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[
"teamwork requires more use of computers than that of human beings",
"teamwork will be completely replaced by computers",
"the concept of teamwork is still alive and no longer the same as the past",
"high technology would make teamwork a thing of the past"
]
| According to the passage, the writer believers that _ . | Are you a team person? Are you at your best as part of a small, tightly united group of dedicated workers? If so, the future may hold more for you than you think.
High technology, some predicted, would make team work a thing of the past. That's happening in those areas of business and data processing where one person and a computer can replace a team of workers.
But, elsewhere, teamwork is very much alive. High technology has led to a new type of teamwork in a number of fields, including advertising, scientific research, engineering design, architecture and ocean exploration. Through computer networking, scientists, engineers and technicians at different locations - often thousands of miles apart - can work on the same project at once. They can exchange ideas, try out different designs and test their results.
Examples? An engineering team can now design and try out a robot system, a new manufacturing process, or an entire factory before it is built. An architectural team can do the same with a building or a bridge. A medical team can simulate a dangerous operation before performing it on a patient.
Of course, computer - assisted team effort doesn't end with investigation and simulation. It now usually continues into actual design, manufacturing and testing. "Computer - aide design (CAD. and computer - aided manufacture (CAM) are breaking down barriers between traditional design and manufacturing functions," explains Dr. Prakash Rao, an engineering manager at General Electric. "Interdisciplinary teams and engineers follow a product from concept to production. Everything is interconnected like a network."
Sometimes a computer - aided effort can extend beyond production. A team that produces robots may use them to explore space and ocean depth. For high - technology team work, the future seems limitless. | 1236.txt | 2 |
[
"to prove high technology has a promising future",
"to explain his idea of new type of teamwork is reasonable",
"to show that it tends to be an end to teamwork soon",
"to indicate the computer - assisted team effort just means investigation and simulation."
]
| The examples given by the writer in Paragraph 4 serve _ . | Are you a team person? Are you at your best as part of a small, tightly united group of dedicated workers? If so, the future may hold more for you than you think.
High technology, some predicted, would make team work a thing of the past. That's happening in those areas of business and data processing where one person and a computer can replace a team of workers.
But, elsewhere, teamwork is very much alive. High technology has led to a new type of teamwork in a number of fields, including advertising, scientific research, engineering design, architecture and ocean exploration. Through computer networking, scientists, engineers and technicians at different locations - often thousands of miles apart - can work on the same project at once. They can exchange ideas, try out different designs and test their results.
Examples? An engineering team can now design and try out a robot system, a new manufacturing process, or an entire factory before it is built. An architectural team can do the same with a building or a bridge. A medical team can simulate a dangerous operation before performing it on a patient.
Of course, computer - assisted team effort doesn't end with investigation and simulation. It now usually continues into actual design, manufacturing and testing. "Computer - aide design (CAD. and computer - aided manufacture (CAM) are breaking down barriers between traditional design and manufacturing functions," explains Dr. Prakash Rao, an engineering manager at General Electric. "Interdisciplinary teams and engineers follow a product from concept to production. Everything is interconnected like a network."
Sometimes a computer - aided effort can extend beyond production. A team that produces robots may use them to explore space and ocean depth. For high - technology team work, the future seems limitless. | 1236.txt | 1 |
[
"Many fields of science and technology are now using computers effectively.",
"No details are given in the passage about barriers between traditional desigand manufacturing functions.",
"Experts from different fields have to cooperate to develop a product from concept to production.",
"High technology is nothing but a new type of teamwork plus CAD and CAM."
]
| Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage? | Are you a team person? Are you at your best as part of a small, tightly united group of dedicated workers? If so, the future may hold more for you than you think.
High technology, some predicted, would make team work a thing of the past. That's happening in those areas of business and data processing where one person and a computer can replace a team of workers.
But, elsewhere, teamwork is very much alive. High technology has led to a new type of teamwork in a number of fields, including advertising, scientific research, engineering design, architecture and ocean exploration. Through computer networking, scientists, engineers and technicians at different locations - often thousands of miles apart - can work on the same project at once. They can exchange ideas, try out different designs and test their results.
Examples? An engineering team can now design and try out a robot system, a new manufacturing process, or an entire factory before it is built. An architectural team can do the same with a building or a bridge. A medical team can simulate a dangerous operation before performing it on a patient.
Of course, computer - assisted team effort doesn't end with investigation and simulation. It now usually continues into actual design, manufacturing and testing. "Computer - aide design (CAD. and computer - aided manufacture (CAM) are breaking down barriers between traditional design and manufacturing functions," explains Dr. Prakash Rao, an engineering manager at General Electric. "Interdisciplinary teams and engineers follow a product from concept to production. Everything is interconnected like a network."
Sometimes a computer - aided effort can extend beyond production. A team that produces robots may use them to explore space and ocean depth. For high - technology team work, the future seems limitless. | 1236.txt | 3 |
[
"objection",
"indifference",
"support",
"doubt"
]
| The author's attitude to towards the introduction of the computer to teamwork is of _ . | Are you a team person? Are you at your best as part of a small, tightly united group of dedicated workers? If so, the future may hold more for you than you think.
High technology, some predicted, would make team work a thing of the past. That's happening in those areas of business and data processing where one person and a computer can replace a team of workers.
But, elsewhere, teamwork is very much alive. High technology has led to a new type of teamwork in a number of fields, including advertising, scientific research, engineering design, architecture and ocean exploration. Through computer networking, scientists, engineers and technicians at different locations - often thousands of miles apart - can work on the same project at once. They can exchange ideas, try out different designs and test their results.
Examples? An engineering team can now design and try out a robot system, a new manufacturing process, or an entire factory before it is built. An architectural team can do the same with a building or a bridge. A medical team can simulate a dangerous operation before performing it on a patient.
Of course, computer - assisted team effort doesn't end with investigation and simulation. It now usually continues into actual design, manufacturing and testing. "Computer - aide design (CAD. and computer - aided manufacture (CAM) are breaking down barriers between traditional design and manufacturing functions," explains Dr. Prakash Rao, an engineering manager at General Electric. "Interdisciplinary teams and engineers follow a product from concept to production. Everything is interconnected like a network."
Sometimes a computer - aided effort can extend beyond production. A team that produces robots may use them to explore space and ocean depth. For high - technology team work, the future seems limitless. | 1236.txt | 2 |
[
"How labor-saving machinery increased crop Production",
"Why southern farms were not as successful as Successful as northern farms",
"Farming practices before the Civil War",
"The increase in the number of people farming"
]
| What aspect of farming in the United States in the nineteenth century does the passage mainly discuss? | During the second half of the nineteenth century, the production of food and feed crops in the United States rose at an extraordinarily rapid rate. Corn production increased by four and a half times, hay by five times, oats and wheat by seven times. The most crucial factor behind this phenomenal upsurge in productivity was the widespread adoption of labor-saving machinery by northern farmers. By 1850 horse-drawn reaping machines that cut grain were being introduced into the major grain-growing regions of the country. Horse-powered threshing machines to separate the seeds from the plants were already in general use. However, it was the onset of the Civil War in 1861 that provided the great stimulus for the mechanization of northern agriculture. With much of the labor force inducted into the army and with grain prices on the rise, northern farmers rushed to avail themselves of the new labor-saving equipment. In 1860 there were approximately 80,000 reapers in the country; five years later there were 350,000.
After the close of the war in 1865, machinery became ever more important in northern agriculture, and improved equipment was continually introduced. By 1880 a self-binding reaper had been perfected that not only cut the grain, but also gathered the stalks and bound them with twine. Threshing machines were also being improved and enlarged, and after 1870 they were increasingly powered by steam engines rather than by horses. Since steam-powered threshing machines were costly items - running from $ 1,000 to $4,000 - they were usually owned by custom thresher owners who then worked their way from farm to farm during the harvest season. "Combines" were also coming into use on the great wheat ranches in California and the Pacific Northwest. These ponderous machines - sometimes pulled by as many as 40 horses - reaped the grain, threshed it, and bagged it, all in one simultaneous operation.
The adoption of labor-saving machinery had a profound effect upon the sale of agricultural operations in the northern states - allowing farmers to increase vastly their crop acreage. By the end of century, a farmer employing the new machinery could plant and harvest two and half times as much corn as a farmer had using hand methods 50 years before. | 1924.txt | 0 |
[
"obvious",
"unbelievable",
"important",
"desirable"
]
| The word "crucial" in line 4 is closest in meaning to | During the second half of the nineteenth century, the production of food and feed crops in the United States rose at an extraordinarily rapid rate. Corn production increased by four and a half times, hay by five times, oats and wheat by seven times. The most crucial factor behind this phenomenal upsurge in productivity was the widespread adoption of labor-saving machinery by northern farmers. By 1850 horse-drawn reaping machines that cut grain were being introduced into the major grain-growing regions of the country. Horse-powered threshing machines to separate the seeds from the plants were already in general use. However, it was the onset of the Civil War in 1861 that provided the great stimulus for the mechanization of northern agriculture. With much of the labor force inducted into the army and with grain prices on the rise, northern farmers rushed to avail themselves of the new labor-saving equipment. In 1860 there were approximately 80,000 reapers in the country; five years later there were 350,000.
After the close of the war in 1865, machinery became ever more important in northern agriculture, and improved equipment was continually introduced. By 1880 a self-binding reaper had been perfected that not only cut the grain, but also gathered the stalks and bound them with twine. Threshing machines were also being improved and enlarged, and after 1870 they were increasingly powered by steam engines rather than by horses. Since steam-powered threshing machines were costly items - running from $ 1,000 to $4,000 - they were usually owned by custom thresher owners who then worked their way from farm to farm during the harvest season. "Combines" were also coming into use on the great wheat ranches in California and the Pacific Northwest. These ponderous machines - sometimes pulled by as many as 40 horses - reaped the grain, threshed it, and bagged it, all in one simultaneous operation.
The adoption of labor-saving machinery had a profound effect upon the sale of agricultural operations in the northern states - allowing farmers to increase vastly their crop acreage. By the end of century, a farmer employing the new machinery could plant and harvest two and half times as much corn as a farmer had using hand methods 50 years before. | 1924.txt | 2 |
[
"take care",
"make use",
"get rid",
"do more"
]
| The phrase "avail themselves" in line 11 is closest in meaning to | During the second half of the nineteenth century, the production of food and feed crops in the United States rose at an extraordinarily rapid rate. Corn production increased by four and a half times, hay by five times, oats and wheat by seven times. The most crucial factor behind this phenomenal upsurge in productivity was the widespread adoption of labor-saving machinery by northern farmers. By 1850 horse-drawn reaping machines that cut grain were being introduced into the major grain-growing regions of the country. Horse-powered threshing machines to separate the seeds from the plants were already in general use. However, it was the onset of the Civil War in 1861 that provided the great stimulus for the mechanization of northern agriculture. With much of the labor force inducted into the army and with grain prices on the rise, northern farmers rushed to avail themselves of the new labor-saving equipment. In 1860 there were approximately 80,000 reapers in the country; five years later there were 350,000.
After the close of the war in 1865, machinery became ever more important in northern agriculture, and improved equipment was continually introduced. By 1880 a self-binding reaper had been perfected that not only cut the grain, but also gathered the stalks and bound them with twine. Threshing machines were also being improved and enlarged, and after 1870 they were increasingly powered by steam engines rather than by horses. Since steam-powered threshing machines were costly items - running from $ 1,000 to $4,000 - they were usually owned by custom thresher owners who then worked their way from farm to farm during the harvest season. "Combines" were also coming into use on the great wheat ranches in California and the Pacific Northwest. These ponderous machines - sometimes pulled by as many as 40 horses - reaped the grain, threshed it, and bagged it, all in one simultaneous operation.
The adoption of labor-saving machinery had a profound effect upon the sale of agricultural operations in the northern states - allowing farmers to increase vastly their crop acreage. By the end of century, a farmer employing the new machinery could plant and harvest two and half times as much corn as a farmer had using hand methods 50 years before. | 1924.txt | 1 |
[
"The army needed more grain in order to feed the soldiers.",
"Technology developed for the war could also the used by farmers.",
"It was hoped that harvesting more grain would lower the price of grain.",
"Machines were needed to replace a disappearing labor force."
]
| According to the passage , why was the Civil War a stimulus for mechanization? | During the second half of the nineteenth century, the production of food and feed crops in the United States rose at an extraordinarily rapid rate. Corn production increased by four and a half times, hay by five times, oats and wheat by seven times. The most crucial factor behind this phenomenal upsurge in productivity was the widespread adoption of labor-saving machinery by northern farmers. By 1850 horse-drawn reaping machines that cut grain were being introduced into the major grain-growing regions of the country. Horse-powered threshing machines to separate the seeds from the plants were already in general use. However, it was the onset of the Civil War in 1861 that provided the great stimulus for the mechanization of northern agriculture. With much of the labor force inducted into the army and with grain prices on the rise, northern farmers rushed to avail themselves of the new labor-saving equipment. In 1860 there were approximately 80,000 reapers in the country; five years later there were 350,000.
After the close of the war in 1865, machinery became ever more important in northern agriculture, and improved equipment was continually introduced. By 1880 a self-binding reaper had been perfected that not only cut the grain, but also gathered the stalks and bound them with twine. Threshing machines were also being improved and enlarged, and after 1870 they were increasingly powered by steam engines rather than by horses. Since steam-powered threshing machines were costly items - running from $ 1,000 to $4,000 - they were usually owned by custom thresher owners who then worked their way from farm to farm during the harvest season. "Combines" were also coming into use on the great wheat ranches in California and the Pacific Northwest. These ponderous machines - sometimes pulled by as many as 40 horses - reaped the grain, threshed it, and bagged it, all in one simultaneous operation.
The adoption of labor-saving machinery had a profound effect upon the sale of agricultural operations in the northern states - allowing farmers to increase vastly their crop acreage. By the end of century, a farmer employing the new machinery could plant and harvest two and half times as much corn as a farmer had using hand methods 50 years before. | 1924.txt | 3 |
[
"Many farmers preferred not to use the new machinery.",
"Returning laborers replaced the use of machinery.",
"The use of farm machinery continued to increase.",
"Poor-quality machinery slowed the pace of crop production."
]
| The passage supports which of the following statements about machinery after the Civil War? | During the second half of the nineteenth century, the production of food and feed crops in the United States rose at an extraordinarily rapid rate. Corn production increased by four and a half times, hay by five times, oats and wheat by seven times. The most crucial factor behind this phenomenal upsurge in productivity was the widespread adoption of labor-saving machinery by northern farmers. By 1850 horse-drawn reaping machines that cut grain were being introduced into the major grain-growing regions of the country. Horse-powered threshing machines to separate the seeds from the plants were already in general use. However, it was the onset of the Civil War in 1861 that provided the great stimulus for the mechanization of northern agriculture. With much of the labor force inducted into the army and with grain prices on the rise, northern farmers rushed to avail themselves of the new labor-saving equipment. In 1860 there were approximately 80,000 reapers in the country; five years later there were 350,000.
After the close of the war in 1865, machinery became ever more important in northern agriculture, and improved equipment was continually introduced. By 1880 a self-binding reaper had been perfected that not only cut the grain, but also gathered the stalks and bound them with twine. Threshing machines were also being improved and enlarged, and after 1870 they were increasingly powered by steam engines rather than by horses. Since steam-powered threshing machines were costly items - running from $ 1,000 to $4,000 - they were usually owned by custom thresher owners who then worked their way from farm to farm during the harvest season. "Combines" were also coming into use on the great wheat ranches in California and the Pacific Northwest. These ponderous machines - sometimes pulled by as many as 40 horses - reaped the grain, threshed it, and bagged it, all in one simultaneous operation.
The adoption of labor-saving machinery had a profound effect upon the sale of agricultural operations in the northern states - allowing farmers to increase vastly their crop acreage. By the end of century, a farmer employing the new machinery could plant and harvest two and half times as much corn as a farmer had using hand methods 50 years before. | 1924.txt | 2 |
[
"could perform more than one function",
"required relatively little power to operate",
"was utilized mainly in California",
"required two people to operate"
]
| Combines and self-binding reapers were similar because each | During the second half of the nineteenth century, the production of food and feed crops in the United States rose at an extraordinarily rapid rate. Corn production increased by four and a half times, hay by five times, oats and wheat by seven times. The most crucial factor behind this phenomenal upsurge in productivity was the widespread adoption of labor-saving machinery by northern farmers. By 1850 horse-drawn reaping machines that cut grain were being introduced into the major grain-growing regions of the country. Horse-powered threshing machines to separate the seeds from the plants were already in general use. However, it was the onset of the Civil War in 1861 that provided the great stimulus for the mechanization of northern agriculture. With much of the labor force inducted into the army and with grain prices on the rise, northern farmers rushed to avail themselves of the new labor-saving equipment. In 1860 there were approximately 80,000 reapers in the country; five years later there were 350,000.
After the close of the war in 1865, machinery became ever more important in northern agriculture, and improved equipment was continually introduced. By 1880 a self-binding reaper had been perfected that not only cut the grain, but also gathered the stalks and bound them with twine. Threshing machines were also being improved and enlarged, and after 1870 they were increasingly powered by steam engines rather than by horses. Since steam-powered threshing machines were costly items - running from $ 1,000 to $4,000 - they were usually owned by custom thresher owners who then worked their way from farm to farm during the harvest season. "Combines" were also coming into use on the great wheat ranches in California and the Pacific Northwest. These ponderous machines - sometimes pulled by as many as 40 horses - reaped the grain, threshed it, and bagged it, all in one simultaneous operation.
The adoption of labor-saving machinery had a profound effect upon the sale of agricultural operations in the northern states - allowing farmers to increase vastly their crop acreage. By the end of century, a farmer employing the new machinery could plant and harvest two and half times as much corn as a farmer had using hand methods 50 years before. | 1924.txt | 0 |
[
"grain stalks",
"threshing machines",
"steam engines",
"horses"
]
| The word "they" in line 19 refers to | During the second half of the nineteenth century, the production of food and feed crops in the United States rose at an extraordinarily rapid rate. Corn production increased by four and a half times, hay by five times, oats and wheat by seven times. The most crucial factor behind this phenomenal upsurge in productivity was the widespread adoption of labor-saving machinery by northern farmers. By 1850 horse-drawn reaping machines that cut grain were being introduced into the major grain-growing regions of the country. Horse-powered threshing machines to separate the seeds from the plants were already in general use. However, it was the onset of the Civil War in 1861 that provided the great stimulus for the mechanization of northern agriculture. With much of the labor force inducted into the army and with grain prices on the rise, northern farmers rushed to avail themselves of the new labor-saving equipment. In 1860 there were approximately 80,000 reapers in the country; five years later there were 350,000.
After the close of the war in 1865, machinery became ever more important in northern agriculture, and improved equipment was continually introduced. By 1880 a self-binding reaper had been perfected that not only cut the grain, but also gathered the stalks and bound them with twine. Threshing machines were also being improved and enlarged, and after 1870 they were increasingly powered by steam engines rather than by horses. Since steam-powered threshing machines were costly items - running from $ 1,000 to $4,000 - they were usually owned by custom thresher owners who then worked their way from farm to farm during the harvest season. "Combines" were also coming into use on the great wheat ranches in California and the Pacific Northwest. These ponderous machines - sometimes pulled by as many as 40 horses - reaped the grain, threshed it, and bagged it, all in one simultaneous operation.
The adoption of labor-saving machinery had a profound effect upon the sale of agricultural operations in the northern states - allowing farmers to increase vastly their crop acreage. By the end of century, a farmer employing the new machinery could plant and harvest two and half times as much corn as a farmer had using hand methods 50 years before. | 1924.txt | 1 |
[
"farmers did not know how to use the new machines",
"farmers had no space to keep the machines",
"thresher owner had chance to buy the machines before farmers did",
"the machines were too expensive for every farmer to own"
]
| It can be inferred from the passage that most farmers did not own threshing machines because | During the second half of the nineteenth century, the production of food and feed crops in the United States rose at an extraordinarily rapid rate. Corn production increased by four and a half times, hay by five times, oats and wheat by seven times. The most crucial factor behind this phenomenal upsurge in productivity was the widespread adoption of labor-saving machinery by northern farmers. By 1850 horse-drawn reaping machines that cut grain were being introduced into the major grain-growing regions of the country. Horse-powered threshing machines to separate the seeds from the plants were already in general use. However, it was the onset of the Civil War in 1861 that provided the great stimulus for the mechanization of northern agriculture. With much of the labor force inducted into the army and with grain prices on the rise, northern farmers rushed to avail themselves of the new labor-saving equipment. In 1860 there were approximately 80,000 reapers in the country; five years later there were 350,000.
After the close of the war in 1865, machinery became ever more important in northern agriculture, and improved equipment was continually introduced. By 1880 a self-binding reaper had been perfected that not only cut the grain, but also gathered the stalks and bound them with twine. Threshing machines were also being improved and enlarged, and after 1870 they were increasingly powered by steam engines rather than by horses. Since steam-powered threshing machines were costly items - running from $ 1,000 to $4,000 - they were usually owned by custom thresher owners who then worked their way from farm to farm during the harvest season. "Combines" were also coming into use on the great wheat ranches in California and the Pacific Northwest. These ponderous machines - sometimes pulled by as many as 40 horses - reaped the grain, threshed it, and bagged it, all in one simultaneous operation.
The adoption of labor-saving machinery had a profound effect upon the sale of agricultural operations in the northern states - allowing farmers to increase vastly their crop acreage. By the end of century, a farmer employing the new machinery could plant and harvest two and half times as much corn as a farmer had using hand methods 50 years before. | 1924.txt | 3 |
[
"advanced",
"heavy",
"complex",
"rapid"
]
| The word "ponderous" in line 21 is closest in meaning to | During the second half of the nineteenth century, the production of food and feed crops in the United States rose at an extraordinarily rapid rate. Corn production increased by four and a half times, hay by five times, oats and wheat by seven times. The most crucial factor behind this phenomenal upsurge in productivity was the widespread adoption of labor-saving machinery by northern farmers. By 1850 horse-drawn reaping machines that cut grain were being introduced into the major grain-growing regions of the country. Horse-powered threshing machines to separate the seeds from the plants were already in general use. However, it was the onset of the Civil War in 1861 that provided the great stimulus for the mechanization of northern agriculture. With much of the labor force inducted into the army and with grain prices on the rise, northern farmers rushed to avail themselves of the new labor-saving equipment. In 1860 there were approximately 80,000 reapers in the country; five years later there were 350,000.
After the close of the war in 1865, machinery became ever more important in northern agriculture, and improved equipment was continually introduced. By 1880 a self-binding reaper had been perfected that not only cut the grain, but also gathered the stalks and bound them with twine. Threshing machines were also being improved and enlarged, and after 1870 they were increasingly powered by steam engines rather than by horses. Since steam-powered threshing machines were costly items - running from $ 1,000 to $4,000 - they were usually owned by custom thresher owners who then worked their way from farm to farm during the harvest season. "Combines" were also coming into use on the great wheat ranches in California and the Pacific Northwest. These ponderous machines - sometimes pulled by as many as 40 horses - reaped the grain, threshed it, and bagged it, all in one simultaneous operation.
The adoption of labor-saving machinery had a profound effect upon the sale of agricultural operations in the northern states - allowing farmers to increase vastly their crop acreage. By the end of century, a farmer employing the new machinery could plant and harvest two and half times as much corn as a farmer had using hand methods 50 years before. | 1924.txt | 1 |
[
"In a magaine which tells you a true story.",
"In a newspaper which explains how a boy deals with his enemy.",
"On the net which tells a film that is on the way to be shown in the near future.",
"A book,written by a famous writer,is going to be published."
]
| Where do you think you can see this article? | Home Alone 4
Starring French Stewart, Mike Weinberg,Missi Pyle,Barbara Babcock,Jason Beghe,Claire Carey and Joanna Going.
Christmas this year looks gloomy to Kevin.His parents have separated,and he decides without careful thinking to spend the holidays with his dad,Peter,and his dad's rich girl friend,Natalie.Natalie lives in an unusual mansion-a "sma rt house" in which almost everything reacts to remote commands: doors open and close at will,the chandelier rises and lowers,a swinging bookcase leads to a secret bar,etc.Even better,the serious butler,Prescott,and sweet housekeeper,Molly,are at Kevin's beck and call. But just as Kevin settles into his wonderful surroundings,Peter and Natalie leave to pick up some royal houseguests at the airport,including an 11yearold crown prince.
In their absence,the snaky Marv and Vera break in,intending to kidnap the crown prince.But they didn't realie they'd be facing off with Kevin instead,and,while it may not be his house,he still has to protect it.With the help of the house's high tech magics,Kevin repeatedly prevents them by turning the tables(and the swinging bookcases,shower jets and chandelier) on them.All the funny characters build to a cheerful Christmas Day result in which everyone gets into the action during an unexpected reunion between Kevin and his parents,Natalie and theroyal family. | 4117.txt | 2 |
[
"Justice is done and the bad persons are punished.",
"All are very happy at the very end and a great Christmas is celebrated",
"Kevin's parents are divorced and Kevin has got a new mother.",
"The little prince dislikes Kevin and go away with his family for Christmas."
]
| What can you imagine about the result of the article? | Home Alone 4
Starring French Stewart, Mike Weinberg,Missi Pyle,Barbara Babcock,Jason Beghe,Claire Carey and Joanna Going.
Christmas this year looks gloomy to Kevin.His parents have separated,and he decides without careful thinking to spend the holidays with his dad,Peter,and his dad's rich girl friend,Natalie.Natalie lives in an unusual mansion-a "sma rt house" in which almost everything reacts to remote commands: doors open and close at will,the chandelier rises and lowers,a swinging bookcase leads to a secret bar,etc.Even better,the serious butler,Prescott,and sweet housekeeper,Molly,are at Kevin's beck and call. But just as Kevin settles into his wonderful surroundings,Peter and Natalie leave to pick up some royal houseguests at the airport,including an 11yearold crown prince.
In their absence,the snaky Marv and Vera break in,intending to kidnap the crown prince.But they didn't realie they'd be facing off with Kevin instead,and,while it may not be his house,he still has to protect it.With the help of the house's high tech magics,Kevin repeatedly prevents them by turning the tables(and the swinging bookcases,shower jets and chandelier) on them.All the funny characters build to a cheerful Christmas Day result in which everyone gets into the action during an unexpected reunion between Kevin and his parents,Natalie and theroyal family. | 4117.txt | 1 |
[
"Marv and Vera must be very cruel and clever,and make a lot of money finally.",
"Kevin is bright,brave and gloomy.",
"Natalie is rich,beautiful and has a high social position.",
"Mike Weinberg is a person in the film who helps Kevin a lot."
]
| Of the following descriptions,which do you agree with most? | Home Alone 4
Starring French Stewart, Mike Weinberg,Missi Pyle,Barbara Babcock,Jason Beghe,Claire Carey and Joanna Going.
Christmas this year looks gloomy to Kevin.His parents have separated,and he decides without careful thinking to spend the holidays with his dad,Peter,and his dad's rich girl friend,Natalie.Natalie lives in an unusual mansion-a "sma rt house" in which almost everything reacts to remote commands: doors open and close at will,the chandelier rises and lowers,a swinging bookcase leads to a secret bar,etc.Even better,the serious butler,Prescott,and sweet housekeeper,Molly,are at Kevin's beck and call. But just as Kevin settles into his wonderful surroundings,Peter and Natalie leave to pick up some royal houseguests at the airport,including an 11yearold crown prince.
In their absence,the snaky Marv and Vera break in,intending to kidnap the crown prince.But they didn't realie they'd be facing off with Kevin instead,and,while it may not be his house,he still has to protect it.With the help of the house's high tech magics,Kevin repeatedly prevents them by turning the tables(and the swinging bookcases,shower jets and chandelier) on them.All the funny characters build to a cheerful Christmas Day result in which everyone gets into the action during an unexpected reunion between Kevin and his parents,Natalie and theroyal family. | 4117.txt | 2 |
[
"There must be four persons alone at home.",
"It must be a series of TV play.",
"The main character in it must be four years old.",
"There should be altogether 4 performances,focused on one person."
]
| What can you infer from the title"Home Alone 4"? | Home Alone 4
Starring French Stewart, Mike Weinberg,Missi Pyle,Barbara Babcock,Jason Beghe,Claire Carey and Joanna Going.
Christmas this year looks gloomy to Kevin.His parents have separated,and he decides without careful thinking to spend the holidays with his dad,Peter,and his dad's rich girl friend,Natalie.Natalie lives in an unusual mansion-a "sma rt house" in which almost everything reacts to remote commands: doors open and close at will,the chandelier rises and lowers,a swinging bookcase leads to a secret bar,etc.Even better,the serious butler,Prescott,and sweet housekeeper,Molly,are at Kevin's beck and call. But just as Kevin settles into his wonderful surroundings,Peter and Natalie leave to pick up some royal houseguests at the airport,including an 11yearold crown prince.
In their absence,the snaky Marv and Vera break in,intending to kidnap the crown prince.But they didn't realie they'd be facing off with Kevin instead,and,while it may not be his house,he still has to protect it.With the help of the house's high tech magics,Kevin repeatedly prevents them by turning the tables(and the swinging bookcases,shower jets and chandelier) on them.All the funny characters build to a cheerful Christmas Day result in which everyone gets into the action during an unexpected reunion between Kevin and his parents,Natalie and theroyal family. | 4117.txt | 3 |
[
"a shared problem in some tropical countries in Africa",
"not as serious as it seems because the number of poachers is declining",
"becoming less and less eyecatching due to the increased supply of ivory",
"already effectively controlled due to the rangers' efforts"
]
| According to the author, illegal hunting is _ . | Nouabalé-Ndoki national park, in the Republic of Congo, is 4,200 square kilometres of virgin tropical forest that is as densely populated with elephants and great apes as it is sparsely populated with rangers. There are 14 of them, and they have failed to catch a single poacher for more than a year. That is not for lack of illegal hunting in the park. Demand for ivory is up, driven largely by consumers in Japan and an increasingly wealthy China. The value of meat from elephants, apes and other animals has also risen as loggers and miners move deeper into the country's forests. Nor is this a problem confined to Congo. Last year poachers are estimated to have killed more than 23,000 African elephants. According to a study by the University of Washington, that is about one in 17 of the continent's total.
Nouabalé-Ndoki's rangers are, however, about to get some high-tech help in the form of TrailGuard, a system of small and easily hidden electronic detection and communication devices. They will soon begin burying radio-transmitting metal detectors alongside elephant trails leading into the park. Authorised travelers through the park will be given transponders that tell the detectors who they are, as with the" identification friend-or-foe" systems on military aircraft. But when poachers carrying rifles walk by a detector, it will send a radio signal to a treetop antenna. Seconds later the rangers will receive the intruder's co-ordinates on their satellite phones. They will then be able to respond precisely, rather than running around on fruitless and demoralising patrols on the small chance of catching a poacher up to no good.
TrailGuard is the brainchild of Steve Gulick, an electrical engineer turned biologist who recently left the State University of New York（SUNY）to set up a not-for-profit organisation called Wildland Security, to promote his idea. Besides catching more（or, indeed, any）poachers, he hopes his invention will also prove to be an example of an idea from another one-time electrical engineer, Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke's Third Law, as it is known to fans of his science-fiction writing, is that" any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" . Many people in Congo do believe in magic and Mr. Gulick does not propose to disabuse them of the notion. Local people will receive no explanation for the rangers' new powers. That, Mr. Gulick hopes, will discourage potential poachers from turning thought into deed.
Nor are metal detectors the only magic to be deployed. Small fire detectors hidden in trees should add to the anti-poaching unit's reputation for detection. Poachers frequently smoke meat from their kills to preserve it during transport to market. Like the metal detectors, the fire detectors will alert the rangers by satellite phone, allowing them to swoop as from nowhere. | 507.txt | 0 |
[
"supportive",
"objective",
"indifferent",
"worried"
]
| What is the author's attitude towards the technology of TrailGuard? | Nouabalé-Ndoki national park, in the Republic of Congo, is 4,200 square kilometres of virgin tropical forest that is as densely populated with elephants and great apes as it is sparsely populated with rangers. There are 14 of them, and they have failed to catch a single poacher for more than a year. That is not for lack of illegal hunting in the park. Demand for ivory is up, driven largely by consumers in Japan and an increasingly wealthy China. The value of meat from elephants, apes and other animals has also risen as loggers and miners move deeper into the country's forests. Nor is this a problem confined to Congo. Last year poachers are estimated to have killed more than 23,000 African elephants. According to a study by the University of Washington, that is about one in 17 of the continent's total.
Nouabalé-Ndoki's rangers are, however, about to get some high-tech help in the form of TrailGuard, a system of small and easily hidden electronic detection and communication devices. They will soon begin burying radio-transmitting metal detectors alongside elephant trails leading into the park. Authorised travelers through the park will be given transponders that tell the detectors who they are, as with the" identification friend-or-foe" systems on military aircraft. But when poachers carrying rifles walk by a detector, it will send a radio signal to a treetop antenna. Seconds later the rangers will receive the intruder's co-ordinates on their satellite phones. They will then be able to respond precisely, rather than running around on fruitless and demoralising patrols on the small chance of catching a poacher up to no good.
TrailGuard is the brainchild of Steve Gulick, an electrical engineer turned biologist who recently left the State University of New York（SUNY）to set up a not-for-profit organisation called Wildland Security, to promote his idea. Besides catching more（or, indeed, any）poachers, he hopes his invention will also prove to be an example of an idea from another one-time electrical engineer, Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke's Third Law, as it is known to fans of his science-fiction writing, is that" any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" . Many people in Congo do believe in magic and Mr. Gulick does not propose to disabuse them of the notion. Local people will receive no explanation for the rangers' new powers. That, Mr. Gulick hopes, will discourage potential poachers from turning thought into deed.
Nor are metal detectors the only magic to be deployed. Small fire detectors hidden in trees should add to the anti-poaching unit's reputation for detection. Poachers frequently smoke meat from their kills to preserve it during transport to market. Like the metal detectors, the fire detectors will alert the rangers by satellite phone, allowing them to swoop as from nowhere. | 507.txt | 1 |
[
"they become keen of advanced technologies",
"they fear it is some kind of magical power",
"they tend to challenge the new technological equipment",
"they are not concerned about the issue at all"
]
| Local people's reaction to the rangers' new power is probably that _ . | Nouabalé-Ndoki national park, in the Republic of Congo, is 4,200 square kilometres of virgin tropical forest that is as densely populated with elephants and great apes as it is sparsely populated with rangers. There are 14 of them, and they have failed to catch a single poacher for more than a year. That is not for lack of illegal hunting in the park. Demand for ivory is up, driven largely by consumers in Japan and an increasingly wealthy China. The value of meat from elephants, apes and other animals has also risen as loggers and miners move deeper into the country's forests. Nor is this a problem confined to Congo. Last year poachers are estimated to have killed more than 23,000 African elephants. According to a study by the University of Washington, that is about one in 17 of the continent's total.
Nouabalé-Ndoki's rangers are, however, about to get some high-tech help in the form of TrailGuard, a system of small and easily hidden electronic detection and communication devices. They will soon begin burying radio-transmitting metal detectors alongside elephant trails leading into the park. Authorised travelers through the park will be given transponders that tell the detectors who they are, as with the" identification friend-or-foe" systems on military aircraft. But when poachers carrying rifles walk by a detector, it will send a radio signal to a treetop antenna. Seconds later the rangers will receive the intruder's co-ordinates on their satellite phones. They will then be able to respond precisely, rather than running around on fruitless and demoralising patrols on the small chance of catching a poacher up to no good.
TrailGuard is the brainchild of Steve Gulick, an electrical engineer turned biologist who recently left the State University of New York（SUNY）to set up a not-for-profit organisation called Wildland Security, to promote his idea. Besides catching more（or, indeed, any）poachers, he hopes his invention will also prove to be an example of an idea from another one-time electrical engineer, Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke's Third Law, as it is known to fans of his science-fiction writing, is that" any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" . Many people in Congo do believe in magic and Mr. Gulick does not propose to disabuse them of the notion. Local people will receive no explanation for the rangers' new powers. That, Mr. Gulick hopes, will discourage potential poachers from turning thought into deed.
Nor are metal detectors the only magic to be deployed. Small fire detectors hidden in trees should add to the anti-poaching unit's reputation for detection. Poachers frequently smoke meat from their kills to preserve it during transport to market. Like the metal detectors, the fire detectors will alert the rangers by satellite phone, allowing them to swoop as from nowhere. | 507.txt | 1 |
[
"Steve Gulick's invention is from Arthur C. Clarke's idea.",
"The radio-transmitting metal detectors can distinguish between travelers and poachers.",
"Arthur C. Clarke is known as a writer of science fictions.",
"There are various kinds of detectors buried across the national park."
]
| Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage? | Nouabalé-Ndoki national park, in the Republic of Congo, is 4,200 square kilometres of virgin tropical forest that is as densely populated with elephants and great apes as it is sparsely populated with rangers. There are 14 of them, and they have failed to catch a single poacher for more than a year. That is not for lack of illegal hunting in the park. Demand for ivory is up, driven largely by consumers in Japan and an increasingly wealthy China. The value of meat from elephants, apes and other animals has also risen as loggers and miners move deeper into the country's forests. Nor is this a problem confined to Congo. Last year poachers are estimated to have killed more than 23,000 African elephants. According to a study by the University of Washington, that is about one in 17 of the continent's total.
Nouabalé-Ndoki's rangers are, however, about to get some high-tech help in the form of TrailGuard, a system of small and easily hidden electronic detection and communication devices. They will soon begin burying radio-transmitting metal detectors alongside elephant trails leading into the park. Authorised travelers through the park will be given transponders that tell the detectors who they are, as with the" identification friend-or-foe" systems on military aircraft. But when poachers carrying rifles walk by a detector, it will send a radio signal to a treetop antenna. Seconds later the rangers will receive the intruder's co-ordinates on their satellite phones. They will then be able to respond precisely, rather than running around on fruitless and demoralising patrols on the small chance of catching a poacher up to no good.
TrailGuard is the brainchild of Steve Gulick, an electrical engineer turned biologist who recently left the State University of New York（SUNY）to set up a not-for-profit organisation called Wildland Security, to promote his idea. Besides catching more（or, indeed, any）poachers, he hopes his invention will also prove to be an example of an idea from another one-time electrical engineer, Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke's Third Law, as it is known to fans of his science-fiction writing, is that" any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" . Many people in Congo do believe in magic and Mr. Gulick does not propose to disabuse them of the notion. Local people will receive no explanation for the rangers' new powers. That, Mr. Gulick hopes, will discourage potential poachers from turning thought into deed.
Nor are metal detectors the only magic to be deployed. Small fire detectors hidden in trees should add to the anti-poaching unit's reputation for detection. Poachers frequently smoke meat from their kills to preserve it during transport to market. Like the metal detectors, the fire detectors will alert the rangers by satellite phone, allowing them to swoop as from nowhere. | 507.txt | 0 |
[
"before adopting the new technology, the rangers could not catch any poacher",
"TrailGuard has already achieved significant success in fighting against illegal hunting",
"poachers use fire to smoke meat of their preys so as to make food",
"the fact that both Guilick and Clarke were electrical engineers has great influence on the invention of TrailGuard"
]
| It can be inferred from the passage that _ . | Nouabalé-Ndoki national park, in the Republic of Congo, is 4,200 square kilometres of virgin tropical forest that is as densely populated with elephants and great apes as it is sparsely populated with rangers. There are 14 of them, and they have failed to catch a single poacher for more than a year. That is not for lack of illegal hunting in the park. Demand for ivory is up, driven largely by consumers in Japan and an increasingly wealthy China. The value of meat from elephants, apes and other animals has also risen as loggers and miners move deeper into the country's forests. Nor is this a problem confined to Congo. Last year poachers are estimated to have killed more than 23,000 African elephants. According to a study by the University of Washington, that is about one in 17 of the continent's total.
Nouabalé-Ndoki's rangers are, however, about to get some high-tech help in the form of TrailGuard, a system of small and easily hidden electronic detection and communication devices. They will soon begin burying radio-transmitting metal detectors alongside elephant trails leading into the park. Authorised travelers through the park will be given transponders that tell the detectors who they are, as with the" identification friend-or-foe" systems on military aircraft. But when poachers carrying rifles walk by a detector, it will send a radio signal to a treetop antenna. Seconds later the rangers will receive the intruder's co-ordinates on their satellite phones. They will then be able to respond precisely, rather than running around on fruitless and demoralising patrols on the small chance of catching a poacher up to no good.
TrailGuard is the brainchild of Steve Gulick, an electrical engineer turned biologist who recently left the State University of New York（SUNY）to set up a not-for-profit organisation called Wildland Security, to promote his idea. Besides catching more（or, indeed, any）poachers, he hopes his invention will also prove to be an example of an idea from another one-time electrical engineer, Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke's Third Law, as it is known to fans of his science-fiction writing, is that" any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" . Many people in Congo do believe in magic and Mr. Gulick does not propose to disabuse them of the notion. Local people will receive no explanation for the rangers' new powers. That, Mr. Gulick hopes, will discourage potential poachers from turning thought into deed.
Nor are metal detectors the only magic to be deployed. Small fire detectors hidden in trees should add to the anti-poaching unit's reputation for detection. Poachers frequently smoke meat from their kills to preserve it during transport to market. Like the metal detectors, the fire detectors will alert the rangers by satellite phone, allowing them to swoop as from nowhere. | 507.txt | 1 |
[
"worked very hard for centuries",
"dreamed of having a better life",
"were poor but somewhat content",
"lived a different life from their forefathers"
]
| From Paragraph 1，we learn that the villagers _ . | It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog's legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own ，and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.
This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around，and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them. Agreement was reached，and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn't last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and, there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn't just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides and medicines. Soon there was no money left.
Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn't been useless. They had been doing an important job-eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
Now，the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning. | 3037.txt | 2 |
[
"The frogs were easy money.",
"They needed money to buy medicine.",
"They wanted to please the visitors.",
"The frogs made too much noise."
]
| Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs? | It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog's legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own ，and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.
This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around，and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them. Agreement was reached，and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn't last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and, there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn't just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides and medicines. Soon there was no money left.
Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn't been useless. They had been doing an important job-eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
Now，the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning. | 3037.txt | 0 |
[
"The crops didn't do well.",
"There were too many insects.",
"The visitors brought in diseases.",
"The pesticides were overused."
]
| What might be the cause of the children's sickness? | It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog's legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own ，and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.
This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around，and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them. Agreement was reached，and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn't last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and, there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn't just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides and medicines. Soon there was no money left.
Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn't been useless. They had been doing an important job-eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
Now，the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning. | 3037.txt | 1 |
[
"Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country.",
"Health is more important than money.",
"The harmony between man and nature is important.",
"Good old days will never be forgotten."
]
| What can we infer from the last sentence of the text? | It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog's legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own ，and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.
This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around，and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them. Agreement was reached，and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn't last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and, there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn't just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides and medicines. Soon there was no money left.
Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn't been useless. They had been doing an important job-eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
Now，the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning. | 3037.txt | 2 |
[
"fish and oil",
"minerals and oil",
"warm temperature and ocean currents",
"the food, energy sources, and minerals"
]
| The major things that the sea offers man are _ . | Man is a land animal, but he is also closely tied to the sea. Throughout history the sea has served the needs of man. The sea has provided man with food and a convenient way to travel to many parts of the world. Today, nearly two-thirds of the world's population live within 80 kilometers of the sea coast.
In the modern technological world, the sea offers many resources to help mankind survive (=continue to live). Resources on land are beginning to be used up. The sea, however, still can be hoped to supply many of man's needs.
The list of riches of the sea yet to be developed by man's technology is impressive. Oil and gas explorations have been carried out for nearly 30 years. Valuable amounts of minerals exist on the ocean floor ready to be mined .
Fish farming promises to be a good way to produce large quantities of food. The culture of fish and shellfish is an ancient skill practised in the past mainly by Oriental people.
Besides oil and gas, the sea may offer new sources of energy. Experts believe that the warm temperature of the ocean can be used in a way similar to the steam in a steamship. Ocean currents and waves offer possible use as a source of energy.
Technology is enabling man to explore ever more deeply under the sea. The development of strong, new materials has made this possible.
The technology to harvest the sea continues to improve. Experts believe that by the year 2000 the problems that prevent us from exploiting fully the food, minerals, and energy sources of the sea will be largely solved. | 1208.txt | 3 |
[
"in provides man with food",
"it offers oil to man",
"it supplies man with minerals",
"all of the above"
]
| The sea serves the needs of man because _ . | Man is a land animal, but he is also closely tied to the sea. Throughout history the sea has served the needs of man. The sea has provided man with food and a convenient way to travel to many parts of the world. Today, nearly two-thirds of the world's population live within 80 kilometers of the sea coast.
In the modern technological world, the sea offers many resources to help mankind survive (=continue to live). Resources on land are beginning to be used up. The sea, however, still can be hoped to supply many of man's needs.
The list of riches of the sea yet to be developed by man's technology is impressive. Oil and gas explorations have been carried out for nearly 30 years. Valuable amounts of minerals exist on the ocean floor ready to be mined .
Fish farming promises to be a good way to produce large quantities of food. The culture of fish and shellfish is an ancient skill practised in the past mainly by Oriental people.
Besides oil and gas, the sea may offer new sources of energy. Experts believe that the warm temperature of the ocean can be used in a way similar to the steam in a steamship. Ocean currents and waves offer possible use as a source of energy.
Technology is enabling man to explore ever more deeply under the sea. The development of strong, new materials has made this possible.
The technology to harvest the sea continues to improve. Experts believe that by the year 2000 the problems that prevent us from exploiting fully the food, minerals, and energy sources of the sea will be largely solved. | 1208.txt | 3 |
[
"the sea resources have largely been used up",
"the sea, in the broad sense, has not yet been developed",
"the problems that prevent us from using the food, minerals, and energy sources of the sea have already been solved.",
"by the year 2000 , the technology will be good enough to exploit all the sea resources"
]
| We can conclude from this passage that _ . | Man is a land animal, but he is also closely tied to the sea. Throughout history the sea has served the needs of man. The sea has provided man with food and a convenient way to travel to many parts of the world. Today, nearly two-thirds of the world's population live within 80 kilometers of the sea coast.
In the modern technological world, the sea offers many resources to help mankind survive (=continue to live). Resources on land are beginning to be used up. The sea, however, still can be hoped to supply many of man's needs.
The list of riches of the sea yet to be developed by man's technology is impressive. Oil and gas explorations have been carried out for nearly 30 years. Valuable amounts of minerals exist on the ocean floor ready to be mined .
Fish farming promises to be a good way to produce large quantities of food. The culture of fish and shellfish is an ancient skill practised in the past mainly by Oriental people.
Besides oil and gas, the sea may offer new sources of energy. Experts believe that the warm temperature of the ocean can be used in a way similar to the steam in a steamship. Ocean currents and waves offer possible use as a source of energy.
Technology is enabling man to explore ever more deeply under the sea. The development of strong, new materials has made this possible.
The technology to harvest the sea continues to improve. Experts believe that by the year 2000 the problems that prevent us from exploiting fully the food, minerals, and energy sources of the sea will be largely solved. | 1208.txt | 1 |
[
"Sea Harvest",
"Sea Food",
"Technology for Exploiting the Sea",
"Man and the Sea"
]
| The best title for this passage is _ . | Man is a land animal, but he is also closely tied to the sea. Throughout history the sea has served the needs of man. The sea has provided man with food and a convenient way to travel to many parts of the world. Today, nearly two-thirds of the world's population live within 80 kilometers of the sea coast.
In the modern technological world, the sea offers many resources to help mankind survive (=continue to live). Resources on land are beginning to be used up. The sea, however, still can be hoped to supply many of man's needs.
The list of riches of the sea yet to be developed by man's technology is impressive. Oil and gas explorations have been carried out for nearly 30 years. Valuable amounts of minerals exist on the ocean floor ready to be mined .
Fish farming promises to be a good way to produce large quantities of food. The culture of fish and shellfish is an ancient skill practised in the past mainly by Oriental people.
Besides oil and gas, the sea may offer new sources of energy. Experts believe that the warm temperature of the ocean can be used in a way similar to the steam in a steamship. Ocean currents and waves offer possible use as a source of energy.
Technology is enabling man to explore ever more deeply under the sea. The development of strong, new materials has made this possible.
The technology to harvest the sea continues to improve. Experts believe that by the year 2000 the problems that prevent us from exploiting fully the food, minerals, and energy sources of the sea will be largely solved. | 1208.txt | 0 |
[
"men suffer more from smoking",
"men would like women to smoke",
"men are considered the main sufferers of smoking",
"there are alarming statistics of death caused by smoking"
]
| The effect of smoking on women has not been paid enough attention because _ . | Despite these alarming statistics, the scale of the threat that smoking causes to women's health has received surprisingly little attention. Smoking is still seen by many as a mainly male problem, perhaps because men were the first to take up the habit and therefore the first to suffer the ill-effects. This is no longer the case. Women who smoke like men will die like men. WHO estimates that, in industrialized countries, smoking rates amongst men and women are very similar, at around 30 per cent; in a large number of developed countries, smoking is now more common among teenage girls than boys.
As women took up smoking later than men, the full impact of smoking on their health has yet to be seen. But it is clear from countries where women have smoked longest, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, that smoking causes the same diseases in women as in men and the gap between their death rates is narrowing. On current trends, some 20 to 25 per cent of women who smoke will die from their habit. One in three of these deaths will be among women under 65 year of age. The US Surgeon General has estimated that, amongst these women, smoking is responsible for around 40 per cent heart disease deaths, 55 per cent of lethal strokes and, among women of all ages, 80 per cent of lung cancer deaths and 30 per cent of all cancer deaths. Over the last 20 years, death rates in women from lung cancer have more than doubled in Japan, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom; have increased by more than 200 per cent in Australia, Denmark and New Zealand; and have increased by more than 300 per cent in Canada and the United States. | 913.txt | 2 |
[
"that men used to suffer the ill-effects",
"that there were alarming statistics",
"that the scale of threat become larger",
"that women suffered from smoking as greatly as men"
]
| "This is no longer the case. " The word "this" refers to _ . | Despite these alarming statistics, the scale of the threat that smoking causes to women's health has received surprisingly little attention. Smoking is still seen by many as a mainly male problem, perhaps because men were the first to take up the habit and therefore the first to suffer the ill-effects. This is no longer the case. Women who smoke like men will die like men. WHO estimates that, in industrialized countries, smoking rates amongst men and women are very similar, at around 30 per cent; in a large number of developed countries, smoking is now more common among teenage girls than boys.
As women took up smoking later than men, the full impact of smoking on their health has yet to be seen. But it is clear from countries where women have smoked longest, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, that smoking causes the same diseases in women as in men and the gap between their death rates is narrowing. On current trends, some 20 to 25 per cent of women who smoke will die from their habit. One in three of these deaths will be among women under 65 year of age. The US Surgeon General has estimated that, amongst these women, smoking is responsible for around 40 per cent heart disease deaths, 55 per cent of lethal strokes and, among women of all ages, 80 per cent of lung cancer deaths and 30 per cent of all cancer deaths. Over the last 20 years, death rates in women from lung cancer have more than doubled in Japan, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom; have increased by more than 200 per cent in Australia, Denmark and New Zealand; and have increased by more than 300 per cent in Canada and the United States. | 913.txt | 0 |
[
"women will have the same diseases as men",
"more women may suffer from smoking than men",
"the smoking rates among men and women will drop",
"the teenage girls today may give up smoking when they are grown-ups"
]
| From the fact that in some developed countries smoking is now more common among teenage girls than boys, we can predict that in the days to come, _ . | Despite these alarming statistics, the scale of the threat that smoking causes to women's health has received surprisingly little attention. Smoking is still seen by many as a mainly male problem, perhaps because men were the first to take up the habit and therefore the first to suffer the ill-effects. This is no longer the case. Women who smoke like men will die like men. WHO estimates that, in industrialized countries, smoking rates amongst men and women are very similar, at around 30 per cent; in a large number of developed countries, smoking is now more common among teenage girls than boys.
As women took up smoking later than men, the full impact of smoking on their health has yet to be seen. But it is clear from countries where women have smoked longest, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, that smoking causes the same diseases in women as in men and the gap between their death rates is narrowing. On current trends, some 20 to 25 per cent of women who smoke will die from their habit. One in three of these deaths will be among women under 65 year of age. The US Surgeon General has estimated that, amongst these women, smoking is responsible for around 40 per cent heart disease deaths, 55 per cent of lethal strokes and, among women of all ages, 80 per cent of lung cancer deaths and 30 per cent of all cancer deaths. Over the last 20 years, death rates in women from lung cancer have more than doubled in Japan, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom; have increased by more than 200 per cent in Australia, Denmark and New Zealand; and have increased by more than 300 per cent in Canada and the United States. | 913.txt | 1 |
[
"the death rates of the women and men who are smoking are in similar proportion",
"smoking causes the same diseases in women as in men",
"in the past 20 years, death rates in women from lung cancer have more than doubled",
"smoking is responsible for 30 percent of all cancer deaths among women"
]
| All of the following statements are the effects of smoking on women EXCEPT that | Despite these alarming statistics, the scale of the threat that smoking causes to women's health has received surprisingly little attention. Smoking is still seen by many as a mainly male problem, perhaps because men were the first to take up the habit and therefore the first to suffer the ill-effects. This is no longer the case. Women who smoke like men will die like men. WHO estimates that, in industrialized countries, smoking rates amongst men and women are very similar, at around 30 per cent; in a large number of developed countries, smoking is now more common among teenage girls than boys.
As women took up smoking later than men, the full impact of smoking on their health has yet to be seen. But it is clear from countries where women have smoked longest, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, that smoking causes the same diseases in women as in men and the gap between their death rates is narrowing. On current trends, some 20 to 25 per cent of women who smoke will die from their habit. One in three of these deaths will be among women under 65 year of age. The US Surgeon General has estimated that, amongst these women, smoking is responsible for around 40 per cent heart disease deaths, 55 per cent of lethal strokes and, among women of all ages, 80 per cent of lung cancer deaths and 30 per cent of all cancer deaths. Over the last 20 years, death rates in women from lung cancer have more than doubled in Japan, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom; have increased by more than 200 per cent in Australia, Denmark and New Zealand; and have increased by more than 300 per cent in Canada and the United States. | 913.txt | 2 |
[
"causing death",
"causing discomfort",
"causing poor health",
"causing anxiety"
]
| In the phrase "lethal stroke", the word "lethal" most probably means _ . | Despite these alarming statistics, the scale of the threat that smoking causes to women's health has received surprisingly little attention. Smoking is still seen by many as a mainly male problem, perhaps because men were the first to take up the habit and therefore the first to suffer the ill-effects. This is no longer the case. Women who smoke like men will die like men. WHO estimates that, in industrialized countries, smoking rates amongst men and women are very similar, at around 30 per cent; in a large number of developed countries, smoking is now more common among teenage girls than boys.
As women took up smoking later than men, the full impact of smoking on their health has yet to be seen. But it is clear from countries where women have smoked longest, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, that smoking causes the same diseases in women as in men and the gap between their death rates is narrowing. On current trends, some 20 to 25 per cent of women who smoke will die from their habit. One in three of these deaths will be among women under 65 year of age. The US Surgeon General has estimated that, amongst these women, smoking is responsible for around 40 per cent heart disease deaths, 55 per cent of lethal strokes and, among women of all ages, 80 per cent of lung cancer deaths and 30 per cent of all cancer deaths. Over the last 20 years, death rates in women from lung cancer have more than doubled in Japan, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom; have increased by more than 200 per cent in Australia, Denmark and New Zealand; and have increased by more than 300 per cent in Canada and the United States. | 913.txt | 0 |
[
"why we dream during sleep",
"how we dream during sleep",
"what dreams are",
"what benefits dreams bring to people"
]
| This passage is mainly about . | Dream is a story that a personwatchesor even takes part in during sleep. Dream events are imaginary, but they are related to real experiences and needs in the dreamer's life. They seem real while they are taking place. Some dreams are pleasant, others are annoying, and still others are frightening.
Everyone dreams, but some persons never recall dreaming. Others remember only a little about a dream they had just before awakening and nothing about earlier dreams. No one recalls all his dreams.
Dreams involve little logical thought. In most dreams, the dreamer cannot control what happens to him. The story may be confusing, and things happen that would not happen in real life.
People see in most dreams, but they may also hear, smell, touch, and taste in their dreams. Most dreams occur in color. but persons who have been blind since birth do not see at all in dreams.
Dreams are a product of the sleeper's mind. They include events and feelings that he has experienced. Most dreams are related to events of the day before the dream and strong wishes of the dreamer. Many minor incidents of the hours before sleep appear in dreams. Few events more than two days old turn up. Deep wishes or fears - especially those held since childhood- often appear in dreams, and many dreams fulfil such wishes. Events in the sleeper's surrounding- a loud noise, for example, may become part of a dream, but they do not cause dreams.
Some dreams involve deep feelings that a person may not realize he has. Psychiatrists（）often use material from a patient's dreams to help the person understand himself better.
Dreaming may help maintain good learning ability, memory, and emotional adjustment. People who get plenty of sleep-but are awakened each time they begin to dream- become anxious and restless. | 1812.txt | 2 |
[
"the sleeper's wishes",
"the sleeper's imagination",
"the sleeper's feeling",
"the sleeper's own mind"
]
| According to the passage, dreams result from . | Dream is a story that a personwatchesor even takes part in during sleep. Dream events are imaginary, but they are related to real experiences and needs in the dreamer's life. They seem real while they are taking place. Some dreams are pleasant, others are annoying, and still others are frightening.
Everyone dreams, but some persons never recall dreaming. Others remember only a little about a dream they had just before awakening and nothing about earlier dreams. No one recalls all his dreams.
Dreams involve little logical thought. In most dreams, the dreamer cannot control what happens to him. The story may be confusing, and things happen that would not happen in real life.
People see in most dreams, but they may also hear, smell, touch, and taste in their dreams. Most dreams occur in color. but persons who have been blind since birth do not see at all in dreams.
Dreams are a product of the sleeper's mind. They include events and feelings that he has experienced. Most dreams are related to events of the day before the dream and strong wishes of the dreamer. Many minor incidents of the hours before sleep appear in dreams. Few events more than two days old turn up. Deep wishes or fears - especially those held since childhood- often appear in dreams, and many dreams fulfil such wishes. Events in the sleeper's surrounding- a loud noise, for example, may become part of a dream, but they do not cause dreams.
Some dreams involve deep feelings that a person may not realize he has. Psychiatrists（）often use material from a patient's dreams to help the person understand himself better.
Dreaming may help maintain good learning ability, memory, and emotional adjustment. People who get plenty of sleep-but are awakened each time they begin to dream- become anxious and restless. | 1812.txt | 3 |
[
"Dream is a confusing story which involves little logic thought.",
"Dream is related to the dreamer's real life.",
"Dream is an imaginary store which seems real while taking place.",
"Dream involves events that always happen in real life."
]
| Which of the following is NOT true? | Dream is a story that a personwatchesor even takes part in during sleep. Dream events are imaginary, but they are related to real experiences and needs in the dreamer's life. They seem real while they are taking place. Some dreams are pleasant, others are annoying, and still others are frightening.
Everyone dreams, but some persons never recall dreaming. Others remember only a little about a dream they had just before awakening and nothing about earlier dreams. No one recalls all his dreams.
Dreams involve little logical thought. In most dreams, the dreamer cannot control what happens to him. The story may be confusing, and things happen that would not happen in real life.
People see in most dreams, but they may also hear, smell, touch, and taste in their dreams. Most dreams occur in color. but persons who have been blind since birth do not see at all in dreams.
Dreams are a product of the sleeper's mind. They include events and feelings that he has experienced. Most dreams are related to events of the day before the dream and strong wishes of the dreamer. Many minor incidents of the hours before sleep appear in dreams. Few events more than two days old turn up. Deep wishes or fears - especially those held since childhood- often appear in dreams, and many dreams fulfil such wishes. Events in the sleeper's surrounding- a loud noise, for example, may become part of a dream, but they do not cause dreams.
Some dreams involve deep feelings that a person may not realize he has. Psychiatrists（）often use material from a patient's dreams to help the person understand himself better.
Dreaming may help maintain good learning ability, memory, and emotional adjustment. People who get plenty of sleep-but are awakened each time they begin to dream- become anxious and restless. | 1812.txt | 3 |
[
"trying to help the dreamer recall his earlier dreams.",
"trying to make the sleeper dream logically.",
"studying the benefits of dreams.",
"helping the sleeper fulfill his dreams"
]
| This passage suggests that psychiatrists are . | Dream is a story that a personwatchesor even takes part in during sleep. Dream events are imaginary, but they are related to real experiences and needs in the dreamer's life. They seem real while they are taking place. Some dreams are pleasant, others are annoying, and still others are frightening.
Everyone dreams, but some persons never recall dreaming. Others remember only a little about a dream they had just before awakening and nothing about earlier dreams. No one recalls all his dreams.
Dreams involve little logical thought. In most dreams, the dreamer cannot control what happens to him. The story may be confusing, and things happen that would not happen in real life.
People see in most dreams, but they may also hear, smell, touch, and taste in their dreams. Most dreams occur in color. but persons who have been blind since birth do not see at all in dreams.
Dreams are a product of the sleeper's mind. They include events and feelings that he has experienced. Most dreams are related to events of the day before the dream and strong wishes of the dreamer. Many minor incidents of the hours before sleep appear in dreams. Few events more than two days old turn up. Deep wishes or fears - especially those held since childhood- often appear in dreams, and many dreams fulfil such wishes. Events in the sleeper's surrounding- a loud noise, for example, may become part of a dream, but they do not cause dreams.
Some dreams involve deep feelings that a person may not realize he has. Psychiatrists（）often use material from a patient's dreams to help the person understand himself better.
Dreaming may help maintain good learning ability, memory, and emotional adjustment. People who get plenty of sleep-but are awakened each time they begin to dream- become anxious and restless. | 1812.txt | 2 |
[
"is beneficial to people",
"disturbs people's life",
"makes people always restless",
"deprives people of a good sleep"
]
| We may infer form the passage that dreaming . | Dream is a story that a personwatchesor even takes part in during sleep. Dream events are imaginary, but they are related to real experiences and needs in the dreamer's life. They seem real while they are taking place. Some dreams are pleasant, others are annoying, and still others are frightening.
Everyone dreams, but some persons never recall dreaming. Others remember only a little about a dream they had just before awakening and nothing about earlier dreams. No one recalls all his dreams.
Dreams involve little logical thought. In most dreams, the dreamer cannot control what happens to him. The story may be confusing, and things happen that would not happen in real life.
People see in most dreams, but they may also hear, smell, touch, and taste in their dreams. Most dreams occur in color. but persons who have been blind since birth do not see at all in dreams.
Dreams are a product of the sleeper's mind. They include events and feelings that he has experienced. Most dreams are related to events of the day before the dream and strong wishes of the dreamer. Many minor incidents of the hours before sleep appear in dreams. Few events more than two days old turn up. Deep wishes or fears - especially those held since childhood- often appear in dreams, and many dreams fulfil such wishes. Events in the sleeper's surrounding- a loud noise, for example, may become part of a dream, but they do not cause dreams.
Some dreams involve deep feelings that a person may not realize he has. Psychiatrists（）often use material from a patient's dreams to help the person understand himself better.
Dreaming may help maintain good learning ability, memory, and emotional adjustment. People who get plenty of sleep-but are awakened each time they begin to dream- become anxious and restless. | 1812.txt | 0 |
[
"initiated",
"dominated",
"helped with",
"setup"
]
| The phrase "assisted in" in the passage(Paragraph 1)is closest in meaning to | We all know that many more people today are right-handed than left-handed. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward-a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand. Of 158 stencils in the French cave of Gargas, 136 have been identified as left, and only 22 as right; right-handedness was therefore heavily predominant.
Cave art furnishes other types of evidence of this phenomenon. Most engravings, for example, are best lit from the left, as befits the work of right-handed artists, who generally prefer to have the light source on the left so that the shadow of their hand does not fall on the tip of the engraving tool or brush. In the few cases where an Ice Age figure is depicted holding something, it is mostly, though not always, in the right hand.
Clues to right-handedness can also be found by other methods. Right-handers tend to have longer, stronger, and more muscular bones on the right side, and Marcellin Boule as long ago as 1911 noted the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton had a right upper arm bone that was noticeably stronger than the left. Similar observations have been made on other Neanderthal skeletons such as La Ferrassie I and Neanderthal itself.
Fractures and other cut marks are another source of evidence. Right-handed soldiers tend to be wounded on the left. The skeleton of a 40- or 50-year-old Nabatean warrior, buried 2,000 years ago in the Negev Desert, Israel, had multiple healed fractures to the skull, the left arm, and the ribs.
Tools themselves can be revealing. Long-handed Neolithic spoons of yew wood preserved in Alpine villages dating to 3000 B.C. have survived; the signs of rubbing on their left side indicate that their users were right-handed. The late Ice Age rope found in the French cave of Lascaux consists of fibers spiraling to the right, and was therefore tressed by a righthander.
Occasionally one can determine whether stone tools were used in the right hand or the left, and it is even possible to assess how far back this feature can be traced. In stone toolmaking experiments, Nick Toth, a right-hander, held the core (the stone that would become the tool) in his left hand and the hammer stone in his right. As the tool was made, the core was rotated clockwise, and the flakes, removed in sequence, had a little crescent of cortex (the core's outer surface) on the side. Toth's knapping produced 56 percent flakes with the cortex on the right, and 44 percent left-oriented flakes. A left-handed toolmaker would produce the opposite pattern. Toth has applied these criteria to the similarly made pebble tools from a number of early sites (before 1.5 million years) at Koobi Fora, Kenya, probably made by Homo habilis. At seven sites he found that 57 percent of the flakes were right-oriented, and 43 percent left, a pattern almost identical to that produced today.
About 90 percent of modern humans are right-handed: we are the only mammal with a preferential use of one hand. The part of the brain responsible for fine control and movement is located in the left cerebral hemisphere, and the findings above suggest that the human brain was already asymmetrical in its structure and function not long after 2 million years ago. Among Neanderthalers of 70,000-35,000 years ago, Marcellin Boule noted that the La Chapelle-aux-Saints individual had a left hemisphere slightly bigger than the right, and the same was found for brains of specimens from Neanderthal, Gibraltar, and La Quina. | 833.txt | 2 |
[
"there was no way to tell which hand was stenciled",
"the stenciled hand was the weaker hand",
"the stenciled hand was the dominant hand",
"artists stenciled more images of the dominant hand than they did of the weak"
]
| It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that even when paint was sprayed by mouth to make a hand stencil | We all know that many more people today are right-handed than left-handed. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward-a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand. Of 158 stencils in the French cave of Gargas, 136 have been identified as left, and only 22 as right; right-handedness was therefore heavily predominant.
Cave art furnishes other types of evidence of this phenomenon. Most engravings, for example, are best lit from the left, as befits the work of right-handed artists, who generally prefer to have the light source on the left so that the shadow of their hand does not fall on the tip of the engraving tool or brush. In the few cases where an Ice Age figure is depicted holding something, it is mostly, though not always, in the right hand.
Clues to right-handedness can also be found by other methods. Right-handers tend to have longer, stronger, and more muscular bones on the right side, and Marcellin Boule as long ago as 1911 noted the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton had a right upper arm bone that was noticeably stronger than the left. Similar observations have been made on other Neanderthal skeletons such as La Ferrassie I and Neanderthal itself.
Fractures and other cut marks are another source of evidence. Right-handed soldiers tend to be wounded on the left. The skeleton of a 40- or 50-year-old Nabatean warrior, buried 2,000 years ago in the Negev Desert, Israel, had multiple healed fractures to the skull, the left arm, and the ribs.
Tools themselves can be revealing. Long-handed Neolithic spoons of yew wood preserved in Alpine villages dating to 3000 B.C. have survived; the signs of rubbing on their left side indicate that their users were right-handed. The late Ice Age rope found in the French cave of Lascaux consists of fibers spiraling to the right, and was therefore tressed by a righthander.
Occasionally one can determine whether stone tools were used in the right hand or the left, and it is even possible to assess how far back this feature can be traced. In stone toolmaking experiments, Nick Toth, a right-hander, held the core (the stone that would become the tool) in his left hand and the hammer stone in his right. As the tool was made, the core was rotated clockwise, and the flakes, removed in sequence, had a little crescent of cortex (the core's outer surface) on the side. Toth's knapping produced 56 percent flakes with the cortex on the right, and 44 percent left-oriented flakes. A left-handed toolmaker would produce the opposite pattern. Toth has applied these criteria to the similarly made pebble tools from a number of early sites (before 1.5 million years) at Koobi Fora, Kenya, probably made by Homo habilis. At seven sites he found that 57 percent of the flakes were right-oriented, and 43 percent left, a pattern almost identical to that produced today.
About 90 percent of modern humans are right-handed: we are the only mammal with a preferential use of one hand. The part of the brain responsible for fine control and movement is located in the left cerebral hemisphere, and the findings above suggest that the human brain was already asymmetrical in its structure and function not long after 2 million years ago. Among Neanderthalers of 70,000-35,000 years ago, Marcellin Boule noted that the La Chapelle-aux-Saints individual had a left hemisphere slightly bigger than the right, and the same was found for brains of specimens from Neanderthal, Gibraltar, and La Quina. | 833.txt | 1 |
[
"identified",
"revealed",
"pictured",
"imagined"
]
| The phrase "depicted" in the passage(Paragraph 2)is closest in meaning to | We all know that many more people today are right-handed than left-handed. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward-a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand. Of 158 stencils in the French cave of Gargas, 136 have been identified as left, and only 22 as right; right-handedness was therefore heavily predominant.
Cave art furnishes other types of evidence of this phenomenon. Most engravings, for example, are best lit from the left, as befits the work of right-handed artists, who generally prefer to have the light source on the left so that the shadow of their hand does not fall on the tip of the engraving tool or brush. In the few cases where an Ice Age figure is depicted holding something, it is mostly, though not always, in the right hand.
Clues to right-handedness can also be found by other methods. Right-handers tend to have longer, stronger, and more muscular bones on the right side, and Marcellin Boule as long ago as 1911 noted the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton had a right upper arm bone that was noticeably stronger than the left. Similar observations have been made on other Neanderthal skeletons such as La Ferrassie I and Neanderthal itself.
Fractures and other cut marks are another source of evidence. Right-handed soldiers tend to be wounded on the left. The skeleton of a 40- or 50-year-old Nabatean warrior, buried 2,000 years ago in the Negev Desert, Israel, had multiple healed fractures to the skull, the left arm, and the ribs.
Tools themselves can be revealing. Long-handed Neolithic spoons of yew wood preserved in Alpine villages dating to 3000 B.C. have survived; the signs of rubbing on their left side indicate that their users were right-handed. The late Ice Age rope found in the French cave of Lascaux consists of fibers spiraling to the right, and was therefore tressed by a righthander.
Occasionally one can determine whether stone tools were used in the right hand or the left, and it is even possible to assess how far back this feature can be traced. In stone toolmaking experiments, Nick Toth, a right-hander, held the core (the stone that would become the tool) in his left hand and the hammer stone in his right. As the tool was made, the core was rotated clockwise, and the flakes, removed in sequence, had a little crescent of cortex (the core's outer surface) on the side. Toth's knapping produced 56 percent flakes with the cortex on the right, and 44 percent left-oriented flakes. A left-handed toolmaker would produce the opposite pattern. Toth has applied these criteria to the similarly made pebble tools from a number of early sites (before 1.5 million years) at Koobi Fora, Kenya, probably made by Homo habilis. At seven sites he found that 57 percent of the flakes were right-oriented, and 43 percent left, a pattern almost identical to that produced today.
About 90 percent of modern humans are right-handed: we are the only mammal with a preferential use of one hand. The part of the brain responsible for fine control and movement is located in the left cerebral hemisphere, and the findings above suggest that the human brain was already asymmetrical in its structure and function not long after 2 million years ago. Among Neanderthalers of 70,000-35,000 years ago, Marcellin Boule noted that the La Chapelle-aux-Saints individual had a left hemisphere slightly bigger than the right, and the same was found for brains of specimens from Neanderthal, Gibraltar, and La Quina. | 833.txt | 2 |
[
"the ideal source of lighting for most engravings",
"the fact that a left hand stenciled palm upward might look like a right hand",
"the prevalence of outlines of left hands",
"figures in prehistoric art holding objects with the right hand"
]
| All of the following are mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2 as evidence of right-handedness in art and artists EXCEPT | We all know that many more people today are right-handed than left-handed. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward-a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand. Of 158 stencils in the French cave of Gargas, 136 have been identified as left, and only 22 as right; right-handedness was therefore heavily predominant.
Cave art furnishes other types of evidence of this phenomenon. Most engravings, for example, are best lit from the left, as befits the work of right-handed artists, who generally prefer to have the light source on the left so that the shadow of their hand does not fall on the tip of the engraving tool or brush. In the few cases where an Ice Age figure is depicted holding something, it is mostly, though not always, in the right hand.
Clues to right-handedness can also be found by other methods. Right-handers tend to have longer, stronger, and more muscular bones on the right side, and Marcellin Boule as long ago as 1911 noted the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton had a right upper arm bone that was noticeably stronger than the left. Similar observations have been made on other Neanderthal skeletons such as La Ferrassie I and Neanderthal itself.
Fractures and other cut marks are another source of evidence. Right-handed soldiers tend to be wounded on the left. The skeleton of a 40- or 50-year-old Nabatean warrior, buried 2,000 years ago in the Negev Desert, Israel, had multiple healed fractures to the skull, the left arm, and the ribs.
Tools themselves can be revealing. Long-handed Neolithic spoons of yew wood preserved in Alpine villages dating to 3000 B.C. have survived; the signs of rubbing on their left side indicate that their users were right-handed. The late Ice Age rope found in the French cave of Lascaux consists of fibers spiraling to the right, and was therefore tressed by a righthander.
Occasionally one can determine whether stone tools were used in the right hand or the left, and it is even possible to assess how far back this feature can be traced. In stone toolmaking experiments, Nick Toth, a right-hander, held the core (the stone that would become the tool) in his left hand and the hammer stone in his right. As the tool was made, the core was rotated clockwise, and the flakes, removed in sequence, had a little crescent of cortex (the core's outer surface) on the side. Toth's knapping produced 56 percent flakes with the cortex on the right, and 44 percent left-oriented flakes. A left-handed toolmaker would produce the opposite pattern. Toth has applied these criteria to the similarly made pebble tools from a number of early sites (before 1.5 million years) at Koobi Fora, Kenya, probably made by Homo habilis. At seven sites he found that 57 percent of the flakes were right-oriented, and 43 percent left, a pattern almost identical to that produced today.
About 90 percent of modern humans are right-handed: we are the only mammal with a preferential use of one hand. The part of the brain responsible for fine control and movement is located in the left cerebral hemisphere, and the findings above suggest that the human brain was already asymmetrical in its structure and function not long after 2 million years ago. Among Neanderthalers of 70,000-35,000 years ago, Marcellin Boule noted that the La Chapelle-aux-Saints individual had a left hemisphere slightly bigger than the right, and the same was found for brains of specimens from Neanderthal, Gibraltar, and La Quina. | 833.txt | 1 |
[
"other Neanderthal skeletons found nearby are also right-handed",
"the right arm bone is stronger than the left",
"it is similar to skeletons of La Ferrassie I and Neanderthal",
"the right side of the skeleton shows less evidence of fractures"
]
| According to paragraph 3, the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton can be identified as right-handed because | We all know that many more people today are right-handed than left-handed. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward-a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand. Of 158 stencils in the French cave of Gargas, 136 have been identified as left, and only 22 as right; right-handedness was therefore heavily predominant.
Cave art furnishes other types of evidence of this phenomenon. Most engravings, for example, are best lit from the left, as befits the work of right-handed artists, who generally prefer to have the light source on the left so that the shadow of their hand does not fall on the tip of the engraving tool or brush. In the few cases where an Ice Age figure is depicted holding something, it is mostly, though not always, in the right hand.
Clues to right-handedness can also be found by other methods. Right-handers tend to have longer, stronger, and more muscular bones on the right side, and Marcellin Boule as long ago as 1911 noted the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton had a right upper arm bone that was noticeably stronger than the left. Similar observations have been made on other Neanderthal skeletons such as La Ferrassie I and Neanderthal itself.
Fractures and other cut marks are another source of evidence. Right-handed soldiers tend to be wounded on the left. The skeleton of a 40- or 50-year-old Nabatean warrior, buried 2,000 years ago in the Negev Desert, Israel, had multiple healed fractures to the skull, the left arm, and the ribs.
Tools themselves can be revealing. Long-handed Neolithic spoons of yew wood preserved in Alpine villages dating to 3000 B.C. have survived; the signs of rubbing on their left side indicate that their users were right-handed. The late Ice Age rope found in the French cave of Lascaux consists of fibers spiraling to the right, and was therefore tressed by a righthander.
Occasionally one can determine whether stone tools were used in the right hand or the left, and it is even possible to assess how far back this feature can be traced. In stone toolmaking experiments, Nick Toth, a right-hander, held the core (the stone that would become the tool) in his left hand and the hammer stone in his right. As the tool was made, the core was rotated clockwise, and the flakes, removed in sequence, had a little crescent of cortex (the core's outer surface) on the side. Toth's knapping produced 56 percent flakes with the cortex on the right, and 44 percent left-oriented flakes. A left-handed toolmaker would produce the opposite pattern. Toth has applied these criteria to the similarly made pebble tools from a number of early sites (before 1.5 million years) at Koobi Fora, Kenya, probably made by Homo habilis. At seven sites he found that 57 percent of the flakes were right-oriented, and 43 percent left, a pattern almost identical to that produced today.
About 90 percent of modern humans are right-handed: we are the only mammal with a preferential use of one hand. The part of the brain responsible for fine control and movement is located in the left cerebral hemisphere, and the findings above suggest that the human brain was already asymmetrical in its structure and function not long after 2 million years ago. Among Neanderthalers of 70,000-35,000 years ago, Marcellin Boule noted that the La Chapelle-aux-Saints individual had a left hemisphere slightly bigger than the right, and the same was found for brains of specimens from Neanderthal, Gibraltar, and La Quina. | 833.txt | 1 |
[
"Fractures and cut marks caused by right-handed soldiers tend to occur on the right side of the injured party's body.",
"The right arm sustains more injuries because, as the dominant arm, it is used more actively.",
"In most people, the left side of the body is more vulnerable to injury since it is not defended effectively by the dominant arm.",
"Fractures and cut marks on fossil humans probably occurred after death."
]
| Which of the following statements about fractures and cut marks can be inferred from paragraph 4? | We all know that many more people today are right-handed than left-handed. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward-a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand. Of 158 stencils in the French cave of Gargas, 136 have been identified as left, and only 22 as right; right-handedness was therefore heavily predominant.
Cave art furnishes other types of evidence of this phenomenon. Most engravings, for example, are best lit from the left, as befits the work of right-handed artists, who generally prefer to have the light source on the left so that the shadow of their hand does not fall on the tip of the engraving tool or brush. In the few cases where an Ice Age figure is depicted holding something, it is mostly, though not always, in the right hand.
Clues to right-handedness can also be found by other methods. Right-handers tend to have longer, stronger, and more muscular bones on the right side, and Marcellin Boule as long ago as 1911 noted the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton had a right upper arm bone that was noticeably stronger than the left. Similar observations have been made on other Neanderthal skeletons such as La Ferrassie I and Neanderthal itself.
Fractures and other cut marks are another source of evidence. Right-handed soldiers tend to be wounded on the left. The skeleton of a 40- or 50-year-old Nabatean warrior, buried 2,000 years ago in the Negev Desert, Israel, had multiple healed fractures to the skull, the left arm, and the ribs.
Tools themselves can be revealing. Long-handed Neolithic spoons of yew wood preserved in Alpine villages dating to 3000 B.C. have survived; the signs of rubbing on their left side indicate that their users were right-handed. The late Ice Age rope found in the French cave of Lascaux consists of fibers spiraling to the right, and was therefore tressed by a righthander.
Occasionally one can determine whether stone tools were used in the right hand or the left, and it is even possible to assess how far back this feature can be traced. In stone toolmaking experiments, Nick Toth, a right-hander, held the core (the stone that would become the tool) in his left hand and the hammer stone in his right. As the tool was made, the core was rotated clockwise, and the flakes, removed in sequence, had a little crescent of cortex (the core's outer surface) on the side. Toth's knapping produced 56 percent flakes with the cortex on the right, and 44 percent left-oriented flakes. A left-handed toolmaker would produce the opposite pattern. Toth has applied these criteria to the similarly made pebble tools from a number of early sites (before 1.5 million years) at Koobi Fora, Kenya, probably made by Homo habilis. At seven sites he found that 57 percent of the flakes were right-oriented, and 43 percent left, a pattern almost identical to that produced today.
About 90 percent of modern humans are right-handed: we are the only mammal with a preferential use of one hand. The part of the brain responsible for fine control and movement is located in the left cerebral hemisphere, and the findings above suggest that the human brain was already asymmetrical in its structure and function not long after 2 million years ago. Among Neanderthalers of 70,000-35,000 years ago, Marcellin Boule noted that the La Chapelle-aux-Saints individual had a left hemisphere slightly bigger than the right, and the same was found for brains of specimens from Neanderthal, Gibraltar, and La Quina. | 833.txt | 2 |
[
"The direction of the fibers",
"Its long handle",
"The yew wood it is carved from",
"Wear on its left side"
]
| According to paragraph 5, what characteristic of a Neolithic spoon would imply that the spoon's owner was right-handed? | We all know that many more people today are right-handed than left-handed. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward-a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand. Of 158 stencils in the French cave of Gargas, 136 have been identified as left, and only 22 as right; right-handedness was therefore heavily predominant.
Cave art furnishes other types of evidence of this phenomenon. Most engravings, for example, are best lit from the left, as befits the work of right-handed artists, who generally prefer to have the light source on the left so that the shadow of their hand does not fall on the tip of the engraving tool or brush. In the few cases where an Ice Age figure is depicted holding something, it is mostly, though not always, in the right hand.
Clues to right-handedness can also be found by other methods. Right-handers tend to have longer, stronger, and more muscular bones on the right side, and Marcellin Boule as long ago as 1911 noted the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton had a right upper arm bone that was noticeably stronger than the left. Similar observations have been made on other Neanderthal skeletons such as La Ferrassie I and Neanderthal itself.
Fractures and other cut marks are another source of evidence. Right-handed soldiers tend to be wounded on the left. The skeleton of a 40- or 50-year-old Nabatean warrior, buried 2,000 years ago in the Negev Desert, Israel, had multiple healed fractures to the skull, the left arm, and the ribs.
Tools themselves can be revealing. Long-handed Neolithic spoons of yew wood preserved in Alpine villages dating to 3000 B.C. have survived; the signs of rubbing on their left side indicate that their users were right-handed. The late Ice Age rope found in the French cave of Lascaux consists of fibers spiraling to the right, and was therefore tressed by a righthander.
Occasionally one can determine whether stone tools were used in the right hand or the left, and it is even possible to assess how far back this feature can be traced. In stone toolmaking experiments, Nick Toth, a right-hander, held the core (the stone that would become the tool) in his left hand and the hammer stone in his right. As the tool was made, the core was rotated clockwise, and the flakes, removed in sequence, had a little crescent of cortex (the core's outer surface) on the side. Toth's knapping produced 56 percent flakes with the cortex on the right, and 44 percent left-oriented flakes. A left-handed toolmaker would produce the opposite pattern. Toth has applied these criteria to the similarly made pebble tools from a number of early sites (before 1.5 million years) at Koobi Fora, Kenya, probably made by Homo habilis. At seven sites he found that 57 percent of the flakes were right-oriented, and 43 percent left, a pattern almost identical to that produced today.
About 90 percent of modern humans are right-handed: we are the only mammal with a preferential use of one hand. The part of the brain responsible for fine control and movement is located in the left cerebral hemisphere, and the findings above suggest that the human brain was already asymmetrical in its structure and function not long after 2 million years ago. Among Neanderthalers of 70,000-35,000 years ago, Marcellin Boule noted that the La Chapelle-aux-Saints individual had a left hemisphere slightly bigger than the right, and the same was found for brains of specimens from Neanderthal, Gibraltar, and La Quina. | 833.txt | 3 |
[
"As an example of an item on which the marks of wear imply that it was used by a right-handed person",
"Because tressing is an activity that is easier for a right-handed person than for a left-handed person",
"Because the cave of Lascaux is the site where researchers have found several prehistoric tools made for right-handed people",
"As an example of an item whose construction shows that it was right handed made by a right-person"
]
| In paragraph 5, why does the author mention the Ice Age rope found in the French cave of Lascaux? | We all know that many more people today are right-handed than left-handed. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward-a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand. Of 158 stencils in the French cave of Gargas, 136 have been identified as left, and only 22 as right; right-handedness was therefore heavily predominant.
Cave art furnishes other types of evidence of this phenomenon. Most engravings, for example, are best lit from the left, as befits the work of right-handed artists, who generally prefer to have the light source on the left so that the shadow of their hand does not fall on the tip of the engraving tool or brush. In the few cases where an Ice Age figure is depicted holding something, it is mostly, though not always, in the right hand.
Clues to right-handedness can also be found by other methods. Right-handers tend to have longer, stronger, and more muscular bones on the right side, and Marcellin Boule as long ago as 1911 noted the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton had a right upper arm bone that was noticeably stronger than the left. Similar observations have been made on other Neanderthal skeletons such as La Ferrassie I and Neanderthal itself.
Fractures and other cut marks are another source of evidence. Right-handed soldiers tend to be wounded on the left. The skeleton of a 40- or 50-year-old Nabatean warrior, buried 2,000 years ago in the Negev Desert, Israel, had multiple healed fractures to the skull, the left arm, and the ribs.
Tools themselves can be revealing. Long-handed Neolithic spoons of yew wood preserved in Alpine villages dating to 3000 B.C. have survived; the signs of rubbing on their left side indicate that their users were right-handed. The late Ice Age rope found in the French cave of Lascaux consists of fibers spiraling to the right, and was therefore tressed by a righthander.
Occasionally one can determine whether stone tools were used in the right hand or the left, and it is even possible to assess how far back this feature can be traced. In stone toolmaking experiments, Nick Toth, a right-hander, held the core (the stone that would become the tool) in his left hand and the hammer stone in his right. As the tool was made, the core was rotated clockwise, and the flakes, removed in sequence, had a little crescent of cortex (the core's outer surface) on the side. Toth's knapping produced 56 percent flakes with the cortex on the right, and 44 percent left-oriented flakes. A left-handed toolmaker would produce the opposite pattern. Toth has applied these criteria to the similarly made pebble tools from a number of early sites (before 1.5 million years) at Koobi Fora, Kenya, probably made by Homo habilis. At seven sites he found that 57 percent of the flakes were right-oriented, and 43 percent left, a pattern almost identical to that produced today.
About 90 percent of modern humans are right-handed: we are the only mammal with a preferential use of one hand. The part of the brain responsible for fine control and movement is located in the left cerebral hemisphere, and the findings above suggest that the human brain was already asymmetrical in its structure and function not long after 2 million years ago. Among Neanderthalers of 70,000-35,000 years ago, Marcellin Boule noted that the La Chapelle-aux-Saints individual had a left hemisphere slightly bigger than the right, and the same was found for brains of specimens from Neanderthal, Gibraltar, and La Quina. | 833.txt | 3 |
[
"standards",
"findings",
"ideas",
"techniques"
]
| The word "criteria" in the passage(Paragraph 6)is closest in meaning to | We all know that many more people today are right-handed than left-handed. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward-a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand. Of 158 stencils in the French cave of Gargas, 136 have been identified as left, and only 22 as right; right-handedness was therefore heavily predominant.
Cave art furnishes other types of evidence of this phenomenon. Most engravings, for example, are best lit from the left, as befits the work of right-handed artists, who generally prefer to have the light source on the left so that the shadow of their hand does not fall on the tip of the engraving tool or brush. In the few cases where an Ice Age figure is depicted holding something, it is mostly, though not always, in the right hand.
Clues to right-handedness can also be found by other methods. Right-handers tend to have longer, stronger, and more muscular bones on the right side, and Marcellin Boule as long ago as 1911 noted the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton had a right upper arm bone that was noticeably stronger than the left. Similar observations have been made on other Neanderthal skeletons such as La Ferrassie I and Neanderthal itself.
Fractures and other cut marks are another source of evidence. Right-handed soldiers tend to be wounded on the left. The skeleton of a 40- or 50-year-old Nabatean warrior, buried 2,000 years ago in the Negev Desert, Israel, had multiple healed fractures to the skull, the left arm, and the ribs.
Tools themselves can be revealing. Long-handed Neolithic spoons of yew wood preserved in Alpine villages dating to 3000 B.C. have survived; the signs of rubbing on their left side indicate that their users were right-handed. The late Ice Age rope found in the French cave of Lascaux consists of fibers spiraling to the right, and was therefore tressed by a righthander.
Occasionally one can determine whether stone tools were used in the right hand or the left, and it is even possible to assess how far back this feature can be traced. In stone toolmaking experiments, Nick Toth, a right-hander, held the core (the stone that would become the tool) in his left hand and the hammer stone in his right. As the tool was made, the core was rotated clockwise, and the flakes, removed in sequence, had a little crescent of cortex (the core's outer surface) on the side. Toth's knapping produced 56 percent flakes with the cortex on the right, and 44 percent left-oriented flakes. A left-handed toolmaker would produce the opposite pattern. Toth has applied these criteria to the similarly made pebble tools from a number of early sites (before 1.5 million years) at Koobi Fora, Kenya, probably made by Homo habilis. At seven sites he found that 57 percent of the flakes were right-oriented, and 43 percent left, a pattern almost identical to that produced today.
About 90 percent of modern humans are right-handed: we are the only mammal with a preferential use of one hand. The part of the brain responsible for fine control and movement is located in the left cerebral hemisphere, and the findings above suggest that the human brain was already asymmetrical in its structure and function not long after 2 million years ago. Among Neanderthalers of 70,000-35,000 years ago, Marcellin Boule noted that the La Chapelle-aux-Saints individual had a left hemisphere slightly bigger than the right, and the same was found for brains of specimens from Neanderthal, Gibraltar, and La Quina. | 833.txt | 0 |
[
"To shape tools that could be used by either hand",
"To produce replicas of early tools for display in museums",
"To imitate the production of pebble tools from early sites",
"To determine which hand made the early tools"
]
| What was the purpose of Toth's tool making experiment described in paragraph 6? | We all know that many more people today are right-handed than left-handed. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward-a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand. Of 158 stencils in the French cave of Gargas, 136 have been identified as left, and only 22 as right; right-handedness was therefore heavily predominant.
Cave art furnishes other types of evidence of this phenomenon. Most engravings, for example, are best lit from the left, as befits the work of right-handed artists, who generally prefer to have the light source on the left so that the shadow of their hand does not fall on the tip of the engraving tool or brush. In the few cases where an Ice Age figure is depicted holding something, it is mostly, though not always, in the right hand.
Clues to right-handedness can also be found by other methods. Right-handers tend to have longer, stronger, and more muscular bones on the right side, and Marcellin Boule as long ago as 1911 noted the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton had a right upper arm bone that was noticeably stronger than the left. Similar observations have been made on other Neanderthal skeletons such as La Ferrassie I and Neanderthal itself.
Fractures and other cut marks are another source of evidence. Right-handed soldiers tend to be wounded on the left. The skeleton of a 40- or 50-year-old Nabatean warrior, buried 2,000 years ago in the Negev Desert, Israel, had multiple healed fractures to the skull, the left arm, and the ribs.
Tools themselves can be revealing. Long-handed Neolithic spoons of yew wood preserved in Alpine villages dating to 3000 B.C. have survived; the signs of rubbing on their left side indicate that their users were right-handed. The late Ice Age rope found in the French cave of Lascaux consists of fibers spiraling to the right, and was therefore tressed by a righthander.
Occasionally one can determine whether stone tools were used in the right hand or the left, and it is even possible to assess how far back this feature can be traced. In stone toolmaking experiments, Nick Toth, a right-hander, held the core (the stone that would become the tool) in his left hand and the hammer stone in his right. As the tool was made, the core was rotated clockwise, and the flakes, removed in sequence, had a little crescent of cortex (the core's outer surface) on the side. Toth's knapping produced 56 percent flakes with the cortex on the right, and 44 percent left-oriented flakes. A left-handed toolmaker would produce the opposite pattern. Toth has applied these criteria to the similarly made pebble tools from a number of early sites (before 1.5 million years) at Koobi Fora, Kenya, probably made by Homo habilis. At seven sites he found that 57 percent of the flakes were right-oriented, and 43 percent left, a pattern almost identical to that produced today.
About 90 percent of modern humans are right-handed: we are the only mammal with a preferential use of one hand. The part of the brain responsible for fine control and movement is located in the left cerebral hemisphere, and the findings above suggest that the human brain was already asymmetrical in its structure and function not long after 2 million years ago. Among Neanderthalers of 70,000-35,000 years ago, Marcellin Boule noted that the La Chapelle-aux-Saints individual had a left hemisphere slightly bigger than the right, and the same was found for brains of specimens from Neanderthal, Gibraltar, and La Quina. | 833.txt | 3 |
[
"To illustrate the importance of studying the brain",
"To demonstrate that human beings are the only mammal to desire fine control of movement",
"To contrast the functions of the two hemispheres of the brain",
"To demonstrate that right-hand preference has existed for a long time"
]
| What is the author's primary purpose in paragraph 7? | We all know that many more people today are right-handed than left-handed. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward-a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand. Of 158 stencils in the French cave of Gargas, 136 have been identified as left, and only 22 as right; right-handedness was therefore heavily predominant.
Cave art furnishes other types of evidence of this phenomenon. Most engravings, for example, are best lit from the left, as befits the work of right-handed artists, who generally prefer to have the light source on the left so that the shadow of their hand does not fall on the tip of the engraving tool or brush. In the few cases where an Ice Age figure is depicted holding something, it is mostly, though not always, in the right hand.
Clues to right-handedness can also be found by other methods. Right-handers tend to have longer, stronger, and more muscular bones on the right side, and Marcellin Boule as long ago as 1911 noted the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton had a right upper arm bone that was noticeably stronger than the left. Similar observations have been made on other Neanderthal skeletons such as La Ferrassie I and Neanderthal itself.
Fractures and other cut marks are another source of evidence. Right-handed soldiers tend to be wounded on the left. The skeleton of a 40- or 50-year-old Nabatean warrior, buried 2,000 years ago in the Negev Desert, Israel, had multiple healed fractures to the skull, the left arm, and the ribs.
Tools themselves can be revealing. Long-handed Neolithic spoons of yew wood preserved in Alpine villages dating to 3000 B.C. have survived; the signs of rubbing on their left side indicate that their users were right-handed. The late Ice Age rope found in the French cave of Lascaux consists of fibers spiraling to the right, and was therefore tressed by a righthander.
Occasionally one can determine whether stone tools were used in the right hand or the left, and it is even possible to assess how far back this feature can be traced. In stone toolmaking experiments, Nick Toth, a right-hander, held the core (the stone that would become the tool) in his left hand and the hammer stone in his right. As the tool was made, the core was rotated clockwise, and the flakes, removed in sequence, had a little crescent of cortex (the core's outer surface) on the side. Toth's knapping produced 56 percent flakes with the cortex on the right, and 44 percent left-oriented flakes. A left-handed toolmaker would produce the opposite pattern. Toth has applied these criteria to the similarly made pebble tools from a number of early sites (before 1.5 million years) at Koobi Fora, Kenya, probably made by Homo habilis. At seven sites he found that 57 percent of the flakes were right-oriented, and 43 percent left, a pattern almost identical to that produced today.
About 90 percent of modern humans are right-handed: we are the only mammal with a preferential use of one hand. The part of the brain responsible for fine control and movement is located in the left cerebral hemisphere, and the findings above suggest that the human brain was already asymmetrical in its structure and function not long after 2 million years ago. Among Neanderthalers of 70,000-35,000 years ago, Marcellin Boule noted that the La Chapelle-aux-Saints individual had a left hemisphere slightly bigger than the right, and the same was found for brains of specimens from Neanderthal, Gibraltar, and La Quina. | 833.txt | 3 |
[
"learnt",
"identical",
"alike",
"instinctive"
]
| The ways humans of different cultures display the expressions of pride and shame are _ . | Whether you are a gorilla, a four-year-old child, a politician or an Olympic athlete, the signs of victory are obvious for all to see: the chest inflates, the head is thrown back and the victor displays a strutting and confident air. Shame at being defeated is equally recognizable: the head bows, and sometimes the shoulders slump and the chest narrows too-something that is not a million miles away from the cringing postures associated with submission in animals, from chimpanzees to rats, rabbits and even salamanders. Are these displays of pride and shame common to all humans? If they are, they will have evolved to serve some function.
The past week in Beijing demonstrates that different cultures do indeed show similar displays of pride and shame. But it is difficult to say if these reactions are instinctive or learnt. Jessica Tracy at the University of British Columbia and David Matsumoto at San Francisco State University decided to explore this by comparing pictures of blind and sighted athletes from different cultures.
In their research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team analyzed images from the judo competition held in the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games. They looked for whether or not competitors indulged in post-match behavior such as tilting their heads back, raising their arms or expanding their chests in victory, or hiding their face or narrowing their chests in defeat. They found that in response to success and failure, people from different cultures displayed the stereotypical gestures of pride and some of the components of expressions of shame. This included the blind competitors-even those blind from birth.
Although the researchers say that congenitally blind children might have been taught by their parents to lift their hands above their heads after a victory, they speculate that it would be harder to teach them the full spectrum of displays they witnessed. These findings, then, imply that displays of pride are not simply cultural stereotypes learnt after birth, but an innate form of behavior that was relevant to the way humans lived. A display of pride（or shame）, in other words, may be an evolved and innate behavioral response.
Why? Such displays may have an evolutionary function. People could be advertising their accomplishments and ensuring their status and acceptance within their social group. Similarly, shame shows acceptance of a defeat and a reluctance to fight on（which may help to avoid further aggression）, and so might well be a display of submission.
The researchers also found that the behavioral response to shame was weaker in sighted athletes from cultures that were individualistic-or" self-expression valuing" -societies in the West. They suggest that athletes from these parts were suppressing responses in accordance with" cultural norms" that stigmatize displays of shame. If so, this would explain why the congenitally blind displayed more shame in defeat than did people who became blind later in life.
Culture has a lot to do with displays of victory, whether it is the two-fingered" V" salute or footballers removing their clothing. Both are culturally influenced, but they have their roots in showing exactly who is on top. | 529.txt | 2 |
[
"discover whether displays of pride and shame are culturally determined or innate",
"find out how differently blind and sighted athletes would display pride and shame",
"pinpoint how being blind can influence people's specific behaviors",
"compare the behaviors of athletes from different cultural backgrounds"
]
| We can infer from the text that the object of the study is to _ . | Whether you are a gorilla, a four-year-old child, a politician or an Olympic athlete, the signs of victory are obvious for all to see: the chest inflates, the head is thrown back and the victor displays a strutting and confident air. Shame at being defeated is equally recognizable: the head bows, and sometimes the shoulders slump and the chest narrows too-something that is not a million miles away from the cringing postures associated with submission in animals, from chimpanzees to rats, rabbits and even salamanders. Are these displays of pride and shame common to all humans? If they are, they will have evolved to serve some function.
The past week in Beijing demonstrates that different cultures do indeed show similar displays of pride and shame. But it is difficult to say if these reactions are instinctive or learnt. Jessica Tracy at the University of British Columbia and David Matsumoto at San Francisco State University decided to explore this by comparing pictures of blind and sighted athletes from different cultures.
In their research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team analyzed images from the judo competition held in the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games. They looked for whether or not competitors indulged in post-match behavior such as tilting their heads back, raising their arms or expanding their chests in victory, or hiding their face or narrowing their chests in defeat. They found that in response to success and failure, people from different cultures displayed the stereotypical gestures of pride and some of the components of expressions of shame. This included the blind competitors-even those blind from birth.
Although the researchers say that congenitally blind children might have been taught by their parents to lift their hands above their heads after a victory, they speculate that it would be harder to teach them the full spectrum of displays they witnessed. These findings, then, imply that displays of pride are not simply cultural stereotypes learnt after birth, but an innate form of behavior that was relevant to the way humans lived. A display of pride（or shame）, in other words, may be an evolved and innate behavioral response.
Why? Such displays may have an evolutionary function. People could be advertising their accomplishments and ensuring their status and acceptance within their social group. Similarly, shame shows acceptance of a defeat and a reluctance to fight on（which may help to avoid further aggression）, and so might well be a display of submission.
The researchers also found that the behavioral response to shame was weaker in sighted athletes from cultures that were individualistic-or" self-expression valuing" -societies in the West. They suggest that athletes from these parts were suppressing responses in accordance with" cultural norms" that stigmatize displays of shame. If so, this would explain why the congenitally blind displayed more shame in defeat than did people who became blind later in life.
Culture has a lot to do with displays of victory, whether it is the two-fingered" V" salute or footballers removing their clothing. Both are culturally influenced, but they have their roots in showing exactly who is on top. | 529.txt | 0 |
[
"a manual on scientific research",
"an academic conference",
"an online academic forum",
"an academic journal"
]
| Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, according to the text, is probably _ . | Whether you are a gorilla, a four-year-old child, a politician or an Olympic athlete, the signs of victory are obvious for all to see: the chest inflates, the head is thrown back and the victor displays a strutting and confident air. Shame at being defeated is equally recognizable: the head bows, and sometimes the shoulders slump and the chest narrows too-something that is not a million miles away from the cringing postures associated with submission in animals, from chimpanzees to rats, rabbits and even salamanders. Are these displays of pride and shame common to all humans? If they are, they will have evolved to serve some function.
The past week in Beijing demonstrates that different cultures do indeed show similar displays of pride and shame. But it is difficult to say if these reactions are instinctive or learnt. Jessica Tracy at the University of British Columbia and David Matsumoto at San Francisco State University decided to explore this by comparing pictures of blind and sighted athletes from different cultures.
In their research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team analyzed images from the judo competition held in the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games. They looked for whether or not competitors indulged in post-match behavior such as tilting their heads back, raising their arms or expanding their chests in victory, or hiding their face or narrowing their chests in defeat. They found that in response to success and failure, people from different cultures displayed the stereotypical gestures of pride and some of the components of expressions of shame. This included the blind competitors-even those blind from birth.
Although the researchers say that congenitally blind children might have been taught by their parents to lift their hands above their heads after a victory, they speculate that it would be harder to teach them the full spectrum of displays they witnessed. These findings, then, imply that displays of pride are not simply cultural stereotypes learnt after birth, but an innate form of behavior that was relevant to the way humans lived. A display of pride（or shame）, in other words, may be an evolved and innate behavioral response.
Why? Such displays may have an evolutionary function. People could be advertising their accomplishments and ensuring their status and acceptance within their social group. Similarly, shame shows acceptance of a defeat and a reluctance to fight on（which may help to avoid further aggression）, and so might well be a display of submission.
The researchers also found that the behavioral response to shame was weaker in sighted athletes from cultures that were individualistic-or" self-expression valuing" -societies in the West. They suggest that athletes from these parts were suppressing responses in accordance with" cultural norms" that stigmatize displays of shame. If so, this would explain why the congenitally blind displayed more shame in defeat than did people who became blind later in life.
Culture has a lot to do with displays of victory, whether it is the two-fingered" V" salute or footballers removing their clothing. Both are culturally influenced, but they have their roots in showing exactly who is on top. | 529.txt | 3 |
[
"they are in favor of evolutionary progress",
"they want to be accepted by a social group and protect themselves",
"they are required by their culture to show these emotions",
"they want to fight for victory and avoid failure"
]
| According to the text, people display pride or shame probably because _ . | Whether you are a gorilla, a four-year-old child, a politician or an Olympic athlete, the signs of victory are obvious for all to see: the chest inflates, the head is thrown back and the victor displays a strutting and confident air. Shame at being defeated is equally recognizable: the head bows, and sometimes the shoulders slump and the chest narrows too-something that is not a million miles away from the cringing postures associated with submission in animals, from chimpanzees to rats, rabbits and even salamanders. Are these displays of pride and shame common to all humans? If they are, they will have evolved to serve some function.
The past week in Beijing demonstrates that different cultures do indeed show similar displays of pride and shame. But it is difficult to say if these reactions are instinctive or learnt. Jessica Tracy at the University of British Columbia and David Matsumoto at San Francisco State University decided to explore this by comparing pictures of blind and sighted athletes from different cultures.
In their research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team analyzed images from the judo competition held in the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games. They looked for whether or not competitors indulged in post-match behavior such as tilting their heads back, raising their arms or expanding their chests in victory, or hiding their face or narrowing their chests in defeat. They found that in response to success and failure, people from different cultures displayed the stereotypical gestures of pride and some of the components of expressions of shame. This included the blind competitors-even those blind from birth.
Although the researchers say that congenitally blind children might have been taught by their parents to lift their hands above their heads after a victory, they speculate that it would be harder to teach them the full spectrum of displays they witnessed. These findings, then, imply that displays of pride are not simply cultural stereotypes learnt after birth, but an innate form of behavior that was relevant to the way humans lived. A display of pride（or shame）, in other words, may be an evolved and innate behavioral response.
Why? Such displays may have an evolutionary function. People could be advertising their accomplishments and ensuring their status and acceptance within their social group. Similarly, shame shows acceptance of a defeat and a reluctance to fight on（which may help to avoid further aggression）, and so might well be a display of submission.
The researchers also found that the behavioral response to shame was weaker in sighted athletes from cultures that were individualistic-or" self-expression valuing" -societies in the West. They suggest that athletes from these parts were suppressing responses in accordance with" cultural norms" that stigmatize displays of shame. If so, this would explain why the congenitally blind displayed more shame in defeat than did people who became blind later in life.
Culture has a lot to do with displays of victory, whether it is the two-fingered" V" salute or footballers removing their clothing. Both are culturally influenced, but they have their roots in showing exactly who is on top. | 529.txt | 1 |
[
"Culture is ultimately accountable for human display of pride and shame.",
"The fact that culture still exerts influence on human display of pride and shame undermines the conclusion of the research.",
"Culture plays a part in shaping the way people display their pride and shame.",
"Congenitally blind people display more shame in defeat than those who become blind later in life because they have different genes."
]
| What can we learn from the last two paragraphs? | Whether you are a gorilla, a four-year-old child, a politician or an Olympic athlete, the signs of victory are obvious for all to see: the chest inflates, the head is thrown back and the victor displays a strutting and confident air. Shame at being defeated is equally recognizable: the head bows, and sometimes the shoulders slump and the chest narrows too-something that is not a million miles away from the cringing postures associated with submission in animals, from chimpanzees to rats, rabbits and even salamanders. Are these displays of pride and shame common to all humans? If they are, they will have evolved to serve some function.
The past week in Beijing demonstrates that different cultures do indeed show similar displays of pride and shame. But it is difficult to say if these reactions are instinctive or learnt. Jessica Tracy at the University of British Columbia and David Matsumoto at San Francisco State University decided to explore this by comparing pictures of blind and sighted athletes from different cultures.
In their research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team analyzed images from the judo competition held in the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games. They looked for whether or not competitors indulged in post-match behavior such as tilting their heads back, raising their arms or expanding their chests in victory, or hiding their face or narrowing their chests in defeat. They found that in response to success and failure, people from different cultures displayed the stereotypical gestures of pride and some of the components of expressions of shame. This included the blind competitors-even those blind from birth.
Although the researchers say that congenitally blind children might have been taught by their parents to lift their hands above their heads after a victory, they speculate that it would be harder to teach them the full spectrum of displays they witnessed. These findings, then, imply that displays of pride are not simply cultural stereotypes learnt after birth, but an innate form of behavior that was relevant to the way humans lived. A display of pride（or shame）, in other words, may be an evolved and innate behavioral response.
Why? Such displays may have an evolutionary function. People could be advertising their accomplishments and ensuring their status and acceptance within their social group. Similarly, shame shows acceptance of a defeat and a reluctance to fight on（which may help to avoid further aggression）, and so might well be a display of submission.
The researchers also found that the behavioral response to shame was weaker in sighted athletes from cultures that were individualistic-or" self-expression valuing" -societies in the West. They suggest that athletes from these parts were suppressing responses in accordance with" cultural norms" that stigmatize displays of shame. If so, this would explain why the congenitally blind displayed more shame in defeat than did people who became blind later in life.
Culture has a lot to do with displays of victory, whether it is the two-fingered" V" salute or footballers removing their clothing. Both are culturally influenced, but they have their roots in showing exactly who is on top. | 529.txt | 2 |
[
"present a commonplace idea and its inaccuracies.",
"describe a situation and its potential drawbacks.",
"propose a temporary solution to a problem.",
"analyze a frequent source of disagreement."
]
| The primary purpose of the text is to | Recent years have brought minority-owned businesses in the United States unprecedented opportunities ¡ª as well as new and significant risks. Civil rights activists have long argued that one of the principal reasons why Blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups have difficulty establishing themselves in business is that they lack access to the sizable orders and subcontracts that are generated by large companies. Now Congress, in apparent agreement, has required by law that businesses awarded federal contracts of more than $500,000 do their best to find minority subcontractors and record their efforts to do so on forms filed with the government. Indeed, some federal and local agencies have gone so far as to set specific percentage goals for apportioning parts of public works contracts to minority enterprises.
Corporate response appears to have been substantial. According to figures collected in 1977, the total of corporate contracts with minority businesses rose from $77 million in 1972 to $1.1 billion in 1977. The projected total of corporate contracts with minority businesses for the early 1980's is estimated to be over 53 billion per year with no letup anticipated in the next decade.
Promising as it is for minority businesses, this increased patronage poses dangers for them, too. First, minority firms risk expanding too fast and overextending themselves financially, since most are small concerns and, unlike large businesses, they often need to make substantial investments in new plants, staff, equipment, and the like in order to perform work subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed expenses. The world of corporate purchasing can be frustrating for small entrepreneurs who get requests for elaborate formal estimates and bids. Both consume valuable time and resources, and a small company's efforts must soon result in orders, or both the morale and the financial health of the business will suffer.
A second risk is that White-owned companies may seek to cash in on the increasing apportionments through formation of joint ventures with minority-owned concerns. Of course, in many instances there are legitimate reasons for joint ventures; clearly, White and minority enterprises can team up to acquire business that neither could acquire alone. But civil rights groups and minority business owners have complained to Congress about minorities being set up as ¡°fronts¡± with White backing, rather than being accepted as full partners in legitimate joint ventures.
Third, a minority enterprise that secures the business of one large corporate customer often run the danger of becoming- and remaining-dependent. Even in the best of circumstances, fierce competition from larger, more established companies makes it difficult for small concerns to broaden their customer bases: when such firms have nearly guaranteed orders from a single corporate benefactor, they may truly have to struggle against complacency arising from their current success. | 1183.txt | 1 |
[
"experience frustration but not serious financial harm.",
"face potentially crippling fixed expenses.",
"have to record its efforts on forms filed with the government.",
"increase its spending with minority subcontractors."
]
| The text suggests that the failure of a large business to have its bids for subcontracts result quickly in orders might causes it to | Recent years have brought minority-owned businesses in the United States unprecedented opportunities ¡ª as well as new and significant risks. Civil rights activists have long argued that one of the principal reasons why Blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups have difficulty establishing themselves in business is that they lack access to the sizable orders and subcontracts that are generated by large companies. Now Congress, in apparent agreement, has required by law that businesses awarded federal contracts of more than $500,000 do their best to find minority subcontractors and record their efforts to do so on forms filed with the government. Indeed, some federal and local agencies have gone so far as to set specific percentage goals for apportioning parts of public works contracts to minority enterprises.
Corporate response appears to have been substantial. According to figures collected in 1977, the total of corporate contracts with minority businesses rose from $77 million in 1972 to $1.1 billion in 1977. The projected total of corporate contracts with minority businesses for the early 1980's is estimated to be over 53 billion per year with no letup anticipated in the next decade.
Promising as it is for minority businesses, this increased patronage poses dangers for them, too. First, minority firms risk expanding too fast and overextending themselves financially, since most are small concerns and, unlike large businesses, they often need to make substantial investments in new plants, staff, equipment, and the like in order to perform work subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed expenses. The world of corporate purchasing can be frustrating for small entrepreneurs who get requests for elaborate formal estimates and bids. Both consume valuable time and resources, and a small company's efforts must soon result in orders, or both the morale and the financial health of the business will suffer.
A second risk is that White-owned companies may seek to cash in on the increasing apportionments through formation of joint ventures with minority-owned concerns. Of course, in many instances there are legitimate reasons for joint ventures; clearly, White and minority enterprises can team up to acquire business that neither could acquire alone. But civil rights groups and minority business owners have complained to Congress about minorities being set up as ¡°fronts¡± with White backing, rather than being accepted as full partners in legitimate joint ventures.
Third, a minority enterprise that secures the business of one large corporate customer often run the danger of becoming- and remaining-dependent. Even in the best of circumstances, fierce competition from larger, more established companies makes it difficult for small concerns to broaden their customer bases: when such firms have nearly guaranteed orders from a single corporate benefactor, they may truly have to struggle against complacency arising from their current success. | 1183.txt | 0 |
[
"more popular with large corporations.",
"more concrete.",
"less controversial.",
"less expensive to enforce."
]
| It can be inferred from the text that, compared with the requirements of law, the percentage goals set by ¡°some federal and local agencies¡± (line 9, paragraph 1) are | Recent years have brought minority-owned businesses in the United States unprecedented opportunities ¡ª as well as new and significant risks. Civil rights activists have long argued that one of the principal reasons why Blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups have difficulty establishing themselves in business is that they lack access to the sizable orders and subcontracts that are generated by large companies. Now Congress, in apparent agreement, has required by law that businesses awarded federal contracts of more than $500,000 do their best to find minority subcontractors and record their efforts to do so on forms filed with the government. Indeed, some federal and local agencies have gone so far as to set specific percentage goals for apportioning parts of public works contracts to minority enterprises.
Corporate response appears to have been substantial. According to figures collected in 1977, the total of corporate contracts with minority businesses rose from $77 million in 1972 to $1.1 billion in 1977. The projected total of corporate contracts with minority businesses for the early 1980's is estimated to be over 53 billion per year with no letup anticipated in the next decade.
Promising as it is for minority businesses, this increased patronage poses dangers for them, too. First, minority firms risk expanding too fast and overextending themselves financially, since most are small concerns and, unlike large businesses, they often need to make substantial investments in new plants, staff, equipment, and the like in order to perform work subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed expenses. The world of corporate purchasing can be frustrating for small entrepreneurs who get requests for elaborate formal estimates and bids. Both consume valuable time and resources, and a small company's efforts must soon result in orders, or both the morale and the financial health of the business will suffer.
A second risk is that White-owned companies may seek to cash in on the increasing apportionments through formation of joint ventures with minority-owned concerns. Of course, in many instances there are legitimate reasons for joint ventures; clearly, White and minority enterprises can team up to acquire business that neither could acquire alone. But civil rights groups and minority business owners have complained to Congress about minorities being set up as ¡°fronts¡± with White backing, rather than being accepted as full partners in legitimate joint ventures.
Third, a minority enterprise that secures the business of one large corporate customer often run the danger of becoming- and remaining-dependent. Even in the best of circumstances, fierce competition from larger, more established companies makes it difficult for small concerns to broaden their customer bases: when such firms have nearly guaranteed orders from a single corporate benefactor, they may truly have to struggle against complacency arising from their current success. | 1183.txt | 1 |
[
"Corporate contracts with minority-owned businesses totaled $2 billion in 1979.",
"Between 1970 and 1972, corporate contracts with minority-owned businesses declined by 25 percent.",
"The figures collected in 1977 underrepresented the extent of corporate contracts with minority-owned businesses.",
"The $1.1 billion represented the same percentage of total corporate spending in 1977 as did $77 million in 1972."
]
| Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the author's assertion that, in the 1970's, corporate response to federal requirements (line 1, paragraph 2) was substantial? | Recent years have brought minority-owned businesses in the United States unprecedented opportunities ¡ª as well as new and significant risks. Civil rights activists have long argued that one of the principal reasons why Blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups have difficulty establishing themselves in business is that they lack access to the sizable orders and subcontracts that are generated by large companies. Now Congress, in apparent agreement, has required by law that businesses awarded federal contracts of more than $500,000 do their best to find minority subcontractors and record their efforts to do so on forms filed with the government. Indeed, some federal and local agencies have gone so far as to set specific percentage goals for apportioning parts of public works contracts to minority enterprises.
Corporate response appears to have been substantial. According to figures collected in 1977, the total of corporate contracts with minority businesses rose from $77 million in 1972 to $1.1 billion in 1977. The projected total of corporate contracts with minority businesses for the early 1980's is estimated to be over 53 billion per year with no letup anticipated in the next decade.
Promising as it is for minority businesses, this increased patronage poses dangers for them, too. First, minority firms risk expanding too fast and overextending themselves financially, since most are small concerns and, unlike large businesses, they often need to make substantial investments in new plants, staff, equipment, and the like in order to perform work subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed expenses. The world of corporate purchasing can be frustrating for small entrepreneurs who get requests for elaborate formal estimates and bids. Both consume valuable time and resources, and a small company's efforts must soon result in orders, or both the morale and the financial health of the business will suffer.
A second risk is that White-owned companies may seek to cash in on the increasing apportionments through formation of joint ventures with minority-owned concerns. Of course, in many instances there are legitimate reasons for joint ventures; clearly, White and minority enterprises can team up to acquire business that neither could acquire alone. But civil rights groups and minority business owners have complained to Congress about minorities being set up as ¡°fronts¡± with White backing, rather than being accepted as full partners in legitimate joint ventures.
Third, a minority enterprise that secures the business of one large corporate customer often run the danger of becoming- and remaining-dependent. Even in the best of circumstances, fierce competition from larger, more established companies makes it difficult for small concerns to broaden their customer bases: when such firms have nearly guaranteed orders from a single corporate benefactor, they may truly have to struggle against complacency arising from their current success. | 1183.txt | 3 |
[
"Annoyed by the proliferation of ¡°front¡± organizations, corporations are likely to reduce their efforts to work with minority-owned subcontractors in the near future.",
"Although corporations showed considerable interest in working with minority businesses in the 1970's, their aversion to government paperwork made them reluctant to pursue many government contracts.",
"The significant response of corporations in the 1970's is likely to be sustained and conceivably be increased throughout the 1980's.",
"Although corporations are eager to cooperate with minority-owned businesses, a shortage of capital in the 1970's made substantial response impossible."
]
| The author would most likely agree with which of the following statements about corporate response to working with minority subcontractors? | Recent years have brought minority-owned businesses in the United States unprecedented opportunities ¡ª as well as new and significant risks. Civil rights activists have long argued that one of the principal reasons why Blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups have difficulty establishing themselves in business is that they lack access to the sizable orders and subcontracts that are generated by large companies. Now Congress, in apparent agreement, has required by law that businesses awarded federal contracts of more than $500,000 do their best to find minority subcontractors and record their efforts to do so on forms filed with the government. Indeed, some federal and local agencies have gone so far as to set specific percentage goals for apportioning parts of public works contracts to minority enterprises.
Corporate response appears to have been substantial. According to figures collected in 1977, the total of corporate contracts with minority businesses rose from $77 million in 1972 to $1.1 billion in 1977. The projected total of corporate contracts with minority businesses for the early 1980's is estimated to be over 53 billion per year with no letup anticipated in the next decade.
Promising as it is for minority businesses, this increased patronage poses dangers for them, too. First, minority firms risk expanding too fast and overextending themselves financially, since most are small concerns and, unlike large businesses, they often need to make substantial investments in new plants, staff, equipment, and the like in order to perform work subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed expenses. The world of corporate purchasing can be frustrating for small entrepreneurs who get requests for elaborate formal estimates and bids. Both consume valuable time and resources, and a small company's efforts must soon result in orders, or both the morale and the financial health of the business will suffer.
A second risk is that White-owned companies may seek to cash in on the increasing apportionments through formation of joint ventures with minority-owned concerns. Of course, in many instances there are legitimate reasons for joint ventures; clearly, White and minority enterprises can team up to acquire business that neither could acquire alone. But civil rights groups and minority business owners have complained to Congress about minorities being set up as ¡°fronts¡± with White backing, rather than being accepted as full partners in legitimate joint ventures.
Third, a minority enterprise that secures the business of one large corporate customer often run the danger of becoming- and remaining-dependent. Even in the best of circumstances, fierce competition from larger, more established companies makes it difficult for small concerns to broaden their customer bases: when such firms have nearly guaranteed orders from a single corporate benefactor, they may truly have to struggle against complacency arising from their current success. | 1183.txt | 2 |
[
"It is free from racial biases.",
"It represents social progress.",
"It is in the interest of common Americans.",
"It follows the standard naming practice."
]
| Why did Jesse Jackson embrace the term "African American" for people of African descent? | One hundred years ago, "Colored" was the typical way of referring to Americans of African descent. Twenty years later, it was purposefully dropped to make way for "Negro. " By the late 1960s,that term was overtaken by "Black. " And then, at a press conference in Chicago in 1988, Jesse Jackson declared that "African American" was the term to embrace. This one was chosen because it echoed the labels of groups, such as "Italian Americans" and "Irish Americans," that had already been freed of widespread discrimination.
A century's worth of calculated name changes point to the fact that naming any group is a politically freighted exercise. A 2001 study cataloged all the ways in which the term "Black" carried connotations that were more negative than those of "African American. "
But if it was known that "Black" people were viewed differently from "African Americans,"researchers, until now, hadn't identified what that gap in perception was derived from. A recent study, conducted by Emory University's Erika Hall, found that "Black" people are viewed more negatively.than "African Americans" because of a perceived difference in socioeconomic status. As a result,"Black" people are thought of as less competent and as having colder personalities.
The study's most striking findings shed light on the racial biases permeating the professional world.Even seemingly harmless details on a resume, it appears, can tap into recruiters' biases. A job application might mention affiliations with groups such as the "Wisconsin Association of African-American Lawyers" or the "National Black Employees Association," the names of which apparently have consequences, and are also beyond their members' control.
In one of the study's experiments, subjects were given a brief description of a man from Chicago with the last name Williams. To one group, he was identified as "African-American," and another was told he was "Black. " With little else to go on, they were asked to estimate Mr. Williams's salary,professional standing, and educational background.
The "African-American" group estimated that he earned about $ 37,000 a year and had a two-year college degree. The "Black" group, on the other hand, put his salary at about $ 29,000, and guessed that he had only "some" college experience. Nearly three-quarters of the first group guessed that Mr.Williams worked at a managerial level, while only 38.5 percent of the second group thought so.
Hall's findings suggest there's an argument to be made for electing to use "African American,"though one can't help but get the sense that it's a decision that papers over the urgency of continued progress. Perhaps a new phrase is needed, one that can bring everyone one big step closer to realizing Du Bois's original, idealistic hope: "It's not the name-it's the Thing that counts. " | 1645.txt | 0 |
[
"It advances with the times.",
"It is based on racial roots.",
"It merits intensive study.",
"It is politically sensitive."
]
| What does the author say about the naming of an ethnic group ? | One hundred years ago, "Colored" was the typical way of referring to Americans of African descent. Twenty years later, it was purposefully dropped to make way for "Negro. " By the late 1960s,that term was overtaken by "Black. " And then, at a press conference in Chicago in 1988, Jesse Jackson declared that "African American" was the term to embrace. This one was chosen because it echoed the labels of groups, such as "Italian Americans" and "Irish Americans," that had already been freed of widespread discrimination.
A century's worth of calculated name changes point to the fact that naming any group is a politically freighted exercise. A 2001 study cataloged all the ways in which the term "Black" carried connotations that were more negative than those of "African American. "
But if it was known that "Black" people were viewed differently from "African Americans,"researchers, until now, hadn't identified what that gap in perception was derived from. A recent study, conducted by Emory University's Erika Hall, found that "Black" people are viewed more negatively.than "African Americans" because of a perceived difference in socioeconomic status. As a result,"Black" people are thought of as less competent and as having colder personalities.
The study's most striking findings shed light on the racial biases permeating the professional world.Even seemingly harmless details on a resume, it appears, can tap into recruiters' biases. A job application might mention affiliations with groups such as the "Wisconsin Association of African-American Lawyers" or the "National Black Employees Association," the names of which apparently have consequences, and are also beyond their members' control.
In one of the study's experiments, subjects were given a brief description of a man from Chicago with the last name Williams. To one group, he was identified as "African-American," and another was told he was "Black. " With little else to go on, they were asked to estimate Mr. Williams's salary,professional standing, and educational background.
The "African-American" group estimated that he earned about $ 37,000 a year and had a two-year college degree. The "Black" group, on the other hand, put his salary at about $ 29,000, and guessed that he had only "some" college experience. Nearly three-quarters of the first group guessed that Mr.Williams worked at a managerial level, while only 38.5 percent of the second group thought so.
Hall's findings suggest there's an argument to be made for electing to use "African American,"though one can't help but get the sense that it's a decision that papers over the urgency of continued progress. Perhaps a new phrase is needed, one that can bring everyone one big step closer to realizing Du Bois's original, idealistic hope: "It's not the name-it's the Thing that counts. " | 1645.txt | 3 |
[
"Racial biases are widespread in the professional world.",
"Many applicants don't attend to details on their resumes.",
"Job seekers should all be careful- about their affiliations.",
"Most recruiters are unable to control their racial biases."
]
| What do Erika Hall's findings indicate? | One hundred years ago, "Colored" was the typical way of referring to Americans of African descent. Twenty years later, it was purposefully dropped to make way for "Negro. " By the late 1960s,that term was overtaken by "Black. " And then, at a press conference in Chicago in 1988, Jesse Jackson declared that "African American" was the term to embrace. This one was chosen because it echoed the labels of groups, such as "Italian Americans" and "Irish Americans," that had already been freed of widespread discrimination.
A century's worth of calculated name changes point to the fact that naming any group is a politically freighted exercise. A 2001 study cataloged all the ways in which the term "Black" carried connotations that were more negative than those of "African American. "
But if it was known that "Black" people were viewed differently from "African Americans,"researchers, until now, hadn't identified what that gap in perception was derived from. A recent study, conducted by Emory University's Erika Hall, found that "Black" people are viewed more negatively.than "African Americans" because of a perceived difference in socioeconomic status. As a result,"Black" people are thought of as less competent and as having colder personalities.
The study's most striking findings shed light on the racial biases permeating the professional world.Even seemingly harmless details on a resume, it appears, can tap into recruiters' biases. A job application might mention affiliations with groups such as the "Wisconsin Association of African-American Lawyers" or the "National Black Employees Association," the names of which apparently have consequences, and are also beyond their members' control.
In one of the study's experiments, subjects were given a brief description of a man from Chicago with the last name Williams. To one group, he was identified as "African-American," and another was told he was "Black. " With little else to go on, they were asked to estimate Mr. Williams's salary,professional standing, and educational background.
The "African-American" group estimated that he earned about $ 37,000 a year and had a two-year college degree. The "Black" group, on the other hand, put his salary at about $ 29,000, and guessed that he had only "some" college experience. Nearly three-quarters of the first group guessed that Mr.Williams worked at a managerial level, while only 38.5 percent of the second group thought so.
Hall's findings suggest there's an argument to be made for electing to use "African American,"though one can't help but get the sense that it's a decision that papers over the urgency of continued progress. Perhaps a new phrase is needed, one that can bring everyone one big step closer to realizing Du Bois's original, idealistic hope: "It's not the name-it's the Thing that counts. " | 1645.txt | 0 |
[
"African Americans fare better than many other ethnic groups.",
"Black people's socioeconomic status in America remains low.",
"People's conception of a person has much to do with the way he or she is labeled.",
"One's professional standing and income are related to their educational background."
]
| What does Erika Hall find in her experiment about a man with the last name Williams? | One hundred years ago, "Colored" was the typical way of referring to Americans of African descent. Twenty years later, it was purposefully dropped to make way for "Negro. " By the late 1960s,that term was overtaken by "Black. " And then, at a press conference in Chicago in 1988, Jesse Jackson declared that "African American" was the term to embrace. This one was chosen because it echoed the labels of groups, such as "Italian Americans" and "Irish Americans," that had already been freed of widespread discrimination.
A century's worth of calculated name changes point to the fact that naming any group is a politically freighted exercise. A 2001 study cataloged all the ways in which the term "Black" carried connotations that were more negative than those of "African American. "
But if it was known that "Black" people were viewed differently from "African Americans,"researchers, until now, hadn't identified what that gap in perception was derived from. A recent study, conducted by Emory University's Erika Hall, found that "Black" people are viewed more negatively.than "African Americans" because of a perceived difference in socioeconomic status. As a result,"Black" people are thought of as less competent and as having colder personalities.
The study's most striking findings shed light on the racial biases permeating the professional world.Even seemingly harmless details on a resume, it appears, can tap into recruiters' biases. A job application might mention affiliations with groups such as the "Wisconsin Association of African-American Lawyers" or the "National Black Employees Association," the names of which apparently have consequences, and are also beyond their members' control.
In one of the study's experiments, subjects were given a brief description of a man from Chicago with the last name Williams. To one group, he was identified as "African-American," and another was told he was "Black. " With little else to go on, they were asked to estimate Mr. Williams's salary,professional standing, and educational background.
The "African-American" group estimated that he earned about $ 37,000 a year and had a two-year college degree. The "Black" group, on the other hand, put his salary at about $ 29,000, and guessed that he had only "some" college experience. Nearly three-quarters of the first group guessed that Mr.Williams worked at a managerial level, while only 38.5 percent of the second group thought so.
Hall's findings suggest there's an argument to be made for electing to use "African American,"though one can't help but get the sense that it's a decision that papers over the urgency of continued progress. Perhaps a new phrase is needed, one that can bring everyone one big step closer to realizing Du Bois's original, idealistic hope: "It's not the name-it's the Thing that counts. " | 1645.txt | 2 |
[
"All Americans enjoy equal rights.",
"A person is judged by their worth.",
"A new term is created to address African Americans.",
"All ethnic groups share the nation's continued progress."
]
| What is Dr. Du Bois's ideal? | One hundred years ago, "Colored" was the typical way of referring to Americans of African descent. Twenty years later, it was purposefully dropped to make way for "Negro. " By the late 1960s,that term was overtaken by "Black. " And then, at a press conference in Chicago in 1988, Jesse Jackson declared that "African American" was the term to embrace. This one was chosen because it echoed the labels of groups, such as "Italian Americans" and "Irish Americans," that had already been freed of widespread discrimination.
A century's worth of calculated name changes point to the fact that naming any group is a politically freighted exercise. A 2001 study cataloged all the ways in which the term "Black" carried connotations that were more negative than those of "African American. "
But if it was known that "Black" people were viewed differently from "African Americans,"researchers, until now, hadn't identified what that gap in perception was derived from. A recent study, conducted by Emory University's Erika Hall, found that "Black" people are viewed more negatively.than "African Americans" because of a perceived difference in socioeconomic status. As a result,"Black" people are thought of as less competent and as having colder personalities.
The study's most striking findings shed light on the racial biases permeating the professional world.Even seemingly harmless details on a resume, it appears, can tap into recruiters' biases. A job application might mention affiliations with groups such as the "Wisconsin Association of African-American Lawyers" or the "National Black Employees Association," the names of which apparently have consequences, and are also beyond their members' control.
In one of the study's experiments, subjects were given a brief description of a man from Chicago with the last name Williams. To one group, he was identified as "African-American," and another was told he was "Black. " With little else to go on, they were asked to estimate Mr. Williams's salary,professional standing, and educational background.
The "African-American" group estimated that he earned about $ 37,000 a year and had a two-year college degree. The "Black" group, on the other hand, put his salary at about $ 29,000, and guessed that he had only "some" college experience. Nearly three-quarters of the first group guessed that Mr.Williams worked at a managerial level, while only 38.5 percent of the second group thought so.
Hall's findings suggest there's an argument to be made for electing to use "African American,"though one can't help but get the sense that it's a decision that papers over the urgency of continued progress. Perhaps a new phrase is needed, one that can bring everyone one big step closer to realizing Du Bois's original, idealistic hope: "It's not the name-it's the Thing that counts. " | 1645.txt | 0 |
[
"A kind of overlooked inequality.",
"A type of conspicuous bias.",
"A type of personal prejudice.",
"A kind of brand discrimination."
]
| What does the author intend to illustrate with AAA A cars and Zodiac cars? | Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and discrimination have been condemned or made illegal. But one insidious form continues to thrive: alphabetism. This, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to discrimination against those whose surnames begin with a letter in the lower half of the alphabet.
It has long been known that a taxi firm called AAAA cars has a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers thumb through their phone directories. Less well known is the advantage that Adam Abbott has in life over Zoë Zysman. English names are fairly evenly spread between the halves of the alphabet. Yet a suspiciously large number of top people have surnames beginning with letters between A and K.
Thus the American president and vice-president have surnames starting with B and C respectively; and 26 of George Bush's predecessors (including his father) had surnames in the first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half. Even more striking, six of the seven heads of government of the G7 rich countries are alphabetically advantaged (Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chrétien and Koizumi). The world's three top central bankers (Greenspan, Duisenberg and Hayami) are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one of them really uses Japanese characters. As are the world's five richest men (Gates, Buffett, Allen, Ellison and Albrecht).
Can this merely be coincidence? One theory, dreamt up in all the spare time enjoyed by the alphabetically disadvantaged, is that the rot sets in early. At the start of the first year in infant school, teachers seat pupils alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember their names. So short-sighted Zysman junior gets stuck in the back row, and is rarely asked the improving questions posed by those insensitive teachers. At the time the alphabetically disadvantaged may think they have had a lucky escape. Yet the result may be worse qualifications, because they get less individual attention, as well as less confidence in speaking publicly.
The humiliation continues. At university graduation ceremonies, the ABCs proudly get their awards first; by the time they reach the Zysmans most people are literally having a ZZZ. Shortlists for job interviews, election ballot papers, lists of conference speakers and attendees: all tend to be drawn up alphabetically, and their recipients lose interest as they plough through them. | 3211.txt | 0 |
[
"In both East and West, names are essential to success.",
"The alphabet is to blame for the failure of Zoë Zysman.",
"Customers often pay a lot of attention to companies' names.",
"Some form of discrimination is too subtle to recognize."
]
| What can we infer from the first three paragraphs? | Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and discrimination have been condemned or made illegal. But one insidious form continues to thrive: alphabetism. This, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to discrimination against those whose surnames begin with a letter in the lower half of the alphabet.
It has long been known that a taxi firm called AAAA cars has a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers thumb through their phone directories. Less well known is the advantage that Adam Abbott has in life over Zoë Zysman. English names are fairly evenly spread between the halves of the alphabet. Yet a suspiciously large number of top people have surnames beginning with letters between A and K.
Thus the American president and vice-president have surnames starting with B and C respectively; and 26 of George Bush's predecessors (including his father) had surnames in the first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half. Even more striking, six of the seven heads of government of the G7 rich countries are alphabetically advantaged (Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chrétien and Koizumi). The world's three top central bankers (Greenspan, Duisenberg and Hayami) are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one of them really uses Japanese characters. As are the world's five richest men (Gates, Buffett, Allen, Ellison and Albrecht).
Can this merely be coincidence? One theory, dreamt up in all the spare time enjoyed by the alphabetically disadvantaged, is that the rot sets in early. At the start of the first year in infant school, teachers seat pupils alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember their names. So short-sighted Zysman junior gets stuck in the back row, and is rarely asked the improving questions posed by those insensitive teachers. At the time the alphabetically disadvantaged may think they have had a lucky escape. Yet the result may be worse qualifications, because they get less individual attention, as well as less confidence in speaking publicly.
The humiliation continues. At university graduation ceremonies, the ABCs proudly get their awards first; by the time they reach the Zysmans most people are literally having a ZZZ. Shortlists for job interviews, election ballot papers, lists of conference speakers and attendees: all tend to be drawn up alphabetically, and their recipients lose interest as they plough through them. | 3211.txt | 3 |
[
"questions are often put to the more intelligent students",
"alphabetically disadvantaged students often escape from class",
"teachers should pay attention to all of their students",
"students should be seated according to their eyesight"
]
| The 4th paragraph suggests that . | Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and discrimination have been condemned or made illegal. But one insidious form continues to thrive: alphabetism. This, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to discrimination against those whose surnames begin with a letter in the lower half of the alphabet.
It has long been known that a taxi firm called AAAA cars has a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers thumb through their phone directories. Less well known is the advantage that Adam Abbott has in life over Zoë Zysman. English names are fairly evenly spread between the halves of the alphabet. Yet a suspiciously large number of top people have surnames beginning with letters between A and K.
Thus the American president and vice-president have surnames starting with B and C respectively; and 26 of George Bush's predecessors (including his father) had surnames in the first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half. Even more striking, six of the seven heads of government of the G7 rich countries are alphabetically advantaged (Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chrétien and Koizumi). The world's three top central bankers (Greenspan, Duisenberg and Hayami) are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one of them really uses Japanese characters. As are the world's five richest men (Gates, Buffett, Allen, Ellison and Albrecht).
Can this merely be coincidence? One theory, dreamt up in all the spare time enjoyed by the alphabetically disadvantaged, is that the rot sets in early. At the start of the first year in infant school, teachers seat pupils alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember their names. So short-sighted Zysman junior gets stuck in the back row, and is rarely asked the improving questions posed by those insensitive teachers. At the time the alphabetically disadvantaged may think they have had a lucky escape. Yet the result may be worse qualifications, because they get less individual attention, as well as less confidence in speaking publicly.
The humiliation continues. At university graduation ceremonies, the ABCs proudly get their awards first; by the time they reach the Zysmans most people are literally having a ZZZ. Shortlists for job interviews, election ballot papers, lists of conference speakers and attendees: all tend to be drawn up alphabetically, and their recipients lose interest as they plough through them. | 3211.txt | 2 |
[
"They are getting impatient.",
"They are noisily dozing off.",
"They are feeling humiliated.",
"They are busy with word puzzles."
]
| What does the author mean by "most people are literally having a ZZZ" (Lines 2-3, Paragraph 5)? | Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and discrimination have been condemned or made illegal. But one insidious form continues to thrive: alphabetism. This, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to discrimination against those whose surnames begin with a letter in the lower half of the alphabet.
It has long been known that a taxi firm called AAAA cars has a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers thumb through their phone directories. Less well known is the advantage that Adam Abbott has in life over Zoë Zysman. English names are fairly evenly spread between the halves of the alphabet. Yet a suspiciously large number of top people have surnames beginning with letters between A and K.
Thus the American president and vice-president have surnames starting with B and C respectively; and 26 of George Bush's predecessors (including his father) had surnames in the first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half. Even more striking, six of the seven heads of government of the G7 rich countries are alphabetically advantaged (Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chrétien and Koizumi). The world's three top central bankers (Greenspan, Duisenberg and Hayami) are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one of them really uses Japanese characters. As are the world's five richest men (Gates, Buffett, Allen, Ellison and Albrecht).
Can this merely be coincidence? One theory, dreamt up in all the spare time enjoyed by the alphabetically disadvantaged, is that the rot sets in early. At the start of the first year in infant school, teachers seat pupils alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember their names. So short-sighted Zysman junior gets stuck in the back row, and is rarely asked the improving questions posed by those insensitive teachers. At the time the alphabetically disadvantaged may think they have had a lucky escape. Yet the result may be worse qualifications, because they get less individual attention, as well as less confidence in speaking publicly.
The humiliation continues. At university graduation ceremonies, the ABCs proudly get their awards first; by the time they reach the Zysmans most people are literally having a ZZZ. Shortlists for job interviews, election ballot papers, lists of conference speakers and attendees: all tend to be drawn up alphabetically, and their recipients lose interest as they plough through them. | 3211.txt | 1 |
[
"People with surnames beginning with N to Z are often ill-treated.",
"VIPs in the Western world gain a great deal from alphabetism.",
"The campaign to eliminate alphabetism still has a long way to go.",
"Putting things alphabetically may lead to unintentional bias."
]
| Which of the following is true according to the text? | Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and discrimination have been condemned or made illegal. But one insidious form continues to thrive: alphabetism. This, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to discrimination against those whose surnames begin with a letter in the lower half of the alphabet.
It has long been known that a taxi firm called AAAA cars has a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers thumb through their phone directories. Less well known is the advantage that Adam Abbott has in life over Zoë Zysman. English names are fairly evenly spread between the halves of the alphabet. Yet a suspiciously large number of top people have surnames beginning with letters between A and K.
Thus the American president and vice-president have surnames starting with B and C respectively; and 26 of George Bush's predecessors (including his father) had surnames in the first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half. Even more striking, six of the seven heads of government of the G7 rich countries are alphabetically advantaged (Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chrétien and Koizumi). The world's three top central bankers (Greenspan, Duisenberg and Hayami) are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one of them really uses Japanese characters. As are the world's five richest men (Gates, Buffett, Allen, Ellison and Albrecht).
Can this merely be coincidence? One theory, dreamt up in all the spare time enjoyed by the alphabetically disadvantaged, is that the rot sets in early. At the start of the first year in infant school, teachers seat pupils alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember their names. So short-sighted Zysman junior gets stuck in the back row, and is rarely asked the improving questions posed by those insensitive teachers. At the time the alphabetically disadvantaged may think they have had a lucky escape. Yet the result may be worse qualifications, because they get less individual attention, as well as less confidence in speaking publicly.
The humiliation continues. At university graduation ceremonies, the ABCs proudly get their awards first; by the time they reach the Zysmans most people are literally having a ZZZ. Shortlists for job interviews, election ballot papers, lists of conference speakers and attendees: all tend to be drawn up alphabetically, and their recipients lose interest as they plough through them. | 3211.txt | 3 |
[
"Wbmen are more likely to be diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.",
"Men are more likely to be diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.",
"Male mice are more likely to be diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.",
"FemA.e mice are more likely to be diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis."
]
| What can we infer from the last sentence in Para.1 ? | Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in the US found higher levels of protein S1PR2in tests on the brains of female mice and dead women with MS than in male equivalents.Four times more women than men are currently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Experts said the finding was"really interesting".MS affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord，which causes problems with muscle movement，balance and vision.It is a major cause of disability,and affects about 1 00，000 people in the UK.Abnormal immune cells aRack nerve cells in the central Nervous system in MS patients.There is currently no cure，A.though there are treatments that can help in the early stages of the disease.
Researchers in Missouri looked at relapsing remittingMS，where people have distinct attacks of symptoms that tllen fade away either partially or completely.About 85％of all people with MS have this type.Scientists studied the blood vessels and brains of healthy mice，mice with MS，and mice without the gene for SlPR2，a blood vessel receptor protein，to see how it affected MS severity.They A.so 100ked at the brain tissue samples of 20 people after they had died.They found high levels of S1PR2 in the areas of the brain typically damaged by MS in both mice and people.Tlle activity of the gene coding for S1 PR2 was positively correlated with the severity of the disease in mice.the study said.
Scientists said S l PR2 could work by helping to make the blood-brain barrier,in charge of stopping potentiA.ly harmful substances from entering the brain and spial fluid.more permeable.A more permeable barrier could let attacking cells，which cause MS，into the central nervous system，the study said.This link[between MS and S lPR2] is completely newit has never been found before.
Dr Emma Gray,of the MS Society,said："We don't yet fully understand why MS affects more women than men,and it's an area that's intrigued scientists，and people with MS，for many years.She said understanding the causes of MS was a"priority"for the MS Society in the UK.and could be"crucial"in finding new treatments. | 1206.txt | 0 |
[
"In natured muscle movement.",
"Bad bA.ance.",
"Disability",
"Bad eyesight."
]
| What problem does MS mainly cause? | Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in the US found higher levels of protein S1PR2in tests on the brains of female mice and dead women with MS than in male equivalents.Four times more women than men are currently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Experts said the finding was"really interesting".MS affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord，which causes problems with muscle movement，balance and vision.It is a major cause of disability,and affects about 1 00，000 people in the UK.Abnormal immune cells aRack nerve cells in the central Nervous system in MS patients.There is currently no cure，A.though there are treatments that can help in the early stages of the disease.
Researchers in Missouri looked at relapsing remittingMS，where people have distinct attacks of symptoms that tllen fade away either partially or completely.About 85％of all people with MS have this type.Scientists studied the blood vessels and brains of healthy mice，mice with MS，and mice without the gene for SlPR2，a blood vessel receptor protein，to see how it affected MS severity.They A.so 100ked at the brain tissue samples of 20 people after they had died.They found high levels of S1PR2 in the areas of the brain typically damaged by MS in both mice and people.Tlle activity of the gene coding for S1 PR2 was positively correlated with the severity of the disease in mice.the study said.
Scientists said S l PR2 could work by helping to make the blood-brain barrier,in charge of stopping potentiA.ly harmful substances from entering the brain and spial fluid.more permeable.A more permeable barrier could let attacking cells，which cause MS，into the central nervous system，the study said.This link[between MS and S lPR2] is completely newit has never been found before.
Dr Emma Gray,of the MS Society,said："We don't yet fully understand why MS affects more women than men,and it's an area that's intrigued scientists，and people with MS，for many years.She said understanding the causes of MS was a"priority"for the MS Society in the UK.and could be"crucial"in finding new treatments. | 1206.txt | 2 |
[
"A.The level of S 1 PR2 is higher,the MS is less severe.",
"The level of S 1PR2 is higher,the MS is more severe.",
"The level of S 1 PR2 is lower,the MS is less severe.",
"The level of S 1 PR2 is lower,the MS is more severe."
]
| What is the relationship between the severity ofMS and level ofSlPR2? | Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in the US found higher levels of protein S1PR2in tests on the brains of female mice and dead women with MS than in male equivalents.Four times more women than men are currently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Experts said the finding was"really interesting".MS affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord，which causes problems with muscle movement，balance and vision.It is a major cause of disability,and affects about 1 00，000 people in the UK.Abnormal immune cells aRack nerve cells in the central Nervous system in MS patients.There is currently no cure，A.though there are treatments that can help in the early stages of the disease.
Researchers in Missouri looked at relapsing remittingMS，where people have distinct attacks of symptoms that tllen fade away either partially or completely.About 85％of all people with MS have this type.Scientists studied the blood vessels and brains of healthy mice，mice with MS，and mice without the gene for SlPR2，a blood vessel receptor protein，to see how it affected MS severity.They A.so 100ked at the brain tissue samples of 20 people after they had died.They found high levels of S1PR2 in the areas of the brain typically damaged by MS in both mice and people.Tlle activity of the gene coding for S1 PR2 was positively correlated with the severity of the disease in mice.the study said.
Scientists said S l PR2 could work by helping to make the blood-brain barrier,in charge of stopping potentiA.ly harmful substances from entering the brain and spial fluid.more permeable.A more permeable barrier could let attacking cells，which cause MS，into the central nervous system，the study said.This link[between MS and S lPR2] is completely newit has never been found before.
Dr Emma Gray,of the MS Society,said："We don't yet fully understand why MS affects more women than men,and it's an area that's intrigued scientists，and people with MS，for many years.She said understanding the causes of MS was a"priority"for the MS Society in the UK.and could be"crucial"in finding new treatments. | 1206.txt | 1 |
[
"It can make blood.brain barrier impermeable.",
"It can make blood-brain barrier less permeable.",
"It can make blood-brain barrier permeable.",
"It can make blood-brain barrier more permeable."
]
| What role does SlPR2 play in helping the permeability ofblood.brain barrier? | Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in the US found higher levels of protein S1PR2in tests on the brains of female mice and dead women with MS than in male equivalents.Four times more women than men are currently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Experts said the finding was"really interesting".MS affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord，which causes problems with muscle movement，balance and vision.It is a major cause of disability,and affects about 1 00，000 people in the UK.Abnormal immune cells aRack nerve cells in the central Nervous system in MS patients.There is currently no cure，A.though there are treatments that can help in the early stages of the disease.
Researchers in Missouri looked at relapsing remittingMS，where people have distinct attacks of symptoms that tllen fade away either partially or completely.About 85％of all people with MS have this type.Scientists studied the blood vessels and brains of healthy mice，mice with MS，and mice without the gene for SlPR2，a blood vessel receptor protein，to see how it affected MS severity.They A.so 100ked at the brain tissue samples of 20 people after they had died.They found high levels of S1PR2 in the areas of the brain typically damaged by MS in both mice and people.Tlle activity of the gene coding for S1 PR2 was positively correlated with the severity of the disease in mice.the study said.
Scientists said S l PR2 could work by helping to make the blood-brain barrier,in charge of stopping potentiA.ly harmful substances from entering the brain and spial fluid.more permeable.A more permeable barrier could let attacking cells，which cause MS，into the central nervous system，the study said.This link[between MS and S lPR2] is completely newit has never been found before.
Dr Emma Gray,of the MS Society,said："We don't yet fully understand why MS affects more women than men,and it's an area that's intrigued scientists，and people with MS，for many years.She said understanding the causes of MS was a"priority"for the MS Society in the UK.and could be"crucial"in finding new treatments. | 1206.txt | 3 |
[
"Four times more women than men are currently diagnosed with MS.",
"The level of S 1 PR2 was positively correlated with the severity of MS.",
"The reason why MS affects more women than men is unknown.",
"Multiple sclerosis discovery may explain gender gap."
]
| What can we infer from the whole passage? | Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in the US found higher levels of protein S1PR2in tests on the brains of female mice and dead women with MS than in male equivalents.Four times more women than men are currently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Experts said the finding was"really interesting".MS affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord，which causes problems with muscle movement，balance and vision.It is a major cause of disability,and affects about 1 00，000 people in the UK.Abnormal immune cells aRack nerve cells in the central Nervous system in MS patients.There is currently no cure，A.though there are treatments that can help in the early stages of the disease.
Researchers in Missouri looked at relapsing remittingMS，where people have distinct attacks of symptoms that tllen fade away either partially or completely.About 85％of all people with MS have this type.Scientists studied the blood vessels and brains of healthy mice，mice with MS，and mice without the gene for SlPR2，a blood vessel receptor protein，to see how it affected MS severity.They A.so 100ked at the brain tissue samples of 20 people after they had died.They found high levels of S1PR2 in the areas of the brain typically damaged by MS in both mice and people.Tlle activity of the gene coding for S1 PR2 was positively correlated with the severity of the disease in mice.the study said.
Scientists said S l PR2 could work by helping to make the blood-brain barrier,in charge of stopping potentiA.ly harmful substances from entering the brain and spial fluid.more permeable.A more permeable barrier could let attacking cells，which cause MS，into the central nervous system，the study said.This link[between MS and S lPR2] is completely newit has never been found before.
Dr Emma Gray,of the MS Society,said："We don't yet fully understand why MS affects more women than men,and it's an area that's intrigued scientists，and people with MS，for many years.She said understanding the causes of MS was a"priority"for the MS Society in the UK.and could be"crucial"in finding new treatments. | 1206.txt | 3 |
[
"Mickey Mouse",
"Clarence Nash",
"Walt Disney",
"Pluto"
]
| Who made Donald Duck film? | In 1933 an unknown American called Clarence Nash went to see the filmmaker Walt Disney. He had an unusual voice and he wanted to work in Disney's cartoon film for children. When Walt Disney heard Nash's voice, he said "Stop! That's our duck!"
The duck was the now-famous Donald Duck, who first appeared in 1934 in the film The Wise Little Hen. Donald lived in an old houseboat and wore his sailor jacket and hat. Later that year he became a star after an eight-minute Mickey Mouse film. The cinema audience liked him because he was lazy and greedy, and because he lost his temper very quickly. And they loved his voice when he became angry with Mickey's eight nephews. Soon Donald was more popular than Mickey Mouse himself, probably because he wasn't a goody-goody like Mickey.
In the 1930S,' 40s and ‘50s Donald and hid friends Mickey , Goofy and Pluto made hundreds of Disney cartoons. He also made educational films about the place of the USA in the world, and safety in the home. Then in 1966 Donald Duck and his voice disappeared---there were no more new cartoons.
Clarence Nash died in February, 1985. But today's children can still see the old cartoons on television and hear that famous voice. | 1271.txt | 2 |
[
"In 1933",
"In 1934",
"In 1966",
"In 1930"
]
| When was the first Donald Duck film made? | In 1933 an unknown American called Clarence Nash went to see the filmmaker Walt Disney. He had an unusual voice and he wanted to work in Disney's cartoon film for children. When Walt Disney heard Nash's voice, he said "Stop! That's our duck!"
The duck was the now-famous Donald Duck, who first appeared in 1934 in the film The Wise Little Hen. Donald lived in an old houseboat and wore his sailor jacket and hat. Later that year he became a star after an eight-minute Mickey Mouse film. The cinema audience liked him because he was lazy and greedy, and because he lost his temper very quickly. And they loved his voice when he became angry with Mickey's eight nephews. Soon Donald was more popular than Mickey Mouse himself, probably because he wasn't a goody-goody like Mickey.
In the 1930S,' 40s and ‘50s Donald and hid friends Mickey , Goofy and Pluto made hundreds of Disney cartoons. He also made educational films about the place of the USA in the world, and safety in the home. Then in 1966 Donald Duck and his voice disappeared---there were no more new cartoons.
Clarence Nash died in February, 1985. But today's children can still see the old cartoons on television and hear that famous voice. | 1271.txt | 1 |
[
"A cartoonist",
"Donald Duck's voice",
"A film-maker",
"A film star"
]
| Who was Clarence Nash? | In 1933 an unknown American called Clarence Nash went to see the filmmaker Walt Disney. He had an unusual voice and he wanted to work in Disney's cartoon film for children. When Walt Disney heard Nash's voice, he said "Stop! That's our duck!"
The duck was the now-famous Donald Duck, who first appeared in 1934 in the film The Wise Little Hen. Donald lived in an old houseboat and wore his sailor jacket and hat. Later that year he became a star after an eight-minute Mickey Mouse film. The cinema audience liked him because he was lazy and greedy, and because he lost his temper very quickly. And they loved his voice when he became angry with Mickey's eight nephews. Soon Donald was more popular than Mickey Mouse himself, probably because he wasn't a goody-goody like Mickey.
In the 1930S,' 40s and ‘50s Donald and hid friends Mickey , Goofy and Pluto made hundreds of Disney cartoons. He also made educational films about the place of the USA in the world, and safety in the home. Then in 1966 Donald Duck and his voice disappeared---there were no more new cartoons.
Clarence Nash died in February, 1985. But today's children can still see the old cartoons on television and hear that famous voice. | 1271.txt | 1 |
[
"In new film",
"At the cinema",
"On television",
"At concerts"
]
| Where do today's children see Donald Duck? | In 1933 an unknown American called Clarence Nash went to see the filmmaker Walt Disney. He had an unusual voice and he wanted to work in Disney's cartoon film for children. When Walt Disney heard Nash's voice, he said "Stop! That's our duck!"
The duck was the now-famous Donald Duck, who first appeared in 1934 in the film The Wise Little Hen. Donald lived in an old houseboat and wore his sailor jacket and hat. Later that year he became a star after an eight-minute Mickey Mouse film. The cinema audience liked him because he was lazy and greedy, and because he lost his temper very quickly. And they loved his voice when he became angry with Mickey's eight nephews. Soon Donald was more popular than Mickey Mouse himself, probably because he wasn't a goody-goody like Mickey.
In the 1930S,' 40s and ‘50s Donald and hid friends Mickey , Goofy and Pluto made hundreds of Disney cartoons. He also made educational films about the place of the USA in the world, and safety in the home. Then in 1966 Donald Duck and his voice disappeared---there were no more new cartoons.
Clarence Nash died in February, 1985. But today's children can still see the old cartoons on television and hear that famous voice. | 1271.txt | 2 |
[
"detect metallic flaws",
"run a nuclear reactor",
"cure cancer patients",
"strengthen concrete walls"
]
| Cobalt 60, besides irradiating food, is also employed to _ . | The food irradiation process is a simple one. The new U.S. plant, Vindicator of Florida Incorporated in Mulberry, Fla., uses a material called cobalt 60 to irradiate food. Cobalt 60 is radioactive isotope (form) of the metallic element cobalt. Cobalt 60, which gives off radiation in the form of gamma rays, is also used for radiation therapy for cancer patients and for sterilizing hospital equipment. The radioactive isotope is created by bombarding cobalt with subatomic particles in a nuclear reactor. However, irradiation plants do not themselves contain nuclear reactors.
In the irradiation plant, food is exposed to thin rods of cobalt 60. The rods give off gamma rays, which disrupt chemical processes in contaminating organisms. The disruption breaks down the cell walls of organisms or destroys their genetic material. The dose, set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA., is enough to kill organisms on food, but not enough to produce significant changes in the food itself.
Although irradiation slightly decreases the nutritive value of foods, the loss is less than that produced by some other methods of food preservation. Canning, for example, results in a much greater loss of nutrients.
Those who object to irradiation say that the process may create substances not found in nonirradiated food. Since the 1960's researchers have studied irradiated food at microscopic levels to try to find such substances, called unique radiolytic products. After reviewing these studies, the FDA determined that compounds formed during irradiation are similar to substance found in nonirradiated foods and are not dangerous to consume.
Destruction of microorganisms that cause illness is an important goal of irradiation. About 250 million cases of food poisoning or 1 per person-occur every year in the U.S., according to FDA estimates. Food poisoning can cause vomiting, diarrhea, fever, headache-and, occasionally, death.
Because of the apparent safety of food irradiation, and the problems presented by contaminated food, scientific groups-including the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations food and Agriculture Association-have voiced nearly universal support for the process. Worldwide, 38 nations have approved irradiation for 355 products.
Like microwave ovens, food irradiation has aroused apprehension and misunderstanding. Yet it has been scrutinized more thoroughly than other methods of food treatment that we have come to regard as safe, and it appears to be a method whose time has come. | 3930.txt | 2 |
[
"are generally not strong enough to destroy contaminating organisms",
"do not bring about significant changes in the food itself",
"may destroy some of the nutrients in the food",
"should be submitted to FDA for approval"
]
| Gamma rays used to irradiate food _ . | The food irradiation process is a simple one. The new U.S. plant, Vindicator of Florida Incorporated in Mulberry, Fla., uses a material called cobalt 60 to irradiate food. Cobalt 60 is radioactive isotope (form) of the metallic element cobalt. Cobalt 60, which gives off radiation in the form of gamma rays, is also used for radiation therapy for cancer patients and for sterilizing hospital equipment. The radioactive isotope is created by bombarding cobalt with subatomic particles in a nuclear reactor. However, irradiation plants do not themselves contain nuclear reactors.
In the irradiation plant, food is exposed to thin rods of cobalt 60. The rods give off gamma rays, which disrupt chemical processes in contaminating organisms. The disruption breaks down the cell walls of organisms or destroys their genetic material. The dose, set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA., is enough to kill organisms on food, but not enough to produce significant changes in the food itself.
Although irradiation slightly decreases the nutritive value of foods, the loss is less than that produced by some other methods of food preservation. Canning, for example, results in a much greater loss of nutrients.
Those who object to irradiation say that the process may create substances not found in nonirradiated food. Since the 1960's researchers have studied irradiated food at microscopic levels to try to find such substances, called unique radiolytic products. After reviewing these studies, the FDA determined that compounds formed during irradiation are similar to substance found in nonirradiated foods and are not dangerous to consume.
Destruction of microorganisms that cause illness is an important goal of irradiation. About 250 million cases of food poisoning or 1 per person-occur every year in the U.S., according to FDA estimates. Food poisoning can cause vomiting, diarrhea, fever, headache-and, occasionally, death.
Because of the apparent safety of food irradiation, and the problems presented by contaminated food, scientific groups-including the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations food and Agriculture Association-have voiced nearly universal support for the process. Worldwide, 38 nations have approved irradiation for 355 products.
Like microwave ovens, food irradiation has aroused apprehension and misunderstanding. Yet it has been scrutinized more thoroughly than other methods of food treatment that we have come to regard as safe, and it appears to be a method whose time has come. | 3930.txt | 1 |
[
"certainly loses its nutritive value",
"maintains its nutritive value no different from the nonirradiated",
"keeps its nutritive value better than canned food",
"is recommended as the best of all preserved foods"
]
| Irradiated food _ . | The food irradiation process is a simple one. The new U.S. plant, Vindicator of Florida Incorporated in Mulberry, Fla., uses a material called cobalt 60 to irradiate food. Cobalt 60 is radioactive isotope (form) of the metallic element cobalt. Cobalt 60, which gives off radiation in the form of gamma rays, is also used for radiation therapy for cancer patients and for sterilizing hospital equipment. The radioactive isotope is created by bombarding cobalt with subatomic particles in a nuclear reactor. However, irradiation plants do not themselves contain nuclear reactors.
In the irradiation plant, food is exposed to thin rods of cobalt 60. The rods give off gamma rays, which disrupt chemical processes in contaminating organisms. The disruption breaks down the cell walls of organisms or destroys their genetic material. The dose, set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA., is enough to kill organisms on food, but not enough to produce significant changes in the food itself.
Although irradiation slightly decreases the nutritive value of foods, the loss is less than that produced by some other methods of food preservation. Canning, for example, results in a much greater loss of nutrients.
Those who object to irradiation say that the process may create substances not found in nonirradiated food. Since the 1960's researchers have studied irradiated food at microscopic levels to try to find such substances, called unique radiolytic products. After reviewing these studies, the FDA determined that compounds formed during irradiation are similar to substance found in nonirradiated foods and are not dangerous to consume.
Destruction of microorganisms that cause illness is an important goal of irradiation. About 250 million cases of food poisoning or 1 per person-occur every year in the U.S., according to FDA estimates. Food poisoning can cause vomiting, diarrhea, fever, headache-and, occasionally, death.
Because of the apparent safety of food irradiation, and the problems presented by contaminated food, scientific groups-including the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations food and Agriculture Association-have voiced nearly universal support for the process. Worldwide, 38 nations have approved irradiation for 355 products.
Like microwave ovens, food irradiation has aroused apprehension and misunderstanding. Yet it has been scrutinized more thoroughly than other methods of food treatment that we have come to regard as safe, and it appears to be a method whose time has come. | 3930.txt | 2 |
[
"food irradiation should be carried out with care",
"it is more urgent to irradiate foods",
"medical researches into treatment of the diseased should be strengthened",
"Americans are beginning to accept food irradiation"
]
| With cases of food poisoning increasing, _ . | The food irradiation process is a simple one. The new U.S. plant, Vindicator of Florida Incorporated in Mulberry, Fla., uses a material called cobalt 60 to irradiate food. Cobalt 60 is radioactive isotope (form) of the metallic element cobalt. Cobalt 60, which gives off radiation in the form of gamma rays, is also used for radiation therapy for cancer patients and for sterilizing hospital equipment. The radioactive isotope is created by bombarding cobalt with subatomic particles in a nuclear reactor. However, irradiation plants do not themselves contain nuclear reactors.
In the irradiation plant, food is exposed to thin rods of cobalt 60. The rods give off gamma rays, which disrupt chemical processes in contaminating organisms. The disruption breaks down the cell walls of organisms or destroys their genetic material. The dose, set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA., is enough to kill organisms on food, but not enough to produce significant changes in the food itself.
Although irradiation slightly decreases the nutritive value of foods, the loss is less than that produced by some other methods of food preservation. Canning, for example, results in a much greater loss of nutrients.
Those who object to irradiation say that the process may create substances not found in nonirradiated food. Since the 1960's researchers have studied irradiated food at microscopic levels to try to find such substances, called unique radiolytic products. After reviewing these studies, the FDA determined that compounds formed during irradiation are similar to substance found in nonirradiated foods and are not dangerous to consume.
Destruction of microorganisms that cause illness is an important goal of irradiation. About 250 million cases of food poisoning or 1 per person-occur every year in the U.S., according to FDA estimates. Food poisoning can cause vomiting, diarrhea, fever, headache-and, occasionally, death.
Because of the apparent safety of food irradiation, and the problems presented by contaminated food, scientific groups-including the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations food and Agriculture Association-have voiced nearly universal support for the process. Worldwide, 38 nations have approved irradiation for 355 products.
Like microwave ovens, food irradiation has aroused apprehension and misunderstanding. Yet it has been scrutinized more thoroughly than other methods of food treatment that we have come to regard as safe, and it appears to be a method whose time has come. | 3930.txt | 2 |
[
"a news report",
"a textbook of food processing",
"a book of popular science",
"a manual of food irradiation"
]
| The passage may be taken from _ . | The food irradiation process is a simple one. The new U.S. plant, Vindicator of Florida Incorporated in Mulberry, Fla., uses a material called cobalt 60 to irradiate food. Cobalt 60 is radioactive isotope (form) of the metallic element cobalt. Cobalt 60, which gives off radiation in the form of gamma rays, is also used for radiation therapy for cancer patients and for sterilizing hospital equipment. The radioactive isotope is created by bombarding cobalt with subatomic particles in a nuclear reactor. However, irradiation plants do not themselves contain nuclear reactors.
In the irradiation plant, food is exposed to thin rods of cobalt 60. The rods give off gamma rays, which disrupt chemical processes in contaminating organisms. The disruption breaks down the cell walls of organisms or destroys their genetic material. The dose, set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA., is enough to kill organisms on food, but not enough to produce significant changes in the food itself.
Although irradiation slightly decreases the nutritive value of foods, the loss is less than that produced by some other methods of food preservation. Canning, for example, results in a much greater loss of nutrients.
Those who object to irradiation say that the process may create substances not found in nonirradiated food. Since the 1960's researchers have studied irradiated food at microscopic levels to try to find such substances, called unique radiolytic products. After reviewing these studies, the FDA determined that compounds formed during irradiation are similar to substance found in nonirradiated foods and are not dangerous to consume.
Destruction of microorganisms that cause illness is an important goal of irradiation. About 250 million cases of food poisoning or 1 per person-occur every year in the U.S., according to FDA estimates. Food poisoning can cause vomiting, diarrhea, fever, headache-and, occasionally, death.
Because of the apparent safety of food irradiation, and the problems presented by contaminated food, scientific groups-including the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations food and Agriculture Association-have voiced nearly universal support for the process. Worldwide, 38 nations have approved irradiation for 355 products.
Like microwave ovens, food irradiation has aroused apprehension and misunderstanding. Yet it has been scrutinized more thoroughly than other methods of food treatment that we have come to regard as safe, and it appears to be a method whose time has come. | 3930.txt | 3 |
[
"the differences between robots and men",
"the reason why men need to sleep",
"about the need for robots to save power",
"about the danger of men working at night"
]
| The author uses the example of the robot in space exploration to tell us ________. | Suppose we built a robot to explore the planet Mars. We provide the robot with seeing detectors to keep it away from danger. It is powered entirely by the sun. Should we program the robot to be equally active at all times? No. The robot would be using up energy at a time when it was not receiving any. So we would probably program it to cease its activity at night and to wake up at dawn the next morning.
According to the evolutionary theory of sleep, evolution equipped us with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking for the same reason. The theory does not deny that sleep provides some important restorative functions. It merely says that evolution has programmed us to perform those functions at a time when activity would be inefficient and possibly dangerous. However, sleep protects us only from the sort of trouble we might walk into; it does not protect us from trouble that comes looking for us. So we sleep well when we are in familiar, safe place, but we sleep lightly, if at all, when we fear that bears will nose into the tent.
The evolutionary theory accounts well for differences in sleep among creatures. Why do cats, for instance, sleep so much, while horses sleep so little? Surely cats do not need five times as much repair and restoration as horses do. But cats can afford to have long periods of inactivity because they spend little time eating and are unlikely to be attacked while they sleep. Horses must spend almost all their waking hours eating, because what they eat is very low in energy value. Moreover, they cannot afford to sleep too long or too deeply, because their survival depends on their ability to run away from attackers. | 3451.txt | 1 |
[
"maintain a regular pattern of life",
"prevent trouble that comes looking for him",
"avoid danger and inefficient labor",
"restore his bodily functions"
]
| Evolution has programmed man to sleep at night chiefly to help him ________. | Suppose we built a robot to explore the planet Mars. We provide the robot with seeing detectors to keep it away from danger. It is powered entirely by the sun. Should we program the robot to be equally active at all times? No. The robot would be using up energy at a time when it was not receiving any. So we would probably program it to cease its activity at night and to wake up at dawn the next morning.
According to the evolutionary theory of sleep, evolution equipped us with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking for the same reason. The theory does not deny that sleep provides some important restorative functions. It merely says that evolution has programmed us to perform those functions at a time when activity would be inefficient and possibly dangerous. However, sleep protects us only from the sort of trouble we might walk into; it does not protect us from trouble that comes looking for us. So we sleep well when we are in familiar, safe place, but we sleep lightly, if at all, when we fear that bears will nose into the tent.
The evolutionary theory accounts well for differences in sleep among creatures. Why do cats, for instance, sleep so much, while horses sleep so little? Surely cats do not need five times as much repair and restoration as horses do. But cats can afford to have long periods of inactivity because they spend little time eating and are unlikely to be attacked while they sleep. Horses must spend almost all their waking hours eating, because what they eat is very low in energy value. Moreover, they cannot afford to sleep too long or too deeply, because their survival depends on their ability to run away from attackers. | 3451.txt | 2 |
[
"are worrying about our safety",
"are overworked",
"are in a tent",
"are away from home"
]
| According to the author, we cannot sleep well when we ________. | Suppose we built a robot to explore the planet Mars. We provide the robot with seeing detectors to keep it away from danger. It is powered entirely by the sun. Should we program the robot to be equally active at all times? No. The robot would be using up energy at a time when it was not receiving any. So we would probably program it to cease its activity at night and to wake up at dawn the next morning.
According to the evolutionary theory of sleep, evolution equipped us with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking for the same reason. The theory does not deny that sleep provides some important restorative functions. It merely says that evolution has programmed us to perform those functions at a time when activity would be inefficient and possibly dangerous. However, sleep protects us only from the sort of trouble we might walk into; it does not protect us from trouble that comes looking for us. So we sleep well when we are in familiar, safe place, but we sleep lightly, if at all, when we fear that bears will nose into the tent.
The evolutionary theory accounts well for differences in sleep among creatures. Why do cats, for instance, sleep so much, while horses sleep so little? Surely cats do not need five times as much repair and restoration as horses do. But cats can afford to have long periods of inactivity because they spend little time eating and are unlikely to be attacked while they sleep. Horses must spend almost all their waking hours eating, because what they eat is very low in energy value. Moreover, they cannot afford to sleep too long or too deeply, because their survival depends on their ability to run away from attackers. | 3451.txt | 0 |
[
"need more time for restoration",
"are unlikely to be attackers",
"are more active than horses when they are awake",
"spend less time eating to get enough energy"
]
| Cats sleep much more than horses do partly because cats ________. | Suppose we built a robot to explore the planet Mars. We provide the robot with seeing detectors to keep it away from danger. It is powered entirely by the sun. Should we program the robot to be equally active at all times? No. The robot would be using up energy at a time when it was not receiving any. So we would probably program it to cease its activity at night and to wake up at dawn the next morning.
According to the evolutionary theory of sleep, evolution equipped us with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking for the same reason. The theory does not deny that sleep provides some important restorative functions. It merely says that evolution has programmed us to perform those functions at a time when activity would be inefficient and possibly dangerous. However, sleep protects us only from the sort of trouble we might walk into; it does not protect us from trouble that comes looking for us. So we sleep well when we are in familiar, safe place, but we sleep lightly, if at all, when we fear that bears will nose into the tent.
The evolutionary theory accounts well for differences in sleep among creatures. Why do cats, for instance, sleep so much, while horses sleep so little? Surely cats do not need five times as much repair and restoration as horses do. But cats can afford to have long periods of inactivity because they spend little time eating and are unlikely to be attacked while they sleep. Horses must spend almost all their waking hours eating, because what they eat is very low in energy value. Moreover, they cannot afford to sleep too long or too deeply, because their survival depends on their ability to run away from attackers. | 3451.txt | 3 |
[
"Evolution has equipped all creatures with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking.",
"The study of sleep is an important part of the evolutionary theory.",
"Sleeping patterns must be taken into consideration in the designing of robots.",
"The sleeping pattern of a living creature is determined by the food it eats."
]
| Which of the following is the main idea of the passage? ________. | Suppose we built a robot to explore the planet Mars. We provide the robot with seeing detectors to keep it away from danger. It is powered entirely by the sun. Should we program the robot to be equally active at all times? No. The robot would be using up energy at a time when it was not receiving any. So we would probably program it to cease its activity at night and to wake up at dawn the next morning.
According to the evolutionary theory of sleep, evolution equipped us with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking for the same reason. The theory does not deny that sleep provides some important restorative functions. It merely says that evolution has programmed us to perform those functions at a time when activity would be inefficient and possibly dangerous. However, sleep protects us only from the sort of trouble we might walk into; it does not protect us from trouble that comes looking for us. So we sleep well when we are in familiar, safe place, but we sleep lightly, if at all, when we fear that bears will nose into the tent.
The evolutionary theory accounts well for differences in sleep among creatures. Why do cats, for instance, sleep so much, while horses sleep so little? Surely cats do not need five times as much repair and restoration as horses do. But cats can afford to have long periods of inactivity because they spend little time eating and are unlikely to be attacked while they sleep. Horses must spend almost all their waking hours eating, because what they eat is very low in energy value. Moreover, they cannot afford to sleep too long or too deeply, because their survival depends on their ability to run away from attackers. | 3451.txt | 0 |
[
"night blindness",
"heart disease",
"beriberi",
"rickets"
]
| Lack of Vitamin A will lead to _ . | Vitamins are important to our health.Difierent vitamins are found in difierent
foods.grains.vegetables and fruits,fish and meat,eggs and milk products.So which foods should be eaten to get enough of the vitamins our bodies need?Let us look at some important vitamins for the answer.
Vitamin A helps prevent skin and other tissues from becoming dry.People who do not get enough Vitamin A cannot see well in darkness.They may develop a condition that dries the eyes.This can result in infections and lead to blindness.Vitamin A is found in fish liver oil.It
is also in the yellow part of eggs.Sweet potatoes.carrots and other darkly colored fruits and vegetables contain substances that the body can change into Vitamin A.
Vitamin B is also called thiamine.Thiamine changes starchy foods jnto energy.It also
helps the heart and nervous system work smoothly.Without it.we would be weak and would not grow.We also might develop beriberi.Thiamine is found not iust in whole grains like brown rice.but also jn other foods.These include beans and peas.nuts.and meat and fish.
Vitamin C is needed for strong bones and teeth.and for healthy blood passages.It also helps wounds heal quickly.The body stores little Vitamin C.So we must get it every day in foods such as citrus fruits,tomatoes and uncooked cabbage.
Vitamin D increases levels of the element calcium(')in the blood.Calcium is needed for nerve and muscle cells to work normally.It is also needed to build strong bones.VitaminD prevents the children's bone disease rickets.Ultraviolet light from the sun changes a substance in the skin into vitamin D Fish liver oil also contains vitamin D.In some countries.milk producers add vitamin D to milk so children will get enough.
Vitamin K is needed for healthy blood.It thickens the blood around a cut to stop bleeding.Bacteria in the intestines f)normally produce vitamin K.It can also be found in pork products.1iver and in vegetables like cabbage.kale and spinach. | 2679.txt | 0 |
[
"Vitamin C",
"Vitamin K",
"pork products",
"Vitamin BI"
]
| _is able to change rice and wheat into energy | Vitamins are important to our health.Difierent vitamins are found in difierent
foods.grains.vegetables and fruits,fish and meat,eggs and milk products.So which foods should be eaten to get enough of the vitamins our bodies need?Let us look at some important vitamins for the answer.
Vitamin A helps prevent skin and other tissues from becoming dry.People who do not get enough Vitamin A cannot see well in darkness.They may develop a condition that dries the eyes.This can result in infections and lead to blindness.Vitamin A is found in fish liver oil.It
is also in the yellow part of eggs.Sweet potatoes.carrots and other darkly colored fruits and vegetables contain substances that the body can change into Vitamin A.
Vitamin B is also called thiamine.Thiamine changes starchy foods jnto energy.It also
helps the heart and nervous system work smoothly.Without it.we would be weak and would not grow.We also might develop beriberi.Thiamine is found not iust in whole grains like brown rice.but also jn other foods.These include beans and peas.nuts.and meat and fish.
Vitamin C is needed for strong bones and teeth.and for healthy blood passages.It also helps wounds heal quickly.The body stores little Vitamin C.So we must get it every day in foods such as citrus fruits,tomatoes and uncooked cabbage.
Vitamin D increases levels of the element calcium(')in the blood.Calcium is needed for nerve and muscle cells to work normally.It is also needed to build strong bones.VitaminD prevents the children's bone disease rickets.Ultraviolet light from the sun changes a substance in the skin into vitamin D Fish liver oil also contains vitamin D.In some countries.milk producers add vitamin D to milk so children will get enough.
Vitamin K is needed for healthy blood.It thickens the blood around a cut to stop bleeding.Bacteria in the intestines f)normally produce vitamin K.It can also be found in pork products.1iver and in vegetables like cabbage.kale and spinach. | 2679.txt | 3 |
[
"meat and fish",
"rice and milk",
"fruit and vegetables",
"eggs and bones"
]
| Every day we must eat certain _ to get Vitamin C. | Vitamins are important to our health.Difierent vitamins are found in difierent
foods.grains.vegetables and fruits,fish and meat,eggs and milk products.So which foods should be eaten to get enough of the vitamins our bodies need?Let us look at some important vitamins for the answer.
Vitamin A helps prevent skin and other tissues from becoming dry.People who do not get enough Vitamin A cannot see well in darkness.They may develop a condition that dries the eyes.This can result in infections and lead to blindness.Vitamin A is found in fish liver oil.It
is also in the yellow part of eggs.Sweet potatoes.carrots and other darkly colored fruits and vegetables contain substances that the body can change into Vitamin A.
Vitamin B is also called thiamine.Thiamine changes starchy foods jnto energy.It also
helps the heart and nervous system work smoothly.Without it.we would be weak and would not grow.We also might develop beriberi.Thiamine is found not iust in whole grains like brown rice.but also jn other foods.These include beans and peas.nuts.and meat and fish.
Vitamin C is needed for strong bones and teeth.and for healthy blood passages.It also helps wounds heal quickly.The body stores little Vitamin C.So we must get it every day in foods such as citrus fruits,tomatoes and uncooked cabbage.
Vitamin D increases levels of the element calcium(')in the blood.Calcium is needed for nerve and muscle cells to work normally.It is also needed to build strong bones.VitaminD prevents the children's bone disease rickets.Ultraviolet light from the sun changes a substance in the skin into vitamin D Fish liver oil also contains vitamin D.In some countries.milk producers add vitamin D to milk so children will get enough.
Vitamin K is needed for healthy blood.It thickens the blood around a cut to stop bleeding.Bacteria in the intestines f)normally produce vitamin K.It can also be found in pork products.1iver and in vegetables like cabbage.kale and spinach. | 2679.txt | 2 |
[
"vitamins are sometimes not necessary to our health",
"it is important to eat a mixture offoods every day",
"one food only contains one vitamin",
"fruits contain more vitamins than vegetables"
]
| It can be inferred from the passage that_. | Vitamins are important to our health.Difierent vitamins are found in difierent
foods.grains.vegetables and fruits,fish and meat,eggs and milk products.So which foods should be eaten to get enough of the vitamins our bodies need?Let us look at some important vitamins for the answer.
Vitamin A helps prevent skin and other tissues from becoming dry.People who do not get enough Vitamin A cannot see well in darkness.They may develop a condition that dries the eyes.This can result in infections and lead to blindness.Vitamin A is found in fish liver oil.It
is also in the yellow part of eggs.Sweet potatoes.carrots and other darkly colored fruits and vegetables contain substances that the body can change into Vitamin A.
Vitamin B is also called thiamine.Thiamine changes starchy foods jnto energy.It also
helps the heart and nervous system work smoothly.Without it.we would be weak and would not grow.We also might develop beriberi.Thiamine is found not iust in whole grains like brown rice.but also jn other foods.These include beans and peas.nuts.and meat and fish.
Vitamin C is needed for strong bones and teeth.and for healthy blood passages.It also helps wounds heal quickly.The body stores little Vitamin C.So we must get it every day in foods such as citrus fruits,tomatoes and uncooked cabbage.
Vitamin D increases levels of the element calcium(')in the blood.Calcium is needed for nerve and muscle cells to work normally.It is also needed to build strong bones.VitaminD prevents the children's bone disease rickets.Ultraviolet light from the sun changes a substance in the skin into vitamin D Fish liver oil also contains vitamin D.In some countries.milk producers add vitamin D to milk so children will get enough.
Vitamin K is needed for healthy blood.It thickens the blood around a cut to stop bleeding.Bacteria in the intestines f)normally produce vitamin K.It can also be found in pork products.1iver and in vegetables like cabbage.kale and spinach. | 2679.txt | 1 |
[
"afraid of technology",
"skilled in technology",
"ignorant of technology",
"incompetent in technology"
]
| The word ¡°techies¡± (Line 4, Para 1) probably refers to those who are £ß£ß£ß¡£ | Last weekend Kyle MacDonald in Montreal threw a party to celebrate the fact that he got his new home in exchange for a red paper clip. Starting a year ago, MacDonald bartered the clip for increasingly valuable stuff, including a camp stove and free rent in a Phoenix flat. Having announced his aim (the house) in advance, MacDonald likely got a boost from techies eager to see the Internet pass this daring test of its networking power. ¡°My whole motto was ¡®Start small, think big, and have fun¡¯, ¡± says MacDonald, 26, ¡°I really kept my effort on the creative side rather than the business side. ¡±
Yet as odd as the MacDonald exchange was, barter is now big business on the Net. This year more than 400,000 companies worldwide will exchange some $10 billion worth of goods and services on a growing number of barter sites. These Web sites allow companies to trade products for a virtual currency, which they can use to buy goods from other members. In Iceland, garment-maker Kapusalan sells a third of its output on the booming Vidskiptanetid exchange, earning virtual money that it uses to buy machinery and pay part of employee salaries. The Troc-services exchange in France offers more than 4,600 services, from math lessons to ironing¡£
This is not a primitive barter system. By creating currencies, the Internet removes a major barrier¡ªwhat Bob Meyer, publisher of BarterNews, calls ¡°the double coincidence of wants That is, two parties once not only had to find each other, but also an exchange of goods that both desired. Now, they can price the deal in virtual currency¡£
Barter also helps firms make use of idle capacity. For example, advertising is ¡°hugely bartered¡± because many media, particularly on the Web can supply new ad space at little cost. Moreover, Internet ads don't register in industry-growth statistics, because many exchanges are arranged outside the formal exchanges¡£
Like eBay, most barter sites allow members to ¡°grade¡± trading partners for honesty quality and so on.. Barter exchanges can allow firms in countries with hyperinflation or nontradable currencies to enter global trades. Next year, a nonprofit exchange called Quick Lift Two (QL2) plans to open in Nairobi, offering barter deals to 38,000 Kenyan farmers in remote areas. Two small planes will deliver the goods. QL2 director Gacii Waciuma says the farmers are excited to be ¡°liberated from corrupt middlemen¡£¡± For them, barter evokes a bright future, not a precapitalist past¡£ | 1164.txt | 1 |
[
"were impressed by his creativity",
"were eager to identify with his motto",
"liked his goal announced in advance",
"hoped to prove the power of the Internet"
]
| Many people may have deliberately helped Kyle because they £ß£ß£ß¡£ | Last weekend Kyle MacDonald in Montreal threw a party to celebrate the fact that he got his new home in exchange for a red paper clip. Starting a year ago, MacDonald bartered the clip for increasingly valuable stuff, including a camp stove and free rent in a Phoenix flat. Having announced his aim (the house) in advance, MacDonald likely got a boost from techies eager to see the Internet pass this daring test of its networking power. ¡°My whole motto was ¡®Start small, think big, and have fun¡¯, ¡± says MacDonald, 26, ¡°I really kept my effort on the creative side rather than the business side. ¡±
Yet as odd as the MacDonald exchange was, barter is now big business on the Net. This year more than 400,000 companies worldwide will exchange some $10 billion worth of goods and services on a growing number of barter sites. These Web sites allow companies to trade products for a virtual currency, which they can use to buy goods from other members. In Iceland, garment-maker Kapusalan sells a third of its output on the booming Vidskiptanetid exchange, earning virtual money that it uses to buy machinery and pay part of employee salaries. The Troc-services exchange in France offers more than 4,600 services, from math lessons to ironing¡£
This is not a primitive barter system. By creating currencies, the Internet removes a major barrier¡ªwhat Bob Meyer, publisher of BarterNews, calls ¡°the double coincidence of wants That is, two parties once not only had to find each other, but also an exchange of goods that both desired. Now, they can price the deal in virtual currency¡£
Barter also helps firms make use of idle capacity. For example, advertising is ¡°hugely bartered¡± because many media, particularly on the Web can supply new ad space at little cost. Moreover, Internet ads don't register in industry-growth statistics, because many exchanges are arranged outside the formal exchanges¡£
Like eBay, most barter sites allow members to ¡°grade¡± trading partners for honesty quality and so on.. Barter exchanges can allow firms in countries with hyperinflation or nontradable currencies to enter global trades. Next year, a nonprofit exchange called Quick Lift Two (QL2) plans to open in Nairobi, offering barter deals to 38,000 Kenyan farmers in remote areas. Two small planes will deliver the goods. QL2 director Gacii Waciuma says the farmers are excited to be ¡°liberated from corrupt middlemen¡£¡± For them, barter evokes a bright future, not a precapitalist past¡£ | 1164.txt | 3 |
[
"the size of barter sties",
"the use of virtual currency",
"the quality of goods or services",
"the location of trading companies]"
]
| The Internet barter system relies heavily on £ß£ß£ß¡£ | Last weekend Kyle MacDonald in Montreal threw a party to celebrate the fact that he got his new home in exchange for a red paper clip. Starting a year ago, MacDonald bartered the clip for increasingly valuable stuff, including a camp stove and free rent in a Phoenix flat. Having announced his aim (the house) in advance, MacDonald likely got a boost from techies eager to see the Internet pass this daring test of its networking power. ¡°My whole motto was ¡®Start small, think big, and have fun¡¯, ¡± says MacDonald, 26, ¡°I really kept my effort on the creative side rather than the business side. ¡±
Yet as odd as the MacDonald exchange was, barter is now big business on the Net. This year more than 400,000 companies worldwide will exchange some $10 billion worth of goods and services on a growing number of barter sites. These Web sites allow companies to trade products for a virtual currency, which they can use to buy goods from other members. In Iceland, garment-maker Kapusalan sells a third of its output on the booming Vidskiptanetid exchange, earning virtual money that it uses to buy machinery and pay part of employee salaries. The Troc-services exchange in France offers more than 4,600 services, from math lessons to ironing¡£
This is not a primitive barter system. By creating currencies, the Internet removes a major barrier¡ªwhat Bob Meyer, publisher of BarterNews, calls ¡°the double coincidence of wants That is, two parties once not only had to find each other, but also an exchange of goods that both desired. Now, they can price the deal in virtual currency¡£
Barter also helps firms make use of idle capacity. For example, advertising is ¡°hugely bartered¡± because many media, particularly on the Web can supply new ad space at little cost. Moreover, Internet ads don't register in industry-growth statistics, because many exchanges are arranged outside the formal exchanges¡£
Like eBay, most barter sites allow members to ¡°grade¡± trading partners for honesty quality and so on.. Barter exchanges can allow firms in countries with hyperinflation or nontradable currencies to enter global trades. Next year, a nonprofit exchange called Quick Lift Two (QL2) plans to open in Nairobi, offering barter deals to 38,000 Kenyan farmers in remote areas. Two small planes will deliver the goods. QL2 director Gacii Waciuma says the farmers are excited to be ¡°liberated from corrupt middlemen¡£¡± For them, barter evokes a bright future, not a precapitalist past¡£ | 1164.txt | 1 |
[
"companies make more profit",
"companies do formal exchanges",
"media register in statistics",
"media grade barter sites"
]
| It is implies that Internet advertisements can help £ß£ß£ß¡£ | Last weekend Kyle MacDonald in Montreal threw a party to celebrate the fact that he got his new home in exchange for a red paper clip. Starting a year ago, MacDonald bartered the clip for increasingly valuable stuff, including a camp stove and free rent in a Phoenix flat. Having announced his aim (the house) in advance, MacDonald likely got a boost from techies eager to see the Internet pass this daring test of its networking power. ¡°My whole motto was ¡®Start small, think big, and have fun¡¯, ¡± says MacDonald, 26, ¡°I really kept my effort on the creative side rather than the business side. ¡±
Yet as odd as the MacDonald exchange was, barter is now big business on the Net. This year more than 400,000 companies worldwide will exchange some $10 billion worth of goods and services on a growing number of barter sites. These Web sites allow companies to trade products for a virtual currency, which they can use to buy goods from other members. In Iceland, garment-maker Kapusalan sells a third of its output on the booming Vidskiptanetid exchange, earning virtual money that it uses to buy machinery and pay part of employee salaries. The Troc-services exchange in France offers more than 4,600 services, from math lessons to ironing¡£
This is not a primitive barter system. By creating currencies, the Internet removes a major barrier¡ªwhat Bob Meyer, publisher of BarterNews, calls ¡°the double coincidence of wants That is, two parties once not only had to find each other, but also an exchange of goods that both desired. Now, they can price the deal in virtual currency¡£
Barter also helps firms make use of idle capacity. For example, advertising is ¡°hugely bartered¡± because many media, particularly on the Web can supply new ad space at little cost. Moreover, Internet ads don't register in industry-growth statistics, because many exchanges are arranged outside the formal exchanges¡£
Like eBay, most barter sites allow members to ¡°grade¡± trading partners for honesty quality and so on.. Barter exchanges can allow firms in countries with hyperinflation or nontradable currencies to enter global trades. Next year, a nonprofit exchange called Quick Lift Two (QL2) plans to open in Nairobi, offering barter deals to 38,000 Kenyan farmers in remote areas. Two small planes will deliver the goods. QL2 director Gacii Waciuma says the farmers are excited to be ¡°liberated from corrupt middlemen¡£¡± For them, barter evokes a bright future, not a precapitalist past¡£ | 1164.txt | 0 |
[
"It is criticized for doing business in a primitive way¡£",
"It aims to deal with hyperinflation in some countries¡£",
"It helps get rid of middlemen in trade and exchange¡£",
"It is intended to evaluate the performance of trading partners¡£"
]
| Which of the follow is true of QL2 according to the author? | Last weekend Kyle MacDonald in Montreal threw a party to celebrate the fact that he got his new home in exchange for a red paper clip. Starting a year ago, MacDonald bartered the clip for increasingly valuable stuff, including a camp stove and free rent in a Phoenix flat. Having announced his aim (the house) in advance, MacDonald likely got a boost from techies eager to see the Internet pass this daring test of its networking power. ¡°My whole motto was ¡®Start small, think big, and have fun¡¯, ¡± says MacDonald, 26, ¡°I really kept my effort on the creative side rather than the business side. ¡±
Yet as odd as the MacDonald exchange was, barter is now big business on the Net. This year more than 400,000 companies worldwide will exchange some $10 billion worth of goods and services on a growing number of barter sites. These Web sites allow companies to trade products for a virtual currency, which they can use to buy goods from other members. In Iceland, garment-maker Kapusalan sells a third of its output on the booming Vidskiptanetid exchange, earning virtual money that it uses to buy machinery and pay part of employee salaries. The Troc-services exchange in France offers more than 4,600 services, from math lessons to ironing¡£
This is not a primitive barter system. By creating currencies, the Internet removes a major barrier¡ªwhat Bob Meyer, publisher of BarterNews, calls ¡°the double coincidence of wants That is, two parties once not only had to find each other, but also an exchange of goods that both desired. Now, they can price the deal in virtual currency¡£
Barter also helps firms make use of idle capacity. For example, advertising is ¡°hugely bartered¡± because many media, particularly on the Web can supply new ad space at little cost. Moreover, Internet ads don't register in industry-growth statistics, because many exchanges are arranged outside the formal exchanges¡£
Like eBay, most barter sites allow members to ¡°grade¡± trading partners for honesty quality and so on.. Barter exchanges can allow firms in countries with hyperinflation or nontradable currencies to enter global trades. Next year, a nonprofit exchange called Quick Lift Two (QL2) plans to open in Nairobi, offering barter deals to 38,000 Kenyan farmers in remote areas. Two small planes will deliver the goods. QL2 director Gacii Waciuma says the farmers are excited to be ¡°liberated from corrupt middlemen¡£¡± For them, barter evokes a bright future, not a precapitalist past¡£ | 1164.txt | 2 |
[
"to make sports less competitive",
"to make sports more challenging",
"to reduce their mental stress",
"to increase their sense of success"
]
| An effective way to prevent the burnout of young athletes is _ . | Sport is not only physically challenging, but it can also be mentally challenging. Criticism from coaches, parents, and other teammates, as well as pressure to win can create an excessive amount of anxiety or stress for young athletes . Stress can be physical, emotional, or psychological, and research has indicated that it can lead to burnout. Burnout has been described as dropping or quitting of an activity that was at one time enjoyable.
The early years of development are critical years for learning abut oneself. The sport setting is one where valuable experiences can take place. Young athletes can, for example, learn how to cooperate with others, make friends, and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their lives. Coaches and parents should be aware, at all times, that their feedback to youngsters can greatly affect their children. Youngsters may take their parents' and coaches' criticisms to heart and find a flaw in themselves.
Coaches and parents should also be cautious that youth sport participation does not become work for children. The outcome of the game should not be more important than the process of learning the sport and other life lessons. In today's youth sport setting, young athletes may be worrying more about who will win instead of enjoying themselves and the sport. Following a game, many parents and coaches focus on the outcome and find fault with youngsters' performances. Positive reinforcement should be provided regardless of the outcome. Research indicates that positive reinforcement motivates and has a greater effect on learning than criticism. Again, criticism can create high levels of stress, which can lead to burnout. | 946.txt | 2 |
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