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[
"The increase in birth rate will promote consumption.",
"The desire for consumption helps to reduce birth rate.",
"Consumption patterns and reproduction patterns are contradictory.",
"A country's production is limited by its population growth."
] | What is Martine's conclusion about Brazil's population growth? | Brazil has become one of the developing world's great successes at reducing population growth-but more by accident than design. While countries such as India have made joint efforts to reduce birth rates, Brazil has had better result without really trying, says George Martine at Harvard.
Brazil's population growth rate has dropped from 2.99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1.93% a year between 1981 and 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2.7 children on average. Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.
Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas and installment plans introduced in the 1970s. Both played an important, although indirect, role in lowering the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world's biggest producers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil's most popular television network, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one hour a night. Most soaps are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities.
"Although they have never really tried to work in a message towards the problems of reproduction, they describe middle and upper class values-not many children, different attitudes towards sex, women working," says Martine. "They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people conscious of other patterns of behavior and other values, which were put into a very attractive package."
Meanwhile, the installment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers. "This led to an enormous change in consumption patterns and consumption was incompatible with unlimited reproduction," says Martine. | 430.txt | 1 |
[
"asking for some information",
"greeting the German",
"amusing himself",
"practising his German"
] | The stranger holding the Voice seems to be ________. | You are a German living in Berlin. One day you're walking down the street, minding your own business, when suddenly a stranger approached with a smile on his face. After stopping you, he holds a small electronic device close to his face and speaks slowly into it, saying, in English: "Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?" What should you do? (a) Run away; (b) Call the police; or, (c) Listen closely for the device to say, in German, "Konnen Sie mir bitte sager, which Sauerkraut Kaufen Kann?"
The most appropriate response would be (c) because the person in front of you is only a tourist trying to enjoy himself. The device is said to he the world's first portable transistor-a hand-held microcomputer that-at the same time converts one spoken language into another.
The four-pound battery-operated product is called the Voice, and it is the creation of Advanced Products and Technologies an American electronics company. When the Voice is introduced in the United States in late April-at a price of $1,500-it will be capable of converting spoken English into Italian, German, French and Spanish. The product comes with separate cartridges for each of the four languages, which can be changed when the user travels from one country to another. The item will be sold in Europe soon after the U.S. Introduction, with cartridges that covert Italian, German, French and Spanish into English.
The Voice uses a microchip and artificial Intelligence to translate Languages. It is started by voice command and produces voice output through a built-in speaker. Then the user makes a statement or asks a question, the Voice immediately repeats what has been said in another Language. | 2493.txt | 2 |
[
"\"Why don't you ask the policeman.\"",
"\"Would you listen closely for the device to say?\"",
"\"Can you say it again, please?\"",
"\"Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?\""
] | The German sentence "Konnen Sie Kann?" means ________. | You are a German living in Berlin. One day you're walking down the street, minding your own business, when suddenly a stranger approached with a smile on his face. After stopping you, he holds a small electronic device close to his face and speaks slowly into it, saying, in English: "Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?" What should you do? (a) Run away; (b) Call the police; or, (c) Listen closely for the device to say, in German, "Konnen Sie mir bitte sager, which Sauerkraut Kaufen Kann?"
The most appropriate response would be (c) because the person in front of you is only a tourist trying to enjoy himself. The device is said to he the world's first portable transistor-a hand-held microcomputer that-at the same time converts one spoken language into another.
The four-pound battery-operated product is called the Voice, and it is the creation of Advanced Products and Technologies an American electronics company. When the Voice is introduced in the United States in late April-at a price of $1,500-it will be capable of converting spoken English into Italian, German, French and Spanish. The product comes with separate cartridges for each of the four languages, which can be changed when the user travels from one country to another. The item will be sold in Europe soon after the U.S. Introduction, with cartridges that covert Italian, German, French and Spanish into English.
The Voice uses a microchip and artificial Intelligence to translate Languages. It is started by voice command and produces voice output through a built-in speaker. Then the user makes a statement or asks a question, the Voice immediately repeats what has been said in another Language. | 2493.txt | 3 |
[
"the person who speaks to the device",
"a component part of the Voice",
"the person who speaks German",
"the speech produced by the Voice"
] | The word "speaker" in the last paragraph refers to ________. | You are a German living in Berlin. One day you're walking down the street, minding your own business, when suddenly a stranger approached with a smile on his face. After stopping you, he holds a small electronic device close to his face and speaks slowly into it, saying, in English: "Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?" What should you do? (a) Run away; (b) Call the police; or, (c) Listen closely for the device to say, in German, "Konnen Sie mir bitte sager, which Sauerkraut Kaufen Kann?"
The most appropriate response would be (c) because the person in front of you is only a tourist trying to enjoy himself. The device is said to he the world's first portable transistor-a hand-held microcomputer that-at the same time converts one spoken language into another.
The four-pound battery-operated product is called the Voice, and it is the creation of Advanced Products and Technologies an American electronics company. When the Voice is introduced in the United States in late April-at a price of $1,500-it will be capable of converting spoken English into Italian, German, French and Spanish. The product comes with separate cartridges for each of the four languages, which can be changed when the user travels from one country to another. The item will be sold in Europe soon after the U.S. Introduction, with cartridges that covert Italian, German, French and Spanish into English.
The Voice uses a microchip and artificial Intelligence to translate Languages. It is started by voice command and produces voice output through a built-in speaker. Then the user makes a statement or asks a question, the Voice immediately repeats what has been said in another Language. | 2493.txt | 1 |
[
"The voice is an invention of an electronics company.",
"The voice is a hand-held translator.",
"The voice is new product in wide use.",
"The voice is mainly a microcomputer."
] | Which of the following is NOT TRUE? | You are a German living in Berlin. One day you're walking down the street, minding your own business, when suddenly a stranger approached with a smile on his face. After stopping you, he holds a small electronic device close to his face and speaks slowly into it, saying, in English: "Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?" What should you do? (a) Run away; (b) Call the police; or, (c) Listen closely for the device to say, in German, "Konnen Sie mir bitte sager, which Sauerkraut Kaufen Kann?"
The most appropriate response would be (c) because the person in front of you is only a tourist trying to enjoy himself. The device is said to he the world's first portable transistor-a hand-held microcomputer that-at the same time converts one spoken language into another.
The four-pound battery-operated product is called the Voice, and it is the creation of Advanced Products and Technologies an American electronics company. When the Voice is introduced in the United States in late April-at a price of $1,500-it will be capable of converting spoken English into Italian, German, French and Spanish. The product comes with separate cartridges for each of the four languages, which can be changed when the user travels from one country to another. The item will be sold in Europe soon after the U.S. Introduction, with cartridges that covert Italian, German, French and Spanish into English.
The Voice uses a microchip and artificial Intelligence to translate Languages. It is started by voice command and produces voice output through a built-in speaker. Then the user makes a statement or asks a question, the Voice immediately repeats what has been said in another Language. | 2493.txt | 2 |
[
"from German into any of the other four languages mentioned",
"from and into English by using the same cartridges",
"between any two of the above-mentioned languages",
"from English into any of the other four languages or the other way round"
] | The Voice can translate ________. | You are a German living in Berlin. One day you're walking down the street, minding your own business, when suddenly a stranger approached with a smile on his face. After stopping you, he holds a small electronic device close to his face and speaks slowly into it, saying, in English: "Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?" What should you do? (a) Run away; (b) Call the police; or, (c) Listen closely for the device to say, in German, "Konnen Sie mir bitte sager, which Sauerkraut Kaufen Kann?"
The most appropriate response would be (c) because the person in front of you is only a tourist trying to enjoy himself. The device is said to he the world's first portable transistor-a hand-held microcomputer that-at the same time converts one spoken language into another.
The four-pound battery-operated product is called the Voice, and it is the creation of Advanced Products and Technologies an American electronics company. When the Voice is introduced in the United States in late April-at a price of $1,500-it will be capable of converting spoken English into Italian, German, French and Spanish. The product comes with separate cartridges for each of the four languages, which can be changed when the user travels from one country to another. The item will be sold in Europe soon after the U.S. Introduction, with cartridges that covert Italian, German, French and Spanish into English.
The Voice uses a microchip and artificial Intelligence to translate Languages. It is started by voice command and produces voice output through a built-in speaker. Then the user makes a statement or asks a question, the Voice immediately repeats what has been said in another Language. | 2493.txt | 3 |
[
"the high cost of operation.",
"the pressure from its investors.",
"the complaints from its readers.",
"the increasing online ad sales."
] | The New York Times is considering ending its print edition partly due | There will eventually come a day when The New York Times ceases to publish stories on newsprint. Exactly when that day will be is a matter of debate. "Sometime in the future，"the paper's publisher said back in 2010.
Nostalgia for ink on paper and the rustle of pages aside，there's plenty of incentive to ditch print. The infrastructure required to make a physical newspaper-printing presses, delivery trucks-isn't just expensive; it's excessive at a time when online-only competitors don't have the same set of financial constraints. Readers are migrating away from print anyway. And though print ad sales still dwarf their online and mobile counterparts, revenue from print is still declining.
Overhead may be high and circulation lower, but rushing to eliminate its print edition would be a mistake, says BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti.
Peretti says the Times should't waste time getting out of the print business, but only if they go about doing it the right way. "Figuring out a way to accelerate that transition would make sense for them," he said, "but if you discontinue it, you're going to have your most loyal customers really upset with you."
Sometimes that's worth making a change anyway. Peretti gives the example of Netflix discontinuing its DVD-mailing service to focus on streaming. "It was seen as a blunder," he said. The move turned out to be foresighted. And if Peretti were in charge at the Times? "I wouldn't pick a year to end print," he said. "I would raise prices and make it into more of a legacy product."
The most loyal customers would still get the product they favor, the idea goes, and they'd feel like they were helping sustain the quality of something they believe in. "So if you're overpaying for print, you could feel like you were helping, Peretti said. "Then increase it at a higher rate each year and essentially try to generate additional revenue. In other words, if you re going to make a print product, make it for the people who are already obsessed with it. Which may be what the Times is doing already. Getting the print edition seven days a week costs nearly $500 a year-more than twice as mush as a digital-only subscription.
"It's a really hard thing to do and it's a tremendous luxury that BuzzFeed doesn't have a legacy business," Peretti remarked. "But we're going to have questions like that where we have things we're doing that don't make sense when the market changes and the world changes. In those situations, it's better to be more aggressive than less aggressive." | 2824.txt | 0 |
[
"seek new sources of readership.",
"end the print edition for good.",
"aim for efficient management.",
"make strategic adjustments."
] | Peretti suggests that, in face of the present situation, the Times should | There will eventually come a day when The New York Times ceases to publish stories on newsprint. Exactly when that day will be is a matter of debate. "Sometime in the future，"the paper's publisher said back in 2010.
Nostalgia for ink on paper and the rustle of pages aside，there's plenty of incentive to ditch print. The infrastructure required to make a physical newspaper-printing presses, delivery trucks-isn't just expensive; it's excessive at a time when online-only competitors don't have the same set of financial constraints. Readers are migrating away from print anyway. And though print ad sales still dwarf their online and mobile counterparts, revenue from print is still declining.
Overhead may be high and circulation lower, but rushing to eliminate its print edition would be a mistake, says BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti.
Peretti says the Times should't waste time getting out of the print business, but only if they go about doing it the right way. "Figuring out a way to accelerate that transition would make sense for them," he said, "but if you discontinue it, you're going to have your most loyal customers really upset with you."
Sometimes that's worth making a change anyway. Peretti gives the example of Netflix discontinuing its DVD-mailing service to focus on streaming. "It was seen as a blunder," he said. The move turned out to be foresighted. And if Peretti were in charge at the Times? "I wouldn't pick a year to end print," he said. "I would raise prices and make it into more of a legacy product."
The most loyal customers would still get the product they favor, the idea goes, and they'd feel like they were helping sustain the quality of something they believe in. "So if you're overpaying for print, you could feel like you were helping, Peretti said. "Then increase it at a higher rate each year and essentially try to generate additional revenue. In other words, if you re going to make a print product, make it for the people who are already obsessed with it. Which may be what the Times is doing already. Getting the print edition seven days a week costs nearly $500 a year-more than twice as mush as a digital-only subscription.
"It's a really hard thing to do and it's a tremendous luxury that BuzzFeed doesn't have a legacy business," Peretti remarked. "But we're going to have questions like that where we have things we're doing that don't make sense when the market changes and the world changes. In those situations, it's better to be more aggressive than less aggressive." | 2824.txt | 3 |
[
"helps restore the glory of former times.",
"is meant for the most loyal customers.",
"will have the cost of printing reduced.",
"expands the popularity of the paper."
] | It can be inferred from Paragraphs 5 and 6 that a "legacy product" | There will eventually come a day when The New York Times ceases to publish stories on newsprint. Exactly when that day will be is a matter of debate. "Sometime in the future，"the paper's publisher said back in 2010.
Nostalgia for ink on paper and the rustle of pages aside，there's plenty of incentive to ditch print. The infrastructure required to make a physical newspaper-printing presses, delivery trucks-isn't just expensive; it's excessive at a time when online-only competitors don't have the same set of financial constraints. Readers are migrating away from print anyway. And though print ad sales still dwarf their online and mobile counterparts, revenue from print is still declining.
Overhead may be high and circulation lower, but rushing to eliminate its print edition would be a mistake, says BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti.
Peretti says the Times should't waste time getting out of the print business, but only if they go about doing it the right way. "Figuring out a way to accelerate that transition would make sense for them," he said, "but if you discontinue it, you're going to have your most loyal customers really upset with you."
Sometimes that's worth making a change anyway. Peretti gives the example of Netflix discontinuing its DVD-mailing service to focus on streaming. "It was seen as a blunder," he said. The move turned out to be foresighted. And if Peretti were in charge at the Times? "I wouldn't pick a year to end print," he said. "I would raise prices and make it into more of a legacy product."
The most loyal customers would still get the product they favor, the idea goes, and they'd feel like they were helping sustain the quality of something they believe in. "So if you're overpaying for print, you could feel like you were helping, Peretti said. "Then increase it at a higher rate each year and essentially try to generate additional revenue. In other words, if you re going to make a print product, make it for the people who are already obsessed with it. Which may be what the Times is doing already. Getting the print edition seven days a week costs nearly $500 a year-more than twice as mush as a digital-only subscription.
"It's a really hard thing to do and it's a tremendous luxury that BuzzFeed doesn't have a legacy business," Peretti remarked. "But we're going to have questions like that where we have things we're doing that don't make sense when the market changes and the world changes. In those situations, it's better to be more aggressive than less aggressive." | 2824.txt | 1 |
[
"legacy businesses are becoming outdated.",
"cautiousness facilitates problem-solving.",
"aggressiveness better meets challenges.",
"traditional luxuries can stay unaffected."
] | Peretti believes that, in a changing world. | There will eventually come a day when The New York Times ceases to publish stories on newsprint. Exactly when that day will be is a matter of debate. "Sometime in the future，"the paper's publisher said back in 2010.
Nostalgia for ink on paper and the rustle of pages aside，there's plenty of incentive to ditch print. The infrastructure required to make a physical newspaper-printing presses, delivery trucks-isn't just expensive; it's excessive at a time when online-only competitors don't have the same set of financial constraints. Readers are migrating away from print anyway. And though print ad sales still dwarf their online and mobile counterparts, revenue from print is still declining.
Overhead may be high and circulation lower, but rushing to eliminate its print edition would be a mistake, says BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti.
Peretti says the Times should't waste time getting out of the print business, but only if they go about doing it the right way. "Figuring out a way to accelerate that transition would make sense for them," he said, "but if you discontinue it, you're going to have your most loyal customers really upset with you."
Sometimes that's worth making a change anyway. Peretti gives the example of Netflix discontinuing its DVD-mailing service to focus on streaming. "It was seen as a blunder," he said. The move turned out to be foresighted. And if Peretti were in charge at the Times? "I wouldn't pick a year to end print," he said. "I would raise prices and make it into more of a legacy product."
The most loyal customers would still get the product they favor, the idea goes, and they'd feel like they were helping sustain the quality of something they believe in. "So if you're overpaying for print, you could feel like you were helping, Peretti said. "Then increase it at a higher rate each year and essentially try to generate additional revenue. In other words, if you re going to make a print product, make it for the people who are already obsessed with it. Which may be what the Times is doing already. Getting the print edition seven days a week costs nearly $500 a year-more than twice as mush as a digital-only subscription.
"It's a really hard thing to do and it's a tremendous luxury that BuzzFeed doesn't have a legacy business," Peretti remarked. "But we're going to have questions like that where we have things we're doing that don't make sense when the market changes and the world changes. In those situations, it's better to be more aggressive than less aggressive." | 2824.txt | 2 |
[
"Shift to Online Newspapers All at Once",
"Cherish the Newspaper Still in Your Hand",
"Make Your Print Newspaper a Luxury Good",
"Keep Your Newspapers Forever in Fashion"
] | Which of the following would be the best title of the text? | There will eventually come a day when The New York Times ceases to publish stories on newsprint. Exactly when that day will be is a matter of debate. "Sometime in the future，"the paper's publisher said back in 2010.
Nostalgia for ink on paper and the rustle of pages aside，there's plenty of incentive to ditch print. The infrastructure required to make a physical newspaper-printing presses, delivery trucks-isn't just expensive; it's excessive at a time when online-only competitors don't have the same set of financial constraints. Readers are migrating away from print anyway. And though print ad sales still dwarf their online and mobile counterparts, revenue from print is still declining.
Overhead may be high and circulation lower, but rushing to eliminate its print edition would be a mistake, says BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti.
Peretti says the Times should't waste time getting out of the print business, but only if they go about doing it the right way. "Figuring out a way to accelerate that transition would make sense for them," he said, "but if you discontinue it, you're going to have your most loyal customers really upset with you."
Sometimes that's worth making a change anyway. Peretti gives the example of Netflix discontinuing its DVD-mailing service to focus on streaming. "It was seen as a blunder," he said. The move turned out to be foresighted. And if Peretti were in charge at the Times? "I wouldn't pick a year to end print," he said. "I would raise prices and make it into more of a legacy product."
The most loyal customers would still get the product they favor, the idea goes, and they'd feel like they were helping sustain the quality of something they believe in. "So if you're overpaying for print, you could feel like you were helping, Peretti said. "Then increase it at a higher rate each year and essentially try to generate additional revenue. In other words, if you re going to make a print product, make it for the people who are already obsessed with it. Which may be what the Times is doing already. Getting the print edition seven days a week costs nearly $500 a year-more than twice as mush as a digital-only subscription.
"It's a really hard thing to do and it's a tremendous luxury that BuzzFeed doesn't have a legacy business," Peretti remarked. "But we're going to have questions like that where we have things we're doing that don't make sense when the market changes and the world changes. In those situations, it's better to be more aggressive than less aggressive." | 2824.txt | 1 |
[
"The role of literature in early American histories",
"The place of American women in written histories",
"The keen sense of history shown by American women",
"The \"great women\" approach to history used by American historians"
] | What does the passage mainly discuss? | During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost nothing was written about the contributions of women during the colonial period and the early history of the newly formed United States. Lacking the right to vote and absent from the seats of power, women were not considered an important force in history. Anne Bradstreet wrote some significant poetry in the seventeenth century, Mercy Otis Warren produced the best contemporary history of the American Revolution, and Abigail Adams penned important letters showing she exercised great political influence over her husband, John, the second President of the United States. But little or no notice was taken of these contributions. During these centuries, women remained invisible in history books.
Throughout the nineteenth century, this lack of visibility continued, despite the efforts of female authors writing about women. These writers, like most of their male counterparts, were amateur historians. Their writings were celebratory in nature, and they were uncritical in their selection and use of sources.
During the nineteenth century, however, certain feminists showed a keen sense of history by keeping records of activities in which women were engaged. National, regional, and local women's organizations compiled accounts of their doings. Personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, and souvenirs were saved and stored. These sources from the core of the two greatest collections of women's history in the United States one at the Elizabeth and Arthur Schlesinger Library at Radcliffé College, and the other the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Such sources have provided valuable materials for later generations of historians.
Despite the gathering of more information about ordinary women during the nineteenth century, most of the writing about women conformed to the "great women" theory of history, just as much of mainstream American history concentrated on "great men." To demonstrate that women were making significant contributions to American life, female authors singled out women leaders and wrote biographies, or else important women produced their autobiographies. Most of these leaders were involved in public life as reformers, activists working for women's right to vote, or authors, and were not representative at all of the great of ordinary woman. The lives of ordinary people continued, generally, to be untold in the American histories being published. | 2059.txt | 1 |
[
"informative",
"written at that time",
"thoughtful",
"faultfinding"
] | The word "contemporary" in line 6 means that the history was | During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost nothing was written about the contributions of women during the colonial period and the early history of the newly formed United States. Lacking the right to vote and absent from the seats of power, women were not considered an important force in history. Anne Bradstreet wrote some significant poetry in the seventeenth century, Mercy Otis Warren produced the best contemporary history of the American Revolution, and Abigail Adams penned important letters showing she exercised great political influence over her husband, John, the second President of the United States. But little or no notice was taken of these contributions. During these centuries, women remained invisible in history books.
Throughout the nineteenth century, this lack of visibility continued, despite the efforts of female authors writing about women. These writers, like most of their male counterparts, were amateur historians. Their writings were celebratory in nature, and they were uncritical in their selection and use of sources.
During the nineteenth century, however, certain feminists showed a keen sense of history by keeping records of activities in which women were engaged. National, regional, and local women's organizations compiled accounts of their doings. Personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, and souvenirs were saved and stored. These sources from the core of the two greatest collections of women's history in the United States one at the Elizabeth and Arthur Schlesinger Library at Radcliffé College, and the other the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Such sources have provided valuable materials for later generations of historians.
Despite the gathering of more information about ordinary women during the nineteenth century, most of the writing about women conformed to the "great women" theory of history, just as much of mainstream American history concentrated on "great men." To demonstrate that women were making significant contributions to American life, female authors singled out women leaders and wrote biographies, or else important women produced their autobiographies. Most of these leaders were involved in public life as reformers, activists working for women's right to vote, or authors, and were not representative at all of the great of ordinary woman. The lives of ordinary people continued, generally, to be untold in the American histories being published. | 2059.txt | 1 |
[
"a woman's status was changed by marriage",
"even the contributions of outstanding women were ignored",
"only three women were able to get their writing published",
"poetry produced by women was more readily accepted than other writing by women"
] | In the first paragraph, Bradstreet, Warren, and Adams are mentioned to show that | During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost nothing was written about the contributions of women during the colonial period and the early history of the newly formed United States. Lacking the right to vote and absent from the seats of power, women were not considered an important force in history. Anne Bradstreet wrote some significant poetry in the seventeenth century, Mercy Otis Warren produced the best contemporary history of the American Revolution, and Abigail Adams penned important letters showing she exercised great political influence over her husband, John, the second President of the United States. But little or no notice was taken of these contributions. During these centuries, women remained invisible in history books.
Throughout the nineteenth century, this lack of visibility continued, despite the efforts of female authors writing about women. These writers, like most of their male counterparts, were amateur historians. Their writings were celebratory in nature, and they were uncritical in their selection and use of sources.
During the nineteenth century, however, certain feminists showed a keen sense of history by keeping records of activities in which women were engaged. National, regional, and local women's organizations compiled accounts of their doings. Personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, and souvenirs were saved and stored. These sources from the core of the two greatest collections of women's history in the United States one at the Elizabeth and Arthur Schlesinger Library at Radcliffé College, and the other the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Such sources have provided valuable materials for later generations of historians.
Despite the gathering of more information about ordinary women during the nineteenth century, most of the writing about women conformed to the "great women" theory of history, just as much of mainstream American history concentrated on "great men." To demonstrate that women were making significant contributions to American life, female authors singled out women leaders and wrote biographies, or else important women produced their autobiographies. Most of these leaders were involved in public life as reformers, activists working for women's right to vote, or authors, and were not representative at all of the great of ordinary woman. The lives of ordinary people continued, generally, to be untold in the American histories being published. | 2059.txt | 1 |
[
"related to parties",
"religious",
"serious",
"full of praise"
] | The word "celebratory" in line 12 means that the writings referred to were | During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost nothing was written about the contributions of women during the colonial period and the early history of the newly formed United States. Lacking the right to vote and absent from the seats of power, women were not considered an important force in history. Anne Bradstreet wrote some significant poetry in the seventeenth century, Mercy Otis Warren produced the best contemporary history of the American Revolution, and Abigail Adams penned important letters showing she exercised great political influence over her husband, John, the second President of the United States. But little or no notice was taken of these contributions. During these centuries, women remained invisible in history books.
Throughout the nineteenth century, this lack of visibility continued, despite the efforts of female authors writing about women. These writers, like most of their male counterparts, were amateur historians. Their writings were celebratory in nature, and they were uncritical in their selection and use of sources.
During the nineteenth century, however, certain feminists showed a keen sense of history by keeping records of activities in which women were engaged. National, regional, and local women's organizations compiled accounts of their doings. Personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, and souvenirs were saved and stored. These sources from the core of the two greatest collections of women's history in the United States one at the Elizabeth and Arthur Schlesinger Library at Radcliffé College, and the other the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Such sources have provided valuable materials for later generations of historians.
Despite the gathering of more information about ordinary women during the nineteenth century, most of the writing about women conformed to the "great women" theory of history, just as much of mainstream American history concentrated on "great men." To demonstrate that women were making significant contributions to American life, female authors singled out women leaders and wrote biographies, or else important women produced their autobiographies. Most of these leaders were involved in public life as reformers, activists working for women's right to vote, or authors, and were not representative at all of the great of ordinary woman. The lives of ordinary people continued, generally, to be untold in the American histories being published. | 2059.txt | 3 |
[
"efforts",
"authors",
"counterparts",
"sources"
] | The word "they" in line 12 refers to | During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost nothing was written about the contributions of women during the colonial period and the early history of the newly formed United States. Lacking the right to vote and absent from the seats of power, women were not considered an important force in history. Anne Bradstreet wrote some significant poetry in the seventeenth century, Mercy Otis Warren produced the best contemporary history of the American Revolution, and Abigail Adams penned important letters showing she exercised great political influence over her husband, John, the second President of the United States. But little or no notice was taken of these contributions. During these centuries, women remained invisible in history books.
Throughout the nineteenth century, this lack of visibility continued, despite the efforts of female authors writing about women. These writers, like most of their male counterparts, were amateur historians. Their writings were celebratory in nature, and they were uncritical in their selection and use of sources.
During the nineteenth century, however, certain feminists showed a keen sense of history by keeping records of activities in which women were engaged. National, regional, and local women's organizations compiled accounts of their doings. Personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, and souvenirs were saved and stored. These sources from the core of the two greatest collections of women's history in the United States one at the Elizabeth and Arthur Schlesinger Library at Radcliffé College, and the other the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Such sources have provided valuable materials for later generations of historians.
Despite the gathering of more information about ordinary women during the nineteenth century, most of the writing about women conformed to the "great women" theory of history, just as much of mainstream American history concentrated on "great men." To demonstrate that women were making significant contributions to American life, female authors singled out women leaders and wrote biographies, or else important women produced their autobiographies. Most of these leaders were involved in public life as reformers, activists working for women's right to vote, or authors, and were not representative at all of the great of ordinary woman. The lives of ordinary people continued, generally, to be untold in the American histories being published. | 2059.txt | 1 |
[
"They put too much emphasis on daily activities",
"They left out discussion of the influence of money on politics.",
"The sources of the information they were based on were not necessarily accurate.",
"They were printed on poor-quality paper."
] | In the second paragraph, what weakness in nineteenth-century histories does the author point out? | During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost nothing was written about the contributions of women during the colonial period and the early history of the newly formed United States. Lacking the right to vote and absent from the seats of power, women were not considered an important force in history. Anne Bradstreet wrote some significant poetry in the seventeenth century, Mercy Otis Warren produced the best contemporary history of the American Revolution, and Abigail Adams penned important letters showing she exercised great political influence over her husband, John, the second President of the United States. But little or no notice was taken of these contributions. During these centuries, women remained invisible in history books.
Throughout the nineteenth century, this lack of visibility continued, despite the efforts of female authors writing about women. These writers, like most of their male counterparts, were amateur historians. Their writings were celebratory in nature, and they were uncritical in their selection and use of sources.
During the nineteenth century, however, certain feminists showed a keen sense of history by keeping records of activities in which women were engaged. National, regional, and local women's organizations compiled accounts of their doings. Personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, and souvenirs were saved and stored. These sources from the core of the two greatest collections of women's history in the United States one at the Elizabeth and Arthur Schlesinger Library at Radcliffé College, and the other the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Such sources have provided valuable materials for later generations of historians.
Despite the gathering of more information about ordinary women during the nineteenth century, most of the writing about women conformed to the "great women" theory of history, just as much of mainstream American history concentrated on "great men." To demonstrate that women were making significant contributions to American life, female authors singled out women leaders and wrote biographies, or else important women produced their autobiographies. Most of these leaders were involved in public life as reformers, activists working for women's right to vote, or authors, and were not representative at all of the great of ordinary woman. The lives of ordinary people continued, generally, to be untold in the American histories being published. | 2059.txt | 2 |
[
"Newspaper accounts of presidential election results",
"Biographies of John Adams",
"Letters from a mother to a daughter advising her how to handle a family problem",
"Books about famous graduates of the country's first college"
] | On the basis of information in the third paragraph, which of the following would most likely have been collected by nineteenth-century feminist organizations? | During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost nothing was written about the contributions of women during the colonial period and the early history of the newly formed United States. Lacking the right to vote and absent from the seats of power, women were not considered an important force in history. Anne Bradstreet wrote some significant poetry in the seventeenth century, Mercy Otis Warren produced the best contemporary history of the American Revolution, and Abigail Adams penned important letters showing she exercised great political influence over her husband, John, the second President of the United States. But little or no notice was taken of these contributions. During these centuries, women remained invisible in history books.
Throughout the nineteenth century, this lack of visibility continued, despite the efforts of female authors writing about women. These writers, like most of their male counterparts, were amateur historians. Their writings were celebratory in nature, and they were uncritical in their selection and use of sources.
During the nineteenth century, however, certain feminists showed a keen sense of history by keeping records of activities in which women were engaged. National, regional, and local women's organizations compiled accounts of their doings. Personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, and souvenirs were saved and stored. These sources from the core of the two greatest collections of women's history in the United States one at the Elizabeth and Arthur Schlesinger Library at Radcliffé College, and the other the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Such sources have provided valuable materials for later generations of historians.
Despite the gathering of more information about ordinary women during the nineteenth century, most of the writing about women conformed to the "great women" theory of history, just as much of mainstream American history concentrated on "great men." To demonstrate that women were making significant contributions to American life, female authors singled out women leaders and wrote biographies, or else important women produced their autobiographies. Most of these leaders were involved in public life as reformers, activists working for women's right to vote, or authors, and were not representative at all of the great of ordinary woman. The lives of ordinary people continued, generally, to be untold in the American histories being published. | 2059.txt | 2 |
[
"They were combined and published in a multivolume encyclopedia",
"They formed the basis of college courses in the nineteenth century.",
"They provided valuable information for twentieth-century historical researchers.",
"They were shared among women's colleges throughout the United States."
] | What use was made of the nineteenth-century women's history materials in the Schlesinger Library and the Sophia Smith Collection? | During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost nothing was written about the contributions of women during the colonial period and the early history of the newly formed United States. Lacking the right to vote and absent from the seats of power, women were not considered an important force in history. Anne Bradstreet wrote some significant poetry in the seventeenth century, Mercy Otis Warren produced the best contemporary history of the American Revolution, and Abigail Adams penned important letters showing she exercised great political influence over her husband, John, the second President of the United States. But little or no notice was taken of these contributions. During these centuries, women remained invisible in history books.
Throughout the nineteenth century, this lack of visibility continued, despite the efforts of female authors writing about women. These writers, like most of their male counterparts, were amateur historians. Their writings were celebratory in nature, and they were uncritical in their selection and use of sources.
During the nineteenth century, however, certain feminists showed a keen sense of history by keeping records of activities in which women were engaged. National, regional, and local women's organizations compiled accounts of their doings. Personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, and souvenirs were saved and stored. These sources from the core of the two greatest collections of women's history in the United States one at the Elizabeth and Arthur Schlesinger Library at Radcliffé College, and the other the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Such sources have provided valuable materials for later generations of historians.
Despite the gathering of more information about ordinary women during the nineteenth century, most of the writing about women conformed to the "great women" theory of history, just as much of mainstream American history concentrated on "great men." To demonstrate that women were making significant contributions to American life, female authors singled out women leaders and wrote biographies, or else important women produced their autobiographies. Most of these leaders were involved in public life as reformers, activists working for women's right to vote, or authors, and were not representative at all of the great of ordinary woman. The lives of ordinary people continued, generally, to be untold in the American histories being published. | 2059.txt | 2 |
[
"authors",
"reformers",
"activists for women's rights",
"politicians"
] | In the last paragraph, the author mentions all of the following as possible roles of nineteenth-century "great women" EXCEPT | During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost nothing was written about the contributions of women during the colonial period and the early history of the newly formed United States. Lacking the right to vote and absent from the seats of power, women were not considered an important force in history. Anne Bradstreet wrote some significant poetry in the seventeenth century, Mercy Otis Warren produced the best contemporary history of the American Revolution, and Abigail Adams penned important letters showing she exercised great political influence over her husband, John, the second President of the United States. But little or no notice was taken of these contributions. During these centuries, women remained invisible in history books.
Throughout the nineteenth century, this lack of visibility continued, despite the efforts of female authors writing about women. These writers, like most of their male counterparts, were amateur historians. Their writings were celebratory in nature, and they were uncritical in their selection and use of sources.
During the nineteenth century, however, certain feminists showed a keen sense of history by keeping records of activities in which women were engaged. National, regional, and local women's organizations compiled accounts of their doings. Personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, and souvenirs were saved and stored. These sources from the core of the two greatest collections of women's history in the United States one at the Elizabeth and Arthur Schlesinger Library at Radcliffé College, and the other the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Such sources have provided valuable materials for later generations of historians.
Despite the gathering of more information about ordinary women during the nineteenth century, most of the writing about women conformed to the "great women" theory of history, just as much of mainstream American history concentrated on "great men." To demonstrate that women were making significant contributions to American life, female authors singled out women leaders and wrote biographies, or else important women produced their autobiographies. Most of these leaders were involved in public life as reformers, activists working for women's right to vote, or authors, and were not representative at all of the great of ordinary woman. The lives of ordinary people continued, generally, to be untold in the American histories being published. | 2059.txt | 3 |
[
"typical",
"satisfied",
"supportive",
"distinctive"
] | The word "representative" in line 29 is closest in meaning to | During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost nothing was written about the contributions of women during the colonial period and the early history of the newly formed United States. Lacking the right to vote and absent from the seats of power, women were not considered an important force in history. Anne Bradstreet wrote some significant poetry in the seventeenth century, Mercy Otis Warren produced the best contemporary history of the American Revolution, and Abigail Adams penned important letters showing she exercised great political influence over her husband, John, the second President of the United States. But little or no notice was taken of these contributions. During these centuries, women remained invisible in history books.
Throughout the nineteenth century, this lack of visibility continued, despite the efforts of female authors writing about women. These writers, like most of their male counterparts, were amateur historians. Their writings were celebratory in nature, and they were uncritical in their selection and use of sources.
During the nineteenth century, however, certain feminists showed a keen sense of history by keeping records of activities in which women were engaged. National, regional, and local women's organizations compiled accounts of their doings. Personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, and souvenirs were saved and stored. These sources from the core of the two greatest collections of women's history in the United States one at the Elizabeth and Arthur Schlesinger Library at Radcliffé College, and the other the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Such sources have provided valuable materials for later generations of historians.
Despite the gathering of more information about ordinary women during the nineteenth century, most of the writing about women conformed to the "great women" theory of history, just as much of mainstream American history concentrated on "great men." To demonstrate that women were making significant contributions to American life, female authors singled out women leaders and wrote biographies, or else important women produced their autobiographies. Most of these leaders were involved in public life as reformers, activists working for women's right to vote, or authors, and were not representative at all of the great of ordinary woman. The lives of ordinary people continued, generally, to be untold in the American histories being published. | 2059.txt | 0 |
[
"Learning to paint in later life.",
"How to paint watercolors.",
"An artist-turned teacher.",
"Life after retirement"
] | What is the text mainly about? | Since my retirement from teaching music in 2001, I have spent a good deal of time painting as an artist. I actually began drawing again in the summer of 1995 when my father died, so perhaps I was trying to recover from the loss of my father, or maybe it was just that it brought back memories of him. In any case, I drew pen and ink animals and landscapes much influenced by Krenkel and St. John for five years.
For some strange reason, I had been waiting until my retirement to start doing watercolors again, but as soon as I walked out of the school door for the last time I picked up my brushes and rediscovered Andrew Wyeth, who quickly became my favorite artist. I had looked through all the art books I had on my shelves and found his watercolors to be the closest to how I thought good watercolors should look. So I painted landscapes around Minnesota for three years and tried out many other types of painting. However, watercolors remained my first choice, and I think I did my best work there, showing my painting at a number of art exhibitions.
Art is now together with my piano playing and reading. There is a time for everything in my world, and it is wonderful to have some time doing what I want to do. As Confucius once said, "At seventy I can follow my heart's desire." | 3346.txt | 3 |
[
"he hoped to draw a picture of his father",
"he couldn't stop missing his father",
"he had more time after retirement",
"he liked animals and landscapes"
] | The author started drawing again in 1995 because _ . | Since my retirement from teaching music in 2001, I have spent a good deal of time painting as an artist. I actually began drawing again in the summer of 1995 when my father died, so perhaps I was trying to recover from the loss of my father, or maybe it was just that it brought back memories of him. In any case, I drew pen and ink animals and landscapes much influenced by Krenkel and St. John for five years.
For some strange reason, I had been waiting until my retirement to start doing watercolors again, but as soon as I walked out of the school door for the last time I picked up my brushes and rediscovered Andrew Wyeth, who quickly became my favorite artist. I had looked through all the art books I had on my shelves and found his watercolors to be the closest to how I thought good watercolors should look. So I painted landscapes around Minnesota for three years and tried out many other types of painting. However, watercolors remained my first choice, and I think I did my best work there, showing my painting at a number of art exhibitions.
Art is now together with my piano playing and reading. There is a time for everything in my world, and it is wonderful to have some time doing what I want to do. As Confucius once said, "At seventy I can follow my heart's desire." | 3346.txt | 1 |
[
"had been taught by Krenkel and St. John",
"painted landscapes in Minnesota for 5 years",
"believed Wyeth to be the best in watercolors",
"started his retirement life at the age of seventy"
] | We can infer from the text that the author _ . | Since my retirement from teaching music in 2001, I have spent a good deal of time painting as an artist. I actually began drawing again in the summer of 1995 when my father died, so perhaps I was trying to recover from the loss of my father, or maybe it was just that it brought back memories of him. In any case, I drew pen and ink animals and landscapes much influenced by Krenkel and St. John for five years.
For some strange reason, I had been waiting until my retirement to start doing watercolors again, but as soon as I walked out of the school door for the last time I picked up my brushes and rediscovered Andrew Wyeth, who quickly became my favorite artist. I had looked through all the art books I had on my shelves and found his watercolors to be the closest to how I thought good watercolors should look. So I painted landscapes around Minnesota for three years and tried out many other types of painting. However, watercolors remained my first choice, and I think I did my best work there, showing my painting at a number of art exhibitions.
Art is now together with my piano playing and reading. There is a time for everything in my world, and it is wonderful to have some time doing what I want to do. As Confucius once said, "At seventy I can follow my heart's desire." | 3346.txt | 2 |
[
"Very enjoyable.",
"A bit regretful.",
"Rather busy.",
"Fairly dull."
] | How does the author probably feel about his life as an artist? | Since my retirement from teaching music in 2001, I have spent a good deal of time painting as an artist. I actually began drawing again in the summer of 1995 when my father died, so perhaps I was trying to recover from the loss of my father, or maybe it was just that it brought back memories of him. In any case, I drew pen and ink animals and landscapes much influenced by Krenkel and St. John for five years.
For some strange reason, I had been waiting until my retirement to start doing watercolors again, but as soon as I walked out of the school door for the last time I picked up my brushes and rediscovered Andrew Wyeth, who quickly became my favorite artist. I had looked through all the art books I had on my shelves and found his watercolors to be the closest to how I thought good watercolors should look. So I painted landscapes around Minnesota for three years and tried out many other types of painting. However, watercolors remained my first choice, and I think I did my best work there, showing my painting at a number of art exhibitions.
Art is now together with my piano playing and reading. There is a time for everything in my world, and it is wonderful to have some time doing what I want to do. As Confucius once said, "At seventy I can follow my heart's desire." | 3346.txt | 0 |
[
"seize every minute to work",
"list you immediate tasks",
"make specific daily plans",
"keep to your focus time"
] | The key to mastering the art of deep work is to______ | To combat the trap of putting a premium on being busy, Cal Newport, author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, recommends building a habit of "deep work" - the ability to focus without distraction.
There are a number of approaches to mastering the art of deep work - be it lengthy retreats dedicated to a specific task; developing a daily ritual; or taking a "journalistic" approach to seizing moments of deep work when you can throughout the day. Whichever approach, the key is to determine your length of focus time and stick to it.
Newport also recommends "deep scheduling" to combat constant interruptions and get more done in less time. "At any given point, I should have deep work scheduled for roughly the next month. Once on the calendar, I protect this time like I would a doctor's appointment or important meeting," he writes.
Another approach to getting more done in less time is to rethink how you prioritise your day-in particular how we craft our to-do lists. Tim Harford, author of Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives, points to a study in the early 1980s that divided undergraduates into two groups: some were advised to set out monthly goals and study activities; others were told to plan activities and goals in much more detail, day by day.
While the researchers assumed that the well-structured daily plans would be most effective when it come to the execution of tasks, they were wrong: the detailed daily plans demotivated students. Harford argues that inevitable distractions often render the daily to-do list ineffective, while leaving room for improvisation in such a list can reap the best results.
In order to make the most of our focus and energy, we also need to embrace downtime, or as Newport suggests, "be lazy."
"Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body...[idleness] is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done," he argues.
Srini Pillay, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, believes this counterintuitive link between downtime and productivity may be due to the way our brains operate. When our brains switch between being focused and unfocused on a task, they tend to be more efficient.
"What people don't realise is that in order to complete these tasks they need to use both the focus and unfocus circuits in their brain," says Pillay. | 523.txt | 3 |
[
"students are hardly motivated by monthly goals",
"detailed plans may not be as fruitful as expected",
"distractions may actually increase efficiency",
"daily schedules arc indispensable to studying"
] | The study in the early 1980s cited by Harford shows that | To combat the trap of putting a premium on being busy, Cal Newport, author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, recommends building a habit of "deep work" - the ability to focus without distraction.
There are a number of approaches to mastering the art of deep work - be it lengthy retreats dedicated to a specific task; developing a daily ritual; or taking a "journalistic" approach to seizing moments of deep work when you can throughout the day. Whichever approach, the key is to determine your length of focus time and stick to it.
Newport also recommends "deep scheduling" to combat constant interruptions and get more done in less time. "At any given point, I should have deep work scheduled for roughly the next month. Once on the calendar, I protect this time like I would a doctor's appointment or important meeting," he writes.
Another approach to getting more done in less time is to rethink how you prioritise your day-in particular how we craft our to-do lists. Tim Harford, author of Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives, points to a study in the early 1980s that divided undergraduates into two groups: some were advised to set out monthly goals and study activities; others were told to plan activities and goals in much more detail, day by day.
While the researchers assumed that the well-structured daily plans would be most effective when it come to the execution of tasks, they were wrong: the detailed daily plans demotivated students. Harford argues that inevitable distractions often render the daily to-do list ineffective, while leaving room for improvisation in such a list can reap the best results.
In order to make the most of our focus and energy, we also need to embrace downtime, or as Newport suggests, "be lazy."
"Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body...[idleness] is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done," he argues.
Srini Pillay, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, believes this counterintuitive link between downtime and productivity may be due to the way our brains operate. When our brains switch between being focused and unfocused on a task, they tend to be more efficient.
"What people don't realise is that in order to complete these tasks they need to use both the focus and unfocus circuits in their brain," says Pillay. | 523.txt | 1 |
[
"a desirable mental state for busy people",
"a major contributor to physical health",
"an effective way to save time and energy",
"an essential factor in accomplishing any work"
] | According to Newport, idleness is __________- | To combat the trap of putting a premium on being busy, Cal Newport, author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, recommends building a habit of "deep work" - the ability to focus without distraction.
There are a number of approaches to mastering the art of deep work - be it lengthy retreats dedicated to a specific task; developing a daily ritual; or taking a "journalistic" approach to seizing moments of deep work when you can throughout the day. Whichever approach, the key is to determine your length of focus time and stick to it.
Newport also recommends "deep scheduling" to combat constant interruptions and get more done in less time. "At any given point, I should have deep work scheduled for roughly the next month. Once on the calendar, I protect this time like I would a doctor's appointment or important meeting," he writes.
Another approach to getting more done in less time is to rethink how you prioritise your day-in particular how we craft our to-do lists. Tim Harford, author of Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives, points to a study in the early 1980s that divided undergraduates into two groups: some were advised to set out monthly goals and study activities; others were told to plan activities and goals in much more detail, day by day.
While the researchers assumed that the well-structured daily plans would be most effective when it come to the execution of tasks, they were wrong: the detailed daily plans demotivated students. Harford argues that inevitable distractions often render the daily to-do list ineffective, while leaving room for improvisation in such a list can reap the best results.
In order to make the most of our focus and energy, we also need to embrace downtime, or as Newport suggests, "be lazy."
"Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body...[idleness] is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done," he argues.
Srini Pillay, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, believes this counterintuitive link between downtime and productivity may be due to the way our brains operate. When our brains switch between being focused and unfocused on a task, they tend to be more efficient.
"What people don't realise is that in order to complete these tasks they need to use both the focus and unfocus circuits in their brain," says Pillay. | 523.txt | 3 |
[
"can bring about greater efficiency",
"can result in psychological well-being",
"is driven by task urgency",
"is aimed at better balance in work"
] | Pillay believes that our brain's shift between being focused and unfocused ______ | To combat the trap of putting a premium on being busy, Cal Newport, author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, recommends building a habit of "deep work" - the ability to focus without distraction.
There are a number of approaches to mastering the art of deep work - be it lengthy retreats dedicated to a specific task; developing a daily ritual; or taking a "journalistic" approach to seizing moments of deep work when you can throughout the day. Whichever approach, the key is to determine your length of focus time and stick to it.
Newport also recommends "deep scheduling" to combat constant interruptions and get more done in less time. "At any given point, I should have deep work scheduled for roughly the next month. Once on the calendar, I protect this time like I would a doctor's appointment or important meeting," he writes.
Another approach to getting more done in less time is to rethink how you prioritise your day-in particular how we craft our to-do lists. Tim Harford, author of Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives, points to a study in the early 1980s that divided undergraduates into two groups: some were advised to set out monthly goals and study activities; others were told to plan activities and goals in much more detail, day by day.
While the researchers assumed that the well-structured daily plans would be most effective when it come to the execution of tasks, they were wrong: the detailed daily plans demotivated students. Harford argues that inevitable distractions often render the daily to-do list ineffective, while leaving room for improvisation in such a list can reap the best results.
In order to make the most of our focus and energy, we also need to embrace downtime, or as Newport suggests, "be lazy."
"Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body...[idleness] is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done," he argues.
Srini Pillay, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, believes this counterintuitive link between downtime and productivity may be due to the way our brains operate. When our brains switch between being focused and unfocused on a task, they tend to be more efficient.
"What people don't realise is that in order to complete these tasks they need to use both the focus and unfocus circuits in their brain," says Pillay. | 523.txt | 0 |
[
"approaches to getting more done in less time",
"Ways to relieve the tension of busy life",
"The key to eliminating distractions",
"The cause of the lack of focus time"
] | This text is mainly about_____ | To combat the trap of putting a premium on being busy, Cal Newport, author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, recommends building a habit of "deep work" - the ability to focus without distraction.
There are a number of approaches to mastering the art of deep work - be it lengthy retreats dedicated to a specific task; developing a daily ritual; or taking a "journalistic" approach to seizing moments of deep work when you can throughout the day. Whichever approach, the key is to determine your length of focus time and stick to it.
Newport also recommends "deep scheduling" to combat constant interruptions and get more done in less time. "At any given point, I should have deep work scheduled for roughly the next month. Once on the calendar, I protect this time like I would a doctor's appointment or important meeting," he writes.
Another approach to getting more done in less time is to rethink how you prioritise your day-in particular how we craft our to-do lists. Tim Harford, author of Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives, points to a study in the early 1980s that divided undergraduates into two groups: some were advised to set out monthly goals and study activities; others were told to plan activities and goals in much more detail, day by day.
While the researchers assumed that the well-structured daily plans would be most effective when it come to the execution of tasks, they were wrong: the detailed daily plans demotivated students. Harford argues that inevitable distractions often render the daily to-do list ineffective, while leaving room for improvisation in such a list can reap the best results.
In order to make the most of our focus and energy, we also need to embrace downtime, or as Newport suggests, "be lazy."
"Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body...[idleness] is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done," he argues.
Srini Pillay, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, believes this counterintuitive link between downtime and productivity may be due to the way our brains operate. When our brains switch between being focused and unfocused on a task, they tend to be more efficient.
"What people don't realise is that in order to complete these tasks they need to use both the focus and unfocus circuits in their brain," says Pillay. | 523.txt | 0 |
[
"learning about nature",
"hunting with his friends",
"learning useful skills from the Indians",
"studying at home because he couldn't go to school"
] | Daniel Boone's early life was mainly spent in _ . | Daniel Boone was born in the United States in 1734.He didn't go to school and couldn't read, although helearned all about the forests, streams and hunting.He could move silently like an Indian leaving nomarks. He loved to live alone in the woods wherenothing frightened him.
When he grew up, he married and tried to settledown on a farm. A year later, however, he wasn't satisfied and decided to go into the unknownwestern lands, crossing the Appalachian Mountains. When he returned after two years, hebecame famous for his long journey. He brought valuable animal skins and told stories aboutthe Indians.
After this, he chose to keep travelling to unknown places. Once he lost to the Indiansin battle and was taken away. The Indians liked him and became his friends.
Daniel Boone died at the age of 86. He is remembered as an explorerand a pioneer wholived an exciting life in the early years of American nation. | 2474.txt | 0 |
[
"set up a large farm",
"go on a journey with his wife",
"find food, new land for his farm",
"live a peaceful life with his family"
] | When he got married, Daniel Boone first planned to _ . | Daniel Boone was born in the United States in 1734.He didn't go to school and couldn't read, although helearned all about the forests, streams and hunting.He could move silently like an Indian leaving nomarks. He loved to live alone in the woods wherenothing frightened him.
When he grew up, he married and tried to settledown on a farm. A year later, however, he wasn't satisfied and decided to go into the unknownwestern lands, crossing the Appalachian Mountains. When he returned after two years, hebecame famous for his long journey. He brought valuable animal skins and told stories aboutthe Indians.
After this, he chose to keep travelling to unknown places. Once he lost to the Indiansin battle and was taken away. The Indians liked him and became his friends.
Daniel Boone died at the age of 86. He is remembered as an explorerand a pioneer wholived an exciting life in the early years of American nation. | 2474.txt | 3 |
[
"he travelled a lot in the western lands",
"he was very good at telling stories",
"he found better animal skins than others",
"he was the first to climb the Appalachian Mountains"
] | Daniel Boone became famous because _ . | Daniel Boone was born in the United States in 1734.He didn't go to school and couldn't read, although helearned all about the forests, streams and hunting.He could move silently like an Indian leaving nomarks. He loved to live alone in the woods wherenothing frightened him.
When he grew up, he married and tried to settledown on a farm. A year later, however, he wasn't satisfied and decided to go into the unknownwestern lands, crossing the Appalachian Mountains. When he returned after two years, hebecame famous for his long journey. He brought valuable animal skins and told stories aboutthe Indians.
After this, he chose to keep travelling to unknown places. Once he lost to the Indiansin battle and was taken away. The Indians liked him and became his friends.
Daniel Boone died at the age of 86. He is remembered as an explorerand a pioneer wholived an exciting life in the early years of American nation. | 2474.txt | 0 |
[
"Because they wanted to learn from him.",
"Because he wanted to make peace with them.",
"Because they wanted to make friends with white people.",
"No reason is told in this article."
] | Why did the Indians want to make friends with him? | Daniel Boone was born in the United States in 1734.He didn't go to school and couldn't read, although helearned all about the forests, streams and hunting.He could move silently like an Indian leaving nomarks. He loved to live alone in the woods wherenothing frightened him.
When he grew up, he married and tried to settledown on a farm. A year later, however, he wasn't satisfied and decided to go into the unknownwestern lands, crossing the Appalachian Mountains. When he returned after two years, hebecame famous for his long journey. He brought valuable animal skins and told stories aboutthe Indians.
After this, he chose to keep travelling to unknown places. Once he lost to the Indiansin battle and was taken away. The Indians liked him and became his friends.
Daniel Boone died at the age of 86. He is remembered as an explorerand a pioneer wholived an exciting life in the early years of American nation. | 2474.txt | 3 |
[
"warm-hearted",
"strong",
"careful",
"brave"
] | In this article, Daniel Boone is best described as _ . | Daniel Boone was born in the United States in 1734.He didn't go to school and couldn't read, although helearned all about the forests, streams and hunting.He could move silently like an Indian leaving nomarks. He loved to live alone in the woods wherenothing frightened him.
When he grew up, he married and tried to settledown on a farm. A year later, however, he wasn't satisfied and decided to go into the unknownwestern lands, crossing the Appalachian Mountains. When he returned after two years, hebecame famous for his long journey. He brought valuable animal skins and told stories aboutthe Indians.
After this, he chose to keep travelling to unknown places. Once he lost to the Indiansin battle and was taken away. The Indians liked him and became his friends.
Daniel Boone died at the age of 86. He is remembered as an explorerand a pioneer wholived an exciting life in the early years of American nation. | 2474.txt | 3 |
[
"High income and spending ofAsian-AmeriCalls.",
"High income ofAsians and unreachable Asian foods in local American shops.",
"High expenditures of Asians on grocery.",
"Low earnings of the other groups."
] | What makes the future ofAsian supermarkets so bright? | Here's a case study for would-be MBAs to consider：the success of H Mart.an international supermarket chain based in New Jersey(the"H"in H Mart stands for Han Ah Reum.which means"one arm full of groceries"in Korean).Tlle first H Mart opened in Queens，New York in 1982，as a corner shop.Now there are stores in 11 states，Canada and Britain.A new one recently opened in Cambridge.
Massachusetts，an affluent city outside Boston.
The future looks bright for Asian supermarkets like H Mart.Eamings of Asian-American households outpace the American average.Their spending exceeds all other groups，too，according to Geoscape，a consultancy.And they spend more of their money on groceries than the average America household.But Asian delicacies can be hard to come by：few Americans are likely to see durian or bamboo shoots in their local shop.Some specialty ingredients are only to be found at a premiumin up-market grocery stores，or miles away,in ethnic markets in older Asian neighborhpods.
Americans have developed greater appetite for cooking and eating Asian foods，t00.In 2012 non.restaurant sales of Asian foods topped $1.5 billion，according to Mintel Group.a market.research firm.Though Latin foods are a bigger market，the popularity of Asian foods is growing faster.Once strange.seeming imports like seaweed and sashimi are now fashionable eats.Though the rate of growth is expected to fall，sales are likely to keep rising.
Yet most Asian grocers have not made efforts to reach new customers，says Jeffrey Cohen，an analyst at IBIS World,an industries watcher.Many shops are located in minority enclaves，and do little to market themselves to other Americans.Cramped car parks and dingy interiors fend off customers used to the bright fluorescenceof mainstream supermarkets.Ingredients labeled with poorly-translated English Can leave shoppers bamed.
A few Asian grocery chains have caught on，opening stores in more diverse suburbs，paying attention to cosmetic nicetiesand marketing more widely.Other than H Mart，there are Califomian chains such as 99 Ranch Market and Shun Fat Supermarket，which have been expanding to the American southwest.The former was even featured in a humorous YouTube music vide-"Asians Eat Weird Things"-which has attracted more than 900，000 hits.Those weird things may not seem so weird after all. | 1388.txt | 1 |
[
"The increasing sales and popularity ofAsian foods.",
"The expansion of Latin food market.",
"The growing fondness of cooking.",
"The AmeriCans'good cooking skills ofAsian foods."
] | What are the benefits ofAmericans'growing appetite for Asian foods? | Here's a case study for would-be MBAs to consider：the success of H Mart.an international supermarket chain based in New Jersey(the"H"in H Mart stands for Han Ah Reum.which means"one arm full of groceries"in Korean).Tlle first H Mart opened in Queens，New York in 1982，as a corner shop.Now there are stores in 11 states，Canada and Britain.A new one recently opened in Cambridge.
Massachusetts，an affluent city outside Boston.
The future looks bright for Asian supermarkets like H Mart.Eamings of Asian-American households outpace the American average.Their spending exceeds all other groups，too，according to Geoscape，a consultancy.And they spend more of their money on groceries than the average America household.But Asian delicacies can be hard to come by：few Americans are likely to see durian or bamboo shoots in their local shop.Some specialty ingredients are only to be found at a premiumin up-market grocery stores，or miles away,in ethnic markets in older Asian neighborhpods.
Americans have developed greater appetite for cooking and eating Asian foods，t00.In 2012 non.restaurant sales of Asian foods topped $1.5 billion，according to Mintel Group.a market.research firm.Though Latin foods are a bigger market，the popularity of Asian foods is growing faster.Once strange.seeming imports like seaweed and sashimi are now fashionable eats.Though the rate of growth is expected to fall，sales are likely to keep rising.
Yet most Asian grocers have not made efforts to reach new customers，says Jeffrey Cohen，an analyst at IBIS World,an industries watcher.Many shops are located in minority enclaves，and do little to market themselves to other Americans.Cramped car parks and dingy interiors fend off customers used to the bright fluorescenceof mainstream supermarkets.Ingredients labeled with poorly-translated English Can leave shoppers bamed.
A few Asian grocery chains have caught on，opening stores in more diverse suburbs，paying attention to cosmetic nicetiesand marketing more widely.Other than H Mart，there are Califomian chains such as 99 Ranch Market and Shun Fat Supermarket，which have been expanding to the American southwest.The former was even featured in a humorous YouTube music vide-"Asians Eat Weird Things"-which has attracted more than 900，000 hits.Those weird things may not seem so weird after all. | 1388.txt | 0 |
[
"AmeriCans'dislike to Asian foods.",
"Asians'unwillingness to do business with AmeriCans.",
"The poor shopping environment and confusing English introduction of the goods.",
"Americans'dislike to the English introduction of the goods."
] | Whhat are the reasons for the unreachability ofAsian groceries to Americans? | Here's a case study for would-be MBAs to consider：the success of H Mart.an international supermarket chain based in New Jersey(the"H"in H Mart stands for Han Ah Reum.which means"one arm full of groceries"in Korean).Tlle first H Mart opened in Queens，New York in 1982，as a corner shop.Now there are stores in 11 states，Canada and Britain.A new one recently opened in Cambridge.
Massachusetts，an affluent city outside Boston.
The future looks bright for Asian supermarkets like H Mart.Eamings of Asian-American households outpace the American average.Their spending exceeds all other groups，too，according to Geoscape，a consultancy.And they spend more of their money on groceries than the average America household.But Asian delicacies can be hard to come by：few Americans are likely to see durian or bamboo shoots in their local shop.Some specialty ingredients are only to be found at a premiumin up-market grocery stores，or miles away,in ethnic markets in older Asian neighborhpods.
Americans have developed greater appetite for cooking and eating Asian foods，t00.In 2012 non.restaurant sales of Asian foods topped $1.5 billion，according to Mintel Group.a market.research firm.Though Latin foods are a bigger market，the popularity of Asian foods is growing faster.Once strange.seeming imports like seaweed and sashimi are now fashionable eats.Though the rate of growth is expected to fall，sales are likely to keep rising.
Yet most Asian grocers have not made efforts to reach new customers，says Jeffrey Cohen，an analyst at IBIS World,an industries watcher.Many shops are located in minority enclaves，and do little to market themselves to other Americans.Cramped car parks and dingy interiors fend off customers used to the bright fluorescenceof mainstream supermarkets.Ingredients labeled with poorly-translated English Can leave shoppers bamed.
A few Asian grocery chains have caught on，opening stores in more diverse suburbs，paying attention to cosmetic nicetiesand marketing more widely.Other than H Mart，there are Califomian chains such as 99 Ranch Market and Shun Fat Supermarket，which have been expanding to the American southwest.The former was even featured in a humorous YouTube music vide-"Asians Eat Weird Things"-which has attracted more than 900，000 hits.Those weird things may not seem so weird after all. | 1388.txt | 2 |
[
"Open stores in suburbs and improve shopping environment.",
"Market shops to more AmeriCans.",
"Make use of the mass media.",
"All ofthe above."
] | What do Asian do to develop their groceries? | Here's a case study for would-be MBAs to consider：the success of H Mart.an international supermarket chain based in New Jersey(the"H"in H Mart stands for Han Ah Reum.which means"one arm full of groceries"in Korean).Tlle first H Mart opened in Queens，New York in 1982，as a corner shop.Now there are stores in 11 states，Canada and Britain.A new one recently opened in Cambridge.
Massachusetts，an affluent city outside Boston.
The future looks bright for Asian supermarkets like H Mart.Eamings of Asian-American households outpace the American average.Their spending exceeds all other groups，too，according to Geoscape，a consultancy.And they spend more of their money on groceries than the average America household.But Asian delicacies can be hard to come by：few Americans are likely to see durian or bamboo shoots in their local shop.Some specialty ingredients are only to be found at a premiumin up-market grocery stores，or miles away,in ethnic markets in older Asian neighborhpods.
Americans have developed greater appetite for cooking and eating Asian foods，t00.In 2012 non.restaurant sales of Asian foods topped $1.5 billion，according to Mintel Group.a market.research firm.Though Latin foods are a bigger market，the popularity of Asian foods is growing faster.Once strange.seeming imports like seaweed and sashimi are now fashionable eats.Though the rate of growth is expected to fall，sales are likely to keep rising.
Yet most Asian grocers have not made efforts to reach new customers，says Jeffrey Cohen，an analyst at IBIS World,an industries watcher.Many shops are located in minority enclaves，and do little to market themselves to other Americans.Cramped car parks and dingy interiors fend off customers used to the bright fluorescenceof mainstream supermarkets.Ingredients labeled with poorly-translated English Can leave shoppers bamed.
A few Asian grocery chains have caught on，opening stores in more diverse suburbs，paying attention to cosmetic nicetiesand marketing more widely.Other than H Mart，there are Califomian chains such as 99 Ranch Market and Shun Fat Supermarket，which have been expanding to the American southwest.The former was even featured in a humorous YouTube music vide-"Asians Eat Weird Things"-which has attracted more than 900，000 hits.Those weird things may not seem so weird after all. | 1388.txt | 3 |
[
"Asian supermarkets will become more and more popular.",
"Latin foods are less popular than Asian foods.",
"Americans'incomes are lower than the Asians'.",
"H Mart is all American international supermarket chain."
] | What call be inferred fi'om this passage? | Here's a case study for would-be MBAs to consider：the success of H Mart.an international supermarket chain based in New Jersey(the"H"in H Mart stands for Han Ah Reum.which means"one arm full of groceries"in Korean).Tlle first H Mart opened in Queens，New York in 1982，as a corner shop.Now there are stores in 11 states，Canada and Britain.A new one recently opened in Cambridge.
Massachusetts，an affluent city outside Boston.
The future looks bright for Asian supermarkets like H Mart.Eamings of Asian-American households outpace the American average.Their spending exceeds all other groups，too，according to Geoscape，a consultancy.And they spend more of their money on groceries than the average America household.But Asian delicacies can be hard to come by：few Americans are likely to see durian or bamboo shoots in their local shop.Some specialty ingredients are only to be found at a premiumin up-market grocery stores，or miles away,in ethnic markets in older Asian neighborhpods.
Americans have developed greater appetite for cooking and eating Asian foods，t00.In 2012 non.restaurant sales of Asian foods topped $1.5 billion，according to Mintel Group.a market.research firm.Though Latin foods are a bigger market，the popularity of Asian foods is growing faster.Once strange.seeming imports like seaweed and sashimi are now fashionable eats.Though the rate of growth is expected to fall，sales are likely to keep rising.
Yet most Asian grocers have not made efforts to reach new customers，says Jeffrey Cohen，an analyst at IBIS World,an industries watcher.Many shops are located in minority enclaves，and do little to market themselves to other Americans.Cramped car parks and dingy interiors fend off customers used to the bright fluorescenceof mainstream supermarkets.Ingredients labeled with poorly-translated English Can leave shoppers bamed.
A few Asian grocery chains have caught on，opening stores in more diverse suburbs，paying attention to cosmetic nicetiesand marketing more widely.Other than H Mart，there are Califomian chains such as 99 Ranch Market and Shun Fat Supermarket，which have been expanding to the American southwest.The former was even featured in a humorous YouTube music vide-"Asians Eat Weird Things"-which has attracted more than 900，000 hits.Those weird things may not seem so weird after all. | 1388.txt | 0 |
[
"would surprise the brightest minds of the 18th century Enlightenment",
"will produce results which cannot be foreseen",
"will help people to make the right choice in advance",
"will bring about disturbing results"
] | According to the author, really good science ________. | It is hard to predict how science is going to turn out, and if it is really good science it is impossible to predict. If the things to be found are actually new, they are by definition unknown in advance. You cannot make choices in this matter. You either have science or you don't, and if you have it you are obliged to accept the surprising and disturbing pieces of information, along with the neat and promptly useful bits.
The only solid piece of scientific truth about which I feel totally confident is that we are profoundly ignorant about nature. Indeed, I regard this as the major discovery of the past hundred years of biology. It is, in its way, an illumination piece of news. It would have amazed the brightest minds of the 18th century Enlightenment to be told by any of us how little we know and how bewildering seems the way ahead. It is this sudden confrontation with the depth and scope of ignorance that represents the most significant contribution of the 20th century science to the human intellect. In earlier times, we either pretended to understand how things worked or ignored the problem, or simply made up stories to fill the gaps. Now that we have begun exploring in earnest, we are getting glimpses of how huge the questions are, and how far from being answered. Because of this, we are depressed. It is not so bad being ignorant if you are totally ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some detail the reality of ignorance, the worst spots and here and there the not-so-bad spots, but no true light at the end of the tunnel nor even any tunnels that can yet be trusted.
But we are making a beginning, and there ought to be some satisfaction. There are probably no questions we can think up that can't be answered, sooner or later, including even the matter of consciousness. To be sure, there may well be questions we can't think up, ever, and therefore limits to the reach of human intellect, but that is another matter. Within our limits, we should be able to work our way through to all our answers, if we keep at it long enough, and pay attention. | 4107.txt | 1 |
[
"thought that they knew a great deal and could solve most problems of science",
"were afraid of facing up to the realities of scientific research",
"knew that they were ignorant and wanted to know more about nature",
"did more harm than good in promoting man's understanding of nature"
] | It can be inferred from the passage that scientists of the 18th century ________. | It is hard to predict how science is going to turn out, and if it is really good science it is impossible to predict. If the things to be found are actually new, they are by definition unknown in advance. You cannot make choices in this matter. You either have science or you don't, and if you have it you are obliged to accept the surprising and disturbing pieces of information, along with the neat and promptly useful bits.
The only solid piece of scientific truth about which I feel totally confident is that we are profoundly ignorant about nature. Indeed, I regard this as the major discovery of the past hundred years of biology. It is, in its way, an illumination piece of news. It would have amazed the brightest minds of the 18th century Enlightenment to be told by any of us how little we know and how bewildering seems the way ahead. It is this sudden confrontation with the depth and scope of ignorance that represents the most significant contribution of the 20th century science to the human intellect. In earlier times, we either pretended to understand how things worked or ignored the problem, or simply made up stories to fill the gaps. Now that we have begun exploring in earnest, we are getting glimpses of how huge the questions are, and how far from being answered. Because of this, we are depressed. It is not so bad being ignorant if you are totally ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some detail the reality of ignorance, the worst spots and here and there the not-so-bad spots, but no true light at the end of the tunnel nor even any tunnels that can yet be trusted.
But we are making a beginning, and there ought to be some satisfaction. There are probably no questions we can think up that can't be answered, sooner or later, including even the matter of consciousness. To be sure, there may well be questions we can't think up, ever, and therefore limits to the reach of human intellect, but that is another matter. Within our limits, we should be able to work our way through to all our answers, if we keep at it long enough, and pay attention. | 4107.txt | 1 |
[
"They invented false theories to explain things they didn't understand.",
"They falsely claimed to know all about nature.",
"They did not believe in results from scientific observation.",
"They paid little attention to the problems they didn't understand."
] | Which of the following statements is NOT true of scientists in earlier times? | It is hard to predict how science is going to turn out, and if it is really good science it is impossible to predict. If the things to be found are actually new, they are by definition unknown in advance. You cannot make choices in this matter. You either have science or you don't, and if you have it you are obliged to accept the surprising and disturbing pieces of information, along with the neat and promptly useful bits.
The only solid piece of scientific truth about which I feel totally confident is that we are profoundly ignorant about nature. Indeed, I regard this as the major discovery of the past hundred years of biology. It is, in its way, an illumination piece of news. It would have amazed the brightest minds of the 18th century Enlightenment to be told by any of us how little we know and how bewildering seems the way ahead. It is this sudden confrontation with the depth and scope of ignorance that represents the most significant contribution of the 20th century science to the human intellect. In earlier times, we either pretended to understand how things worked or ignored the problem, or simply made up stories to fill the gaps. Now that we have begun exploring in earnest, we are getting glimpses of how huge the questions are, and how far from being answered. Because of this, we are depressed. It is not so bad being ignorant if you are totally ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some detail the reality of ignorance, the worst spots and here and there the not-so-bad spots, but no true light at the end of the tunnel nor even any tunnels that can yet be trusted.
But we are making a beginning, and there ought to be some satisfaction. There are probably no questions we can think up that can't be answered, sooner or later, including even the matter of consciousness. To be sure, there may well be questions we can't think up, ever, and therefore limits to the reach of human intellect, but that is another matter. Within our limits, we should be able to work our way through to all our answers, if we keep at it long enough, and pay attention. | 4107.txt | 0 |
[
"He is depressed because of the ignorance of scientists.",
"He is doubtful because of the enormous difficulties confronting it.",
"He is confident though he is aware of the enormous difficulties confronting it.",
"He is delighted because of the illuminating scientific findings."
] | What is the author's attitude towards science? | It is hard to predict how science is going to turn out, and if it is really good science it is impossible to predict. If the things to be found are actually new, they are by definition unknown in advance. You cannot make choices in this matter. You either have science or you don't, and if you have it you are obliged to accept the surprising and disturbing pieces of information, along with the neat and promptly useful bits.
The only solid piece of scientific truth about which I feel totally confident is that we are profoundly ignorant about nature. Indeed, I regard this as the major discovery of the past hundred years of biology. It is, in its way, an illumination piece of news. It would have amazed the brightest minds of the 18th century Enlightenment to be told by any of us how little we know and how bewildering seems the way ahead. It is this sudden confrontation with the depth and scope of ignorance that represents the most significant contribution of the 20th century science to the human intellect. In earlier times, we either pretended to understand how things worked or ignored the problem, or simply made up stories to fill the gaps. Now that we have begun exploring in earnest, we are getting glimpses of how huge the questions are, and how far from being answered. Because of this, we are depressed. It is not so bad being ignorant if you are totally ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some detail the reality of ignorance, the worst spots and here and there the not-so-bad spots, but no true light at the end of the tunnel nor even any tunnels that can yet be trusted.
But we are making a beginning, and there ought to be some satisfaction. There are probably no questions we can think up that can't be answered, sooner or later, including even the matter of consciousness. To be sure, there may well be questions we can't think up, ever, and therefore limits to the reach of human intellect, but that is another matter. Within our limits, we should be able to work our way through to all our answers, if we keep at it long enough, and pay attention. | 4107.txt | 2 |
[
"man can find solutions to whatever questions concerning nature he can think up",
"man can not solve all the problems he can think up because of the limits of human intellect",
"sooner or later man can think up all the questions concerning nature and answer them",
"questions concerning consciousness are outside the scope of scientific researchD"
] | The author believes that ________. | It is hard to predict how science is going to turn out, and if it is really good science it is impossible to predict. If the things to be found are actually new, they are by definition unknown in advance. You cannot make choices in this matter. You either have science or you don't, and if you have it you are obliged to accept the surprising and disturbing pieces of information, along with the neat and promptly useful bits.
The only solid piece of scientific truth about which I feel totally confident is that we are profoundly ignorant about nature. Indeed, I regard this as the major discovery of the past hundred years of biology. It is, in its way, an illumination piece of news. It would have amazed the brightest minds of the 18th century Enlightenment to be told by any of us how little we know and how bewildering seems the way ahead. It is this sudden confrontation with the depth and scope of ignorance that represents the most significant contribution of the 20th century science to the human intellect. In earlier times, we either pretended to understand how things worked or ignored the problem, or simply made up stories to fill the gaps. Now that we have begun exploring in earnest, we are getting glimpses of how huge the questions are, and how far from being answered. Because of this, we are depressed. It is not so bad being ignorant if you are totally ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some detail the reality of ignorance, the worst spots and here and there the not-so-bad spots, but no true light at the end of the tunnel nor even any tunnels that can yet be trusted.
But we are making a beginning, and there ought to be some satisfaction. There are probably no questions we can think up that can't be answered, sooner or later, including even the matter of consciousness. To be sure, there may well be questions we can't think up, ever, and therefore limits to the reach of human intellect, but that is another matter. Within our limits, we should be able to work our way through to all our answers, if we keep at it long enough, and pay attention. | 4107.txt | 3 |
[
"prevent the sun's rays from reaching the earth's surface",
"mean a warming up in the Arctic",
"cause great climate changes in the northern hemisphere",
"raise the temperature of the earth's surface"
] | It can be concluded that a concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would _ . | In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide acts rather like a one-way mirror-the glass in the roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun's rays to enter but prevents che heat from escaping.
According to a weather expert's prediction. the atmosphere will be 3C warmer m the year 2050 than it is today, if man continues to bum fuels at the present rate. If this warming up took place, the ice caps in the poles would begin to melt. thus raising sea level several meters and severely flooding coastal cities. Also, the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere, possibly re9ulting in an alteration of the earth's chief food-growing zones.
In the past, concern about a man-made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet. But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic, which may be affected by only a few degrees of warming: in other words, by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from the burning of fuels.
Satellite pictures show that large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing. The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place. This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth.
However. most of the fuel is burnt in the northern Hemisphere, where temperatures seem to be falling. Scientists conclude. therefore. that up to now natural influences on the weather have exceeded those caused by man. The question is: Which natural cause has most effect on the weather?
One possibility is the variable behavior of the sun. Astronomers at one research station have studied the hot spots and "cold" spots (that is, the relatively less hot spots) on the sun. As the sun rotates, every 27.5 days. it presents hotter or "colder" faces to the earth, and different aspects to different parts of the earth. This seems to have a considerable effect on che distribution of the earth's atmospheric pressure, and consequently on wind circulation. The sun is also variable over a long term: its heat output goes up and down in cycles. che latest trend being, downward.
Scientists are now finding mutual relations between models of solar-weather interactions and the actual climate over many thousands of years, including the last Ice Age. The problem is that che models are predicting that the world should be entering a new Ice Age and it is not. One way of solving this theoretical difficulty is to assume a delay of thousands of years while the solar effects overcome the inertia of the earth's climate. If this is right. the warming effect of carbon dioxide might thus be serving as a useful counterbalance to the sun's diminishing heat. | 191.txt | 3 |
[
"the greenhouse effect.",
"che sola:r effects on the earth.",
"the models of solar-weather interactions.",
"the causes affecting weather."
] | The article was written io explain _ . | In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide acts rather like a one-way mirror-the glass in the roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun's rays to enter but prevents che heat from escaping.
According to a weather expert's prediction. the atmosphere will be 3C warmer m the year 2050 than it is today, if man continues to bum fuels at the present rate. If this warming up took place, the ice caps in the poles would begin to melt. thus raising sea level several meters and severely flooding coastal cities. Also, the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere, possibly re9ulting in an alteration of the earth's chief food-growing zones.
In the past, concern about a man-made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet. But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic, which may be affected by only a few degrees of warming: in other words, by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from the burning of fuels.
Satellite pictures show that large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing. The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place. This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth.
However. most of the fuel is burnt in the northern Hemisphere, where temperatures seem to be falling. Scientists conclude. therefore. that up to now natural influences on the weather have exceeded those caused by man. The question is: Which natural cause has most effect on the weather?
One possibility is the variable behavior of the sun. Astronomers at one research station have studied the hot spots and "cold" spots (that is, the relatively less hot spots) on the sun. As the sun rotates, every 27.5 days. it presents hotter or "colder" faces to the earth, and different aspects to different parts of the earth. This seems to have a considerable effect on che distribution of the earth's atmospheric pressure, and consequently on wind circulation. The sun is also variable over a long term: its heat output goes up and down in cycles. che latest trend being, downward.
Scientists are now finding mutual relations between models of solar-weather interactions and the actual climate over many thousands of years, including the last Ice Age. The problem is that che models are predicting that the world should be entering a new Ice Age and it is not. One way of solving this theoretical difficulty is to assume a delay of thousands of years while the solar effects overcome the inertia of the earth's climate. If this is right. the warming effect of carbon dioxide might thus be serving as a useful counterbalance to the sun's diminishing heat. | 191.txt | 3 |
[
"Mainly because the levels of carbon dioxide are rising.",
"Possibly because the ice caps in the poles are melting.",
"Because the inertia of the earth's climate take effect.",
"Partly because the output of solar energy varies."
] | Why is the fuel consumption greater in the northern hemisphere. but temperatures there seem to be falling? | In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide acts rather like a one-way mirror-the glass in the roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun's rays to enter but prevents che heat from escaping.
According to a weather expert's prediction. the atmosphere will be 3C warmer m the year 2050 than it is today, if man continues to bum fuels at the present rate. If this warming up took place, the ice caps in the poles would begin to melt. thus raising sea level several meters and severely flooding coastal cities. Also, the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere, possibly re9ulting in an alteration of the earth's chief food-growing zones.
In the past, concern about a man-made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet. But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic, which may be affected by only a few degrees of warming: in other words, by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from the burning of fuels.
Satellite pictures show that large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing. The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place. This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth.
However. most of the fuel is burnt in the northern Hemisphere, where temperatures seem to be falling. Scientists conclude. therefore. that up to now natural influences on the weather have exceeded those caused by man. The question is: Which natural cause has most effect on the weather?
One possibility is the variable behavior of the sun. Astronomers at one research station have studied the hot spots and "cold" spots (that is, the relatively less hot spots) on the sun. As the sun rotates, every 27.5 days. it presents hotter or "colder" faces to the earth, and different aspects to different parts of the earth. This seems to have a considerable effect on che distribution of the earth's atmospheric pressure, and consequently on wind circulation. The sun is also variable over a long term: its heat output goes up and down in cycles. che latest trend being, downward.
Scientists are now finding mutual relations between models of solar-weather interactions and the actual climate over many thousands of years, including the last Ice Age. The problem is that che models are predicting that the world should be entering a new Ice Age and it is not. One way of solving this theoretical difficulty is to assume a delay of thousands of years while the solar effects overcome the inertia of the earth's climate. If this is right. the warming effect of carbon dioxide might thus be serving as a useful counterbalance to the sun's diminishing heat. | 191.txt | 3 |
[
"the climate of the world should be becoming cooler",
"it will take thousands of years for the inertia of the earth's climate to take effect",
"the man-made warming effect helps to increase the solar effects",
"the new Ice Age will be delayed by the greenhouse effect"
] | On the basis of their models. scientists are of the opinion that _ . | In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide acts rather like a one-way mirror-the glass in the roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun's rays to enter but prevents che heat from escaping.
According to a weather expert's prediction. the atmosphere will be 3C warmer m the year 2050 than it is today, if man continues to bum fuels at the present rate. If this warming up took place, the ice caps in the poles would begin to melt. thus raising sea level several meters and severely flooding coastal cities. Also, the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere, possibly re9ulting in an alteration of the earth's chief food-growing zones.
In the past, concern about a man-made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet. But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic, which may be affected by only a few degrees of warming: in other words, by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from the burning of fuels.
Satellite pictures show that large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing. The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place. This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth.
However. most of the fuel is burnt in the northern Hemisphere, where temperatures seem to be falling. Scientists conclude. therefore. that up to now natural influences on the weather have exceeded those caused by man. The question is: Which natural cause has most effect on the weather?
One possibility is the variable behavior of the sun. Astronomers at one research station have studied the hot spots and "cold" spots (that is, the relatively less hot spots) on the sun. As the sun rotates, every 27.5 days. it presents hotter or "colder" faces to the earth, and different aspects to different parts of the earth. This seems to have a considerable effect on che distribution of the earth's atmospheric pressure, and consequently on wind circulation. The sun is also variable over a long term: its heat output goes up and down in cycles. che latest trend being, downward.
Scientists are now finding mutual relations between models of solar-weather interactions and the actual climate over many thousands of years, including the last Ice Age. The problem is that che models are predicting that the world should be entering a new Ice Age and it is not. One way of solving this theoretical difficulty is to assume a delay of thousands of years while the solar effects overcome the inertia of the earth's climate. If this is right. the warming effect of carbon dioxide might thus be serving as a useful counterbalance to the sun's diminishing heat. | 191.txt | 0 |
[
"the best way to overcome the cooling effect would be to burn more fuels",
"ice would soon cover the northern hemisphere",
"the increased levels of carbon dioxide could warm up the earth quickly.",
"the greenhouse effect could work to the advantage of the earth."
] | If the assumption about the delayof a new Ice Age is correct, _ . | In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide acts rather like a one-way mirror-the glass in the roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun's rays to enter but prevents che heat from escaping.
According to a weather expert's prediction. the atmosphere will be 3C warmer m the year 2050 than it is today, if man continues to bum fuels at the present rate. If this warming up took place, the ice caps in the poles would begin to melt. thus raising sea level several meters and severely flooding coastal cities. Also, the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere, possibly re9ulting in an alteration of the earth's chief food-growing zones.
In the past, concern about a man-made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet. But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic, which may be affected by only a few degrees of warming: in other words, by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from the burning of fuels.
Satellite pictures show that large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing. The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place. This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth.
However. most of the fuel is burnt in the northern Hemisphere, where temperatures seem to be falling. Scientists conclude. therefore. that up to now natural influences on the weather have exceeded those caused by man. The question is: Which natural cause has most effect on the weather?
One possibility is the variable behavior of the sun. Astronomers at one research station have studied the hot spots and "cold" spots (that is, the relatively less hot spots) on the sun. As the sun rotates, every 27.5 days. it presents hotter or "colder" faces to the earth, and different aspects to different parts of the earth. This seems to have a considerable effect on che distribution of the earth's atmospheric pressure, and consequently on wind circulation. The sun is also variable over a long term: its heat output goes up and down in cycles. che latest trend being, downward.
Scientists are now finding mutual relations between models of solar-weather interactions and the actual climate over many thousands of years, including the last Ice Age. The problem is that che models are predicting that the world should be entering a new Ice Age and it is not. One way of solving this theoretical difficulty is to assume a delay of thousands of years while the solar effects overcome the inertia of the earth's climate. If this is right. the warming effect of carbon dioxide might thus be serving as a useful counterbalance to the sun's diminishing heat. | 191.txt | 3 |
[
"the author was well-fed and healthy even without a fridge in his fifties.",
"the author was not accustomed to fridges even in his fifties.",
"there was no fridge in the author's home in the 1950s.",
"the fridge was in its early stage of development in the 1950s."
] | The statement "In my fridgeless fifties childhood, I was fed well and healthily." suggests that _ . | The fridge is considered necessary. It has been so since the 1960s when packaged food list appeared with the label: "Store in the refrigerator."
In my fridgeless Fifties childhood, 1 was fed well and healthy. The milkman came every day, the grocer, the butcher, the baker, and the ice-cream man delivered two or three times each week. The Sunday meatwould last until Wednesday and surplus bread and milk became all kinds of cakes. Nothing was wasted, and we were never troubled by rotten food. Thirty years on food deliveries have ceased, fresh vegetables are almost unobtainable in the country.
The invention of the fridge contributed comparatively little to the art of food preservation. Many well-tried techniques already existed -- natural cooling, drying, smoking, salting, sugaring, bottling...
What refrigeration did promote was marketing --- marketing hardware and electricity, marketing soft drinks, marketing dead bodies of animals around the world in search of a good price.
Consequently, most of the world's fridges are to be found, not in the tropics where they might prove useful, but in the rich countries with mild temperatures where they are climatically almost unnecessary. Every winter, millions of fridges hum away continuously, and at vast expense, busily maintaining an artificially-cooled space inside an artificially-heated house -- while outside, nature provides the desired temperature free of charge.
The fridge's effect upon the environment has been evident, while its contribution to human happiness has been not important. If you don't believe me, try it yourself, invest in a food cabinet and mm off your fridge next winter. You may not eat the hamburgers, but at least you'll get rid of that terrible hum. | 802.txt | 2 |
[
"People would not buy more food than was necessary.",
"Food was delivered to people two or three times a week.",
"Food was sold fresh and did not get rotten easily.",
"People had effective ways to preserve their food."
] | Why does the author say that nothing was wasted before the invention of fridges? | The fridge is considered necessary. It has been so since the 1960s when packaged food list appeared with the label: "Store in the refrigerator."
In my fridgeless Fifties childhood, 1 was fed well and healthy. The milkman came every day, the grocer, the butcher, the baker, and the ice-cream man delivered two or three times each week. The Sunday meatwould last until Wednesday and surplus bread and milk became all kinds of cakes. Nothing was wasted, and we were never troubled by rotten food. Thirty years on food deliveries have ceased, fresh vegetables are almost unobtainable in the country.
The invention of the fridge contributed comparatively little to the art of food preservation. Many well-tried techniques already existed -- natural cooling, drying, smoking, salting, sugaring, bottling...
What refrigeration did promote was marketing --- marketing hardware and electricity, marketing soft drinks, marketing dead bodies of animals around the world in search of a good price.
Consequently, most of the world's fridges are to be found, not in the tropics where they might prove useful, but in the rich countries with mild temperatures where they are climatically almost unnecessary. Every winter, millions of fridges hum away continuously, and at vast expense, busily maintaining an artificially-cooled space inside an artificially-heated house -- while outside, nature provides the desired temperature free of charge.
The fridge's effect upon the environment has been evident, while its contribution to human happiness has been not important. If you don't believe me, try it yourself, invest in a food cabinet and mm off your fridge next winter. You may not eat the hamburgers, but at least you'll get rid of that terrible hum. | 802.txt | 3 |
[
"Inventors.",
"Consumers.",
"Manufacturers.",
"Travelling salesmen."
] | Who benefited the least from fridges according to the author? | The fridge is considered necessary. It has been so since the 1960s when packaged food list appeared with the label: "Store in the refrigerator."
In my fridgeless Fifties childhood, 1 was fed well and healthy. The milkman came every day, the grocer, the butcher, the baker, and the ice-cream man delivered two or three times each week. The Sunday meatwould last until Wednesday and surplus bread and milk became all kinds of cakes. Nothing was wasted, and we were never troubled by rotten food. Thirty years on food deliveries have ceased, fresh vegetables are almost unobtainable in the country.
The invention of the fridge contributed comparatively little to the art of food preservation. Many well-tried techniques already existed -- natural cooling, drying, smoking, salting, sugaring, bottling...
What refrigeration did promote was marketing --- marketing hardware and electricity, marketing soft drinks, marketing dead bodies of animals around the world in search of a good price.
Consequently, most of the world's fridges are to be found, not in the tropics where they might prove useful, but in the rich countries with mild temperatures where they are climatically almost unnecessary. Every winter, millions of fridges hum away continuously, and at vast expense, busily maintaining an artificially-cooled space inside an artificially-heated house -- while outside, nature provides the desired temperature free of charge.
The fridge's effect upon the environment has been evident, while its contribution to human happiness has been not important. If you don't believe me, try it yourself, invest in a food cabinet and mm off your fridge next winter. You may not eat the hamburgers, but at least you'll get rid of that terrible hum. | 802.txt | 1 |
[
"\" Hum away continuously\" .",
"\" Climatically almost unnecessary\" .",
"\" Artificially-cooled space\" .",
"\" With mild temperatures\" ."
] | Which of the following phrases in the fifth paragraph indicates the fridge's negative effect on the environment? | The fridge is considered necessary. It has been so since the 1960s when packaged food list appeared with the label: "Store in the refrigerator."
In my fridgeless Fifties childhood, 1 was fed well and healthy. The milkman came every day, the grocer, the butcher, the baker, and the ice-cream man delivered two or three times each week. The Sunday meatwould last until Wednesday and surplus bread and milk became all kinds of cakes. Nothing was wasted, and we were never troubled by rotten food. Thirty years on food deliveries have ceased, fresh vegetables are almost unobtainable in the country.
The invention of the fridge contributed comparatively little to the art of food preservation. Many well-tried techniques already existed -- natural cooling, drying, smoking, salting, sugaring, bottling...
What refrigeration did promote was marketing --- marketing hardware and electricity, marketing soft drinks, marketing dead bodies of animals around the world in search of a good price.
Consequently, most of the world's fridges are to be found, not in the tropics where they might prove useful, but in the rich countries with mild temperatures where they are climatically almost unnecessary. Every winter, millions of fridges hum away continuously, and at vast expense, busily maintaining an artificially-cooled space inside an artificially-heated house -- while outside, nature provides the desired temperature free of charge.
The fridge's effect upon the environment has been evident, while its contribution to human happiness has been not important. If you don't believe me, try it yourself, invest in a food cabinet and mm off your fridge next winter. You may not eat the hamburgers, but at least you'll get rid of that terrible hum. | 802.txt | 0 |
[
"Neutral.",
"Critical.",
"Objective.",
"Compromising."
] | What is the author's overall attitude toward fridges? | The fridge is considered necessary. It has been so since the 1960s when packaged food list appeared with the label: "Store in the refrigerator."
In my fridgeless Fifties childhood, 1 was fed well and healthy. The milkman came every day, the grocer, the butcher, the baker, and the ice-cream man delivered two or three times each week. The Sunday meatwould last until Wednesday and surplus bread and milk became all kinds of cakes. Nothing was wasted, and we were never troubled by rotten food. Thirty years on food deliveries have ceased, fresh vegetables are almost unobtainable in the country.
The invention of the fridge contributed comparatively little to the art of food preservation. Many well-tried techniques already existed -- natural cooling, drying, smoking, salting, sugaring, bottling...
What refrigeration did promote was marketing --- marketing hardware and electricity, marketing soft drinks, marketing dead bodies of animals around the world in search of a good price.
Consequently, most of the world's fridges are to be found, not in the tropics where they might prove useful, but in the rich countries with mild temperatures where they are climatically almost unnecessary. Every winter, millions of fridges hum away continuously, and at vast expense, busily maintaining an artificially-cooled space inside an artificially-heated house -- while outside, nature provides the desired temperature free of charge.
The fridge's effect upon the environment has been evident, while its contribution to human happiness has been not important. If you don't believe me, try it yourself, invest in a food cabinet and mm off your fridge next winter. You may not eat the hamburgers, but at least you'll get rid of that terrible hum. | 802.txt | 1 |
[
"as old as Chinese",
"older than German",
"not so old as Chinese",
"very difficult to learn"
] | According to the writer, English is. | Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.
Sometimes , however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, "We come from Hamburg." One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those which the men from Hamburg ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called "hamburgers". Today "hamburgers" are sold in many countries around the world.
Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting. too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary. | 1287.txt | 2 |
[
"a kind of food",
"a round piece of beef",
"the name of a village",
"a city in Germany"
] | Hamburg is. | Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.
Sometimes , however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, "We come from Hamburg." One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those which the men from Hamburg ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called "hamburgers". Today "hamburgers" are sold in many countries around the world.
Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting. too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary. | 1287.txt | 3 |
[
"few Americans like hamburgers",
"hamburgers are made with beef",
"hamburgers are made with ham",
"hamburgers were first sold about a century ago"
] | According to the story,. | Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.
Sometimes , however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, "We come from Hamburg." One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those which the men from Hamburg ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called "hamburgers". Today "hamburgers" are sold in many countries around the world.
Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting. too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary. | 1287.txt | 3 |
[
"Where all the new words come from",
"Where those Germans came from",
"The reason why a word has a certain meaning",
"The reason why English is spoken around the world"
] | According to the writer, which of the following can often be found in any large English dictionary? | Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.
Sometimes , however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, "We come from Hamburg." One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those which the men from Hamburg ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called "hamburgers". Today "hamburgers" are sold in many countries around the world.
Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting. too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary. | 1287.txt | 2 |
[
"China because it has a long history",
"England because Germans don't speak good English",
"the round pieces of beef which those people from Hamburg were eating",
"English speakers because they always create new words"
] | According to the story, the word "hamburger" comes from. | Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.
Sometimes , however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, "We come from Hamburg." One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those which the men from Hamburg ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called "hamburgers". Today "hamburgers" are sold in many countries around the world.
Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting. too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary. | 1287.txt | 2 |
[
"educate young people on responsibility",
"invite young people to meet each other",
"encourage young people to serve others",
"celebrate the growth of young people"
] | The aim of National Youth Service Day is to _ . | One event that helps educate young people about things they can do for others is National Youth Service Day (NYSD. Every year on this day, organizations all over the country celebrate young volunteers, educate young people about how they can help their country, and invite them to participate in service projects. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said, " National Youth Service Day honors young volunteers and is an invitation to others to join hands and do our part as Americans."
Founded in 1988, NYSD originally took place on a Tuesday. Now the event lasts from Friday until Sunday so that more people can participate in it. More than 200 organizations work together to create thousands of projects each year. Millions of young people across the United States take part in these service projects.
Long before the event, people, community groups, schools, and nonprofit organizations think of ways to meet their communities' needs. Then, they plan projects for young volunteers. Projects include bringing food to hungry people, tutoring younger children and helping senior citizens. During the event, young people from the community do things like planting neighborhood gardens and cleaning up local parks.
The organizations that contribute to NYSD believe that volunteering and community service are important activities for people of all ages, but especially for young people. Young people who volunteer are more likely to do well in school, vote, and contribute to charities. More important, they help other people and make the world a better place for everyone. | 629.txt | 2 |
[
"do some cleaning in public places",
"prepare food for hungry people",
"plant vegetables and fruit",
"help old people to learn"
] | On National Youth Service Day, young volunteers will _ . | One event that helps educate young people about things they can do for others is National Youth Service Day (NYSD. Every year on this day, organizations all over the country celebrate young volunteers, educate young people about how they can help their country, and invite them to participate in service projects. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said, " National Youth Service Day honors young volunteers and is an invitation to others to join hands and do our part as Americans."
Founded in 1988, NYSD originally took place on a Tuesday. Now the event lasts from Friday until Sunday so that more people can participate in it. More than 200 organizations work together to create thousands of projects each year. Millions of young people across the United States take part in these service projects.
Long before the event, people, community groups, schools, and nonprofit organizations think of ways to meet their communities' needs. Then, they plan projects for young volunteers. Projects include bringing food to hungry people, tutoring younger children and helping senior citizens. During the event, young people from the community do things like planting neighborhood gardens and cleaning up local parks.
The organizations that contribute to NYSD believe that volunteering and community service are important activities for people of all ages, but especially for young people. Young people who volunteer are more likely to do well in school, vote, and contribute to charities. More important, they help other people and make the world a better place for everyone. | 629.txt | 0 |
[
"warn young people not to affect their schooling during volunteering",
"keep a record of how young people celebrate their festival",
"introduce an event - National Youth Service Day",
"advise young people to be cooperative when volunteering"
] | The purpose of writing this passage is to _ . | One event that helps educate young people about things they can do for others is National Youth Service Day (NYSD. Every year on this day, organizations all over the country celebrate young volunteers, educate young people about how they can help their country, and invite them to participate in service projects. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said, " National Youth Service Day honors young volunteers and is an invitation to others to join hands and do our part as Americans."
Founded in 1988, NYSD originally took place on a Tuesday. Now the event lasts from Friday until Sunday so that more people can participate in it. More than 200 organizations work together to create thousands of projects each year. Millions of young people across the United States take part in these service projects.
Long before the event, people, community groups, schools, and nonprofit organizations think of ways to meet their communities' needs. Then, they plan projects for young volunteers. Projects include bringing food to hungry people, tutoring younger children and helping senior citizens. During the event, young people from the community do things like planting neighborhood gardens and cleaning up local parks.
The organizations that contribute to NYSD believe that volunteering and community service are important activities for people of all ages, but especially for young people. Young people who volunteer are more likely to do well in school, vote, and contribute to charities. More important, they help other people and make the world a better place for everyone. | 629.txt | 2 |
[
"the oldest national flag in the world.",
"one of the world‘s oldest flags.",
"the most beautiful flag in the West.",
"as old as the basic flags of some European nations."
] | The basic flag of the United States is _ . | The basic flag of the United States is one of theworld‘s oldest national flags. Only the basic flags ofAustria, Denmark, Great Britain, the Netherlands,Sweden, and Switzerland are older.
During the discovery and settlement of what isnow the United States, the flags of various Europeannations were flown over the land, as symbols ofpossession. Later, in the Colonial and Revolutionary War periods, flags representing famouspersons, places, and events were flown in the American Colonies.
The first official flag of the United States was created by Congress on June 14,1777, Itconsisted of 13 alternate red an white stripes and 13 white stars in a field of blue, representingthe 13 colonies that had declared their independence in 1776. Congress adopted a new flag of15 stars and 15 stripes in 1795 to give representation to the two new states admitted into theUnion, Vermont and Kentucky.
By 1817, there were 20 states in the Union, and it became apparent that adding one stripefor each new state would destroy the shape of the flag. As a result, Congress in 1818 restoredthe original design of 13 stripes and provided that each state was to be represented by onestar. In 1912 President William H. Taft made the first official provision for the arrangementof the stars. He ordered that there be six even rows of eight stars each. Previously thearrangement of the stars had been left to the flag-maker‘s fancy.
The evolution of the Stars and Stripes reflects the growth of the United States. After theadmission of Hawaii into the Union in 1959, the flag was officially changed for the 26th timessince its creation. There are many government flags flown in the United States in addition tothe
national flag. Among them are the president‘s and vice-president‘s flags and those of thefederal departments and some federal agencies. Each state in the Union has an official flag. TheUnited States Navy uses special flags for signaling. | 2585.txt | 0 |
[
"before the Independence War",
"right after the Independence War",
"when independence was declared in 1776",
"during the War of Independence which ended in 1783"
] | The first official flag of the United States was adopted _ . | The basic flag of the United States is one of theworld‘s oldest national flags. Only the basic flags ofAustria, Denmark, Great Britain, the Netherlands,Sweden, and Switzerland are older.
During the discovery and settlement of what isnow the United States, the flags of various Europeannations were flown over the land, as symbols ofpossession. Later, in the Colonial and Revolutionary War periods, flags representing famouspersons, places, and events were flown in the American Colonies.
The first official flag of the United States was created by Congress on June 14,1777, Itconsisted of 13 alternate red an white stripes and 13 white stars in a field of blue, representingthe 13 colonies that had declared their independence in 1776. Congress adopted a new flag of15 stars and 15 stripes in 1795 to give representation to the two new states admitted into theUnion, Vermont and Kentucky.
By 1817, there were 20 states in the Union, and it became apparent that adding one stripefor each new state would destroy the shape of the flag. As a result, Congress in 1818 restoredthe original design of 13 stripes and provided that each state was to be represented by onestar. In 1912 President William H. Taft made the first official provision for the arrangementof the stars. He ordered that there be six even rows of eight stars each. Previously thearrangement of the stars had been left to the flag-maker‘s fancy.
The evolution of the Stars and Stripes reflects the growth of the United States. After theadmission of Hawaii into the Union in 1959, the flag was officially changed for the 26th timessince its creation. There are many government flags flown in the United States in addition tothe
national flag. Among them are the president‘s and vice-president‘s flags and those of thefederal departments and some federal agencies. Each state in the Union has an official flag. TheUnited States Navy uses special flags for signaling. | 2585.txt | 2 |
[
"13 independent states",
"the colonies that declared independence in 1776",
"the U.S. Congress",
"13 famous figures in the American colonies"
] | The 13 red and white stripes and 13 white stars represent _ . | The basic flag of the United States is one of theworld‘s oldest national flags. Only the basic flags ofAustria, Denmark, Great Britain, the Netherlands,Sweden, and Switzerland are older.
During the discovery and settlement of what isnow the United States, the flags of various Europeannations were flown over the land, as symbols ofpossession. Later, in the Colonial and Revolutionary War periods, flags representing famouspersons, places, and events were flown in the American Colonies.
The first official flag of the United States was created by Congress on June 14,1777, Itconsisted of 13 alternate red an white stripes and 13 white stars in a field of blue, representingthe 13 colonies that had declared their independence in 1776. Congress adopted a new flag of15 stars and 15 stripes in 1795 to give representation to the two new states admitted into theUnion, Vermont and Kentucky.
By 1817, there were 20 states in the Union, and it became apparent that adding one stripefor each new state would destroy the shape of the flag. As a result, Congress in 1818 restoredthe original design of 13 stripes and provided that each state was to be represented by onestar. In 1912 President William H. Taft made the first official provision for the arrangementof the stars. He ordered that there be six even rows of eight stars each. Previously thearrangement of the stars had been left to the flag-maker‘s fancy.
The evolution of the Stars and Stripes reflects the growth of the United States. After theadmission of Hawaii into the Union in 1959, the flag was officially changed for the 26th timessince its creation. There are many government flags flown in the United States in addition tothe
national flag. Among them are the president‘s and vice-president‘s flags and those of thefederal departments and some federal agencies. Each state in the Union has an official flag. TheUnited States Navy uses special flags for signaling. | 2585.txt | 3 |
[
"Too many stripes would destroy the shape of the flag.",
"Congress insisted 13 is the best number.",
"That was a decision President Taft had made.",
"The American people suggested it."
] | Why was the original design of 13 stripes restored in 1818? | The basic flag of the United States is one of theworld‘s oldest national flags. Only the basic flags ofAustria, Denmark, Great Britain, the Netherlands,Sweden, and Switzerland are older.
During the discovery and settlement of what isnow the United States, the flags of various Europeannations were flown over the land, as symbols ofpossession. Later, in the Colonial and Revolutionary War periods, flags representing famouspersons, places, and events were flown in the American Colonies.
The first official flag of the United States was created by Congress on June 14,1777, Itconsisted of 13 alternate red an white stripes and 13 white stars in a field of blue, representingthe 13 colonies that had declared their independence in 1776. Congress adopted a new flag of15 stars and 15 stripes in 1795 to give representation to the two new states admitted into theUnion, Vermont and Kentucky.
By 1817, there were 20 states in the Union, and it became apparent that adding one stripefor each new state would destroy the shape of the flag. As a result, Congress in 1818 restoredthe original design of 13 stripes and provided that each state was to be represented by onestar. In 1912 President William H. Taft made the first official provision for the arrangementof the stars. He ordered that there be six even rows of eight stars each. Previously thearrangement of the stars had been left to the flag-maker‘s fancy.
The evolution of the Stars and Stripes reflects the growth of the United States. After theadmission of Hawaii into the Union in 1959, the flag was officially changed for the 26th timessince its creation. There are many government flags flown in the United States in addition tothe
national flag. Among them are the president‘s and vice-president‘s flags and those of thefederal departments and some federal agencies. Each state in the Union has an official flag. TheUnited States Navy uses special flags for signaling. | 2585.txt | 3 |
[
"a series shows of dance, music, acrobatics and burlesque with boutique quality",
"a mobile dance hall of long history as well as exquisite decoration",
"a troupe performing certain programmes for the public.",
"a traditional form of entertainment derived from some ancient European countries."
] | According to the passage, Spiegelworld is probably _ | Pier 17 in downtown Manhattan is not the most likely destination for theatre-goers. But here on the East River, among the wailing seagulls, frying fish and tourists, is an enchanting offer of entertainment. Spiegelworld is back in town for its second summer, with two spicy cabaret shows of dance, music, acrobatics and burlesque. Called "Absinthe" and "La Vie", the shows are staged in the anachronistic opulence of a spiegeltent (Flemish for "tent of mirrors").
Nobody seems to know how many of these European pavilions are left but most people agree that there are fewer than 20. Built by hand without nails, spiegeltents are beautiful assemblies of teak, velvet, stained glass and bevelled mirrors, created originally in Belgium in the early 20th century as mobile dance halls. Only two families in Belgium and the Netherlands still know how to make them, producing one every five or ten years or so, says Vallejo Gantner, one of the show's producers and a long-time spiegeltent aficionado. "But you know it when you walk into an old one. They have a special boutique quality."
This one, which dates from the 1920s and has a painted art-nouveau façade, lends continental glamour to the pier. It holds about 350 people on wooden chairs and banquettes around a modest, circular stage. And it is this intimacy, this proximity to the performers, that gives these shows their special feel. Erotic contortionists, balletic hand-balancers and bawdy jugglers emanate a sweaty, tangible humanity. Many of them, Mr Gantner explains, have left larger circus troupes, such as Cirque du Soleil, in order to make eye-contact with their audience. The simplicity of the staging gives their performances a gritty authenticity.
Once in a while, a family on a children's outing is fooled by Spiegelworld's festive red-and-blue tent spires. Make no mistake: the shows are for adults. "La Vie", created by Les 7 Doigts de la Main, a Montreal-based troupe, laces an array of artfully sexy circus acts with the premise that everyone is dead and in purgatory, travelling on "a flight to hell that never quite gets there". Wearing what looks like a straitjacket, a contortionist moves in a highly unsettling way to a recording of "Crazy", crooned by Patsy Cline. The show closes with a steamy pas de deux between the devilish master of ceremonies and the evening's lip-curling seductress.
"Absinthe" is a more explicit grab-bag of stripping, cross-dressing and intrigue, without a unifying theme. The show's strongest moments come from the acrobats, all of whom carry a powerful sexual charge. Two women sway with suggestive grace on the trapeze. An aerialist in black trousers, his sculpted chest glistening, pulls and twists himself up two hanging straps to the lusty music of "Jealous Guy", sung by a transvestite diva.
Sexy but not tawdry. Despite colourful language and a brief moment of unnecessary male nudity in "La Vie", the setting is too elegant and the talent too astonishing for that. It's a bit of risqué fun that has been warmly received by New Yorkers, many of whom have grown tired of the wholesome, tourist-friendly fare of Broadway. Last summer "Absinthe" ran for two months to sell-out crowds; this year's two-show programme is for three months until the end of September. | 3630.txt | 2 |
[
"imply that theatre-goers are paying much attention to the environment of performance.",
"show that Pier 17 is not a place for a formal performance of the theatre.",
"prove that the shows in Spiegeltent are very attractive",
"tell us the status of the place where the shows of \"Absinthe\" and \"La Vie\" are presented."
] | By mentioning that "Pier 17 in downtown Manhattan is not the most likely destination for theatre-goers", the author wants to _ | Pier 17 in downtown Manhattan is not the most likely destination for theatre-goers. But here on the East River, among the wailing seagulls, frying fish and tourists, is an enchanting offer of entertainment. Spiegelworld is back in town for its second summer, with two spicy cabaret shows of dance, music, acrobatics and burlesque. Called "Absinthe" and "La Vie", the shows are staged in the anachronistic opulence of a spiegeltent (Flemish for "tent of mirrors").
Nobody seems to know how many of these European pavilions are left but most people agree that there are fewer than 20. Built by hand without nails, spiegeltents are beautiful assemblies of teak, velvet, stained glass and bevelled mirrors, created originally in Belgium in the early 20th century as mobile dance halls. Only two families in Belgium and the Netherlands still know how to make them, producing one every five or ten years or so, says Vallejo Gantner, one of the show's producers and a long-time spiegeltent aficionado. "But you know it when you walk into an old one. They have a special boutique quality."
This one, which dates from the 1920s and has a painted art-nouveau façade, lends continental glamour to the pier. It holds about 350 people on wooden chairs and banquettes around a modest, circular stage. And it is this intimacy, this proximity to the performers, that gives these shows their special feel. Erotic contortionists, balletic hand-balancers and bawdy jugglers emanate a sweaty, tangible humanity. Many of them, Mr Gantner explains, have left larger circus troupes, such as Cirque du Soleil, in order to make eye-contact with their audience. The simplicity of the staging gives their performances a gritty authenticity.
Once in a while, a family on a children's outing is fooled by Spiegelworld's festive red-and-blue tent spires. Make no mistake: the shows are for adults. "La Vie", created by Les 7 Doigts de la Main, a Montreal-based troupe, laces an array of artfully sexy circus acts with the premise that everyone is dead and in purgatory, travelling on "a flight to hell that never quite gets there". Wearing what looks like a straitjacket, a contortionist moves in a highly unsettling way to a recording of "Crazy", crooned by Patsy Cline. The show closes with a steamy pas de deux between the devilish master of ceremonies and the evening's lip-curling seductress.
"Absinthe" is a more explicit grab-bag of stripping, cross-dressing and intrigue, without a unifying theme. The show's strongest moments come from the acrobats, all of whom carry a powerful sexual charge. Two women sway with suggestive grace on the trapeze. An aerialist in black trousers, his sculpted chest glistening, pulls and twists himself up two hanging straps to the lusty music of "Jealous Guy", sung by a transvestite diva.
Sexy but not tawdry. Despite colourful language and a brief moment of unnecessary male nudity in "La Vie", the setting is too elegant and the talent too astonishing for that. It's a bit of risqué fun that has been warmly received by New Yorkers, many of whom have grown tired of the wholesome, tourist-friendly fare of Broadway. Last summer "Absinthe" ran for two months to sell-out crowds; this year's two-show programme is for three months until the end of September. | 3630.txt | 2 |
[
"they are on show in the pier rather than in the theatre.",
"the seats are arranged around the stage so that the audience can watch the performers closely.",
"they are of a sweaty, tangible humanity and a like of enticing simplicity.",
"it is much easier for their performers to make eye-contact with their audience."
] | The performances staged in the spiegeltents are different from the other ones mainly in that _ | Pier 17 in downtown Manhattan is not the most likely destination for theatre-goers. But here on the East River, among the wailing seagulls, frying fish and tourists, is an enchanting offer of entertainment. Spiegelworld is back in town for its second summer, with two spicy cabaret shows of dance, music, acrobatics and burlesque. Called "Absinthe" and "La Vie", the shows are staged in the anachronistic opulence of a spiegeltent (Flemish for "tent of mirrors").
Nobody seems to know how many of these European pavilions are left but most people agree that there are fewer than 20. Built by hand without nails, spiegeltents are beautiful assemblies of teak, velvet, stained glass and bevelled mirrors, created originally in Belgium in the early 20th century as mobile dance halls. Only two families in Belgium and the Netherlands still know how to make them, producing one every five or ten years or so, says Vallejo Gantner, one of the show's producers and a long-time spiegeltent aficionado. "But you know it when you walk into an old one. They have a special boutique quality."
This one, which dates from the 1920s and has a painted art-nouveau façade, lends continental glamour to the pier. It holds about 350 people on wooden chairs and banquettes around a modest, circular stage. And it is this intimacy, this proximity to the performers, that gives these shows their special feel. Erotic contortionists, balletic hand-balancers and bawdy jugglers emanate a sweaty, tangible humanity. Many of them, Mr Gantner explains, have left larger circus troupes, such as Cirque du Soleil, in order to make eye-contact with their audience. The simplicity of the staging gives their performances a gritty authenticity.
Once in a while, a family on a children's outing is fooled by Spiegelworld's festive red-and-blue tent spires. Make no mistake: the shows are for adults. "La Vie", created by Les 7 Doigts de la Main, a Montreal-based troupe, laces an array of artfully sexy circus acts with the premise that everyone is dead and in purgatory, travelling on "a flight to hell that never quite gets there". Wearing what looks like a straitjacket, a contortionist moves in a highly unsettling way to a recording of "Crazy", crooned by Patsy Cline. The show closes with a steamy pas de deux between the devilish master of ceremonies and the evening's lip-curling seductress.
"Absinthe" is a more explicit grab-bag of stripping, cross-dressing and intrigue, without a unifying theme. The show's strongest moments come from the acrobats, all of whom carry a powerful sexual charge. Two women sway with suggestive grace on the trapeze. An aerialist in black trousers, his sculpted chest glistening, pulls and twists himself up two hanging straps to the lusty music of "Jealous Guy", sung by a transvestite diva.
Sexy but not tawdry. Despite colourful language and a brief moment of unnecessary male nudity in "La Vie", the setting is too elegant and the talent too astonishing for that. It's a bit of risqué fun that has been warmly received by New Yorkers, many of whom have grown tired of the wholesome, tourist-friendly fare of Broadway. Last summer "Absinthe" ran for two months to sell-out crowds; this year's two-show programme is for three months until the end of September. | 3630.txt | 1 |
[
"imply that Spiegelworld is characterized by suggestive sexy scenes and is mainly oriented to the adults.",
"showcase the fact that the performance is sexually attractive, but far from tawdry.",
"demonstrate the profound meaning conveyed by the surface of the performance.",
"give a general impression of the specific performance and illustrate that people should not be deluded by the representation."
] | In the fourth paragraph, the author gives a detailed description of "La Vie" in order to _ | Pier 17 in downtown Manhattan is not the most likely destination for theatre-goers. But here on the East River, among the wailing seagulls, frying fish and tourists, is an enchanting offer of entertainment. Spiegelworld is back in town for its second summer, with two spicy cabaret shows of dance, music, acrobatics and burlesque. Called "Absinthe" and "La Vie", the shows are staged in the anachronistic opulence of a spiegeltent (Flemish for "tent of mirrors").
Nobody seems to know how many of these European pavilions are left but most people agree that there are fewer than 20. Built by hand without nails, spiegeltents are beautiful assemblies of teak, velvet, stained glass and bevelled mirrors, created originally in Belgium in the early 20th century as mobile dance halls. Only two families in Belgium and the Netherlands still know how to make them, producing one every five or ten years or so, says Vallejo Gantner, one of the show's producers and a long-time spiegeltent aficionado. "But you know it when you walk into an old one. They have a special boutique quality."
This one, which dates from the 1920s and has a painted art-nouveau façade, lends continental glamour to the pier. It holds about 350 people on wooden chairs and banquettes around a modest, circular stage. And it is this intimacy, this proximity to the performers, that gives these shows their special feel. Erotic contortionists, balletic hand-balancers and bawdy jugglers emanate a sweaty, tangible humanity. Many of them, Mr Gantner explains, have left larger circus troupes, such as Cirque du Soleil, in order to make eye-contact with their audience. The simplicity of the staging gives their performances a gritty authenticity.
Once in a while, a family on a children's outing is fooled by Spiegelworld's festive red-and-blue tent spires. Make no mistake: the shows are for adults. "La Vie", created by Les 7 Doigts de la Main, a Montreal-based troupe, laces an array of artfully sexy circus acts with the premise that everyone is dead and in purgatory, travelling on "a flight to hell that never quite gets there". Wearing what looks like a straitjacket, a contortionist moves in a highly unsettling way to a recording of "Crazy", crooned by Patsy Cline. The show closes with a steamy pas de deux between the devilish master of ceremonies and the evening's lip-curling seductress.
"Absinthe" is a more explicit grab-bag of stripping, cross-dressing and intrigue, without a unifying theme. The show's strongest moments come from the acrobats, all of whom carry a powerful sexual charge. Two women sway with suggestive grace on the trapeze. An aerialist in black trousers, his sculpted chest glistening, pulls and twists himself up two hanging straps to the lusty music of "Jealous Guy", sung by a transvestite diva.
Sexy but not tawdry. Despite colourful language and a brief moment of unnecessary male nudity in "La Vie", the setting is too elegant and the talent too astonishing for that. It's a bit of risqué fun that has been warmly received by New Yorkers, many of whom have grown tired of the wholesome, tourist-friendly fare of Broadway. Last summer "Absinthe" ran for two months to sell-out crowds; this year's two-show programme is for three months until the end of September. | 3630.txt | 2 |
[
"Only two families in Belgium and the Netherlands know how to give such performances.",
"The performances are characteristic of erotic shows.",
"The performances are always given with an explicit motif.",
"The performances are mainly given to the mass rather than the elite."
] | Which one of the following statements is TRUE of the performances staged in spiegeltents? | Pier 17 in downtown Manhattan is not the most likely destination for theatre-goers. But here on the East River, among the wailing seagulls, frying fish and tourists, is an enchanting offer of entertainment. Spiegelworld is back in town for its second summer, with two spicy cabaret shows of dance, music, acrobatics and burlesque. Called "Absinthe" and "La Vie", the shows are staged in the anachronistic opulence of a spiegeltent (Flemish for "tent of mirrors").
Nobody seems to know how many of these European pavilions are left but most people agree that there are fewer than 20. Built by hand without nails, spiegeltents are beautiful assemblies of teak, velvet, stained glass and bevelled mirrors, created originally in Belgium in the early 20th century as mobile dance halls. Only two families in Belgium and the Netherlands still know how to make them, producing one every five or ten years or so, says Vallejo Gantner, one of the show's producers and a long-time spiegeltent aficionado. "But you know it when you walk into an old one. They have a special boutique quality."
This one, which dates from the 1920s and has a painted art-nouveau façade, lends continental glamour to the pier. It holds about 350 people on wooden chairs and banquettes around a modest, circular stage. And it is this intimacy, this proximity to the performers, that gives these shows their special feel. Erotic contortionists, balletic hand-balancers and bawdy jugglers emanate a sweaty, tangible humanity. Many of them, Mr Gantner explains, have left larger circus troupes, such as Cirque du Soleil, in order to make eye-contact with their audience. The simplicity of the staging gives their performances a gritty authenticity.
Once in a while, a family on a children's outing is fooled by Spiegelworld's festive red-and-blue tent spires. Make no mistake: the shows are for adults. "La Vie", created by Les 7 Doigts de la Main, a Montreal-based troupe, laces an array of artfully sexy circus acts with the premise that everyone is dead and in purgatory, travelling on "a flight to hell that never quite gets there". Wearing what looks like a straitjacket, a contortionist moves in a highly unsettling way to a recording of "Crazy", crooned by Patsy Cline. The show closes with a steamy pas de deux between the devilish master of ceremonies and the evening's lip-curling seductress.
"Absinthe" is a more explicit grab-bag of stripping, cross-dressing and intrigue, without a unifying theme. The show's strongest moments come from the acrobats, all of whom carry a powerful sexual charge. Two women sway with suggestive grace on the trapeze. An aerialist in black trousers, his sculpted chest glistening, pulls and twists himself up two hanging straps to the lusty music of "Jealous Guy", sung by a transvestite diva.
Sexy but not tawdry. Despite colourful language and a brief moment of unnecessary male nudity in "La Vie", the setting is too elegant and the talent too astonishing for that. It's a bit of risqué fun that has been warmly received by New Yorkers, many of whom have grown tired of the wholesome, tourist-friendly fare of Broadway. Last summer "Absinthe" ran for two months to sell-out crowds; this year's two-show programme is for three months until the end of September. | 3630.txt | 3 |
[
"It could trot.",
"It could understand the news.",
"It could go to the news stall to buy a paper.",
"It could tell the news on a paper."
] | What could the dog do, according the owner, when it was given money? | A dog owner claimed that his pet, when given money, would go to the news stall to buy a paper. His friend insisted on a demonstration and handed the dog some money - The dog trotted off, but an hour later he had still not returned with the paper.
"How much did you give him?" asked the owner.
"Five dollars.
"Well, that explains it. When you give him five dollars, he goes to a movie." | 2702.txt | 2 |
[
"Because he had a doubt about it.",
"Because he wanted to see whether this dog was as good as his.",
"Because he had too much money to know how to spend it.",
"Because he liked this game."
] | Why did his friend insist on a demonstration? | A dog owner claimed that his pet, when given money, would go to the news stall to buy a paper. His friend insisted on a demonstration and handed the dog some money - The dog trotted off, but an hour later he had still not returned with the paper.
"How much did you give him?" asked the owner.
"Five dollars.
"Well, that explains it. When you give him five dollars, he goes to a movie." | 2702.txt | 0 |
[
"One dollar",
"Two dollars",
"Five dollars",
"It didn't say."
] | How much money should the man give the dog to make him buy a paper? | A dog owner claimed that his pet, when given money, would go to the news stall to buy a paper. His friend insisted on a demonstration and handed the dog some money - The dog trotted off, but an hour later he had still not returned with the paper.
"How much did you give him?" asked the owner.
"Five dollars.
"Well, that explains it. When you give him five dollars, he goes to a movie." | 2702.txt | 3 |
[
"Half an hour",
"One hour",
"One and a half hour",
"Two hours"
] | How long did the two men wait for the dog to return? | A dog owner claimed that his pet, when given money, would go to the news stall to buy a paper. His friend insisted on a demonstration and handed the dog some money - The dog trotted off, but an hour later he had still not returned with the paper.
"How much did you give him?" asked the owner.
"Five dollars.
"Well, that explains it. When you give him five dollars, he goes to a movie." | 2702.txt | 1 |
[
"To the news stall.",
"To the owner's house.",
"To the cinema",
"It was missing."
] | Where did the dog go, according to the owner? | A dog owner claimed that his pet, when given money, would go to the news stall to buy a paper. His friend insisted on a demonstration and handed the dog some money - The dog trotted off, but an hour later he had still not returned with the paper.
"How much did you give him?" asked the owner.
"Five dollars.
"Well, that explains it. When you give him five dollars, he goes to a movie." | 2702.txt | 2 |
[
"355 5743",
"849 8760",
"755 2040",
"684 2500"
] | If you want to get a position of a secretary as a part time job,please dial the number.--- | Read the following advertisement and answer the questions below according to thetable.
SECRETARY TV
Major network looking for secretary\/gal\/guy.Friday to work on various temporary assignments.Work 1,2,3,4,or 5 days a week.Mr Newcomb 889-0030
SECRETARY P\/T.
steno,type,hrs,Mon Fri,10-1 and\/or Mon.Wed & Fri:2∶30-7.Tues:2∶30-5.Midtown office.355 -5743 aft 7 pm.
SECRETARY QUEENS
Good skills,General insurance agency.Richmond Hill area.849-87603
SECRETARY
Small midtown law firm.Excel skills,no legal exp req'd.755 20404,
SECRETARY
Fastmoving ad agency needs bright, energetic,good typist for various responsibilities.684----2500
(p\/t=part time;stenographer;exp=experienced;req'd.=required) | 3621.txt | 0 |
[
"you must have very good skills and legal experienced",
"it is necessary for you to have legal experienced",
"you must have very good skills ,but you don't have to be experienced in law",
"you must have excellent skills or good experienced in law"
] | If you want to get a job as a secretary in the small midtown law film, _ | Read the following advertisement and answer the questions below according to thetable.
SECRETARY TV
Major network looking for secretary\/gal\/guy.Friday to work on various temporary assignments.Work 1,2,3,4,or 5 days a week.Mr Newcomb 889-0030
SECRETARY P\/T.
steno,type,hrs,Mon Fri,10-1 and\/or Mon.Wed & Fri:2∶30-7.Tues:2∶30-5.Midtown office.355 -5743 aft 7 pm.
SECRETARY QUEENS
Good skills,General insurance agency.Richmond Hill area.849-87603
SECRETARY
Small midtown law firm.Excel skills,no legal exp req'd.755 20404,
SECRETARY
Fastmoving ad agency needs bright, energetic,good typist for various responsibilities.684----2500
(p\/t=part time;stenographer;exp=experienced;req'd.=required) | 3621.txt | 2 |
[
"the title of position",
"the way of contact",
"salary",
"qualifications of candidates"
] | We cannot find any information about--in each unit's advertisement | Read the following advertisement and answer the questions below according to thetable.
SECRETARY TV
Major network looking for secretary\/gal\/guy.Friday to work on various temporary assignments.Work 1,2,3,4,or 5 days a week.Mr Newcomb 889-0030
SECRETARY P\/T.
steno,type,hrs,Mon Fri,10-1 and\/or Mon.Wed & Fri:2∶30-7.Tues:2∶30-5.Midtown office.355 -5743 aft 7 pm.
SECRETARY QUEENS
Good skills,General insurance agency.Richmond Hill area.849-87603
SECRETARY
Small midtown law firm.Excel skills,no legal exp req'd.755 20404,
SECRETARY
Fastmoving ad agency needs bright, energetic,good typist for various responsibilities.684----2500
(p\/t=part time;stenographer;exp=experienced;req'd.=required) | 3621.txt | 2 |
[
"taking off",
"landing",
"orbiting",
"walking down"
] | The word "descent" in the passage means _ . | The space shuttle Columbia flared and broke up in the skies over Texas on Saturday, February 1,2003, killing the seven astronauts on board in what NASA and President Bush called a tragedy for the entire nation. NASA launched an investigation into the disaster and began searching for the astronauts' remains. It said that although there had been some data failures it was too early to nail down a precise cause. The break-up, 16 minutes before the shuttle was due to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, spread possibly toxic debris over a wide swath of Texas and neighboring states.
Dramatic television images of the shuttle's descent clearly showed several white trails streaking through blue skies after the shuttle suddenly fell apart. It was almost 17 years to the day that the Challenger shuttle exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.
Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission. In 42 years of US' human space flight, there had never been an accident in the descent to Earth or landing. Challenger exploded just after take-off.
Rescue teams scrambled to search for the remains of the crew, which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, former combat pilot Col. Ilan Ramon. There were warnings that parts of a vast 120-mile-long corridor of debris could be toxic because of poisonous rocket propellant.
"We are not ready to confirm that we have found any human remains," Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerrs said. He added that among the roughly 1,000 calls reporting debris, some people said they found remains of crew members.
"The Columbia is lost. There are no survivors, …Their mission was almost complete and we lost them so close to home. … America's space program will go on," said a grim-faced Bush in a message broadcast on television, which included condolences to the families of the dead astronauts. | 2961.txt | 1 |
[
"He was the first Israeli astronaut to fly on the shuttle.",
"He was the first foreign astronaut to fly on the American shuttle.",
"He used to be a passenger plane pilot.",
"He was the only survivor in the Columbia disaster."
] | Which is true of the Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon? | The space shuttle Columbia flared and broke up in the skies over Texas on Saturday, February 1,2003, killing the seven astronauts on board in what NASA and President Bush called a tragedy for the entire nation. NASA launched an investigation into the disaster and began searching for the astronauts' remains. It said that although there had been some data failures it was too early to nail down a precise cause. The break-up, 16 minutes before the shuttle was due to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, spread possibly toxic debris over a wide swath of Texas and neighboring states.
Dramatic television images of the shuttle's descent clearly showed several white trails streaking through blue skies after the shuttle suddenly fell apart. It was almost 17 years to the day that the Challenger shuttle exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.
Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission. In 42 years of US' human space flight, there had never been an accident in the descent to Earth or landing. Challenger exploded just after take-off.
Rescue teams scrambled to search for the remains of the crew, which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, former combat pilot Col. Ilan Ramon. There were warnings that parts of a vast 120-mile-long corridor of debris could be toxic because of poisonous rocket propellant.
"We are not ready to confirm that we have found any human remains," Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerrs said. He added that among the roughly 1,000 calls reporting debris, some people said they found remains of crew members.
"The Columbia is lost. There are no survivors, …Their mission was almost complete and we lost them so close to home. … America's space program will go on," said a grim-faced Bush in a message broadcast on television, which included condolences to the families of the dead astronauts. | 2961.txt | 0 |
[
"there were seven astronauts killed on board",
"both the shuttles exploded when they took off",
"Both the shuttles exploded when they were about to land",
"no human remains were found"
] | The Columbia disaster and the Challenger disaster were similar in that _ . | The space shuttle Columbia flared and broke up in the skies over Texas on Saturday, February 1,2003, killing the seven astronauts on board in what NASA and President Bush called a tragedy for the entire nation. NASA launched an investigation into the disaster and began searching for the astronauts' remains. It said that although there had been some data failures it was too early to nail down a precise cause. The break-up, 16 minutes before the shuttle was due to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, spread possibly toxic debris over a wide swath of Texas and neighboring states.
Dramatic television images of the shuttle's descent clearly showed several white trails streaking through blue skies after the shuttle suddenly fell apart. It was almost 17 years to the day that the Challenger shuttle exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.
Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission. In 42 years of US' human space flight, there had never been an accident in the descent to Earth or landing. Challenger exploded just after take-off.
Rescue teams scrambled to search for the remains of the crew, which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, former combat pilot Col. Ilan Ramon. There were warnings that parts of a vast 120-mile-long corridor of debris could be toxic because of poisonous rocket propellant.
"We are not ready to confirm that we have found any human remains," Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerrs said. He added that among the roughly 1,000 calls reporting debris, some people said they found remains of crew members.
"The Columbia is lost. There are no survivors, …Their mission was almost complete and we lost them so close to home. … America's space program will go on," said a grim-faced Bush in a message broadcast on television, which included condolences to the families of the dead astronauts. | 2961.txt | 0 |
[
"The U.S.A. will give up the space program because of the accident.",
"NASA hasn't found the cause of the Columbia disaster.",
"Before the Columbia disaster, no shuttles had exploded in the course of landing.",
"Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission."
] | Which of the following is wrong according to the news? | The space shuttle Columbia flared and broke up in the skies over Texas on Saturday, February 1,2003, killing the seven astronauts on board in what NASA and President Bush called a tragedy for the entire nation. NASA launched an investigation into the disaster and began searching for the astronauts' remains. It said that although there had been some data failures it was too early to nail down a precise cause. The break-up, 16 minutes before the shuttle was due to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, spread possibly toxic debris over a wide swath of Texas and neighboring states.
Dramatic television images of the shuttle's descent clearly showed several white trails streaking through blue skies after the shuttle suddenly fell apart. It was almost 17 years to the day that the Challenger shuttle exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.
Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission. In 42 years of US' human space flight, there had never been an accident in the descent to Earth or landing. Challenger exploded just after take-off.
Rescue teams scrambled to search for the remains of the crew, which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, former combat pilot Col. Ilan Ramon. There were warnings that parts of a vast 120-mile-long corridor of debris could be toxic because of poisonous rocket propellant.
"We are not ready to confirm that we have found any human remains," Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerrs said. He added that among the roughly 1,000 calls reporting debris, some people said they found remains of crew members.
"The Columbia is lost. There are no survivors, …Their mission was almost complete and we lost them so close to home. … America's space program will go on," said a grim-faced Bush in a message broadcast on television, which included condolences to the families of the dead astronauts. | 2961.txt | 0 |
[
"the hospital overcharged him",
"he couldn't afford the money",
"the computer printout offered by the hospital was not consistent with original slips",
"the hospital couldn't show any proof for the amount of money he should pay"
] | The man refused to pay the hospital bill because he claimed _ . | Computer science and technology is developing so fast that no one can predict exactly what new technology might be developed in the near future, and the development of computer law can hardly keep up with the developing computer technology. The wide spread application of computers in business has created new situations that no existing laws are adequate to cope with. In the following cases, computer generated information was used as evidence but was not all accepted by the court.
A man received some treatment at a hospital but refused to pay the hospital bill because he claimed the figures were not correct. The hospital sued the man. As proof of the amount owed to it, the hospital offered in evidence a computer printout of the services rendered to the defendant and the amounts owed for them. Hospital employees testified that information as to amounts owed by patients in the hospital were stored in a computer as part of a regular business routine. The man objected to the admission of the computer printout as evidence on the ground that there was not a proper comparison checking of original slips showing services rendered against the computer printout.
The court decided that the computer printout was admissible as evidence when it was shown that the entries were made with proper equipment in a regular courses of business. The objection that there was not a sufficient checking of the printout did not make the printout inadmissible. It was up to the jury to decide how much weight or importance should be attached to computer printout.
In order to make it possible to admit evidence protected by computer, the law of evidence of the United States has changed greatly. According to the new rule, computer printouts of business records stored on electronic computing equipment are admissible in evidence if relevant to the material, without the necessity of identifying, locating, and producing as witnesses the individuals who made the entries in the regular course of business, if it is shown that the electronic computing equipment is recognized as standard equipment, the entries are made in the regular course of business at or reasonably near the time of the happening of the event recorded, and the foundation testimony satisfies the court the sources of information, method and time of preparation were such as to indicate its trustworthiness and justify its admission. | 2765.txt | 0 |
[
"the man must pay the bill",
"the computer printout was not admissible",
"the hospital failed for lack of evidence",
"not mentioned in the passage"
] | The court's final decision is _ . | Computer science and technology is developing so fast that no one can predict exactly what new technology might be developed in the near future, and the development of computer law can hardly keep up with the developing computer technology. The wide spread application of computers in business has created new situations that no existing laws are adequate to cope with. In the following cases, computer generated information was used as evidence but was not all accepted by the court.
A man received some treatment at a hospital but refused to pay the hospital bill because he claimed the figures were not correct. The hospital sued the man. As proof of the amount owed to it, the hospital offered in evidence a computer printout of the services rendered to the defendant and the amounts owed for them. Hospital employees testified that information as to amounts owed by patients in the hospital were stored in a computer as part of a regular business routine. The man objected to the admission of the computer printout as evidence on the ground that there was not a proper comparison checking of original slips showing services rendered against the computer printout.
The court decided that the computer printout was admissible as evidence when it was shown that the entries were made with proper equipment in a regular courses of business. The objection that there was not a sufficient checking of the printout did not make the printout inadmissible. It was up to the jury to decide how much weight or importance should be attached to computer printout.
In order to make it possible to admit evidence protected by computer, the law of evidence of the United States has changed greatly. According to the new rule, computer printouts of business records stored on electronic computing equipment are admissible in evidence if relevant to the material, without the necessity of identifying, locating, and producing as witnesses the individuals who made the entries in the regular course of business, if it is shown that the electronic computing equipment is recognized as standard equipment, the entries are made in the regular course of business at or reasonably near the time of the happening of the event recorded, and the foundation testimony satisfies the court the sources of information, method and time of preparation were such as to indicate its trustworthiness and justify its admission. | 2765.txt | 3 |
[
"The computer printout was not in keeping with the service rendered.",
"The computer printout was in keeping with the service rendered",
"The computer printout was checked to compare it with the service rendered",
"The computer printout was not checked to compare it with the service rendered"
] | According to the passage, which of the following is true? | Computer science and technology is developing so fast that no one can predict exactly what new technology might be developed in the near future, and the development of computer law can hardly keep up with the developing computer technology. The wide spread application of computers in business has created new situations that no existing laws are adequate to cope with. In the following cases, computer generated information was used as evidence but was not all accepted by the court.
A man received some treatment at a hospital but refused to pay the hospital bill because he claimed the figures were not correct. The hospital sued the man. As proof of the amount owed to it, the hospital offered in evidence a computer printout of the services rendered to the defendant and the amounts owed for them. Hospital employees testified that information as to amounts owed by patients in the hospital were stored in a computer as part of a regular business routine. The man objected to the admission of the computer printout as evidence on the ground that there was not a proper comparison checking of original slips showing services rendered against the computer printout.
The court decided that the computer printout was admissible as evidence when it was shown that the entries were made with proper equipment in a regular courses of business. The objection that there was not a sufficient checking of the printout did not make the printout inadmissible. It was up to the jury to decide how much weight or importance should be attached to computer printout.
In order to make it possible to admit evidence protected by computer, the law of evidence of the United States has changed greatly. According to the new rule, computer printouts of business records stored on electronic computing equipment are admissible in evidence if relevant to the material, without the necessity of identifying, locating, and producing as witnesses the individuals who made the entries in the regular course of business, if it is shown that the electronic computing equipment is recognized as standard equipment, the entries are made in the regular course of business at or reasonably near the time of the happening of the event recorded, and the foundation testimony satisfies the court the sources of information, method and time of preparation were such as to indicate its trustworthiness and justify its admission. | 2765.txt | 3 |
[
"has completely changed the law of evidence",
"has begun to draw up the law of evidence",
"has abolished the law of evidence",
"has revised the law of evidence"
] | In order to make the computer evidence admissible, the United States _ . | Computer science and technology is developing so fast that no one can predict exactly what new technology might be developed in the near future, and the development of computer law can hardly keep up with the developing computer technology. The wide spread application of computers in business has created new situations that no existing laws are adequate to cope with. In the following cases, computer generated information was used as evidence but was not all accepted by the court.
A man received some treatment at a hospital but refused to pay the hospital bill because he claimed the figures were not correct. The hospital sued the man. As proof of the amount owed to it, the hospital offered in evidence a computer printout of the services rendered to the defendant and the amounts owed for them. Hospital employees testified that information as to amounts owed by patients in the hospital were stored in a computer as part of a regular business routine. The man objected to the admission of the computer printout as evidence on the ground that there was not a proper comparison checking of original slips showing services rendered against the computer printout.
The court decided that the computer printout was admissible as evidence when it was shown that the entries were made with proper equipment in a regular courses of business. The objection that there was not a sufficient checking of the printout did not make the printout inadmissible. It was up to the jury to decide how much weight or importance should be attached to computer printout.
In order to make it possible to admit evidence protected by computer, the law of evidence of the United States has changed greatly. According to the new rule, computer printouts of business records stored on electronic computing equipment are admissible in evidence if relevant to the material, without the necessity of identifying, locating, and producing as witnesses the individuals who made the entries in the regular course of business, if it is shown that the electronic computing equipment is recognized as standard equipment, the entries are made in the regular course of business at or reasonably near the time of the happening of the event recorded, and the foundation testimony satisfies the court the sources of information, method and time of preparation were such as to indicate its trustworthiness and justify its admission. | 2765.txt | 3 |
[
"The Computer Evidence",
"The Law of Evidence",
"The Computer and the Law of Evidence",
"A Case on Computer"
] | The best title for this passage is _ . | Computer science and technology is developing so fast that no one can predict exactly what new technology might be developed in the near future, and the development of computer law can hardly keep up with the developing computer technology. The wide spread application of computers in business has created new situations that no existing laws are adequate to cope with. In the following cases, computer generated information was used as evidence but was not all accepted by the court.
A man received some treatment at a hospital but refused to pay the hospital bill because he claimed the figures were not correct. The hospital sued the man. As proof of the amount owed to it, the hospital offered in evidence a computer printout of the services rendered to the defendant and the amounts owed for them. Hospital employees testified that information as to amounts owed by patients in the hospital were stored in a computer as part of a regular business routine. The man objected to the admission of the computer printout as evidence on the ground that there was not a proper comparison checking of original slips showing services rendered against the computer printout.
The court decided that the computer printout was admissible as evidence when it was shown that the entries were made with proper equipment in a regular courses of business. The objection that there was not a sufficient checking of the printout did not make the printout inadmissible. It was up to the jury to decide how much weight or importance should be attached to computer printout.
In order to make it possible to admit evidence protected by computer, the law of evidence of the United States has changed greatly. According to the new rule, computer printouts of business records stored on electronic computing equipment are admissible in evidence if relevant to the material, without the necessity of identifying, locating, and producing as witnesses the individuals who made the entries in the regular course of business, if it is shown that the electronic computing equipment is recognized as standard equipment, the entries are made in the regular course of business at or reasonably near the time of the happening of the event recorded, and the foundation testimony satisfies the court the sources of information, method and time of preparation were such as to indicate its trustworthiness and justify its admission. | 2765.txt | 2 |
[
"choice.",
"benefit.",
"idea.",
"experience."
] | The word "option" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to | How did it come about that farming developed independently in a number of world centers (the Southeast Asian mainland, Southwest Asia, Central America, lowland and highland South America, and equatorial AfricA. at more or less the same time? Agriculture developed slowly among populations that had an extensive knowledge of plants and animals. Changing from hunting and gathering to agriculture had no immediate advantages. To start with, it forced the population to abandon the nomad's life and become sedentary, to develop methods of storage and, often, systems of irrigation. While hunter-gatherers always had the option of moving elsewhere when the resources were exhausted, this became more difficult with farming. Furthermore, as the archaeological record shows, the state of health of agriculturalists was worse than that of their contemporary hunter-gatherers.
Traditionally, it was believed that the transition to agriculture was the result of a worldwide population crisis. It was argued that once hunter-gatherers had occupied the whole world, the population started to grow everywhere and food became scarce; agriculture would have been a solution to this problem. We know, however, that contemporary hunter-gatherer societies control their population in a variety of ways. The idea of a world population crisis is therefore unlikely, although population pressure might have arisen in some areas.
Climatic changes at the end of the glacial period 13,000 years ago have been proposed to account for the emergence of farming.The temperature increased dramatically in a short period of time (years rather than centuries), allowing for a growth of the hunting-gathering population due to the abundance of resources. There were, however, fluctuations in the climatic conditions, with the consequences that wet conditions were followed by dry ones, so that the availability of plants and animals oscillated brusquely.
It would appear that the instability of the climatic conditions led populations that had originally been nomadic to settle down and develop a sedentary style of life, which led in turn to population growth and to the need to increase the amount of food available. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture.Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed.
It is archaeologist Steven Mithen's thesis, brilliantly developed in his book The Prehistory of the Mind (1996), that approximately 40,000 years ago the human mind developed cognitive fluidity, that is, the integration of the specializations of the mind: technical, natural history (geared to understanding the behavior and distribution of natural resources), social intelligence, and the linguistic capacity. Cognitive fluidity explains the appearance of art, religion, and sophisticated speech. Once humans possessed such a mind, they were able to find an imaginative solution to a situation of severe economic crisis such as the farming dilemma described earlier. Mithen proposes the existence of four mental elements to account for the emergence of farming: (1) the ability to develop tools that could be used intensively to harvest and process plant resources; (2) the tendency to use plants and animals as the medium to acquire social prestige and power; (3) the tendency to develop "social relationships" with animals structurally similar to those developed with people-specifically, the ability to think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and (4) the tendency to manipulate plants and animals.
The fact that some societies domesticated animals and plants, discovered the use of metal tools, became literate, and developed a state should not make us forget that others developed pastoralism or horticulture (vegetable gardening) but remained illiterate and at low levels of productivity; a few entered the modern period as hunting and gathering societies. It is anthropologically important to inquire into the conditions that made some societies adopt agriculture while others remained hunter-gatherers or horticulturalists. However, it should be kept in mind that many societies that knew of agriculture more or less consciously avoided it. Whether Mithen's explanation is satisfactory is open to contention, and some authors have recently emphasized the importance of other factors. | 402.txt | 0 |
[
"It is a healthier lifestyle.",
"It requires less knowledge of plants and animals.",
"It does not need storage capabilities.",
"It is not tied to any specific location."
] | According to paragraph 1, all of the following are advantages of hunting and gathering over agriculture EXCEPT: | How did it come about that farming developed independently in a number of world centers (the Southeast Asian mainland, Southwest Asia, Central America, lowland and highland South America, and equatorial AfricA. at more or less the same time? Agriculture developed slowly among populations that had an extensive knowledge of plants and animals. Changing from hunting and gathering to agriculture had no immediate advantages. To start with, it forced the population to abandon the nomad's life and become sedentary, to develop methods of storage and, often, systems of irrigation. While hunter-gatherers always had the option of moving elsewhere when the resources were exhausted, this became more difficult with farming. Furthermore, as the archaeological record shows, the state of health of agriculturalists was worse than that of their contemporary hunter-gatherers.
Traditionally, it was believed that the transition to agriculture was the result of a worldwide population crisis. It was argued that once hunter-gatherers had occupied the whole world, the population started to grow everywhere and food became scarce; agriculture would have been a solution to this problem. We know, however, that contemporary hunter-gatherer societies control their population in a variety of ways. The idea of a world population crisis is therefore unlikely, although population pressure might have arisen in some areas.
Climatic changes at the end of the glacial period 13,000 years ago have been proposed to account for the emergence of farming.The temperature increased dramatically in a short period of time (years rather than centuries), allowing for a growth of the hunting-gathering population due to the abundance of resources. There were, however, fluctuations in the climatic conditions, with the consequences that wet conditions were followed by dry ones, so that the availability of plants and animals oscillated brusquely.
It would appear that the instability of the climatic conditions led populations that had originally been nomadic to settle down and develop a sedentary style of life, which led in turn to population growth and to the need to increase the amount of food available. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture.Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed.
It is archaeologist Steven Mithen's thesis, brilliantly developed in his book The Prehistory of the Mind (1996), that approximately 40,000 years ago the human mind developed cognitive fluidity, that is, the integration of the specializations of the mind: technical, natural history (geared to understanding the behavior and distribution of natural resources), social intelligence, and the linguistic capacity. Cognitive fluidity explains the appearance of art, religion, and sophisticated speech. Once humans possessed such a mind, they were able to find an imaginative solution to a situation of severe economic crisis such as the farming dilemma described earlier. Mithen proposes the existence of four mental elements to account for the emergence of farming: (1) the ability to develop tools that could be used intensively to harvest and process plant resources; (2) the tendency to use plants and animals as the medium to acquire social prestige and power; (3) the tendency to develop "social relationships" with animals structurally similar to those developed with people-specifically, the ability to think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and (4) the tendency to manipulate plants and animals.
The fact that some societies domesticated animals and plants, discovered the use of metal tools, became literate, and developed a state should not make us forget that others developed pastoralism or horticulture (vegetable gardening) but remained illiterate and at low levels of productivity; a few entered the modern period as hunting and gathering societies. It is anthropologically important to inquire into the conditions that made some societies adopt agriculture while others remained hunter-gatherers or horticulturalists. However, it should be kept in mind that many societies that knew of agriculture more or less consciously avoided it. Whether Mithen's explanation is satisfactory is open to contention, and some authors have recently emphasized the importance of other factors. | 402.txt | 1 |
[
"in theory.",
"obviously.",
"frequently.",
"as a result."
] | The word "therefore" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to | How did it come about that farming developed independently in a number of world centers (the Southeast Asian mainland, Southwest Asia, Central America, lowland and highland South America, and equatorial AfricA. at more or less the same time? Agriculture developed slowly among populations that had an extensive knowledge of plants and animals. Changing from hunting and gathering to agriculture had no immediate advantages. To start with, it forced the population to abandon the nomad's life and become sedentary, to develop methods of storage and, often, systems of irrigation. While hunter-gatherers always had the option of moving elsewhere when the resources were exhausted, this became more difficult with farming. Furthermore, as the archaeological record shows, the state of health of agriculturalists was worse than that of their contemporary hunter-gatherers.
Traditionally, it was believed that the transition to agriculture was the result of a worldwide population crisis. It was argued that once hunter-gatherers had occupied the whole world, the population started to grow everywhere and food became scarce; agriculture would have been a solution to this problem. We know, however, that contemporary hunter-gatherer societies control their population in a variety of ways. The idea of a world population crisis is therefore unlikely, although population pressure might have arisen in some areas.
Climatic changes at the end of the glacial period 13,000 years ago have been proposed to account for the emergence of farming.The temperature increased dramatically in a short period of time (years rather than centuries), allowing for a growth of the hunting-gathering population due to the abundance of resources. There were, however, fluctuations in the climatic conditions, with the consequences that wet conditions were followed by dry ones, so that the availability of plants and animals oscillated brusquely.
It would appear that the instability of the climatic conditions led populations that had originally been nomadic to settle down and develop a sedentary style of life, which led in turn to population growth and to the need to increase the amount of food available. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture.Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed.
It is archaeologist Steven Mithen's thesis, brilliantly developed in his book The Prehistory of the Mind (1996), that approximately 40,000 years ago the human mind developed cognitive fluidity, that is, the integration of the specializations of the mind: technical, natural history (geared to understanding the behavior and distribution of natural resources), social intelligence, and the linguistic capacity. Cognitive fluidity explains the appearance of art, religion, and sophisticated speech. Once humans possessed such a mind, they were able to find an imaginative solution to a situation of severe economic crisis such as the farming dilemma described earlier. Mithen proposes the existence of four mental elements to account for the emergence of farming: (1) the ability to develop tools that could be used intensively to harvest and process plant resources; (2) the tendency to use plants and animals as the medium to acquire social prestige and power; (3) the tendency to develop "social relationships" with animals structurally similar to those developed with people-specifically, the ability to think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and (4) the tendency to manipulate plants and animals.
The fact that some societies domesticated animals and plants, discovered the use of metal tools, became literate, and developed a state should not make us forget that others developed pastoralism or horticulture (vegetable gardening) but remained illiterate and at low levels of productivity; a few entered the modern period as hunting and gathering societies. It is anthropologically important to inquire into the conditions that made some societies adopt agriculture while others remained hunter-gatherers or horticulturalists. However, it should be kept in mind that many societies that knew of agriculture more or less consciously avoided it. Whether Mithen's explanation is satisfactory is open to contention, and some authors have recently emphasized the importance of other factors. | 402.txt | 3 |
[
"A possible explanation for a phenomenon is presented and then criticized.",
"Two similar ways of accounting for a puzzling fact are considered.",
"Early societies' response to a problem is contrasted with contemporary societies' response.",
"A prehistoric development is first explained in traditional terms and then in contemporary terms."
] | Which of the following best describes the way paragraph 2 is organized? | How did it come about that farming developed independently in a number of world centers (the Southeast Asian mainland, Southwest Asia, Central America, lowland and highland South America, and equatorial AfricA. at more or less the same time? Agriculture developed slowly among populations that had an extensive knowledge of plants and animals. Changing from hunting and gathering to agriculture had no immediate advantages. To start with, it forced the population to abandon the nomad's life and become sedentary, to develop methods of storage and, often, systems of irrigation. While hunter-gatherers always had the option of moving elsewhere when the resources were exhausted, this became more difficult with farming. Furthermore, as the archaeological record shows, the state of health of agriculturalists was worse than that of their contemporary hunter-gatherers.
Traditionally, it was believed that the transition to agriculture was the result of a worldwide population crisis. It was argued that once hunter-gatherers had occupied the whole world, the population started to grow everywhere and food became scarce; agriculture would have been a solution to this problem. We know, however, that contemporary hunter-gatherer societies control their population in a variety of ways. The idea of a world population crisis is therefore unlikely, although population pressure might have arisen in some areas.
Climatic changes at the end of the glacial period 13,000 years ago have been proposed to account for the emergence of farming.The temperature increased dramatically in a short period of time (years rather than centuries), allowing for a growth of the hunting-gathering population due to the abundance of resources. There were, however, fluctuations in the climatic conditions, with the consequences that wet conditions were followed by dry ones, so that the availability of plants and animals oscillated brusquely.
It would appear that the instability of the climatic conditions led populations that had originally been nomadic to settle down and develop a sedentary style of life, which led in turn to population growth and to the need to increase the amount of food available. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture.Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed.
It is archaeologist Steven Mithen's thesis, brilliantly developed in his book The Prehistory of the Mind (1996), that approximately 40,000 years ago the human mind developed cognitive fluidity, that is, the integration of the specializations of the mind: technical, natural history (geared to understanding the behavior and distribution of natural resources), social intelligence, and the linguistic capacity. Cognitive fluidity explains the appearance of art, religion, and sophisticated speech. Once humans possessed such a mind, they were able to find an imaginative solution to a situation of severe economic crisis such as the farming dilemma described earlier. Mithen proposes the existence of four mental elements to account for the emergence of farming: (1) the ability to develop tools that could be used intensively to harvest and process plant resources; (2) the tendency to use plants and animals as the medium to acquire social prestige and power; (3) the tendency to develop "social relationships" with animals structurally similar to those developed with people-specifically, the ability to think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and (4) the tendency to manipulate plants and animals.
The fact that some societies domesticated animals and plants, discovered the use of metal tools, became literate, and developed a state should not make us forget that others developed pastoralism or horticulture (vegetable gardening) but remained illiterate and at low levels of productivity; a few entered the modern period as hunting and gathering societies. It is anthropologically important to inquire into the conditions that made some societies adopt agriculture while others remained hunter-gatherers or horticulturalists. However, it should be kept in mind that many societies that knew of agriculture more or less consciously avoided it. Whether Mithen's explanation is satisfactory is open to contention, and some authors have recently emphasized the importance of other factors. | 402.txt | 0 |
[
"locally abundant resources were quickly exhausted by hunter-gatherers.",
"the temperature became much higher in some areas over others.",
"different types of plants and animals became available as the climate changed.",
"the amount of rainfall varied radically from one period to the next."
] | According to paragraph 3, the abundance of resources fluctuated sharply after the end of the glacial period because | How did it come about that farming developed independently in a number of world centers (the Southeast Asian mainland, Southwest Asia, Central America, lowland and highland South America, and equatorial AfricA. at more or less the same time? Agriculture developed slowly among populations that had an extensive knowledge of plants and animals. Changing from hunting and gathering to agriculture had no immediate advantages. To start with, it forced the population to abandon the nomad's life and become sedentary, to develop methods of storage and, often, systems of irrigation. While hunter-gatherers always had the option of moving elsewhere when the resources were exhausted, this became more difficult with farming. Furthermore, as the archaeological record shows, the state of health of agriculturalists was worse than that of their contemporary hunter-gatherers.
Traditionally, it was believed that the transition to agriculture was the result of a worldwide population crisis. It was argued that once hunter-gatherers had occupied the whole world, the population started to grow everywhere and food became scarce; agriculture would have been a solution to this problem. We know, however, that contemporary hunter-gatherer societies control their population in a variety of ways. The idea of a world population crisis is therefore unlikely, although population pressure might have arisen in some areas.
Climatic changes at the end of the glacial period 13,000 years ago have been proposed to account for the emergence of farming.The temperature increased dramatically in a short period of time (years rather than centuries), allowing for a growth of the hunting-gathering population due to the abundance of resources. There were, however, fluctuations in the climatic conditions, with the consequences that wet conditions were followed by dry ones, so that the availability of plants and animals oscillated brusquely.
It would appear that the instability of the climatic conditions led populations that had originally been nomadic to settle down and develop a sedentary style of life, which led in turn to population growth and to the need to increase the amount of food available. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture.Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed.
It is archaeologist Steven Mithen's thesis, brilliantly developed in his book The Prehistory of the Mind (1996), that approximately 40,000 years ago the human mind developed cognitive fluidity, that is, the integration of the specializations of the mind: technical, natural history (geared to understanding the behavior and distribution of natural resources), social intelligence, and the linguistic capacity. Cognitive fluidity explains the appearance of art, religion, and sophisticated speech. Once humans possessed such a mind, they were able to find an imaginative solution to a situation of severe economic crisis such as the farming dilemma described earlier. Mithen proposes the existence of four mental elements to account for the emergence of farming: (1) the ability to develop tools that could be used intensively to harvest and process plant resources; (2) the tendency to use plants and animals as the medium to acquire social prestige and power; (3) the tendency to develop "social relationships" with animals structurally similar to those developed with people-specifically, the ability to think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and (4) the tendency to manipulate plants and animals.
The fact that some societies domesticated animals and plants, discovered the use of metal tools, became literate, and developed a state should not make us forget that others developed pastoralism or horticulture (vegetable gardening) but remained illiterate and at low levels of productivity; a few entered the modern period as hunting and gathering societies. It is anthropologically important to inquire into the conditions that made some societies adopt agriculture while others remained hunter-gatherers or horticulturalists. However, it should be kept in mind that many societies that knew of agriculture more or less consciously avoided it. Whether Mithen's explanation is satisfactory is open to contention, and some authors have recently emphasized the importance of other factors. | 402.txt | 3 |
[
"people had become more used to different types of food.",
"climatic conditions were no longer favorable for hunting and gathering.",
"populations had become too large to be supported by hunting and gathering.",
"the farmer's sedentary life was easier than the hunter-gatherer's nomadic life."
] | It can be inferred from paragraph 4 that it was difficult for people to change from farming back to hunting and gathering because | How did it come about that farming developed independently in a number of world centers (the Southeast Asian mainland, Southwest Asia, Central America, lowland and highland South America, and equatorial AfricA. at more or less the same time? Agriculture developed slowly among populations that had an extensive knowledge of plants and animals. Changing from hunting and gathering to agriculture had no immediate advantages. To start with, it forced the population to abandon the nomad's life and become sedentary, to develop methods of storage and, often, systems of irrigation. While hunter-gatherers always had the option of moving elsewhere when the resources were exhausted, this became more difficult with farming. Furthermore, as the archaeological record shows, the state of health of agriculturalists was worse than that of their contemporary hunter-gatherers.
Traditionally, it was believed that the transition to agriculture was the result of a worldwide population crisis. It was argued that once hunter-gatherers had occupied the whole world, the population started to grow everywhere and food became scarce; agriculture would have been a solution to this problem. We know, however, that contemporary hunter-gatherer societies control their population in a variety of ways. The idea of a world population crisis is therefore unlikely, although population pressure might have arisen in some areas.
Climatic changes at the end of the glacial period 13,000 years ago have been proposed to account for the emergence of farming.The temperature increased dramatically in a short period of time (years rather than centuries), allowing for a growth of the hunting-gathering population due to the abundance of resources. There were, however, fluctuations in the climatic conditions, with the consequences that wet conditions were followed by dry ones, so that the availability of plants and animals oscillated brusquely.
It would appear that the instability of the climatic conditions led populations that had originally been nomadic to settle down and develop a sedentary style of life, which led in turn to population growth and to the need to increase the amount of food available. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture.Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed.
It is archaeologist Steven Mithen's thesis, brilliantly developed in his book The Prehistory of the Mind (1996), that approximately 40,000 years ago the human mind developed cognitive fluidity, that is, the integration of the specializations of the mind: technical, natural history (geared to understanding the behavior and distribution of natural resources), social intelligence, and the linguistic capacity. Cognitive fluidity explains the appearance of art, religion, and sophisticated speech. Once humans possessed such a mind, they were able to find an imaginative solution to a situation of severe economic crisis such as the farming dilemma described earlier. Mithen proposes the existence of four mental elements to account for the emergence of farming: (1) the ability to develop tools that could be used intensively to harvest and process plant resources; (2) the tendency to use plants and animals as the medium to acquire social prestige and power; (3) the tendency to develop "social relationships" with animals structurally similar to those developed with people-specifically, the ability to think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and (4) the tendency to manipulate plants and animals.
The fact that some societies domesticated animals and plants, discovered the use of metal tools, became literate, and developed a state should not make us forget that others developed pastoralism or horticulture (vegetable gardening) but remained illiterate and at low levels of productivity; a few entered the modern period as hunting and gathering societies. It is anthropologically important to inquire into the conditions that made some societies adopt agriculture while others remained hunter-gatherers or horticulturalists. However, it should be kept in mind that many societies that knew of agriculture more or less consciously avoided it. Whether Mithen's explanation is satisfactory is open to contention, and some authors have recently emphasized the importance of other factors. | 402.txt | 2 |
[
"To suggest that climate change had occurred long before the development of agriculture.",
"To argue that climate change does not properly explain why agriculture developed.",
"To challenge the assumption that agriculture developed only in some parts of the world.",
"To question the claim that climate change occurred at the time when agriculture developed."
] | Why does the author state that "Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed"? (in paragraph 4) | How did it come about that farming developed independently in a number of world centers (the Southeast Asian mainland, Southwest Asia, Central America, lowland and highland South America, and equatorial AfricA. at more or less the same time? Agriculture developed slowly among populations that had an extensive knowledge of plants and animals. Changing from hunting and gathering to agriculture had no immediate advantages. To start with, it forced the population to abandon the nomad's life and become sedentary, to develop methods of storage and, often, systems of irrigation. While hunter-gatherers always had the option of moving elsewhere when the resources were exhausted, this became more difficult with farming. Furthermore, as the archaeological record shows, the state of health of agriculturalists was worse than that of their contemporary hunter-gatherers.
Traditionally, it was believed that the transition to agriculture was the result of a worldwide population crisis. It was argued that once hunter-gatherers had occupied the whole world, the population started to grow everywhere and food became scarce; agriculture would have been a solution to this problem. We know, however, that contemporary hunter-gatherer societies control their population in a variety of ways. The idea of a world population crisis is therefore unlikely, although population pressure might have arisen in some areas.
Climatic changes at the end of the glacial period 13,000 years ago have been proposed to account for the emergence of farming.The temperature increased dramatically in a short period of time (years rather than centuries), allowing for a growth of the hunting-gathering population due to the abundance of resources. There were, however, fluctuations in the climatic conditions, with the consequences that wet conditions were followed by dry ones, so that the availability of plants and animals oscillated brusquely.
It would appear that the instability of the climatic conditions led populations that had originally been nomadic to settle down and develop a sedentary style of life, which led in turn to population growth and to the need to increase the amount of food available. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture.Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed.
It is archaeologist Steven Mithen's thesis, brilliantly developed in his book The Prehistory of the Mind (1996), that approximately 40,000 years ago the human mind developed cognitive fluidity, that is, the integration of the specializations of the mind: technical, natural history (geared to understanding the behavior and distribution of natural resources), social intelligence, and the linguistic capacity. Cognitive fluidity explains the appearance of art, religion, and sophisticated speech. Once humans possessed such a mind, they were able to find an imaginative solution to a situation of severe economic crisis such as the farming dilemma described earlier. Mithen proposes the existence of four mental elements to account for the emergence of farming: (1) the ability to develop tools that could be used intensively to harvest and process plant resources; (2) the tendency to use plants and animals as the medium to acquire social prestige and power; (3) the tendency to develop "social relationships" with animals structurally similar to those developed with people-specifically, the ability to think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and (4) the tendency to manipulate plants and animals.
The fact that some societies domesticated animals and plants, discovered the use of metal tools, became literate, and developed a state should not make us forget that others developed pastoralism or horticulture (vegetable gardening) but remained illiterate and at low levels of productivity; a few entered the modern period as hunting and gathering societies. It is anthropologically important to inquire into the conditions that made some societies adopt agriculture while others remained hunter-gatherers or horticulturalists. However, it should be kept in mind that many societies that knew of agriculture more or less consciously avoided it. Whether Mithen's explanation is satisfactory is open to contention, and some authors have recently emphasized the importance of other factors. | 402.txt | 1 |
[
"complex.",
"creative.",
"immediate.",
"reliable."
] | The word "imaginative" in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to | How did it come about that farming developed independently in a number of world centers (the Southeast Asian mainland, Southwest Asia, Central America, lowland and highland South America, and equatorial AfricA. at more or less the same time? Agriculture developed slowly among populations that had an extensive knowledge of plants and animals. Changing from hunting and gathering to agriculture had no immediate advantages. To start with, it forced the population to abandon the nomad's life and become sedentary, to develop methods of storage and, often, systems of irrigation. While hunter-gatherers always had the option of moving elsewhere when the resources were exhausted, this became more difficult with farming. Furthermore, as the archaeological record shows, the state of health of agriculturalists was worse than that of their contemporary hunter-gatherers.
Traditionally, it was believed that the transition to agriculture was the result of a worldwide population crisis. It was argued that once hunter-gatherers had occupied the whole world, the population started to grow everywhere and food became scarce; agriculture would have been a solution to this problem. We know, however, that contemporary hunter-gatherer societies control their population in a variety of ways. The idea of a world population crisis is therefore unlikely, although population pressure might have arisen in some areas.
Climatic changes at the end of the glacial period 13,000 years ago have been proposed to account for the emergence of farming.The temperature increased dramatically in a short period of time (years rather than centuries), allowing for a growth of the hunting-gathering population due to the abundance of resources. There were, however, fluctuations in the climatic conditions, with the consequences that wet conditions were followed by dry ones, so that the availability of plants and animals oscillated brusquely.
It would appear that the instability of the climatic conditions led populations that had originally been nomadic to settle down and develop a sedentary style of life, which led in turn to population growth and to the need to increase the amount of food available. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture.Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed.
It is archaeologist Steven Mithen's thesis, brilliantly developed in his book The Prehistory of the Mind (1996), that approximately 40,000 years ago the human mind developed cognitive fluidity, that is, the integration of the specializations of the mind: technical, natural history (geared to understanding the behavior and distribution of natural resources), social intelligence, and the linguistic capacity. Cognitive fluidity explains the appearance of art, religion, and sophisticated speech. Once humans possessed such a mind, they were able to find an imaginative solution to a situation of severe economic crisis such as the farming dilemma described earlier. Mithen proposes the existence of four mental elements to account for the emergence of farming: (1) the ability to develop tools that could be used intensively to harvest and process plant resources; (2) the tendency to use plants and animals as the medium to acquire social prestige and power; (3) the tendency to develop "social relationships" with animals structurally similar to those developed with people-specifically, the ability to think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and (4) the tendency to manipulate plants and animals.
The fact that some societies domesticated animals and plants, discovered the use of metal tools, became literate, and developed a state should not make us forget that others developed pastoralism or horticulture (vegetable gardening) but remained illiterate and at low levels of productivity; a few entered the modern period as hunting and gathering societies. It is anthropologically important to inquire into the conditions that made some societies adopt agriculture while others remained hunter-gatherers or horticulturalists. However, it should be kept in mind that many societies that knew of agriculture more or less consciously avoided it. Whether Mithen's explanation is satisfactory is open to contention, and some authors have recently emphasized the importance of other factors. | 402.txt | 1 |
[
"the development of a mind flexible enough to come up with solutions to complex problems.",
"the tendency to use plants and animals to acquire power.",
"the tendency to emphasize the differences between animals and people.",
"the ability to make tools that could be used for the large-scale harvesting of plants."
] | According to paragraph 5, Steven Mithen believes that all of the following contributed to the emergence of farming EXCEPT | How did it come about that farming developed independently in a number of world centers (the Southeast Asian mainland, Southwest Asia, Central America, lowland and highland South America, and equatorial AfricA. at more or less the same time? Agriculture developed slowly among populations that had an extensive knowledge of plants and animals. Changing from hunting and gathering to agriculture had no immediate advantages. To start with, it forced the population to abandon the nomad's life and become sedentary, to develop methods of storage and, often, systems of irrigation. While hunter-gatherers always had the option of moving elsewhere when the resources were exhausted, this became more difficult with farming. Furthermore, as the archaeological record shows, the state of health of agriculturalists was worse than that of their contemporary hunter-gatherers.
Traditionally, it was believed that the transition to agriculture was the result of a worldwide population crisis. It was argued that once hunter-gatherers had occupied the whole world, the population started to grow everywhere and food became scarce; agriculture would have been a solution to this problem. We know, however, that contemporary hunter-gatherer societies control their population in a variety of ways. The idea of a world population crisis is therefore unlikely, although population pressure might have arisen in some areas.
Climatic changes at the end of the glacial period 13,000 years ago have been proposed to account for the emergence of farming.The temperature increased dramatically in a short period of time (years rather than centuries), allowing for a growth of the hunting-gathering population due to the abundance of resources. There were, however, fluctuations in the climatic conditions, with the consequences that wet conditions were followed by dry ones, so that the availability of plants and animals oscillated brusquely.
It would appear that the instability of the climatic conditions led populations that had originally been nomadic to settle down and develop a sedentary style of life, which led in turn to population growth and to the need to increase the amount of food available. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture.Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed.
It is archaeologist Steven Mithen's thesis, brilliantly developed in his book The Prehistory of the Mind (1996), that approximately 40,000 years ago the human mind developed cognitive fluidity, that is, the integration of the specializations of the mind: technical, natural history (geared to understanding the behavior and distribution of natural resources), social intelligence, and the linguistic capacity. Cognitive fluidity explains the appearance of art, religion, and sophisticated speech. Once humans possessed such a mind, they were able to find an imaginative solution to a situation of severe economic crisis such as the farming dilemma described earlier. Mithen proposes the existence of four mental elements to account for the emergence of farming: (1) the ability to develop tools that could be used intensively to harvest and process plant resources; (2) the tendency to use plants and animals as the medium to acquire social prestige and power; (3) the tendency to develop "social relationships" with animals structurally similar to those developed with people-specifically, the ability to think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and (4) the tendency to manipulate plants and animals.
The fact that some societies domesticated animals and plants, discovered the use of metal tools, became literate, and developed a state should not make us forget that others developed pastoralism or horticulture (vegetable gardening) but remained illiterate and at low levels of productivity; a few entered the modern period as hunting and gathering societies. It is anthropologically important to inquire into the conditions that made some societies adopt agriculture while others remained hunter-gatherers or horticulturalists. However, it should be kept in mind that many societies that knew of agriculture more or less consciously avoided it. Whether Mithen's explanation is satisfactory is open to contention, and some authors have recently emphasized the importance of other factors. | 402.txt | 2 |
[
"investigation.",
"improvement.",
"debate.",
"interpretation."
] | The word "contention" in paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to | How did it come about that farming developed independently in a number of world centers (the Southeast Asian mainland, Southwest Asia, Central America, lowland and highland South America, and equatorial AfricA. at more or less the same time? Agriculture developed slowly among populations that had an extensive knowledge of plants and animals. Changing from hunting and gathering to agriculture had no immediate advantages. To start with, it forced the population to abandon the nomad's life and become sedentary, to develop methods of storage and, often, systems of irrigation. While hunter-gatherers always had the option of moving elsewhere when the resources were exhausted, this became more difficult with farming. Furthermore, as the archaeological record shows, the state of health of agriculturalists was worse than that of their contemporary hunter-gatherers.
Traditionally, it was believed that the transition to agriculture was the result of a worldwide population crisis. It was argued that once hunter-gatherers had occupied the whole world, the population started to grow everywhere and food became scarce; agriculture would have been a solution to this problem. We know, however, that contemporary hunter-gatherer societies control their population in a variety of ways. The idea of a world population crisis is therefore unlikely, although population pressure might have arisen in some areas.
Climatic changes at the end of the glacial period 13,000 years ago have been proposed to account for the emergence of farming.The temperature increased dramatically in a short period of time (years rather than centuries), allowing for a growth of the hunting-gathering population due to the abundance of resources. There were, however, fluctuations in the climatic conditions, with the consequences that wet conditions were followed by dry ones, so that the availability of plants and animals oscillated brusquely.
It would appear that the instability of the climatic conditions led populations that had originally been nomadic to settle down and develop a sedentary style of life, which led in turn to population growth and to the need to increase the amount of food available. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture.Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed.
It is archaeologist Steven Mithen's thesis, brilliantly developed in his book The Prehistory of the Mind (1996), that approximately 40,000 years ago the human mind developed cognitive fluidity, that is, the integration of the specializations of the mind: technical, natural history (geared to understanding the behavior and distribution of natural resources), social intelligence, and the linguistic capacity. Cognitive fluidity explains the appearance of art, religion, and sophisticated speech. Once humans possessed such a mind, they were able to find an imaginative solution to a situation of severe economic crisis such as the farming dilemma described earlier. Mithen proposes the existence of four mental elements to account for the emergence of farming: (1) the ability to develop tools that could be used intensively to harvest and process plant resources; (2) the tendency to use plants and animals as the medium to acquire social prestige and power; (3) the tendency to develop "social relationships" with animals structurally similar to those developed with people-specifically, the ability to think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and (4) the tendency to manipulate plants and animals.
The fact that some societies domesticated animals and plants, discovered the use of metal tools, became literate, and developed a state should not make us forget that others developed pastoralism or horticulture (vegetable gardening) but remained illiterate and at low levels of productivity; a few entered the modern period as hunting and gathering societies. It is anthropologically important to inquire into the conditions that made some societies adopt agriculture while others remained hunter-gatherers or horticulturalists. However, it should be kept in mind that many societies that knew of agriculture more or less consciously avoided it. Whether Mithen's explanation is satisfactory is open to contention, and some authors have recently emphasized the importance of other factors. | 402.txt | 2 |
[
"It does not clearly distinguish agriculture from pastoralism and horticulture.",
"It fails to explain why some societies adopted agriculture while others did not.",
"It explains the domestication of plants and animals but not the development of metal tools.",
"It overlooks the fact that illiteracy and low productivity remain problems even today"
] | According to paragraph 6, which of the following is a weakness of Mithen's explanation? | How did it come about that farming developed independently in a number of world centers (the Southeast Asian mainland, Southwest Asia, Central America, lowland and highland South America, and equatorial AfricA. at more or less the same time? Agriculture developed slowly among populations that had an extensive knowledge of plants and animals. Changing from hunting and gathering to agriculture had no immediate advantages. To start with, it forced the population to abandon the nomad's life and become sedentary, to develop methods of storage and, often, systems of irrigation. While hunter-gatherers always had the option of moving elsewhere when the resources were exhausted, this became more difficult with farming. Furthermore, as the archaeological record shows, the state of health of agriculturalists was worse than that of their contemporary hunter-gatherers.
Traditionally, it was believed that the transition to agriculture was the result of a worldwide population crisis. It was argued that once hunter-gatherers had occupied the whole world, the population started to grow everywhere and food became scarce; agriculture would have been a solution to this problem. We know, however, that contemporary hunter-gatherer societies control their population in a variety of ways. The idea of a world population crisis is therefore unlikely, although population pressure might have arisen in some areas.
Climatic changes at the end of the glacial period 13,000 years ago have been proposed to account for the emergence of farming.The temperature increased dramatically in a short period of time (years rather than centuries), allowing for a growth of the hunting-gathering population due to the abundance of resources. There were, however, fluctuations in the climatic conditions, with the consequences that wet conditions were followed by dry ones, so that the availability of plants and animals oscillated brusquely.
It would appear that the instability of the climatic conditions led populations that had originally been nomadic to settle down and develop a sedentary style of life, which led in turn to population growth and to the need to increase the amount of food available. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture.Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed.
It is archaeologist Steven Mithen's thesis, brilliantly developed in his book The Prehistory of the Mind (1996), that approximately 40,000 years ago the human mind developed cognitive fluidity, that is, the integration of the specializations of the mind: technical, natural history (geared to understanding the behavior and distribution of natural resources), social intelligence, and the linguistic capacity. Cognitive fluidity explains the appearance of art, religion, and sophisticated speech. Once humans possessed such a mind, they were able to find an imaginative solution to a situation of severe economic crisis such as the farming dilemma described earlier. Mithen proposes the existence of four mental elements to account for the emergence of farming: (1) the ability to develop tools that could be used intensively to harvest and process plant resources; (2) the tendency to use plants and animals as the medium to acquire social prestige and power; (3) the tendency to develop "social relationships" with animals structurally similar to those developed with people-specifically, the ability to think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and (4) the tendency to manipulate plants and animals.
The fact that some societies domesticated animals and plants, discovered the use of metal tools, became literate, and developed a state should not make us forget that others developed pastoralism or horticulture (vegetable gardening) but remained illiterate and at low levels of productivity; a few entered the modern period as hunting and gathering societies. It is anthropologically important to inquire into the conditions that made some societies adopt agriculture while others remained hunter-gatherers or horticulturalists. However, it should be kept in mind that many societies that knew of agriculture more or less consciously avoided it. Whether Mithen's explanation is satisfactory is open to contention, and some authors have recently emphasized the importance of other factors. | 402.txt | 1 |
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