as much as it has exported. Other East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea relied heavily on China for coal and now have to import it from Australia, South Africa and the Americas. So does India. Meanwhile, drought in Australia has meant that large Asian importers have had to ship grain from as far away as America.
In general, points out Icap Hyde, there is an "oceanic imbalance" between the Atlantic and Pacific. Supply is spread across both oceans, even as demand is concentrated in Asia. Shipping ton-miles for the major "dry" goods, which indicates the extent to which more freight is moved over longer distances, rose by 45% between 2001 and 2006. That is good news for freight rates, if any more were needed. By all accounts, the bull run is likely to last until 2009, when a huge number of new ships are due to be launched. Let's hope they are built for trans-oceanic travel. | 3664.txt | 3 |
[
"people would be happy if they shut their eyes to reality",
"the blind could be happier than the sighted",
"over-excited people tend to neglect vital things",
"fascination makes people lose their eyesight"
] | The third sentence of Paragraph 1 implies that . | Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is humankind's long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the idea of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.
The lesson from dams is that big is not always beautiful. It doesn't help that building a big, powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to assert themselves. Egypt's leadership in the Arab world was cemented by the Aswan High Dam. Turkey's bid for First World status includes the giant Ataturk Dam.
But big dams tend not to work as intended. The Aswan Dam, for example, stopped the Nile flooding but deprived Egypt of the fertile silt that floods left -- all in return for a giant reservoir of disease which is now so full of silt that it barely generates electricity.
And yet, the myth of controlling the waters persists. This week, in the heart of civilized Europe, Slovaks and Hungarians stopped just short of sending in the troops in their contention over a dam on the Danube. The huge complex will probably have all the usual problems of big dams. But Slovakia is bidding for independence from the Czechs, and now needs a dam to prove itself.
Meanwhile, in India, the World Bank has given the go-ahead to the even more wrong-headed Narmada Dam. And the bank has done this even though its advisors say the dam will cause hardship for the powerless and environmental destruction. The benefits are for the powerful, but they are far from guaranteed.
Proper, scientific study of the impacts of dams and of the cost and benefits of controlling water can help to resolve these conflicts. Hydroelectric power and flood control and irrigation are possible without building monster dams. But when you are dealing with myths, it is hard to be either proper, or scientific. It is time that the world learned the lessons of Aswan. You don't need a dam to be saved. | 1062.txt | 2 |
[
"areas short of electricity",
"dams without power stations",
"poor countries around India",
"common people in the Narmada Dam area"
] | In Paragraph 5, "the powerless" probably refers to . | Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is humankind's long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the idea of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.
The lesson from dams is that big is not always beautiful. It doesn't help that building a big, powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to assert themselves. Egypt's leadership in the Arab world was cemented by the Aswan High Dam. Turkey's bid for First World status includes the giant Ataturk Dam.
But big dams tend not to work as intended. The Aswan Dam, for example, stopped the Nile flooding but deprived Egypt of the fertile silt that floods left -- all in return for a giant reservoir of disease which is now so full of silt that it barely generates electricity.
And yet, the myth of controlling the waters persists. This week, in the heart of civilized Europe, Slovaks and Hungarians stopped just short of sending in the troops in their contention over a dam on the Danube. The huge complex will probably have all the usual problems of big dams. But Slovakia is bidding for independence from the Czechs, and now needs a dam to prove itself.
Meanwhile, in India, the World Bank has given the go-ahead to the even more wrong-headed Narmada Dam. And the bank has done this even though its advisors say the dam will cause hardship for the powerless and environmental destruction. The benefits are for the powerful, but they are far from guaranteed.
Proper, scientific study of the impacts of dams and of the cost and benefits of controlling water can help to resolve these conflicts. Hydroelectric power and flood control and irrigation are possible without building monster dams. But when you are dealing with myths, it is hard to be either proper, or scientific. It is time that the world learned the lessons of Aswan. You don't need a dam to be saved. | 1062.txt | 3 |
[
"They bring in more fertile soil.",
"They help defend the country.",
"They strengthen international ties.",
"They have universal control of the waters."
] | What is the myth concerning giant dams? | Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is humankind's long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the idea of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.
The lesson from dams is that big is not always beautiful. It doesn't help that building a big, powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to assert themselves. Egypt's leadership in the Arab world was cemented by the Aswan High Dam. Turkey's bid for First World status includes the giant Ataturk Dam.
But big dams tend not to work as intended. The Aswan Dam, for example, stopped the Nile flooding but deprived Egypt of the fertile silt that floods left -- all in return for a giant reservoir of disease which is now so full of silt that it barely generates electricity.
And yet, the myth of controlling the waters persists. This week, in the heart of civilized Europe, Slovaks and Hungarians stopped just short of sending in the troops in their contention over a dam on the Danube. The huge complex will probably have all the usual problems of big dams. But Slovakia is bidding for independence from the Czechs, and now needs a dam to prove itself.
Meanwhile, in India, the World Bank has given the go-ahead to the even more wrong-headed Narmada Dam. And the bank has done this even though its advisors say the dam will cause hardship for the powerless and environmental destruction. The benefits are for the powerful, but they are far from guaranteed.
Proper, scientific study of the impacts of dams and of the cost and benefits of controlling water can help to resolve these conflicts. Hydroelectric power and flood control and irrigation are possible without building monster dams. But when you are dealing with myths, it is hard to be either proper, or scientific. It is time that the world learned the lessons of Aswan. You don't need a dam to be saved. | 1062.txt | 3 |
[
"\"It's no use crying over spilt milk\"",
"\"More haste, less speed\"",
"\"Look before you leap\"",
"\"He who laughs last laughs best\""
] | What the author tries to suggest may best be interpreted as . | Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is humankind's long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the idea of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.
The lesson from dams is that big is not always beautiful. It doesn't help that building a big, powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to assert themselves. Egypt's leadership in the Arab world was cemented by the Aswan High Dam. Turkey's bid for First World status includes the giant Ataturk Dam.
But big dams tend not to work as intended. The Aswan Dam, for example, stopped the Nile flooding but deprived Egypt of the fertile silt that floods left -- all in return for a giant reservoir of disease which is now so full of silt that it barely generates electricity.
And yet, the myth of controlling the waters persists. This week, in the heart of civilized Europe, Slovaks and Hungarians stopped just short of sending in the troops in their contention over a dam on the Danube. The huge complex will probably have all the usual problems of big dams. But Slovakia is bidding for independence from the Czechs, and now needs a dam to prove itself.
Meanwhile, in India, the World Bank has given the go-ahead to the even more wrong-headed Narmada Dam. And the bank has done this even though its advisors say the dam will cause hardship for the powerless and environmental destruction. The benefits are for the powerful, but they are far from guaranteed.
Proper, scientific study of the impacts of dams and of the cost and benefits of controlling water can help to resolve these conflicts. Hydroelectric power and flood control and irrigation are possible without building monster dams. But when you are dealing with myths, it is hard to be either proper, or scientific. It is time that the world learned the lessons of Aswan. You don't need a dam to be saved. | 1062.txt | 2 |
[
"is kept secret",
"has been made public",
"has been predicted by scientists",
"can't be predicted even by computers"
] | Where the Skylab will fall? | The failed Skylab will come screaming home to earth in disappointment sometime next month. But it will fall we know not where.
That precise information is beyond even the calculations of scientists and their computers.
The best they can tell us is that the space station, weighing 77 tons and as high as a 12 story building, will break into hundreds of pieces that will be scattered across a track 100 miles wide and 4,000 miles long.
We are again exposed to one of those unexpected adventures, or misadventures, of science that attracts our attention from the boring routines of daily existence and encourages us to think a lot about man's future.
What worries Richard Smith, the Skylab's director, is the "big pieces" that will come through the atmosphere, Two lumps, weighing 2 tons each, and ten, weighing at least 1,000 pounds each, will come in at speeds of hundreds of miles an hour and if they crash on land they will dig holes up to 100 feet deep.
What worries us, with our lack of scientific knowledge and our quick imagination, is both the big and little pieces, although project officials say there is a very small chance that anyone will be injured by them.
That's good to know, but it doesn't remove the doubts of the millions who still remember the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. That accident took place in 1979 in spite of what the officials had assured us as to the safely of the nuclear reactor. | 3152.txt | 3 |
[
"Not to believe in officials.",
"To think about our future.",
"Has been predicted by scientists.",
"To fear for our lives."
] | According to the passage, what does an incident such as the failed Skylab lead us to do? | The failed Skylab will come screaming home to earth in disappointment sometime next month. But it will fall we know not where.
That precise information is beyond even the calculations of scientists and their computers.
The best they can tell us is that the space station, weighing 77 tons and as high as a 12 story building, will break into hundreds of pieces that will be scattered across a track 100 miles wide and 4,000 miles long.
We are again exposed to one of those unexpected adventures, or misadventures, of science that attracts our attention from the boring routines of daily existence and encourages us to think a lot about man's future.
What worries Richard Smith, the Skylab's director, is the "big pieces" that will come through the atmosphere, Two lumps, weighing 2 tons each, and ten, weighing at least 1,000 pounds each, will come in at speeds of hundreds of miles an hour and if they crash on land they will dig holes up to 100 feet deep.
What worries us, with our lack of scientific knowledge and our quick imagination, is both the big and little pieces, although project officials say there is a very small chance that anyone will be injured by them.
That's good to know, but it doesn't remove the doubts of the millions who still remember the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. That accident took place in 1979 in spite of what the officials had assured us as to the safely of the nuclear reactor. | 3152.txt | 3 |
[
"the danger of the Skylab's fall has been overestimated",
"it's useless to worry over things you can't do anything about",
"the danger of the Skylab's fall has been underestimated",
"computers can solve the problem caused by the broken Skylab"
] | The author suggests that _ . | The failed Skylab will come screaming home to earth in disappointment sometime next month. But it will fall we know not where.
That precise information is beyond even the calculations of scientists and their computers.
The best they can tell us is that the space station, weighing 77 tons and as high as a 12 story building, will break into hundreds of pieces that will be scattered across a track 100 miles wide and 4,000 miles long.
We are again exposed to one of those unexpected adventures, or misadventures, of science that attracts our attention from the boring routines of daily existence and encourages us to think a lot about man's future.
What worries Richard Smith, the Skylab's director, is the "big pieces" that will come through the atmosphere, Two lumps, weighing 2 tons each, and ten, weighing at least 1,000 pounds each, will come in at speeds of hundreds of miles an hour and if they crash on land they will dig holes up to 100 feet deep.
What worries us, with our lack of scientific knowledge and our quick imagination, is both the big and little pieces, although project officials say there is a very small chance that anyone will be injured by them.
That's good to know, but it doesn't remove the doubts of the millions who still remember the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. That accident took place in 1979 in spite of what the officials had assured us as to the safely of the nuclear reactor. | 3152.txt | 0 |
[
"because he is doubtful about what the officials said",
"because he fears that a piece of the Skylab may strike a nuclear power plant",
"because he is afraid of the use of nuclear power",
"because the nuclear reactor there and the Skylab were both built by the same company"
] | The author refers to Three Mils Island _ . | The failed Skylab will come screaming home to earth in disappointment sometime next month. But it will fall we know not where.
That precise information is beyond even the calculations of scientists and their computers.
The best they can tell us is that the space station, weighing 77 tons and as high as a 12 story building, will break into hundreds of pieces that will be scattered across a track 100 miles wide and 4,000 miles long.
We are again exposed to one of those unexpected adventures, or misadventures, of science that attracts our attention from the boring routines of daily existence and encourages us to think a lot about man's future.
What worries Richard Smith, the Skylab's director, is the "big pieces" that will come through the atmosphere, Two lumps, weighing 2 tons each, and ten, weighing at least 1,000 pounds each, will come in at speeds of hundreds of miles an hour and if they crash on land they will dig holes up to 100 feet deep.
What worries us, with our lack of scientific knowledge and our quick imagination, is both the big and little pieces, although project officials say there is a very small chance that anyone will be injured by them.
That's good to know, but it doesn't remove the doubts of the millions who still remember the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. That accident took place in 1979 in spite of what the officials had assured us as to the safely of the nuclear reactor. | 3152.txt | 1 |
[
"interest in the failure of the Skylab",
"willingness to give his advice",
"eagerness to see more new scientific discoveries",
"concern that science cannot answer all questions"
] | This passage is mainly about the author's _ . | The failed Skylab will come screaming home to earth in disappointment sometime next month. But it will fall we know not where.
That precise information is beyond even the calculations of scientists and their computers.
The best they can tell us is that the space station, weighing 77 tons and as high as a 12 story building, will break into hundreds of pieces that will be scattered across a track 100 miles wide and 4,000 miles long.
We are again exposed to one of those unexpected adventures, or misadventures, of science that attracts our attention from the boring routines of daily existence and encourages us to think a lot about man's future.
What worries Richard Smith, the Skylab's director, is the "big pieces" that will come through the atmosphere, Two lumps, weighing 2 tons each, and ten, weighing at least 1,000 pounds each, will come in at speeds of hundreds of miles an hour and if they crash on land they will dig holes up to 100 feet deep.
What worries us, with our lack of scientific knowledge and our quick imagination, is both the big and little pieces, although project officials say there is a very small chance that anyone will be injured by them.
That's good to know, but it doesn't remove the doubts of the millions who still remember the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. That accident took place in 1979 in spite of what the officials had assured us as to the safely of the nuclear reactor. | 3152.txt | 2 |
[
"social life provides an effective cure for illness",
"being sociable helps improve one's quality of life",
"women benefit more than men from marriage",
"marriage contributes a great deal to longevity"
] | William Farr's study and other studies show that _ . | Being sociable looks like a good way to add years to your life. Relationships with family, friends, neighbours, even pets, will all do the trick, but the biggest longevity boost seems to come from marriage or an equivalent relationship. The effect was first noted in 1858 by William Farr, who wrote that widows and widowers were at a much higher risk of dying than their married peers. Studies since then suggest that marriage could add as much as seven years to a man's life and two to a woman's. The effect holds for all causes of death, whether illness, accident or self-harm.
Even if the odds are stacked against you, marriage can more than compensate. Linda Waite of the University of Chicago has found that a married older man with heart disease can expect to live nearly four years longer than an unmarried man with a healthy heart. Likewise, a married man who smokes more than a pack a day is likely to live as long as a divorced man who doesn't smoke. There's a flip side, however, as partners are more likely to become ill or die in the couple of years following their spouse's death, and caring for a spouse with mental disorder can leave you with some of the same severe problems. Even so, the odds favour marriage. In a 30-year study of more than 10,000 people, Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School describes how all kinds of social networks have similar effects.
So how does it work? The effects are complex, affected by socio-economic factors, health-service provision, emotional support and other more physiological mechanisms. For example, social contact can boost development of the brain and immune system, leading to better health and less chance of depression later in life. People in supportive relationships may handle stress better. Then there are the psychological benefits of a supportive partner.
A life partner, children and good friends are all recommended if you aim to live to 100. The ultimate social network is still being mapped out, but Christakis says: "People are interconnected, so their health is interconnected." | 2022.txt | 3 |
[
"older men should quit smoking to stay healthy",
"marriage can help make up for ill health",
"the married are happier than the unmarried",
"unmarried people are likely to suffer in later life"
] | Linda Waite's studies support the idea that _ . | Being sociable looks like a good way to add years to your life. Relationships with family, friends, neighbours, even pets, will all do the trick, but the biggest longevity boost seems to come from marriage or an equivalent relationship. The effect was first noted in 1858 by William Farr, who wrote that widows and widowers were at a much higher risk of dying than their married peers. Studies since then suggest that marriage could add as much as seven years to a man's life and two to a woman's. The effect holds for all causes of death, whether illness, accident or self-harm.
Even if the odds are stacked against you, marriage can more than compensate. Linda Waite of the University of Chicago has found that a married older man with heart disease can expect to live nearly four years longer than an unmarried man with a healthy heart. Likewise, a married man who smokes more than a pack a day is likely to live as long as a divorced man who doesn't smoke. There's a flip side, however, as partners are more likely to become ill or die in the couple of years following their spouse's death, and caring for a spouse with mental disorder can leave you with some of the same severe problems. Even so, the odds favour marriage. In a 30-year study of more than 10,000 people, Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School describes how all kinds of social networks have similar effects.
So how does it work? The effects are complex, affected by socio-economic factors, health-service provision, emotional support and other more physiological mechanisms. For example, social contact can boost development of the brain and immune system, leading to better health and less chance of depression later in life. People in supportive relationships may handle stress better. Then there are the psychological benefits of a supportive partner.
A life partner, children and good friends are all recommended if you aim to live to 100. The ultimate social network is still being mapped out, but Christakis says: "People are interconnected, so their health is interconnected." | 2022.txt | 1 |
[
"the disadvantages of being married",
"the emotional problems arising from marriage",
"the responsibility of taking care of one's family",
"the consequence of a broken marriage"
] | It can be inferred from the context that the "flip side" (Line 4, Para. 2) refers to _ . | Being sociable looks like a good way to add years to your life. Relationships with family, friends, neighbours, even pets, will all do the trick, but the biggest longevity boost seems to come from marriage or an equivalent relationship. The effect was first noted in 1858 by William Farr, who wrote that widows and widowers were at a much higher risk of dying than their married peers. Studies since then suggest that marriage could add as much as seven years to a man's life and two to a woman's. The effect holds for all causes of death, whether illness, accident or self-harm.
Even if the odds are stacked against you, marriage can more than compensate. Linda Waite of the University of Chicago has found that a married older man with heart disease can expect to live nearly four years longer than an unmarried man with a healthy heart. Likewise, a married man who smokes more than a pack a day is likely to live as long as a divorced man who doesn't smoke. There's a flip side, however, as partners are more likely to become ill or die in the couple of years following their spouse's death, and caring for a spouse with mental disorder can leave you with some of the same severe problems. Even so, the odds favour marriage. In a 30-year study of more than 10,000 people, Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School describes how all kinds of social networks have similar effects.
So how does it work? The effects are complex, affected by socio-economic factors, health-service provision, emotional support and other more physiological mechanisms. For example, social contact can boost development of the brain and immune system, leading to better health and less chance of depression later in life. People in supportive relationships may handle stress better. Then there are the psychological benefits of a supportive partner.
A life partner, children and good friends are all recommended if you aim to live to 100. The ultimate social network is still being mapped out, but Christakis says: "People are interconnected, so their health is interconnected." | 2022.txt | 0 |
[
"They have effects similar to those of a marriage.",
"They help develop people's community spirit.",
"They provide timely support for those in need.",
"They help relieve people of their life's burdens."
] | What does the author say about social networks? | Being sociable looks like a good way to add years to your life. Relationships with family, friends, neighbours, even pets, will all do the trick, but the biggest longevity boost seems to come from marriage or an equivalent relationship. The effect was first noted in 1858 by William Farr, who wrote that widows and widowers were at a much higher risk of dying than their married peers. Studies since then suggest that marriage could add as much as seven years to a man's life and two to a woman's. The effect holds for all causes of death, whether illness, accident or self-harm.
Even if the odds are stacked against you, marriage can more than compensate. Linda Waite of the University of Chicago has found that a married older man with heart disease can expect to live nearly four years longer than an unmarried man with a healthy heart. Likewise, a married man who smokes more than a pack a day is likely to live as long as a divorced man who doesn't smoke. There's a flip side, however, as partners are more likely to become ill or die in the couple of years following their spouse's death, and caring for a spouse with mental disorder can leave you with some of the same severe problems. Even so, the odds favour marriage. In a 30-year study of more than 10,000 people, Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School describes how all kinds of social networks have similar effects.
So how does it work? The effects are complex, affected by socio-economic factors, health-service provision, emotional support and other more physiological mechanisms. For example, social contact can boost development of the brain and immune system, leading to better health and less chance of depression later in life. People in supportive relationships may handle stress better. Then there are the psychological benefits of a supportive partner.
A life partner, children and good friends are all recommended if you aim to live to 100. The ultimate social network is still being mapped out, but Christakis says: "People are interconnected, so their health is interconnected." | 2022.txt | 0 |
[
"It's important that we develop a social network when young.",
"To stay healthy, one should have a proper social network.",
"Getting a divorce means risking a reduced life span.",
"We should share our social networks with each other."
] | What can be inferred from the last paragraph? | Being sociable looks like a good way to add years to your life. Relationships with family, friends, neighbours, even pets, will all do the trick, but the biggest longevity boost seems to come from marriage or an equivalent relationship. The effect was first noted in 1858 by William Farr, who wrote that widows and widowers were at a much higher risk of dying than their married peers. Studies since then suggest that marriage could add as much as seven years to a man's life and two to a woman's. The effect holds for all causes of death, whether illness, accident or self-harm.
Even if the odds are stacked against you, marriage can more than compensate. Linda Waite of the University of Chicago has found that a married older man with heart disease can expect to live nearly four years longer than an unmarried man with a healthy heart. Likewise, a married man who smokes more than a pack a day is likely to live as long as a divorced man who doesn't smoke. There's a flip side, however, as partners are more likely to become ill or die in the couple of years following their spouse's death, and caring for a spouse with mental disorder can leave you with some of the same severe problems. Even so, the odds favour marriage. In a 30-year study of more than 10,000 people, Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School describes how all kinds of social networks have similar effects.
So how does it work? The effects are complex, affected by socio-economic factors, health-service provision, emotional support and other more physiological mechanisms. For example, social contact can boost development of the brain and immune system, leading to better health and less chance of depression later in life. People in supportive relationships may handle stress better. Then there are the psychological benefits of a supportive partner.
A life partner, children and good friends are all recommended if you aim to live to 100. The ultimate social network is still being mapped out, but Christakis says: "People are interconnected, so their health is interconnected." | 2022.txt | 1 |
[
"basis for reaffirming a well-established scientific formulation",
"byproduct of an aesthetic experience",
"tool used by a scientist to discover a new particular",
"result of highly creative scientific activity"
] | The author considers a new theory that coherently relates diverse phenomena to one another to be the | Extraordinary creative activity has been characterized as revolutionary, flying in the face of what is established and producing not what is acceptable but what will become accepted. According to this formulation, highly creative activity transcends the limits of an existing form and establishes a new principle of organization. However, the idea that extraordinary creativity transcends established limits is misleading when it is applied to the arts, even though it may be valid for the sciences. Differences between highly creative art and highly creative science arise in part from a difference in their goals. For the sciences, a new theory is the goal and end result of the creative act. Innovative science produces new propositions in terms of which diverse phenomena can be related to one another in more coherent ways. Such phenomena as a brilliant diamond or a nesting bird are relegated to the role of data, serving as the means for formulating or testing a new theory. The goal of highly creative art is very different: the phenomenon itself becomes the direct product of the creative act. Shakespeare's Hamlet is not a tract about the behavior of indecisive princes or the uses of political power; nor is Picasso's painting Guernica primarily a propositional statement about the Spanish Civil War or the evils of fascism. What highly creative artistic activity produces is not a new generalization that transcends established limits, but rather an aesthetic particular. Aesthetic particulars produced by the highly creative artist extend or exploit, in an innovative way, the limits of an existing form, rather than transcend that form.
This is not to deny that a highly creative artist sometimes establishes a new principle of organization in the history of an artistic field; the composer Monteverdi, who created music of the highest aesthetic value, comes to mind. More generally, however, whether or not a composition establishes a new principle in the history of music has little bearing on its aesthetic worth. Because they embody a new principle of organization, some musical works, such as the operas of the Florentine Camerata, are of signal historical importance, but few listeners or musicologists would include these among the great works of music. On the other hand, Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is surely among the masterpieces of music even though its modest innovations are confined to extending existing means. It has been said of Beethoven that he toppled the rules and freed music from the stifling confines of convention. But a close study of his compositions reveals that Beethoven overturned no fundamental rules. Rather, he was an incomparable strategist who exploited limits-the rules, forms, and conventions that he inherited from predecessors such as Haydn and Mozart, Handel and Bach-in strikingly original ways. | 2018.txt | 3 |
[
"strove to outdo his predecessors by becoming the first composer to exploit limits",
"fundamentally changed the musical forms of his predecessors by adopting a richly inventive strategy",
"embellished and interwove the melodies of several of the great composers who preceded him",
"manipulated the established conven- tions of musical composition in a highly innovative fashion"
] | The author implies that Beethoven's music was strikingly original because Beethoven | Extraordinary creative activity has been characterized as revolutionary, flying in the face of what is established and producing not what is acceptable but what will become accepted. According to this formulation, highly creative activity transcends the limits of an existing form and establishes a new principle of organization. However, the idea that extraordinary creativity transcends established limits is misleading when it is applied to the arts, even though it may be valid for the sciences. Differences between highly creative art and highly creative science arise in part from a difference in their goals. For the sciences, a new theory is the goal and end result of the creative act. Innovative science produces new propositions in terms of which diverse phenomena can be related to one another in more coherent ways. Such phenomena as a brilliant diamond or a nesting bird are relegated to the role of data, serving as the means for formulating or testing a new theory. The goal of highly creative art is very different: the phenomenon itself becomes the direct product of the creative act. Shakespeare's Hamlet is not a tract about the behavior of indecisive princes or the uses of political power; nor is Picasso's painting Guernica primarily a propositional statement about the Spanish Civil War or the evils of fascism. What highly creative artistic activity produces is not a new generalization that transcends established limits, but rather an aesthetic particular. Aesthetic particulars produced by the highly creative artist extend or exploit, in an innovative way, the limits of an existing form, rather than transcend that form.
This is not to deny that a highly creative artist sometimes establishes a new principle of organization in the history of an artistic field; the composer Monteverdi, who created music of the highest aesthetic value, comes to mind. More generally, however, whether or not a composition establishes a new principle in the history of music has little bearing on its aesthetic worth. Because they embody a new principle of organization, some musical works, such as the operas of the Florentine Camerata, are of signal historical importance, but few listeners or musicologists would include these among the great works of music. On the other hand, Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is surely among the masterpieces of music even though its modest innovations are confined to extending existing means. It has been said of Beethoven that he toppled the rules and freed music from the stifling confines of convention. But a close study of his compositions reveals that Beethoven overturned no fundamental rules. Rather, he was an incomparable strategist who exploited limits-the rules, forms, and conventions that he inherited from predecessors such as Haydn and Mozart, Handel and Bach-in strikingly original ways. | 2018.txt | 3 |
[
"unjustifiably ignored by musicologists",
"not generally considered to be of high aesthetic value even though they are important in the history of music",
"among those works in which popular historical themes were portrayed in a musical production",
"often inappropriately cited as examples of musical works in which a new principle of organization was introduced"
] | The passage states that the operas of the Florentine Camerata are | Extraordinary creative activity has been characterized as revolutionary, flying in the face of what is established and producing not what is acceptable but what will become accepted. According to this formulation, highly creative activity transcends the limits of an existing form and establishes a new principle of organization. However, the idea that extraordinary creativity transcends established limits is misleading when it is applied to the arts, even though it may be valid for the sciences. Differences between highly creative art and highly creative science arise in part from a difference in their goals. For the sciences, a new theory is the goal and end result of the creative act. Innovative science produces new propositions in terms of which diverse phenomena can be related to one another in more coherent ways. Such phenomena as a brilliant diamond or a nesting bird are relegated to the role of data, serving as the means for formulating or testing a new theory. The goal of highly creative art is very different: the phenomenon itself becomes the direct product of the creative act. Shakespeare's Hamlet is not a tract about the behavior of indecisive princes or the uses of political power; nor is Picasso's painting Guernica primarily a propositional statement about the Spanish Civil War or the evils of fascism. What highly creative artistic activity produces is not a new generalization that transcends established limits, but rather an aesthetic particular. Aesthetic particulars produced by the highly creative artist extend or exploit, in an innovative way, the limits of an existing form, rather than transcend that form.
This is not to deny that a highly creative artist sometimes establishes a new principle of organization in the history of an artistic field; the composer Monteverdi, who created music of the highest aesthetic value, comes to mind. More generally, however, whether or not a composition establishes a new principle in the history of music has little bearing on its aesthetic worth. Because they embody a new principle of organization, some musical works, such as the operas of the Florentine Camerata, are of signal historical importance, but few listeners or musicologists would include these among the great works of music. On the other hand, Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is surely among the masterpieces of music even though its modest innovations are confined to extending existing means. It has been said of Beethoven that he toppled the rules and freed music from the stifling confines of convention. But a close study of his compositions reveals that Beethoven overturned no fundamental rules. Rather, he was an incomparable strategist who exploited limits-the rules, forms, and conventions that he inherited from predecessors such as Haydn and Mozart, Handel and Bach-in strikingly original ways. | 2018.txt | 1 |
[
"Has unusual creative activity been characterized as revolutionary",
"Did Beethoven work within a musical tradition that also included Handel and Bach",
"Is Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro an example of a creative work that transcended limits",
"Who besides Monteverdi wrote music that the author would consider to embody new principles of organization and to be of high aesthetic value"
] | The passage supplies information for answering all of the following questions EXCEPT: | Extraordinary creative activity has been characterized as revolutionary, flying in the face of what is established and producing not what is acceptable but what will become accepted. According to this formulation, highly creative activity transcends the limits of an existing form and establishes a new principle of organization. However, the idea that extraordinary creativity transcends established limits is misleading when it is applied to the arts, even though it may be valid for the sciences. Differences between highly creative art and highly creative science arise in part from a difference in their goals. For the sciences, a new theory is the goal and end result of the creative act. Innovative science produces new propositions in terms of which diverse phenomena can be related to one another in more coherent ways. Such phenomena as a brilliant diamond or a nesting bird are relegated to the role of data, serving as the means for formulating or testing a new theory. The goal of highly creative art is very different: the phenomenon itself becomes the direct product of the creative act. Shakespeare's Hamlet is not a tract about the behavior of indecisive princes or the uses of political power; nor is Picasso's painting Guernica primarily a propositional statement about the Spanish Civil War or the evils of fascism. What highly creative artistic activity produces is not a new generalization that transcends established limits, but rather an aesthetic particular. Aesthetic particulars produced by the highly creative artist extend or exploit, in an innovative way, the limits of an existing form, rather than transcend that form.
This is not to deny that a highly creative artist sometimes establishes a new principle of organization in the history of an artistic field; the composer Monteverdi, who created music of the highest aesthetic value, comes to mind. More generally, however, whether or not a composition establishes a new principle in the history of music has little bearing on its aesthetic worth. Because they embody a new principle of organization, some musical works, such as the operas of the Florentine Camerata, are of signal historical importance, but few listeners or musicologists would include these among the great works of music. On the other hand, Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is surely among the masterpieces of music even though its modest innovations are confined to extending existing means. It has been said of Beethoven that he toppled the rules and freed music from the stifling confines of convention. But a close study of his compositions reveals that Beethoven overturned no fundamental rules. Rather, he was an incomparable strategist who exploited limits-the rules, forms, and conventions that he inherited from predecessors such as Haydn and Mozart, Handel and Bach-in strikingly original ways. | 2018.txt | 3 |
[
"deep skepticism",
"strong indignation",
"marked indifference",
"moderate amusement"
] | The author regards the idea that all highly creative artistic activity transcends limits with | Extraordinary creative activity has been characterized as revolutionary, flying in the face of what is established and producing not what is acceptable but what will become accepted. According to this formulation, highly creative activity transcends the limits of an existing form and establishes a new principle of organization. However, the idea that extraordinary creativity transcends established limits is misleading when it is applied to the arts, even though it may be valid for the sciences. Differences between highly creative art and highly creative science arise in part from a difference in their goals. For the sciences, a new theory is the goal and end result of the creative act. Innovative science produces new propositions in terms of which diverse phenomena can be related to one another in more coherent ways. Such phenomena as a brilliant diamond or a nesting bird are relegated to the role of data, serving as the means for formulating or testing a new theory. The goal of highly creative art is very different: the phenomenon itself becomes the direct product of the creative act. Shakespeare's Hamlet is not a tract about the behavior of indecisive princes or the uses of political power; nor is Picasso's painting Guernica primarily a propositional statement about the Spanish Civil War or the evils of fascism. What highly creative artistic activity produces is not a new generalization that transcends established limits, but rather an aesthetic particular. Aesthetic particulars produced by the highly creative artist extend or exploit, in an innovative way, the limits of an existing form, rather than transcend that form.
This is not to deny that a highly creative artist sometimes establishes a new principle of organization in the history of an artistic field; the composer Monteverdi, who created music of the highest aesthetic value, comes to mind. More generally, however, whether or not a composition establishes a new principle in the history of music has little bearing on its aesthetic worth. Because they embody a new principle of organization, some musical works, such as the operas of the Florentine Camerata, are of signal historical importance, but few listeners or musicologists would include these among the great works of music. On the other hand, Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is surely among the masterpieces of music even though its modest innovations are confined to extending existing means. It has been said of Beethoven that he toppled the rules and freed music from the stifling confines of convention. But a close study of his compositions reveals that Beethoven overturned no fundamental rules. Rather, he was an incomparable strategist who exploited limits-the rules, forms, and conventions that he inherited from predecessors such as Haydn and Mozart, Handel and Bach-in strikingly original ways. | 2018.txt | 0 |
[
"is cited with high frequency in the publications of other scientists",
"is accepted immediately by the scientific community",
"does not relegate particulars to the role of data",
"introduces a new valid generalization"
] | The author implies that an innovative scientific contribution is one that | Extraordinary creative activity has been characterized as revolutionary, flying in the face of what is established and producing not what is acceptable but what will become accepted. According to this formulation, highly creative activity transcends the limits of an existing form and establishes a new principle of organization. However, the idea that extraordinary creativity transcends established limits is misleading when it is applied to the arts, even though it may be valid for the sciences. Differences between highly creative art and highly creative science arise in part from a difference in their goals. For the sciences, a new theory is the goal and end result of the creative act. Innovative science produces new propositions in terms of which diverse phenomena can be related to one another in more coherent ways. Such phenomena as a brilliant diamond or a nesting bird are relegated to the role of data, serving as the means for formulating or testing a new theory. The goal of highly creative art is very different: the phenomenon itself becomes the direct product of the creative act. Shakespeare's Hamlet is not a tract about the behavior of indecisive princes or the uses of political power; nor is Picasso's painting Guernica primarily a propositional statement about the Spanish Civil War or the evils of fascism. What highly creative artistic activity produces is not a new generalization that transcends established limits, but rather an aesthetic particular. Aesthetic particulars produced by the highly creative artist extend or exploit, in an innovative way, the limits of an existing form, rather than transcend that form.
This is not to deny that a highly creative artist sometimes establishes a new principle of organization in the history of an artistic field; the composer Monteverdi, who created music of the highest aesthetic value, comes to mind. More generally, however, whether or not a composition establishes a new principle in the history of music has little bearing on its aesthetic worth. Because they embody a new principle of organization, some musical works, such as the operas of the Florentine Camerata, are of signal historical importance, but few listeners or musicologists would include these among the great works of music. On the other hand, Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is surely among the masterpieces of music even though its modest innovations are confined to extending existing means. It has been said of Beethoven that he toppled the rules and freed music from the stifling confines of convention. But a close study of his compositions reveals that Beethoven overturned no fundamental rules. Rather, he was an incomparable strategist who exploited limits-the rules, forms, and conventions that he inherited from predecessors such as Haydn and Mozart, Handel and Bach-in strikingly original ways. | 2018.txt | 3 |
[
"Unlike Beethoven, however, even the greatest of modern composers, such as Stravinsky, did not transcend existing musical forms.",
"In similar fashion, existing musical forms were even further exploited by the next generation of great European composers.",
"Thus, many of the great composers displayed the same combination of talents exhibited by Monteverdi.",
"By contrast, the view that creativity in the arts exploits but does not transcend limits is supported in the field of literature."
] | Which of the following statements would most logically concluded the last paragraph of the passage? | Extraordinary creative activity has been characterized as revolutionary, flying in the face of what is established and producing not what is acceptable but what will become accepted. According to this formulation, highly creative activity transcends the limits of an existing form and establishes a new principle of organization. However, the idea that extraordinary creativity transcends established limits is misleading when it is applied to the arts, even though it may be valid for the sciences. Differences between highly creative art and highly creative science arise in part from a difference in their goals. For the sciences, a new theory is the goal and end result of the creative act. Innovative science produces new propositions in terms of which diverse phenomena can be related to one another in more coherent ways. Such phenomena as a brilliant diamond or a nesting bird are relegated to the role of data, serving as the means for formulating or testing a new theory. The goal of highly creative art is very different: the phenomenon itself becomes the direct product of the creative act. Shakespeare's Hamlet is not a tract about the behavior of indecisive princes or the uses of political power; nor is Picasso's painting Guernica primarily a propositional statement about the Spanish Civil War or the evils of fascism. What highly creative artistic activity produces is not a new generalization that transcends established limits, but rather an aesthetic particular. Aesthetic particulars produced by the highly creative artist extend or exploit, in an innovative way, the limits of an existing form, rather than transcend that form.
This is not to deny that a highly creative artist sometimes establishes a new principle of organization in the history of an artistic field; the composer Monteverdi, who created music of the highest aesthetic value, comes to mind. More generally, however, whether or not a composition establishes a new principle in the history of music has little bearing on its aesthetic worth. Because they embody a new principle of organization, some musical works, such as the operas of the Florentine Camerata, are of signal historical importance, but few listeners or musicologists would include these among the great works of music. On the other hand, Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is surely among the masterpieces of music even though its modest innovations are confined to extending existing means. It has been said of Beethoven that he toppled the rules and freed music from the stifling confines of convention. But a close study of his compositions reveals that Beethoven overturned no fundamental rules. Rather, he was an incomparable strategist who exploited limits-the rules, forms, and conventions that he inherited from predecessors such as Haydn and Mozart, Handel and Bach-in strikingly original ways. | 2018.txt | 1 |
[
"provides clues for people who are critical of us",
"indicates our likes and dislikes in choosing a career",
"has a direct influence on the way people regard us",
"is of particular importance when we get on in age"
] | According to the passage, the way we dress ________. | Clothes play a critical part in the conclusions we reach by providing clues to who people are, who they are not, and who they would like to be. They tell us a good deal about the wearer's background, personality, status, mood, and social outlook.
Since clothes are such an important source of social information, we can use them to manipulate people's impression of us. Our appearance assumes particular significance in the initial phases of interaction that is likely to occur. An elderly middle class man or woman may be alienated (…) by a young adult who is dressed in an unconventional manner, regardless of the person's education, background, or interests.
People tend to agree on what certain types of clothes mean. Adolescent girls can easily agree on the lifestyles of girls who wear certain outfits , including the number of boyfriends they likely have had and whether they smoke or drink. Newscasters, or the announcers who read the news on TV, are considered to be more convincing, honest, and competent when they are dressed conservatively. And collage students who view themselves as taking an active role in their inter-personal relationships say they are concerned about the costumes they must wear to play these roles successfully. Moreover, many of us can relate instances in which the clothing we wore changed the way we felt about ourselves and how we act ed. Perhaps you have used clothing to gain confidence when you anticipated a stressful situation, such as a job interview, or a court appearance.
In the workplace, men have long had well defined precedents and role models for achieving success. It has been otherwise for women. A good many women in the business world are uncertain about the appropriate mixture of "masculine" and "feminine" attributes they should convey by their professional clothing. The variety of clothing alternatives to women has also been greater than that avail able for men. Male administrators tend to judge women more favorably for managerial positions when the women display less "feminine" grooming -shorter hair, moderate use of make up, and plain tailored clothing. As one male administrator confessed, "An attractive woman is definitely going to get a longer interview, but she won't get a job." | 2868.txt | 2 |
[
"change people's conservative attitudes toward their lifestyle",
"help young people make friends with the opposite sex",
"make them competitive in the job market",
"help them achieve success in their interpersonal relationships"
] | From the third paragraph of the passage, we can conclude that young adults tend to believe that certain types of clothing can ________. | Clothes play a critical part in the conclusions we reach by providing clues to who people are, who they are not, and who they would like to be. They tell us a good deal about the wearer's background, personality, status, mood, and social outlook.
Since clothes are such an important source of social information, we can use them to manipulate people's impression of us. Our appearance assumes particular significance in the initial phases of interaction that is likely to occur. An elderly middle class man or woman may be alienated (…) by a young adult who is dressed in an unconventional manner, regardless of the person's education, background, or interests.
People tend to agree on what certain types of clothes mean. Adolescent girls can easily agree on the lifestyles of girls who wear certain outfits , including the number of boyfriends they likely have had and whether they smoke or drink. Newscasters, or the announcers who read the news on TV, are considered to be more convincing, honest, and competent when they are dressed conservatively. And collage students who view themselves as taking an active role in their inter-personal relationships say they are concerned about the costumes they must wear to play these roles successfully. Moreover, many of us can relate instances in which the clothing we wore changed the way we felt about ourselves and how we act ed. Perhaps you have used clothing to gain confidence when you anticipated a stressful situation, such as a job interview, or a court appearance.
In the workplace, men have long had well defined precedents and role models for achieving success. It has been otherwise for women. A good many women in the business world are uncertain about the appropriate mixture of "masculine" and "feminine" attributes they should convey by their professional clothing. The variety of clothing alternatives to women has also been greater than that avail able for men. Male administrators tend to judge women more favorably for managerial positions when the women display less "feminine" grooming -shorter hair, moderate use of make up, and plain tailored clothing. As one male administrator confessed, "An attractive woman is definitely going to get a longer interview, but she won't get a job." | 2868.txt | 3 |
[
"early acts for men to follow as examples",
"particular places for men to occupy especially because of their importance",
"things that men should agree upon",
"men's beliefs that everything in the world has already been decided"
] | The word "precedent" (Line 1, Para. 4) probably refers to ________. | Clothes play a critical part in the conclusions we reach by providing clues to who people are, who they are not, and who they would like to be. They tell us a good deal about the wearer's background, personality, status, mood, and social outlook.
Since clothes are such an important source of social information, we can use them to manipulate people's impression of us. Our appearance assumes particular significance in the initial phases of interaction that is likely to occur. An elderly middle class man or woman may be alienated (…) by a young adult who is dressed in an unconventional manner, regardless of the person's education, background, or interests.
People tend to agree on what certain types of clothes mean. Adolescent girls can easily agree on the lifestyles of girls who wear certain outfits , including the number of boyfriends they likely have had and whether they smoke or drink. Newscasters, or the announcers who read the news on TV, are considered to be more convincing, honest, and competent when they are dressed conservatively. And collage students who view themselves as taking an active role in their inter-personal relationships say they are concerned about the costumes they must wear to play these roles successfully. Moreover, many of us can relate instances in which the clothing we wore changed the way we felt about ourselves and how we act ed. Perhaps you have used clothing to gain confidence when you anticipated a stressful situation, such as a job interview, or a court appearance.
In the workplace, men have long had well defined precedents and role models for achieving success. It has been otherwise for women. A good many women in the business world are uncertain about the appropriate mixture of "masculine" and "feminine" attributes they should convey by their professional clothing. The variety of clothing alternatives to women has also been greater than that avail able for men. Male administrators tend to judge women more favorably for managerial positions when the women display less "feminine" grooming -shorter hair, moderate use of make up, and plain tailored clothing. As one male administrator confessed, "An attractive woman is definitely going to get a longer interview, but she won't get a job." | 2868.txt | 0 |
[
"the variety of professional clothing is too wide for them to choose",
"women are generally thought to be only good at being fashion models",
"men are more favorably judged for managerial positions",
"they are not sure to what extent they should display their feminine qualities through clothing"
] | According to the passage, many career women find themselves in difficult situations because ________. | Clothes play a critical part in the conclusions we reach by providing clues to who people are, who they are not, and who they would like to be. They tell us a good deal about the wearer's background, personality, status, mood, and social outlook.
Since clothes are such an important source of social information, we can use them to manipulate people's impression of us. Our appearance assumes particular significance in the initial phases of interaction that is likely to occur. An elderly middle class man or woman may be alienated (…) by a young adult who is dressed in an unconventional manner, regardless of the person's education, background, or interests.
People tend to agree on what certain types of clothes mean. Adolescent girls can easily agree on the lifestyles of girls who wear certain outfits , including the number of boyfriends they likely have had and whether they smoke or drink. Newscasters, or the announcers who read the news on TV, are considered to be more convincing, honest, and competent when they are dressed conservatively. And collage students who view themselves as taking an active role in their inter-personal relationships say they are concerned about the costumes they must wear to play these roles successfully. Moreover, many of us can relate instances in which the clothing we wore changed the way we felt about ourselves and how we act ed. Perhaps you have used clothing to gain confidence when you anticipated a stressful situation, such as a job interview, or a court appearance.
In the workplace, men have long had well defined precedents and role models for achieving success. It has been otherwise for women. A good many women in the business world are uncertain about the appropriate mixture of "masculine" and "feminine" attributes they should convey by their professional clothing. The variety of clothing alternatives to women has also been greater than that avail able for men. Male administrators tend to judge women more favorably for managerial positions when the women display less "feminine" grooming -shorter hair, moderate use of make up, and plain tailored clothing. As one male administrator confessed, "An attractive woman is definitely going to get a longer interview, but she won't get a job." | 2868.txt | 3 |
[
"Dressing for effect.",
"How to dress appropriately.",
"Managerial positions and clothing.",
"Dressing for the occasion."
] | What is the passage mainly about? | Clothes play a critical part in the conclusions we reach by providing clues to who people are, who they are not, and who they would like to be. They tell us a good deal about the wearer's background, personality, status, mood, and social outlook.
Since clothes are such an important source of social information, we can use them to manipulate people's impression of us. Our appearance assumes particular significance in the initial phases of interaction that is likely to occur. An elderly middle class man or woman may be alienated (…) by a young adult who is dressed in an unconventional manner, regardless of the person's education, background, or interests.
People tend to agree on what certain types of clothes mean. Adolescent girls can easily agree on the lifestyles of girls who wear certain outfits , including the number of boyfriends they likely have had and whether they smoke or drink. Newscasters, or the announcers who read the news on TV, are considered to be more convincing, honest, and competent when they are dressed conservatively. And collage students who view themselves as taking an active role in their inter-personal relationships say they are concerned about the costumes they must wear to play these roles successfully. Moreover, many of us can relate instances in which the clothing we wore changed the way we felt about ourselves and how we act ed. Perhaps you have used clothing to gain confidence when you anticipated a stressful situation, such as a job interview, or a court appearance.
In the workplace, men have long had well defined precedents and role models for achieving success. It has been otherwise for women. A good many women in the business world are uncertain about the appropriate mixture of "masculine" and "feminine" attributes they should convey by their professional clothing. The variety of clothing alternatives to women has also been greater than that avail able for men. Male administrators tend to judge women more favorably for managerial positions when the women display less "feminine" grooming -shorter hair, moderate use of make up, and plain tailored clothing. As one male administrator confessed, "An attractive woman is definitely going to get a longer interview, but she won't get a job." | 2868.txt | 0 |
[
"Critical",
"Appreciative",
"Contemptuous",
"Tolerant"
] | According to Paragraph 1, what is the author's attitude toward the AAAS's report? | "The Heart of the Matter," the just-released report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), deserves praise for affirming the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity and security of liberal democracy in America. Regrettably, however, the report's failure to address the true nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause more harm than good.
In 2010, leading congressional Democrats and Republicans sent letters to the AAAS asking that it identify actions that could be taken by "federal, state and local governments, universities, foundations, educators, individual benefactors and others" to "maintain national excellence in humanities and social scientific scholarship and education."In response, the American Academy formed the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. Among the commission's 51 members are top-tier-university presidents, scholars, lawyers, judges, and business executives, as well as prominent figures from diplomacy, filmmaking, music and journalism.
The goals identified in the report are generally admirable. Because representative government presupposes an informed citizenry, the report supports full literacy; stresses the study of history and government, particularly American history and American government; and encourages the use of new digital technologies. To encourage innovation and competition, the report calls for increased investment in research, the crafting of coherent curricula that improve students' ability to solve problems and communicate effectively in the 21st century, increased funding for teachers and the encouragement of scholars to bring their learning to bear on the great challenges of the day. The report also advocates greater study of foreign languages, international affairs and the expansion of study abroad programs.
Unfortunately, despite 2½ years in the making, "The Heart of the Matter" never gets to the heart of the matter: the illiberal nature of liberal education at our leading colleges and universities. The commission ignores that for several decades America's colleges and universities have produced graduates who don't know the content and character of liberal education and are thus deprived of its benefits. Sadly, the spirit of inquiry once at home on campus has been replaced by the use of the humanities and social sciences as vehicles for publicizing "progressive," or left-liberal propaganda.
Today, professors routinely treat the progressive interpretation of history and progressive public policy as the proper subject of study while portraying conservative or classical liberal ideas-such as free markets or
self-reliance -as falling outside the boundaries of routine, and sometimes legitimate, intellectual investigation.
The AAAS displays great enthusiasm for liberal education. Yet its report may well set back reform by obscuring the depth and breadth of the challenge that Congress asked it to illuminate. | 686.txt | 0 |
[
"retain people's interest in liberal education.",
"define the government's role in education.",
"keep a leading position in liberal education.",
"safeguard individuals rights to education."
] | Influential figures in the Congress required that the AAAS report on how to | "The Heart of the Matter," the just-released report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), deserves praise for affirming the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity and security of liberal democracy in America. Regrettably, however, the report's failure to address the true nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause more harm than good.
In 2010, leading congressional Democrats and Republicans sent letters to the AAAS asking that it identify actions that could be taken by "federal, state and local governments, universities, foundations, educators, individual benefactors and others" to "maintain national excellence in humanities and social scientific scholarship and education."In response, the American Academy formed the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. Among the commission's 51 members are top-tier-university presidents, scholars, lawyers, judges, and business executives, as well as prominent figures from diplomacy, filmmaking, music and journalism.
The goals identified in the report are generally admirable. Because representative government presupposes an informed citizenry, the report supports full literacy; stresses the study of history and government, particularly American history and American government; and encourages the use of new digital technologies. To encourage innovation and competition, the report calls for increased investment in research, the crafting of coherent curricula that improve students' ability to solve problems and communicate effectively in the 21st century, increased funding for teachers and the encouragement of scholars to bring their learning to bear on the great challenges of the day. The report also advocates greater study of foreign languages, international affairs and the expansion of study abroad programs.
Unfortunately, despite 2½ years in the making, "The Heart of the Matter" never gets to the heart of the matter: the illiberal nature of liberal education at our leading colleges and universities. The commission ignores that for several decades America's colleges and universities have produced graduates who don't know the content and character of liberal education and are thus deprived of its benefits. Sadly, the spirit of inquiry once at home on campus has been replaced by the use of the humanities and social sciences as vehicles for publicizing "progressive," or left-liberal propaganda.
Today, professors routinely treat the progressive interpretation of history and progressive public policy as the proper subject of study while portraying conservative or classical liberal ideas-such as free markets or
self-reliance -as falling outside the boundaries of routine, and sometimes legitimate, intellectual investigation.
The AAAS displays great enthusiasm for liberal education. Yet its report may well set back reform by obscuring the depth and breadth of the challenge that Congress asked it to illuminate. | 686.txt | 1 |
[
"an exclusive study of American history.",
"a greater emphasis on theoretical subjects.",
"the application of emerging technologies.",
"funding for the study of foreign languages."
] | According to Paragraph 3, the report suggests | "The Heart of the Matter," the just-released report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), deserves praise for affirming the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity and security of liberal democracy in America. Regrettably, however, the report's failure to address the true nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause more harm than good.
In 2010, leading congressional Democrats and Republicans sent letters to the AAAS asking that it identify actions that could be taken by "federal, state and local governments, universities, foundations, educators, individual benefactors and others" to "maintain national excellence in humanities and social scientific scholarship and education."In response, the American Academy formed the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. Among the commission's 51 members are top-tier-university presidents, scholars, lawyers, judges, and business executives, as well as prominent figures from diplomacy, filmmaking, music and journalism.
The goals identified in the report are generally admirable. Because representative government presupposes an informed citizenry, the report supports full literacy; stresses the study of history and government, particularly American history and American government; and encourages the use of new digital technologies. To encourage innovation and competition, the report calls for increased investment in research, the crafting of coherent curricula that improve students' ability to solve problems and communicate effectively in the 21st century, increased funding for teachers and the encouragement of scholars to bring their learning to bear on the great challenges of the day. The report also advocates greater study of foreign languages, international affairs and the expansion of study abroad programs.
Unfortunately, despite 2½ years in the making, "The Heart of the Matter" never gets to the heart of the matter: the illiberal nature of liberal education at our leading colleges and universities. The commission ignores that for several decades America's colleges and universities have produced graduates who don't know the content and character of liberal education and are thus deprived of its benefits. Sadly, the spirit of inquiry once at home on campus has been replaced by the use of the humanities and social sciences as vehicles for publicizing "progressive," or left-liberal propaganda.
Today, professors routinely treat the progressive interpretation of history and progressive public policy as the proper subject of study while portraying conservative or classical liberal ideas-such as free markets or
self-reliance -as falling outside the boundaries of routine, and sometimes legitimate, intellectual investigation.
The AAAS displays great enthusiasm for liberal education. Yet its report may well set back reform by obscuring the depth and breadth of the challenge that Congress asked it to illuminate. | 686.txt | 2 |
[
"supportive of free markets.",
"cautious about intellectual investigation.",
"conservative about public policy.",
"biased against classical liberal ideas."
] | The author implies in Paragraph 5 that professors are | "The Heart of the Matter," the just-released report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), deserves praise for affirming the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity and security of liberal democracy in America. Regrettably, however, the report's failure to address the true nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause more harm than good.
In 2010, leading congressional Democrats and Republicans sent letters to the AAAS asking that it identify actions that could be taken by "federal, state and local governments, universities, foundations, educators, individual benefactors and others" to "maintain national excellence in humanities and social scientific scholarship and education."In response, the American Academy formed the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. Among the commission's 51 members are top-tier-university presidents, scholars, lawyers, judges, and business executives, as well as prominent figures from diplomacy, filmmaking, music and journalism.
The goals identified in the report are generally admirable. Because representative government presupposes an informed citizenry, the report supports full literacy; stresses the study of history and government, particularly American history and American government; and encourages the use of new digital technologies. To encourage innovation and competition, the report calls for increased investment in research, the crafting of coherent curricula that improve students' ability to solve problems and communicate effectively in the 21st century, increased funding for teachers and the encouragement of scholars to bring their learning to bear on the great challenges of the day. The report also advocates greater study of foreign languages, international affairs and the expansion of study abroad programs.
Unfortunately, despite 2½ years in the making, "The Heart of the Matter" never gets to the heart of the matter: the illiberal nature of liberal education at our leading colleges and universities. The commission ignores that for several decades America's colleges and universities have produced graduates who don't know the content and character of liberal education and are thus deprived of its benefits. Sadly, the spirit of inquiry once at home on campus has been replaced by the use of the humanities and social sciences as vehicles for publicizing "progressive," or left-liberal propaganda.
Today, professors routinely treat the progressive interpretation of history and progressive public policy as the proper subject of study while portraying conservative or classical liberal ideas-such as free markets or
self-reliance -as falling outside the boundaries of routine, and sometimes legitimate, intellectual investigation.
The AAAS displays great enthusiasm for liberal education. Yet its report may well set back reform by obscuring the depth and breadth of the challenge that Congress asked it to illuminate. | 686.txt | 1 |
[
"Ways to Grasp \"The Heart of the Matter\"",
"Illiberal Education and \"The Heart of the Matter\"",
"The AAAS's Contribution to Liberal Education",
"Progressive Policy vs. Liberal Education"
] | Which of the following would be the best title for the text? | "The Heart of the Matter," the just-released report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), deserves praise for affirming the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity and security of liberal democracy in America. Regrettably, however, the report's failure to address the true nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause more harm than good.
In 2010, leading congressional Democrats and Republicans sent letters to the AAAS asking that it identify actions that could be taken by "federal, state and local governments, universities, foundations, educators, individual benefactors and others" to "maintain national excellence in humanities and social scientific scholarship and education."In response, the American Academy formed the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. Among the commission's 51 members are top-tier-university presidents, scholars, lawyers, judges, and business executives, as well as prominent figures from diplomacy, filmmaking, music and journalism.
The goals identified in the report are generally admirable. Because representative government presupposes an informed citizenry, the report supports full literacy; stresses the study of history and government, particularly American history and American government; and encourages the use of new digital technologies. To encourage innovation and competition, the report calls for increased investment in research, the crafting of coherent curricula that improve students' ability to solve problems and communicate effectively in the 21st century, increased funding for teachers and the encouragement of scholars to bring their learning to bear on the great challenges of the day. The report also advocates greater study of foreign languages, international affairs and the expansion of study abroad programs.
Unfortunately, despite 2½ years in the making, "The Heart of the Matter" never gets to the heart of the matter: the illiberal nature of liberal education at our leading colleges and universities. The commission ignores that for several decades America's colleges and universities have produced graduates who don't know the content and character of liberal education and are thus deprived of its benefits. Sadly, the spirit of inquiry once at home on campus has been replaced by the use of the humanities and social sciences as vehicles for publicizing "progressive," or left-liberal propaganda.
Today, professors routinely treat the progressive interpretation of history and progressive public policy as the proper subject of study while portraying conservative or classical liberal ideas-such as free markets or
self-reliance -as falling outside the boundaries of routine, and sometimes legitimate, intellectual investigation.
The AAAS displays great enthusiasm for liberal education. Yet its report may well set back reform by obscuring the depth and breadth of the challenge that Congress asked it to illuminate. | 686.txt | 1 |
[
"how business is conducted by all executive and a visitor",
"how to tell the differences between an executive and a visitor",
"how to tell businessmen at a glance",
"how businessmen indicate status"
] | The experiment designed by the two researchers aimed at finding out _ . | Soldiers and other military people wear uniformswith various other symbols to indicate theirstatus.But in the business world everyone wearsmore or less similar suits，and you cannot tell at aglance who ranks higher or lower than another.Sohow do people in the business world show theirsuperiority? An attempt to study this was made bytwo researchers using a series of silent films.Theyhad two actors play the parts of an executiveand a visitor，and switch roles eachtime.The scene had one man at his desk playing the part of an executive，while theother，playing the part of a visitor，knocks at the door，opens it and approaches the desk todiscuss some business matter.
The audience watching the films was asked to rate the executive and the visitor in terms ofstatus.A certain set of rules about status began to emerge from the ratings.The visitorshowed the least amount of status when he stopped just inside the door to talk across the roomto the seated man.He was considered to have more status when he walked halfway up to thedesk，and he had the most status when he walked directly up to the desk and stood right infront Of the seated executive.
Another thing that affected the status of the visitor in the eyes of the observers was the timebetween knocking and entering.For the seated executive，his status was also affected by thetime between hearing the knock and answering.The quicker the visitor entered the room，themore status he had.The longer the executive took to answer，the more status he had. | 2447.txt | 3 |
[
"The executive has a higher status than the visitor.",
"Military people wear uniforms but the businessmen do not",
"A study revealing a set of rules about the status of businessmen.",
"It is a good method to use a series of silent film in research."
] | Which of the statements can best sum up the passage? | Soldiers and other military people wear uniformswith various other symbols to indicate theirstatus.But in the business world everyone wearsmore or less similar suits，and you cannot tell at aglance who ranks higher or lower than another.Sohow do people in the business world show theirsuperiority? An attempt to study this was made bytwo researchers using a series of silent films.Theyhad two actors play the parts of an executiveand a visitor，and switch roles eachtime.The scene had one man at his desk playing the part of an executive，while theother，playing the part of a visitor，knocks at the door，opens it and approaches the desk todiscuss some business matter.
The audience watching the films was asked to rate the executive and the visitor in terms ofstatus.A certain set of rules about status began to emerge from the ratings.The visitorshowed the least amount of status when he stopped just inside the door to talk across the roomto the seated man.He was considered to have more status when he walked halfway up to thedesk，and he had the most status when he walked directly up to the desk and stood right infront Of the seated executive.
Another thing that affected the status of the visitor in the eyes of the observers was the timebetween knocking and entering.For the seated executive，his status was also affected by thetime between hearing the knock and answering.The quicker the visitor entered the room，themore status he had.The longer the executive took to answer，the more status he had. | 2447.txt | 2 |
[
"the less it affected his status",
"the lower his status",
"the more it affected his status",
"the higher his status"
] | Having entered the room，the closer the visitor approaches the executive, _ . | Soldiers and other military people wear uniformswith various other symbols to indicate theirstatus.But in the business world everyone wearsmore or less similar suits，and you cannot tell at aglance who ranks higher or lower than another.Sohow do people in the business world show theirsuperiority? An attempt to study this was made bytwo researchers using a series of silent films.Theyhad two actors play the parts of an executiveand a visitor，and switch roles eachtime.The scene had one man at his desk playing the part of an executive，while theother，playing the part of a visitor，knocks at the door，opens it and approaches the desk todiscuss some business matter.
The audience watching the films was asked to rate the executive and the visitor in terms ofstatus.A certain set of rules about status began to emerge from the ratings.The visitorshowed the least amount of status when he stopped just inside the door to talk across the roomto the seated man.He was considered to have more status when he walked halfway up to thedesk，and he had the most status when he walked directly up to the desk and stood right infront Of the seated executive.
Another thing that affected the status of the visitor in the eyes of the observers was the timebetween knocking and entering.For the seated executive，his status was also affected by thetime between hearing the knock and answering.The quicker the visitor entered the room，themore status he had.The longer the executive took to answer，the more status he had. | 2447.txt | 3 |
[
"the higher his status",
"the less it affected his status",
"the lower his status",
"the more it affected his status"
] | The longer the seated man was in answering the knock， _ . | Soldiers and other military people wear uniformswith various other symbols to indicate theirstatus.But in the business world everyone wearsmore or less similar suits，and you cannot tell at aglance who ranks higher or lower than another.Sohow do people in the business world show theirsuperiority? An attempt to study this was made bytwo researchers using a series of silent films.Theyhad two actors play the parts of an executiveand a visitor，and switch roles eachtime.The scene had one man at his desk playing the part of an executive，while theother，playing the part of a visitor，knocks at the door，opens it and approaches the desk todiscuss some business matter.
The audience watching the films was asked to rate the executive and the visitor in terms ofstatus.A certain set of rules about status began to emerge from the ratings.The visitorshowed the least amount of status when he stopped just inside the door to talk across the roomto the seated man.He was considered to have more status when he walked halfway up to thedesk，and he had the most status when he walked directly up to the desk and stood right infront Of the seated executive.
Another thing that affected the status of the visitor in the eyes of the observers was the timebetween knocking and entering.For the seated executive，his status was also affected by thetime between hearing the knock and answering.The quicker the visitor entered the room，themore status he had.The longer the executive took to answer，the more status he had. | 2447.txt | 0 |
[
"Soldiers wear uniforms with various symbols so that one call tell their status at a glance.",
"In the experiment.one actor played the executive while the other played the seated man",
"Business people wear similar suits.",
"The audience watching the film rated the executive and the visitor in terms of status."
] | Which statement is NOT true? | Soldiers and other military people wear uniformswith various other symbols to indicate theirstatus.But in the business world everyone wearsmore or less similar suits，and you cannot tell at aglance who ranks higher or lower than another.Sohow do people in the business world show theirsuperiority? An attempt to study this was made bytwo researchers using a series of silent films.Theyhad two actors play the parts of an executiveand a visitor，and switch roles eachtime.The scene had one man at his desk playing the part of an executive，while theother，playing the part of a visitor，knocks at the door，opens it and approaches the desk todiscuss some business matter.
The audience watching the films was asked to rate the executive and the visitor in terms ofstatus.A certain set of rules about status began to emerge from the ratings.The visitorshowed the least amount of status when he stopped just inside the door to talk across the roomto the seated man.He was considered to have more status when he walked halfway up to thedesk，and he had the most status when he walked directly up to the desk and stood right infront Of the seated executive.
Another thing that affected the status of the visitor in the eyes of the observers was the timebetween knocking and entering.For the seated executive，his status was also affected by thetime between hearing the knock and answering.The quicker the visitor entered the room，themore status he had.The longer the executive took to answer，the more status he had. | 2447.txt | 1 |
[
"many Americans are obsessed with the rising temperature in their bathroom",
"more people are overweighed in the United States",
"people are doing more physical exercises with the help of scales",
"youngsters become taller and healthier thanks to more activities"
] | The first sentence of the passage most probably implies that _ . | Like a needle climbing up a bathroom scale, the number keeps rising. In 1991, 15% of Americans were obese; by 1999, that proportion had grown to 27%. Youngsters, who should have age and activity on their side, are growing larger as well: 19% of Americans under 17 are obese. Waistbands have been popping in other western countries too, as physical activity has declined and diets have expanded. By and large, people in the rich world seem to have lost the fight against flab.
Meanwhile, poorer nations have enjoyed some success in their battles against malnutrition and famine. But, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, it is more a case of being out of the frying pan and into the fire. The most striking example actually in the poor world comes from the Pacific islands, home of the world's most obese communities. In 1966, 14% of the men on this island were obese while 100% of men under the age of 30 in 1996 were obese.
This increase in weight has been uneven as well as fast. As a result, undernourished and over-nourished people frequently live cheek by jowl. The mix can even occur within a single household. A study of families in Indonesia found that nearly 10% contained both the hungry and the fat. This is a mysterious phenomenon, but might have something to do with people of different ages being given different amounts of food to eat.
The prospect of heading off these problems is bleak. In many affected countries there are cultural factorsto contend with, such as an emphasis on eating large meals together, or on food as a form. of hospitality.Moreover, there is a good measure of disbelief on the part of policymakers that such a problem Could existin their countries. Add to that reluctance on the part of governments to spend resources on promoting dietand exercise while starvation is still a real threat, and the result is a recipe for inaction. Unless something is done soon, it might not be possible to turn the clock back. | 537.txt | 1 |
[
"other western countries has been defeated by fat",
"obesity has become an epidemicof the rich world",
"waistbands begin to be popular in other western countries",
"western countries can no longer fight against obesity"
] | As physical exercise declines and diet expands, _ . | Like a needle climbing up a bathroom scale, the number keeps rising. In 1991, 15% of Americans were obese; by 1999, that proportion had grown to 27%. Youngsters, who should have age and activity on their side, are growing larger as well: 19% of Americans under 17 are obese. Waistbands have been popping in other western countries too, as physical activity has declined and diets have expanded. By and large, people in the rich world seem to have lost the fight against flab.
Meanwhile, poorer nations have enjoyed some success in their battles against malnutrition and famine. But, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, it is more a case of being out of the frying pan and into the fire. The most striking example actually in the poor world comes from the Pacific islands, home of the world's most obese communities. In 1966, 14% of the men on this island were obese while 100% of men under the age of 30 in 1996 were obese.
This increase in weight has been uneven as well as fast. As a result, undernourished and over-nourished people frequently live cheek by jowl. The mix can even occur within a single household. A study of families in Indonesia found that nearly 10% contained both the hungry and the fat. This is a mysterious phenomenon, but might have something to do with people of different ages being given different amounts of food to eat.
The prospect of heading off these problems is bleak. In many affected countries there are cultural factorsto contend with, such as an emphasis on eating large meals together, or on food as a form. of hospitality.Moreover, there is a good measure of disbelief on the part of policymakers that such a problem Could existin their countries. Add to that reluctance on the part of governments to spend resources on promoting dietand exercise while starvation is still a real threat, and the result is a recipe for inaction. Unless something is done soon, it might not be possible to turn the clock back. | 537.txt | 1 |
[
"The poor community has shaken off poverty and people are well-fed now.",
"Obesity is becoming a problem in the developing world too.",
"Excessive weight increase will cause no less harm than the food shortage.",
"The problem of overweight emerges very fast."
] | Which is NOT the point of the example of the Pacific Islands? | Like a needle climbing up a bathroom scale, the number keeps rising. In 1991, 15% of Americans were obese; by 1999, that proportion had grown to 27%. Youngsters, who should have age and activity on their side, are growing larger as well: 19% of Americans under 17 are obese. Waistbands have been popping in other western countries too, as physical activity has declined and diets have expanded. By and large, people in the rich world seem to have lost the fight against flab.
Meanwhile, poorer nations have enjoyed some success in their battles against malnutrition and famine. But, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, it is more a case of being out of the frying pan and into the fire. The most striking example actually in the poor world comes from the Pacific islands, home of the world's most obese communities. In 1966, 14% of the men on this island were obese while 100% of men under the age of 30 in 1996 were obese.
This increase in weight has been uneven as well as fast. As a result, undernourished and over-nourished people frequently live cheek by jowl. The mix can even occur within a single household. A study of families in Indonesia found that nearly 10% contained both the hungry and the fat. This is a mysterious phenomenon, but might have something to do with people of different ages being given different amounts of food to eat.
The prospect of heading off these problems is bleak. In many affected countries there are cultural factorsto contend with, such as an emphasis on eating large meals together, or on food as a form. of hospitality.Moreover, there is a good measure of disbelief on the part of policymakers that such a problem Could existin their countries. Add to that reluctance on the part of governments to spend resources on promoting dietand exercise while starvation is still a real threat, and the result is a recipe for inaction. Unless something is done soon, it might not be possible to turn the clock back. | 537.txt | 0 |
[
"the matter is so complex as to go beyond our capacity",
"no matter what we do, the prospect will always be bleak",
"it is starvation, the real threat, that needs to be solved",
"we should take immediate actions before it becomes incurable"
] | Of tackling obesity in the poor world, we can learn from the passage that _ | Like a needle climbing up a bathroom scale, the number keeps rising. In 1991, 15% of Americans were obese; by 1999, that proportion had grown to 27%. Youngsters, who should have age and activity on their side, are growing larger as well: 19% of Americans under 17 are obese. Waistbands have been popping in other western countries too, as physical activity has declined and diets have expanded. By and large, people in the rich world seem to have lost the fight against flab.
Meanwhile, poorer nations have enjoyed some success in their battles against malnutrition and famine. But, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, it is more a case of being out of the frying pan and into the fire. The most striking example actually in the poor world comes from the Pacific islands, home of the world's most obese communities. In 1966, 14% of the men on this island were obese while 100% of men under the age of 30 in 1996 were obese.
This increase in weight has been uneven as well as fast. As a result, undernourished and over-nourished people frequently live cheek by jowl. The mix can even occur within a single household. A study of families in Indonesia found that nearly 10% contained both the hungry and the fat. This is a mysterious phenomenon, but might have something to do with people of different ages being given different amounts of food to eat.
The prospect of heading off these problems is bleak. In many affected countries there are cultural factorsto contend with, such as an emphasis on eating large meals together, or on food as a form. of hospitality.Moreover, there is a good measure of disbelief on the part of policymakers that such a problem Could existin their countries. Add to that reluctance on the part of governments to spend resources on promoting dietand exercise while starvation is still a real threat, and the result is a recipe for inaction. Unless something is done soon, it might not be possible to turn the clock back. | 537.txt | 3 |
[
"Obesity is now a global problem that needs tackling.",
"The weights increase fast throughout the whole world.",
"Obesity and starvation are two main problems in the poor world.",
"Obesity has shifted from the rich world to the poor world."
] | What is the main idea of this passage? | Like a needle climbing up a bathroom scale, the number keeps rising. In 1991, 15% of Americans were obese; by 1999, that proportion had grown to 27%. Youngsters, who should have age and activity on their side, are growing larger as well: 19% of Americans under 17 are obese. Waistbands have been popping in other western countries too, as physical activity has declined and diets have expanded. By and large, people in the rich world seem to have lost the fight against flab.
Meanwhile, poorer nations have enjoyed some success in their battles against malnutrition and famine. But, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, it is more a case of being out of the frying pan and into the fire. The most striking example actually in the poor world comes from the Pacific islands, home of the world's most obese communities. In 1966, 14% of the men on this island were obese while 100% of men under the age of 30 in 1996 were obese.
This increase in weight has been uneven as well as fast. As a result, undernourished and over-nourished people frequently live cheek by jowl. The mix can even occur within a single household. A study of families in Indonesia found that nearly 10% contained both the hungry and the fat. This is a mysterious phenomenon, but might have something to do with people of different ages being given different amounts of food to eat.
The prospect of heading off these problems is bleak. In many affected countries there are cultural factorsto contend with, such as an emphasis on eating large meals together, or on food as a form. of hospitality.Moreover, there is a good measure of disbelief on the part of policymakers that such a problem Could existin their countries. Add to that reluctance on the part of governments to spend resources on promoting dietand exercise while starvation is still a real threat, and the result is a recipe for inaction. Unless something is done soon, it might not be possible to turn the clock back. | 537.txt | 0 |
[
"it suggested a way to keep some foods fresh without preservatives",
"it discovered tiny globules in both cream and butter",
"it revealed the secret of how bacteria multiply in cream and butter",
"it found that cream and butter share the same chemical composition"
] | The significance of Brocklehurst's research is that _ . | Why does cram go bad faster than butter? Some researchers think they have the answer, and it comes down to the structure of the food, not its chemical composition-a finding that could help rid some processed foods of chemical preservatives.
Cream and butter contain pretty much the same substances, so why cream should sour much faster has been a mystery. Both are emulsions-tiny globules of one liquid evenly distributed throughout another. The difference lies in what's in the globules and what's in the surrounding liquid, says Brocklehurst, who led the investigation.
In cream, fatty globules drift about in a sea of water. In butter, globules of a watery solution are locked away in a sea of fat. The bacteria which make the food go bad prefer to live in the watery regions of the mixture. "This means that in cream, the bacteria are free to grow throughout the mixture," he says.
When the situation is reversed, the bacteria are locked away in compartments buried deep in the sea of fat. Trapped in this way, individual colonies cannot spread and rapidly run out of nutrients . They also slowly poison themselves with their waste products. "In butter, you get a self-limiting system which stops the bacteria growing," says Brocklehurst.
The researchers are already working with food companies keen to see if their products can be made resistant to bacterial attack through alterations to the food's structure. Brocklehurst believes it will be possible to make the emulsions used in salad cream, for instance, more like that in butter. The key will be to do this while keeping the salad cream liquid and not turning it into a solid lump. | 851.txt | 0 |
[
"are more evenly distributed in cream",
"multiply more easily in cream than in butter",
"live on less fat in cream than in butter",
"produce less waste in cream than in butter"
] | According to the researchers, cream sours fast than butter because bacteria _ . | Why does cram go bad faster than butter? Some researchers think they have the answer, and it comes down to the structure of the food, not its chemical composition-a finding that could help rid some processed foods of chemical preservatives.
Cream and butter contain pretty much the same substances, so why cream should sour much faster has been a mystery. Both are emulsions-tiny globules of one liquid evenly distributed throughout another. The difference lies in what's in the globules and what's in the surrounding liquid, says Brocklehurst, who led the investigation.
In cream, fatty globules drift about in a sea of water. In butter, globules of a watery solution are locked away in a sea of fat. The bacteria which make the food go bad prefer to live in the watery regions of the mixture. "This means that in cream, the bacteria are free to grow throughout the mixture," he says.
When the situation is reversed, the bacteria are locked away in compartments buried deep in the sea of fat. Trapped in this way, individual colonies cannot spread and rapidly run out of nutrients . They also slowly poison themselves with their waste products. "In butter, you get a self-limiting system which stops the bacteria growing," says Brocklehurst.
The researchers are already working with food companies keen to see if their products can be made resistant to bacterial attack through alterations to the food's structure. Brocklehurst believes it will be possible to make the emulsions used in salad cream, for instance, more like that in butter. The key will be to do this while keeping the salad cream liquid and not turning it into a solid lump. | 851.txt | 1 |
[
"removing its fat",
"killing the bacteria",
"reducing its water content",
"altering its structure"
] | According to Brocklehurst, we can keep cream fresh by _ . | Why does cram go bad faster than butter? Some researchers think they have the answer, and it comes down to the structure of the food, not its chemical composition-a finding that could help rid some processed foods of chemical preservatives.
Cream and butter contain pretty much the same substances, so why cream should sour much faster has been a mystery. Both are emulsions-tiny globules of one liquid evenly distributed throughout another. The difference lies in what's in the globules and what's in the surrounding liquid, says Brocklehurst, who led the investigation.
In cream, fatty globules drift about in a sea of water. In butter, globules of a watery solution are locked away in a sea of fat. The bacteria which make the food go bad prefer to live in the watery regions of the mixture. "This means that in cream, the bacteria are free to grow throughout the mixture," he says.
When the situation is reversed, the bacteria are locked away in compartments buried deep in the sea of fat. Trapped in this way, individual colonies cannot spread and rapidly run out of nutrients . They also slowly poison themselves with their waste products. "In butter, you get a self-limiting system which stops the bacteria growing," says Brocklehurst.
The researchers are already working with food companies keen to see if their products can be made resistant to bacterial attack through alterations to the food's structure. Brocklehurst believes it will be possible to make the emulsions used in salad cream, for instance, more like that in butter. The key will be to do this while keeping the salad cream liquid and not turning it into a solid lump. | 851.txt | 3 |
[
"tiny globules",
"watery regions",
"bacteria communities",
"little compartments"
] | The word "colonies" (Line 2, Para. 4) refers to _ . | Why does cram go bad faster than butter? Some researchers think they have the answer, and it comes down to the structure of the food, not its chemical composition-a finding that could help rid some processed foods of chemical preservatives.
Cream and butter contain pretty much the same substances, so why cream should sour much faster has been a mystery. Both are emulsions-tiny globules of one liquid evenly distributed throughout another. The difference lies in what's in the globules and what's in the surrounding liquid, says Brocklehurst, who led the investigation.
In cream, fatty globules drift about in a sea of water. In butter, globules of a watery solution are locked away in a sea of fat. The bacteria which make the food go bad prefer to live in the watery regions of the mixture. "This means that in cream, the bacteria are free to grow throughout the mixture," he says.
When the situation is reversed, the bacteria are locked away in compartments buried deep in the sea of fat. Trapped in this way, individual colonies cannot spread and rapidly run out of nutrients . They also slowly poison themselves with their waste products. "In butter, you get a self-limiting system which stops the bacteria growing," says Brocklehurst.
The researchers are already working with food companies keen to see if their products can be made resistant to bacterial attack through alterations to the food's structure. Brocklehurst believes it will be possible to make the emulsions used in salad cream, for instance, more like that in butter. The key will be to do this while keeping the salad cream liquid and not turning it into a solid lump. | 851.txt | 2 |
[
"by varying its chemical composition",
"by turning it into a solid lump",
"while keeping its structure unchanged",
"while retaining its liquid form"
] | Commercial application of the research finding will be possible if salad cream can be made resistant to bacterial attack _ . | Why does cram go bad faster than butter? Some researchers think they have the answer, and it comes down to the structure of the food, not its chemical composition-a finding that could help rid some processed foods of chemical preservatives.
Cream and butter contain pretty much the same substances, so why cream should sour much faster has been a mystery. Both are emulsions-tiny globules of one liquid evenly distributed throughout another. The difference lies in what's in the globules and what's in the surrounding liquid, says Brocklehurst, who led the investigation.
In cream, fatty globules drift about in a sea of water. In butter, globules of a watery solution are locked away in a sea of fat. The bacteria which make the food go bad prefer to live in the watery regions of the mixture. "This means that in cream, the bacteria are free to grow throughout the mixture," he says.
When the situation is reversed, the bacteria are locked away in compartments buried deep in the sea of fat. Trapped in this way, individual colonies cannot spread and rapidly run out of nutrients . They also slowly poison themselves with their waste products. "In butter, you get a self-limiting system which stops the bacteria growing," says Brocklehurst.
The researchers are already working with food companies keen to see if their products can be made resistant to bacterial attack through alterations to the food's structure. Brocklehurst believes it will be possible to make the emulsions used in salad cream, for instance, more like that in butter. The key will be to do this while keeping the salad cream liquid and not turning it into a solid lump. | 851.txt | 3 |
[
"They possess different kinds of superpowers.",
"They have got the power to change the world.",
"Some people around them are making the world better.",
"There are many powerful people in their life and work."
] | Why does the author say they are inspired every day? | If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Dreaming about whether you would want to read minds, see through walls, or have superhuman strength may sound silly, but it actually gets to the heart of what really matters in your life.
Every day in our work, we are inspired by the people we meet doing extraordinary things to improve the world.
They have a different kind of superpower that all of us possess: the power to make a difference in the lives of others.
We're not saying that everyone needs to contribute their lives to the poor. Your lives are busy enough doing homework, playing sports, making friends, seeking after your dreams. But we do think that you can live a more powerful life when you devote some of your time and energy to something much larger than yourself. Find an issue you are interested in and learn more. Volunteer or, if you can, contribute a little money to a cause. Whatever you do, don't be a bystander. Get involved. You may have the opportunity to make your biggest difference when you're older. But why not start now?
Our own experience working together on health, development, and energy the last twenty years has been one of the most rewarding parts of our lives. It has changed who we are and continues to fuel our optimism about how much the lives of the poorest people will improve in the years ahead. | 539.txt | 2 |
[
"Learning more and contributing more to a cause.",
"Rising above self and acting to help others.",
"Working hard to get a bigger opportunity.",
"Trying your best to help the poor."
] | What does the author stress in Paragraph 5? | If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Dreaming about whether you would want to read minds, see through walls, or have superhuman strength may sound silly, but it actually gets to the heart of what really matters in your life.
Every day in our work, we are inspired by the people we meet doing extraordinary things to improve the world.
They have a different kind of superpower that all of us possess: the power to make a difference in the lives of others.
We're not saying that everyone needs to contribute their lives to the poor. Your lives are busy enough doing homework, playing sports, making friends, seeking after your dreams. But we do think that you can live a more powerful life when you devote some of your time and energy to something much larger than yourself. Find an issue you are interested in and learn more. Volunteer or, if you can, contribute a little money to a cause. Whatever you do, don't be a bystander. Get involved. You may have the opportunity to make your biggest difference when you're older. But why not start now?
Our own experience working together on health, development, and energy the last twenty years has been one of the most rewarding parts of our lives. It has changed who we are and continues to fuel our optimism about how much the lives of the poorest people will improve in the years ahead. | 539.txt | 1 |
[
"The author believes the lives of the poorest will get better.",
"Much more progress will be made in the near future.",
"The work on health is the most valuable experience.",
"People's efforts have been materially rewarded."
] | What can be inferred from the last paragraph? | If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Dreaming about whether you would want to read minds, see through walls, or have superhuman strength may sound silly, but it actually gets to the heart of what really matters in your life.
Every day in our work, we are inspired by the people we meet doing extraordinary things to improve the world.
They have a different kind of superpower that all of us possess: the power to make a difference in the lives of others.
We're not saying that everyone needs to contribute their lives to the poor. Your lives are busy enough doing homework, playing sports, making friends, seeking after your dreams. But we do think that you can live a more powerful life when you devote some of your time and energy to something much larger than yourself. Find an issue you are interested in and learn more. Volunteer or, if you can, contribute a little money to a cause. Whatever you do, don't be a bystander. Get involved. You may have the opportunity to make your biggest difference when you're older. But why not start now?
Our own experience working together on health, development, and energy the last twenty years has been one of the most rewarding parts of our lives. It has changed who we are and continues to fuel our optimism about how much the lives of the poorest people will improve in the years ahead. | 539.txt | 0 |
[
"Natural empathy needs to be reinforced.",
"Emotional changes influence one's choice of gifts.",
"Selecting the right gift is an ability people are born with.",
"Choosing gifts requires one to understand the receivers."
] | Which of the following is the main idea of the second paragraph? | Have you ever received a gift that was so dearly, not your taste that you wondered if perhaps it had been handed to you by mistake? Worse, have you ever given a present and watched your friend look as though she had opened the wrong box? Maybe she responded with a polite "Why, thank you," but you knew you had missed the mark. Why do presents sometimes go wrong? And what do your choices (good and bad) reflect about your persona] qualities?
Choosing the right gift is an art, I believe. It calls for empathy-the ability to put yourself into someone else's head and heart We're all able to do this; in fact, we're born with a kind of natural empathy. After the earliest period of childhood, however, it needs to be reinforced -by our parents, teachers, friends. When it isn't, we're not able to understand other people's feelings as sharply. This can show in the gifts we select, and so can many other emotional qualities.
Think back to the presents you've given over the past year, the time and effort you put into your selection, how much you spent, your thoughts while you were shopping, and your feelings when the receiver opened the package. Keep in mind that what you choose displays your inner world. Of course, you may express yourself differently with different friends, relatives, and other people you know.
We live in a society where exchanging presents is an important part of communication. Ignoring the tradition won't make it go away. If you really dislike such a tradition, tell your friends ahead of time. | 3304.txt | 3 |
[
"attention should be paid to the receivers' responses",
"one learns from what he did in the past",
"the choice of gifts reflects one's emotional qualities",
"one should spend more time choosing gifts"
] | In the third paragraph, the author tells us that _ . | Have you ever received a gift that was so dearly, not your taste that you wondered if perhaps it had been handed to you by mistake? Worse, have you ever given a present and watched your friend look as though she had opened the wrong box? Maybe she responded with a polite "Why, thank you," but you knew you had missed the mark. Why do presents sometimes go wrong? And what do your choices (good and bad) reflect about your persona] qualities?
Choosing the right gift is an art, I believe. It calls for empathy-the ability to put yourself into someone else's head and heart We're all able to do this; in fact, we're born with a kind of natural empathy. After the earliest period of childhood, however, it needs to be reinforced -by our parents, teachers, friends. When it isn't, we're not able to understand other people's feelings as sharply. This can show in the gifts we select, and so can many other emotional qualities.
Think back to the presents you've given over the past year, the time and effort you put into your selection, how much you spent, your thoughts while you were shopping, and your feelings when the receiver opened the package. Keep in mind that what you choose displays your inner world. Of course, you may express yourself differently with different friends, relatives, and other people you know.
We live in a society where exchanging presents is an important part of communication. Ignoring the tradition won't make it go away. If you really dislike such a tradition, tell your friends ahead of time. | 3304.txt | 2 |
[
"Ways of Choosing Gifts",
"An Important Tradition",
"Exchanging Presents",
"Message in a Gift"
] | The best possible title for this passage is " _ ". | Have you ever received a gift that was so dearly, not your taste that you wondered if perhaps it had been handed to you by mistake? Worse, have you ever given a present and watched your friend look as though she had opened the wrong box? Maybe she responded with a polite "Why, thank you," but you knew you had missed the mark. Why do presents sometimes go wrong? And what do your choices (good and bad) reflect about your persona] qualities?
Choosing the right gift is an art, I believe. It calls for empathy-the ability to put yourself into someone else's head and heart We're all able to do this; in fact, we're born with a kind of natural empathy. After the earliest period of childhood, however, it needs to be reinforced -by our parents, teachers, friends. When it isn't, we're not able to understand other people's feelings as sharply. This can show in the gifts we select, and so can many other emotional qualities.
Think back to the presents you've given over the past year, the time and effort you put into your selection, how much you spent, your thoughts while you were shopping, and your feelings when the receiver opened the package. Keep in mind that what you choose displays your inner world. Of course, you may express yourself differently with different friends, relatives, and other people you know.
We live in a society where exchanging presents is an important part of communication. Ignoring the tradition won't make it go away. If you really dislike such a tradition, tell your friends ahead of time. | 3304.txt | 3 |
[
"starts to learn a new lesson in sleep",
"learns how to sleep better",
"is made to remember his lesson in sleep",
"can listen to the radio broadcast while lying in bed"
] | By the learnwhileyousleep method, one _ . | If you ask some people, " How did you learn English so well?" you may get a surprising answer: " In my sleep!"
These are people who have taken part in one of the recent experiments to test the learnwhileyousleep method, which is now being tried in several countries, and with several subjects. English is among them.
Scientists say that this sleepstudy method greatly speeds language learning. They say that the ordinary person can learn two or three times as much during sleep as in the same period during the day-and this does not affect his rest in any way. However, sleepteaching will only put into your head what you have studied already while you are awake.
In one experiment, ten lessons were broadcast over the radio for two weeks. Each lesson lasted twelve hours - from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. The first three hours of English grammar and vocabulary were given with the students awake. At 11 p.m. a lullaby was broadcast to send the student to sleep and for the next three hours the radio in a soft and low voice broadcast the lesson again into his sleeping ears. At 2 a.m. a sharp noise was sent over the radio to wake the sleeping student up for a few minutes to go over the lesson. The soft music sent him back to rest again while the radio went on. At 5 o'clock his sleep ended and he had to go through the lesson again for three hours before breakfast. | 674.txt | 2 |
[
"in the night time",
"after lullabies were broadcast",
"while the student was awake",
"all through the twelve hours"
] | In the experiment, lessons were given _ . | If you ask some people, " How did you learn English so well?" you may get a surprising answer: " In my sleep!"
These are people who have taken part in one of the recent experiments to test the learnwhileyousleep method, which is now being tried in several countries, and with several subjects. English is among them.
Scientists say that this sleepstudy method greatly speeds language learning. They say that the ordinary person can learn two or three times as much during sleep as in the same period during the day-and this does not affect his rest in any way. However, sleepteaching will only put into your head what you have studied already while you are awake.
In one experiment, ten lessons were broadcast over the radio for two weeks. Each lesson lasted twelve hours - from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. The first three hours of English grammar and vocabulary were given with the students awake. At 11 p.m. a lullaby was broadcast to send the student to sleep and for the next three hours the radio in a soft and low voice broadcast the lesson again into his sleeping ears. At 2 a.m. a sharp noise was sent over the radio to wake the sleeping student up for a few minutes to go over the lesson. The soft music sent him back to rest again while the radio went on. At 5 o'clock his sleep ended and he had to go through the lesson again for three hours before breakfast. | 674.txt | 0 |
[
"get up and take breakfast",
"be woken up by a loud voice",
"listen to the lesson again in sleep",
"review the lesson by himself"
] | Before each lesson finishes, the student has to _ . | If you ask some people, " How did you learn English so well?" you may get a surprising answer: " In my sleep!"
These are people who have taken part in one of the recent experiments to test the learnwhileyousleep method, which is now being tried in several countries, and with several subjects. English is among them.
Scientists say that this sleepstudy method greatly speeds language learning. They say that the ordinary person can learn two or three times as much during sleep as in the same period during the day-and this does not affect his rest in any way. However, sleepteaching will only put into your head what you have studied already while you are awake.
In one experiment, ten lessons were broadcast over the radio for two weeks. Each lesson lasted twelve hours - from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. The first three hours of English grammar and vocabulary were given with the students awake. At 11 p.m. a lullaby was broadcast to send the student to sleep and for the next three hours the radio in a soft and low voice broadcast the lesson again into his sleeping ears. At 2 a.m. a sharp noise was sent over the radio to wake the sleeping student up for a few minutes to go over the lesson. The soft music sent him back to rest again while the radio went on. At 5 o'clock his sleep ended and he had to go through the lesson again for three hours before breakfast. | 674.txt | 2 |
[
"the English language",
"grammar and vocabulary",
"a number of subjects",
"foreign languages"
] | The sleepstudy method is being tried in many countries to teach _ . | If you ask some people, " How did you learn English so well?" you may get a surprising answer: " In my sleep!"
These are people who have taken part in one of the recent experiments to test the learnwhileyousleep method, which is now being tried in several countries, and with several subjects. English is among them.
Scientists say that this sleepstudy method greatly speeds language learning. They say that the ordinary person can learn two or three times as much during sleep as in the same period during the day-and this does not affect his rest in any way. However, sleepteaching will only put into your head what you have studied already while you are awake.
In one experiment, ten lessons were broadcast over the radio for two weeks. Each lesson lasted twelve hours - from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. The first three hours of English grammar and vocabulary were given with the students awake. At 11 p.m. a lullaby was broadcast to send the student to sleep and for the next three hours the radio in a soft and low voice broadcast the lesson again into his sleeping ears. At 2 a.m. a sharp noise was sent over the radio to wake the sleeping student up for a few minutes to go over the lesson. The soft music sent him back to rest again while the radio went on. At 5 o'clock his sleep ended and he had to go through the lesson again for three hours before breakfast. | 674.txt | 2 |
[
"readers how to be popular in with around",
"teenagers how to learn to decide things for themselves",
"parents how to control and guide their children",
"people how to understand and respect each other"
] | The author's purpose writing this passage is to tell _ . | I hear many parents saying that their teen-age children are rebellion. I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teen-agers are all taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out bravely on their own,most of them are trying to seize at one another's hands for safety.
They say they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow they all end up crowded round listening to the same record. Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon ---- into a larger cocoon.
It has become harder and harder for a teen-ager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly open up a teen -age market. These days every teen-ager can learn from newspapers and TV what a teen-ager should have and be. And many of today's parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to great difficulty for the teen-ager who wants to find his or her own path.
But the difficulty is worth getting over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don't care to share at once with your classmates. Well,go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come --- with the people who respect you for who you are. That's the only kind of popularity that really counts. | 3187.txt | 1 |
[
"have much difficulty understanding each other",
"lack confidence",
"dare not cope with problems single-handed",
"are very much afraid of getting lost"
] | According to the author, many teen-agers think they are brave enough to act on their own, but, in fact, most of them _ . | I hear many parents saying that their teen-age children are rebellion. I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teen-agers are all taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out bravely on their own,most of them are trying to seize at one another's hands for safety.
They say they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow they all end up crowded round listening to the same record. Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon ---- into a larger cocoon.
It has become harder and harder for a teen-ager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly open up a teen -age market. These days every teen-ager can learn from newspapers and TV what a teen-ager should have and be. And many of today's parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to great difficulty for the teen-ager who wants to find his or her own path.
But the difficulty is worth getting over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don't care to share at once with your classmates. Well,go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come --- with the people who respect you for who you are. That's the only kind of popularity that really counts. | 3187.txt | 1 |
[
"There is no popularity that really counts.",
"What many parents are doing is in fact hindering their children from finding their own paths.",
"It is not necessarily bad for a teen-ager to disagree with his or her classmates.",
"Most teen-agers claim that they want to do what they like to, but they are actually doing the same."
] | Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? | I hear many parents saying that their teen-age children are rebellion. I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teen-agers are all taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out bravely on their own,most of them are trying to seize at one another's hands for safety.
They say they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow they all end up crowded round listening to the same record. Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon ---- into a larger cocoon.
It has become harder and harder for a teen-ager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly open up a teen -age market. These days every teen-ager can learn from newspapers and TV what a teen-ager should have and be. And many of today's parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to great difficulty for the teen-ager who wants to find his or her own path.
But the difficulty is worth getting over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don't care to share at once with your classmates. Well,go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come --- with the people who respect you for who you are. That's the only kind of popularity that really counts. | 3187.txt | 0 |
[
"convincing",
"influential",
"instructive",
"authoritative"
] | The author thinks of advertisements as _ . | I hear many parents saying that their teen-age children are rebellion. I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teen-agers are all taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out bravely on their own,most of them are trying to seize at one another's hands for safety.
They say they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow they all end up crowded round listening to the same record. Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon ---- into a larger cocoon.
It has become harder and harder for a teen-ager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly open up a teen -age market. These days every teen-ager can learn from newspapers and TV what a teen-ager should have and be. And many of today's parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to great difficulty for the teen-ager who wants to find his or her own path.
But the difficulty is worth getting over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don't care to share at once with your classmates. Well,go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come --- with the people who respect you for who you are. That's the only kind of popularity that really counts. | 3187.txt | 1 |
[
"differ from others in as many ways as possible",
"get into the right season and become popular",
"find one's real self",
"rebel against parents and the popularity waves"
] | During the teenage years, one should learn to _ . | I hear many parents saying that their teen-age children are rebellion. I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teen-agers are all taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out bravely on their own,most of them are trying to seize at one another's hands for safety.
They say they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow they all end up crowded round listening to the same record. Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon ---- into a larger cocoon.
It has become harder and harder for a teen-ager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly open up a teen -age market. These days every teen-ager can learn from newspapers and TV what a teen-ager should have and be. And many of today's parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to great difficulty for the teen-ager who wants to find his or her own path.
But the difficulty is worth getting over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don't care to share at once with your classmates. Well,go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come --- with the people who respect you for who you are. That's the only kind of popularity that really counts. | 3187.txt | 2 |
[
"Books on excellence.",
"Guides to management.",
"Books on business rules.",
"Analyses of market trends."
] | What kind of business books are most likely to sell well? | Nothing succeeds in business books like the study of success. The current business-book boom waslaunched in 1982 by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman with In Search of Excellence. The trend hascontinued with a succession of experts and would-be experts who promise to distil the essence of excellenceinto three (or five or seven) simple rules.
The Three Rules is a self-conscious contribution to this type of writing; it even includes a bibliographyof "success studies". Michael Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed work for a consultancy, Deloitte, that isdetermined to turn itself into more of a thought-leader and less a corporate repairman. They employ allthe tricks of the success books. They insist that their conclusions are "measurable and actionable"--guidesto behaviour rather than analysis for its own sake. Success authors usually serve up vivid stories about howexceptional businesspeople stamped their personalities on a company or rescued it from a life-threateningcrisis. Messrs Raynor and Ahmed are happier chewing the numbers: they provide detailed appendices on"calculating the elements of advantage" and "detailed analysis".
The authors spent five years studying the behaviour of their 344 "exceptional companies", only tocome up at first with nothing. Every hunch led to a blind alley and every hypothesis to a dead end.It was only when they shifted their attention from how companies behave to how they think that theybegan, to make sense of their voluminous material.
Management is all about making difficult tradeoffs in conditions that are always uncertain and oftenfast-changing. But exceptional companies approach these tradeoffs with two simple rules in mind,sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously. First: better before cheaper. Companies are more likelyto succeed in the long run if they compete on quality or performance than on price. Second: revenuebefore cost. Companies have more to gain in the long run from driving up revenue than by driving downcosts.
Most success studies suffer from two faults. There is "the halo effect", whereby goodperformance leads commentators to attribute all manner of virtues to anything and everything the companydoes. These virtues then suddenly become vices when the company fails. Messrs Raynor and Ahmed workhard to avoid these mistakes by studying large bodies of data over several decades. But they end upembracing a different error: stating the obvious. Most.businesspeople will not be surprised to learn that itis better to find a profitable niche and focus on boosting your revenues than to compete onprice and cut your way to success. The difficult question is how to find that profitable niche and protect it.There. The Three Rules is less useful | 1421.txt | 0 |
[
"They help businessmen one way or another.",
"They are written by well-recognised experts.",
"They more or less fall into the same stereotype.",
"They are based on analyses of corporate leaders."
] | What does the author imply about books on success so far? | Nothing succeeds in business books like the study of success. The current business-book boom waslaunched in 1982 by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman with In Search of Excellence. The trend hascontinued with a succession of experts and would-be experts who promise to distil the essence of excellenceinto three (or five or seven) simple rules.
The Three Rules is a self-conscious contribution to this type of writing; it even includes a bibliographyof "success studies". Michael Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed work for a consultancy, Deloitte, that isdetermined to turn itself into more of a thought-leader and less a corporate repairman. They employ allthe tricks of the success books. They insist that their conclusions are "measurable and actionable"--guidesto behaviour rather than analysis for its own sake. Success authors usually serve up vivid stories about howexceptional businesspeople stamped their personalities on a company or rescued it from a life-threateningcrisis. Messrs Raynor and Ahmed are happier chewing the numbers: they provide detailed appendices on"calculating the elements of advantage" and "detailed analysis".
The authors spent five years studying the behaviour of their 344 "exceptional companies", only tocome up at first with nothing. Every hunch led to a blind alley and every hypothesis to a dead end.It was only when they shifted their attention from how companies behave to how they think that theybegan, to make sense of their voluminous material.
Management is all about making difficult tradeoffs in conditions that are always uncertain and oftenfast-changing. But exceptional companies approach these tradeoffs with two simple rules in mind,sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously. First: better before cheaper. Companies are more likelyto succeed in the long run if they compete on quality or performance than on price. Second: revenuebefore cost. Companies have more to gain in the long run from driving up revenue than by driving downcosts.
Most success studies suffer from two faults. There is "the halo effect", whereby goodperformance leads commentators to attribute all manner of virtues to anything and everything the companydoes. These virtues then suddenly become vices when the company fails. Messrs Raynor and Ahmed workhard to avoid these mistakes by studying large bodies of data over several decades. But they end upembracing a different error: stating the obvious. Most.businesspeople will not be surprised to learn that itis better to find a profitable niche and focus on boosting your revenues than to compete onprice and cut your way to success. The difficult question is how to find that profitable niche and protect it.There. The Three Rules is less useful | 1421.txt | 2 |
[
"It focuses on the behaviour of exceptional businessmen.",
"It bases its detailed analysis on large amounts of data.",
"It offers practicable advice to businessmen.",
"It draws conclusions from vivid examples."
] | How does The Three Rules differ from other success books according to the passage? | Nothing succeeds in business books like the study of success. The current business-book boom waslaunched in 1982 by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman with In Search of Excellence. The trend hascontinued with a succession of experts and would-be experts who promise to distil the essence of excellenceinto three (or five or seven) simple rules.
The Three Rules is a self-conscious contribution to this type of writing; it even includes a bibliographyof "success studies". Michael Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed work for a consultancy, Deloitte, that isdetermined to turn itself into more of a thought-leader and less a corporate repairman. They employ allthe tricks of the success books. They insist that their conclusions are "measurable and actionable"--guidesto behaviour rather than analysis for its own sake. Success authors usually serve up vivid stories about howexceptional businesspeople stamped their personalities on a company or rescued it from a life-threateningcrisis. Messrs Raynor and Ahmed are happier chewing the numbers: they provide detailed appendices on"calculating the elements of advantage" and "detailed analysis".
The authors spent five years studying the behaviour of their 344 "exceptional companies", only tocome up at first with nothing. Every hunch led to a blind alley and every hypothesis to a dead end.It was only when they shifted their attention from how companies behave to how they think that theybegan, to make sense of their voluminous material.
Management is all about making difficult tradeoffs in conditions that are always uncertain and oftenfast-changing. But exceptional companies approach these tradeoffs with two simple rules in mind,sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously. First: better before cheaper. Companies are more likelyto succeed in the long run if they compete on quality or performance than on price. Second: revenuebefore cost. Companies have more to gain in the long run from driving up revenue than by driving downcosts.
Most success studies suffer from two faults. There is "the halo effect", whereby goodperformance leads commentators to attribute all manner of virtues to anything and everything the companydoes. These virtues then suddenly become vices when the company fails. Messrs Raynor and Ahmed workhard to avoid these mistakes by studying large bodies of data over several decades. But they end upembracing a different error: stating the obvious. Most.businesspeople will not be surprised to learn that itis better to find a profitable niche and focus on boosting your revenues than to compete onprice and cut your way to success. The difficult question is how to find that profitable niche and protect it.There. The Three Rules is less useful | 1421.txt | 1 |
[
"Focus on quality and revenue.",
"Management and sales promotion.",
"Lower production costs and competitive prices.",
"Emphasis on after-sale service and maintenance."
] | What does the passage say contributes to the success of exceptional companies? | Nothing succeeds in business books like the study of success. The current business-book boom waslaunched in 1982 by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman with In Search of Excellence. The trend hascontinued with a succession of experts and would-be experts who promise to distil the essence of excellenceinto three (or five or seven) simple rules.
The Three Rules is a self-conscious contribution to this type of writing; it even includes a bibliographyof "success studies". Michael Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed work for a consultancy, Deloitte, that isdetermined to turn itself into more of a thought-leader and less a corporate repairman. They employ allthe tricks of the success books. They insist that their conclusions are "measurable and actionable"--guidesto behaviour rather than analysis for its own sake. Success authors usually serve up vivid stories about howexceptional businesspeople stamped their personalities on a company or rescued it from a life-threateningcrisis. Messrs Raynor and Ahmed are happier chewing the numbers: they provide detailed appendices on"calculating the elements of advantage" and "detailed analysis".
The authors spent five years studying the behaviour of their 344 "exceptional companies", only tocome up at first with nothing. Every hunch led to a blind alley and every hypothesis to a dead end.It was only when they shifted their attention from how companies behave to how they think that theybegan, to make sense of their voluminous material.
Management is all about making difficult tradeoffs in conditions that are always uncertain and oftenfast-changing. But exceptional companies approach these tradeoffs with two simple rules in mind,sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously. First: better before cheaper. Companies are more likelyto succeed in the long run if they compete on quality or performance than on price. Second: revenuebefore cost. Companies have more to gain in the long run from driving up revenue than by driving downcosts.
Most success studies suffer from two faults. There is "the halo effect", whereby goodperformance leads commentators to attribute all manner of virtues to anything and everything the companydoes. These virtues then suddenly become vices when the company fails. Messrs Raynor and Ahmed workhard to avoid these mistakes by studying large bodies of data over several decades. But they end upembracing a different error: stating the obvious. Most.businesspeople will not be surprised to learn that itis better to find a profitable niche and focus on boosting your revenues than to compete onprice and cut your way to success. The difficult question is how to find that profitable niche and protect it.There. The Three Rules is less useful | 1421.txt | 0 |
[
"It can help to locate profitable niches.",
"It has little to offer to businesspeople.",
"It is noted for its detailed data analysis.",
"It fails to identify the keys to success."
] | What is the author's comment on The Three Rules? | Nothing succeeds in business books like the study of success. The current business-book boom waslaunched in 1982 by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman with In Search of Excellence. The trend hascontinued with a succession of experts and would-be experts who promise to distil the essence of excellenceinto three (or five or seven) simple rules.
The Three Rules is a self-conscious contribution to this type of writing; it even includes a bibliographyof "success studies". Michael Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed work for a consultancy, Deloitte, that isdetermined to turn itself into more of a thought-leader and less a corporate repairman. They employ allthe tricks of the success books. They insist that their conclusions are "measurable and actionable"--guidesto behaviour rather than analysis for its own sake. Success authors usually serve up vivid stories about howexceptional businesspeople stamped their personalities on a company or rescued it from a life-threateningcrisis. Messrs Raynor and Ahmed are happier chewing the numbers: they provide detailed appendices on"calculating the elements of advantage" and "detailed analysis".
The authors spent five years studying the behaviour of their 344 "exceptional companies", only tocome up at first with nothing. Every hunch led to a blind alley and every hypothesis to a dead end.It was only when they shifted their attention from how companies behave to how they think that theybegan, to make sense of their voluminous material.
Management is all about making difficult tradeoffs in conditions that are always uncertain and oftenfast-changing. But exceptional companies approach these tradeoffs with two simple rules in mind,sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously. First: better before cheaper. Companies are more likelyto succeed in the long run if they compete on quality or performance than on price. Second: revenuebefore cost. Companies have more to gain in the long run from driving up revenue than by driving downcosts.
Most success studies suffer from two faults. There is "the halo effect", whereby goodperformance leads commentators to attribute all manner of virtues to anything and everything the companydoes. These virtues then suddenly become vices when the company fails. Messrs Raynor and Ahmed workhard to avoid these mistakes by studying large bodies of data over several decades. But they end upembracing a different error: stating the obvious. Most.businesspeople will not be surprised to learn that itis better to find a profitable niche and focus on boosting your revenues than to compete onprice and cut your way to success. The difficult question is how to find that profitable niche and protect it.There. The Three Rules is less useful | 1421.txt | 3 |
[
"to prove that children are born with the ability to speak",
"to discover what language a child would speak without hearing any human speech",
"to find out what role careful nursing would play in teaching a child to speak",
"to prove that a child could be damaged without learning a language"
] | The purpose of Frederick II's experiment was . | Is language, like food, a basic human need without which a child at a critical period of life can be starved and damaged? Judging from the drastic experiment of Frederick II in the thirteenth century, it may be. Hoping to discover what language a child would speak if he heard no mother tongue, he told the nurses to keep silent.
All the infants died before the first year. But clearly there was more than lack of language here. What was missing was good mothering. Without good mothering, in the first year of life especially, the capacity to survive is seriously affected.
Today no such severe lack exists as that ordered by Frederick. Nevertheless, some children are still backward in speaking. Most often the reason for this is that the mother is insensitive to the signals of the infant, whose brain is programmed to learn language rapidly. If these sensitive periods are neglected, the ideal time for acquiring skills passes and they might never be learned so easily again. A bird learns to sing and to fly rapidly at the right time, but the process is slow and hard once the critical stage has passed.
Experts suggest that speech stages are reached in a fixed sequence and at a constant age, but there are cases where speech has started late in a child who eventually turns out to be of high IQ. At twelve weeks a baby smiles and makes vowel-like sounds; at twelve months he can speak simple words and understand simple commands; at eighteen months he has a vocabulary of three to fifty words. At three he knows about 1,000 words which he can put into sentences, and at four his language differs from that of his parents in style rather than grammar.
Recent evidence suggests that an infant is born with the capacity to speak. What is special about man's brain, compared with that of the monkey, is the complex system which enables a child to connect the sight and feel of, say, a toy-bear with the sound pattern "toy-bear." And even more incredible is the young brain's ability to pick out an order in language from the mixture of sound around him, to analyze, to combine and recombine the parts of a language in new ways.
But speech has to be induced, and this depends on interaction between the mother and the child, where the mother recognizes the signals in the child's babbling , grasping and smiling, and responds to them. Insensitivity of the mother to these signals dulls the interaction because the child gets discouraged and sends out only the obvious signals. Sensitivity to the child's non-verbal signals is essential to the growth and development of language. | 3516.txt | 1 |
[
"they are incapable of learning language rapidly",
"they are exposed to too much language at once",
"their mothers respond inadequately to their attempts to speak",
"their mothers are not intelligent enough to help them"
] | The reason some children are backward in speaking is most probably that . | Is language, like food, a basic human need without which a child at a critical period of life can be starved and damaged? Judging from the drastic experiment of Frederick II in the thirteenth century, it may be. Hoping to discover what language a child would speak if he heard no mother tongue, he told the nurses to keep silent.
All the infants died before the first year. But clearly there was more than lack of language here. What was missing was good mothering. Without good mothering, in the first year of life especially, the capacity to survive is seriously affected.
Today no such severe lack exists as that ordered by Frederick. Nevertheless, some children are still backward in speaking. Most often the reason for this is that the mother is insensitive to the signals of the infant, whose brain is programmed to learn language rapidly. If these sensitive periods are neglected, the ideal time for acquiring skills passes and they might never be learned so easily again. A bird learns to sing and to fly rapidly at the right time, but the process is slow and hard once the critical stage has passed.
Experts suggest that speech stages are reached in a fixed sequence and at a constant age, but there are cases where speech has started late in a child who eventually turns out to be of high IQ. At twelve weeks a baby smiles and makes vowel-like sounds; at twelve months he can speak simple words and understand simple commands; at eighteen months he has a vocabulary of three to fifty words. At three he knows about 1,000 words which he can put into sentences, and at four his language differs from that of his parents in style rather than grammar.
Recent evidence suggests that an infant is born with the capacity to speak. What is special about man's brain, compared with that of the monkey, is the complex system which enables a child to connect the sight and feel of, say, a toy-bear with the sound pattern "toy-bear." And even more incredible is the young brain's ability to pick out an order in language from the mixture of sound around him, to analyze, to combine and recombine the parts of a language in new ways.
But speech has to be induced, and this depends on interaction between the mother and the child, where the mother recognizes the signals in the child's babbling , grasping and smiling, and responds to them. Insensitivity of the mother to these signals dulls the interaction because the child gets discouraged and sends out only the obvious signals. Sensitivity to the child's non-verbal signals is essential to the growth and development of language. | 3516.txt | 2 |
[
"he is born with the capacity to speak",
"he has a brain more complex than an animal's",
"he can produce his own sentences",
"he owes his speech ability to good nursing"
] | What is exceptionally remarkable about a child is that . | Is language, like food, a basic human need without which a child at a critical period of life can be starved and damaged? Judging from the drastic experiment of Frederick II in the thirteenth century, it may be. Hoping to discover what language a child would speak if he heard no mother tongue, he told the nurses to keep silent.
All the infants died before the first year. But clearly there was more than lack of language here. What was missing was good mothering. Without good mothering, in the first year of life especially, the capacity to survive is seriously affected.
Today no such severe lack exists as that ordered by Frederick. Nevertheless, some children are still backward in speaking. Most often the reason for this is that the mother is insensitive to the signals of the infant, whose brain is programmed to learn language rapidly. If these sensitive periods are neglected, the ideal time for acquiring skills passes and they might never be learned so easily again. A bird learns to sing and to fly rapidly at the right time, but the process is slow and hard once the critical stage has passed.
Experts suggest that speech stages are reached in a fixed sequence and at a constant age, but there are cases where speech has started late in a child who eventually turns out to be of high IQ. At twelve weeks a baby smiles and makes vowel-like sounds; at twelve months he can speak simple words and understand simple commands; at eighteen months he has a vocabulary of three to fifty words. At three he knows about 1,000 words which he can put into sentences, and at four his language differs from that of his parents in style rather than grammar.
Recent evidence suggests that an infant is born with the capacity to speak. What is special about man's brain, compared with that of the monkey, is the complex system which enables a child to connect the sight and feel of, say, a toy-bear with the sound pattern "toy-bear." And even more incredible is the young brain's ability to pick out an order in language from the mixture of sound around him, to analyze, to combine and recombine the parts of a language in new ways.
But speech has to be induced, and this depends on interaction between the mother and the child, where the mother recognizes the signals in the child's babbling , grasping and smiling, and responds to them. Insensitivity of the mother to these signals dulls the interaction because the child gets discouraged and sends out only the obvious signals. Sensitivity to the child's non-verbal signals is essential to the growth and development of language. | 3516.txt | 2 |
[
"The faculty of speech is inborn in man.",
"Encouragement is anything but essential to a child in language learning.",
"The child's brain is highly selective.",
"Most children learn their language in definite stages."
] | Which of the following can NOT be inferred from the passage? | Is language, like food, a basic human need without which a child at a critical period of life can be starved and damaged? Judging from the drastic experiment of Frederick II in the thirteenth century, it may be. Hoping to discover what language a child would speak if he heard no mother tongue, he told the nurses to keep silent.
All the infants died before the first year. But clearly there was more than lack of language here. What was missing was good mothering. Without good mothering, in the first year of life especially, the capacity to survive is seriously affected.
Today no such severe lack exists as that ordered by Frederick. Nevertheless, some children are still backward in speaking. Most often the reason for this is that the mother is insensitive to the signals of the infant, whose brain is programmed to learn language rapidly. If these sensitive periods are neglected, the ideal time for acquiring skills passes and they might never be learned so easily again. A bird learns to sing and to fly rapidly at the right time, but the process is slow and hard once the critical stage has passed.
Experts suggest that speech stages are reached in a fixed sequence and at a constant age, but there are cases where speech has started late in a child who eventually turns out to be of high IQ. At twelve weeks a baby smiles and makes vowel-like sounds; at twelve months he can speak simple words and understand simple commands; at eighteen months he has a vocabulary of three to fifty words. At three he knows about 1,000 words which he can put into sentences, and at four his language differs from that of his parents in style rather than grammar.
Recent evidence suggests that an infant is born with the capacity to speak. What is special about man's brain, compared with that of the monkey, is the complex system which enables a child to connect the sight and feel of, say, a toy-bear with the sound pattern "toy-bear." And even more incredible is the young brain's ability to pick out an order in language from the mixture of sound around him, to analyze, to combine and recombine the parts of a language in new ways.
But speech has to be induced, and this depends on interaction between the mother and the child, where the mother recognizes the signals in the child's babbling , grasping and smiling, and responds to them. Insensitivity of the mother to these signals dulls the interaction because the child gets discouraged and sends out only the obvious signals. Sensitivity to the child's non-verbal signals is essential to the growth and development of language. | 3516.txt | 1 |
[
"have a high IQ",
"be less intelligent",
"be insensitive to verbal signals",
"not necessarily be backward"
] | If a child starts to speak later than others, he will in future . | Is language, like food, a basic human need without which a child at a critical period of life can be starved and damaged? Judging from the drastic experiment of Frederick II in the thirteenth century, it may be. Hoping to discover what language a child would speak if he heard no mother tongue, he told the nurses to keep silent.
All the infants died before the first year. But clearly there was more than lack of language here. What was missing was good mothering. Without good mothering, in the first year of life especially, the capacity to survive is seriously affected.
Today no such severe lack exists as that ordered by Frederick. Nevertheless, some children are still backward in speaking. Most often the reason for this is that the mother is insensitive to the signals of the infant, whose brain is programmed to learn language rapidly. If these sensitive periods are neglected, the ideal time for acquiring skills passes and they might never be learned so easily again. A bird learns to sing and to fly rapidly at the right time, but the process is slow and hard once the critical stage has passed.
Experts suggest that speech stages are reached in a fixed sequence and at a constant age, but there are cases where speech has started late in a child who eventually turns out to be of high IQ. At twelve weeks a baby smiles and makes vowel-like sounds; at twelve months he can speak simple words and understand simple commands; at eighteen months he has a vocabulary of three to fifty words. At three he knows about 1,000 words which he can put into sentences, and at four his language differs from that of his parents in style rather than grammar.
Recent evidence suggests that an infant is born with the capacity to speak. What is special about man's brain, compared with that of the monkey, is the complex system which enables a child to connect the sight and feel of, say, a toy-bear with the sound pattern "toy-bear." And even more incredible is the young brain's ability to pick out an order in language from the mixture of sound around him, to analyze, to combine and recombine the parts of a language in new ways.
But speech has to be induced, and this depends on interaction between the mother and the child, where the mother recognizes the signals in the child's babbling , grasping and smiling, and responds to them. Insensitivity of the mother to these signals dulls the interaction because the child gets discouraged and sends out only the obvious signals. Sensitivity to the child's non-verbal signals is essential to the growth and development of language. | 3516.txt | 3 |
[
"Huge amounts of money is being wasted on campus socializing.",
"It doesn't pay to run into debt to receive a college education.",
"College education is rewarding in spite of the startling costs.",
"Going to college doesn't necessarily bring the expected returns."
] | What's the opinion of economists about going to college? | There are few more sobering online activities than entering data into college-tuition calculators and gasping as the Web spits back a six-figure sum. But economists say families about to go into debt to fund four years of partying, as well as studying, can console themselves with the knowledge that college is an investment that, unlike many bank stocks, should yield huge dividends.
A 2008 study by two Harvard economists notes that the "labor-market premium to skill"-or the amount college graduates earned that's greater than what high-school graduate earned-decreased for much of the 20th century, but has come back with a vengeance since the 1980s. In 2005, The typical full-time year-round U.S. worker with a four-year college degree earned $50,900, 62% more than the $31,500 earned by a worker with only a high-school diploma.
There's no question that going to college is a smart economic choice. But a look at the strange variations in tuition reveals that the choice about which college to attend doesn't come down merely to dollars and cents. Does going to Columbia University (tuition, room and board $49,260 in 2007-08) yield a 40% greater return than attending the University of Colorado at Boulder as an out-of-state student ($35,542)? Probably not. Does being an out-of-state student at the University of Colorado at Boulder yield twice the amount of income as being an in-state student ($17,380) there? Not likely.
No, in this consumerist age, most buyers aren't evaluating college as an investment, but rather as a consumer product-like a car or clothes or a house. And with such purchases, price is only one of many crucial factors to consider.
As with automobiles, consumers in today's college marketplace have vast choices, and people search for the one that gives them the most comfort and satisfaction in line with their budgets. This accounts for the willingness of people to pay more for different types of experiences (such as attending a private liberal-arts college or going to an out-of-state public school that has a great marine-biology program). And just as two auto purchasers might spend an equal amount of money on very different cars, college students (or, more accurately, their parents) often show a willingness to pay essentially the same price for vastly different products. So which is it? Is college an investment product like a stock or a consumer product like a car? In keeping with the automotive world's hottest consumer trend, maybe it's best to characterize it as a hybrid ; an expensive consumer product that, over time, will pay rich dividends. | 978.txt | 2 |
[
"enrollment kept decreasing in virtually all American colleges and universities",
"the labor market preferred high-school to college graduates",
"competition for university admissions was far more fierce than today",
"the gap between the earnings of college and high-school graduates narrowed"
] | The two Harvard economists note in their study that, for much of the 20th century, ________. | There are few more sobering online activities than entering data into college-tuition calculators and gasping as the Web spits back a six-figure sum. But economists say families about to go into debt to fund four years of partying, as well as studying, can console themselves with the knowledge that college is an investment that, unlike many bank stocks, should yield huge dividends.
A 2008 study by two Harvard economists notes that the "labor-market premium to skill"-or the amount college graduates earned that's greater than what high-school graduate earned-decreased for much of the 20th century, but has come back with a vengeance since the 1980s. In 2005, The typical full-time year-round U.S. worker with a four-year college degree earned $50,900, 62% more than the $31,500 earned by a worker with only a high-school diploma.
There's no question that going to college is a smart economic choice. But a look at the strange variations in tuition reveals that the choice about which college to attend doesn't come down merely to dollars and cents. Does going to Columbia University (tuition, room and board $49,260 in 2007-08) yield a 40% greater return than attending the University of Colorado at Boulder as an out-of-state student ($35,542)? Probably not. Does being an out-of-state student at the University of Colorado at Boulder yield twice the amount of income as being an in-state student ($17,380) there? Not likely.
No, in this consumerist age, most buyers aren't evaluating college as an investment, but rather as a consumer product-like a car or clothes or a house. And with such purchases, price is only one of many crucial factors to consider.
As with automobiles, consumers in today's college marketplace have vast choices, and people search for the one that gives them the most comfort and satisfaction in line with their budgets. This accounts for the willingness of people to pay more for different types of experiences (such as attending a private liberal-arts college or going to an out-of-state public school that has a great marine-biology program). And just as two auto purchasers might spend an equal amount of money on very different cars, college students (or, more accurately, their parents) often show a willingness to pay essentially the same price for vastly different products. So which is it? Is college an investment product like a stock or a consumer product like a car? In keeping with the automotive world's hottest consumer trend, maybe it's best to characterize it as a hybrid ; an expensive consumer product that, over time, will pay rich dividends. | 978.txt | 3 |
[
"save more on tuition",
"receive a better education",
"take more liberal-arts courses",
"avoid traveling long distances"
] | Students who attend an in-state college or university can ________. | There are few more sobering online activities than entering data into college-tuition calculators and gasping as the Web spits back a six-figure sum. But economists say families about to go into debt to fund four years of partying, as well as studying, can console themselves with the knowledge that college is an investment that, unlike many bank stocks, should yield huge dividends.
A 2008 study by two Harvard economists notes that the "labor-market premium to skill"-or the amount college graduates earned that's greater than what high-school graduate earned-decreased for much of the 20th century, but has come back with a vengeance since the 1980s. In 2005, The typical full-time year-round U.S. worker with a four-year college degree earned $50,900, 62% more than the $31,500 earned by a worker with only a high-school diploma.
There's no question that going to college is a smart economic choice. But a look at the strange variations in tuition reveals that the choice about which college to attend doesn't come down merely to dollars and cents. Does going to Columbia University (tuition, room and board $49,260 in 2007-08) yield a 40% greater return than attending the University of Colorado at Boulder as an out-of-state student ($35,542)? Probably not. Does being an out-of-state student at the University of Colorado at Boulder yield twice the amount of income as being an in-state student ($17,380) there? Not likely.
No, in this consumerist age, most buyers aren't evaluating college as an investment, but rather as a consumer product-like a car or clothes or a house. And with such purchases, price is only one of many crucial factors to consider.
As with automobiles, consumers in today's college marketplace have vast choices, and people search for the one that gives them the most comfort and satisfaction in line with their budgets. This accounts for the willingness of people to pay more for different types of experiences (such as attending a private liberal-arts college or going to an out-of-state public school that has a great marine-biology program). And just as two auto purchasers might spend an equal amount of money on very different cars, college students (or, more accurately, their parents) often show a willingness to pay essentially the same price for vastly different products. So which is it? Is college an investment product like a stock or a consumer product like a car? In keeping with the automotive world's hottest consumer trend, maybe it's best to characterize it as a hybrid ; an expensive consumer product that, over time, will pay rich dividends. | 978.txt | 0 |
[
"regard college education as a wise investment",
"place a premium on the prestige of the College",
"think it crucial to send their children to college",
"consider college education a consumer product"
] | In this consumerist age, most parents ________. | There are few more sobering online activities than entering data into college-tuition calculators and gasping as the Web spits back a six-figure sum. But economists say families about to go into debt to fund four years of partying, as well as studying, can console themselves with the knowledge that college is an investment that, unlike many bank stocks, should yield huge dividends.
A 2008 study by two Harvard economists notes that the "labor-market premium to skill"-or the amount college graduates earned that's greater than what high-school graduate earned-decreased for much of the 20th century, but has come back with a vengeance since the 1980s. In 2005, The typical full-time year-round U.S. worker with a four-year college degree earned $50,900, 62% more than the $31,500 earned by a worker with only a high-school diploma.
There's no question that going to college is a smart economic choice. But a look at the strange variations in tuition reveals that the choice about which college to attend doesn't come down merely to dollars and cents. Does going to Columbia University (tuition, room and board $49,260 in 2007-08) yield a 40% greater return than attending the University of Colorado at Boulder as an out-of-state student ($35,542)? Probably not. Does being an out-of-state student at the University of Colorado at Boulder yield twice the amount of income as being an in-state student ($17,380) there? Not likely.
No, in this consumerist age, most buyers aren't evaluating college as an investment, but rather as a consumer product-like a car or clothes or a house. And with such purchases, price is only one of many crucial factors to consider.
As with automobiles, consumers in today's college marketplace have vast choices, and people search for the one that gives them the most comfort and satisfaction in line with their budgets. This accounts for the willingness of people to pay more for different types of experiences (such as attending a private liberal-arts college or going to an out-of-state public school that has a great marine-biology program). And just as two auto purchasers might spend an equal amount of money on very different cars, college students (or, more accurately, their parents) often show a willingness to pay essentially the same price for vastly different products. So which is it? Is college an investment product like a stock or a consumer product like a car? In keeping with the automotive world's hottest consumer trend, maybe it's best to characterize it as a hybrid ; an expensive consumer product that, over time, will pay rich dividends. | 978.txt | 3 |
[
"Their employment prospects after graduation.",
"A satisfying experience within their budgets.",
"Its facilities and learning environment.",
"Its ranking among similar institutions."
] | What is the chief consideration when students choose a college today? | There are few more sobering online activities than entering data into college-tuition calculators and gasping as the Web spits back a six-figure sum. But economists say families about to go into debt to fund four years of partying, as well as studying, can console themselves with the knowledge that college is an investment that, unlike many bank stocks, should yield huge dividends.
A 2008 study by two Harvard economists notes that the "labor-market premium to skill"-or the amount college graduates earned that's greater than what high-school graduate earned-decreased for much of the 20th century, but has come back with a vengeance since the 1980s. In 2005, The typical full-time year-round U.S. worker with a four-year college degree earned $50,900, 62% more than the $31,500 earned by a worker with only a high-school diploma.
There's no question that going to college is a smart economic choice. But a look at the strange variations in tuition reveals that the choice about which college to attend doesn't come down merely to dollars and cents. Does going to Columbia University (tuition, room and board $49,260 in 2007-08) yield a 40% greater return than attending the University of Colorado at Boulder as an out-of-state student ($35,542)? Probably not. Does being an out-of-state student at the University of Colorado at Boulder yield twice the amount of income as being an in-state student ($17,380) there? Not likely.
No, in this consumerist age, most buyers aren't evaluating college as an investment, but rather as a consumer product-like a car or clothes or a house. And with such purchases, price is only one of many crucial factors to consider.
As with automobiles, consumers in today's college marketplace have vast choices, and people search for the one that gives them the most comfort and satisfaction in line with their budgets. This accounts for the willingness of people to pay more for different types of experiences (such as attending a private liberal-arts college or going to an out-of-state public school that has a great marine-biology program). And just as two auto purchasers might spend an equal amount of money on very different cars, college students (or, more accurately, their parents) often show a willingness to pay essentially the same price for vastly different products. So which is it? Is college an investment product like a stock or a consumer product like a car? In keeping with the automotive world's hottest consumer trend, maybe it's best to characterize it as a hybrid ; an expensive consumer product that, over time, will pay rich dividends. | 978.txt | 1 |
[
"a new way to look at the learning of language",
"a challenge to traditional, views on the nature of language",
"an approach: to simplifying the grammatical structure of a language",
"an attempt to clarify misunderstanding about the origin of language"
] | The study of sign language is thought to be _ . | Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are unique-a speech of the hand. They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language, and throw new light on an old scientific controversy: whether language,complete with grammar, is something that we are born With, or whether it is a learned behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D. C., the world's only liberal arts university for deaf people.
When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something odd: among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher.
Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural code, each movement of the hands representing a word in English.At the time, American Sign Language (ASL) was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English. But Stokoe believed the " hand talk" his students used looked richer. He wondered: Might deaf people actually: have a genuine language? And could that language be unlike any other on Earth? It was 1955, wheneven deaf people dismissed their signing as" substandard" . Stokoe's idea was academic heresy.
It is 37 years later. Stokoe-now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture-is having lunch at a cafe near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a revolution. For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the modulation of space. " What I said," Stokoe explains, " is that language is not mouth stuff-it's brain stuff." | 826.txt | 1 |
[
"a famous scholar in the study of the human brain",
"a leading specialist in the study of liberal arts",
"an English teacher in a university for the deaf",
"some senior experts in American Sign Language"
] | The present growing interest in sign language was stimulated by _ . | Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are unique-a speech of the hand. They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language, and throw new light on an old scientific controversy: whether language,complete with grammar, is something that we are born With, or whether it is a learned behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D. C., the world's only liberal arts university for deaf people.
When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something odd: among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher.
Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural code, each movement of the hands representing a word in English.At the time, American Sign Language (ASL) was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English. But Stokoe believed the " hand talk" his students used looked richer. He wondered: Might deaf people actually: have a genuine language? And could that language be unlike any other on Earth? It was 1955, wheneven deaf people dismissed their signing as" substandard" . Stokoe's idea was academic heresy.
It is 37 years later. Stokoe-now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture-is having lunch at a cafe near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a revolution. For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the modulation of space. " What I said," Stokoe explains, " is that language is not mouth stuff-it's brain stuff." | 826.txt | 2 |
[
"a Substandard language",
"a genuine language",
"an artificial language",
"an international language"
] | According to Stokoe, sign language is _ . | Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are unique-a speech of the hand. They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language, and throw new light on an old scientific controversy: whether language,complete with grammar, is something that we are born With, or whether it is a learned behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D. C., the world's only liberal arts university for deaf people.
When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something odd: among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher.
Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural code, each movement of the hands representing a word in English.At the time, American Sign Language (ASL) was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English. But Stokoe believed the " hand talk" his students used looked richer. He wondered: Might deaf people actually: have a genuine language? And could that language be unlike any other on Earth? It was 1955, wheneven deaf people dismissed their signing as" substandard" . Stokoe's idea was academic heresy.
It is 37 years later. Stokoe-now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture-is having lunch at a cafe near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a revolution. For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the modulation of space. " What I said," Stokoe explains, " is that language is not mouth stuff-it's brain stuff." | 826.txt | 1 |
[
"sign language was not extensively used even by deaf people",
"sign language was too artificial to be widely accepted",
"a language should be easy to use and understand",
"a language could only exist in the form of speech sounds"
] | Most educators objected to Stokoe's idea because they thought _ . | Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are unique-a speech of the hand. They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language, and throw new light on an old scientific controversy: whether language,complete with grammar, is something that we are born With, or whether it is a learned behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D. C., the world's only liberal arts university for deaf people.
When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something odd: among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher.
Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural code, each movement of the hands representing a word in English.At the time, American Sign Language (ASL) was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English. But Stokoe believed the " hand talk" his students used looked richer. He wondered: Might deaf people actually: have a genuine language? And could that language be unlike any other on Earth? It was 1955, wheneven deaf people dismissed their signing as" substandard" . Stokoe's idea was academic heresy.
It is 37 years later. Stokoe-now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture-is having lunch at a cafe near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a revolution. For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the modulation of space. " What I said," Stokoe explains, " is that language is not mouth stuff-it's brain stuff." | 826.txt | 3 |
[
"sign language is as efficient as any other language",
"sign language is derived from natural language",
"language is a system of meaningful codes",
"language is a product of the brain"
] | Stokoe's argument is based on his belief that _ . | Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are unique-a speech of the hand. They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language, and throw new light on an old scientific controversy: whether language,complete with grammar, is something that we are born With, or whether it is a learned behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D. C., the world's only liberal arts university for deaf people.
When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something odd: among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher.
Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural code, each movement of the hands representing a word in English.At the time, American Sign Language (ASL) was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English. But Stokoe believed the " hand talk" his students used looked richer. He wondered: Might deaf people actually: have a genuine language? And could that language be unlike any other on Earth? It was 1955, wheneven deaf people dismissed their signing as" substandard" . Stokoe's idea was academic heresy.
It is 37 years later. Stokoe-now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture-is having lunch at a cafe near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a revolution. For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the modulation of space. " What I said," Stokoe explains, " is that language is not mouth stuff-it's brain stuff." | 826.txt | 3 |
[
"The Fifth Fair Will Be Held.",
"The Fair is Famous.",
"Fairs Attract the World Wide Attention.",
"Xiamen is a Trade Zone."
] | What is the best title for this passage? | The Fifth China International Fair for Investment and Trade is expected to expand the country's economic relations with the international community when it opens on September 9. The four-day fair will be held in the Economic Zone of Xiamen, a coastal city in East China's Fujian province. Compared with the previous four fairs held annually since 1997, this year's fair will provide more detailed information and better services for the participants, according to Xi Jinping, governor of the Fujian province and director of the organizing committee of the fair.
A series of high-level forums will be held on international investment and China's entry into the World Trade Organization. Since 1997, Xiamen has successfully hosted four sessions of the China International Fair for Investment and Trade, drawing global attention. Xiamen will redouble its efforts to offer better services for all its guests and friends attending the fair, according to ZhuYayan, the mayor. Altogether 9,141 overseas-funded projects have been negotiated at the past four fairs, with a combined overseas investment of US $ 48.3 billion.
Altogether 1,838 projects using foreign investment were negotiated with a total overseas investment of US $ 9,47 billion. The 1,261 contracts signed at the fourth fair registered a combined pledged overseas investment of US $ 5 billion. The total export and import volume reached US $ 786 million. | 2949.txt | 2 |
[
"One.",
"Two.",
"Three.",
"Four."
] | How many fingers are there in the logo of the China Fair International Investment and Trade? | The Fifth China International Fair for Investment and Trade is expected to expand the country's economic relations with the international community when it opens on September 9. The four-day fair will be held in the Economic Zone of Xiamen, a coastal city in East China's Fujian province. Compared with the previous four fairs held annually since 1997, this year's fair will provide more detailed information and better services for the participants, according to Xi Jinping, governor of the Fujian province and director of the organizing committee of the fair.
A series of high-level forums will be held on international investment and China's entry into the World Trade Organization. Since 1997, Xiamen has successfully hosted four sessions of the China International Fair for Investment and Trade, drawing global attention. Xiamen will redouble its efforts to offer better services for all its guests and friends attending the fair, according to ZhuYayan, the mayor. Altogether 9,141 overseas-funded projects have been negotiated at the past four fairs, with a combined overseas investment of US $ 48.3 billion.
Altogether 1,838 projects using foreign investment were negotiated with a total overseas investment of US $ 9,47 billion. The 1,261 contracts signed at the fourth fair registered a combined pledged overseas investment of US $ 5 billion. The total export and import volume reached US $ 786 million. | 2949.txt | 1 |
[
"Because the fair will attract overseas investment to China.",
"Because it is a key to our home.",
"Because it is just like a key.",
"Because the fair is held on August 9."
] | Why is the golden key to success designed as the logo of CFIIT? | The Fifth China International Fair for Investment and Trade is expected to expand the country's economic relations with the international community when it opens on September 9. The four-day fair will be held in the Economic Zone of Xiamen, a coastal city in East China's Fujian province. Compared with the previous four fairs held annually since 1997, this year's fair will provide more detailed information and better services for the participants, according to Xi Jinping, governor of the Fujian province and director of the organizing committee of the fair.
A series of high-level forums will be held on international investment and China's entry into the World Trade Organization. Since 1997, Xiamen has successfully hosted four sessions of the China International Fair for Investment and Trade, drawing global attention. Xiamen will redouble its efforts to offer better services for all its guests and friends attending the fair, according to ZhuYayan, the mayor. Altogether 9,141 overseas-funded projects have been negotiated at the past four fairs, with a combined overseas investment of US $ 48.3 billion.
Altogether 1,838 projects using foreign investment were negotiated with a total overseas investment of US $ 9,47 billion. The 1,261 contracts signed at the fourth fair registered a combined pledged overseas investment of US $ 5 billion. The total export and import volume reached US $ 786 million. | 2949.txt | 0 |
[
"0.00380 billion.",
"0.00529 billion.",
"0.00513 billion.",
"0.00397 billion."
] | What is the average of the overseas investment on one project in the past four fairs? | The Fifth China International Fair for Investment and Trade is expected to expand the country's economic relations with the international community when it opens on September 9. The four-day fair will be held in the Economic Zone of Xiamen, a coastal city in East China's Fujian province. Compared with the previous four fairs held annually since 1997, this year's fair will provide more detailed information and better services for the participants, according to Xi Jinping, governor of the Fujian province and director of the organizing committee of the fair.
A series of high-level forums will be held on international investment and China's entry into the World Trade Organization. Since 1997, Xiamen has successfully hosted four sessions of the China International Fair for Investment and Trade, drawing global attention. Xiamen will redouble its efforts to offer better services for all its guests and friends attending the fair, according to ZhuYayan, the mayor. Altogether 9,141 overseas-funded projects have been negotiated at the past four fairs, with a combined overseas investment of US $ 48.3 billion.
Altogether 1,838 projects using foreign investment were negotiated with a total overseas investment of US $ 9,47 billion. The 1,261 contracts signed at the fourth fair registered a combined pledged overseas investment of US $ 5 billion. The total export and import volume reached US $ 786 million. | 2949.txt | 1 |
[
"the townsfolk deny the RSC ' s contribution to the town's revenue",
"the actors of the RSC imitate Shakespeare on and off stage",
"the two branches of the RSC are not on good terms",
"the townsfolk earn little from tourism"
] | From the first two paragraphs , we learn that | Stratford-on-Avon, as we all know, has only one industry-William Shakespeare-but there are two distinctly separate and increasingly hostile branches. There is the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), which presents superb productions of the plays at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre on the Avon. And there are the townsfolk who largely live off the tourists who come, not to see the plays, but to look at Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Shakespeare's birthplace and the other sights.
The worthy residents of Stratford doubt that the theatre adds a penny to their revenue. They frankly dislike the RSC's actors, them with their long hair and beards and sandals and noisiness. It's all deliciously ironic when you consider that Shakespeare, who earns their living, was himself anactor (with a beard) and did his share of noise - making.
The tourist streams are not entirely separate. The sightseers who come by bus- and often take in Warwick Castle and Blenheim Palace on the side - don't usually see the plays, and some of them are even surprised to find a theatre in Stratford. However, the playgoers do manage a little sight -seeing along with their play going. It is the playgoers, the RSC contends, who bring in much of the town's revenue because they spend the night (some of them four or five nights) pouring cash into the hotels and restaurants. The sightseers can take in everything and get out of town by nightfall.
The townsfolk don't see it this way and local council does not contribute directly to the subsidy ofthe Royal Shakespeare Company. Stratford cries poor traditionally. Nevertheless every hotel in town seems to be adding a new wing or cocktail lounge. Hilton is building its own hotel there, which you may be sure will be decorated with Hamlet Hamburger Bars, the Lear Lounge, the Banquo Banqueting Room, and so forth, and will be very expensive.
Anyway, the townsfolk can't understand why the Royal Shakespeare Company needs a subsidy. (The theatre has broken attendance records for three years in a row. Last year its 1,431 seats were 94 per cent occupied all year long and this year they'll do better.) The reason, of course, is that costs have rocketed and ticket prices have stayed low.
It would be a shame to raise prices too much because it would drive away the young people who are Stratford's most attractive clientele. They come entirely for the plays, not the sights. They all seem to look alike (though they come from all over) -lean, pointed, dedicated faces, wearing jeansand sandals, eating their buns and bedding down for the night on the flagstones outside thetheatre to buy the 20 seats and 80 standing-room tickets held for the sleepers and sold to them when the box office opens at 10:30 a.m. | 237.txt | 0 |
[
"the sightseers cannot visit the Castle and the Palace separately",
"the playgoers spend more money than the sightseers",
"the sightseers do more shopping than the playgoers",
"the playgoers go to no other places in town than the theater"
] | It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that | Stratford-on-Avon, as we all know, has only one industry-William Shakespeare-but there are two distinctly separate and increasingly hostile branches. There is the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), which presents superb productions of the plays at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre on the Avon. And there are the townsfolk who largely live off the tourists who come, not to see the plays, but to look at Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Shakespeare's birthplace and the other sights.
The worthy residents of Stratford doubt that the theatre adds a penny to their revenue. They frankly dislike the RSC's actors, them with their long hair and beards and sandals and noisiness. It's all deliciously ironic when you consider that Shakespeare, who earns their living, was himself anactor (with a beard) and did his share of noise - making.
The tourist streams are not entirely separate. The sightseers who come by bus- and often take in Warwick Castle and Blenheim Palace on the side - don't usually see the plays, and some of them are even surprised to find a theatre in Stratford. However, the playgoers do manage a little sight -seeing along with their play going. It is the playgoers, the RSC contends, who bring in much of the town's revenue because they spend the night (some of them four or five nights) pouring cash into the hotels and restaurants. The sightseers can take in everything and get out of town by nightfall.
The townsfolk don't see it this way and local council does not contribute directly to the subsidy ofthe Royal Shakespeare Company. Stratford cries poor traditionally. Nevertheless every hotel in town seems to be adding a new wing or cocktail lounge. Hilton is building its own hotel there, which you may be sure will be decorated with Hamlet Hamburger Bars, the Lear Lounge, the Banquo Banqueting Room, and so forth, and will be very expensive.
Anyway, the townsfolk can't understand why the Royal Shakespeare Company needs a subsidy. (The theatre has broken attendance records for three years in a row. Last year its 1,431 seats were 94 per cent occupied all year long and this year they'll do better.) The reason, of course, is that costs have rocketed and ticket prices have stayed low.
It would be a shame to raise prices too much because it would drive away the young people who are Stratford's most attractive clientele. They come entirely for the plays, not the sights. They all seem to look alike (though they come from all over) -lean, pointed, dedicated faces, wearing jeansand sandals, eating their buns and bedding down for the night on the flagstones outside thetheatre to buy the 20 seats and 80 standing-room tickets held for the sleepers and sold to them when the box office opens at 10:30 a.m. | 237.txt | 1 |
[
"Stratford cannot afford the expansion projects",
"Stratford has long been in financial difficulties",
"the town is not really short of money",
"the townsfolk used to be poorly paid"
] | By saying "Stratford cries poor traditionally" (Line 2-3, Paragraph 4), the author implies that | Stratford-on-Avon, as we all know, has only one industry-William Shakespeare-but there are two distinctly separate and increasingly hostile branches. There is the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), which presents superb productions of the plays at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre on the Avon. And there are the townsfolk who largely live off the tourists who come, not to see the plays, but to look at Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Shakespeare's birthplace and the other sights.
The worthy residents of Stratford doubt that the theatre adds a penny to their revenue. They frankly dislike the RSC's actors, them with their long hair and beards and sandals and noisiness. It's all deliciously ironic when you consider that Shakespeare, who earns their living, was himself anactor (with a beard) and did his share of noise - making.
The tourist streams are not entirely separate. The sightseers who come by bus- and often take in Warwick Castle and Blenheim Palace on the side - don't usually see the plays, and some of them are even surprised to find a theatre in Stratford. However, the playgoers do manage a little sight -seeing along with their play going. It is the playgoers, the RSC contends, who bring in much of the town's revenue because they spend the night (some of them four or five nights) pouring cash into the hotels and restaurants. The sightseers can take in everything and get out of town by nightfall.
The townsfolk don't see it this way and local council does not contribute directly to the subsidy ofthe Royal Shakespeare Company. Stratford cries poor traditionally. Nevertheless every hotel in town seems to be adding a new wing or cocktail lounge. Hilton is building its own hotel there, which you may be sure will be decorated with Hamlet Hamburger Bars, the Lear Lounge, the Banquo Banqueting Room, and so forth, and will be very expensive.
Anyway, the townsfolk can't understand why the Royal Shakespeare Company needs a subsidy. (The theatre has broken attendance records for three years in a row. Last year its 1,431 seats were 94 per cent occupied all year long and this year they'll do better.) The reason, of course, is that costs have rocketed and ticket prices have stayed low.
It would be a shame to raise prices too much because it would drive away the young people who are Stratford's most attractive clientele. They come entirely for the plays, not the sights. They all seem to look alike (though they come from all over) -lean, pointed, dedicated faces, wearing jeansand sandals, eating their buns and bedding down for the night on the flagstones outside thetheatre to buy the 20 seats and 80 standing-room tickets held for the sleepers and sold to them when the box office opens at 10:30 a.m. | 237.txt | 2 |
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