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[
"man hasn't completely developed the riches of the sea",
"technology for exploring the sea has been solved",
"planting rice in the sea will be made possible in a short time",
"in the near future man can live on the ocean floor"
]
| It can be inferred from the passage that _ . | In the modern technological world the sea offers many resources to help mankind survive. (82)Resources on land are beginning to grow less. The sea, however, still offers hope to supply many of man's needs.
The riches of the sea yet to be developed by man's technology are impressive. Oil and gas explorations have existed for nearly thirty years. Valuable amounts of minerals such as iron, nickel and copper and so on 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 practiced in the past mainly by Oriental peoples.
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 such as hydroelectric power.
Technology is enabling man to explore ever deeper under the sea. The new undersea technology is providing divers with diving suits and undersea chambers that are kept at sea level pressure. The development of strong, new materials has made this possible.
The technology to harvest the sea continues to improve. By the year 2000, experts believe that the problems to exploit the food, minerals, and energy sources of the sea will be largely solved. | 2219.txt | 0 |
[
"evaluate",
"develop",
"gather",
"scatter"
]
| The word ―exploit‖ in the last paragraph could best be replaced by_. | In the modern technological world the sea offers many resources to help mankind survive. (82)Resources on land are beginning to grow less. The sea, however, still offers hope to supply many of man's needs.
The riches of the sea yet to be developed by man's technology are impressive. Oil and gas explorations have existed for nearly thirty years. Valuable amounts of minerals such as iron, nickel and copper and so on 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 practiced in the past mainly by Oriental peoples.
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 such as hydroelectric power.
Technology is enabling man to explore ever deeper under the sea. The new undersea technology is providing divers with diving suits and undersea chambers that are kept at sea level pressure. The development of strong, new materials has made this possible.
The technology to harvest the sea continues to improve. By the year 2000, experts believe that the problems to exploit the food, minerals, and energy sources of the sea will be largely solved. | 2219.txt | 1 |
[
"visits to the Nixon's Library",
"the Chinese students' visit to the US",
"a meeting discussing relations between China and the US",
"activities to strengthen the ties between the Chinese and Americans students"
]
| The words "Youth Summit" refer to _ . | "As I stood in front of the grave (）of President Richard Nixon, I was thinking about the time 25 year ago when this president helped bring the United States and China closer together."
This remark was made by a Shanghai student when speaking to his fellow student at the Nixon library in California, USA. He was one of 80 middle school students from China attending a month-long"Youth Summit". The Summit was to mark the 25th anniversary (） of President Nixon's journey to China, which was the turning point in China-US relations.
The Youth Summit was aimed at increasing understanding and friendship between young students of the two countries through visits and discussions. Seventyfive American students were selected to visit China. They also visited the Nixon Library on July 21 Before leaving for Beijing the next day. The head of the Library said he was pleased to see the American and Chinese students talking and laughing together.
One Chinese student said, "I didn't find it particularly difficult to talk with Americans. We have our differences, but we have a lot in common. Dialogue is good for us." | 3580.txt | 3 |
[
"died",
"visited China",
"became US president",
"started building the library in his name"
]
| The students from Shanghai thought about the time 25 years ago because it was when Nixon _ . | "As I stood in front of the grave (）of President Richard Nixon, I was thinking about the time 25 year ago when this president helped bring the United States and China closer together."
This remark was made by a Shanghai student when speaking to his fellow student at the Nixon library in California, USA. He was one of 80 middle school students from China attending a month-long"Youth Summit". The Summit was to mark the 25th anniversary (） of President Nixon's journey to China, which was the turning point in China-US relations.
The Youth Summit was aimed at increasing understanding and friendship between young students of the two countries through visits and discussions. Seventyfive American students were selected to visit China. They also visited the Nixon Library on July 21 Before leaving for Beijing the next day. The head of the Library said he was pleased to see the American and Chinese students talking and laughing together.
One Chinese student said, "I didn't find it particularly difficult to talk with Americans. We have our differences, but we have a lot in common. Dialogue is good for us." | 3580.txt | 1 |
[
"the China-US relations",
"the Nixon Library",
"President Nixon",
"the Youth Summit"
]
| The test is mainly about _ . | "As I stood in front of the grave (）of President Richard Nixon, I was thinking about the time 25 year ago when this president helped bring the United States and China closer together."
This remark was made by a Shanghai student when speaking to his fellow student at the Nixon library in California, USA. He was one of 80 middle school students from China attending a month-long"Youth Summit". The Summit was to mark the 25th anniversary (） of President Nixon's journey to China, which was the turning point in China-US relations.
The Youth Summit was aimed at increasing understanding and friendship between young students of the two countries through visits and discussions. Seventyfive American students were selected to visit China. They also visited the Nixon Library on July 21 Before leaving for Beijing the next day. The head of the Library said he was pleased to see the American and Chinese students talking and laughing together.
One Chinese student said, "I didn't find it particularly difficult to talk with Americans. We have our differences, but we have a lot in common. Dialogue is good for us." | 3580.txt | 3 |
[
"was strengthened",
"was not affected",
"was altered",
"was weakened"
]
| Laudenslager's experiment showed that the immune system of those rats who could turn off the electricity ________. | We sometimes think humans are uniquely vulnerable to anxiety, but stress seems to affect the immune defenses of lower animals too. In one experiment, for example, behavioral immunologist Mark Laudenslager, at the University of Denver, gave mild electric shocks to 24 rats. Half the animals could switch off the current by turning a wheel in their enclosure, while the other half could mot. The rats in the two groups were paired so that each time one rat turned the wheel it protected both itself and its helpless partner from the shock. Laudenslager found that the immune response was depressed below normal in the helpless rats but not in those that could turn off the electricity. What he has demonstrated, he believes, is that lack of control over an event, not the experience itself, is what weakens the immune system.
Other researchers agree. Jay Weiss, a psychologist at Duke University School of Medicine, has shown that animals who are allowed to control unpleasant stimuli don't develop sleep disturbances or changes in brain chemistry typical of stressed rats. But if the animals are confronted with situations they have no control over, they later behave passively when faced with experiences they can control. Such findings reinforce psychologists' suspicions that the experience or perception of helplessness is one of the most harmful factors in depression.
One of the most startling examples of how the mind can alter the immune response was discovered by chance. In 1975 psychologist Robert Ader at the University of Rochester School of Medicine conditioned mice to avoid saccharin by simultaneously feeding them the sweetener and injecting them with a drug that while suppressing their immune systems caused stomach upsets. Associating the saccharin with the stomach pains, the mice quickly learned to avoid the sweetener. In order to extinguish this dislike for the sweetener, Ader reexposed the animals to saccharin, this time without the drug, and was astonished to find that those mice that had received the highest amounts of sweetener during their earlier conditioning died. He could only speculate that he had so successfully conditioned the rats that saccharin alone now served to weaken their immune systems enough to kill them. | 3453.txt | 1 |
[
"try to control unpleasant stimuli",
"turn off the electricity",
"behave passively in controllable situations",
"become abnormally suspicious"
]
| According to the passage, the experience of helplessness causes rats to ________. | We sometimes think humans are uniquely vulnerable to anxiety, but stress seems to affect the immune defenses of lower animals too. In one experiment, for example, behavioral immunologist Mark Laudenslager, at the University of Denver, gave mild electric shocks to 24 rats. Half the animals could switch off the current by turning a wheel in their enclosure, while the other half could mot. The rats in the two groups were paired so that each time one rat turned the wheel it protected both itself and its helpless partner from the shock. Laudenslager found that the immune response was depressed below normal in the helpless rats but not in those that could turn off the electricity. What he has demonstrated, he believes, is that lack of control over an event, not the experience itself, is what weakens the immune system.
Other researchers agree. Jay Weiss, a psychologist at Duke University School of Medicine, has shown that animals who are allowed to control unpleasant stimuli don't develop sleep disturbances or changes in brain chemistry typical of stressed rats. But if the animals are confronted with situations they have no control over, they later behave passively when faced with experiences they can control. Such findings reinforce psychologists' suspicions that the experience or perception of helplessness is one of the most harmful factors in depression.
One of the most startling examples of how the mind can alter the immune response was discovered by chance. In 1975 psychologist Robert Ader at the University of Rochester School of Medicine conditioned mice to avoid saccharin by simultaneously feeding them the sweetener and injecting them with a drug that while suppressing their immune systems caused stomach upsets. Associating the saccharin with the stomach pains, the mice quickly learned to avoid the sweetener. In order to extinguish this dislike for the sweetener, Ader reexposed the animals to saccharin, this time without the drug, and was astonished to find that those mice that had received the highest amounts of sweetener during their earlier conditioning died. He could only speculate that he had so successfully conditioned the rats that saccharin alone now served to weaken their immune systems enough to kill them. | 3453.txt | 2 |
[
"they disliked its taste",
"it affected their immune systems",
"it led to stomach pains",
"they associated it with stomachaches"
]
| The reason why the mice in Ader's experiment avoided saccharin was that ________. | We sometimes think humans are uniquely vulnerable to anxiety, but stress seems to affect the immune defenses of lower animals too. In one experiment, for example, behavioral immunologist Mark Laudenslager, at the University of Denver, gave mild electric shocks to 24 rats. Half the animals could switch off the current by turning a wheel in their enclosure, while the other half could mot. The rats in the two groups were paired so that each time one rat turned the wheel it protected both itself and its helpless partner from the shock. Laudenslager found that the immune response was depressed below normal in the helpless rats but not in those that could turn off the electricity. What he has demonstrated, he believes, is that lack of control over an event, not the experience itself, is what weakens the immune system.
Other researchers agree. Jay Weiss, a psychologist at Duke University School of Medicine, has shown that animals who are allowed to control unpleasant stimuli don't develop sleep disturbances or changes in brain chemistry typical of stressed rats. But if the animals are confronted with situations they have no control over, they later behave passively when faced with experiences they can control. Such findings reinforce psychologists' suspicions that the experience or perception of helplessness is one of the most harmful factors in depression.
One of the most startling examples of how the mind can alter the immune response was discovered by chance. In 1975 psychologist Robert Ader at the University of Rochester School of Medicine conditioned mice to avoid saccharin by simultaneously feeding them the sweetener and injecting them with a drug that while suppressing their immune systems caused stomach upsets. Associating the saccharin with the stomach pains, the mice quickly learned to avoid the sweetener. In order to extinguish this dislike for the sweetener, Ader reexposed the animals to saccharin, this time without the drug, and was astonished to find that those mice that had received the highest amounts of sweetener during their earlier conditioning died. He could only speculate that he had so successfully conditioned the rats that saccharin alone now served to weaken their immune systems enough to kill them. | 3453.txt | 3 |
[
"they had been weakened psychologically by the saccharin",
"the sweetener was poisonous to them",
"their immune systems had been altered by the mind",
"they had taken too much sweetener during earlier conditioning"
]
| The passage tells us that the most probable reason for the death of the mice in Ader's experiment was that ________. | We sometimes think humans are uniquely vulnerable to anxiety, but stress seems to affect the immune defenses of lower animals too. In one experiment, for example, behavioral immunologist Mark Laudenslager, at the University of Denver, gave mild electric shocks to 24 rats. Half the animals could switch off the current by turning a wheel in their enclosure, while the other half could mot. The rats in the two groups were paired so that each time one rat turned the wheel it protected both itself and its helpless partner from the shock. Laudenslager found that the immune response was depressed below normal in the helpless rats but not in those that could turn off the electricity. What he has demonstrated, he believes, is that lack of control over an event, not the experience itself, is what weakens the immune system.
Other researchers agree. Jay Weiss, a psychologist at Duke University School of Medicine, has shown that animals who are allowed to control unpleasant stimuli don't develop sleep disturbances or changes in brain chemistry typical of stressed rats. But if the animals are confronted with situations they have no control over, they later behave passively when faced with experiences they can control. Such findings reinforce psychologists' suspicions that the experience or perception of helplessness is one of the most harmful factors in depression.
One of the most startling examples of how the mind can alter the immune response was discovered by chance. In 1975 psychologist Robert Ader at the University of Rochester School of Medicine conditioned mice to avoid saccharin by simultaneously feeding them the sweetener and injecting them with a drug that while suppressing their immune systems caused stomach upsets. Associating the saccharin with the stomach pains, the mice quickly learned to avoid the sweetener. In order to extinguish this dislike for the sweetener, Ader reexposed the animals to saccharin, this time without the drug, and was astonished to find that those mice that had received the highest amounts of sweetener during their earlier conditioning died. He could only speculate that he had so successfully conditioned the rats that saccharin alone now served to weaken their immune systems enough to kill them. | 3453.txt | 2 |
[
"can be weakened by conditioning",
"can be suppressed by drug injections",
"can be affected by frequent doses of saccharin",
"can be altered by electric shocks"
]
| It can be concluded from the passage that the immune systems of animals ________. | We sometimes think humans are uniquely vulnerable to anxiety, but stress seems to affect the immune defenses of lower animals too. In one experiment, for example, behavioral immunologist Mark Laudenslager, at the University of Denver, gave mild electric shocks to 24 rats. Half the animals could switch off the current by turning a wheel in their enclosure, while the other half could mot. The rats in the two groups were paired so that each time one rat turned the wheel it protected both itself and its helpless partner from the shock. Laudenslager found that the immune response was depressed below normal in the helpless rats but not in those that could turn off the electricity. What he has demonstrated, he believes, is that lack of control over an event, not the experience itself, is what weakens the immune system.
Other researchers agree. Jay Weiss, a psychologist at Duke University School of Medicine, has shown that animals who are allowed to control unpleasant stimuli don't develop sleep disturbances or changes in brain chemistry typical of stressed rats. But if the animals are confronted with situations they have no control over, they later behave passively when faced with experiences they can control. Such findings reinforce psychologists' suspicions that the experience or perception of helplessness is one of the most harmful factors in depression.
One of the most startling examples of how the mind can alter the immune response was discovered by chance. In 1975 psychologist Robert Ader at the University of Rochester School of Medicine conditioned mice to avoid saccharin by simultaneously feeding them the sweetener and injecting them with a drug that while suppressing their immune systems caused stomach upsets. Associating the saccharin with the stomach pains, the mice quickly learned to avoid the sweetener. In order to extinguish this dislike for the sweetener, Ader reexposed the animals to saccharin, this time without the drug, and was astonished to find that those mice that had received the highest amounts of sweetener during their earlier conditioning died. He could only speculate that he had so successfully conditioned the rats that saccharin alone now served to weaken their immune systems enough to kill them. | 3453.txt | 0 |
[
"computer monitoring.",
"work efficiency.",
"high productivity.",
"value on ethics."
]
| What characterizes Singapore's advancement is its _ . | Computers monitor everything in Singapore from soil composition to location of manholes.At the airport, it took just 15 seconds for the computerized immigration system to scan and approve my passport.It takes only one minute to be checked into a public hospital.
By 1998, almost every household will be wired for interactive cable TV and the Internet, the global computer network.Shoppers will be able to view and pay for products electronically.A 24-hour community telecomputing network will allow users to communicate with elected representatives and retrieve information about government services.It is all part of the government's plan to transform the nation into what it calls the "Intelligent Island".
In so many ways, Singapore has elevated the concept of efficiency to a kind of national ideology.For the past ten years, Singapore's work force was rated the best in the world-ahead of Japan and the U.S.-in terms of productivity, skill and attitude by the Business Environment Risk Intelligence service.
Behind the "Singapore miracle" is a man Richard Nixon described as one of "the ablest leaders I have met," one who, "in other times and other places, might have attained the world stature of a Churchill." Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore's struggle for independence in the 1950s, serving as Prime Minister from 1959 until 1990.Today (1995), at 71, he has nominally retired to the office of Senior Minister, where he continues to influence his country's future.Lee offered companies tax breaks, political stability, cheap labor and strike-free environment.
Nearly 90 percent of Singaporean adults now own their own homes and thanks to strict adherence to the principle of merit, personal opportunities abound."If you've got talent and work hard, you can be anything here," says a Malaysian-born woman who holds a high-level civil-service position.
Lee likes to boast that Singapore has avoided the "moral breakdown" of Western countries.He attributes his nation's success to strong family ties, a reliance on education as the engine of advancement and social philosophy that he claims is superior to America's.
In an interview with Reader's Digest, he said that the United States has "lost its bearings" by emphasizing individual rights at the expense of society."An ethical society," he said, "is one which matches human rights with responsibilities." | 62.txt | 3 |
[
"almost as great as Churchill.",
"not as great as Churchill.",
"only second to Churchill in being a leader.",
"just as great as Churchill."
]
| From Nixon's perspective, Lee is _ . | Computers monitor everything in Singapore from soil composition to location of manholes.At the airport, it took just 15 seconds for the computerized immigration system to scan and approve my passport.It takes only one minute to be checked into a public hospital.
By 1998, almost every household will be wired for interactive cable TV and the Internet, the global computer network.Shoppers will be able to view and pay for products electronically.A 24-hour community telecomputing network will allow users to communicate with elected representatives and retrieve information about government services.It is all part of the government's plan to transform the nation into what it calls the "Intelligent Island".
In so many ways, Singapore has elevated the concept of efficiency to a kind of national ideology.For the past ten years, Singapore's work force was rated the best in the world-ahead of Japan and the U.S.-in terms of productivity, skill and attitude by the Business Environment Risk Intelligence service.
Behind the "Singapore miracle" is a man Richard Nixon described as one of "the ablest leaders I have met," one who, "in other times and other places, might have attained the world stature of a Churchill." Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore's struggle for independence in the 1950s, serving as Prime Minister from 1959 until 1990.Today (1995), at 71, he has nominally retired to the office of Senior Minister, where he continues to influence his country's future.Lee offered companies tax breaks, political stability, cheap labor and strike-free environment.
Nearly 90 percent of Singaporean adults now own their own homes and thanks to strict adherence to the principle of merit, personal opportunities abound."If you've got talent and work hard, you can be anything here," says a Malaysian-born woman who holds a high-level civil-service position.
Lee likes to boast that Singapore has avoided the "moral breakdown" of Western countries.He attributes his nation's success to strong family ties, a reliance on education as the engine of advancement and social philosophy that he claims is superior to America's.
In an interview with Reader's Digest, he said that the United States has "lost its bearings" by emphasizing individual rights at the expense of society."An ethical society," he said, "is one which matches human rights with responsibilities." | 62.txt | 3 |
[
"become impatient.",
"failed to find the right position.",
"lost its foundation.",
"grown band-mannered."
]
| In the last paragraph, "lost its bearings" may mean _ . | Computers monitor everything in Singapore from soil composition to location of manholes.At the airport, it took just 15 seconds for the computerized immigration system to scan and approve my passport.It takes only one minute to be checked into a public hospital.
By 1998, almost every household will be wired for interactive cable TV and the Internet, the global computer network.Shoppers will be able to view and pay for products electronically.A 24-hour community telecomputing network will allow users to communicate with elected representatives and retrieve information about government services.It is all part of the government's plan to transform the nation into what it calls the "Intelligent Island".
In so many ways, Singapore has elevated the concept of efficiency to a kind of national ideology.For the past ten years, Singapore's work force was rated the best in the world-ahead of Japan and the U.S.-in terms of productivity, skill and attitude by the Business Environment Risk Intelligence service.
Behind the "Singapore miracle" is a man Richard Nixon described as one of "the ablest leaders I have met," one who, "in other times and other places, might have attained the world stature of a Churchill." Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore's struggle for independence in the 1950s, serving as Prime Minister from 1959 until 1990.Today (1995), at 71, he has nominally retired to the office of Senior Minister, where he continues to influence his country's future.Lee offered companies tax breaks, political stability, cheap labor and strike-free environment.
Nearly 90 percent of Singaporean adults now own their own homes and thanks to strict adherence to the principle of merit, personal opportunities abound."If you've got talent and work hard, you can be anything here," says a Malaysian-born woman who holds a high-level civil-service position.
Lee likes to boast that Singapore has avoided the "moral breakdown" of Western countries.He attributes his nation's success to strong family ties, a reliance on education as the engine of advancement and social philosophy that he claims is superior to America's.
In an interview with Reader's Digest, he said that the United States has "lost its bearings" by emphasizing individual rights at the expense of society."An ethical society," he said, "is one which matches human rights with responsibilities." | 62.txt | 1 |
[
"You can hope for a very bright prospect.",
"You may be able to do anything needed.",
"You can choose any job as you like.",
"You will become an outstanding worker."
]
| "You can be anything here"(Paragraph 5) may be paraphrased as _ . | Computers monitor everything in Singapore from soil composition to location of manholes.At the airport, it took just 15 seconds for the computerized immigration system to scan and approve my passport.It takes only one minute to be checked into a public hospital.
By 1998, almost every household will be wired for interactive cable TV and the Internet, the global computer network.Shoppers will be able to view and pay for products electronically.A 24-hour community telecomputing network will allow users to communicate with elected representatives and retrieve information about government services.It is all part of the government's plan to transform the nation into what it calls the "Intelligent Island".
In so many ways, Singapore has elevated the concept of efficiency to a kind of national ideology.For the past ten years, Singapore's work force was rated the best in the world-ahead of Japan and the U.S.-in terms of productivity, skill and attitude by the Business Environment Risk Intelligence service.
Behind the "Singapore miracle" is a man Richard Nixon described as one of "the ablest leaders I have met," one who, "in other times and other places, might have attained the world stature of a Churchill." Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore's struggle for independence in the 1950s, serving as Prime Minister from 1959 until 1990.Today (1995), at 71, he has nominally retired to the office of Senior Minister, where he continues to influence his country's future.Lee offered companies tax breaks, political stability, cheap labor and strike-free environment.
Nearly 90 percent of Singaporean adults now own their own homes and thanks to strict adherence to the principle of merit, personal opportunities abound."If you've got talent and work hard, you can be anything here," says a Malaysian-born woman who holds a high-level civil-service position.
Lee likes to boast that Singapore has avoided the "moral breakdown" of Western countries.He attributes his nation's success to strong family ties, a reliance on education as the engine of advancement and social philosophy that he claims is superior to America's.
In an interview with Reader's Digest, he said that the United States has "lost its bearings" by emphasizing individual rights at the expense of society."An ethical society," he said, "is one which matches human rights with responsibilities." | 62.txt | 0 |
[
"has been emphasized throughout the country.",
"has become an essential quality for citizens to aim at.",
"is brought forward by the government in order to compete with America.",
"is known as the basis for building the \"Intelligent Island.\""
]
| In Singapore, the concept of efficiency _ . | Computers monitor everything in Singapore from soil composition to location of manholes.At the airport, it took just 15 seconds for the computerized immigration system to scan and approve my passport.It takes only one minute to be checked into a public hospital.
By 1998, almost every household will be wired for interactive cable TV and the Internet, the global computer network.Shoppers will be able to view and pay for products electronically.A 24-hour community telecomputing network will allow users to communicate with elected representatives and retrieve information about government services.It is all part of the government's plan to transform the nation into what it calls the "Intelligent Island".
In so many ways, Singapore has elevated the concept of efficiency to a kind of national ideology.For the past ten years, Singapore's work force was rated the best in the world-ahead of Japan and the U.S.-in terms of productivity, skill and attitude by the Business Environment Risk Intelligence service.
Behind the "Singapore miracle" is a man Richard Nixon described as one of "the ablest leaders I have met," one who, "in other times and other places, might have attained the world stature of a Churchill." Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore's struggle for independence in the 1950s, serving as Prime Minister from 1959 until 1990.Today (1995), at 71, he has nominally retired to the office of Senior Minister, where he continues to influence his country's future.Lee offered companies tax breaks, political stability, cheap labor and strike-free environment.
Nearly 90 percent of Singaporean adults now own their own homes and thanks to strict adherence to the principle of merit, personal opportunities abound."If you've got talent and work hard, you can be anything here," says a Malaysian-born woman who holds a high-level civil-service position.
Lee likes to boast that Singapore has avoided the "moral breakdown" of Western countries.He attributes his nation's success to strong family ties, a reliance on education as the engine of advancement and social philosophy that he claims is superior to America's.
In an interview with Reader's Digest, he said that the United States has "lost its bearings" by emphasizing individual rights at the expense of society."An ethical society," he said, "is one which matches human rights with responsibilities." | 62.txt | 1 |
[
"for a scientist to plagiarize in his paper",
"for a scientist to falsify data in his research",
"for Dr Hwang to claim his research result",
"for Science to publish Dr Hwan9's paper"
]
| It is unforgivable_ .examda. | Well，he made it up.All of it，apparently.According to a report published on December 29th by Seoul National University in South Korea，its erstwhile employee Hwang W00-suk，who had tendered his resignation six days earlier，deliberately falsified his data in the paper on human embryonic stem cells that he and 24 colleagues published in Science in May 2005.
In particular，Dr Hwang claimed he had created l l colonies of human embryonic stem cells genetically matched to specific patients.He had already admitted that nine of these were bogus，but had said that this was the result of an honest mistake，and that the other two were still the real McCoy.A panel of experts appointed by the university to investigate the matter，however，disagreed.They found that DNA fingerprint traces conducted on the stem-cell lines reported in the paper had been manipulated to make it seem as if aH l l lines were tailored to specific patients.In fact，none of them matched the volunteers with spinal-cord injuries and diabetes who had donated skin cells for the work.To obtain his promisin9"results"，Dr Hwang had sent for testing two samples from each donor，rather than a sample from the donor and a sample of the cells into which the donor's DNA had supposedly been transplanted.
The panel also found that a second claim in the paper--that only l85 eggs were used to create the ll stem-cell lines--was false.The investigators said the actual number of eggs used was far larger，in the thousands，although they were unable to determine an exact figure.
The reason this double fraud is such a blow is that human embryonic stem-cell research has great expectations.Stem cells，which have not yet been programmed to specialise and can thus，in principle，grow into any tissue or organ。could be used to treat illnesses ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's disease.⑥They might even be able to fix spinal-cord inj uries.And stem cells cloned from a patient would not be rej ected as foreign by his immune system.
Dr Hwang's reputation，of course，is in tatters.The university is now investigating two other groundbrcaking experiments he claims to have conducted--the creation of the world's first cloned human embrvo and the extrac.tion of stem cells from it，and the creation of the world's first cloned d09.He is also in trouble for breaching ethical guidelines by using eggs donated by members of his research team. [410 words] | 1214.txt | 1 |
[
"he had created 11 stem-cell lines genetically matched to specific patients",
"nine of the 11 colonies of human embryonic stem cells were false",
"all 11 stem-cell lines were tailored to specific patients,examda.",
"only 185 eggs were used to create the 11 stem-cell lines"
]
| Dr Hwangs first fraud is his claim that_ | Well，he made it up.All of it，apparently.According to a report published on December 29th by Seoul National University in South Korea，its erstwhile employee Hwang W00-suk，who had tendered his resignation six days earlier，deliberately falsified his data in the paper on human embryonic stem cells that he and 24 colleagues published in Science in May 2005.
In particular，Dr Hwang claimed he had created l l colonies of human embryonic stem cells genetically matched to specific patients.He had already admitted that nine of these were bogus，but had said that this was the result of an honest mistake，and that the other two were still the real McCoy.A panel of experts appointed by the university to investigate the matter，however，disagreed.They found that DNA fingerprint traces conducted on the stem-cell lines reported in the paper had been manipulated to make it seem as if aH l l lines were tailored to specific patients.In fact，none of them matched the volunteers with spinal-cord injuries and diabetes who had donated skin cells for the work.To obtain his promisin9"results"，Dr Hwang had sent for testing two samples from each donor，rather than a sample from the donor and a sample of the cells into which the donor's DNA had supposedly been transplanted.
The panel also found that a second claim in the paper--that only l85 eggs were used to create the ll stem-cell lines--was false.The investigators said the actual number of eggs used was far larger，in the thousands，although they were unable to determine an exact figure.
The reason this double fraud is such a blow is that human embryonic stem-cell research has great expectations.Stem cells，which have not yet been programmed to specialise and can thus，in principle，grow into any tissue or organ。could be used to treat illnesses ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's disease.⑥They might even be able to fix spinal-cord inj uries.And stem cells cloned from a patient would not be rej ected as foreign by his immune system.
Dr Hwang's reputation，of course，is in tatters.The university is now investigating two other groundbrcaking experiments he claims to have conducted--the creation of the world's first cloned human embrvo and the extrac.tion of stem cells from it，and the creation of the world's first cloned d09.He is also in trouble for breaching ethical guidelines by using eggs donated by members of his research team. [410 words] | 1214.txt | 0 |
[
"Stem cells could be used to treat various illnesses.",
"Stem cells might be able to fix spinal-cord injuries. examda.",
"Human embryonic stem-cell research has irrational expectations.",
"The expectations for human embryonic stem-cell research have been impaired."
]
| Which of the following helps explain the serious impact of Dr Hwangs fraud? | Well，he made it up.All of it，apparently.According to a report published on December 29th by Seoul National University in South Korea，its erstwhile employee Hwang W00-suk，who had tendered his resignation six days earlier，deliberately falsified his data in the paper on human embryonic stem cells that he and 24 colleagues published in Science in May 2005.
In particular，Dr Hwang claimed he had created l l colonies of human embryonic stem cells genetically matched to specific patients.He had already admitted that nine of these were bogus，but had said that this was the result of an honest mistake，and that the other two were still the real McCoy.A panel of experts appointed by the university to investigate the matter，however，disagreed.They found that DNA fingerprint traces conducted on the stem-cell lines reported in the paper had been manipulated to make it seem as if aH l l lines were tailored to specific patients.In fact，none of them matched the volunteers with spinal-cord injuries and diabetes who had donated skin cells for the work.To obtain his promisin9"results"，Dr Hwang had sent for testing two samples from each donor，rather than a sample from the donor and a sample of the cells into which the donor's DNA had supposedly been transplanted.
The panel also found that a second claim in the paper--that only l85 eggs were used to create the ll stem-cell lines--was false.The investigators said the actual number of eggs used was far larger，in the thousands，although they were unable to determine an exact figure.
The reason this double fraud is such a blow is that human embryonic stem-cell research has great expectations.Stem cells，which have not yet been programmed to specialise and can thus，in principle，grow into any tissue or organ。could be used to treat illnesses ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's disease.⑥They might even be able to fix spinal-cord inj uries.And stem cells cloned from a patient would not be rej ected as foreign by his immune system.
Dr Hwang's reputation，of course，is in tatters.The university is now investigating two other groundbrcaking experiments he claims to have conducted--the creation of the world's first cloned human embrvo and the extrac.tion of stem cells from it，and the creation of the world's first cloned d09.He is also in trouble for breaching ethical guidelines by using eggs donated by members of his research team. [410 words] | 1214.txt | 3 |
[
"his cloned dog examda.",
"his cloned human embryo",
"his using eggs donated by his colleagues",
"his extraction of stem cells from the cloned human embryo"
]
| Dr Hwangs reputation suffers greatly partly owing t0_ | Well，he made it up.All of it，apparently.According to a report published on December 29th by Seoul National University in South Korea，its erstwhile employee Hwang W00-suk，who had tendered his resignation six days earlier，deliberately falsified his data in the paper on human embryonic stem cells that he and 24 colleagues published in Science in May 2005.
In particular，Dr Hwang claimed he had created l l colonies of human embryonic stem cells genetically matched to specific patients.He had already admitted that nine of these were bogus，but had said that this was the result of an honest mistake，and that the other two were still the real McCoy.A panel of experts appointed by the university to investigate the matter，however，disagreed.They found that DNA fingerprint traces conducted on the stem-cell lines reported in the paper had been manipulated to make it seem as if aH l l lines were tailored to specific patients.In fact，none of them matched the volunteers with spinal-cord injuries and diabetes who had donated skin cells for the work.To obtain his promisin9"results"，Dr Hwang had sent for testing two samples from each donor，rather than a sample from the donor and a sample of the cells into which the donor's DNA had supposedly been transplanted.
The panel also found that a second claim in the paper--that only l85 eggs were used to create the ll stem-cell lines--was false.The investigators said the actual number of eggs used was far larger，in the thousands，although they were unable to determine an exact figure.
The reason this double fraud is such a blow is that human embryonic stem-cell research has great expectations.Stem cells，which have not yet been programmed to specialise and can thus，in principle，grow into any tissue or organ。could be used to treat illnesses ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's disease.⑥They might even be able to fix spinal-cord inj uries.And stem cells cloned from a patient would not be rej ected as foreign by his immune system.
Dr Hwang's reputation，of course，is in tatters.The university is now investigating two other groundbrcaking experiments he claims to have conducted--the creation of the world's first cloned human embrvo and the extrac.tion of stem cells from it，and the creation of the world's first cloned d09.He is also in trouble for breaching ethical guidelines by using eggs donated by members of his research team. [410 words] | 1214.txt | 2 |
[
"Dr Hwang Woo-suk and his research",
"South Korea cloning pioneer disgraced",
"plarism in scientific research",
"human embryonic stem-cell research"
]
| The text is mainly about_ . | Well，he made it up.All of it，apparently.According to a report published on December 29th by Seoul National University in South Korea，its erstwhile employee Hwang W00-suk，who had tendered his resignation six days earlier，deliberately falsified his data in the paper on human embryonic stem cells that he and 24 colleagues published in Science in May 2005.
In particular，Dr Hwang claimed he had created l l colonies of human embryonic stem cells genetically matched to specific patients.He had already admitted that nine of these were bogus，but had said that this was the result of an honest mistake，and that the other two were still the real McCoy.A panel of experts appointed by the university to investigate the matter，however，disagreed.They found that DNA fingerprint traces conducted on the stem-cell lines reported in the paper had been manipulated to make it seem as if aH l l lines were tailored to specific patients.In fact，none of them matched the volunteers with spinal-cord injuries and diabetes who had donated skin cells for the work.To obtain his promisin9"results"，Dr Hwang had sent for testing two samples from each donor，rather than a sample from the donor and a sample of the cells into which the donor's DNA had supposedly been transplanted.
The panel also found that a second claim in the paper--that only l85 eggs were used to create the ll stem-cell lines--was false.The investigators said the actual number of eggs used was far larger，in the thousands，although they were unable to determine an exact figure.
The reason this double fraud is such a blow is that human embryonic stem-cell research has great expectations.Stem cells，which have not yet been programmed to specialise and can thus，in principle，grow into any tissue or organ。could be used to treat illnesses ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's disease.⑥They might even be able to fix spinal-cord inj uries.And stem cells cloned from a patient would not be rej ected as foreign by his immune system.
Dr Hwang's reputation，of course，is in tatters.The university is now investigating two other groundbrcaking experiments he claims to have conducted--the creation of the world's first cloned human embrvo and the extrac.tion of stem cells from it，and the creation of the world's first cloned d09.He is also in trouble for breaching ethical guidelines by using eggs donated by members of his research team. [410 words] | 1214.txt | 1 |
[
"He got a baby brother",
"He got a Christmas gift",
"He became four years old",
"He received a doll"
]
| what happened to the author on September 11 1958 ? | One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap.
On September 11th. 1958. Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying. "I promised you a gift, and here it is. " What an honor! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. 1 told it over and over how much I loved it!
One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as "hopeless", "pitiful", and "dying", which sounded ominous.
Christmas was coming. "Don't expect any presents this year." Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room. "If your baby brother lives, that'll be Christmas enough. " As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I'd never seen him cry before.
The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say. "What? He's all right?" He hung up and shouted upstairs. " The hospital said we can bring Richard home!"
"Thank God.'" I heard Mum cry.
From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I downstairs. My sacks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love! | 3740.txt | 0 |
[
"Excitement.",
"Happiness.",
"Sadness.",
"Disappointment."
]
| Which word can best describe the feeling of the father when Christmas was coming? | One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap.
On September 11th. 1958. Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying. "I promised you a gift, and here it is. " What an honor! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. 1 told it over and over how much I loved it!
One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as "hopeless", "pitiful", and "dying", which sounded ominous.
Christmas was coming. "Don't expect any presents this year." Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room. "If your baby brother lives, that'll be Christmas enough. " As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I'd never seen him cry before.
The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say. "What? He's all right?" He hung up and shouted upstairs. " The hospital said we can bring Richard home!"
"Thank God.'" I heard Mum cry.
From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I downstairs. My sacks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love! | 3740.txt | 2 |
[
"A sad Christmas day",
"Life with a lovely baby",
"A special Christmas gift.",
"Memories of a happy family"
]
| What is the passage mainly about ? | One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap.
On September 11th. 1958. Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying. "I promised you a gift, and here it is. " What an honor! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. 1 told it over and over how much I loved it!
One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as "hopeless", "pitiful", and "dying", which sounded ominous.
Christmas was coming. "Don't expect any presents this year." Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room. "If your baby brother lives, that'll be Christmas enough. " As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I'd never seen him cry before.
The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say. "What? He's all right?" He hung up and shouted upstairs. " The hospital said we can bring Richard home!"
"Thank God.'" I heard Mum cry.
From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I downstairs. My sacks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love! | 3740.txt | 2 |
[
"the treatments should be paid for out of public funds.",
"the treatments are not so compulsory as they consume the limited public funds.",
"the treatments are not necessarily only paid for out of public funds.",
"the public is not obliged to pay for such treatments of no urgent nature."
]
| According to the text, the public's opinion on the infertility treatments is that___ | Infertility is normally seen as a private matter. If a couple are infertile and wish theywere not, that is sad. But there is understandable resistance in many countries to the ideathat treatments intended to deal with this sadness-known collectively as assistedreproductive technologies, or ARTs-should be paid for out of public funds. Such funds arescarce, and infertility is not a life-threatening condition.However, two papers presented to the "State of the ART" conference held earlier thismonth in Lyon argue that in Europe, at least, there may be a public interest in promotingARTs after all. The low fertility rate in many of that continent's more developed countriesmeans their populations are ageing and shrinking. If governments want to change this,ARTs-most significantly in-vitro fertilisation (IVF)-could offer at least part of a way to doso.
As the conference heard, IVF does seem to be keeping up the numbers in at least onecountry. Tina Jensen of the University of Southern Denmark has just finished a study ofmore than 700,000 Danish women. She found that young women in Denmark have asignificantly lower natural conception rate than in past decades. That is partly, but notentirely, because they are having their children later in life. The rest of the cause isunknown, though reduced sperm quality in men may be a factor. Whatever the cause, shealso found that the effect has been almost completely compensated for by an increasing useof ARTs. Denmark's native population is more or less stable, but some 3.9% of babies bornthere in 2003 were the result of IVF. The comparable figure for another northern Europeancountry, Britain, was 1.5%.
Without IVF, then, the number of Danes would be shrinking fast. That it is not may havesomething to do with the fact that in Denmark the taxpayer will cover up to six cycles of IVFtreatment. In Britain, by contrast, couples are supposed to be entitled to three cycles. Inpractice, many of the local trusts that dish the money out do not pay for any cycles at all.Jonathan Grant, the head of the Cambridge branch of the Rand Corporation (an Americanthink-tank), believes this is shortsighted. His paper showed that if Britain supported IVF atthe Danish level then its birth rate would probably increase by about 10,000 a year.The cost of offering six cycles to couples (and doing so in practice, rather than just intheory) would be an extra £250m-430m a year. That is not trivial, but Dr. Grant reckons it ischeaper than other ways of boosting the birth rate. Some countries, for example, have triedto bribe women into having more children by increasing child benefits. According to hiscalculations, raising such benefits costs between £50,000 and £100,000 a year for eachadditional birth procured. Ten thousand extra births each year would thus cost between£500m and £1 billion.
There are, of course, some disadvantages to promoting IVF. In particular, women whouse it tend to be older than those who conceive naturally, and that can lead to congenitalproblems in their children. But if the countries of Europe do wish to keep their populationsup, making IVF more widely available might be a good way of doing so. | 800.txt | 1 |
[
"ARTs have reversed the tendency of population decreasing in Denmark.",
"Danes's problem of low natural conception has been completely counterbalanced by the widely use of ARTs.",
"The population of Denmark is not decreasing after the adoption of ARTs.",
"IVF has played an essential role in Denmark in terms of keeping up the number of population."
]
| According to the study conducted by Tina Jensen, which one of the following statements is true? | Infertility is normally seen as a private matter. If a couple are infertile and wish theywere not, that is sad. But there is understandable resistance in many countries to the ideathat treatments intended to deal with this sadness-known collectively as assistedreproductive technologies, or ARTs-should be paid for out of public funds. Such funds arescarce, and infertility is not a life-threatening condition.However, two papers presented to the "State of the ART" conference held earlier thismonth in Lyon argue that in Europe, at least, there may be a public interest in promotingARTs after all. The low fertility rate in many of that continent's more developed countriesmeans their populations are ageing and shrinking. If governments want to change this,ARTs-most significantly in-vitro fertilisation (IVF)-could offer at least part of a way to doso.
As the conference heard, IVF does seem to be keeping up the numbers in at least onecountry. Tina Jensen of the University of Southern Denmark has just finished a study ofmore than 700,000 Danish women. She found that young women in Denmark have asignificantly lower natural conception rate than in past decades. That is partly, but notentirely, because they are having their children later in life. The rest of the cause isunknown, though reduced sperm quality in men may be a factor. Whatever the cause, shealso found that the effect has been almost completely compensated for by an increasing useof ARTs. Denmark's native population is more or less stable, but some 3.9% of babies bornthere in 2003 were the result of IVF. The comparable figure for another northern Europeancountry, Britain, was 1.5%.
Without IVF, then, the number of Danes would be shrinking fast. That it is not may havesomething to do with the fact that in Denmark the taxpayer will cover up to six cycles of IVFtreatment. In Britain, by contrast, couples are supposed to be entitled to three cycles. Inpractice, many of the local trusts that dish the money out do not pay for any cycles at all.Jonathan Grant, the head of the Cambridge branch of the Rand Corporation (an Americanthink-tank), believes this is shortsighted. His paper showed that if Britain supported IVF atthe Danish level then its birth rate would probably increase by about 10,000 a year.The cost of offering six cycles to couples (and doing so in practice, rather than just intheory) would be an extra £250m-430m a year. That is not trivial, but Dr. Grant reckons it ischeaper than other ways of boosting the birth rate. Some countries, for example, have triedto bribe women into having more children by increasing child benefits. According to hiscalculations, raising such benefits costs between £50,000 and £100,000 a year for eachadditional birth procured. Ten thousand extra births each year would thus cost between£500m and £1 billion.
There are, of course, some disadvantages to promoting IVF. In particular, women whouse it tend to be older than those who conceive naturally, and that can lead to congenitalproblems in their children. But if the countries of Europe do wish to keep their populationsup, making IVF more widely available might be a good way of doing so. | 800.txt | 3 |
[
"the cost of offering six cycles of IVF to couples is not high at all.",
"IVF treatment is an economical way of solving population shrinking.",
"Britain does not promote adopting IVF to boost the birth rate.",
"encouraging women to bear more babies by bonus is not so efficient to solve the problem of population shrinking."
]
| From the paper of Dr. Grant, it can be inferred that ______ | Infertility is normally seen as a private matter. If a couple are infertile and wish theywere not, that is sad. But there is understandable resistance in many countries to the ideathat treatments intended to deal with this sadness-known collectively as assistedreproductive technologies, or ARTs-should be paid for out of public funds. Such funds arescarce, and infertility is not a life-threatening condition.However, two papers presented to the "State of the ART" conference held earlier thismonth in Lyon argue that in Europe, at least, there may be a public interest in promotingARTs after all. The low fertility rate in many of that continent's more developed countriesmeans their populations are ageing and shrinking. If governments want to change this,ARTs-most significantly in-vitro fertilisation (IVF)-could offer at least part of a way to doso.
As the conference heard, IVF does seem to be keeping up the numbers in at least onecountry. Tina Jensen of the University of Southern Denmark has just finished a study ofmore than 700,000 Danish women. She found that young women in Denmark have asignificantly lower natural conception rate than in past decades. That is partly, but notentirely, because they are having their children later in life. The rest of the cause isunknown, though reduced sperm quality in men may be a factor. Whatever the cause, shealso found that the effect has been almost completely compensated for by an increasing useof ARTs. Denmark's native population is more or less stable, but some 3.9% of babies bornthere in 2003 were the result of IVF. The comparable figure for another northern Europeancountry, Britain, was 1.5%.
Without IVF, then, the number of Danes would be shrinking fast. That it is not may havesomething to do with the fact that in Denmark the taxpayer will cover up to six cycles of IVFtreatment. In Britain, by contrast, couples are supposed to be entitled to three cycles. Inpractice, many of the local trusts that dish the money out do not pay for any cycles at all.Jonathan Grant, the head of the Cambridge branch of the Rand Corporation (an Americanthink-tank), believes this is shortsighted. His paper showed that if Britain supported IVF atthe Danish level then its birth rate would probably increase by about 10,000 a year.The cost of offering six cycles to couples (and doing so in practice, rather than just intheory) would be an extra £250m-430m a year. That is not trivial, but Dr. Grant reckons it ischeaper than other ways of boosting the birth rate. Some countries, for example, have triedto bribe women into having more children by increasing child benefits. According to hiscalculations, raising such benefits costs between £50,000 and £100,000 a year for eachadditional birth procured. Ten thousand extra births each year would thus cost between£500m and £1 billion.
There are, of course, some disadvantages to promoting IVF. In particular, women whouse it tend to be older than those who conceive naturally, and that can lead to congenitalproblems in their children. But if the countries of Europe do wish to keep their populationsup, making IVF more widely available might be a good way of doing so. | 800.txt | 0 |
[
"innate.",
"instinctive.",
"cerebral.",
"acquired."
]
| The word "congenital" (Line 2, Paragraph 6) most probably means _____ | Infertility is normally seen as a private matter. If a couple are infertile and wish theywere not, that is sad. But there is understandable resistance in many countries to the ideathat treatments intended to deal with this sadness-known collectively as assistedreproductive technologies, or ARTs-should be paid for out of public funds. Such funds arescarce, and infertility is not a life-threatening condition.However, two papers presented to the "State of the ART" conference held earlier thismonth in Lyon argue that in Europe, at least, there may be a public interest in promotingARTs after all. The low fertility rate in many of that continent's more developed countriesmeans their populations are ageing and shrinking. If governments want to change this,ARTs-most significantly in-vitro fertilisation (IVF)-could offer at least part of a way to doso.
As the conference heard, IVF does seem to be keeping up the numbers in at least onecountry. Tina Jensen of the University of Southern Denmark has just finished a study ofmore than 700,000 Danish women. She found that young women in Denmark have asignificantly lower natural conception rate than in past decades. That is partly, but notentirely, because they are having their children later in life. The rest of the cause isunknown, though reduced sperm quality in men may be a factor. Whatever the cause, shealso found that the effect has been almost completely compensated for by an increasing useof ARTs. Denmark's native population is more or less stable, but some 3.9% of babies bornthere in 2003 were the result of IVF. The comparable figure for another northern Europeancountry, Britain, was 1.5%.
Without IVF, then, the number of Danes would be shrinking fast. That it is not may havesomething to do with the fact that in Denmark the taxpayer will cover up to six cycles of IVFtreatment. In Britain, by contrast, couples are supposed to be entitled to three cycles. Inpractice, many of the local trusts that dish the money out do not pay for any cycles at all.Jonathan Grant, the head of the Cambridge branch of the Rand Corporation (an Americanthink-tank), believes this is shortsighted. His paper showed that if Britain supported IVF atthe Danish level then its birth rate would probably increase by about 10,000 a year.The cost of offering six cycles to couples (and doing so in practice, rather than just intheory) would be an extra £250m-430m a year. That is not trivial, but Dr. Grant reckons it ischeaper than other ways of boosting the birth rate. Some countries, for example, have triedto bribe women into having more children by increasing child benefits. According to hiscalculations, raising such benefits costs between £50,000 and £100,000 a year for eachadditional birth procured. Ten thousand extra births each year would thus cost between£500m and £1 billion.
There are, of course, some disadvantages to promoting IVF. In particular, women whouse it tend to be older than those who conceive naturally, and that can lead to congenitalproblems in their children. But if the countries of Europe do wish to keep their populationsup, making IVF more widely available might be a good way of doing so. | 800.txt | 0 |
[
"supportive.",
"opposing.",
"ambiguous.",
"objective."
]
| According to the passage, the author's attitude towards promoting in-vitro fertilization can be said to be __ | Infertility is normally seen as a private matter. If a couple are infertile and wish theywere not, that is sad. But there is understandable resistance in many countries to the ideathat treatments intended to deal with this sadness-known collectively as assistedreproductive technologies, or ARTs-should be paid for out of public funds. Such funds arescarce, and infertility is not a life-threatening condition.However, two papers presented to the "State of the ART" conference held earlier thismonth in Lyon argue that in Europe, at least, there may be a public interest in promotingARTs after all. The low fertility rate in many of that continent's more developed countriesmeans their populations are ageing and shrinking. If governments want to change this,ARTs-most significantly in-vitro fertilisation (IVF)-could offer at least part of a way to doso.
As the conference heard, IVF does seem to be keeping up the numbers in at least onecountry. Tina Jensen of the University of Southern Denmark has just finished a study ofmore than 700,000 Danish women. She found that young women in Denmark have asignificantly lower natural conception rate than in past decades. That is partly, but notentirely, because they are having their children later in life. The rest of the cause isunknown, though reduced sperm quality in men may be a factor. Whatever the cause, shealso found that the effect has been almost completely compensated for by an increasing useof ARTs. Denmark's native population is more or less stable, but some 3.9% of babies bornthere in 2003 were the result of IVF. The comparable figure for another northern Europeancountry, Britain, was 1.5%.
Without IVF, then, the number of Danes would be shrinking fast. That it is not may havesomething to do with the fact that in Denmark the taxpayer will cover up to six cycles of IVFtreatment. In Britain, by contrast, couples are supposed to be entitled to three cycles. Inpractice, many of the local trusts that dish the money out do not pay for any cycles at all.Jonathan Grant, the head of the Cambridge branch of the Rand Corporation (an Americanthink-tank), believes this is shortsighted. His paper showed that if Britain supported IVF atthe Danish level then its birth rate would probably increase by about 10,000 a year.The cost of offering six cycles to couples (and doing so in practice, rather than just intheory) would be an extra £250m-430m a year. That is not trivial, but Dr. Grant reckons it ischeaper than other ways of boosting the birth rate. Some countries, for example, have triedto bribe women into having more children by increasing child benefits. According to hiscalculations, raising such benefits costs between £50,000 and £100,000 a year for eachadditional birth procured. Ten thousand extra births each year would thus cost between£500m and £1 billion.
There are, of course, some disadvantages to promoting IVF. In particular, women whouse it tend to be older than those who conceive naturally, and that can lead to congenitalproblems in their children. But if the countries of Europe do wish to keep their populationsup, making IVF more widely available might be a good way of doing so. | 800.txt | 0 |
[
"the board's interference",
"the falling sales",
"the health problems of the chief executives",
"the constant change of its share price"
]
| The main reason for the constant change at the top of McDonald is _ . | Another change at the top
CHARLIE BELL became chief executive of McDonald's in April. Within a month doctors told him that he had colorectal cancer. After stockmarket hours on Nove
mber 22nd, the fast-food firm said he had resigned; it would need a third boss in under a year. Yet when the market opened, its share price barely dipped then edged higher. After all, McDonald's had, again, shown how to act swiftly and decisively in appointing a new boss.
Mr Bell himself got the top job when Jim Cantalupo died of a heart attack hours before he was due to address a convention of McDonald's franchisees. Mr Cantalupo was a McDonald's veteran brought out of retirement in January 2003 to help remodel the firm after sales began falling because of dirty restaurants, indifferent service and growing concern about junk food. He devised a recovery plan, backed by massive marketing, and promoted Mr Bell to chief operating officer. When Mr Cantalupo died, a rapidly convened board confirmed Mr Bell, a 44-year-old Australian already widely seen as his heir apparent, in the top job. The convention got its promised chief executive's address, from the firm's first non-American leader.
Yet within weeks executives had to think about what to do if Mr Bell became too ill to continue. Perhaps Mr Bell had the same thing on his mind: he usually introduced Jim Skinner, the 60-year-old vice-chairman, to visitors as the "steady hand at the wheel". Now Mr Skinner (pictured), an expert on the firm's overseas operations, becomes chief executive, and Mike Roberts, head of its American operations, joins the board as chief operating officer.
Is Mr Roberts now the new heir apparent? Maybe. McDonald's has brought in supposedly healthier choices such as salads and toasted sandwiches worldwide and, instead of relying for most of its growth on opening new restaurants, has turned to upgrading its 31,000 existing ones. America has done best at this; under Mr Roberts, like-for-like sales there were up by 7.5% in October on a year earlier.
The new team's task is to keep the revitalisation plan on course, especially overseas, where some American brands are said to face political hostility from consumers. This is a big challenge. Is an in-house succession the best way to tackle it? Mr Skinner and Mr Roberts are both company veterans, having joined in the 1970s. Some recent academic studies find that the planned succession of a new boss groomed from within, such as Mr Bell and now (arguably) Mr Roberts, produces better results than looking hastily, or outside, for one. McDonald's smooth handling of its serial misfortunes at the top certainly seems to prove the point. Even so, everyone at McDonald's must be hoping that it will be a long time before the firm faces yet another such emergency. | 1116.txt | 2 |
[
"the change of the chief executive",
"people's concern about junk food",
"dirty restaurant",
"indifferent service"
]
| Which of the following was NOT a cause of the falling sales of McDonald? | Another change at the top
CHARLIE BELL became chief executive of McDonald's in April. Within a month doctors told him that he had colorectal cancer. After stockmarket hours on Nove
mber 22nd, the fast-food firm said he had resigned; it would need a third boss in under a year. Yet when the market opened, its share price barely dipped then edged higher. After all, McDonald's had, again, shown how to act swiftly and decisively in appointing a new boss.
Mr Bell himself got the top job when Jim Cantalupo died of a heart attack hours before he was due to address a convention of McDonald's franchisees. Mr Cantalupo was a McDonald's veteran brought out of retirement in January 2003 to help remodel the firm after sales began falling because of dirty restaurants, indifferent service and growing concern about junk food. He devised a recovery plan, backed by massive marketing, and promoted Mr Bell to chief operating officer. When Mr Cantalupo died, a rapidly convened board confirmed Mr Bell, a 44-year-old Australian already widely seen as his heir apparent, in the top job. The convention got its promised chief executive's address, from the firm's first non-American leader.
Yet within weeks executives had to think about what to do if Mr Bell became too ill to continue. Perhaps Mr Bell had the same thing on his mind: he usually introduced Jim Skinner, the 60-year-old vice-chairman, to visitors as the "steady hand at the wheel". Now Mr Skinner (pictured), an expert on the firm's overseas operations, becomes chief executive, and Mike Roberts, head of its American operations, joins the board as chief operating officer.
Is Mr Roberts now the new heir apparent? Maybe. McDonald's has brought in supposedly healthier choices such as salads and toasted sandwiches worldwide and, instead of relying for most of its growth on opening new restaurants, has turned to upgrading its 31,000 existing ones. America has done best at this; under Mr Roberts, like-for-like sales there were up by 7.5% in October on a year earlier.
The new team's task is to keep the revitalisation plan on course, especially overseas, where some American brands are said to face political hostility from consumers. This is a big challenge. Is an in-house succession the best way to tackle it? Mr Skinner and Mr Roberts are both company veterans, having joined in the 1970s. Some recent academic studies find that the planned succession of a new boss groomed from within, such as Mr Bell and now (arguably) Mr Roberts, produces better results than looking hastily, or outside, for one. McDonald's smooth handling of its serial misfortunes at the top certainly seems to prove the point. Even so, everyone at McDonald's must be hoping that it will be a long time before the firm faces yet another such emergency. | 1116.txt | 0 |
[
"someone who has the same ideas, aims and style with a person",
"someone who has the unalienable right to receive the family title",
"someone who is appointed as a heir of a person",
"someone who is likely to take over a person's position when that person leaves"
]
| The phrase ¡°heir apparent¡± (Line 7, Paragraph 2) in the article most probably means_ . | Another change at the top
CHARLIE BELL became chief executive of McDonald's in April. Within a month doctors told him that he had colorectal cancer. After stockmarket hours on Nove
mber 22nd, the fast-food firm said he had resigned; it would need a third boss in under a year. Yet when the market opened, its share price barely dipped then edged higher. After all, McDonald's had, again, shown how to act swiftly and decisively in appointing a new boss.
Mr Bell himself got the top job when Jim Cantalupo died of a heart attack hours before he was due to address a convention of McDonald's franchisees. Mr Cantalupo was a McDonald's veteran brought out of retirement in January 2003 to help remodel the firm after sales began falling because of dirty restaurants, indifferent service and growing concern about junk food. He devised a recovery plan, backed by massive marketing, and promoted Mr Bell to chief operating officer. When Mr Cantalupo died, a rapidly convened board confirmed Mr Bell, a 44-year-old Australian already widely seen as his heir apparent, in the top job. The convention got its promised chief executive's address, from the firm's first non-American leader.
Yet within weeks executives had to think about what to do if Mr Bell became too ill to continue. Perhaps Mr Bell had the same thing on his mind: he usually introduced Jim Skinner, the 60-year-old vice-chairman, to visitors as the "steady hand at the wheel". Now Mr Skinner (pictured), an expert on the firm's overseas operations, becomes chief executive, and Mike Roberts, head of its American operations, joins the board as chief operating officer.
Is Mr Roberts now the new heir apparent? Maybe. McDonald's has brought in supposedly healthier choices such as salads and toasted sandwiches worldwide and, instead of relying for most of its growth on opening new restaurants, has turned to upgrading its 31,000 existing ones. America has done best at this; under Mr Roberts, like-for-like sales there were up by 7.5% in October on a year earlier.
The new team's task is to keep the revitalisation plan on course, especially overseas, where some American brands are said to face political hostility from consumers. This is a big challenge. Is an in-house succession the best way to tackle it? Mr Skinner and Mr Roberts are both company veterans, having joined in the 1970s. Some recent academic studies find that the planned succession of a new boss groomed from within, such as Mr Bell and now (arguably) Mr Roberts, produces better results than looking hastily, or outside, for one. McDonald's smooth handling of its serial misfortunes at the top certainly seems to prove the point. Even so, everyone at McDonald's must be hoping that it will be a long time before the firm faces yet another such emergency. | 1116.txt | 3 |
[
"has had to made rather hasty decisions",
"prefers to appoint a new boss from within",
"acts in a quick and unreasonable way",
"surprises all the people with its decisions"
]
| In terms of succession at the top, McDonald_ . | Another change at the top
CHARLIE BELL became chief executive of McDonald's in April. Within a month doctors told him that he had colorectal cancer. After stockmarket hours on Nove
mber 22nd, the fast-food firm said he had resigned; it would need a third boss in under a year. Yet when the market opened, its share price barely dipped then edged higher. After all, McDonald's had, again, shown how to act swiftly and decisively in appointing a new boss.
Mr Bell himself got the top job when Jim Cantalupo died of a heart attack hours before he was due to address a convention of McDonald's franchisees. Mr Cantalupo was a McDonald's veteran brought out of retirement in January 2003 to help remodel the firm after sales began falling because of dirty restaurants, indifferent service and growing concern about junk food. He devised a recovery plan, backed by massive marketing, and promoted Mr Bell to chief operating officer. When Mr Cantalupo died, a rapidly convened board confirmed Mr Bell, a 44-year-old Australian already widely seen as his heir apparent, in the top job. The convention got its promised chief executive's address, from the firm's first non-American leader.
Yet within weeks executives had to think about what to do if Mr Bell became too ill to continue. Perhaps Mr Bell had the same thing on his mind: he usually introduced Jim Skinner, the 60-year-old vice-chairman, to visitors as the "steady hand at the wheel". Now Mr Skinner (pictured), an expert on the firm's overseas operations, becomes chief executive, and Mike Roberts, head of its American operations, joins the board as chief operating officer.
Is Mr Roberts now the new heir apparent? Maybe. McDonald's has brought in supposedly healthier choices such as salads and toasted sandwiches worldwide and, instead of relying for most of its growth on opening new restaurants, has turned to upgrading its 31,000 existing ones. America has done best at this; under Mr Roberts, like-for-like sales there were up by 7.5% in October on a year earlier.
The new team's task is to keep the revitalisation plan on course, especially overseas, where some American brands are said to face political hostility from consumers. This is a big challenge. Is an in-house succession the best way to tackle it? Mr Skinner and Mr Roberts are both company veterans, having joined in the 1970s. Some recent academic studies find that the planned succession of a new boss groomed from within, such as Mr Bell and now (arguably) Mr Roberts, produces better results than looking hastily, or outside, for one. McDonald's smooth handling of its serial misfortunes at the top certainly seems to prove the point. Even so, everyone at McDonald's must be hoping that it will be a long time before the firm faces yet another such emergency. | 1116.txt | 1 |
[
"indifferent",
"doubtful",
"objective",
"praiseful"
]
| Toward McDonald's reaction to emergencies at the top, the writer's attitude can be said to be_ . | Another change at the top
CHARLIE BELL became chief executive of McDonald's in April. Within a month doctors told him that he had colorectal cancer. After stockmarket hours on Nove
mber 22nd, the fast-food firm said he had resigned; it would need a third boss in under a year. Yet when the market opened, its share price barely dipped then edged higher. After all, McDonald's had, again, shown how to act swiftly and decisively in appointing a new boss.
Mr Bell himself got the top job when Jim Cantalupo died of a heart attack hours before he was due to address a convention of McDonald's franchisees. Mr Cantalupo was a McDonald's veteran brought out of retirement in January 2003 to help remodel the firm after sales began falling because of dirty restaurants, indifferent service and growing concern about junk food. He devised a recovery plan, backed by massive marketing, and promoted Mr Bell to chief operating officer. When Mr Cantalupo died, a rapidly convened board confirmed Mr Bell, a 44-year-old Australian already widely seen as his heir apparent, in the top job. The convention got its promised chief executive's address, from the firm's first non-American leader.
Yet within weeks executives had to think about what to do if Mr Bell became too ill to continue. Perhaps Mr Bell had the same thing on his mind: he usually introduced Jim Skinner, the 60-year-old vice-chairman, to visitors as the "steady hand at the wheel". Now Mr Skinner (pictured), an expert on the firm's overseas operations, becomes chief executive, and Mike Roberts, head of its American operations, joins the board as chief operating officer.
Is Mr Roberts now the new heir apparent? Maybe. McDonald's has brought in supposedly healthier choices such as salads and toasted sandwiches worldwide and, instead of relying for most of its growth on opening new restaurants, has turned to upgrading its 31,000 existing ones. America has done best at this; under Mr Roberts, like-for-like sales there were up by 7.5% in October on a year earlier.
The new team's task is to keep the revitalisation plan on course, especially overseas, where some American brands are said to face political hostility from consumers. This is a big challenge. Is an in-house succession the best way to tackle it? Mr Skinner and Mr Roberts are both company veterans, having joined in the 1970s. Some recent academic studies find that the planned succession of a new boss groomed from within, such as Mr Bell and now (arguably) Mr Roberts, produces better results than looking hastily, or outside, for one. McDonald's smooth handling of its serial misfortunes at the top certainly seems to prove the point. Even so, everyone at McDonald's must be hoping that it will be a long time before the firm faces yet another such emergency. | 1116.txt | 3 |
[
"causing a lot of trouble",
"not as serious as it seems",
"felt only in America and Canada",
"what accounts for the high level of greenhouse gases"
]
| According to the author， global warming is _ . | If you wanted to question whether global warming is indeed upon us， last week was not the time to do it. Two weeks before the official beginning of summer， a heat wave baked the eastern third of the U.S. and Canada， driving temperatures high into the 90s and even 100s. At the same time， a flurry of scientific papers was released that seemed to explain all the late-spring suffering. In one study， French researchers reported that heat-trapping greenhouse gases are at their highest levels in 420，000 years. In another， U.S. scientists found that 57 species of butterfly may be altering their migratory patterns in response to changing heat patterns.
In light of all this， a sweltering public must have been convinced at last that it's time to do something to cool off the overheated planet， right? Wrong. Even as the temperature was climbing， a new survey by the American Geophysical Union found that Americans are less concerned than ever about combatting global warming. "The more we talk about warming，" says the study's director， John Immerwahr， "the [more the] public's concern goes down."
Such an environmental disconnect may not be much of a mystery. Environmentalists complain that over the past two years industry groups have launched a coordinated advertising campaign to torpedo the 1997 Kyoto treaty， which requires industrial nations to reduce greenhouse emissions. More than $13 million has been spent on ads to block ratification of the treaty by the U.S. Senate. "The purpose of the ads was to convince most Americans that there isn't a problem or that it's too expensive to fix，" says National Environmental Trust spokesman Peter Kelly.
Environmentalists also criticize President Clinton for what they believe is his failure to press the issue. Only last week， Clinton moved for Kyoto treaty changes that environmental groups see as industry-pleasing loopholes. Says Daniel Weiss， the Sierra Club's political director： "Timid leaders communicate hopelessness." And hopelessness breeds indifference. If such popular so-whating persists， Immerwahr warns， the public may begin grasping at phony solutions to global warming. At the end of last week， some people took comfort from the report of a vast haze of pollutants that collects over the Indian Ocean in the winter， but that researchers only recently studied. Filthy as the cloud is， it does deflect solar radiation， and that could lead to cooling. But scientists warn that we cannot simply pollute our way out of global warming. The soot drops from the hazy atmosphere in weeks， whereas greenhouse gases remain for centuries.
The way out of this gridlock， environmentalists say， is to show it's possible to reduce greenhouse gases without sinking the economy. Solutions include cleaner cars and better wind- and solar-power technologies. Says Greg Wetstone， program director for the Natural Resources Defense Council： "When these kinds of options become available， people will feel less hopeless." Of course， it's also possible that only when people feel less hopeless will they press their leaders to make the solutions available. | 1079.txt | 0 |
[
"concerned",
"indifferent",
"worried",
"frightened"
]
| Speaking of global warming， American public is _ . | If you wanted to question whether global warming is indeed upon us， last week was not the time to do it. Two weeks before the official beginning of summer， a heat wave baked the eastern third of the U.S. and Canada， driving temperatures high into the 90s and even 100s. At the same time， a flurry of scientific papers was released that seemed to explain all the late-spring suffering. In one study， French researchers reported that heat-trapping greenhouse gases are at their highest levels in 420，000 years. In another， U.S. scientists found that 57 species of butterfly may be altering their migratory patterns in response to changing heat patterns.
In light of all this， a sweltering public must have been convinced at last that it's time to do something to cool off the overheated planet， right? Wrong. Even as the temperature was climbing， a new survey by the American Geophysical Union found that Americans are less concerned than ever about combatting global warming. "The more we talk about warming，" says the study's director， John Immerwahr， "the [more the] public's concern goes down."
Such an environmental disconnect may not be much of a mystery. Environmentalists complain that over the past two years industry groups have launched a coordinated advertising campaign to torpedo the 1997 Kyoto treaty， which requires industrial nations to reduce greenhouse emissions. More than $13 million has been spent on ads to block ratification of the treaty by the U.S. Senate. "The purpose of the ads was to convince most Americans that there isn't a problem or that it's too expensive to fix，" says National Environmental Trust spokesman Peter Kelly.
Environmentalists also criticize President Clinton for what they believe is his failure to press the issue. Only last week， Clinton moved for Kyoto treaty changes that environmental groups see as industry-pleasing loopholes. Says Daniel Weiss， the Sierra Club's political director： "Timid leaders communicate hopelessness." And hopelessness breeds indifference. If such popular so-whating persists， Immerwahr warns， the public may begin grasping at phony solutions to global warming. At the end of last week， some people took comfort from the report of a vast haze of pollutants that collects over the Indian Ocean in the winter， but that researchers only recently studied. Filthy as the cloud is， it does deflect solar radiation， and that could lead to cooling. But scientists warn that we cannot simply pollute our way out of global warming. The soot drops from the hazy atmosphere in weeks， whereas greenhouse gases remain for centuries.
The way out of this gridlock， environmentalists say， is to show it's possible to reduce greenhouse gases without sinking the economy. Solutions include cleaner cars and better wind- and solar-power technologies. Says Greg Wetstone， program director for the Natural Resources Defense Council： "When these kinds of options become available， people will feel less hopeless." Of course， it's also possible that only when people feel less hopeless will they press their leaders to make the solutions available. | 1079.txt | 1 |
[
"their disbelief of the existence of such problem",
"the advertising campaign of industrial groups",
"the high cost of fixing the problem",
"American Senate‘s disapproval of Kyoto treaty"
]
| The public‘s reaction to global warming is mainly a result of _ . | If you wanted to question whether global warming is indeed upon us， last week was not the time to do it. Two weeks before the official beginning of summer， a heat wave baked the eastern third of the U.S. and Canada， driving temperatures high into the 90s and even 100s. At the same time， a flurry of scientific papers was released that seemed to explain all the late-spring suffering. In one study， French researchers reported that heat-trapping greenhouse gases are at their highest levels in 420，000 years. In another， U.S. scientists found that 57 species of butterfly may be altering their migratory patterns in response to changing heat patterns.
In light of all this， a sweltering public must have been convinced at last that it's time to do something to cool off the overheated planet， right? Wrong. Even as the temperature was climbing， a new survey by the American Geophysical Union found that Americans are less concerned than ever about combatting global warming. "The more we talk about warming，" says the study's director， John Immerwahr， "the [more the] public's concern goes down."
Such an environmental disconnect may not be much of a mystery. Environmentalists complain that over the past two years industry groups have launched a coordinated advertising campaign to torpedo the 1997 Kyoto treaty， which requires industrial nations to reduce greenhouse emissions. More than $13 million has been spent on ads to block ratification of the treaty by the U.S. Senate. "The purpose of the ads was to convince most Americans that there isn't a problem or that it's too expensive to fix，" says National Environmental Trust spokesman Peter Kelly.
Environmentalists also criticize President Clinton for what they believe is his failure to press the issue. Only last week， Clinton moved for Kyoto treaty changes that environmental groups see as industry-pleasing loopholes. Says Daniel Weiss， the Sierra Club's political director： "Timid leaders communicate hopelessness." And hopelessness breeds indifference. If such popular so-whating persists， Immerwahr warns， the public may begin grasping at phony solutions to global warming. At the end of last week， some people took comfort from the report of a vast haze of pollutants that collects over the Indian Ocean in the winter， but that researchers only recently studied. Filthy as the cloud is， it does deflect solar radiation， and that could lead to cooling. But scientists warn that we cannot simply pollute our way out of global warming. The soot drops from the hazy atmosphere in weeks， whereas greenhouse gases remain for centuries.
The way out of this gridlock， environmentalists say， is to show it's possible to reduce greenhouse gases without sinking the economy. Solutions include cleaner cars and better wind- and solar-power technologies. Says Greg Wetstone， program director for the Natural Resources Defense Council： "When these kinds of options become available， people will feel less hopeless." Of course， it's also possible that only when people feel less hopeless will they press their leaders to make the solutions available. | 1079.txt | 1 |
[
"Environmentalists urge President Clinton administration to press the issue.",
"Kyoto treaty aims at curbing the global warming problem.",
"American government is partly responsible for the public‘s attitude toward global warming.",
"Industrial groups do not care about global warming."
]
| Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage? | If you wanted to question whether global warming is indeed upon us， last week was not the time to do it. Two weeks before the official beginning of summer， a heat wave baked the eastern third of the U.S. and Canada， driving temperatures high into the 90s and even 100s. At the same time， a flurry of scientific papers was released that seemed to explain all the late-spring suffering. In one study， French researchers reported that heat-trapping greenhouse gases are at their highest levels in 420，000 years. In another， U.S. scientists found that 57 species of butterfly may be altering their migratory patterns in response to changing heat patterns.
In light of all this， a sweltering public must have been convinced at last that it's time to do something to cool off the overheated planet， right? Wrong. Even as the temperature was climbing， a new survey by the American Geophysical Union found that Americans are less concerned than ever about combatting global warming. "The more we talk about warming，" says the study's director， John Immerwahr， "the [more the] public's concern goes down."
Such an environmental disconnect may not be much of a mystery. Environmentalists complain that over the past two years industry groups have launched a coordinated advertising campaign to torpedo the 1997 Kyoto treaty， which requires industrial nations to reduce greenhouse emissions. More than $13 million has been spent on ads to block ratification of the treaty by the U.S. Senate. "The purpose of the ads was to convince most Americans that there isn't a problem or that it's too expensive to fix，" says National Environmental Trust spokesman Peter Kelly.
Environmentalists also criticize President Clinton for what they believe is his failure to press the issue. Only last week， Clinton moved for Kyoto treaty changes that environmental groups see as industry-pleasing loopholes. Says Daniel Weiss， the Sierra Club's political director： "Timid leaders communicate hopelessness." And hopelessness breeds indifference. If such popular so-whating persists， Immerwahr warns， the public may begin grasping at phony solutions to global warming. At the end of last week， some people took comfort from the report of a vast haze of pollutants that collects over the Indian Ocean in the winter， but that researchers only recently studied. Filthy as the cloud is， it does deflect solar radiation， and that could lead to cooling. But scientists warn that we cannot simply pollute our way out of global warming. The soot drops from the hazy atmosphere in weeks， whereas greenhouse gases remain for centuries.
The way out of this gridlock， environmentalists say， is to show it's possible to reduce greenhouse gases without sinking the economy. Solutions include cleaner cars and better wind- and solar-power technologies. Says Greg Wetstone， program director for the Natural Resources Defense Council： "When these kinds of options become available， people will feel less hopeless." Of course， it's also possible that only when people feel less hopeless will they press their leaders to make the solutions available. | 1079.txt | 0 |
[
"environmentalists support the idea of solving global warming through pollution",
"the poor leadership of American President has produced a very bad influence",
"American economy will suffer if global warming is curbed",
"people have no confidence in solving problem of global warming"
]
| It can be inferred from the passage that _ . | If you wanted to question whether global warming is indeed upon us， last week was not the time to do it. Two weeks before the official beginning of summer， a heat wave baked the eastern third of the U.S. and Canada， driving temperatures high into the 90s and even 100s. At the same time， a flurry of scientific papers was released that seemed to explain all the late-spring suffering. In one study， French researchers reported that heat-trapping greenhouse gases are at their highest levels in 420，000 years. In another， U.S. scientists found that 57 species of butterfly may be altering their migratory patterns in response to changing heat patterns.
In light of all this， a sweltering public must have been convinced at last that it's time to do something to cool off the overheated planet， right? Wrong. Even as the temperature was climbing， a new survey by the American Geophysical Union found that Americans are less concerned than ever about combatting global warming. "The more we talk about warming，" says the study's director， John Immerwahr， "the [more the] public's concern goes down."
Such an environmental disconnect may not be much of a mystery. Environmentalists complain that over the past two years industry groups have launched a coordinated advertising campaign to torpedo the 1997 Kyoto treaty， which requires industrial nations to reduce greenhouse emissions. More than $13 million has been spent on ads to block ratification of the treaty by the U.S. Senate. "The purpose of the ads was to convince most Americans that there isn't a problem or that it's too expensive to fix，" says National Environmental Trust spokesman Peter Kelly.
Environmentalists also criticize President Clinton for what they believe is his failure to press the issue. Only last week， Clinton moved for Kyoto treaty changes that environmental groups see as industry-pleasing loopholes. Says Daniel Weiss， the Sierra Club's political director： "Timid leaders communicate hopelessness." And hopelessness breeds indifference. If such popular so-whating persists， Immerwahr warns， the public may begin grasping at phony solutions to global warming. At the end of last week， some people took comfort from the report of a vast haze of pollutants that collects over the Indian Ocean in the winter， but that researchers only recently studied. Filthy as the cloud is， it does deflect solar radiation， and that could lead to cooling. But scientists warn that we cannot simply pollute our way out of global warming. The soot drops from the hazy atmosphere in weeks， whereas greenhouse gases remain for centuries.
The way out of this gridlock， environmentalists say， is to show it's possible to reduce greenhouse gases without sinking the economy. Solutions include cleaner cars and better wind- and solar-power technologies. Says Greg Wetstone， program director for the Natural Resources Defense Council： "When these kinds of options become available， people will feel less hopeless." Of course， it's also possible that only when people feel less hopeless will they press their leaders to make the solutions available. | 1079.txt | 1 |
[
"to outline different types of economic systems",
"to explain the science of economics",
"to argue that one economic system is better than the others",
"to compare barter and money-exchange markets"
]
| The main purpose of the passage is _ . | There are various ways in which individual economic units can interact with one another. These basic ways may be described as the market system, the administered system, and the traditional system.
In a market system individual economic units are free to interact among each other in the marketplace. It is possible to buy goods from other economic units or sell goods to them. In a market, transactions may take place through barter or money exchange. In a barter economy, real goods such as automobiles, shoes, and rice are traded against each other. Obviously, finding somebody who wants to trade my old car in exchange for a sail-boat may not always be an easy task. Hence, the introduction of money as a medium of exchange eases transactions considerably. In the modern market economy ? goods and services are bought or sold for money.
An alternative to the market system is administrative control by some agency over all transactions. This agency will issue commands as to how much of each goods and service should be produced, and consumed by each economic unit. Central planning may be one way of running such an economy. The central plan, drawn up by the government, shows the amounts of each goods produced by the various firms and shared among different households for consumption. This is an example of complete planning of production, consumption, and exchange for the whole economy.
In a traditional society, production and consumption patterns are governed by tradition; every person's place within the economic system is fixed by fatherhood or motherhood, religion, and custom. Transactions take place on the basis of tradition, too. | 911.txt | 0 |
[
"high quality",
"special",
"actual",
"exact"
]
| In the second paragraph, the word "real" could best be replaced by _ . | There are various ways in which individual economic units can interact with one another. These basic ways may be described as the market system, the administered system, and the traditional system.
In a market system individual economic units are free to interact among each other in the marketplace. It is possible to buy goods from other economic units or sell goods to them. In a market, transactions may take place through barter or money exchange. In a barter economy, real goods such as automobiles, shoes, and rice are traded against each other. Obviously, finding somebody who wants to trade my old car in exchange for a sail-boat may not always be an easy task. Hence, the introduction of money as a medium of exchange eases transactions considerably. In the modern market economy ? goods and services are bought or sold for money.
An alternative to the market system is administrative control by some agency over all transactions. This agency will issue commands as to how much of each goods and service should be produced, and consumed by each economic unit. Central planning may be one way of running such an economy. The central plan, drawn up by the government, shows the amounts of each goods produced by the various firms and shared among different households for consumption. This is an example of complete planning of production, consumption, and exchange for the whole economy.
In a traditional society, production and consumption patterns are governed by tradition; every person's place within the economic system is fixed by fatherhood or motherhood, religion, and custom. Transactions take place on the basis of tradition, too. | 911.txt | 2 |
[
"The author prefers the market system to either the administered system or the traditional system.",
"In an administered system only the government makes decision.",
"In a market economy services can be sold or bought.",
"The traditional system is good for a society which asks for little progress."
]
| Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? | There are various ways in which individual economic units can interact with one another. These basic ways may be described as the market system, the administered system, and the traditional system.
In a market system individual economic units are free to interact among each other in the marketplace. It is possible to buy goods from other economic units or sell goods to them. In a market, transactions may take place through barter or money exchange. In a barter economy, real goods such as automobiles, shoes, and rice are traded against each other. Obviously, finding somebody who wants to trade my old car in exchange for a sail-boat may not always be an easy task. Hence, the introduction of money as a medium of exchange eases transactions considerably. In the modern market economy ? goods and services are bought or sold for money.
An alternative to the market system is administrative control by some agency over all transactions. This agency will issue commands as to how much of each goods and service should be produced, and consumed by each economic unit. Central planning may be one way of running such an economy. The central plan, drawn up by the government, shows the amounts of each goods produced by the various firms and shared among different households for consumption. This is an example of complete planning of production, consumption, and exchange for the whole economy.
In a traditional society, production and consumption patterns are governed by tradition; every person's place within the economic system is fixed by fatherhood or motherhood, religion, and custom. Transactions take place on the basis of tradition, too. | 911.txt | 2 |
[
"rapid speed of transaction",
"misunderstanding",
"inflation",
"difficulties for traders"
]
| According to the passage, a barter economy can lead to _ . | There are various ways in which individual economic units can interact with one another. These basic ways may be described as the market system, the administered system, and the traditional system.
In a market system individual economic units are free to interact among each other in the marketplace. It is possible to buy goods from other economic units or sell goods to them. In a market, transactions may take place through barter or money exchange. In a barter economy, real goods such as automobiles, shoes, and rice are traded against each other. Obviously, finding somebody who wants to trade my old car in exchange for a sail-boat may not always be an easy task. Hence, the introduction of money as a medium of exchange eases transactions considerably. In the modern market economy ? goods and services are bought or sold for money.
An alternative to the market system is administrative control by some agency over all transactions. This agency will issue commands as to how much of each goods and service should be produced, and consumed by each economic unit. Central planning may be one way of running such an economy. The central plan, drawn up by the government, shows the amounts of each goods produced by the various firms and shared among different households for consumption. This is an example of complete planning of production, consumption, and exchange for the whole economy.
In a traditional society, production and consumption patterns are governed by tradition; every person's place within the economic system is fixed by fatherhood or motherhood, religion, and custom. Transactions take place on the basis of tradition, too. | 911.txt | 3 |
[
"Individual household.",
"Major corporations.",
"Small businesses.",
"The government."
]
| According to the passage, who has the greatest degree of control in an administered system? | There are various ways in which individual economic units can interact with one another. These basic ways may be described as the market system, the administered system, and the traditional system.
In a market system individual economic units are free to interact among each other in the marketplace. It is possible to buy goods from other economic units or sell goods to them. In a market, transactions may take place through barter or money exchange. In a barter economy, real goods such as automobiles, shoes, and rice are traded against each other. Obviously, finding somebody who wants to trade my old car in exchange for a sail-boat may not always be an easy task. Hence, the introduction of money as a medium of exchange eases transactions considerably. In the modern market economy ? goods and services are bought or sold for money.
An alternative to the market system is administrative control by some agency over all transactions. This agency will issue commands as to how much of each goods and service should be produced, and consumed by each economic unit. Central planning may be one way of running such an economy. The central plan, drawn up by the government, shows the amounts of each goods produced by the various firms and shared among different households for consumption. This is an example of complete planning of production, consumption, and exchange for the whole economy.
In a traditional society, production and consumption patterns are governed by tradition; every person's place within the economic system is fixed by fatherhood or motherhood, religion, and custom. Transactions take place on the basis of tradition, too. | 911.txt | 3 |
[
"The first sentence of the first paragraph.",
"The first sentence of the second paragraph.",
"The first sentence of the third paragraph.",
"The last sentence of the second paragraph."
]
| Which sentence carried the main idea of the whole passage? | Today just as technology changed the face ofindustry, farms have undergone an "agriculturalrevolution". On the farm of today, machines providealmost all the power.
One of the most important benefits will be the farmcomputer. A few forward-looking farmers are alreadyusing computers to help them run their farms moreefficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records so they can make betterdecisions on what crops to plant, how much livestock to buy, when to sell their products, andhow much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing specialcomputer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog producers, grainfarmers, potato farmers, and dairy farmers. In the future, farmers will be able to purchasecomputer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers onthe farm, students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition totheir normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computerseven more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power, and modern farmsdepend on machine power, farms of the future will depend on computer power.
Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot, a real"mechanized hired hand" that will be able to move and, in some ways, think like a humanbeing. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes infarming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present, farmers of the future willfind that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robotsthat will be able to shear sheep, drive tractors, and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will bedone by robots. For example, in order to milk their cows, farmers must first drive them into thebarn, then connect them to the milking machines, watch the machines, and disconnect themwhen they are finished. In the future, this will all be done by robots. In addition, when themilking is completed, the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure.The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future, but engineers expect that somerobots will be used before long. | 2386.txt | 0 |
[
"how much money they can earn from their products",
"whether to plant a certain kind of crop",
"what livestock to raise",
"when to sell their products"
]
| according to the passage, computers can not help farmers decide _ . | Today just as technology changed the face ofindustry, farms have undergone an "agriculturalrevolution". On the farm of today, machines providealmost all the power.
One of the most important benefits will be the farmcomputer. A few forward-looking farmers are alreadyusing computers to help them run their farms moreefficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records so they can make betterdecisions on what crops to plant, how much livestock to buy, when to sell their products, andhow much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing specialcomputer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog producers, grainfarmers, potato farmers, and dairy farmers. In the future, farmers will be able to purchasecomputer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers onthe farm, students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition totheir normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computerseven more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power, and modern farmsdepend on machine power, farms of the future will depend on computer power.
Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot, a real"mechanized hired hand" that will be able to move and, in some ways, think like a humanbeing. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes infarming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present, farmers of the future willfind that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robotsthat will be able to shear sheep, drive tractors, and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will bedone by robots. For example, in order to milk their cows, farmers must first drive them into thebarn, then connect them to the milking machines, watch the machines, and disconnect themwhen they are finished. In the future, this will all be done by robots. In addition, when themilking is completed, the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure.The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future, but engineers expect that somerobots will be used before long. | 2386.txt | 2 |
[
"Farmers in the future will depend totally on computers.",
"Both computers and robots have been in use on today's farms.",
"Farmers mainly use machines on their farms at present.",
"Students at agricultural colleges must take computer classes because they can do nothingwithout the help of computers on today's farms."
]
| Which of the following statements is true? | Today just as technology changed the face ofindustry, farms have undergone an "agriculturalrevolution". On the farm of today, machines providealmost all the power.
One of the most important benefits will be the farmcomputer. A few forward-looking farmers are alreadyusing computers to help them run their farms moreefficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records so they can make betterdecisions on what crops to plant, how much livestock to buy, when to sell their products, andhow much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing specialcomputer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog producers, grainfarmers, potato farmers, and dairy farmers. In the future, farmers will be able to purchasecomputer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers onthe farm, students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition totheir normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computerseven more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power, and modern farmsdepend on machine power, farms of the future will depend on computer power.
Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot, a real"mechanized hired hand" that will be able to move and, in some ways, think like a humanbeing. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes infarming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present, farmers of the future willfind that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robotsthat will be able to shear sheep, drive tractors, and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will bedone by robots. For example, in order to milk their cows, farmers must first drive them into thebarn, then connect them to the milking machines, watch the machines, and disconnect themwhen they are finished. In the future, this will all be done by robots. In addition, when themilking is completed, the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure.The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future, but engineers expect that somerobots will be used before long. | 2386.txt | 2 |
[
"all farm work",
"milking cows",
"most of the farm work",
"some farm work"
]
| according to the engineers, _ will be done by robots in the near future. | Today just as technology changed the face ofindustry, farms have undergone an "agriculturalrevolution". On the farm of today, machines providealmost all the power.
One of the most important benefits will be the farmcomputer. A few forward-looking farmers are alreadyusing computers to help them run their farms moreefficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records so they can make betterdecisions on what crops to plant, how much livestock to buy, when to sell their products, andhow much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing specialcomputer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog producers, grainfarmers, potato farmers, and dairy farmers. In the future, farmers will be able to purchasecomputer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers onthe farm, students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition totheir normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computerseven more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power, and modern farmsdepend on machine power, farms of the future will depend on computer power.
Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot, a real"mechanized hired hand" that will be able to move and, in some ways, think like a humanbeing. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes infarming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present, farmers of the future willfind that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robotsthat will be able to shear sheep, drive tractors, and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will bedone by robots. For example, in order to milk their cows, farmers must first drive them into thebarn, then connect them to the milking machines, watch the machines, and disconnect themwhen they are finished. In the future, this will all be done by robots. In addition, when themilking is completed, the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure.The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future, but engineers expect that somerobots will be used before long. | 2386.txt | 2 |
[
"Computer, Farmers' Best Friend",
"Farmers in The Future",
"The Agricultural Revolution",
"Computers and Robots"
]
| What is the best title for the whole passage? | Today just as technology changed the face ofindustry, farms have undergone an "agriculturalrevolution". On the farm of today, machines providealmost all the power.
One of the most important benefits will be the farmcomputer. A few forward-looking farmers are alreadyusing computers to help them run their farms moreefficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records so they can make betterdecisions on what crops to plant, how much livestock to buy, when to sell their products, andhow much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing specialcomputer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog producers, grainfarmers, potato farmers, and dairy farmers. In the future, farmers will be able to purchasecomputer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers onthe farm, students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition totheir normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computerseven more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power, and modern farmsdepend on machine power, farms of the future will depend on computer power.
Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot, a real"mechanized hired hand" that will be able to move and, in some ways, think like a humanbeing. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes infarming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present, farmers of the future willfind that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robotsthat will be able to shear sheep, drive tractors, and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will bedone by robots. For example, in order to milk their cows, farmers must first drive them into thebarn, then connect them to the milking machines, watch the machines, and disconnect themwhen they are finished. In the future, this will all be done by robots. In addition, when themilking is completed, the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure.The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future, but engineers expect that somerobots will be used before long. | 2386.txt | 2 |
[
"The Function of the Interpol.",
"The Quality of the Interpol.",
"The Organization of the Interpol.",
"The Rapid Development of the Interpol."
]
| What is the best title for this passage? | The organization known to the world as Interpol has sometimes been described as an outfit of chisel-jawed gimlet-eyed crime fighters who put their lives in jeopardy every working hour.Less flatteringly, Interpol has also been described as a huge filing cabinet, stuffed with clerks choking on their own statistics.
As with most generalities, there is some truth in both statements.There are, certainly, some grim battlers of crime to be found working with Interpol.There are, just as surely, those drones shuffling mountains of paper whose cheeks are sallow from indoor life.Consider the charisma of the name alone: INTERPOL, the international police force.Continents leaped in a single bound, oceans crossed in the space of a breath, villains watched by eyes that never sleep.Surprisingly, a lot of it happens almost that way.
Four groups coordinate and direct the activities of Interpol.One of them is the National Central Bureaus, or NCBs, bodies designated by the member nations to serve as their link with Interpol.These are the front-line troops, the action people.IN the United States, the Treasury Department is the National Central Bureau.In the United Kingdom, it is Scotland Yard; the Questura in Italy and the Melbourne City Police in Australia.Because police organization varies from country, the NCBs were established to act as the one special group to handle Interpol chores and unsure maximum cooperation between nations.Each NCB is usually an official government body with police powers if a country has only one central police authority, that body becomes the National Centre Bureau.Of course, any service appointed as an NCB is bound to its nation's law and authority and retains its national title.
Each NCB is connected by radio to the regional station for its geographic zone.The regional stations are connected to the Central Station in France.The radio network is versatile.Network stations can monitor the Central station or any regional station.Because of this messages can be broadcast to more than one station at a time.A coding system determines the urgency of each message so that those with high priority can be given precedence.Besides, other communication tools, such as radio-teleprinters and phototelegraphy equipment.Permit rapid transfers of fingerprints and photographs.Sometimes ever more advanced technology is employed.When the police all over the world were looking for a Canadian named George Leray, they turned to the Early Bird Satellite.Leray had led his gang on a daring holdup of a Montreal bank and gotten away with $4 million.Scotland Yard broadcast Leray's photo to the world by satellite.An American who saw the picture in Florida recognized Leray as a man who was living on a yacht in Fort Lauderdale under an assumed name.The police were alerted and arrested Leray. | 256.txt | 2 |
[
"general to specific.",
"cause and effect.",
"comparison and contrast.",
"development."
]
| The organization of this passage is _ . | The organization known to the world as Interpol has sometimes been described as an outfit of chisel-jawed gimlet-eyed crime fighters who put their lives in jeopardy every working hour.Less flatteringly, Interpol has also been described as a huge filing cabinet, stuffed with clerks choking on their own statistics.
As with most generalities, there is some truth in both statements.There are, certainly, some grim battlers of crime to be found working with Interpol.There are, just as surely, those drones shuffling mountains of paper whose cheeks are sallow from indoor life.Consider the charisma of the name alone: INTERPOL, the international police force.Continents leaped in a single bound, oceans crossed in the space of a breath, villains watched by eyes that never sleep.Surprisingly, a lot of it happens almost that way.
Four groups coordinate and direct the activities of Interpol.One of them is the National Central Bureaus, or NCBs, bodies designated by the member nations to serve as their link with Interpol.These are the front-line troops, the action people.IN the United States, the Treasury Department is the National Central Bureau.In the United Kingdom, it is Scotland Yard; the Questura in Italy and the Melbourne City Police in Australia.Because police organization varies from country, the NCBs were established to act as the one special group to handle Interpol chores and unsure maximum cooperation between nations.Each NCB is usually an official government body with police powers if a country has only one central police authority, that body becomes the National Centre Bureau.Of course, any service appointed as an NCB is bound to its nation's law and authority and retains its national title.
Each NCB is connected by radio to the regional station for its geographic zone.The regional stations are connected to the Central Station in France.The radio network is versatile.Network stations can monitor the Central station or any regional station.Because of this messages can be broadcast to more than one station at a time.A coding system determines the urgency of each message so that those with high priority can be given precedence.Besides, other communication tools, such as radio-teleprinters and phototelegraphy equipment.Permit rapid transfers of fingerprints and photographs.Sometimes ever more advanced technology is employed.When the police all over the world were looking for a Canadian named George Leray, they turned to the Early Bird Satellite.Leray had led his gang on a daring holdup of a Montreal bank and gotten away with $4 million.Scotland Yard broadcast Leray's photo to the world by satellite.An American who saw the picture in Florida recognized Leray as a man who was living on a yacht in Fort Lauderdale under an assumed name.The police were alerted and arrested Leray. | 256.txt | 0 |
[
"a lot of employees busying in their work.",
"many office workers busying with various documents.",
"crowded with office workers busying with their own collected data.",
"workers busying in their own information."
]
| The sentence "stuffed with clerks choking on their own statistics" in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to _ . | The organization known to the world as Interpol has sometimes been described as an outfit of chisel-jawed gimlet-eyed crime fighters who put their lives in jeopardy every working hour.Less flatteringly, Interpol has also been described as a huge filing cabinet, stuffed with clerks choking on their own statistics.
As with most generalities, there is some truth in both statements.There are, certainly, some grim battlers of crime to be found working with Interpol.There are, just as surely, those drones shuffling mountains of paper whose cheeks are sallow from indoor life.Consider the charisma of the name alone: INTERPOL, the international police force.Continents leaped in a single bound, oceans crossed in the space of a breath, villains watched by eyes that never sleep.Surprisingly, a lot of it happens almost that way.
Four groups coordinate and direct the activities of Interpol.One of them is the National Central Bureaus, or NCBs, bodies designated by the member nations to serve as their link with Interpol.These are the front-line troops, the action people.IN the United States, the Treasury Department is the National Central Bureau.In the United Kingdom, it is Scotland Yard; the Questura in Italy and the Melbourne City Police in Australia.Because police organization varies from country, the NCBs were established to act as the one special group to handle Interpol chores and unsure maximum cooperation between nations.Each NCB is usually an official government body with police powers if a country has only one central police authority, that body becomes the National Centre Bureau.Of course, any service appointed as an NCB is bound to its nation's law and authority and retains its national title.
Each NCB is connected by radio to the regional station for its geographic zone.The regional stations are connected to the Central Station in France.The radio network is versatile.Network stations can monitor the Central station or any regional station.Because of this messages can be broadcast to more than one station at a time.A coding system determines the urgency of each message so that those with high priority can be given precedence.Besides, other communication tools, such as radio-teleprinters and phototelegraphy equipment.Permit rapid transfers of fingerprints and photographs.Sometimes ever more advanced technology is employed.When the police all over the world were looking for a Canadian named George Leray, they turned to the Early Bird Satellite.Leray had led his gang on a daring holdup of a Montreal bank and gotten away with $4 million.Scotland Yard broadcast Leray's photo to the world by satellite.An American who saw the picture in Florida recognized Leray as a man who was living on a yacht in Fort Lauderdale under an assumed name.The police were alerted and arrested Leray. | 256.txt | 2 |
[
"Satellite.",
"Radio.",
"Teleprinter.",
"Phototelegraphy."
]
| Which is the easiest tool to communicate? | The organization known to the world as Interpol has sometimes been described as an outfit of chisel-jawed gimlet-eyed crime fighters who put their lives in jeopardy every working hour.Less flatteringly, Interpol has also been described as a huge filing cabinet, stuffed with clerks choking on their own statistics.
As with most generalities, there is some truth in both statements.There are, certainly, some grim battlers of crime to be found working with Interpol.There are, just as surely, those drones shuffling mountains of paper whose cheeks are sallow from indoor life.Consider the charisma of the name alone: INTERPOL, the international police force.Continents leaped in a single bound, oceans crossed in the space of a breath, villains watched by eyes that never sleep.Surprisingly, a lot of it happens almost that way.
Four groups coordinate and direct the activities of Interpol.One of them is the National Central Bureaus, or NCBs, bodies designated by the member nations to serve as their link with Interpol.These are the front-line troops, the action people.IN the United States, the Treasury Department is the National Central Bureau.In the United Kingdom, it is Scotland Yard; the Questura in Italy and the Melbourne City Police in Australia.Because police organization varies from country, the NCBs were established to act as the one special group to handle Interpol chores and unsure maximum cooperation between nations.Each NCB is usually an official government body with police powers if a country has only one central police authority, that body becomes the National Centre Bureau.Of course, any service appointed as an NCB is bound to its nation's law and authority and retains its national title.
Each NCB is connected by radio to the regional station for its geographic zone.The regional stations are connected to the Central Station in France.The radio network is versatile.Network stations can monitor the Central station or any regional station.Because of this messages can be broadcast to more than one station at a time.A coding system determines the urgency of each message so that those with high priority can be given precedence.Besides, other communication tools, such as radio-teleprinters and phototelegraphy equipment.Permit rapid transfers of fingerprints and photographs.Sometimes ever more advanced technology is employed.When the police all over the world were looking for a Canadian named George Leray, they turned to the Early Bird Satellite.Leray had led his gang on a daring holdup of a Montreal bank and gotten away with $4 million.Scotland Yard broadcast Leray's photo to the world by satellite.An American who saw the picture in Florida recognized Leray as a man who was living on a yacht in Fort Lauderdale under an assumed name.The police were alerted and arrested Leray. | 256.txt | 1 |
[
"posing a contrast",
"justifying an assumption",
"explaining a phenomenon",
"making a comparison"
]
| In the opening paragraph, the author introduces his topic by | As the number of home-schooled kids soars, districts are trying novel ways to lure them back to the fold
Largely for "spiritual reasons," Nancy Manos started home-schooling her ch
ildren five years ago and has studiously avoided public schools ever since. Yet last week, she was enthusiastically enrolling her 8-year-old daughter, Olivia, in sign language and modern dance classes at Eagleridge Enrichment--a program run by the Mesa, Ariz., public schools and taught by district teachers. Manos still wants to handle the basics, but likes that Eagleridge offers the extras, "things I couldn't teach." One doubt, though, lingers in her mind: why would the public school system want to offer home-school families anything?
A big part of the answer is economics. The number of home-schooled kids nationwide has risen to as many as 1.9 million from an estimated 345,000 in 1994, and school districts that get state and local dollars per child are beginning to suffer. In Maricopa County, which includes Mesa, the number of home-schooled kids has more than doubled during that period to 7,526; at about $4,500 a child, that's nearly $34 million a year in lost revenue.
Not everyone's happy with these innovations. Some states have taken the opposite tack. Like about half the states, West Virginia refuses to allow home-schooled kids to play public-school sports. And in Arizona, some complain that their tax dollars are being used to create programs for families who, essentially, eschew participation in public life. "That makes my teeth grit,'' says Daphne Atkeson, whose 10-year-old son attends public school in Paradise Valley. Even some committed home-schoolers question the new programs, given their central irony: they turn home-schoolers into public-school students, says Bob Parsons, president of the Alaska Private and Home Educators Association. "We've lost about one third of our members to those programs. They're so enticing.''
Mesa started Eagleridge four years ago, when it saw how much money it was losing from home-schoolers--and how unprepared some students were when they re-entered the schools. Since it began, the program's enrollment has nearly doubled to 397, and last year the district moved Eagleridge to a strip mall (between a pizza joint and a laser-tag arcade). Parents typically drop off their kids once a week; because most of the children qualify as quarter-time students, the district collects $911 per child. "It's like getting a taste of what real school is like,'' says 10-year-old Chad Lucas, who's learning computer animation and creative writing.
Other school districts are also experimenting with novel ways to court home schoolers. The town of Galena, Alaska, (pop. 600) has just 178 students. But in 1997, its school administrators figured they could reach beyond their borders. Under the program, the district gives home-schooling families free computers and Internet service for correspondence classes. In return, the district gets $3,100 per student enrolled in the program--$9.6 million a year, which it has used partly for a new vocational school. Such alternatives just might appeal to other districts. Ernest Felty, head of Hardin County schools in southern Illinois, has 10 home-schooled pupils. That may not sound like much--except that he has a staff of 68, and at $4,500 a child, "that's probably a teacher's salary,'' Felty says. With the right robotics or art class, though, he could take the home out of home schooling. | 1111.txt | 2 |
[
"I wanted to eat something.",
"I was angry and dissatisfied.",
"I was in favor of what the public school had done.",
"I wanted not to bring my children to that school."
]
| The statement "That makes my teeth grit,''(Line 4, Paragraph 3) implies that | As the number of home-schooled kids soars, districts are trying novel ways to lure them back to the fold
Largely for "spiritual reasons," Nancy Manos started home-schooling her ch
ildren five years ago and has studiously avoided public schools ever since. Yet last week, she was enthusiastically enrolling her 8-year-old daughter, Olivia, in sign language and modern dance classes at Eagleridge Enrichment--a program run by the Mesa, Ariz., public schools and taught by district teachers. Manos still wants to handle the basics, but likes that Eagleridge offers the extras, "things I couldn't teach." One doubt, though, lingers in her mind: why would the public school system want to offer home-school families anything?
A big part of the answer is economics. The number of home-schooled kids nationwide has risen to as many as 1.9 million from an estimated 345,000 in 1994, and school districts that get state and local dollars per child are beginning to suffer. In Maricopa County, which includes Mesa, the number of home-schooled kids has more than doubled during that period to 7,526; at about $4,500 a child, that's nearly $34 million a year in lost revenue.
Not everyone's happy with these innovations. Some states have taken the opposite tack. Like about half the states, West Virginia refuses to allow home-schooled kids to play public-school sports. And in Arizona, some complain that their tax dollars are being used to create programs for families who, essentially, eschew participation in public life. "That makes my teeth grit,'' says Daphne Atkeson, whose 10-year-old son attends public school in Paradise Valley. Even some committed home-schoolers question the new programs, given their central irony: they turn home-schoolers into public-school students, says Bob Parsons, president of the Alaska Private and Home Educators Association. "We've lost about one third of our members to those programs. They're so enticing.''
Mesa started Eagleridge four years ago, when it saw how much money it was losing from home-schoolers--and how unprepared some students were when they re-entered the schools. Since it began, the program's enrollment has nearly doubled to 397, and last year the district moved Eagleridge to a strip mall (between a pizza joint and a laser-tag arcade). Parents typically drop off their kids once a week; because most of the children qualify as quarter-time students, the district collects $911 per child. "It's like getting a taste of what real school is like,'' says 10-year-old Chad Lucas, who's learning computer animation and creative writing.
Other school districts are also experimenting with novel ways to court home schoolers. The town of Galena, Alaska, (pop. 600) has just 178 students. But in 1997, its school administrators figured they could reach beyond their borders. Under the program, the district gives home-schooling families free computers and Internet service for correspondence classes. In return, the district gets $3,100 per student enrolled in the program--$9.6 million a year, which it has used partly for a new vocational school. Such alternatives just might appeal to other districts. Ernest Felty, head of Hardin County schools in southern Illinois, has 10 home-schooled pupils. That may not sound like much--except that he has a staff of 68, and at $4,500 a child, "that's probably a teacher's salary,'' Felty says. With the right robotics or art class, though, he could take the home out of home schooling. | 1111.txt | 1 |
[
"it does not want to lose much money from the increasing home-schoolers.",
"home-schoolers have some difficulty in getting some particular knowledge.",
"home-schoolers are eager to have a taste of what a real school is like.",
"it has the responsibility to help the home-schoolers."
]
| The public school system wants to offer home-school families something, because | As the number of home-schooled kids soars, districts are trying novel ways to lure them back to the fold
Largely for "spiritual reasons," Nancy Manos started home-schooling her ch
ildren five years ago and has studiously avoided public schools ever since. Yet last week, she was enthusiastically enrolling her 8-year-old daughter, Olivia, in sign language and modern dance classes at Eagleridge Enrichment--a program run by the Mesa, Ariz., public schools and taught by district teachers. Manos still wants to handle the basics, but likes that Eagleridge offers the extras, "things I couldn't teach." One doubt, though, lingers in her mind: why would the public school system want to offer home-school families anything?
A big part of the answer is economics. The number of home-schooled kids nationwide has risen to as many as 1.9 million from an estimated 345,000 in 1994, and school districts that get state and local dollars per child are beginning to suffer. In Maricopa County, which includes Mesa, the number of home-schooled kids has more than doubled during that period to 7,526; at about $4,500 a child, that's nearly $34 million a year in lost revenue.
Not everyone's happy with these innovations. Some states have taken the opposite tack. Like about half the states, West Virginia refuses to allow home-schooled kids to play public-school sports. And in Arizona, some complain that their tax dollars are being used to create programs for families who, essentially, eschew participation in public life. "That makes my teeth grit,'' says Daphne Atkeson, whose 10-year-old son attends public school in Paradise Valley. Even some committed home-schoolers question the new programs, given their central irony: they turn home-schoolers into public-school students, says Bob Parsons, president of the Alaska Private and Home Educators Association. "We've lost about one third of our members to those programs. They're so enticing.''
Mesa started Eagleridge four years ago, when it saw how much money it was losing from home-schoolers--and how unprepared some students were when they re-entered the schools. Since it began, the program's enrollment has nearly doubled to 397, and last year the district moved Eagleridge to a strip mall (between a pizza joint and a laser-tag arcade). Parents typically drop off their kids once a week; because most of the children qualify as quarter-time students, the district collects $911 per child. "It's like getting a taste of what real school is like,'' says 10-year-old Chad Lucas, who's learning computer animation and creative writing.
Other school districts are also experimenting with novel ways to court home schoolers. The town of Galena, Alaska, (pop. 600) has just 178 students. But in 1997, its school administrators figured they could reach beyond their borders. Under the program, the district gives home-schooling families free computers and Internet service for correspondence classes. In return, the district gets $3,100 per student enrolled in the program--$9.6 million a year, which it has used partly for a new vocational school. Such alternatives just might appeal to other districts. Ernest Felty, head of Hardin County schools in southern Illinois, has 10 home-schooled pupils. That may not sound like much--except that he has a staff of 68, and at $4,500 a child, "that's probably a teacher's salary,'' Felty says. With the right robotics or art class, though, he could take the home out of home schooling. | 1111.txt | 0 |
[
"economics is greatly influenced by so many home-schoolers.",
"the number of the home-schoolers is steadily increasing.",
"it is a great loss for the public school system to have so many home-schoolers.",
"home-schooling has an incomparable advantage over the public school system."
]
| The statistics in Paragraph two helps us draw a conclusion that | As the number of home-schooled kids soars, districts are trying novel ways to lure them back to the fold
Largely for "spiritual reasons," Nancy Manos started home-schooling her ch
ildren five years ago and has studiously avoided public schools ever since. Yet last week, she was enthusiastically enrolling her 8-year-old daughter, Olivia, in sign language and modern dance classes at Eagleridge Enrichment--a program run by the Mesa, Ariz., public schools and taught by district teachers. Manos still wants to handle the basics, but likes that Eagleridge offers the extras, "things I couldn't teach." One doubt, though, lingers in her mind: why would the public school system want to offer home-school families anything?
A big part of the answer is economics. The number of home-schooled kids nationwide has risen to as many as 1.9 million from an estimated 345,000 in 1994, and school districts that get state and local dollars per child are beginning to suffer. In Maricopa County, which includes Mesa, the number of home-schooled kids has more than doubled during that period to 7,526; at about $4,500 a child, that's nearly $34 million a year in lost revenue.
Not everyone's happy with these innovations. Some states have taken the opposite tack. Like about half the states, West Virginia refuses to allow home-schooled kids to play public-school sports. And in Arizona, some complain that their tax dollars are being used to create programs for families who, essentially, eschew participation in public life. "That makes my teeth grit,'' says Daphne Atkeson, whose 10-year-old son attends public school in Paradise Valley. Even some committed home-schoolers question the new programs, given their central irony: they turn home-schoolers into public-school students, says Bob Parsons, president of the Alaska Private and Home Educators Association. "We've lost about one third of our members to those programs. They're so enticing.''
Mesa started Eagleridge four years ago, when it saw how much money it was losing from home-schoolers--and how unprepared some students were when they re-entered the schools. Since it began, the program's enrollment has nearly doubled to 397, and last year the district moved Eagleridge to a strip mall (between a pizza joint and a laser-tag arcade). Parents typically drop off their kids once a week; because most of the children qualify as quarter-time students, the district collects $911 per child. "It's like getting a taste of what real school is like,'' says 10-year-old Chad Lucas, who's learning computer animation and creative writing.
Other school districts are also experimenting with novel ways to court home schoolers. The town of Galena, Alaska, (pop. 600) has just 178 students. But in 1997, its school administrators figured they could reach beyond their borders. Under the program, the district gives home-schooling families free computers and Internet service for correspondence classes. In return, the district gets $3,100 per student enrolled in the program--$9.6 million a year, which it has used partly for a new vocational school. Such alternatives just might appeal to other districts. Ernest Felty, head of Hardin County schools in southern Illinois, has 10 home-schooled pupils. That may not sound like much--except that he has a staff of 68, and at $4,500 a child, "that's probably a teacher's salary,'' Felty says. With the right robotics or art class, though, he could take the home out of home schooling. | 1111.txt | 2 |
[
"The tuition the home schoolers have to pay for the public school is very high.",
"Public school system gains much profit from the home schoolers.",
"Home schoolers do not want to receive education at home any more.",
"Public school system tries to attract the home schoolers back to school."
]
| What can we infer from the last paragraph? | As the number of home-schooled kids soars, districts are trying novel ways to lure them back to the fold
Largely for "spiritual reasons," Nancy Manos started home-schooling her ch
ildren five years ago and has studiously avoided public schools ever since. Yet last week, she was enthusiastically enrolling her 8-year-old daughter, Olivia, in sign language and modern dance classes at Eagleridge Enrichment--a program run by the Mesa, Ariz., public schools and taught by district teachers. Manos still wants to handle the basics, but likes that Eagleridge offers the extras, "things I couldn't teach." One doubt, though, lingers in her mind: why would the public school system want to offer home-school families anything?
A big part of the answer is economics. The number of home-schooled kids nationwide has risen to as many as 1.9 million from an estimated 345,000 in 1994, and school districts that get state and local dollars per child are beginning to suffer. In Maricopa County, which includes Mesa, the number of home-schooled kids has more than doubled during that period to 7,526; at about $4,500 a child, that's nearly $34 million a year in lost revenue.
Not everyone's happy with these innovations. Some states have taken the opposite tack. Like about half the states, West Virginia refuses to allow home-schooled kids to play public-school sports. And in Arizona, some complain that their tax dollars are being used to create programs for families who, essentially, eschew participation in public life. "That makes my teeth grit,'' says Daphne Atkeson, whose 10-year-old son attends public school in Paradise Valley. Even some committed home-schoolers question the new programs, given their central irony: they turn home-schoolers into public-school students, says Bob Parsons, president of the Alaska Private and Home Educators Association. "We've lost about one third of our members to those programs. They're so enticing.''
Mesa started Eagleridge four years ago, when it saw how much money it was losing from home-schoolers--and how unprepared some students were when they re-entered the schools. Since it began, the program's enrollment has nearly doubled to 397, and last year the district moved Eagleridge to a strip mall (between a pizza joint and a laser-tag arcade). Parents typically drop off their kids once a week; because most of the children qualify as quarter-time students, the district collects $911 per child. "It's like getting a taste of what real school is like,'' says 10-year-old Chad Lucas, who's learning computer animation and creative writing.
Other school districts are also experimenting with novel ways to court home schoolers. The town of Galena, Alaska, (pop. 600) has just 178 students. But in 1997, its school administrators figured they could reach beyond their borders. Under the program, the district gives home-schooling families free computers and Internet service for correspondence classes. In return, the district gets $3,100 per student enrolled in the program--$9.6 million a year, which it has used partly for a new vocational school. Such alternatives just might appeal to other districts. Ernest Felty, head of Hardin County schools in southern Illinois, has 10 home-schooled pupils. That may not sound like much--except that he has a staff of 68, and at $4,500 a child, "that's probably a teacher's salary,'' Felty says. With the right robotics or art class, though, he could take the home out of home schooling. | 1111.txt | 1 |
[
"the use of seat belts was not compulsory for the majority of the population",
"a new law requiring the use of seat belts had just been passed",
"people had to choose between the use of seat belts or the use of air bags",
"almost fifty percent of the people involved in car accidents were saved by seat Belts"
]
| Before 1989, in the United States ________. | Last summer, Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole announced a new rule: Unless states representing two-thirds of the country's population pass compulsory seat-belt-use laws by April 1989, all new vehicles will have to be fitted with air bags or automatic seat belts.
The rule wouldn't have been necessary but for one simple fact. Even though seat belts could prevent nearly half of the deaths in fatal car accidents, 85 percent of the population simply won't wear them.
Why not? Behavioral engineers have found that there are all sorts of reasons-usually unstated. These are some of the most popular. It's safer to be thrown from a car man trapped. According to E. Scott Geller, that's a faulty argument. "In fact", he says, "being thrown from a car is twenty-five times more dangerous than being trapped".
It won't happen to me; I'm a good driver. But what about the other person who may be a terrible driver? The data show that the average incidence for all accidents in one per driver every 10 years.
My car will end up underwater or on fire, and I won't be able to get out. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), only 0.5 percent of all injury-producing accidents occur under these conditions. "If you're wearing a belt, you've got a better chance of being conscious and not having your legs broken-distinct advantages in getting out of a dangerous situation".
I'm only going a few blocks. Yet 80 percent of accidents happen at speeds or less that 25 miles per hour, 75 percent happen within 25 miles of home. | 2975.txt | 0 |
[
"held up in a traffic jam",
"confined in the car",
"caught in an accident",
"pulled into a car"
]
| The word "trapped" (Para. 3, Line 3) means to be ________. | Last summer, Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole announced a new rule: Unless states representing two-thirds of the country's population pass compulsory seat-belt-use laws by April 1989, all new vehicles will have to be fitted with air bags or automatic seat belts.
The rule wouldn't have been necessary but for one simple fact. Even though seat belts could prevent nearly half of the deaths in fatal car accidents, 85 percent of the population simply won't wear them.
Why not? Behavioral engineers have found that there are all sorts of reasons-usually unstated. These are some of the most popular. It's safer to be thrown from a car man trapped. According to E. Scott Geller, that's a faulty argument. "In fact", he says, "being thrown from a car is twenty-five times more dangerous than being trapped".
It won't happen to me; I'm a good driver. But what about the other person who may be a terrible driver? The data show that the average incidence for all accidents in one per driver every 10 years.
My car will end up underwater or on fire, and I won't be able to get out. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), only 0.5 percent of all injury-producing accidents occur under these conditions. "If you're wearing a belt, you've got a better chance of being conscious and not having your legs broken-distinct advantages in getting out of a dangerous situation".
I'm only going a few blocks. Yet 80 percent of accidents happen at speeds or less that 25 miles per hour, 75 percent happen within 25 miles of home. | 2975.txt | 1 |
[
"they don't think that it is comfortable to wear seat belts",
"they don't believe that an accident involving a terrible driver is highly probable",
"they believe that no danger is involved in just driving a few blocks",
"they think that few drivers are willing to wear seat belts"
]
| One of the reasons why many drivers refuse to wear seat belts is because ________. | Last summer, Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole announced a new rule: Unless states representing two-thirds of the country's population pass compulsory seat-belt-use laws by April 1989, all new vehicles will have to be fitted with air bags or automatic seat belts.
The rule wouldn't have been necessary but for one simple fact. Even though seat belts could prevent nearly half of the deaths in fatal car accidents, 85 percent of the population simply won't wear them.
Why not? Behavioral engineers have found that there are all sorts of reasons-usually unstated. These are some of the most popular. It's safer to be thrown from a car man trapped. According to E. Scott Geller, that's a faulty argument. "In fact", he says, "being thrown from a car is twenty-five times more dangerous than being trapped".
It won't happen to me; I'm a good driver. But what about the other person who may be a terrible driver? The data show that the average incidence for all accidents in one per driver every 10 years.
My car will end up underwater or on fire, and I won't be able to get out. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), only 0.5 percent of all injury-producing accidents occur under these conditions. "If you're wearing a belt, you've got a better chance of being conscious and not having your legs broken-distinct advantages in getting out of a dangerous situation".
I'm only going a few blocks. Yet 80 percent of accidents happen at speeds or less that 25 miles per hour, 75 percent happen within 25 miles of home. | 2975.txt | 2 |
[
"seat belts should be replaced by air bags",
"eighty-five percent of all drivers are likely to Break traffic rules",
"all drivers, whether good or bad, are liable to have an accident at one time or another",
"wearing seat belts will get drivers out of dangerous situations"
]
| It can be inferred from the passage that ________. | Last summer, Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole announced a new rule: Unless states representing two-thirds of the country's population pass compulsory seat-belt-use laws by April 1989, all new vehicles will have to be fitted with air bags or automatic seat belts.
The rule wouldn't have been necessary but for one simple fact. Even though seat belts could prevent nearly half of the deaths in fatal car accidents, 85 percent of the population simply won't wear them.
Why not? Behavioral engineers have found that there are all sorts of reasons-usually unstated. These are some of the most popular. It's safer to be thrown from a car man trapped. According to E. Scott Geller, that's a faulty argument. "In fact", he says, "being thrown from a car is twenty-five times more dangerous than being trapped".
It won't happen to me; I'm a good driver. But what about the other person who may be a terrible driver? The data show that the average incidence for all accidents in one per driver every 10 years.
My car will end up underwater or on fire, and I won't be able to get out. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), only 0.5 percent of all injury-producing accidents occur under these conditions. "If you're wearing a belt, you've got a better chance of being conscious and not having your legs broken-distinct advantages in getting out of a dangerous situation".
I'm only going a few blocks. Yet 80 percent of accidents happen at speeds or less that 25 miles per hour, 75 percent happen within 25 miles of home. | 2975.txt | 2 |
[
"to urge the government to pass the law sooner",
"to tell how dangerous car-driving can be",
"to criticise those who refuse to use seat belts",
"to prove the necessity of the new rule"
]
| The purpose of the writer in writing this passage is ________. | Last summer, Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole announced a new rule: Unless states representing two-thirds of the country's population pass compulsory seat-belt-use laws by April 1989, all new vehicles will have to be fitted with air bags or automatic seat belts.
The rule wouldn't have been necessary but for one simple fact. Even though seat belts could prevent nearly half of the deaths in fatal car accidents, 85 percent of the population simply won't wear them.
Why not? Behavioral engineers have found that there are all sorts of reasons-usually unstated. These are some of the most popular. It's safer to be thrown from a car man trapped. According to E. Scott Geller, that's a faulty argument. "In fact", he says, "being thrown from a car is twenty-five times more dangerous than being trapped".
It won't happen to me; I'm a good driver. But what about the other person who may be a terrible driver? The data show that the average incidence for all accidents in one per driver every 10 years.
My car will end up underwater or on fire, and I won't be able to get out. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), only 0.5 percent of all injury-producing accidents occur under these conditions. "If you're wearing a belt, you've got a better chance of being conscious and not having your legs broken-distinct advantages in getting out of a dangerous situation".
I'm only going a few blocks. Yet 80 percent of accidents happen at speeds or less that 25 miles per hour, 75 percent happen within 25 miles of home. | 2975.txt | 3 |
[
"is used both as a cultural and a physical object",
"serves different purposes equally well",
"is utilized by man",
"can be of use to both man and animal"
]
| A spear or a robot has the quality of technology only when it ________. | To live in the United States today is to gain an appreciation for Dahrendorf's assertion that social change exists everywhere. Technology, the application of knowledge for practical ends, is a major source of social change.
Yet we would do well to remind ourselves that technology is a human creation; it docs not exist naturally. A spear or a robot is as much a cultural as a physical object. Until humans use a spear to hunt game or a robot to produce machine parts, neither is much more than a solid mass of matter. For a bird looking for an object on which to rest, a spear or robot serves the purpose equally well. The explosion of the Challenger space shuttle and the Russian nuclear accident at Chernobyl drive home the human quality of technology; they provide cases in which well-planned systems suddenly went haywire and there was no ready hand to set them right. Since technology is a human creation, we are responsible for what is done with it. Pessimists worry that we will use out technology eventually to blow our world and ourselves to pieces. But they have been saying this for decades, and so far we have managed to survive and even flourish. Whether we will continue to do so in the years ahead remains uncertain. Clearly, the impact of technology on our lives deserves a closer examination.
Few technological developments have had a greater impact on our lives than the computer revolution. Scientists and engineers have designed specialized machines that can do the tasks that once only people could do. There are those who assert that the switch to an information-based economy is in the same camp as other great historical milestones, particularly the industrial Revolution. Yet when we ask why the industrial Revolution was a revolution, we find that it was not the machines. The primary reason why it was revolutionary is that it led to great social change. It gave rise to mass production and, through mass production, to a society in which wealth was not confined to the few.
In somewhat similar fashion, computers promise to revolutionize the structure of American life, particularly as they free the human mind and open new possibilities in knowledge and communication. The industrial Revolution supplemented and replaced the muscles of humans and animals by mechanical methods. The computer extends this development to supplement and replace some aspects of the mind of human beings by electronic methods. It is the capacity of the computer for solving problems and making decisions that represents its greatest potential and that pees the greatest difficulties in predicting the impact on society. | 2713.txt | 2 |
[
"if not given close examination, technology could be used to destroy our world",
"technology is a human creation, so we are responsible for it",
"technology usually goes wrong, if not controlled by man",
"being a human creation, technology is liable to error"
]
| The examples of the Challenger and Chernobyl cited by the author serve to show that ________. | To live in the United States today is to gain an appreciation for Dahrendorf's assertion that social change exists everywhere. Technology, the application of knowledge for practical ends, is a major source of social change.
Yet we would do well to remind ourselves that technology is a human creation; it docs not exist naturally. A spear or a robot is as much a cultural as a physical object. Until humans use a spear to hunt game or a robot to produce machine parts, neither is much more than a solid mass of matter. For a bird looking for an object on which to rest, a spear or robot serves the purpose equally well. The explosion of the Challenger space shuttle and the Russian nuclear accident at Chernobyl drive home the human quality of technology; they provide cases in which well-planned systems suddenly went haywire and there was no ready hand to set them right. Since technology is a human creation, we are responsible for what is done with it. Pessimists worry that we will use out technology eventually to blow our world and ourselves to pieces. But they have been saying this for decades, and so far we have managed to survive and even flourish. Whether we will continue to do so in the years ahead remains uncertain. Clearly, the impact of technology on our lives deserves a closer examination.
Few technological developments have had a greater impact on our lives than the computer revolution. Scientists and engineers have designed specialized machines that can do the tasks that once only people could do. There are those who assert that the switch to an information-based economy is in the same camp as other great historical milestones, particularly the industrial Revolution. Yet when we ask why the industrial Revolution was a revolution, we find that it was not the machines. The primary reason why it was revolutionary is that it led to great social change. It gave rise to mass production and, through mass production, to a society in which wealth was not confined to the few.
In somewhat similar fashion, computers promise to revolutionize the structure of American life, particularly as they free the human mind and open new possibilities in knowledge and communication. The industrial Revolution supplemented and replaced the muscles of humans and animals by mechanical methods. The computer extends this development to supplement and replace some aspects of the mind of human beings by electronic methods. It is the capacity of the computer for solving problems and making decisions that represents its greatest potential and that pees the greatest difficulties in predicting the impact on society. | 2713.txt | 1 |
[
"the computer has revolutionized the workings of the human mind",
"the computer can do the tasks that could only be done by people before",
"it has helped to switch to an information technology",
"it has a great potential impact on society"
]
| According to the author, the introduction of the computer is a revolution mainly because ________. | To live in the United States today is to gain an appreciation for Dahrendorf's assertion that social change exists everywhere. Technology, the application of knowledge for practical ends, is a major source of social change.
Yet we would do well to remind ourselves that technology is a human creation; it docs not exist naturally. A spear or a robot is as much a cultural as a physical object. Until humans use a spear to hunt game or a robot to produce machine parts, neither is much more than a solid mass of matter. For a bird looking for an object on which to rest, a spear or robot serves the purpose equally well. The explosion of the Challenger space shuttle and the Russian nuclear accident at Chernobyl drive home the human quality of technology; they provide cases in which well-planned systems suddenly went haywire and there was no ready hand to set them right. Since technology is a human creation, we are responsible for what is done with it. Pessimists worry that we will use out technology eventually to blow our world and ourselves to pieces. But they have been saying this for decades, and so far we have managed to survive and even flourish. Whether we will continue to do so in the years ahead remains uncertain. Clearly, the impact of technology on our lives deserves a closer examination.
Few technological developments have had a greater impact on our lives than the computer revolution. Scientists and engineers have designed specialized machines that can do the tasks that once only people could do. There are those who assert that the switch to an information-based economy is in the same camp as other great historical milestones, particularly the industrial Revolution. Yet when we ask why the industrial Revolution was a revolution, we find that it was not the machines. The primary reason why it was revolutionary is that it led to great social change. It gave rise to mass production and, through mass production, to a society in which wealth was not confined to the few.
In somewhat similar fashion, computers promise to revolutionize the structure of American life, particularly as they free the human mind and open new possibilities in knowledge and communication. The industrial Revolution supplemented and replaced the muscles of humans and animals by mechanical methods. The computer extends this development to supplement and replace some aspects of the mind of human beings by electronic methods. It is the capacity of the computer for solving problems and making decisions that represents its greatest potential and that pees the greatest difficulties in predicting the impact on society. | 2713.txt | 3 |
[
"has a great impact on human life",
"has some characteristics of human nature",
"can replace some aspects of the human mind",
"does not exist in the natural world"
]
| By using the phrase "the human quality of technology", the author refers to, the fact that technology ________. | To live in the United States today is to gain an appreciation for Dahrendorf's assertion that social change exists everywhere. Technology, the application of knowledge for practical ends, is a major source of social change.
Yet we would do well to remind ourselves that technology is a human creation; it docs not exist naturally. A spear or a robot is as much a cultural as a physical object. Until humans use a spear to hunt game or a robot to produce machine parts, neither is much more than a solid mass of matter. For a bird looking for an object on which to rest, a spear or robot serves the purpose equally well. The explosion of the Challenger space shuttle and the Russian nuclear accident at Chernobyl drive home the human quality of technology; they provide cases in which well-planned systems suddenly went haywire and there was no ready hand to set them right. Since technology is a human creation, we are responsible for what is done with it. Pessimists worry that we will use out technology eventually to blow our world and ourselves to pieces. But they have been saying this for decades, and so far we have managed to survive and even flourish. Whether we will continue to do so in the years ahead remains uncertain. Clearly, the impact of technology on our lives deserves a closer examination.
Few technological developments have had a greater impact on our lives than the computer revolution. Scientists and engineers have designed specialized machines that can do the tasks that once only people could do. There are those who assert that the switch to an information-based economy is in the same camp as other great historical milestones, particularly the industrial Revolution. Yet when we ask why the industrial Revolution was a revolution, we find that it was not the machines. The primary reason why it was revolutionary is that it led to great social change. It gave rise to mass production and, through mass production, to a society in which wealth was not confined to the few.
In somewhat similar fashion, computers promise to revolutionize the structure of American life, particularly as they free the human mind and open new possibilities in knowledge and communication. The industrial Revolution supplemented and replaced the muscles of humans and animals by mechanical methods. The computer extends this development to supplement and replace some aspects of the mind of human beings by electronic methods. It is the capacity of the computer for solving problems and making decisions that represents its greatest potential and that pees the greatest difficulties in predicting the impact on society. | 2713.txt | 3 |
[
"keen insight into the nature of technology",
"prejudiced criticism of the role of the industrial Revolution",
"cautious analysis of the replacement of the human mind by computers",
"exaggerated description of the negative consequences of technology"
]
| The passage is based on the author's ________. | To live in the United States today is to gain an appreciation for Dahrendorf's assertion that social change exists everywhere. Technology, the application of knowledge for practical ends, is a major source of social change.
Yet we would do well to remind ourselves that technology is a human creation; it docs not exist naturally. A spear or a robot is as much a cultural as a physical object. Until humans use a spear to hunt game or a robot to produce machine parts, neither is much more than a solid mass of matter. For a bird looking for an object on which to rest, a spear or robot serves the purpose equally well. The explosion of the Challenger space shuttle and the Russian nuclear accident at Chernobyl drive home the human quality of technology; they provide cases in which well-planned systems suddenly went haywire and there was no ready hand to set them right. Since technology is a human creation, we are responsible for what is done with it. Pessimists worry that we will use out technology eventually to blow our world and ourselves to pieces. But they have been saying this for decades, and so far we have managed to survive and even flourish. Whether we will continue to do so in the years ahead remains uncertain. Clearly, the impact of technology on our lives deserves a closer examination.
Few technological developments have had a greater impact on our lives than the computer revolution. Scientists and engineers have designed specialized machines that can do the tasks that once only people could do. There are those who assert that the switch to an information-based economy is in the same camp as other great historical milestones, particularly the industrial Revolution. Yet when we ask why the industrial Revolution was a revolution, we find that it was not the machines. The primary reason why it was revolutionary is that it led to great social change. It gave rise to mass production and, through mass production, to a society in which wealth was not confined to the few.
In somewhat similar fashion, computers promise to revolutionize the structure of American life, particularly as they free the human mind and open new possibilities in knowledge and communication. The industrial Revolution supplemented and replaced the muscles of humans and animals by mechanical methods. The computer extends this development to supplement and replace some aspects of the mind of human beings by electronic methods. It is the capacity of the computer for solving problems and making decisions that represents its greatest potential and that pees the greatest difficulties in predicting the impact on society. | 2713.txt | 0 |
[
"How sediments were built up in oceans during the Cretaceous period",
"How petroleum was formed in the Mesozoic era",
"The impact of changes in oceanic animal and plant life in the Mesozoic era",
"The differences between plankton found in the present era and Cretaceous plankton"
]
| What does the passage mainly discuss? | Perhaps one of the most dramatic and important changes that took place in the Mesozoic era occurred late in that era, among the small organisms that populate the uppermost, sunlit portion of the oceans - the plankton. The term "plankton" is a broad one, designating all of the small plants and animals that float about or weakly propel themselves through the sea. In the late stages of the Mesozoic era, during the Cretaceous period, there was a great expansion of plankton that precipitated skeletons or shells composed of two types of mineral: silica and calcium carbonate.
This development radically changed the types of sediments that accumulated on the seafloor, because, while the organic parts of the plankton decayed after the organisms died, their mineralized skeletons often survived and sank to the bottom. For the first time in the Earth's long history, very large quantities of silica skeletons, which would eventually harden into rock, began to pile up in parts of the deep sea. Thick deposits of calcareous ooze made up of the tiny remains of the calcium carbonate-secreting plankton also accumulated as never before. The famous white chalk cliffs of Dover, in the southeast of England, are just one example of the huge quantities of such material that amassed during the Cretaceous period; there are many more. Just why the calcareous plankton were so prolific during the latter part of the Cretaceous period is not fully understood. Such massive amounts of chalky sediments have never since been deposited over a comparable period of time.
The high biological productivity of the Cretaceous oceans also led to ideal conditions for oil accumulation. Oil is formed when organic material trapped in sediments is slowly buried and subjected to increased temperatures and pressures, transforming it into petroleum. Sediments rich in organic material accumulated along the margins of the Tethys Seaway, the tropical east-west ocean that formed when Earth's single landmass (known as PangaeA. split apart during the Mesozoic era. Many of today's important oil fields are found in those sediments - in Russia, the Middle East, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the states of Texas and Louisiana in the United States. | 404.txt | 2 |
[
"in the early part of the Mesozoic era",
"in the middle part of the Mesozoic era",
"in the later part of the Mesozoic era",
"after the Mesozoic era"
]
| The passage indicates that the Cretaceous period occurred | Perhaps one of the most dramatic and important changes that took place in the Mesozoic era occurred late in that era, among the small organisms that populate the uppermost, sunlit portion of the oceans - the plankton. The term "plankton" is a broad one, designating all of the small plants and animals that float about or weakly propel themselves through the sea. In the late stages of the Mesozoic era, during the Cretaceous period, there was a great expansion of plankton that precipitated skeletons or shells composed of two types of mineral: silica and calcium carbonate.
This development radically changed the types of sediments that accumulated on the seafloor, because, while the organic parts of the plankton decayed after the organisms died, their mineralized skeletons often survived and sank to the bottom. For the first time in the Earth's long history, very large quantities of silica skeletons, which would eventually harden into rock, began to pile up in parts of the deep sea. Thick deposits of calcareous ooze made up of the tiny remains of the calcium carbonate-secreting plankton also accumulated as never before. The famous white chalk cliffs of Dover, in the southeast of England, are just one example of the huge quantities of such material that amassed during the Cretaceous period; there are many more. Just why the calcareous plankton were so prolific during the latter part of the Cretaceous period is not fully understood. Such massive amounts of chalky sediments have never since been deposited over a comparable period of time.
The high biological productivity of the Cretaceous oceans also led to ideal conditions for oil accumulation. Oil is formed when organic material trapped in sediments is slowly buried and subjected to increased temperatures and pressures, transforming it into petroleum. Sediments rich in organic material accumulated along the margins of the Tethys Seaway, the tropical east-west ocean that formed when Earth's single landmass (known as PangaeA. split apart during the Mesozoic era. Many of today's important oil fields are found in those sediments - in Russia, the Middle East, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the states of Texas and Louisiana in the United States. | 404.txt | 2 |
[
"the length of their lives",
"the level of the ocean at which they are found",
"their movement",
"their size"
]
| The passage mentions all of the following aspects of plankton EXCEPT | Perhaps one of the most dramatic and important changes that took place in the Mesozoic era occurred late in that era, among the small organisms that populate the uppermost, sunlit portion of the oceans - the plankton. The term "plankton" is a broad one, designating all of the small plants and animals that float about or weakly propel themselves through the sea. In the late stages of the Mesozoic era, during the Cretaceous period, there was a great expansion of plankton that precipitated skeletons or shells composed of two types of mineral: silica and calcium carbonate.
This development radically changed the types of sediments that accumulated on the seafloor, because, while the organic parts of the plankton decayed after the organisms died, their mineralized skeletons often survived and sank to the bottom. For the first time in the Earth's long history, very large quantities of silica skeletons, which would eventually harden into rock, began to pile up in parts of the deep sea. Thick deposits of calcareous ooze made up of the tiny remains of the calcium carbonate-secreting plankton also accumulated as never before. The famous white chalk cliffs of Dover, in the southeast of England, are just one example of the huge quantities of such material that amassed during the Cretaceous period; there are many more. Just why the calcareous plankton were so prolific during the latter part of the Cretaceous period is not fully understood. Such massive amounts of chalky sediments have never since been deposited over a comparable period of time.
The high biological productivity of the Cretaceous oceans also led to ideal conditions for oil accumulation. Oil is formed when organic material trapped in sediments is slowly buried and subjected to increased temperatures and pressures, transforming it into petroleum. Sediments rich in organic material accumulated along the margins of the Tethys Seaway, the tropical east-west ocean that formed when Earth's single landmass (known as PangaeA. split apart during the Mesozoic era. Many of today's important oil fields are found in those sediments - in Russia, the Middle East, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the states of Texas and Louisiana in the United States. | 404.txt | 0 |
[
"depended",
"matured",
"dissolved",
"collected"
]
| The word "accumulated" in line 8 is closest in meaning to | Perhaps one of the most dramatic and important changes that took place in the Mesozoic era occurred late in that era, among the small organisms that populate the uppermost, sunlit portion of the oceans - the plankton. The term "plankton" is a broad one, designating all of the small plants and animals that float about or weakly propel themselves through the sea. In the late stages of the Mesozoic era, during the Cretaceous period, there was a great expansion of plankton that precipitated skeletons or shells composed of two types of mineral: silica and calcium carbonate.
This development radically changed the types of sediments that accumulated on the seafloor, because, while the organic parts of the plankton decayed after the organisms died, their mineralized skeletons often survived and sank to the bottom. For the first time in the Earth's long history, very large quantities of silica skeletons, which would eventually harden into rock, began to pile up in parts of the deep sea. Thick deposits of calcareous ooze made up of the tiny remains of the calcium carbonate-secreting plankton also accumulated as never before. The famous white chalk cliffs of Dover, in the southeast of England, are just one example of the huge quantities of such material that amassed during the Cretaceous period; there are many more. Just why the calcareous plankton were so prolific during the latter part of the Cretaceous period is not fully understood. Such massive amounts of chalky sediments have never since been deposited over a comparable period of time.
The high biological productivity of the Cretaceous oceans also led to ideal conditions for oil accumulation. Oil is formed when organic material trapped in sediments is slowly buried and subjected to increased temperatures and pressures, transforming it into petroleum. Sediments rich in organic material accumulated along the margins of the Tethys Seaway, the tropical east-west ocean that formed when Earth's single landmass (known as PangaeA. split apart during the Mesozoic era. Many of today's important oil fields are found in those sediments - in Russia, the Middle East, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the states of Texas and Louisiana in the United States. | 404.txt | 3 |
[
"the depth of the water",
"the makeup of the sediment on the ocean floor",
"the decrease in petroleum-producing sediment",
"a decline in the quantity of calcareous ooze on the seafloor"
]
| According to the passage , the most dramatic change to the oceans caused by plankton during the Cretaceous period concerned | Perhaps one of the most dramatic and important changes that took place in the Mesozoic era occurred late in that era, among the small organisms that populate the uppermost, sunlit portion of the oceans - the plankton. The term "plankton" is a broad one, designating all of the small plants and animals that float about or weakly propel themselves through the sea. In the late stages of the Mesozoic era, during the Cretaceous period, there was a great expansion of plankton that precipitated skeletons or shells composed of two types of mineral: silica and calcium carbonate.
This development radically changed the types of sediments that accumulated on the seafloor, because, while the organic parts of the plankton decayed after the organisms died, their mineralized skeletons often survived and sank to the bottom. For the first time in the Earth's long history, very large quantities of silica skeletons, which would eventually harden into rock, began to pile up in parts of the deep sea. Thick deposits of calcareous ooze made up of the tiny remains of the calcium carbonate-secreting plankton also accumulated as never before. The famous white chalk cliffs of Dover, in the southeast of England, are just one example of the huge quantities of such material that amassed during the Cretaceous period; there are many more. Just why the calcareous plankton were so prolific during the latter part of the Cretaceous period is not fully understood. Such massive amounts of chalky sediments have never since been deposited over a comparable period of time.
The high biological productivity of the Cretaceous oceans also led to ideal conditions for oil accumulation. Oil is formed when organic material trapped in sediments is slowly buried and subjected to increased temperatures and pressures, transforming it into petroleum. Sediments rich in organic material accumulated along the margins of the Tethys Seaway, the tropical east-west ocean that formed when Earth's single landmass (known as PangaeA. split apart during the Mesozoic era. Many of today's important oil fields are found in those sediments - in Russia, the Middle East, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the states of Texas and Louisiana in the United States. | 404.txt | 1 |
[
"show where the plankton sediment first began to build up",
"provide an example of a plankton buildup that scientists cannot explain",
"provide an example of the buildup of plankton sediment",
"indicate the largest single plankton buildup on Earth"
]
| The "white chalk cliffs of Dover" are mentioned in line 14 of the passage to | Perhaps one of the most dramatic and important changes that took place in the Mesozoic era occurred late in that era, among the small organisms that populate the uppermost, sunlit portion of the oceans - the plankton. The term "plankton" is a broad one, designating all of the small plants and animals that float about or weakly propel themselves through the sea. In the late stages of the Mesozoic era, during the Cretaceous period, there was a great expansion of plankton that precipitated skeletons or shells composed of two types of mineral: silica and calcium carbonate.
This development radically changed the types of sediments that accumulated on the seafloor, because, while the organic parts of the plankton decayed after the organisms died, their mineralized skeletons often survived and sank to the bottom. For the first time in the Earth's long history, very large quantities of silica skeletons, which would eventually harden into rock, began to pile up in parts of the deep sea. Thick deposits of calcareous ooze made up of the tiny remains of the calcium carbonate-secreting plankton also accumulated as never before. The famous white chalk cliffs of Dover, in the southeast of England, are just one example of the huge quantities of such material that amassed during the Cretaceous period; there are many more. Just why the calcareous plankton were so prolific during the latter part of the Cretaceous period is not fully understood. Such massive amounts of chalky sediments have never since been deposited over a comparable period of time.
The high biological productivity of the Cretaceous oceans also led to ideal conditions for oil accumulation. Oil is formed when organic material trapped in sediments is slowly buried and subjected to increased temperatures and pressures, transforming it into petroleum. Sediments rich in organic material accumulated along the margins of the Tethys Seaway, the tropical east-west ocean that formed when Earth's single landmass (known as PangaeA. split apart during the Mesozoic era. Many of today's important oil fields are found in those sediments - in Russia, the Middle East, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the states of Texas and Louisiana in the United States. | 404.txt | 2 |
[
"fruitful",
"distinct",
"determined",
"energetic"
]
| The word "prolific" in line 17 is closest in meaning to | Perhaps one of the most dramatic and important changes that took place in the Mesozoic era occurred late in that era, among the small organisms that populate the uppermost, sunlit portion of the oceans - the plankton. The term "plankton" is a broad one, designating all of the small plants and animals that float about or weakly propel themselves through the sea. In the late stages of the Mesozoic era, during the Cretaceous period, there was a great expansion of plankton that precipitated skeletons or shells composed of two types of mineral: silica and calcium carbonate.
This development radically changed the types of sediments that accumulated on the seafloor, because, while the organic parts of the plankton decayed after the organisms died, their mineralized skeletons often survived and sank to the bottom. For the first time in the Earth's long history, very large quantities of silica skeletons, which would eventually harden into rock, began to pile up in parts of the deep sea. Thick deposits of calcareous ooze made up of the tiny remains of the calcium carbonate-secreting plankton also accumulated as never before. The famous white chalk cliffs of Dover, in the southeast of England, are just one example of the huge quantities of such material that amassed during the Cretaceous period; there are many more. Just why the calcareous plankton were so prolific during the latter part of the Cretaceous period is not fully understood. Such massive amounts of chalky sediments have never since been deposited over a comparable period of time.
The high biological productivity of the Cretaceous oceans also led to ideal conditions for oil accumulation. Oil is formed when organic material trapped in sediments is slowly buried and subjected to increased temperatures and pressures, transforming it into petroleum. Sediments rich in organic material accumulated along the margins of the Tethys Seaway, the tropical east-west ocean that formed when Earth's single landmass (known as PangaeA. split apart during the Mesozoic era. Many of today's important oil fields are found in those sediments - in Russia, the Middle East, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the states of Texas and Louisiana in the United States. | 404.txt | 0 |
[
"common",
"clear",
"perfect",
"immediate"
]
| The word "ideal" in line 20 is closest in meaning to | Perhaps one of the most dramatic and important changes that took place in the Mesozoic era occurred late in that era, among the small organisms that populate the uppermost, sunlit portion of the oceans - the plankton. The term "plankton" is a broad one, designating all of the small plants and animals that float about or weakly propel themselves through the sea. In the late stages of the Mesozoic era, during the Cretaceous period, there was a great expansion of plankton that precipitated skeletons or shells composed of two types of mineral: silica and calcium carbonate.
This development radically changed the types of sediments that accumulated on the seafloor, because, while the organic parts of the plankton decayed after the organisms died, their mineralized skeletons often survived and sank to the bottom. For the first time in the Earth's long history, very large quantities of silica skeletons, which would eventually harden into rock, began to pile up in parts of the deep sea. Thick deposits of calcareous ooze made up of the tiny remains of the calcium carbonate-secreting plankton also accumulated as never before. The famous white chalk cliffs of Dover, in the southeast of England, are just one example of the huge quantities of such material that amassed during the Cretaceous period; there are many more. Just why the calcareous plankton were so prolific during the latter part of the Cretaceous period is not fully understood. Such massive amounts of chalky sediments have never since been deposited over a comparable period of time.
The high biological productivity of the Cretaceous oceans also led to ideal conditions for oil accumulation. Oil is formed when organic material trapped in sediments is slowly buried and subjected to increased temperatures and pressures, transforming it into petroleum. Sediments rich in organic material accumulated along the margins of the Tethys Seaway, the tropical east-west ocean that formed when Earth's single landmass (known as PangaeA. split apart during the Mesozoic era. Many of today's important oil fields are found in those sediments - in Russia, the Middle East, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the states of Texas and Louisiana in the United States. | 404.txt | 2 |
[
"biological productivity",
"oil",
"organic material",
"petroleum"
]
| The word "it" in line 22 refers to | Perhaps one of the most dramatic and important changes that took place in the Mesozoic era occurred late in that era, among the small organisms that populate the uppermost, sunlit portion of the oceans - the plankton. The term "plankton" is a broad one, designating all of the small plants and animals that float about or weakly propel themselves through the sea. In the late stages of the Mesozoic era, during the Cretaceous period, there was a great expansion of plankton that precipitated skeletons or shells composed of two types of mineral: silica and calcium carbonate.
This development radically changed the types of sediments that accumulated on the seafloor, because, while the organic parts of the plankton decayed after the organisms died, their mineralized skeletons often survived and sank to the bottom. For the first time in the Earth's long history, very large quantities of silica skeletons, which would eventually harden into rock, began to pile up in parts of the deep sea. Thick deposits of calcareous ooze made up of the tiny remains of the calcium carbonate-secreting plankton also accumulated as never before. The famous white chalk cliffs of Dover, in the southeast of England, are just one example of the huge quantities of such material that amassed during the Cretaceous period; there are many more. Just why the calcareous plankton were so prolific during the latter part of the Cretaceous period is not fully understood. Such massive amounts of chalky sediments have never since been deposited over a comparable period of time.
The high biological productivity of the Cretaceous oceans also led to ideal conditions for oil accumulation. Oil is formed when organic material trapped in sediments is slowly buried and subjected to increased temperatures and pressures, transforming it into petroleum. Sediments rich in organic material accumulated along the margins of the Tethys Seaway, the tropical east-west ocean that formed when Earth's single landmass (known as PangaeA. split apart during the Mesozoic era. Many of today's important oil fields are found in those sediments - in Russia, the Middle East, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the states of Texas and Louisiana in the United States. | 404.txt | 2 |
[
"no one can be both creative and critical",
"they cannot be regarded as equally important",
"they are in constant conflict with each other",
"one cannot use them at the same time"
]
| When the author says the creative mind and the critical mind "cannot work in parallel" (Line 4, Para. 1) in the writing process, he means _ . | I've been writing for most of my life. The book Writing Without Teachers introduced me to one distinction and one practice that has helped my writing processes tremendously. The distinction is between the creative mind and the critical mind. While you need to employ both to get to a finished result, they cannot work in parallel no matter how much we might like to think so.
Trying to criticize writing on the fly is possibly the single greatest barrier to writing that most of us encounter. If you are listening to that 5th grade English teacher correct your grammar while you are trying to capture a fleeting thought, the thought will die. If you capture the fleeting thought and simply share it with the world in raw form, no one is likely to understand. You must learn to create first and then criticize if you want to make writing the tool for thinking that it is.
The practice that can help you past your learned bad habits of trying to edit as you write is what Elbow calls "free writing." In free writing, the objective is to get words down on paper non-stop, usually for 15-20 minutes. No stopping, no going back, no criticizing. The goal is to get the words flowing. As the words begin to flow, the ideas will come from the shadows and let themselves be captured on your notepad or your screen.
Now you have raw materials that you can begin to work with using the critical mind that you've persuaded to sit on the side and watch quietly. Most likely, you will believe that this will take more time than you actually have and you will end up staring blankly at the pages as the deadline draws near.
Instead of staring at a blank start filling it with words no matter how bad. Halfway through you available time, stop and rework your raw writing into something closer to finished product. Move back and forth until you run out of time and the final result will most likely be far better than your current practices. | 1501.txt | 3 |
[
"putting their ideas in raw form",
"attempting to edit as they write",
"ignoring grammatical soundness",
"trying to capture fleeting thoughts"
]
| What prevents people from writing on is _ . | I've been writing for most of my life. The book Writing Without Teachers introduced me to one distinction and one practice that has helped my writing processes tremendously. The distinction is between the creative mind and the critical mind. While you need to employ both to get to a finished result, they cannot work in parallel no matter how much we might like to think so.
Trying to criticize writing on the fly is possibly the single greatest barrier to writing that most of us encounter. If you are listening to that 5th grade English teacher correct your grammar while you are trying to capture a fleeting thought, the thought will die. If you capture the fleeting thought and simply share it with the world in raw form, no one is likely to understand. You must learn to create first and then criticize if you want to make writing the tool for thinking that it is.
The practice that can help you past your learned bad habits of trying to edit as you write is what Elbow calls "free writing." In free writing, the objective is to get words down on paper non-stop, usually for 15-20 minutes. No stopping, no going back, no criticizing. The goal is to get the words flowing. As the words begin to flow, the ideas will come from the shadows and let themselves be captured on your notepad or your screen.
Now you have raw materials that you can begin to work with using the critical mind that you've persuaded to sit on the side and watch quietly. Most likely, you will believe that this will take more time than you actually have and you will end up staring blankly at the pages as the deadline draws near.
Instead of staring at a blank start filling it with words no matter how bad. Halfway through you available time, stop and rework your raw writing into something closer to finished product. Move back and forth until you run out of time and the final result will most likely be far better than your current practices. | 1501.txt | 1 |
[
"To organize one's thoughts logically.",
"To choose an appropriate topic.",
"To get one's ideas down.",
"To collect raw materials."
]
| What is the chief objective of the first stage of writing? | I've been writing for most of my life. The book Writing Without Teachers introduced me to one distinction and one practice that has helped my writing processes tremendously. The distinction is between the creative mind and the critical mind. While you need to employ both to get to a finished result, they cannot work in parallel no matter how much we might like to think so.
Trying to criticize writing on the fly is possibly the single greatest barrier to writing that most of us encounter. If you are listening to that 5th grade English teacher correct your grammar while you are trying to capture a fleeting thought, the thought will die. If you capture the fleeting thought and simply share it with the world in raw form, no one is likely to understand. You must learn to create first and then criticize if you want to make writing the tool for thinking that it is.
The practice that can help you past your learned bad habits of trying to edit as you write is what Elbow calls "free writing." In free writing, the objective is to get words down on paper non-stop, usually for 15-20 minutes. No stopping, no going back, no criticizing. The goal is to get the words flowing. As the words begin to flow, the ideas will come from the shadows and let themselves be captured on your notepad or your screen.
Now you have raw materials that you can begin to work with using the critical mind that you've persuaded to sit on the side and watch quietly. Most likely, you will believe that this will take more time than you actually have and you will end up staring blankly at the pages as the deadline draws near.
Instead of staring at a blank start filling it with words no matter how bad. Halfway through you available time, stop and rework your raw writing into something closer to finished product. Move back and forth until you run out of time and the final result will most likely be far better than your current practices. | 1501.txt | 2 |
[
"it overstresses the role of the creative mind",
"it takes too much time to edit afterwards",
"it may bring about too much criticism",
"it does not help them to think clearly"
]
| One common concern of writers about "free writing" is that _ . | I've been writing for most of my life. The book Writing Without Teachers introduced me to one distinction and one practice that has helped my writing processes tremendously. The distinction is between the creative mind and the critical mind. While you need to employ both to get to a finished result, they cannot work in parallel no matter how much we might like to think so.
Trying to criticize writing on the fly is possibly the single greatest barrier to writing that most of us encounter. If you are listening to that 5th grade English teacher correct your grammar while you are trying to capture a fleeting thought, the thought will die. If you capture the fleeting thought and simply share it with the world in raw form, no one is likely to understand. You must learn to create first and then criticize if you want to make writing the tool for thinking that it is.
The practice that can help you past your learned bad habits of trying to edit as you write is what Elbow calls "free writing." In free writing, the objective is to get words down on paper non-stop, usually for 15-20 minutes. No stopping, no going back, no criticizing. The goal is to get the words flowing. As the words begin to flow, the ideas will come from the shadows and let themselves be captured on your notepad or your screen.
Now you have raw materials that you can begin to work with using the critical mind that you've persuaded to sit on the side and watch quietly. Most likely, you will believe that this will take more time than you actually have and you will end up staring blankly at the pages as the deadline draws near.
Instead of staring at a blank start filling it with words no matter how bad. Halfway through you available time, stop and rework your raw writing into something closer to finished product. Move back and forth until you run out of time and the final result will most likely be far better than your current practices. | 1501.txt | 1 |
[
"It refines his writing into better shape.",
"It helps him to come up with new ideas.",
"It saves the writing time available to him.",
"It allows him to sit on the side and observe."
]
| In what way does the critical mind help the writer in the writing process? | I've been writing for most of my life. The book Writing Without Teachers introduced me to one distinction and one practice that has helped my writing processes tremendously. The distinction is between the creative mind and the critical mind. While you need to employ both to get to a finished result, they cannot work in parallel no matter how much we might like to think so.
Trying to criticize writing on the fly is possibly the single greatest barrier to writing that most of us encounter. If you are listening to that 5th grade English teacher correct your grammar while you are trying to capture a fleeting thought, the thought will die. If you capture the fleeting thought and simply share it with the world in raw form, no one is likely to understand. You must learn to create first and then criticize if you want to make writing the tool for thinking that it is.
The practice that can help you past your learned bad habits of trying to edit as you write is what Elbow calls "free writing." In free writing, the objective is to get words down on paper non-stop, usually for 15-20 minutes. No stopping, no going back, no criticizing. The goal is to get the words flowing. As the words begin to flow, the ideas will come from the shadows and let themselves be captured on your notepad or your screen.
Now you have raw materials that you can begin to work with using the critical mind that you've persuaded to sit on the side and watch quietly. Most likely, you will believe that this will take more time than you actually have and you will end up staring blankly at the pages as the deadline draws near.
Instead of staring at a blank start filling it with words no matter how bad. Halfway through you available time, stop and rework your raw writing into something closer to finished product. Move back and forth until you run out of time and the final result will most likely be far better than your current practices. | 1501.txt | 0 |
[
"who are physically weak or crippled",
"who once lived in a prison-camp during the War",
"who live in big modern cities",
"who live only in metropolitan cities"
]
| From what you have read, would you expect manners to improve among people ? | Manners nowadays in metropolitan cities like London are practically non-existent. It is nothing for a big, strong schoolboy to elbow an elderly woman aside in the dash for the last remaining seat on the tube or bus, much less stand up and offer his seat to her, as he ought. In fact, it is saddening to note that if a man does offer his seat to an older woman, it is nearly always a Continental man or one from the older generation.
This question of giving up seats in public transport is much argued about by young men, who say that, since women have claimed equality, they no longer deserve to be treated with courtesy and that those who go out to work should take their turn in the rat race like anyone else. Women have never claimed to be physically as strong as men. Even if it is not agreed, however, that young men should stand up for younger women, the fact remains that courtesy should be shown to the old, the sick and the burdened. Are we really so lost to all ideals of unselfishness that we can sit there indifferently reading the paper or a book, saying to ourselves "First come, first served," while a grey-haired woman, a mother with a young child or a cripple stands? Yet this is all too often seen.
Conditions in travel are really very hard on everyone, we know, but hardship is surely no excuse. Sometimes one wonders what would have been the behaviour of these stout young men in a packed refugee train or a train on its way to a prison-camp during the War. Would they have considered it only right and their proper due to keep the best places for themselves then?
Older people, tired and irritable from a day's work, are not angels, either -- far from it. Many a brisk argument or an insulting quarrel breaks out as the weary queues push and shove each other to get on buses and tubes. One cannot commend this, of course, but one does feel there is just a little more excuse.
If cities are to remain pleasant places to live in at all, however, it seems imperative, not only that communications in transport should be improved, but also that communication between human beings should be kept smooth and polite. All over cities, it seems that people are too tired and too rushed to be polite. Shop assistants won't bother to assist, taxi drivers growl at each other as they dash dangerously round corners, bus conductor pull the bell before their desperate passengers have had time to get on or off the bus, and so on and so on. It seems to us that it is up to the young and strong to do their small part to stop such deterioration. | 1482.txt | 2 |
[
"Now that women have claimed equality, they no longer need to be treated differently from men.",
"It is generally considered old-fashioned for young men to give up their seats to young women.",
"\"Lady First\" should be universally practiced.",
"Special consideration ought to be shown them."
]
| What is the writer's opinion concerning courteous manners towards women? | Manners nowadays in metropolitan cities like London are practically non-existent. It is nothing for a big, strong schoolboy to elbow an elderly woman aside in the dash for the last remaining seat on the tube or bus, much less stand up and offer his seat to her, as he ought. In fact, it is saddening to note that if a man does offer his seat to an older woman, it is nearly always a Continental man or one from the older generation.
This question of giving up seats in public transport is much argued about by young men, who say that, since women have claimed equality, they no longer deserve to be treated with courtesy and that those who go out to work should take their turn in the rat race like anyone else. Women have never claimed to be physically as strong as men. Even if it is not agreed, however, that young men should stand up for younger women, the fact remains that courtesy should be shown to the old, the sick and the burdened. Are we really so lost to all ideals of unselfishness that we can sit there indifferently reading the paper or a book, saying to ourselves "First come, first served," while a grey-haired woman, a mother with a young child or a cripple stands? Yet this is all too often seen.
Conditions in travel are really very hard on everyone, we know, but hardship is surely no excuse. Sometimes one wonders what would have been the behaviour of these stout young men in a packed refugee train or a train on its way to a prison-camp during the War. Would they have considered it only right and their proper due to keep the best places for themselves then?
Older people, tired and irritable from a day's work, are not angels, either -- far from it. Many a brisk argument or an insulting quarrel breaks out as the weary queues push and shove each other to get on buses and tubes. One cannot commend this, of course, but one does feel there is just a little more excuse.
If cities are to remain pleasant places to live in at all, however, it seems imperative, not only that communications in transport should be improved, but also that communication between human beings should be kept smooth and polite. All over cities, it seems that people are too tired and too rushed to be polite. Shop assistants won't bother to assist, taxi drivers growl at each other as they dash dangerously round corners, bus conductor pull the bell before their desperate passengers have had time to get on or off the bus, and so on and so on. It seems to us that it is up to the young and strong to do their small part to stop such deterioration. | 1482.txt | 3 |
[
"people were more considerate towards each other",
"people were not so tired and irritable",
"women were treated with more courtesy",
"public transport could be improved"
]
| According to the author communication between human beings would be smoother if . | Manners nowadays in metropolitan cities like London are practically non-existent. It is nothing for a big, strong schoolboy to elbow an elderly woman aside in the dash for the last remaining seat on the tube or bus, much less stand up and offer his seat to her, as he ought. In fact, it is saddening to note that if a man does offer his seat to an older woman, it is nearly always a Continental man or one from the older generation.
This question of giving up seats in public transport is much argued about by young men, who say that, since women have claimed equality, they no longer deserve to be treated with courtesy and that those who go out to work should take their turn in the rat race like anyone else. Women have never claimed to be physically as strong as men. Even if it is not agreed, however, that young men should stand up for younger women, the fact remains that courtesy should be shown to the old, the sick and the burdened. Are we really so lost to all ideals of unselfishness that we can sit there indifferently reading the paper or a book, saying to ourselves "First come, first served," while a grey-haired woman, a mother with a young child or a cripple stands? Yet this is all too often seen.
Conditions in travel are really very hard on everyone, we know, but hardship is surely no excuse. Sometimes one wonders what would have been the behaviour of these stout young men in a packed refugee train or a train on its way to a prison-camp during the War. Would they have considered it only right and their proper due to keep the best places for themselves then?
Older people, tired and irritable from a day's work, are not angels, either -- far from it. Many a brisk argument or an insulting quarrel breaks out as the weary queues push and shove each other to get on buses and tubes. One cannot commend this, of course, but one does feel there is just a little more excuse.
If cities are to remain pleasant places to live in at all, however, it seems imperative, not only that communications in transport should be improved, but also that communication between human beings should be kept smooth and polite. All over cities, it seems that people are too tired and too rushed to be polite. Shop assistants won't bother to assist, taxi drivers growl at each other as they dash dangerously round corners, bus conductor pull the bell before their desperate passengers have had time to get on or off the bus, and so on and so on. It seems to us that it is up to the young and strong to do their small part to stop such deterioration. | 1482.txt | 0 |
[
"worsening of general situation",
"lowering of moral standards",
"declining of physical constitution",
"spreading of evil conduct"
]
| What is the possible meaning of the word "deterioration" in the last paragraph? | Manners nowadays in metropolitan cities like London are practically non-existent. It is nothing for a big, strong schoolboy to elbow an elderly woman aside in the dash for the last remaining seat on the tube or bus, much less stand up and offer his seat to her, as he ought. In fact, it is saddening to note that if a man does offer his seat to an older woman, it is nearly always a Continental man or one from the older generation.
This question of giving up seats in public transport is much argued about by young men, who say that, since women have claimed equality, they no longer deserve to be treated with courtesy and that those who go out to work should take their turn in the rat race like anyone else. Women have never claimed to be physically as strong as men. Even if it is not agreed, however, that young men should stand up for younger women, the fact remains that courtesy should be shown to the old, the sick and the burdened. Are we really so lost to all ideals of unselfishness that we can sit there indifferently reading the paper or a book, saying to ourselves "First come, first served," while a grey-haired woman, a mother with a young child or a cripple stands? Yet this is all too often seen.
Conditions in travel are really very hard on everyone, we know, but hardship is surely no excuse. Sometimes one wonders what would have been the behaviour of these stout young men in a packed refugee train or a train on its way to a prison-camp during the War. Would they have considered it only right and their proper due to keep the best places for themselves then?
Older people, tired and irritable from a day's work, are not angels, either -- far from it. Many a brisk argument or an insulting quarrel breaks out as the weary queues push and shove each other to get on buses and tubes. One cannot commend this, of course, but one does feel there is just a little more excuse.
If cities are to remain pleasant places to live in at all, however, it seems imperative, not only that communications in transport should be improved, but also that communication between human beings should be kept smooth and polite. All over cities, it seems that people are too tired and too rushed to be polite. Shop assistants won't bother to assist, taxi drivers growl at each other as they dash dangerously round corners, bus conductor pull the bell before their desperate passengers have had time to get on or off the bus, and so on and so on. It seems to us that it is up to the young and strong to do their small part to stop such deterioration. | 1482.txt | 1 |
[
"parents take good care of them both at home and in society",
"the whole society care for children as well as their parents",
"Schools and teachers pay much attention to the growth of children",
"Chinese people always give special attention to children who are in special need"
]
| Children can grow healthily and happily as long as _ . | A senior United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF) official on May 29 praised China for its remarkable achievements in children's welfare.
A. H. M. Farook, UNICEF's operations area officer for China and Mongolia said that China "can be very satisfied to tell the whole world what can be done with limited resources to help its children to grow healthily and happily."
China's child population makes up one-fifth of the world's total. "The reason behind the tremendous achievement is China's long tradition of caring for children both at home and in society," he said.
"What's more is that Chinese people have always given special attention to children who are in special need." The UN official made the remarks when addressing a group of 50 children and staff from the Beijing Children's Welfare Home at the Shangri-la Hotel, Beijing.
The hotel invited the orphans to share snacks, sing, dance and play games at a park inside the hotel for a "Share the Sunshine" party, as a prelude to celebrations to mark the Children's Day.
The Beijing children's Welfare Home, set up soon after New China was founded in 1949, has at present more than 400 children.
A leading official of the welfare institution said that the children live a happy life and that the agency spends 400-500 yuan a month for an average orphan. An average Chinese workers earned 440 yuan a month during the first quarter this year.
Gu Xiaojin, deputy secretary-general of the China Youth Development Foundation(CYDF), said people from all walks of life have contributed to the welfare of the Chinese children.
She said that CYDF set up the Project Hope in 1989, which calls on people across the country to donate money to help poor children to continue their schooling.
By the end of last year, she said, CYDF had collected nearly 700 million yuan in donations, which has helped the establishment of 2, 074 Hope primary schools and enabled more than 1. 25 million dropouts to return to school classrooms.
Three "Hope Stars" also attended the party. They were model teenagers chosen among students who are economically supported by the Project Hope to further their nine-year compulsory studies in the poverty-stricken regions. They will be torchbearers for the Chinese Team for the up coming Atlanta Olympic Games this year. | 2958.txt | 1 |
[
"1, 920, 000 yuan",
"2, 160, 000 yuan",
"Over 2, 400, 000 yuan",
"2, 200, 000 yuan or so"
]
| Every year the Beijing Children's Welfare Home spends _ on the orphans | A senior United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF) official on May 29 praised China for its remarkable achievements in children's welfare.
A. H. M. Farook, UNICEF's operations area officer for China and Mongolia said that China "can be very satisfied to tell the whole world what can be done with limited resources to help its children to grow healthily and happily."
China's child population makes up one-fifth of the world's total. "The reason behind the tremendous achievement is China's long tradition of caring for children both at home and in society," he said.
"What's more is that Chinese people have always given special attention to children who are in special need." The UN official made the remarks when addressing a group of 50 children and staff from the Beijing Children's Welfare Home at the Shangri-la Hotel, Beijing.
The hotel invited the orphans to share snacks, sing, dance and play games at a park inside the hotel for a "Share the Sunshine" party, as a prelude to celebrations to mark the Children's Day.
The Beijing children's Welfare Home, set up soon after New China was founded in 1949, has at present more than 400 children.
A leading official of the welfare institution said that the children live a happy life and that the agency spends 400-500 yuan a month for an average orphan. An average Chinese workers earned 440 yuan a month during the first quarter this year.
Gu Xiaojin, deputy secretary-general of the China Youth Development Foundation(CYDF), said people from all walks of life have contributed to the welfare of the Chinese children.
She said that CYDF set up the Project Hope in 1989, which calls on people across the country to donate money to help poor children to continue their schooling.
By the end of last year, she said, CYDF had collected nearly 700 million yuan in donations, which has helped the establishment of 2, 074 Hope primary schools and enabled more than 1. 25 million dropouts to return to school classrooms.
Three "Hope Stars" also attended the party. They were model teenagers chosen among students who are economically supported by the Project Hope to further their nine-year compulsory studies in the poverty-stricken regions. They will be torchbearers for the Chinese Team for the up coming Atlanta Olympic Games this year. | 2958.txt | 3 |
[
"reducing dropouts",
"helping homeless orphans",
"supporting the Chinese Team for the coming Atlanta Olympic Games",
"establishing 2, 074 Hope primary schools all over the country"
]
| CYDF collected 700 million yuan with the purpose of _ . | A senior United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF) official on May 29 praised China for its remarkable achievements in children's welfare.
A. H. M. Farook, UNICEF's operations area officer for China and Mongolia said that China "can be very satisfied to tell the whole world what can be done with limited resources to help its children to grow healthily and happily."
China's child population makes up one-fifth of the world's total. "The reason behind the tremendous achievement is China's long tradition of caring for children both at home and in society," he said.
"What's more is that Chinese people have always given special attention to children who are in special need." The UN official made the remarks when addressing a group of 50 children and staff from the Beijing Children's Welfare Home at the Shangri-la Hotel, Beijing.
The hotel invited the orphans to share snacks, sing, dance and play games at a park inside the hotel for a "Share the Sunshine" party, as a prelude to celebrations to mark the Children's Day.
The Beijing children's Welfare Home, set up soon after New China was founded in 1949, has at present more than 400 children.
A leading official of the welfare institution said that the children live a happy life and that the agency spends 400-500 yuan a month for an average orphan. An average Chinese workers earned 440 yuan a month during the first quarter this year.
Gu Xiaojin, deputy secretary-general of the China Youth Development Foundation(CYDF), said people from all walks of life have contributed to the welfare of the Chinese children.
She said that CYDF set up the Project Hope in 1989, which calls on people across the country to donate money to help poor children to continue their schooling.
By the end of last year, she said, CYDF had collected nearly 700 million yuan in donations, which has helped the establishment of 2, 074 Hope primary schools and enabled more than 1. 25 million dropouts to return to school classrooms.
Three "Hope Stars" also attended the party. They were model teenagers chosen among students who are economically supported by the Project Hope to further their nine-year compulsory studies in the poverty-stricken regions. They will be torchbearers for the Chinese Team for the up coming Atlanta Olympic Games this year. | 2958.txt | 0 |
[
"Every Chinese child has its own special need, so we should pay special attention to each.",
"All the children in the poverty-stricken regions of China are too poor to go to school.",
"Ever since liberation. the Chinese Communist Party has been concerned about the growth of the younger generation.",
"With the help of UNICEF officials, there are no more dropouts in China."
]
| We can infer from the text that _ . | A senior United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF) official on May 29 praised China for its remarkable achievements in children's welfare.
A. H. M. Farook, UNICEF's operations area officer for China and Mongolia said that China "can be very satisfied to tell the whole world what can be done with limited resources to help its children to grow healthily and happily."
China's child population makes up one-fifth of the world's total. "The reason behind the tremendous achievement is China's long tradition of caring for children both at home and in society," he said.
"What's more is that Chinese people have always given special attention to children who are in special need." The UN official made the remarks when addressing a group of 50 children and staff from the Beijing Children's Welfare Home at the Shangri-la Hotel, Beijing.
The hotel invited the orphans to share snacks, sing, dance and play games at a park inside the hotel for a "Share the Sunshine" party, as a prelude to celebrations to mark the Children's Day.
The Beijing children's Welfare Home, set up soon after New China was founded in 1949, has at present more than 400 children.
A leading official of the welfare institution said that the children live a happy life and that the agency spends 400-500 yuan a month for an average orphan. An average Chinese workers earned 440 yuan a month during the first quarter this year.
Gu Xiaojin, deputy secretary-general of the China Youth Development Foundation(CYDF), said people from all walks of life have contributed to the welfare of the Chinese children.
She said that CYDF set up the Project Hope in 1989, which calls on people across the country to donate money to help poor children to continue their schooling.
By the end of last year, she said, CYDF had collected nearly 700 million yuan in donations, which has helped the establishment of 2, 074 Hope primary schools and enabled more than 1. 25 million dropouts to return to school classrooms.
Three "Hope Stars" also attended the party. They were model teenagers chosen among students who are economically supported by the Project Hope to further their nine-year compulsory studies in the poverty-stricken regions. They will be torchbearers for the Chinese Team for the up coming Atlanta Olympic Games this year. | 2958.txt | 2 |
[
"1992",
"1996",
"1998",
"2000"
]
| It is possible that this passage was written in _ . | A senior United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF) official on May 29 praised China for its remarkable achievements in children's welfare.
A. H. M. Farook, UNICEF's operations area officer for China and Mongolia said that China "can be very satisfied to tell the whole world what can be done with limited resources to help its children to grow healthily and happily."
China's child population makes up one-fifth of the world's total. "The reason behind the tremendous achievement is China's long tradition of caring for children both at home and in society," he said.
"What's more is that Chinese people have always given special attention to children who are in special need." The UN official made the remarks when addressing a group of 50 children and staff from the Beijing Children's Welfare Home at the Shangri-la Hotel, Beijing.
The hotel invited the orphans to share snacks, sing, dance and play games at a park inside the hotel for a "Share the Sunshine" party, as a prelude to celebrations to mark the Children's Day.
The Beijing children's Welfare Home, set up soon after New China was founded in 1949, has at present more than 400 children.
A leading official of the welfare institution said that the children live a happy life and that the agency spends 400-500 yuan a month for an average orphan. An average Chinese workers earned 440 yuan a month during the first quarter this year.
Gu Xiaojin, deputy secretary-general of the China Youth Development Foundation(CYDF), said people from all walks of life have contributed to the welfare of the Chinese children.
She said that CYDF set up the Project Hope in 1989, which calls on people across the country to donate money to help poor children to continue their schooling.
By the end of last year, she said, CYDF had collected nearly 700 million yuan in donations, which has helped the establishment of 2, 074 Hope primary schools and enabled more than 1. 25 million dropouts to return to school classrooms.
Three "Hope Stars" also attended the party. They were model teenagers chosen among students who are economically supported by the Project Hope to further their nine-year compulsory studies in the poverty-stricken regions. They will be torchbearers for the Chinese Team for the up coming Atlanta Olympic Games this year. | 2958.txt | 1 |
[
"It sounds very attractive.",
"It will bring oil prices down.",
"It ensures national security.",
"It has long been everyone's dream."
]
| What does the author say about energy independence for America? | Energy independence. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? If you think so, you're not alone, because energy independence has been the dream of American presidents for decades, and never more so than in the past few years, when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession.
"Energy independence" and its rhetorical(）companion "energy security" are, however, slippery concepts that are rarely thought through. What is it we want independence from, exactly?
Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil. But there are reasons that we buy all that oil from elsewhere.
The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running. Yes, there is a trickle(）of biofuel（）available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction.
Second, Americans have basically decided that they don't really want to produce all their own oil. They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad. Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection. To what extent are Americans really willing to endure the environmental impacts of domestic energy production in order to cut back imports?
Third, there are benefits to trade. It allows for economic efficiency, and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs than we do, we benefit. And although you don't read about this much, the United States is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries.
There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and, in fact, relies on that steady flow to maintain its economy. When that flow is interrupted, we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices. At the same time, we derive massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world. | 2172.txt | 0 |
[
"They keep America's economy running healthily.",
"They prove to be a good alternative to petroleum.",
"They do not provide a sustainable energy supply.",
"They cause serious damage to the environment."
]
| What does the author think of biofuels? | Energy independence. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? If you think so, you're not alone, because energy independence has been the dream of American presidents for decades, and never more so than in the past few years, when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession.
"Energy independence" and its rhetorical(）companion "energy security" are, however, slippery concepts that are rarely thought through. What is it we want independence from, exactly?
Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil. But there are reasons that we buy all that oil from elsewhere.
The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running. Yes, there is a trickle(）of biofuel（）available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction.
Second, Americans have basically decided that they don't really want to produce all their own oil. They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad. Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection. To what extent are Americans really willing to endure the environmental impacts of domestic energy production in order to cut back imports?
Third, there are benefits to trade. It allows for economic efficiency, and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs than we do, we benefit. And although you don't read about this much, the United States is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries.
There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and, in fact, relies on that steady flow to maintain its economy. When that flow is interrupted, we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices. At the same time, we derive massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world. | 2172.txt | 3 |
[
"It wants to expand its storage of crude oil.",
"Its own oil reserves are quickly running out.",
"It wants to keep its own environment intact.",
"Its own oil production falls short of demand."
]
| Why does America rely heavily on oil imports? | Energy independence. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? If you think so, you're not alone, because energy independence has been the dream of American presidents for decades, and never more so than in the past few years, when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession.
"Energy independence" and its rhetorical(）companion "energy security" are, however, slippery concepts that are rarely thought through. What is it we want independence from, exactly?
Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil. But there are reasons that we buy all that oil from elsewhere.
The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running. Yes, there is a trickle(）of biofuel（）available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction.
Second, Americans have basically decided that they don't really want to produce all their own oil. They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad. Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection. To what extent are Americans really willing to endure the environmental impacts of domestic energy production in order to cut back imports?
Third, there are benefits to trade. It allows for economic efficiency, and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs than we do, we benefit. And although you don't read about this much, the United States is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries.
There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and, in fact, relies on that steady flow to maintain its economy. When that flow is interrupted, we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices. At the same time, we derive massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world. | 2172.txt | 2 |
[
"It proves profitable to both sides.",
"It makes for economic prosperity.",
"It improves economic efficiency.",
"It saves the cost of oil exploration."
]
| What does the author say about oil trade? | Energy independence. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? If you think so, you're not alone, because energy independence has been the dream of American presidents for decades, and never more so than in the past few years, when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession.
"Energy independence" and its rhetorical(）companion "energy security" are, however, slippery concepts that are rarely thought through. What is it we want independence from, exactly?
Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil. But there are reasons that we buy all that oil from elsewhere.
The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running. Yes, there is a trickle(）of biofuel（）available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction.
Second, Americans have basically decided that they don't really want to produce all their own oil. They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad. Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection. To what extent are Americans really willing to endure the environmental impacts of domestic energy production in order to cut back imports?
Third, there are benefits to trade. It allows for economic efficiency, and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs than we do, we benefit. And although you don't read about this much, the United States is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries.
There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and, in fact, relies on that steady flow to maintain its economy. When that flow is interrupted, we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices. At the same time, we derive massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world. | 2172.txt | 1 |
[
"To justify America's dependence on oil imports.",
"To arouse Americans' awareness of the energy crisis.",
"To stress the importance of energy conservation.",
"To explain the increase of international oil trade."
]
| What is the author's purpose in writing the passage? | Energy independence. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? If you think so, you're not alone, because energy independence has been the dream of American presidents for decades, and never more so than in the past few years, when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession.
"Energy independence" and its rhetorical(）companion "energy security" are, however, slippery concepts that are rarely thought through. What is it we want independence from, exactly?
Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil. But there are reasons that we buy all that oil from elsewhere.
The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running. Yes, there is a trickle(）of biofuel（）available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction.
Second, Americans have basically decided that they don't really want to produce all their own oil. They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad. Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection. To what extent are Americans really willing to endure the environmental impacts of domestic energy production in order to cut back imports?
Third, there are benefits to trade. It allows for economic efficiency, and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs than we do, we benefit. And although you don't read about this much, the United States is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries.
There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and, in fact, relies on that steady flow to maintain its economy. When that flow is interrupted, we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices. At the same time, we derive massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world. | 2172.txt | 0 |
[
"Colonial marriages.",
"The Puritan religion.",
"Colonial women's employment.",
"Education in the colonies."
]
| What does the passage mainly discuss? | The status of women in colonial North America has been well studied and describe d and can be briefly summarized. Throughout the colonial period there was a mark ed shortage of women, which varied with the regions and was always greatest in t he frontier areas. This favorable ratio enhanced women's status and position and allowed them to pursue different careers. The Puritans, the religious sect that dominated the early British colonies in North America, regarded idleness as a s in, and believed that life in an underdeveloped country made it absolutely neces sary that each member of the community perform an economic function. Thus work f or women, married or single, was not only approved, it was regarded as a civic d uty. Puritan town councils expected widows and unattached women to be selfsupp orting and for a long time provided needy spinsters with parcels of land. There was no social sanction against married women working; on the contrary, wives wer e expected to help their husbands in their trade and won social approval for doi ng extra work in or out of the home. Needy children, girls as well as boys, were indentured or apprenticed and were expected to work for their keep.
The vast majority of women worked within their homes, where their labor produced most articles needed for the family. The entire colonial production of cloth an d clothing and partially that of shoes was in the hands of women. In addition to these occupations, women were found in many different kinds of employment. They were butchers, silversmiths, gunsmiths, and upholsterers. They ran mills, plant ations, tanyards, shipyards, and every kind of shop, tavern, and boardinghouse. They were gatekeepers, jail keepers, sextons, journalists, printers, apothecarie s, midwives, nurses, and teachers. | 14.txt | 2 |
[
"Puritan communities.",
"Seaports.",
"Frontier settlements.",
"Capital cities."
]
| According to the passage, where in colonial North America were there the fewest women? | The status of women in colonial North America has been well studied and describe d and can be briefly summarized. Throughout the colonial period there was a mark ed shortage of women, which varied with the regions and was always greatest in t he frontier areas. This favorable ratio enhanced women's status and position and allowed them to pursue different careers. The Puritans, the religious sect that dominated the early British colonies in North America, regarded idleness as a s in, and believed that life in an underdeveloped country made it absolutely neces sary that each member of the community perform an economic function. Thus work f or women, married or single, was not only approved, it was regarded as a civic d uty. Puritan town councils expected widows and unattached women to be selfsupp orting and for a long time provided needy spinsters with parcels of land. There was no social sanction against married women working; on the contrary, wives wer e expected to help their husbands in their trade and won social approval for doi ng extra work in or out of the home. Needy children, girls as well as boys, were indentured or apprenticed and were expected to work for their keep.
The vast majority of women worked within their homes, where their labor produced most articles needed for the family. The entire colonial production of cloth an d clothing and partially that of shoes was in the hands of women. In addition to these occupations, women were found in many different kinds of employment. They were butchers, silversmiths, gunsmiths, and upholsterers. They ran mills, plant ations, tanyards, shipyards, and every kind of shop, tavern, and boardinghouse. They were gatekeepers, jail keepers, sextons, journalists, printers, apothecarie s, midwives, nurses, and teachers. | 14.txt | 2 |
[
"uneducated",
"hardworking",
"generous",
"wealthy"
]
| It can be inferred from the passage that the Puritans were _ . | The status of women in colonial North America has been well studied and describe d and can be briefly summarized. Throughout the colonial period there was a mark ed shortage of women, which varied with the regions and was always greatest in t he frontier areas. This favorable ratio enhanced women's status and position and allowed them to pursue different careers. The Puritans, the religious sect that dominated the early British colonies in North America, regarded idleness as a s in, and believed that life in an underdeveloped country made it absolutely neces sary that each member of the community perform an economic function. Thus work f or women, married or single, was not only approved, it was regarded as a civic d uty. Puritan town councils expected widows and unattached women to be selfsupp orting and for a long time provided needy spinsters with parcels of land. There was no social sanction against married women working; on the contrary, wives wer e expected to help their husbands in their trade and won social approval for doi ng extra work in or out of the home. Needy children, girls as well as boys, were indentured or apprenticed and were expected to work for their keep.
The vast majority of women worked within their homes, where their labor produced most articles needed for the family. The entire colonial production of cloth an d clothing and partially that of shoes was in the hands of women. In addition to these occupations, women were found in many different kinds of employment. They were butchers, silversmiths, gunsmiths, and upholsterers. They ran mills, plant ations, tanyards, shipyards, and every kind of shop, tavern, and boardinghouse. They were gatekeepers, jail keepers, sextons, journalists, printers, apothecarie s, midwives, nurses, and teachers. | 14.txt | 1 |
[
"financially responsible for herself",
"returned to England",
"supported by her family",
"trained to be a nurse"
]
| According to the passage, Puritans believed that an unmarried adult w oman should be _ . | The status of women in colonial North America has been well studied and describe d and can be briefly summarized. Throughout the colonial period there was a mark ed shortage of women, which varied with the regions and was always greatest in t he frontier areas. This favorable ratio enhanced women's status and position and allowed them to pursue different careers. The Puritans, the religious sect that dominated the early British colonies in North America, regarded idleness as a s in, and believed that life in an underdeveloped country made it absolutely neces sary that each member of the community perform an economic function. Thus work f or women, married or single, was not only approved, it was regarded as a civic d uty. Puritan town councils expected widows and unattached women to be selfsupp orting and for a long time provided needy spinsters with parcels of land. There was no social sanction against married women working; on the contrary, wives wer e expected to help their husbands in their trade and won social approval for doi ng extra work in or out of the home. Needy children, girls as well as boys, were indentured or apprenticed and were expected to work for their keep.
The vast majority of women worked within their homes, where their labor produced most articles needed for the family. The entire colonial production of cloth an d clothing and partially that of shoes was in the hands of women. In addition to these occupations, women were found in many different kinds of employment. They were butchers, silversmiths, gunsmiths, and upholsterers. They ran mills, plant ations, tanyards, shipyards, and every kind of shop, tavern, and boardinghouse. They were gatekeepers, jail keepers, sextons, journalists, printers, apothecarie s, midwives, nurses, and teachers. | 14.txt | 0 |
[
"They should adopt needy children.",
"They should assist in their husbands' trade or business.",
"They should work only within their own homes.",
"They should be apprenticed."
]
| According to the passage, what did the Puritans expect from married women? | The status of women in colonial North America has been well studied and describe d and can be briefly summarized. Throughout the colonial period there was a mark ed shortage of women, which varied with the regions and was always greatest in t he frontier areas. This favorable ratio enhanced women's status and position and allowed them to pursue different careers. The Puritans, the religious sect that dominated the early British colonies in North America, regarded idleness as a s in, and believed that life in an underdeveloped country made it absolutely neces sary that each member of the community perform an economic function. Thus work f or women, married or single, was not only approved, it was regarded as a civic d uty. Puritan town councils expected widows and unattached women to be selfsupp orting and for a long time provided needy spinsters with parcels of land. There was no social sanction against married women working; on the contrary, wives wer e expected to help their husbands in their trade and won social approval for doi ng extra work in or out of the home. Needy children, girls as well as boys, were indentured or apprenticed and were expected to work for their keep.
The vast majority of women worked within their homes, where their labor produced most articles needed for the family. The entire colonial production of cloth an d clothing and partially that of shoes was in the hands of women. In addition to these occupations, women were found in many different kinds of employment. They were butchers, silversmiths, gunsmiths, and upholsterers. They ran mills, plant ations, tanyards, shipyards, and every kind of shop, tavern, and boardinghouse. They were gatekeepers, jail keepers, sextons, journalists, printers, apothecarie s, midwives, nurses, and teachers. | 14.txt | 1 |
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