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[
"are always busy",
"prefer ordinary type of dress",
"do not want to spend too much time preparing their food",
"go to more expensive restaurant very often"
] | According to the writer, American people _ . | One of the favorite foods in the United States is the hamburger, a kind of flat found bread with fine-cut beefin between. The favorite place to buy a hamburger is a fast food restaurant At fast food restaurants, people order their food, wait a few minutes to get it over the counter, and carry it to their tables themselves. People also take their food out of the restaurant and eat it in their cars or in their homes. At some fast food restaurants , people can order their food, pay for it and pick it up without leaving their cars.
There are many kinds of fast food restaurants in the United States, Most of the restaurants sell hamburgers or other popular foods among Americans, In addition, there are many fast food restaurants that serve Chinese food, Italian food, chicken, seafood and ice-cream. The idea of a fast food restaurant is so popular that nearly every kind of food can be found in one.
Fast food restaurants are popular because they show the American way of life, First , they are not formal restaurants. People wear any type of dress when they go to a fast food place. Second, they are fast. People who are busy do not want to spend time preparing their food or waiting while someone else prepares it. In fast food restaurants the food is usually ready before the customer even orders it. Finally , most food in a fast food restaurant is not expensive. Therefore, people can often eat at a fast food restaurant without spending too much money, while they may not be able to go to more expensive restaurants very often. | 1390.txt | 2 |
[
"the Chinese restaurants",
"the fast food restaurants",
"more expensive restaurants",
"less expensive restaurants"
] | According to the passage., the favorite restaurants in the U.S. are _ . | One of the favorite foods in the United States is the hamburger, a kind of flat found bread with fine-cut beefin between. The favorite place to buy a hamburger is a fast food restaurant At fast food restaurants, people order their food, wait a few minutes to get it over the counter, and carry it to their tables themselves. People also take their food out of the restaurant and eat it in their cars or in their homes. At some fast food restaurants , people can order their food, pay for it and pick it up without leaving their cars.
There are many kinds of fast food restaurants in the United States, Most of the restaurants sell hamburgers or other popular foods among Americans, In addition, there are many fast food restaurants that serve Chinese food, Italian food, chicken, seafood and ice-cream. The idea of a fast food restaurant is so popular that nearly every kind of food can be found in one.
Fast food restaurants are popular because they show the American way of life, First , they are not formal restaurants. People wear any type of dress when they go to a fast food place. Second, they are fast. People who are busy do not want to spend time preparing their food or waiting while someone else prepares it. In fast food restaurants the food is usually ready before the customer even orders it. Finally , most food in a fast food restaurant is not expensive. Therefore, people can often eat at a fast food restaurant without spending too much money, while they may not be able to go to more expensive restaurants very often. | 1390.txt | 1 |
[
"Fast Food Restaurants in the U.S",
"The Favorite Food in the U.S",
"The American Way of Life",
"Different kinds of Restaurants"
] | The best title for this passage would be _ . | One of the favorite foods in the United States is the hamburger, a kind of flat found bread with fine-cut beefin between. The favorite place to buy a hamburger is a fast food restaurant At fast food restaurants, people order their food, wait a few minutes to get it over the counter, and carry it to their tables themselves. People also take their food out of the restaurant and eat it in their cars or in their homes. At some fast food restaurants , people can order their food, pay for it and pick it up without leaving their cars.
There are many kinds of fast food restaurants in the United States, Most of the restaurants sell hamburgers or other popular foods among Americans, In addition, there are many fast food restaurants that serve Chinese food, Italian food, chicken, seafood and ice-cream. The idea of a fast food restaurant is so popular that nearly every kind of food can be found in one.
Fast food restaurants are popular because they show the American way of life, First , they are not formal restaurants. People wear any type of dress when they go to a fast food place. Second, they are fast. People who are busy do not want to spend time preparing their food or waiting while someone else prepares it. In fast food restaurants the food is usually ready before the customer even orders it. Finally , most food in a fast food restaurant is not expensive. Therefore, people can often eat at a fast food restaurant without spending too much money, while they may not be able to go to more expensive restaurants very often. | 1390.txt | 0 |
[
"They contained batches of tokens.",
"They could be reused frequently.",
"They had markings on the outside.",
"They could be used to record debts."
] | All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 2 as true of clay envelopes EXCEPT: | Although literacy appeared independently in several parts of the prehistoric world, the earliest evidence of writing is the cuneiform Sumerian script on the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia, which, archaeological detective work has revealed, had its origins in the accounting practices of commercial activity. Researchers demonstrated that preliterate people, to keep track of the goods they produced and exchanged, created a system of accounting using clay tokens as symbolic representations of their products. Over many thousands of years, the symbols evolved through several stages of abstraction until they became wedge- shaped (cuneiform) signs on clay tablets, recognizable as writing.
The original tokens (circa 8500 B.C.E.) were three-dimensional solid shapes-tiny spheres, cones, disks, and cylinders. A debt of six units of grain and eight head of livestock, for example might have been represented by six conical and eight cylindrical tokens. To keep batches of tokens together, an innovation was introduced (circa 3250 B. C. E.) whereby they were sealed inside clay envelopes that could be broken open and counted when it came time for a debt to be repaid. But because the contents of the envelopes could easily be forgotten, two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional tokens were impressed into the surface of the envelopes before they were sealed. Eventually, having two sets of equivalent symbols-the internal tokens and external markings-came to seem redundant, so the tokens were eliminated (circa 3250-3100 B.C.E.), and only solid clay tablets with two-dimensional symbols were retained. Over time, the symbols became more numerous, varied, and abstract and came to represent more than trade commodities, evolving eventually into cuneiform writing.
The evolution of the symbolism is reflected in the archaeological record first of all by the increasing complexity of the tokens themselves. The earliest tokens, dating from about 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, were of only the simplest geometric shapes. But about 3500 B.C.E., more complex tokens came into common usage, including many naturalistic forms shaped like miniature tools, furniture, fruit, and humans. The earlier, plain tokens were counters for agricultural products, whereas the complex ones stood for finished products, such as bread, oil, perfume, wool, and rope, and for items produced in workshops, such as metal, bracelets, types of cloth, garments, mats, pieces of furniture, tools, and a variety of stone and pottery vessels. The signs marked on clay tablets likewise evolved from simple wedges, circles, ovals, and triangles based on the plain tokens to pictographs derived from the complex tokens.
Before this evidence came to light, the inventors of writing were assumed by researchers to have been an intellectual elite. Some, for example, hypothesized that writing emerged when members of the priestly caste agreed among themselves on written signs. But the association of the plain tokens with the first farmers and of the complex tokens with the first artisans-and the fact that the token-and-envelope accounting system invariably represented only small-scale transactions-testifies to the relatively modest social status of the creators of writing.
And not only of literacy, but numeracy (the representation of quantitative concepts) as well. The evidence of the tokens provides further confirmation that mathematics originated in people's desire to keep records of flocks and other goods. Another immensely significant step occurred around 3100 B.C.E., when Sumerian accountants extended the token-based signs to include the first real numerals. Previously, units of grain had been represented by direct one-to-one correspondence―by repeating the token or symbol for a unit of grain the required number of times. The accountants, however, devised numeral signs distinct from commodity signs, so that eighteen units of grain could be indicated by preceding a single grain symbol with a symbol denoting "18." Their invention of abstract numerals and abstract counting was one of the most revolutionary advances in the history of mathematics.
What was the social status of the anonymous accountants who produced this breakthrough? The immense volume of clay tablets unearthed in the ruins of the Sumerian temples where the accounts were kept suggests a social differentiation within the scribal class, with a virtual army of lower-ranking tabulators performing the monotonous job of tallying commodities. We can only speculate as to how high or low the inventors of true numerals were in the scribal hierarchy, but it stands to reason that this laborsaving innovation would have been the brainchild of the lower-ranking types whose drudgery it eased. | 3485.txt | 1 |
[
"pictures of commodities drawn on clay tablets",
"images sealed inside conical or cylindrical containers",
"numbers used for keeping track of clay envelopes",
"images of tokens pressed into the clay of envelopes"
] | According to paragraph 2, the first two-dimensional symbols were | Although literacy appeared independently in several parts of the prehistoric world, the earliest evidence of writing is the cuneiform Sumerian script on the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia, which, archaeological detective work has revealed, had its origins in the accounting practices of commercial activity. Researchers demonstrated that preliterate people, to keep track of the goods they produced and exchanged, created a system of accounting using clay tokens as symbolic representations of their products. Over many thousands of years, the symbols evolved through several stages of abstraction until they became wedge- shaped (cuneiform) signs on clay tablets, recognizable as writing.
The original tokens (circa 8500 B.C.E.) were three-dimensional solid shapes-tiny spheres, cones, disks, and cylinders. A debt of six units of grain and eight head of livestock, for example might have been represented by six conical and eight cylindrical tokens. To keep batches of tokens together, an innovation was introduced (circa 3250 B. C. E.) whereby they were sealed inside clay envelopes that could be broken open and counted when it came time for a debt to be repaid. But because the contents of the envelopes could easily be forgotten, two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional tokens were impressed into the surface of the envelopes before they were sealed. Eventually, having two sets of equivalent symbols-the internal tokens and external markings-came to seem redundant, so the tokens were eliminated (circa 3250-3100 B.C.E.), and only solid clay tablets with two-dimensional symbols were retained. Over time, the symbols became more numerous, varied, and abstract and came to represent more than trade commodities, evolving eventually into cuneiform writing.
The evolution of the symbolism is reflected in the archaeological record first of all by the increasing complexity of the tokens themselves. The earliest tokens, dating from about 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, were of only the simplest geometric shapes. But about 3500 B.C.E., more complex tokens came into common usage, including many naturalistic forms shaped like miniature tools, furniture, fruit, and humans. The earlier, plain tokens were counters for agricultural products, whereas the complex ones stood for finished products, such as bread, oil, perfume, wool, and rope, and for items produced in workshops, such as metal, bracelets, types of cloth, garments, mats, pieces of furniture, tools, and a variety of stone and pottery vessels. The signs marked on clay tablets likewise evolved from simple wedges, circles, ovals, and triangles based on the plain tokens to pictographs derived from the complex tokens.
Before this evidence came to light, the inventors of writing were assumed by researchers to have been an intellectual elite. Some, for example, hypothesized that writing emerged when members of the priestly caste agreed among themselves on written signs. But the association of the plain tokens with the first farmers and of the complex tokens with the first artisans-and the fact that the token-and-envelope accounting system invariably represented only small-scale transactions-testifies to the relatively modest social status of the creators of writing.
And not only of literacy, but numeracy (the representation of quantitative concepts) as well. The evidence of the tokens provides further confirmation that mathematics originated in people's desire to keep records of flocks and other goods. Another immensely significant step occurred around 3100 B.C.E., when Sumerian accountants extended the token-based signs to include the first real numerals. Previously, units of grain had been represented by direct one-to-one correspondence―by repeating the token or symbol for a unit of grain the required number of times. The accountants, however, devised numeral signs distinct from commodity signs, so that eighteen units of grain could be indicated by preceding a single grain symbol with a symbol denoting "18." Their invention of abstract numerals and abstract counting was one of the most revolutionary advances in the history of mathematics.
What was the social status of the anonymous accountants who produced this breakthrough? The immense volume of clay tablets unearthed in the ruins of the Sumerian temples where the accounts were kept suggests a social differentiation within the scribal class, with a virtual army of lower-ranking tabulators performing the monotonous job of tallying commodities. We can only speculate as to how high or low the inventors of true numerals were in the scribal hierarchy, but it stands to reason that this laborsaving innovation would have been the brainchild of the lower-ranking types whose drudgery it eased. | 3485.txt | 3 |
[
"They were not numerous or varied enough to represent all of the trade commodities.",
"They were easily broken and then hard to count.",
"They were difficult to keep together in batches.",
"They were unnecessary when symbols were used on the surface of envelopes."
] | According to paragraph 2, why were tokens eliminated? | Although literacy appeared independently in several parts of the prehistoric world, the earliest evidence of writing is the cuneiform Sumerian script on the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia, which, archaeological detective work has revealed, had its origins in the accounting practices of commercial activity. Researchers demonstrated that preliterate people, to keep track of the goods they produced and exchanged, created a system of accounting using clay tokens as symbolic representations of their products. Over many thousands of years, the symbols evolved through several stages of abstraction until they became wedge- shaped (cuneiform) signs on clay tablets, recognizable as writing.
The original tokens (circa 8500 B.C.E.) were three-dimensional solid shapes-tiny spheres, cones, disks, and cylinders. A debt of six units of grain and eight head of livestock, for example might have been represented by six conical and eight cylindrical tokens. To keep batches of tokens together, an innovation was introduced (circa 3250 B. C. E.) whereby they were sealed inside clay envelopes that could be broken open and counted when it came time for a debt to be repaid. But because the contents of the envelopes could easily be forgotten, two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional tokens were impressed into the surface of the envelopes before they were sealed. Eventually, having two sets of equivalent symbols-the internal tokens and external markings-came to seem redundant, so the tokens were eliminated (circa 3250-3100 B.C.E.), and only solid clay tablets with two-dimensional symbols were retained. Over time, the symbols became more numerous, varied, and abstract and came to represent more than trade commodities, evolving eventually into cuneiform writing.
The evolution of the symbolism is reflected in the archaeological record first of all by the increasing complexity of the tokens themselves. The earliest tokens, dating from about 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, were of only the simplest geometric shapes. But about 3500 B.C.E., more complex tokens came into common usage, including many naturalistic forms shaped like miniature tools, furniture, fruit, and humans. The earlier, plain tokens were counters for agricultural products, whereas the complex ones stood for finished products, such as bread, oil, perfume, wool, and rope, and for items produced in workshops, such as metal, bracelets, types of cloth, garments, mats, pieces of furniture, tools, and a variety of stone and pottery vessels. The signs marked on clay tablets likewise evolved from simple wedges, circles, ovals, and triangles based on the plain tokens to pictographs derived from the complex tokens.
Before this evidence came to light, the inventors of writing were assumed by researchers to have been an intellectual elite. Some, for example, hypothesized that writing emerged when members of the priestly caste agreed among themselves on written signs. But the association of the plain tokens with the first farmers and of the complex tokens with the first artisans-and the fact that the token-and-envelope accounting system invariably represented only small-scale transactions-testifies to the relatively modest social status of the creators of writing.
And not only of literacy, but numeracy (the representation of quantitative concepts) as well. The evidence of the tokens provides further confirmation that mathematics originated in people's desire to keep records of flocks and other goods. Another immensely significant step occurred around 3100 B.C.E., when Sumerian accountants extended the token-based signs to include the first real numerals. Previously, units of grain had been represented by direct one-to-one correspondence―by repeating the token or symbol for a unit of grain the required number of times. The accountants, however, devised numeral signs distinct from commodity signs, so that eighteen units of grain could be indicated by preceding a single grain symbol with a symbol denoting "18." Their invention of abstract numerals and abstract counting was one of the most revolutionary advances in the history of mathematics.
What was the social status of the anonymous accountants who produced this breakthrough? The immense volume of clay tablets unearthed in the ruins of the Sumerian temples where the accounts were kept suggests a social differentiation within the scribal class, with a virtual army of lower-ranking tabulators performing the monotonous job of tallying commodities. We can only speculate as to how high or low the inventors of true numerals were in the scribal hierarchy, but it stands to reason that this laborsaving innovation would have been the brainchild of the lower-ranking types whose drudgery it eased. | 3485.txt | 3 |
[
"Later tokens were made of many different materials, but earlier ones were made only of clay.",
"Later tokens often looked like the commodities that they represented, but earlier ones did not.",
"Later tokens represented agricultural products, but earlier ones represented finished products",
"Later tokens were based on pictographs, but earlier ones were based on naturalistic forms."
] | Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 3 about the difference between earlier tokens and later tokens? | Although literacy appeared independently in several parts of the prehistoric world, the earliest evidence of writing is the cuneiform Sumerian script on the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia, which, archaeological detective work has revealed, had its origins in the accounting practices of commercial activity. Researchers demonstrated that preliterate people, to keep track of the goods they produced and exchanged, created a system of accounting using clay tokens as symbolic representations of their products. Over many thousands of years, the symbols evolved through several stages of abstraction until they became wedge- shaped (cuneiform) signs on clay tablets, recognizable as writing.
The original tokens (circa 8500 B.C.E.) were three-dimensional solid shapes-tiny spheres, cones, disks, and cylinders. A debt of six units of grain and eight head of livestock, for example might have been represented by six conical and eight cylindrical tokens. To keep batches of tokens together, an innovation was introduced (circa 3250 B. C. E.) whereby they were sealed inside clay envelopes that could be broken open and counted when it came time for a debt to be repaid. But because the contents of the envelopes could easily be forgotten, two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional tokens were impressed into the surface of the envelopes before they were sealed. Eventually, having two sets of equivalent symbols-the internal tokens and external markings-came to seem redundant, so the tokens were eliminated (circa 3250-3100 B.C.E.), and only solid clay tablets with two-dimensional symbols were retained. Over time, the symbols became more numerous, varied, and abstract and came to represent more than trade commodities, evolving eventually into cuneiform writing.
The evolution of the symbolism is reflected in the archaeological record first of all by the increasing complexity of the tokens themselves. The earliest tokens, dating from about 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, were of only the simplest geometric shapes. But about 3500 B.C.E., more complex tokens came into common usage, including many naturalistic forms shaped like miniature tools, furniture, fruit, and humans. The earlier, plain tokens were counters for agricultural products, whereas the complex ones stood for finished products, such as bread, oil, perfume, wool, and rope, and for items produced in workshops, such as metal, bracelets, types of cloth, garments, mats, pieces of furniture, tools, and a variety of stone and pottery vessels. The signs marked on clay tablets likewise evolved from simple wedges, circles, ovals, and triangles based on the plain tokens to pictographs derived from the complex tokens.
Before this evidence came to light, the inventors of writing were assumed by researchers to have been an intellectual elite. Some, for example, hypothesized that writing emerged when members of the priestly caste agreed among themselves on written signs. But the association of the plain tokens with the first farmers and of the complex tokens with the first artisans-and the fact that the token-and-envelope accounting system invariably represented only small-scale transactions-testifies to the relatively modest social status of the creators of writing.
And not only of literacy, but numeracy (the representation of quantitative concepts) as well. The evidence of the tokens provides further confirmation that mathematics originated in people's desire to keep records of flocks and other goods. Another immensely significant step occurred around 3100 B.C.E., when Sumerian accountants extended the token-based signs to include the first real numerals. Previously, units of grain had been represented by direct one-to-one correspondence―by repeating the token or symbol for a unit of grain the required number of times. The accountants, however, devised numeral signs distinct from commodity signs, so that eighteen units of grain could be indicated by preceding a single grain symbol with a symbol denoting "18." Their invention of abstract numerals and abstract counting was one of the most revolutionary advances in the history of mathematics.
What was the social status of the anonymous accountants who produced this breakthrough? The immense volume of clay tablets unearthed in the ruins of the Sumerian temples where the accounts were kept suggests a social differentiation within the scribal class, with a virtual army of lower-ranking tabulators performing the monotonous job of tallying commodities. We can only speculate as to how high or low the inventors of true numerals were in the scribal hierarchy, but it stands to reason that this laborsaving innovation would have been the brainchild of the lower-ranking types whose drudgery it eased. | 3485.txt | 1 |
[
"probably",
"usually",
"similarly",
"apparently"
] | The word "likewise" in the passage is closest in meaning to | Although literacy appeared independently in several parts of the prehistoric world, the earliest evidence of writing is the cuneiform Sumerian script on the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia, which, archaeological detective work has revealed, had its origins in the accounting practices of commercial activity. Researchers demonstrated that preliterate people, to keep track of the goods they produced and exchanged, created a system of accounting using clay tokens as symbolic representations of their products. Over many thousands of years, the symbols evolved through several stages of abstraction until they became wedge- shaped (cuneiform) signs on clay tablets, recognizable as writing.
The original tokens (circa 8500 B.C.E.) were three-dimensional solid shapes-tiny spheres, cones, disks, and cylinders. A debt of six units of grain and eight head of livestock, for example might have been represented by six conical and eight cylindrical tokens. To keep batches of tokens together, an innovation was introduced (circa 3250 B. C. E.) whereby they were sealed inside clay envelopes that could be broken open and counted when it came time for a debt to be repaid. But because the contents of the envelopes could easily be forgotten, two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional tokens were impressed into the surface of the envelopes before they were sealed. Eventually, having two sets of equivalent symbols-the internal tokens and external markings-came to seem redundant, so the tokens were eliminated (circa 3250-3100 B.C.E.), and only solid clay tablets with two-dimensional symbols were retained. Over time, the symbols became more numerous, varied, and abstract and came to represent more than trade commodities, evolving eventually into cuneiform writing.
The evolution of the symbolism is reflected in the archaeological record first of all by the increasing complexity of the tokens themselves. The earliest tokens, dating from about 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, were of only the simplest geometric shapes. But about 3500 B.C.E., more complex tokens came into common usage, including many naturalistic forms shaped like miniature tools, furniture, fruit, and humans. The earlier, plain tokens were counters for agricultural products, whereas the complex ones stood for finished products, such as bread, oil, perfume, wool, and rope, and for items produced in workshops, such as metal, bracelets, types of cloth, garments, mats, pieces of furniture, tools, and a variety of stone and pottery vessels. The signs marked on clay tablets likewise evolved from simple wedges, circles, ovals, and triangles based on the plain tokens to pictographs derived from the complex tokens.
Before this evidence came to light, the inventors of writing were assumed by researchers to have been an intellectual elite. Some, for example, hypothesized that writing emerged when members of the priestly caste agreed among themselves on written signs. But the association of the plain tokens with the first farmers and of the complex tokens with the first artisans-and the fact that the token-and-envelope accounting system invariably represented only small-scale transactions-testifies to the relatively modest social status of the creators of writing.
And not only of literacy, but numeracy (the representation of quantitative concepts) as well. The evidence of the tokens provides further confirmation that mathematics originated in people's desire to keep records of flocks and other goods. Another immensely significant step occurred around 3100 B.C.E., when Sumerian accountants extended the token-based signs to include the first real numerals. Previously, units of grain had been represented by direct one-to-one correspondence―by repeating the token or symbol for a unit of grain the required number of times. The accountants, however, devised numeral signs distinct from commodity signs, so that eighteen units of grain could be indicated by preceding a single grain symbol with a symbol denoting "18." Their invention of abstract numerals and abstract counting was one of the most revolutionary advances in the history of mathematics.
What was the social status of the anonymous accountants who produced this breakthrough? The immense volume of clay tablets unearthed in the ruins of the Sumerian temples where the accounts were kept suggests a social differentiation within the scribal class, with a virtual army of lower-ranking tabulators performing the monotonous job of tallying commodities. We can only speculate as to how high or low the inventors of true numerals were in the scribal hierarchy, but it stands to reason that this laborsaving innovation would have been the brainchild of the lower-ranking types whose drudgery it eased. | 3485.txt | 2 |
[
"evidence",
"inventors",
"researchers",
"intellectual elite"
] | The word "Some" in the passage refers to | Although literacy appeared independently in several parts of the prehistoric world, the earliest evidence of writing is the cuneiform Sumerian script on the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia, which, archaeological detective work has revealed, had its origins in the accounting practices of commercial activity. Researchers demonstrated that preliterate people, to keep track of the goods they produced and exchanged, created a system of accounting using clay tokens as symbolic representations of their products. Over many thousands of years, the symbols evolved through several stages of abstraction until they became wedge- shaped (cuneiform) signs on clay tablets, recognizable as writing.
The original tokens (circa 8500 B.C.E.) were three-dimensional solid shapes-tiny spheres, cones, disks, and cylinders. A debt of six units of grain and eight head of livestock, for example might have been represented by six conical and eight cylindrical tokens. To keep batches of tokens together, an innovation was introduced (circa 3250 B. C. E.) whereby they were sealed inside clay envelopes that could be broken open and counted when it came time for a debt to be repaid. But because the contents of the envelopes could easily be forgotten, two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional tokens were impressed into the surface of the envelopes before they were sealed. Eventually, having two sets of equivalent symbols-the internal tokens and external markings-came to seem redundant, so the tokens were eliminated (circa 3250-3100 B.C.E.), and only solid clay tablets with two-dimensional symbols were retained. Over time, the symbols became more numerous, varied, and abstract and came to represent more than trade commodities, evolving eventually into cuneiform writing.
The evolution of the symbolism is reflected in the archaeological record first of all by the increasing complexity of the tokens themselves. The earliest tokens, dating from about 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, were of only the simplest geometric shapes. But about 3500 B.C.E., more complex tokens came into common usage, including many naturalistic forms shaped like miniature tools, furniture, fruit, and humans. The earlier, plain tokens were counters for agricultural products, whereas the complex ones stood for finished products, such as bread, oil, perfume, wool, and rope, and for items produced in workshops, such as metal, bracelets, types of cloth, garments, mats, pieces of furniture, tools, and a variety of stone and pottery vessels. The signs marked on clay tablets likewise evolved from simple wedges, circles, ovals, and triangles based on the plain tokens to pictographs derived from the complex tokens.
Before this evidence came to light, the inventors of writing were assumed by researchers to have been an intellectual elite. Some, for example, hypothesized that writing emerged when members of the priestly caste agreed among themselves on written signs. But the association of the plain tokens with the first farmers and of the complex tokens with the first artisans-and the fact that the token-and-envelope accounting system invariably represented only small-scale transactions-testifies to the relatively modest social status of the creators of writing.
And not only of literacy, but numeracy (the representation of quantitative concepts) as well. The evidence of the tokens provides further confirmation that mathematics originated in people's desire to keep records of flocks and other goods. Another immensely significant step occurred around 3100 B.C.E., when Sumerian accountants extended the token-based signs to include the first real numerals. Previously, units of grain had been represented by direct one-to-one correspondence―by repeating the token or symbol for a unit of grain the required number of times. The accountants, however, devised numeral signs distinct from commodity signs, so that eighteen units of grain could be indicated by preceding a single grain symbol with a symbol denoting "18." Their invention of abstract numerals and abstract counting was one of the most revolutionary advances in the history of mathematics.
What was the social status of the anonymous accountants who produced this breakthrough? The immense volume of clay tablets unearthed in the ruins of the Sumerian temples where the accounts were kept suggests a social differentiation within the scribal class, with a virtual army of lower-ranking tabulators performing the monotonous job of tallying commodities. We can only speculate as to how high or low the inventors of true numerals were in the scribal hierarchy, but it stands to reason that this laborsaving innovation would have been the brainchild of the lower-ranking types whose drudgery it eased. | 3485.txt | 2 |
[
"To provide examples of the types of commercial activity that existed in Sumerian society",
"To argue against the theory that writing was developed by an intellectual elite",
"To contrast the way farmers used tokens with the way artisans used tokens",
"To help explain why farmers and artisans had a relatively modest social status in Sumerian society"
] | In paragraph 4, why does the author mention the association of tokens with farmers and artisans? | Although literacy appeared independently in several parts of the prehistoric world, the earliest evidence of writing is the cuneiform Sumerian script on the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia, which, archaeological detective work has revealed, had its origins in the accounting practices of commercial activity. Researchers demonstrated that preliterate people, to keep track of the goods they produced and exchanged, created a system of accounting using clay tokens as symbolic representations of their products. Over many thousands of years, the symbols evolved through several stages of abstraction until they became wedge- shaped (cuneiform) signs on clay tablets, recognizable as writing.
The original tokens (circa 8500 B.C.E.) were three-dimensional solid shapes-tiny spheres, cones, disks, and cylinders. A debt of six units of grain and eight head of livestock, for example might have been represented by six conical and eight cylindrical tokens. To keep batches of tokens together, an innovation was introduced (circa 3250 B. C. E.) whereby they were sealed inside clay envelopes that could be broken open and counted when it came time for a debt to be repaid. But because the contents of the envelopes could easily be forgotten, two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional tokens were impressed into the surface of the envelopes before they were sealed. Eventually, having two sets of equivalent symbols-the internal tokens and external markings-came to seem redundant, so the tokens were eliminated (circa 3250-3100 B.C.E.), and only solid clay tablets with two-dimensional symbols were retained. Over time, the symbols became more numerous, varied, and abstract and came to represent more than trade commodities, evolving eventually into cuneiform writing.
The evolution of the symbolism is reflected in the archaeological record first of all by the increasing complexity of the tokens themselves. The earliest tokens, dating from about 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, were of only the simplest geometric shapes. But about 3500 B.C.E., more complex tokens came into common usage, including many naturalistic forms shaped like miniature tools, furniture, fruit, and humans. The earlier, plain tokens were counters for agricultural products, whereas the complex ones stood for finished products, such as bread, oil, perfume, wool, and rope, and for items produced in workshops, such as metal, bracelets, types of cloth, garments, mats, pieces of furniture, tools, and a variety of stone and pottery vessels. The signs marked on clay tablets likewise evolved from simple wedges, circles, ovals, and triangles based on the plain tokens to pictographs derived from the complex tokens.
Before this evidence came to light, the inventors of writing were assumed by researchers to have been an intellectual elite. Some, for example, hypothesized that writing emerged when members of the priestly caste agreed among themselves on written signs. But the association of the plain tokens with the first farmers and of the complex tokens with the first artisans-and the fact that the token-and-envelope accounting system invariably represented only small-scale transactions-testifies to the relatively modest social status of the creators of writing.
And not only of literacy, but numeracy (the representation of quantitative concepts) as well. The evidence of the tokens provides further confirmation that mathematics originated in people's desire to keep records of flocks and other goods. Another immensely significant step occurred around 3100 B.C.E., when Sumerian accountants extended the token-based signs to include the first real numerals. Previously, units of grain had been represented by direct one-to-one correspondence―by repeating the token or symbol for a unit of grain the required number of times. The accountants, however, devised numeral signs distinct from commodity signs, so that eighteen units of grain could be indicated by preceding a single grain symbol with a symbol denoting "18." Their invention of abstract numerals and abstract counting was one of the most revolutionary advances in the history of mathematics.
What was the social status of the anonymous accountants who produced this breakthrough? The immense volume of clay tablets unearthed in the ruins of the Sumerian temples where the accounts were kept suggests a social differentiation within the scribal class, with a virtual army of lower-ranking tabulators performing the monotonous job of tallying commodities. We can only speculate as to how high or low the inventors of true numerals were in the scribal hierarchy, but it stands to reason that this laborsaving innovation would have been the brainchild of the lower-ranking types whose drudgery it eased. | 3485.txt | 1 |
[
"easily",
"accurately",
"always",
"soon"
] | The word "invariably" in the passage is closest in meaning to | Although literacy appeared independently in several parts of the prehistoric world, the earliest evidence of writing is the cuneiform Sumerian script on the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia, which, archaeological detective work has revealed, had its origins in the accounting practices of commercial activity. Researchers demonstrated that preliterate people, to keep track of the goods they produced and exchanged, created a system of accounting using clay tokens as symbolic representations of their products. Over many thousands of years, the symbols evolved through several stages of abstraction until they became wedge- shaped (cuneiform) signs on clay tablets, recognizable as writing.
The original tokens (circa 8500 B.C.E.) were three-dimensional solid shapes-tiny spheres, cones, disks, and cylinders. A debt of six units of grain and eight head of livestock, for example might have been represented by six conical and eight cylindrical tokens. To keep batches of tokens together, an innovation was introduced (circa 3250 B. C. E.) whereby they were sealed inside clay envelopes that could be broken open and counted when it came time for a debt to be repaid. But because the contents of the envelopes could easily be forgotten, two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional tokens were impressed into the surface of the envelopes before they were sealed. Eventually, having two sets of equivalent symbols-the internal tokens and external markings-came to seem redundant, so the tokens were eliminated (circa 3250-3100 B.C.E.), and only solid clay tablets with two-dimensional symbols were retained. Over time, the symbols became more numerous, varied, and abstract and came to represent more than trade commodities, evolving eventually into cuneiform writing.
The evolution of the symbolism is reflected in the archaeological record first of all by the increasing complexity of the tokens themselves. The earliest tokens, dating from about 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, were of only the simplest geometric shapes. But about 3500 B.C.E., more complex tokens came into common usage, including many naturalistic forms shaped like miniature tools, furniture, fruit, and humans. The earlier, plain tokens were counters for agricultural products, whereas the complex ones stood for finished products, such as bread, oil, perfume, wool, and rope, and for items produced in workshops, such as metal, bracelets, types of cloth, garments, mats, pieces of furniture, tools, and a variety of stone and pottery vessels. The signs marked on clay tablets likewise evolved from simple wedges, circles, ovals, and triangles based on the plain tokens to pictographs derived from the complex tokens.
Before this evidence came to light, the inventors of writing were assumed by researchers to have been an intellectual elite. Some, for example, hypothesized that writing emerged when members of the priestly caste agreed among themselves on written signs. But the association of the plain tokens with the first farmers and of the complex tokens with the first artisans-and the fact that the token-and-envelope accounting system invariably represented only small-scale transactions-testifies to the relatively modest social status of the creators of writing.
And not only of literacy, but numeracy (the representation of quantitative concepts) as well. The evidence of the tokens provides further confirmation that mathematics originated in people's desire to keep records of flocks and other goods. Another immensely significant step occurred around 3100 B.C.E., when Sumerian accountants extended the token-based signs to include the first real numerals. Previously, units of grain had been represented by direct one-to-one correspondence―by repeating the token or symbol for a unit of grain the required number of times. The accountants, however, devised numeral signs distinct from commodity signs, so that eighteen units of grain could be indicated by preceding a single grain symbol with a symbol denoting "18." Their invention of abstract numerals and abstract counting was one of the most revolutionary advances in the history of mathematics.
What was the social status of the anonymous accountants who produced this breakthrough? The immense volume of clay tablets unearthed in the ruins of the Sumerian temples where the accounts were kept suggests a social differentiation within the scribal class, with a virtual army of lower-ranking tabulators performing the monotonous job of tallying commodities. We can only speculate as to how high or low the inventors of true numerals were in the scribal hierarchy, but it stands to reason that this laborsaving innovation would have been the brainchild of the lower-ranking types whose drudgery it eased. | 3485.txt | 2 |
[
"Numerals first developed around 3100",
"Numerals were created to keep records of commodities.",
"The numeral \"18\" developed from the sign for grain.",
"Accountants introduced unique numeral signs for use with signs for commodities."
] | According to paragraph 5, all of the following statements about the development of numerals are true EXCEPT: | Although literacy appeared independently in several parts of the prehistoric world, the earliest evidence of writing is the cuneiform Sumerian script on the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia, which, archaeological detective work has revealed, had its origins in the accounting practices of commercial activity. Researchers demonstrated that preliterate people, to keep track of the goods they produced and exchanged, created a system of accounting using clay tokens as symbolic representations of their products. Over many thousands of years, the symbols evolved through several stages of abstraction until they became wedge- shaped (cuneiform) signs on clay tablets, recognizable as writing.
The original tokens (circa 8500 B.C.E.) were three-dimensional solid shapes-tiny spheres, cones, disks, and cylinders. A debt of six units of grain and eight head of livestock, for example might have been represented by six conical and eight cylindrical tokens. To keep batches of tokens together, an innovation was introduced (circa 3250 B. C. E.) whereby they were sealed inside clay envelopes that could be broken open and counted when it came time for a debt to be repaid. But because the contents of the envelopes could easily be forgotten, two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional tokens were impressed into the surface of the envelopes before they were sealed. Eventually, having two sets of equivalent symbols-the internal tokens and external markings-came to seem redundant, so the tokens were eliminated (circa 3250-3100 B.C.E.), and only solid clay tablets with two-dimensional symbols were retained. Over time, the symbols became more numerous, varied, and abstract and came to represent more than trade commodities, evolving eventually into cuneiform writing.
The evolution of the symbolism is reflected in the archaeological record first of all by the increasing complexity of the tokens themselves. The earliest tokens, dating from about 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, were of only the simplest geometric shapes. But about 3500 B.C.E., more complex tokens came into common usage, including many naturalistic forms shaped like miniature tools, furniture, fruit, and humans. The earlier, plain tokens were counters for agricultural products, whereas the complex ones stood for finished products, such as bread, oil, perfume, wool, and rope, and for items produced in workshops, such as metal, bracelets, types of cloth, garments, mats, pieces of furniture, tools, and a variety of stone and pottery vessels. The signs marked on clay tablets likewise evolved from simple wedges, circles, ovals, and triangles based on the plain tokens to pictographs derived from the complex tokens.
Before this evidence came to light, the inventors of writing were assumed by researchers to have been an intellectual elite. Some, for example, hypothesized that writing emerged when members of the priestly caste agreed among themselves on written signs. But the association of the plain tokens with the first farmers and of the complex tokens with the first artisans-and the fact that the token-and-envelope accounting system invariably represented only small-scale transactions-testifies to the relatively modest social status of the creators of writing.
And not only of literacy, but numeracy (the representation of quantitative concepts) as well. The evidence of the tokens provides further confirmation that mathematics originated in people's desire to keep records of flocks and other goods. Another immensely significant step occurred around 3100 B.C.E., when Sumerian accountants extended the token-based signs to include the first real numerals. Previously, units of grain had been represented by direct one-to-one correspondence―by repeating the token or symbol for a unit of grain the required number of times. The accountants, however, devised numeral signs distinct from commodity signs, so that eighteen units of grain could be indicated by preceding a single grain symbol with a symbol denoting "18." Their invention of abstract numerals and abstract counting was one of the most revolutionary advances in the history of mathematics.
What was the social status of the anonymous accountants who produced this breakthrough? The immense volume of clay tablets unearthed in the ruins of the Sumerian temples where the accounts were kept suggests a social differentiation within the scribal class, with a virtual army of lower-ranking tabulators performing the monotonous job of tallying commodities. We can only speculate as to how high or low the inventors of true numerals were in the scribal hierarchy, but it stands to reason that this laborsaving innovation would have been the brainchild of the lower-ranking types whose drudgery it eased. | 3485.txt | 2 |
[
"discovered",
"protected",
"buried",
"forgotten"
] | The word "unearthed" in the passage is closest in meaning to | Although literacy appeared independently in several parts of the prehistoric world, the earliest evidence of writing is the cuneiform Sumerian script on the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia, which, archaeological detective work has revealed, had its origins in the accounting practices of commercial activity. Researchers demonstrated that preliterate people, to keep track of the goods they produced and exchanged, created a system of accounting using clay tokens as symbolic representations of their products. Over many thousands of years, the symbols evolved through several stages of abstraction until they became wedge- shaped (cuneiform) signs on clay tablets, recognizable as writing.
The original tokens (circa 8500 B.C.E.) were three-dimensional solid shapes-tiny spheres, cones, disks, and cylinders. A debt of six units of grain and eight head of livestock, for example might have been represented by six conical and eight cylindrical tokens. To keep batches of tokens together, an innovation was introduced (circa 3250 B. C. E.) whereby they were sealed inside clay envelopes that could be broken open and counted when it came time for a debt to be repaid. But because the contents of the envelopes could easily be forgotten, two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional tokens were impressed into the surface of the envelopes before they were sealed. Eventually, having two sets of equivalent symbols-the internal tokens and external markings-came to seem redundant, so the tokens were eliminated (circa 3250-3100 B.C.E.), and only solid clay tablets with two-dimensional symbols were retained. Over time, the symbols became more numerous, varied, and abstract and came to represent more than trade commodities, evolving eventually into cuneiform writing.
The evolution of the symbolism is reflected in the archaeological record first of all by the increasing complexity of the tokens themselves. The earliest tokens, dating from about 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, were of only the simplest geometric shapes. But about 3500 B.C.E., more complex tokens came into common usage, including many naturalistic forms shaped like miniature tools, furniture, fruit, and humans. The earlier, plain tokens were counters for agricultural products, whereas the complex ones stood for finished products, such as bread, oil, perfume, wool, and rope, and for items produced in workshops, such as metal, bracelets, types of cloth, garments, mats, pieces of furniture, tools, and a variety of stone and pottery vessels. The signs marked on clay tablets likewise evolved from simple wedges, circles, ovals, and triangles based on the plain tokens to pictographs derived from the complex tokens.
Before this evidence came to light, the inventors of writing were assumed by researchers to have been an intellectual elite. Some, for example, hypothesized that writing emerged when members of the priestly caste agreed among themselves on written signs. But the association of the plain tokens with the first farmers and of the complex tokens with the first artisans-and the fact that the token-and-envelope accounting system invariably represented only small-scale transactions-testifies to the relatively modest social status of the creators of writing.
And not only of literacy, but numeracy (the representation of quantitative concepts) as well. The evidence of the tokens provides further confirmation that mathematics originated in people's desire to keep records of flocks and other goods. Another immensely significant step occurred around 3100 B.C.E., when Sumerian accountants extended the token-based signs to include the first real numerals. Previously, units of grain had been represented by direct one-to-one correspondence―by repeating the token or symbol for a unit of grain the required number of times. The accountants, however, devised numeral signs distinct from commodity signs, so that eighteen units of grain could be indicated by preceding a single grain symbol with a symbol denoting "18." Their invention of abstract numerals and abstract counting was one of the most revolutionary advances in the history of mathematics.
What was the social status of the anonymous accountants who produced this breakthrough? The immense volume of clay tablets unearthed in the ruins of the Sumerian temples where the accounts were kept suggests a social differentiation within the scribal class, with a virtual army of lower-ranking tabulators performing the monotonous job of tallying commodities. We can only speculate as to how high or low the inventors of true numerals were in the scribal hierarchy, but it stands to reason that this laborsaving innovation would have been the brainchild of the lower-ranking types whose drudgery it eased. | 3485.txt | 0 |
[
"symbol",
"concern",
"pride",
"invention"
] | The word "brainchild " in the passage is closest in meaning to | Although literacy appeared independently in several parts of the prehistoric world, the earliest evidence of writing is the cuneiform Sumerian script on the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia, which, archaeological detective work has revealed, had its origins in the accounting practices of commercial activity. Researchers demonstrated that preliterate people, to keep track of the goods they produced and exchanged, created a system of accounting using clay tokens as symbolic representations of their products. Over many thousands of years, the symbols evolved through several stages of abstraction until they became wedge- shaped (cuneiform) signs on clay tablets, recognizable as writing.
The original tokens (circa 8500 B.C.E.) were three-dimensional solid shapes-tiny spheres, cones, disks, and cylinders. A debt of six units of grain and eight head of livestock, for example might have been represented by six conical and eight cylindrical tokens. To keep batches of tokens together, an innovation was introduced (circa 3250 B. C. E.) whereby they were sealed inside clay envelopes that could be broken open and counted when it came time for a debt to be repaid. But because the contents of the envelopes could easily be forgotten, two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional tokens were impressed into the surface of the envelopes before they were sealed. Eventually, having two sets of equivalent symbols-the internal tokens and external markings-came to seem redundant, so the tokens were eliminated (circa 3250-3100 B.C.E.), and only solid clay tablets with two-dimensional symbols were retained. Over time, the symbols became more numerous, varied, and abstract and came to represent more than trade commodities, evolving eventually into cuneiform writing.
The evolution of the symbolism is reflected in the archaeological record first of all by the increasing complexity of the tokens themselves. The earliest tokens, dating from about 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, were of only the simplest geometric shapes. But about 3500 B.C.E., more complex tokens came into common usage, including many naturalistic forms shaped like miniature tools, furniture, fruit, and humans. The earlier, plain tokens were counters for agricultural products, whereas the complex ones stood for finished products, such as bread, oil, perfume, wool, and rope, and for items produced in workshops, such as metal, bracelets, types of cloth, garments, mats, pieces of furniture, tools, and a variety of stone and pottery vessels. The signs marked on clay tablets likewise evolved from simple wedges, circles, ovals, and triangles based on the plain tokens to pictographs derived from the complex tokens.
Before this evidence came to light, the inventors of writing were assumed by researchers to have been an intellectual elite. Some, for example, hypothesized that writing emerged when members of the priestly caste agreed among themselves on written signs. But the association of the plain tokens with the first farmers and of the complex tokens with the first artisans-and the fact that the token-and-envelope accounting system invariably represented only small-scale transactions-testifies to the relatively modest social status of the creators of writing.
And not only of literacy, but numeracy (the representation of quantitative concepts) as well. The evidence of the tokens provides further confirmation that mathematics originated in people's desire to keep records of flocks and other goods. Another immensely significant step occurred around 3100 B.C.E., when Sumerian accountants extended the token-based signs to include the first real numerals. Previously, units of grain had been represented by direct one-to-one correspondence―by repeating the token or symbol for a unit of grain the required number of times. The accountants, however, devised numeral signs distinct from commodity signs, so that eighteen units of grain could be indicated by preceding a single grain symbol with a symbol denoting "18." Their invention of abstract numerals and abstract counting was one of the most revolutionary advances in the history of mathematics.
What was the social status of the anonymous accountants who produced this breakthrough? The immense volume of clay tablets unearthed in the ruins of the Sumerian temples where the accounts were kept suggests a social differentiation within the scribal class, with a virtual army of lower-ranking tabulators performing the monotonous job of tallying commodities. We can only speculate as to how high or low the inventors of true numerals were in the scribal hierarchy, but it stands to reason that this laborsaving innovation would have been the brainchild of the lower-ranking types whose drudgery it eased. | 3485.txt | 3 |
[
"Changes in eating and dietary practices",
"The creation of stone hunting tools",
"Social interactions at home bases",
"Methods of extracting nutritious food from carcasses"
] | The passage mainly discusses which of the following aspects of hominid behavior? | One area of paleoanthropological study involves the eating and dietary habits of hominids, erect bipedal primates-including early humans. It is clear that at some stage of history, humans began to carry their food to central places, called home bases, where it was shared and consumed with the young and other adults. The use of home bases is a fundamental component of human social behavior; the common meal served at a common hearth is a powerful symbol, a mark of social unity. Home base behavior does not occur among nonhuman primates and is rare among mammals. It is unclear when humans began to use home bases, what kind of communications and social relations were involved, and what the ecological and food-choice contexts of the shift were. Work on early tools, surveys of paleoanthropological sites, development and testing of broad ecological theories, and advances in comparative primatology are contributing to knowledge about this central chapter in human prehistory.
One innovative approach to these issues involves studying damage and wear on stone tools. Researchers make tools that replicate excavated specimens as closely as possible and then try to use them as the originals might have been used, in woodcutting, hunting, or cultivation. Depending on how the tool is used, characteristic chippage patterns and microscopically distinguishable polishes develop near the edges. The first application of this method of analysis to stone tools that are 1.5 million to 2 million years old indicates that, from the start, an important function of early stone tools was to extract highly nutritious food - meat and marrow - from large animal carcasses. Fossil bones with cut marks caused by stone tools have been discovered lying in the same 2-million-year-old layers that yielded the oldest such tools and the oldest hominid specimens (including humans) with larger than ape-sized brains. This discovery increases scientists' certainty about when human ancestors began to eat more meat than present-day nonhuman primates. But several questions remain unanswered: how frequently meat eating occurred; what the social implications of meat eating were; and whether the increased use of meat coincides with the beginnings of the use of home bases. | 2098.txt | 0 |
[
"an activity typical of nonhuman primates",
"a common practice among animals that eat meat",
"an indication of social unity",
"a behavior that encourages better dietary habits"
] | According to the passage , bringing a meal to a location to be shared by many individuals is | One area of paleoanthropological study involves the eating and dietary habits of hominids, erect bipedal primates-including early humans. It is clear that at some stage of history, humans began to carry their food to central places, called home bases, where it was shared and consumed with the young and other adults. The use of home bases is a fundamental component of human social behavior; the common meal served at a common hearth is a powerful symbol, a mark of social unity. Home base behavior does not occur among nonhuman primates and is rare among mammals. It is unclear when humans began to use home bases, what kind of communications and social relations were involved, and what the ecological and food-choice contexts of the shift were. Work on early tools, surveys of paleoanthropological sites, development and testing of broad ecological theories, and advances in comparative primatology are contributing to knowledge about this central chapter in human prehistory.
One innovative approach to these issues involves studying damage and wear on stone tools. Researchers make tools that replicate excavated specimens as closely as possible and then try to use them as the originals might have been used, in woodcutting, hunting, or cultivation. Depending on how the tool is used, characteristic chippage patterns and microscopically distinguishable polishes develop near the edges. The first application of this method of analysis to stone tools that are 1.5 million to 2 million years old indicates that, from the start, an important function of early stone tools was to extract highly nutritious food - meat and marrow - from large animal carcasses. Fossil bones with cut marks caused by stone tools have been discovered lying in the same 2-million-year-old layers that yielded the oldest such tools and the oldest hominid specimens (including humans) with larger than ape-sized brains. This discovery increases scientists' certainty about when human ancestors began to eat more meat than present-day nonhuman primates. But several questions remain unanswered: how frequently meat eating occurred; what the social implications of meat eating were; and whether the increased use of meat coincides with the beginnings of the use of home bases. | 2098.txt | 2 |
[
"prepared",
"stored",
"distributed",
"eaten"
] | The word "consumed" in line 4 is closest in meaning to | One area of paleoanthropological study involves the eating and dietary habits of hominids, erect bipedal primates-including early humans. It is clear that at some stage of history, humans began to carry their food to central places, called home bases, where it was shared and consumed with the young and other adults. The use of home bases is a fundamental component of human social behavior; the common meal served at a common hearth is a powerful symbol, a mark of social unity. Home base behavior does not occur among nonhuman primates and is rare among mammals. It is unclear when humans began to use home bases, what kind of communications and social relations were involved, and what the ecological and food-choice contexts of the shift were. Work on early tools, surveys of paleoanthropological sites, development and testing of broad ecological theories, and advances in comparative primatology are contributing to knowledge about this central chapter in human prehistory.
One innovative approach to these issues involves studying damage and wear on stone tools. Researchers make tools that replicate excavated specimens as closely as possible and then try to use them as the originals might have been used, in woodcutting, hunting, or cultivation. Depending on how the tool is used, characteristic chippage patterns and microscopically distinguishable polishes develop near the edges. The first application of this method of analysis to stone tools that are 1.5 million to 2 million years old indicates that, from the start, an important function of early stone tools was to extract highly nutritious food - meat and marrow - from large animal carcasses. Fossil bones with cut marks caused by stone tools have been discovered lying in the same 2-million-year-old layers that yielded the oldest such tools and the oldest hominid specimens (including humans) with larger than ape-sized brains. This discovery increases scientists' certainty about when human ancestors began to eat more meat than present-day nonhuman primates. But several questions remain unanswered: how frequently meat eating occurred; what the social implications of meat eating were; and whether the increased use of meat coincides with the beginnings of the use of home bases. | 2098.txt | 3 |
[
"protect the old tools from being worn out",
"display examples of the old tools in museums",
"test theories about how old tools were used",
"learn how to improve the design of modern tools"
] | According to paragraph 2, researchers make copies of old stone tools in order to | One area of paleoanthropological study involves the eating and dietary habits of hominids, erect bipedal primates-including early humans. It is clear that at some stage of history, humans began to carry their food to central places, called home bases, where it was shared and consumed with the young and other adults. The use of home bases is a fundamental component of human social behavior; the common meal served at a common hearth is a powerful symbol, a mark of social unity. Home base behavior does not occur among nonhuman primates and is rare among mammals. It is unclear when humans began to use home bases, what kind of communications and social relations were involved, and what the ecological and food-choice contexts of the shift were. Work on early tools, surveys of paleoanthropological sites, development and testing of broad ecological theories, and advances in comparative primatology are contributing to knowledge about this central chapter in human prehistory.
One innovative approach to these issues involves studying damage and wear on stone tools. Researchers make tools that replicate excavated specimens as closely as possible and then try to use them as the originals might have been used, in woodcutting, hunting, or cultivation. Depending on how the tool is used, characteristic chippage patterns and microscopically distinguishable polishes develop near the edges. The first application of this method of analysis to stone tools that are 1.5 million to 2 million years old indicates that, from the start, an important function of early stone tools was to extract highly nutritious food - meat and marrow - from large animal carcasses. Fossil bones with cut marks caused by stone tools have been discovered lying in the same 2-million-year-old layers that yielded the oldest such tools and the oldest hominid specimens (including humans) with larger than ape-sized brains. This discovery increases scientists' certainty about when human ancestors began to eat more meat than present-day nonhuman primates. But several questions remain unanswered: how frequently meat eating occurred; what the social implications of meat eating were; and whether the increased use of meat coincides with the beginnings of the use of home bases. | 2098.txt | 2 |
[
"build home bases",
"obtain food",
"make weapons",
"shape wood"
] | In paragraph 2, the author mentions all of the following as examples of ways in which early stone tools were used EXCEPT to | One area of paleoanthropological study involves the eating and dietary habits of hominids, erect bipedal primates-including early humans. It is clear that at some stage of history, humans began to carry their food to central places, called home bases, where it was shared and consumed with the young and other adults. The use of home bases is a fundamental component of human social behavior; the common meal served at a common hearth is a powerful symbol, a mark of social unity. Home base behavior does not occur among nonhuman primates and is rare among mammals. It is unclear when humans began to use home bases, what kind of communications and social relations were involved, and what the ecological and food-choice contexts of the shift were. Work on early tools, surveys of paleoanthropological sites, development and testing of broad ecological theories, and advances in comparative primatology are contributing to knowledge about this central chapter in human prehistory.
One innovative approach to these issues involves studying damage and wear on stone tools. Researchers make tools that replicate excavated specimens as closely as possible and then try to use them as the originals might have been used, in woodcutting, hunting, or cultivation. Depending on how the tool is used, characteristic chippage patterns and microscopically distinguishable polishes develop near the edges. The first application of this method of analysis to stone tools that are 1.5 million to 2 million years old indicates that, from the start, an important function of early stone tools was to extract highly nutritious food - meat and marrow - from large animal carcasses. Fossil bones with cut marks caused by stone tools have been discovered lying in the same 2-million-year-old layers that yielded the oldest such tools and the oldest hominid specimens (including humans) with larger than ape-sized brains. This discovery increases scientists' certainty about when human ancestors began to eat more meat than present-day nonhuman primates. But several questions remain unanswered: how frequently meat eating occurred; what the social implications of meat eating were; and whether the increased use of meat coincides with the beginnings of the use of home bases. | 2098.txt | 0 |
[
"good",
"new",
"simple",
"costly"
] | The word "innovative" in line 13 is closest in meaning to | One area of paleoanthropological study involves the eating and dietary habits of hominids, erect bipedal primates-including early humans. It is clear that at some stage of history, humans began to carry their food to central places, called home bases, where it was shared and consumed with the young and other adults. The use of home bases is a fundamental component of human social behavior; the common meal served at a common hearth is a powerful symbol, a mark of social unity. Home base behavior does not occur among nonhuman primates and is rare among mammals. It is unclear when humans began to use home bases, what kind of communications and social relations were involved, and what the ecological and food-choice contexts of the shift were. Work on early tools, surveys of paleoanthropological sites, development and testing of broad ecological theories, and advances in comparative primatology are contributing to knowledge about this central chapter in human prehistory.
One innovative approach to these issues involves studying damage and wear on stone tools. Researchers make tools that replicate excavated specimens as closely as possible and then try to use them as the originals might have been used, in woodcutting, hunting, or cultivation. Depending on how the tool is used, characteristic chippage patterns and microscopically distinguishable polishes develop near the edges. The first application of this method of analysis to stone tools that are 1.5 million to 2 million years old indicates that, from the start, an important function of early stone tools was to extract highly nutritious food - meat and marrow - from large animal carcasses. Fossil bones with cut marks caused by stone tools have been discovered lying in the same 2-million-year-old layers that yielded the oldest such tools and the oldest hominid specimens (including humans) with larger than ape-sized brains. This discovery increases scientists' certainty about when human ancestors began to eat more meat than present-day nonhuman primates. But several questions remain unanswered: how frequently meat eating occurred; what the social implications of meat eating were; and whether the increased use of meat coincides with the beginnings of the use of home bases. | 2098.txt | 1 |
[
"issues",
"researchers",
"tools",
"specimens"
] | The word "them" in line 15 refers to | One area of paleoanthropological study involves the eating and dietary habits of hominids, erect bipedal primates-including early humans. It is clear that at some stage of history, humans began to carry their food to central places, called home bases, where it was shared and consumed with the young and other adults. The use of home bases is a fundamental component of human social behavior; the common meal served at a common hearth is a powerful symbol, a mark of social unity. Home base behavior does not occur among nonhuman primates and is rare among mammals. It is unclear when humans began to use home bases, what kind of communications and social relations were involved, and what the ecological and food-choice contexts of the shift were. Work on early tools, surveys of paleoanthropological sites, development and testing of broad ecological theories, and advances in comparative primatology are contributing to knowledge about this central chapter in human prehistory.
One innovative approach to these issues involves studying damage and wear on stone tools. Researchers make tools that replicate excavated specimens as closely as possible and then try to use them as the originals might have been used, in woodcutting, hunting, or cultivation. Depending on how the tool is used, characteristic chippage patterns and microscopically distinguishable polishes develop near the edges. The first application of this method of analysis to stone tools that are 1.5 million to 2 million years old indicates that, from the start, an important function of early stone tools was to extract highly nutritious food - meat and marrow - from large animal carcasses. Fossil bones with cut marks caused by stone tools have been discovered lying in the same 2-million-year-old layers that yielded the oldest such tools and the oldest hominid specimens (including humans) with larger than ape-sized brains. This discovery increases scientists' certainty about when human ancestors began to eat more meat than present-day nonhuman primates. But several questions remain unanswered: how frequently meat eating occurred; what the social implications of meat eating were; and whether the increased use of meat coincides with the beginnings of the use of home bases. | 2098.txt | 2 |
[
"decorations cut into wooden objects",
"differences among tools made of various substances",
"impressions left on prehistoric animal bones",
"indications of wear on stone tools"
] | The author mentions "characteristic chippage patterns" in line 16 as an example of | One area of paleoanthropological study involves the eating and dietary habits of hominids, erect bipedal primates-including early humans. It is clear that at some stage of history, humans began to carry their food to central places, called home bases, where it was shared and consumed with the young and other adults. The use of home bases is a fundamental component of human social behavior; the common meal served at a common hearth is a powerful symbol, a mark of social unity. Home base behavior does not occur among nonhuman primates and is rare among mammals. It is unclear when humans began to use home bases, what kind of communications and social relations were involved, and what the ecological and food-choice contexts of the shift were. Work on early tools, surveys of paleoanthropological sites, development and testing of broad ecological theories, and advances in comparative primatology are contributing to knowledge about this central chapter in human prehistory.
One innovative approach to these issues involves studying damage and wear on stone tools. Researchers make tools that replicate excavated specimens as closely as possible and then try to use them as the originals might have been used, in woodcutting, hunting, or cultivation. Depending on how the tool is used, characteristic chippage patterns and microscopically distinguishable polishes develop near the edges. The first application of this method of analysis to stone tools that are 1.5 million to 2 million years old indicates that, from the start, an important function of early stone tools was to extract highly nutritious food - meat and marrow - from large animal carcasses. Fossil bones with cut marks caused by stone tools have been discovered lying in the same 2-million-year-old layers that yielded the oldest such tools and the oldest hominid specimens (including humans) with larger than ape-sized brains. This discovery increases scientists' certainty about when human ancestors began to eat more meat than present-day nonhuman primates. But several questions remain unanswered: how frequently meat eating occurred; what the social implications of meat eating were; and whether the increased use of meat coincides with the beginnings of the use of home bases. | 2098.txt | 3 |
[
"identify",
"remove",
"destroy",
"compare"
] | The word "extract" in line 19 is closest in meaning to | One area of paleoanthropological study involves the eating and dietary habits of hominids, erect bipedal primates-including early humans. It is clear that at some stage of history, humans began to carry their food to central places, called home bases, where it was shared and consumed with the young and other adults. The use of home bases is a fundamental component of human social behavior; the common meal served at a common hearth is a powerful symbol, a mark of social unity. Home base behavior does not occur among nonhuman primates and is rare among mammals. It is unclear when humans began to use home bases, what kind of communications and social relations were involved, and what the ecological and food-choice contexts of the shift were. Work on early tools, surveys of paleoanthropological sites, development and testing of broad ecological theories, and advances in comparative primatology are contributing to knowledge about this central chapter in human prehistory.
One innovative approach to these issues involves studying damage and wear on stone tools. Researchers make tools that replicate excavated specimens as closely as possible and then try to use them as the originals might have been used, in woodcutting, hunting, or cultivation. Depending on how the tool is used, characteristic chippage patterns and microscopically distinguishable polishes develop near the edges. The first application of this method of analysis to stone tools that are 1.5 million to 2 million years old indicates that, from the start, an important function of early stone tools was to extract highly nutritious food - meat and marrow - from large animal carcasses. Fossil bones with cut marks caused by stone tools have been discovered lying in the same 2-million-year-old layers that yielded the oldest such tools and the oldest hominid specimens (including humans) with larger than ape-sized brains. This discovery increases scientists' certainty about when human ancestors began to eat more meat than present-day nonhuman primates. But several questions remain unanswered: how frequently meat eating occurred; what the social implications of meat eating were; and whether the increased use of meat coincides with the beginnings of the use of home bases. | 2098.txt | 1 |
[
"if",
"how",
"why",
"when"
] | The word "whether" in line 26 is closest in meaning to | One area of paleoanthropological study involves the eating and dietary habits of hominids, erect bipedal primates-including early humans. It is clear that at some stage of history, humans began to carry their food to central places, called home bases, where it was shared and consumed with the young and other adults. The use of home bases is a fundamental component of human social behavior; the common meal served at a common hearth is a powerful symbol, a mark of social unity. Home base behavior does not occur among nonhuman primates and is rare among mammals. It is unclear when humans began to use home bases, what kind of communications and social relations were involved, and what the ecological and food-choice contexts of the shift were. Work on early tools, surveys of paleoanthropological sites, development and testing of broad ecological theories, and advances in comparative primatology are contributing to knowledge about this central chapter in human prehistory.
One innovative approach to these issues involves studying damage and wear on stone tools. Researchers make tools that replicate excavated specimens as closely as possible and then try to use them as the originals might have been used, in woodcutting, hunting, or cultivation. Depending on how the tool is used, characteristic chippage patterns and microscopically distinguishable polishes develop near the edges. The first application of this method of analysis to stone tools that are 1.5 million to 2 million years old indicates that, from the start, an important function of early stone tools was to extract highly nutritious food - meat and marrow - from large animal carcasses. Fossil bones with cut marks caused by stone tools have been discovered lying in the same 2-million-year-old layers that yielded the oldest such tools and the oldest hominid specimens (including humans) with larger than ape-sized brains. This discovery increases scientists' certainty about when human ancestors began to eat more meat than present-day nonhuman primates. But several questions remain unanswered: how frequently meat eating occurred; what the social implications of meat eating were; and whether the increased use of meat coincides with the beginnings of the use of home bases. | 2098.txt | 0 |
[
"delay tasks",
"work hard",
"seek help",
"accept failure"
] | People with start-up fatigue are most likely to. | Failure is probably the most exhausting experience a person ever has. There is nothing more tiring than not succeeding.
We experience this tiredness in two ways: as start-up fatigue and performance fatigue. In the former case, we keep putting off a task because it has either too boring or too difficult. And the longer we delay it, the more tired we feel.
Such start-up fatigue is very real, even if not actually physical, not something in our muscles and bones. The solution is obvious though perhaps not easy to apply: always handle the most difficult job first.
Years ago, I was asked to write 102 essays on the great ideas of some famous authors. Applying my own rule, I determined to write them in alphabetical, never letting myself leave out a tough idea. And I always started the day's work with the difficult task of essay-writing. Experience proved that the rule works.
Performance fatigue is more difficult to handle. Though willing to get started, we cannot seem to do the job right. Its difficulties appear so great that, however hard we work, we fail again and again. In such a situation, I work as hard as I can-then let the unconscious take over.
When planning Encyclopaedia Britannica (《》), I had to create a table of contents based on the topics of its articles. Nothing like this had ever been done before, and day after dat I kept coming up with solutions, but none of them worked. My fatigue became almost unbearable.
One day, mentally exhausted, I wrote down all the reasons why this problem could not be solved. I tried to convince myself that the trouble was with the problem itself, not with me. Relived, I sat back in an easy chair and fell asleep.
An hour later, I woke up suddenly with the solution clearly in mind. In the weeks that followed, the solution which had come up in my unconscious mind provided correct at every step. Though I worked as hard as before, I felt no fatigue. Success was now as exciting as failure had been depressing.
Human beings, I believe must try to succeed. Success, then, means never feeling tired. | 433.txt | 0 |
[
"Writing essays in strict order.",
"Building up physical strength.",
"Leaving out the toughest ideas.",
"Dealing with the hardest task first."
] | What does the author recommend doing to prevent start-up fatigue? | Failure is probably the most exhausting experience a person ever has. There is nothing more tiring than not succeeding.
We experience this tiredness in two ways: as start-up fatigue and performance fatigue. In the former case, we keep putting off a task because it has either too boring or too difficult. And the longer we delay it, the more tired we feel.
Such start-up fatigue is very real, even if not actually physical, not something in our muscles and bones. The solution is obvious though perhaps not easy to apply: always handle the most difficult job first.
Years ago, I was asked to write 102 essays on the great ideas of some famous authors. Applying my own rule, I determined to write them in alphabetical, never letting myself leave out a tough idea. And I always started the day's work with the difficult task of essay-writing. Experience proved that the rule works.
Performance fatigue is more difficult to handle. Though willing to get started, we cannot seem to do the job right. Its difficulties appear so great that, however hard we work, we fail again and again. In such a situation, I work as hard as I can-then let the unconscious take over.
When planning Encyclopaedia Britannica (《》), I had to create a table of contents based on the topics of its articles. Nothing like this had ever been done before, and day after dat I kept coming up with solutions, but none of them worked. My fatigue became almost unbearable.
One day, mentally exhausted, I wrote down all the reasons why this problem could not be solved. I tried to convince myself that the trouble was with the problem itself, not with me. Relived, I sat back in an easy chair and fell asleep.
An hour later, I woke up suddenly with the solution clearly in mind. In the weeks that followed, the solution which had come up in my unconscious mind provided correct at every step. Though I worked as hard as before, I felt no fatigue. Success was now as exciting as failure had been depressing.
Human beings, I believe must try to succeed. Success, then, means never feeling tired. | 433.txt | 3 |
[
"Before starting a difficult task.",
"When all the solutions fail.",
"If the job is rather boring.",
"After finding a way out."
] | On what occasion does a person probably suffer from performance fatigue? | Failure is probably the most exhausting experience a person ever has. There is nothing more tiring than not succeeding.
We experience this tiredness in two ways: as start-up fatigue and performance fatigue. In the former case, we keep putting off a task because it has either too boring or too difficult. And the longer we delay it, the more tired we feel.
Such start-up fatigue is very real, even if not actually physical, not something in our muscles and bones. The solution is obvious though perhaps not easy to apply: always handle the most difficult job first.
Years ago, I was asked to write 102 essays on the great ideas of some famous authors. Applying my own rule, I determined to write them in alphabetical, never letting myself leave out a tough idea. And I always started the day's work with the difficult task of essay-writing. Experience proved that the rule works.
Performance fatigue is more difficult to handle. Though willing to get started, we cannot seem to do the job right. Its difficulties appear so great that, however hard we work, we fail again and again. In such a situation, I work as hard as I can-then let the unconscious take over.
When planning Encyclopaedia Britannica (《》), I had to create a table of contents based on the topics of its articles. Nothing like this had ever been done before, and day after dat I kept coming up with solutions, but none of them worked. My fatigue became almost unbearable.
One day, mentally exhausted, I wrote down all the reasons why this problem could not be solved. I tried to convince myself that the trouble was with the problem itself, not with me. Relived, I sat back in an easy chair and fell asleep.
An hour later, I woke up suddenly with the solution clearly in mind. In the weeks that followed, the solution which had come up in my unconscious mind provided correct at every step. Though I worked as hard as before, I felt no fatigue. Success was now as exciting as failure had been depressing.
Human beings, I believe must try to succeed. Success, then, means never feeling tired. | 433.txt | 1 |
[
"ignore mental problems",
"get some nice sleep",
"gain complete relief",
"find the right solution"
] | According to the author, the unconscious mind may help us. | Failure is probably the most exhausting experience a person ever has. There is nothing more tiring than not succeeding.
We experience this tiredness in two ways: as start-up fatigue and performance fatigue. In the former case, we keep putting off a task because it has either too boring or too difficult. And the longer we delay it, the more tired we feel.
Such start-up fatigue is very real, even if not actually physical, not something in our muscles and bones. The solution is obvious though perhaps not easy to apply: always handle the most difficult job first.
Years ago, I was asked to write 102 essays on the great ideas of some famous authors. Applying my own rule, I determined to write them in alphabetical, never letting myself leave out a tough idea. And I always started the day's work with the difficult task of essay-writing. Experience proved that the rule works.
Performance fatigue is more difficult to handle. Though willing to get started, we cannot seem to do the job right. Its difficulties appear so great that, however hard we work, we fail again and again. In such a situation, I work as hard as I can-then let the unconscious take over.
When planning Encyclopaedia Britannica (《》), I had to create a table of contents based on the topics of its articles. Nothing like this had ever been done before, and day after dat I kept coming up with solutions, but none of them worked. My fatigue became almost unbearable.
One day, mentally exhausted, I wrote down all the reasons why this problem could not be solved. I tried to convince myself that the trouble was with the problem itself, not with me. Relived, I sat back in an easy chair and fell asleep.
An hour later, I woke up suddenly with the solution clearly in mind. In the weeks that followed, the solution which had come up in my unconscious mind provided correct at every step. Though I worked as hard as before, I felt no fatigue. Success was now as exciting as failure had been depressing.
Human beings, I believe must try to succeed. Success, then, means never feeling tired. | 433.txt | 3 |
[
"Success Is Built upon Failure",
"How to Handle Performance Fatigue",
"Getting over Fatigue: A Way to Success",
"Fatigue: An Early Sign of Health Problems"
] | What could be the best title for the passage? | Failure is probably the most exhausting experience a person ever has. There is nothing more tiring than not succeeding.
We experience this tiredness in two ways: as start-up fatigue and performance fatigue. In the former case, we keep putting off a task because it has either too boring or too difficult. And the longer we delay it, the more tired we feel.
Such start-up fatigue is very real, even if not actually physical, not something in our muscles and bones. The solution is obvious though perhaps not easy to apply: always handle the most difficult job first.
Years ago, I was asked to write 102 essays on the great ideas of some famous authors. Applying my own rule, I determined to write them in alphabetical, never letting myself leave out a tough idea. And I always started the day's work with the difficult task of essay-writing. Experience proved that the rule works.
Performance fatigue is more difficult to handle. Though willing to get started, we cannot seem to do the job right. Its difficulties appear so great that, however hard we work, we fail again and again. In such a situation, I work as hard as I can-then let the unconscious take over.
When planning Encyclopaedia Britannica (《》), I had to create a table of contents based on the topics of its articles. Nothing like this had ever been done before, and day after dat I kept coming up with solutions, but none of them worked. My fatigue became almost unbearable.
One day, mentally exhausted, I wrote down all the reasons why this problem could not be solved. I tried to convince myself that the trouble was with the problem itself, not with me. Relived, I sat back in an easy chair and fell asleep.
An hour later, I woke up suddenly with the solution clearly in mind. In the weeks that followed, the solution which had come up in my unconscious mind provided correct at every step. Though I worked as hard as before, I felt no fatigue. Success was now as exciting as failure had been depressing.
Human beings, I believe must try to succeed. Success, then, means never feeling tired. | 433.txt | 2 |
[
"found people were crazy about bread",
"began to realize the importance of food",
"thought that cutting bread was amazing",
"learned people hardly baked their own bread"
] | When the writer was a child, he/she _ . | I believe that my country，Poland，is a perfect example for a place where food is particularly important. When we were little children, we began to understand how much a loaf of bread meant to our parents-to some it might sound silly but for me the custom of kissing bread before you started cutting it was simply amazing. It's not so common nowadays to treat food that way，since you hardly ever bake your own bread. Besides, everyone would call you crazy if you tried to kiss every bread roll before you ate them! But though we no longer make our food from scratch (）, some customs have been kept-that's why I feel so sorry every time I have to throw any food away-even though I no longer live with my parents and nobody would blame me for this anymore!
Many people of our nation are still working as farmers, eating what they grow and harvest and therefore enjoying everything more. It's widely known that you value more anything that needs your effort in the first place. In most homes in Poland, especially those of farmers, the whole family would try and have their meals together-extremely difficult now, but so rewarding(）! You can share other members' troubles and successes, give your children some attention, or just sit down for a moment! instead of rushing through life aimlessly. Furthermore, your body，and stomach in particular will be very grateful(）for such a time!
In Poland, a wedding，Christmas or even a birthday is celebrated with a great meal. Women in the house get together and cook ,sometimes for a few days before the event，and the extremely good or unusual food will be remembered and widely talked about.
You cannot over-value the importance of food in the country. What's more, almost everyone in Poland will be as interested in the topic as I am. | 3719.txt | 1 |
[
"he/she makes food from scratch",
"his/her parents would blame him/her",
"some customs still have effect on him/her",
"many people are still working haul as farmers"
] | The writer feels very sorry when he/she has to throw away any food because _ . | I believe that my country，Poland，is a perfect example for a place where food is particularly important. When we were little children, we began to understand how much a loaf of bread meant to our parents-to some it might sound silly but for me the custom of kissing bread before you started cutting it was simply amazing. It's not so common nowadays to treat food that way，since you hardly ever bake your own bread. Besides, everyone would call you crazy if you tried to kiss every bread roll before you ate them! But though we no longer make our food from scratch (）, some customs have been kept-that's why I feel so sorry every time I have to throw any food away-even though I no longer live with my parents and nobody would blame me for this anymore!
Many people of our nation are still working as farmers, eating what they grow and harvest and therefore enjoying everything more. It's widely known that you value more anything that needs your effort in the first place. In most homes in Poland, especially those of farmers, the whole family would try and have their meals together-extremely difficult now, but so rewarding(）! You can share other members' troubles and successes, give your children some attention, or just sit down for a moment! instead of rushing through life aimlessly. Furthermore, your body，and stomach in particular will be very grateful(）for such a time!
In Poland, a wedding，Christmas or even a birthday is celebrated with a great meal. Women in the house get together and cook ,sometimes for a few days before the event，and the extremely good or unusual food will be remembered and widely talked about.
You cannot over-value the importance of food in the country. What's more, almost everyone in Poland will be as interested in the topic as I am. | 3719.txt | 2 |
[
"most meals can be interesting topics for a long time",
"the whole family often bare meals together nowadays",
"it's common for women to get together to cook for a few days",
"family members can know more about each other by having meals together"
] | From the text, we can learn that, in Poland, _ . | I believe that my country，Poland，is a perfect example for a place where food is particularly important. When we were little children, we began to understand how much a loaf of bread meant to our parents-to some it might sound silly but for me the custom of kissing bread before you started cutting it was simply amazing. It's not so common nowadays to treat food that way，since you hardly ever bake your own bread. Besides, everyone would call you crazy if you tried to kiss every bread roll before you ate them! But though we no longer make our food from scratch (）, some customs have been kept-that's why I feel so sorry every time I have to throw any food away-even though I no longer live with my parents and nobody would blame me for this anymore!
Many people of our nation are still working as farmers, eating what they grow and harvest and therefore enjoying everything more. It's widely known that you value more anything that needs your effort in the first place. In most homes in Poland, especially those of farmers, the whole family would try and have their meals together-extremely difficult now, but so rewarding(）! You can share other members' troubles and successes, give your children some attention, or just sit down for a moment! instead of rushing through life aimlessly. Furthermore, your body，and stomach in particular will be very grateful(）for such a time!
In Poland, a wedding，Christmas or even a birthday is celebrated with a great meal. Women in the house get together and cook ,sometimes for a few days before the event，and the extremely good or unusual food will be remembered and widely talked about.
You cannot over-value the importance of food in the country. What's more, almost everyone in Poland will be as interested in the topic as I am. | 3719.txt | 3 |
[
"a place where people sang and danced",
"an unmarried woman",
"a hall",
"a street"
] | In the article, "Miss Hall" was the name of _ . | A beautiful and very successful actress was the star of a new musical show. Her home was in the country, but she didn't want to have to go back there every night, so she rented an expensive flat in the centre of the city, bought some beautiful furniture and hired a man to paint the rooms in new colours.
It was very difficult to get tickets for her show because everybody wanted to see it, so she decided to give the painter two of the best seats. She hoped that this would make him work better and more willingly for her. He took the tickets without saying anything, and she heard no more about them until the end of the month, when she got the painter's bill. At the bottom of it were the words "Four hours watching Miss Hall sing and dance,£3," with this note： "After 5 p.m. I get fifteen shillings an hour instead of ten shillings." | 1937.txt | 1 |
[
"near the city",
"near her home",
"in the middle of the city",
"by the side of the country road"
] | The woman's flat was situated _ . | A beautiful and very successful actress was the star of a new musical show. Her home was in the country, but she didn't want to have to go back there every night, so she rented an expensive flat in the centre of the city, bought some beautiful furniture and hired a man to paint the rooms in new colours.
It was very difficult to get tickets for her show because everybody wanted to see it, so she decided to give the painter two of the best seats. She hoped that this would make him work better and more willingly for her. He took the tickets without saying anything, and she heard no more about them until the end of the month, when she got the painter's bill. At the bottom of it were the words "Four hours watching Miss Hall sing and dance,£3," with this note： "After 5 p.m. I get fifteen shillings an hour instead of ten shillings." | 1937.txt | 2 |
[
"be pleased",
"ask less money for his work",
"charge more money for his work",
"say a good word for her musical show"
] | The actress gave the painter two tickets, hoping he would _ . | A beautiful and very successful actress was the star of a new musical show. Her home was in the country, but she didn't want to have to go back there every night, so she rented an expensive flat in the centre of the city, bought some beautiful furniture and hired a man to paint the rooms in new colours.
It was very difficult to get tickets for her show because everybody wanted to see it, so she decided to give the painter two of the best seats. She hoped that this would make him work better and more willingly for her. He took the tickets without saying anything, and she heard no more about them until the end of the month, when she got the painter's bill. At the bottom of it were the words "Four hours watching Miss Hall sing and dance,£3," with this note： "After 5 p.m. I get fifteen shillings an hour instead of ten shillings." | 1937.txt | 0 |
[
"sold them for £3",
"went to watch the musical show",
"paid £3 for them",
"was very thankful to her"
] | After the painter got the tickets from the actress, he _ . | A beautiful and very successful actress was the star of a new musical show. Her home was in the country, but she didn't want to have to go back there every night, so she rented an expensive flat in the centre of the city, bought some beautiful furniture and hired a man to paint the rooms in new colours.
It was very difficult to get tickets for her show because everybody wanted to see it, so she decided to give the painter two of the best seats. She hoped that this would make him work better and more willingly for her. He took the tickets without saying anything, and she heard no more about them until the end of the month, when she got the painter's bill. At the bottom of it were the words "Four hours watching Miss Hall sing and dance,£3," with this note： "After 5 p.m. I get fifteen shillings an hour instead of ten shillings." | 1937.txt | 1 |
[
"both the actress and the painter",
"neither the actress nor the painter",
"the painter",
"the actress"
] | In the story , _ made a mistake. | A beautiful and very successful actress was the star of a new musical show. Her home was in the country, but she didn't want to have to go back there every night, so she rented an expensive flat in the centre of the city, bought some beautiful furniture and hired a man to paint the rooms in new colours.
It was very difficult to get tickets for her show because everybody wanted to see it, so she decided to give the painter two of the best seats. She hoped that this would make him work better and more willingly for her. He took the tickets without saying anything, and she heard no more about them until the end of the month, when she got the painter's bill. At the bottom of it were the words "Four hours watching Miss Hall sing and dance,£3," with this note： "After 5 p.m. I get fifteen shillings an hour instead of ten shillings." | 1937.txt | 0 |
[
"positive effects of women's movements",
"roles played by some political movements",
"negative effects of some political movements",
"positive effects of some political movements"
] | The first paragraph is written to tell us the _ on science. | Some political pressures can have negative effects on the growth of knowledge, while others can have positive effects. Examples of some positive effects of other political movements on science are the roles played by the environmental movements, AIDS activism, the race-based civil rights movement, and, most recently, the nutrition and anti-smoking movements. Attention, also, to issues that concern women's movements can enhance our understanding of the philosophical and social aspects of science and technology.
Consider two changes in the traditional philosophy of science to which women' s movements have contributed. The first has to do with the assumption of neutrality in the research process. Is maximizing the objectivity of research always advanced by maximizing the social neutrality of research processes? The neutrality ideal is maximally effective when it is invoked in contexts where social beliefs differ among members of the scientific community. But how is it useful in detecting social assumptions shared by an entire scientific community--women and men alike--such as assumptions about women's biological inferiority? In such cases it takes political involvement to move scientific institutions to question prevailing assumptions. Moreover, the neutrality ideal cannot recognize or provide resources for distinguishing between social or political assumptions that tend to obstruct the growth of knowledge and those that could advance it. We need strong objectivityto detect the most foundational assumptions that shape our own belief systems.
In a related way, attention to women's concerns has helped to reveal the value of cognitive diversity in the scientific process. Just as biodiversity is invaluable for human well-being, so, too, is cognitive diversity. Few any longer question women's ability to apply the scientific method or to organize complex research projects, even if they do sometimes approach their work in ways less favored by their male colleagues. The human intellectual repertoire consists of many styles and many ways of organizing the production of knowledge. There exists no justifiable scientific or philosophic reason to restrict them to the small numbers that have been favored at particular times and places. Thescientific method can be enhanced by our appreciation of the wealth of intellectual resources to be gained by valuing and promoting cognitive diversity.
Womensissues matter to women in science and technology fields, and in society at large. I have suggested how they also matter to the sciences as such, in ways perhaps initially unexpected. The resources that women's issues make available to the sciences have not been fully realized. Too often women's interests in and desires for knowledge are compromised to satisfy competing economic or political agendas. [429 words] | 1189.txt | 0 |
[
"has not been justified",
"tends to be ineffective",
"is the most fundamental assumption",
"sometimes enhances the objectivity of research"
] | In the author's opinion, the social neutrality of research processes _ . | Some political pressures can have negative effects on the growth of knowledge, while others can have positive effects. Examples of some positive effects of other political movements on science are the roles played by the environmental movements, AIDS activism, the race-based civil rights movement, and, most recently, the nutrition and anti-smoking movements. Attention, also, to issues that concern women's movements can enhance our understanding of the philosophical and social aspects of science and technology.
Consider two changes in the traditional philosophy of science to which women' s movements have contributed. The first has to do with the assumption of neutrality in the research process. Is maximizing the objectivity of research always advanced by maximizing the social neutrality of research processes? The neutrality ideal is maximally effective when it is invoked in contexts where social beliefs differ among members of the scientific community. But how is it useful in detecting social assumptions shared by an entire scientific community--women and men alike--such as assumptions about women's biological inferiority? In such cases it takes political involvement to move scientific institutions to question prevailing assumptions. Moreover, the neutrality ideal cannot recognize or provide resources for distinguishing between social or political assumptions that tend to obstruct the growth of knowledge and those that could advance it. We need strong objectivityto detect the most foundational assumptions that shape our own belief systems.
In a related way, attention to women's concerns has helped to reveal the value of cognitive diversity in the scientific process. Just as biodiversity is invaluable for human well-being, so, too, is cognitive diversity. Few any longer question women's ability to apply the scientific method or to organize complex research projects, even if they do sometimes approach their work in ways less favored by their male colleagues. The human intellectual repertoire consists of many styles and many ways of organizing the production of knowledge. There exists no justifiable scientific or philosophic reason to restrict them to the small numbers that have been favored at particular times and places. Thescientific method can be enhanced by our appreciation of the wealth of intellectual resources to be gained by valuing and promoting cognitive diversity.
Womensissues matter to women in science and technology fields, and in society at large. I have suggested how they also matter to the sciences as such, in ways perhaps initially unexpected. The resources that women's issues make available to the sciences have not been fully realized. Too often women's interests in and desires for knowledge are compromised to satisfy competing economic or political agendas. [429 words] | 1189.txt | 3 |
[
"biodiversiy is of no value at all",
"cognitive diversity is of no value at all",
"cognitive diversity is of great value to science",
"cognitive diversity is as valueless as biodiversity"
] | We can learn from this passage that | Some political pressures can have negative effects on the growth of knowledge, while others can have positive effects. Examples of some positive effects of other political movements on science are the roles played by the environmental movements, AIDS activism, the race-based civil rights movement, and, most recently, the nutrition and anti-smoking movements. Attention, also, to issues that concern women's movements can enhance our understanding of the philosophical and social aspects of science and technology.
Consider two changes in the traditional philosophy of science to which women' s movements have contributed. The first has to do with the assumption of neutrality in the research process. Is maximizing the objectivity of research always advanced by maximizing the social neutrality of research processes? The neutrality ideal is maximally effective when it is invoked in contexts where social beliefs differ among members of the scientific community. But how is it useful in detecting social assumptions shared by an entire scientific community--women and men alike--such as assumptions about women's biological inferiority? In such cases it takes political involvement to move scientific institutions to question prevailing assumptions. Moreover, the neutrality ideal cannot recognize or provide resources for distinguishing between social or political assumptions that tend to obstruct the growth of knowledge and those that could advance it. We need strong objectivityto detect the most foundational assumptions that shape our own belief systems.
In a related way, attention to women's concerns has helped to reveal the value of cognitive diversity in the scientific process. Just as biodiversity is invaluable for human well-being, so, too, is cognitive diversity. Few any longer question women's ability to apply the scientific method or to organize complex research projects, even if they do sometimes approach their work in ways less favored by their male colleagues. The human intellectual repertoire consists of many styles and many ways of organizing the production of knowledge. There exists no justifiable scientific or philosophic reason to restrict them to the small numbers that have been favored at particular times and places. Thescientific method can be enhanced by our appreciation of the wealth of intellectual resources to be gained by valuing and promoting cognitive diversity.
Womensissues matter to women in science and technology fields, and in society at large. I have suggested how they also matter to the sciences as such, in ways perhaps initially unexpected. The resources that women's issues make available to the sciences have not been fully realized. Too often women's interests in and desires for knowledge are compromised to satisfy competing economic or political agendas. [429 words] | 1189.txt | 2 |
[
"incapable of applying the scientific method",
"good at organizing less complex research projects",
"inferior to men both biologically and psychologically",
"prone to use ways different from men's in scientific researches"
] | It is believed that women are _ . | Some political pressures can have negative effects on the growth of knowledge, while others can have positive effects. Examples of some positive effects of other political movements on science are the roles played by the environmental movements, AIDS activism, the race-based civil rights movement, and, most recently, the nutrition and anti-smoking movements. Attention, also, to issues that concern women's movements can enhance our understanding of the philosophical and social aspects of science and technology.
Consider two changes in the traditional philosophy of science to which women' s movements have contributed. The first has to do with the assumption of neutrality in the research process. Is maximizing the objectivity of research always advanced by maximizing the social neutrality of research processes? The neutrality ideal is maximally effective when it is invoked in contexts where social beliefs differ among members of the scientific community. But how is it useful in detecting social assumptions shared by an entire scientific community--women and men alike--such as assumptions about women's biological inferiority? In such cases it takes political involvement to move scientific institutions to question prevailing assumptions. Moreover, the neutrality ideal cannot recognize or provide resources for distinguishing between social or political assumptions that tend to obstruct the growth of knowledge and those that could advance it. We need strong objectivityto detect the most foundational assumptions that shape our own belief systems.
In a related way, attention to women's concerns has helped to reveal the value of cognitive diversity in the scientific process. Just as biodiversity is invaluable for human well-being, so, too, is cognitive diversity. Few any longer question women's ability to apply the scientific method or to organize complex research projects, even if they do sometimes approach their work in ways less favored by their male colleagues. The human intellectual repertoire consists of many styles and many ways of organizing the production of knowledge. There exists no justifiable scientific or philosophic reason to restrict them to the small numbers that have been favored at particular times and places. Thescientific method can be enhanced by our appreciation of the wealth of intellectual resources to be gained by valuing and promoting cognitive diversity.
Womensissues matter to women in science and technology fields, and in society at large. I have suggested how they also matter to the sciences as such, in ways perhaps initially unexpected. The resources that women's issues make available to the sciences have not been fully realized. Too often women's interests in and desires for knowledge are compromised to satisfy competing economic or political agendas. [429 words] | 1189.txt | 3 |
[
"intellectual resources",
"attention to women's issues",
"the benefits of science and technology",
"women's interests in and desire for knowledge"
] | This passage is mainly about _ . | Some political pressures can have negative effects on the growth of knowledge, while others can have positive effects. Examples of some positive effects of other political movements on science are the roles played by the environmental movements, AIDS activism, the race-based civil rights movement, and, most recently, the nutrition and anti-smoking movements. Attention, also, to issues that concern women's movements can enhance our understanding of the philosophical and social aspects of science and technology.
Consider two changes in the traditional philosophy of science to which women' s movements have contributed. The first has to do with the assumption of neutrality in the research process. Is maximizing the objectivity of research always advanced by maximizing the social neutrality of research processes? The neutrality ideal is maximally effective when it is invoked in contexts where social beliefs differ among members of the scientific community. But how is it useful in detecting social assumptions shared by an entire scientific community--women and men alike--such as assumptions about women's biological inferiority? In such cases it takes political involvement to move scientific institutions to question prevailing assumptions. Moreover, the neutrality ideal cannot recognize or provide resources for distinguishing between social or political assumptions that tend to obstruct the growth of knowledge and those that could advance it. We need strong objectivityto detect the most foundational assumptions that shape our own belief systems.
In a related way, attention to women's concerns has helped to reveal the value of cognitive diversity in the scientific process. Just as biodiversity is invaluable for human well-being, so, too, is cognitive diversity. Few any longer question women's ability to apply the scientific method or to organize complex research projects, even if they do sometimes approach their work in ways less favored by their male colleagues. The human intellectual repertoire consists of many styles and many ways of organizing the production of knowledge. There exists no justifiable scientific or philosophic reason to restrict them to the small numbers that have been favored at particular times and places. Thescientific method can be enhanced by our appreciation of the wealth of intellectual resources to be gained by valuing and promoting cognitive diversity.
Womensissues matter to women in science and technology fields, and in society at large. I have suggested how they also matter to the sciences as such, in ways perhaps initially unexpected. The resources that women's issues make available to the sciences have not been fully realized. Too often women's interests in and desires for knowledge are compromised to satisfy competing economic or political agendas. [429 words] | 1189.txt | 1 |
[
"Much less of it was desert than is now the case.",
"Most areas that are now grassland were covered by shallow lakes.",
"It had just undergone a major climatic change.",
"Wild oxen and antelopes lived in separate parts of the region."
] | According to paragraph 1, what was true of the Sahara region around 6,000 B.C. | The Sahara is a highly diverse, albeit dry, region that has undergone major climatic changes since 10,000 B.C. As recently as 6,000 B.C. the southern frontier of the desert was far to the north of where it is now, while semiarid grassland and shallow freshwater lakes covered much of what are now arid plains. This was a landscape where antelope of all kinds aboundedalong with Bos primigenius, a kind of oxen that has become extinct. The areas that are now desert were, like all arid regions, very susceptible to cycles of higher and lower levels of rainfall, resulting in major, sudden changes in distributions of plants and animals. The people who hunted the sparse desert animals responded to drought by managing the wild resources they hunted and gathered, especially wild oxen, which had to have regular water supplies to survive.
Even before the drought, the Sahara was never well watered. Both humans and animals were constantly on the move, in search of food and reliable water supplies. Under these circumstances, archaeologist Andrew Smith believes, the small herds of Bos primigenius in the desert became smaller, more closely knit breeding units as the drought took hold. The beasts were more disciplined, so that it was easier for hunters to predict their habits, and capture animals at will. At the same time, both cattle and humans were more confined in their movements, staying much closer to permanent water supplies for long periods of time. As a result, cattle and humans came into close association.
Smith believes that the hunters were well aware of the more disciplined ways in which their prey behaved. Instead of following the cattle on their annual migrations, the hunters began to prevent the herd from moving from one spot to another. At first, they controlled the movement of the herd while ensuring continuance of their meat diet. But soon they also gained genetic control of the animals, which led to rapid physical changes in the herd. South African farmers who maintain herds of wild eland (large African antelopes with short, twisted horns) report that the offspring soon diminish in size, unless wild bulls are introduced constantly from outside. The same effects of inbreeding may have occurred in controlled cattle populations, with some additional, and perhaps unrecognized, advantages. The newly domesticated animals behaved better, were easier to control, and may have enjoyed a higher birth rate, which in turn yielded greater milk supplies. We know from rock paintings deep in the Sahara that the herders were soon selecting breeding animals to produce offspring with different horn shapes and hide colors.
It is still unclear whether domesticated cattle were tamed independently in northern Africa or introduced to the continent from southwest Asia. Whatever the source of the original tamed herds might have been, it seems entirely likely that much the same process of juxtaposition (living side by side) and control occurred in both southwest Asia and northern Africa, and even in Europe, among peoples who had an intimate knowledge of the behavior of wild cattle. The experiments with domestication probably occurred in many places, as people living in ever-drier environments cast around for more predictable food supplies.
The cattle herders had only a few possessions: unsophisticated pots and polished adzes. They also hunted with bow and arrow. The Saharan people left a remarkable record of their lives painted on the walls of caves deep in the desert. Their artistic endeavors have been preserved in paintings of wild animals, cattle, goats, humans, and scenes of daily life that extend back perhaps to 5,000 B.C. The widespread distribution of pastoral sites of this period suggests that the Saharans ranged their herds over widely separated summer and winter grazing grounds.
About 3,500 B.C., climatic conditions again deteriorated. The Sahara slowly became drier and lakes vanished. On the other hand, rainfall increased in the interior of western Africa, and the northern limit of the tsetse fly, an insect fatal to cattle, moved south. So the herders shifted south, following the major river systems into savanna regions. By this time, the Saharan people were probably using domestic crops, experimenting with such summer rainfall crops as sorghum and millet as they move out of areas where they could grow wheat, barley, and other Mediterranean crops.
adzes: cutting tools with blades set at right angles to the handle. | 3980.txt | 0 |
[
"usually.",
"almost.",
"though.",
"rather."
] | The word "albeit" in the passage(paragraph 1)is closest in meaning to | The Sahara is a highly diverse, albeit dry, region that has undergone major climatic changes since 10,000 B.C. As recently as 6,000 B.C. the southern frontier of the desert was far to the north of where it is now, while semiarid grassland and shallow freshwater lakes covered much of what are now arid plains. This was a landscape where antelope of all kinds aboundedalong with Bos primigenius, a kind of oxen that has become extinct. The areas that are now desert were, like all arid regions, very susceptible to cycles of higher and lower levels of rainfall, resulting in major, sudden changes in distributions of plants and animals. The people who hunted the sparse desert animals responded to drought by managing the wild resources they hunted and gathered, especially wild oxen, which had to have regular water supplies to survive.
Even before the drought, the Sahara was never well watered. Both humans and animals were constantly on the move, in search of food and reliable water supplies. Under these circumstances, archaeologist Andrew Smith believes, the small herds of Bos primigenius in the desert became smaller, more closely knit breeding units as the drought took hold. The beasts were more disciplined, so that it was easier for hunters to predict their habits, and capture animals at will. At the same time, both cattle and humans were more confined in their movements, staying much closer to permanent water supplies for long periods of time. As a result, cattle and humans came into close association.
Smith believes that the hunters were well aware of the more disciplined ways in which their prey behaved. Instead of following the cattle on their annual migrations, the hunters began to prevent the herd from moving from one spot to another. At first, they controlled the movement of the herd while ensuring continuance of their meat diet. But soon they also gained genetic control of the animals, which led to rapid physical changes in the herd. South African farmers who maintain herds of wild eland (large African antelopes with short, twisted horns) report that the offspring soon diminish in size, unless wild bulls are introduced constantly from outside. The same effects of inbreeding may have occurred in controlled cattle populations, with some additional, and perhaps unrecognized, advantages. The newly domesticated animals behaved better, were easier to control, and may have enjoyed a higher birth rate, which in turn yielded greater milk supplies. We know from rock paintings deep in the Sahara that the herders were soon selecting breeding animals to produce offspring with different horn shapes and hide colors.
It is still unclear whether domesticated cattle were tamed independently in northern Africa or introduced to the continent from southwest Asia. Whatever the source of the original tamed herds might have been, it seems entirely likely that much the same process of juxtaposition (living side by side) and control occurred in both southwest Asia and northern Africa, and even in Europe, among peoples who had an intimate knowledge of the behavior of wild cattle. The experiments with domestication probably occurred in many places, as people living in ever-drier environments cast around for more predictable food supplies.
The cattle herders had only a few possessions: unsophisticated pots and polished adzes. They also hunted with bow and arrow. The Saharan people left a remarkable record of their lives painted on the walls of caves deep in the desert. Their artistic endeavors have been preserved in paintings of wild animals, cattle, goats, humans, and scenes of daily life that extend back perhaps to 5,000 B.C. The widespread distribution of pastoral sites of this period suggests that the Saharans ranged their herds over widely separated summer and winter grazing grounds.
About 3,500 B.C., climatic conditions again deteriorated. The Sahara slowly became drier and lakes vanished. On the other hand, rainfall increased in the interior of western Africa, and the northern limit of the tsetse fly, an insect fatal to cattle, moved south. So the herders shifted south, following the major river systems into savanna regions. By this time, the Saharan people were probably using domestic crops, experimenting with such summer rainfall crops as sorghum and millet as they move out of areas where they could grow wheat, barley, and other Mediterranean crops.
adzes: cutting tools with blades set at right angles to the handle. | 3980.txt | 2 |
[
"They include at least some freshwater lakes.",
"They have similar distributions of plants and animals.",
"They are greatly affected by changes in the amount of rain they receive.",
"They have frequent droughts that make it difficult to manage the wild resources."
] | According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of all arid regions? | The Sahara is a highly diverse, albeit dry, region that has undergone major climatic changes since 10,000 B.C. As recently as 6,000 B.C. the southern frontier of the desert was far to the north of where it is now, while semiarid grassland and shallow freshwater lakes covered much of what are now arid plains. This was a landscape where antelope of all kinds aboundedalong with Bos primigenius, a kind of oxen that has become extinct. The areas that are now desert were, like all arid regions, very susceptible to cycles of higher and lower levels of rainfall, resulting in major, sudden changes in distributions of plants and animals. The people who hunted the sparse desert animals responded to drought by managing the wild resources they hunted and gathered, especially wild oxen, which had to have regular water supplies to survive.
Even before the drought, the Sahara was never well watered. Both humans and animals were constantly on the move, in search of food and reliable water supplies. Under these circumstances, archaeologist Andrew Smith believes, the small herds of Bos primigenius in the desert became smaller, more closely knit breeding units as the drought took hold. The beasts were more disciplined, so that it was easier for hunters to predict their habits, and capture animals at will. At the same time, both cattle and humans were more confined in their movements, staying much closer to permanent water supplies for long periods of time. As a result, cattle and humans came into close association.
Smith believes that the hunters were well aware of the more disciplined ways in which their prey behaved. Instead of following the cattle on their annual migrations, the hunters began to prevent the herd from moving from one spot to another. At first, they controlled the movement of the herd while ensuring continuance of their meat diet. But soon they also gained genetic control of the animals, which led to rapid physical changes in the herd. South African farmers who maintain herds of wild eland (large African antelopes with short, twisted horns) report that the offspring soon diminish in size, unless wild bulls are introduced constantly from outside. The same effects of inbreeding may have occurred in controlled cattle populations, with some additional, and perhaps unrecognized, advantages. The newly domesticated animals behaved better, were easier to control, and may have enjoyed a higher birth rate, which in turn yielded greater milk supplies. We know from rock paintings deep in the Sahara that the herders were soon selecting breeding animals to produce offspring with different horn shapes and hide colors.
It is still unclear whether domesticated cattle were tamed independently in northern Africa or introduced to the continent from southwest Asia. Whatever the source of the original tamed herds might have been, it seems entirely likely that much the same process of juxtaposition (living side by side) and control occurred in both southwest Asia and northern Africa, and even in Europe, among peoples who had an intimate knowledge of the behavior of wild cattle. The experiments with domestication probably occurred in many places, as people living in ever-drier environments cast around for more predictable food supplies.
The cattle herders had only a few possessions: unsophisticated pots and polished adzes. They also hunted with bow and arrow. The Saharan people left a remarkable record of their lives painted on the walls of caves deep in the desert. Their artistic endeavors have been preserved in paintings of wild animals, cattle, goats, humans, and scenes of daily life that extend back perhaps to 5,000 B.C. The widespread distribution of pastoral sites of this period suggests that the Saharans ranged their herds over widely separated summer and winter grazing grounds.
About 3,500 B.C., climatic conditions again deteriorated. The Sahara slowly became drier and lakes vanished. On the other hand, rainfall increased in the interior of western Africa, and the northern limit of the tsetse fly, an insect fatal to cattle, moved south. So the herders shifted south, following the major river systems into savanna regions. By this time, the Saharan people were probably using domestic crops, experimenting with such summer rainfall crops as sorghum and millet as they move out of areas where they could grow wheat, barley, and other Mediterranean crops.
adzes: cutting tools with blades set at right angles to the handle. | 3980.txt | 2 |
[
"They traveled in smaller herds.",
"They were harder for hunters to capture.",
"They tended to be significantly smaller in size.",
"They moved along less predictable routes."
] | Paragraph 2 supports which of the following ideas about wild oxen in the Sahara region after the drought took hold? | The Sahara is a highly diverse, albeit dry, region that has undergone major climatic changes since 10,000 B.C. As recently as 6,000 B.C. the southern frontier of the desert was far to the north of where it is now, while semiarid grassland and shallow freshwater lakes covered much of what are now arid plains. This was a landscape where antelope of all kinds aboundedalong with Bos primigenius, a kind of oxen that has become extinct. The areas that are now desert were, like all arid regions, very susceptible to cycles of higher and lower levels of rainfall, resulting in major, sudden changes in distributions of plants and animals. The people who hunted the sparse desert animals responded to drought by managing the wild resources they hunted and gathered, especially wild oxen, which had to have regular water supplies to survive.
Even before the drought, the Sahara was never well watered. Both humans and animals were constantly on the move, in search of food and reliable water supplies. Under these circumstances, archaeologist Andrew Smith believes, the small herds of Bos primigenius in the desert became smaller, more closely knit breeding units as the drought took hold. The beasts were more disciplined, so that it was easier for hunters to predict their habits, and capture animals at will. At the same time, both cattle and humans were more confined in their movements, staying much closer to permanent water supplies for long periods of time. As a result, cattle and humans came into close association.
Smith believes that the hunters were well aware of the more disciplined ways in which their prey behaved. Instead of following the cattle on their annual migrations, the hunters began to prevent the herd from moving from one spot to another. At first, they controlled the movement of the herd while ensuring continuance of their meat diet. But soon they also gained genetic control of the animals, which led to rapid physical changes in the herd. South African farmers who maintain herds of wild eland (large African antelopes with short, twisted horns) report that the offspring soon diminish in size, unless wild bulls are introduced constantly from outside. The same effects of inbreeding may have occurred in controlled cattle populations, with some additional, and perhaps unrecognized, advantages. The newly domesticated animals behaved better, were easier to control, and may have enjoyed a higher birth rate, which in turn yielded greater milk supplies. We know from rock paintings deep in the Sahara that the herders were soon selecting breeding animals to produce offspring with different horn shapes and hide colors.
It is still unclear whether domesticated cattle were tamed independently in northern Africa or introduced to the continent from southwest Asia. Whatever the source of the original tamed herds might have been, it seems entirely likely that much the same process of juxtaposition (living side by side) and control occurred in both southwest Asia and northern Africa, and even in Europe, among peoples who had an intimate knowledge of the behavior of wild cattle. The experiments with domestication probably occurred in many places, as people living in ever-drier environments cast around for more predictable food supplies.
The cattle herders had only a few possessions: unsophisticated pots and polished adzes. They also hunted with bow and arrow. The Saharan people left a remarkable record of their lives painted on the walls of caves deep in the desert. Their artistic endeavors have been preserved in paintings of wild animals, cattle, goats, humans, and scenes of daily life that extend back perhaps to 5,000 B.C. The widespread distribution of pastoral sites of this period suggests that the Saharans ranged their herds over widely separated summer and winter grazing grounds.
About 3,500 B.C., climatic conditions again deteriorated. The Sahara slowly became drier and lakes vanished. On the other hand, rainfall increased in the interior of western Africa, and the northern limit of the tsetse fly, an insect fatal to cattle, moved south. So the herders shifted south, following the major river systems into savanna regions. By this time, the Saharan people were probably using domestic crops, experimenting with such summer rainfall crops as sorghum and millet as they move out of areas where they could grow wheat, barley, and other Mediterranean crops.
adzes: cutting tools with blades set at right angles to the handle. | 3980.txt | 0 |
[
"The development of smaller breeding units within hers.",
"Cattle and humans staying close to permanent water supplies for long period of time.",
"The development of greater discipline among cattle.",
"Cattle and humans constangly on the move searching for food and reliable water supplies."
] | According to paragraph 2, what was it that brought cattle and humans into close association? | The Sahara is a highly diverse, albeit dry, region that has undergone major climatic changes since 10,000 B.C. As recently as 6,000 B.C. the southern frontier of the desert was far to the north of where it is now, while semiarid grassland and shallow freshwater lakes covered much of what are now arid plains. This was a landscape where antelope of all kinds aboundedalong with Bos primigenius, a kind of oxen that has become extinct. The areas that are now desert were, like all arid regions, very susceptible to cycles of higher and lower levels of rainfall, resulting in major, sudden changes in distributions of plants and animals. The people who hunted the sparse desert animals responded to drought by managing the wild resources they hunted and gathered, especially wild oxen, which had to have regular water supplies to survive.
Even before the drought, the Sahara was never well watered. Both humans and animals were constantly on the move, in search of food and reliable water supplies. Under these circumstances, archaeologist Andrew Smith believes, the small herds of Bos primigenius in the desert became smaller, more closely knit breeding units as the drought took hold. The beasts were more disciplined, so that it was easier for hunters to predict their habits, and capture animals at will. At the same time, both cattle and humans were more confined in their movements, staying much closer to permanent water supplies for long periods of time. As a result, cattle and humans came into close association.
Smith believes that the hunters were well aware of the more disciplined ways in which their prey behaved. Instead of following the cattle on their annual migrations, the hunters began to prevent the herd from moving from one spot to another. At first, they controlled the movement of the herd while ensuring continuance of their meat diet. But soon they also gained genetic control of the animals, which led to rapid physical changes in the herd. South African farmers who maintain herds of wild eland (large African antelopes with short, twisted horns) report that the offspring soon diminish in size, unless wild bulls are introduced constantly from outside. The same effects of inbreeding may have occurred in controlled cattle populations, with some additional, and perhaps unrecognized, advantages. The newly domesticated animals behaved better, were easier to control, and may have enjoyed a higher birth rate, which in turn yielded greater milk supplies. We know from rock paintings deep in the Sahara that the herders were soon selecting breeding animals to produce offspring with different horn shapes and hide colors.
It is still unclear whether domesticated cattle were tamed independently in northern Africa or introduced to the continent from southwest Asia. Whatever the source of the original tamed herds might have been, it seems entirely likely that much the same process of juxtaposition (living side by side) and control occurred in both southwest Asia and northern Africa, and even in Europe, among peoples who had an intimate knowledge of the behavior of wild cattle. The experiments with domestication probably occurred in many places, as people living in ever-drier environments cast around for more predictable food supplies.
The cattle herders had only a few possessions: unsophisticated pots and polished adzes. They also hunted with bow and arrow. The Saharan people left a remarkable record of their lives painted on the walls of caves deep in the desert. Their artistic endeavors have been preserved in paintings of wild animals, cattle, goats, humans, and scenes of daily life that extend back perhaps to 5,000 B.C. The widespread distribution of pastoral sites of this period suggests that the Saharans ranged their herds over widely separated summer and winter grazing grounds.
About 3,500 B.C., climatic conditions again deteriorated. The Sahara slowly became drier and lakes vanished. On the other hand, rainfall increased in the interior of western Africa, and the northern limit of the tsetse fly, an insect fatal to cattle, moved south. So the herders shifted south, following the major river systems into savanna regions. By this time, the Saharan people were probably using domestic crops, experimenting with such summer rainfall crops as sorghum and millet as they move out of areas where they could grow wheat, barley, and other Mediterranean crops.
adzes: cutting tools with blades set at right angles to the handle. | 3980.txt | 1 |
[
"To help explain why the hunters wanted to control the herds.",
"To provide support for the idea that the herders soon gained genetic control of the cattle",
"To show that the herders had artistic as well as practical abilities",
"To argue that the herders soon began to value their cattle for more than food."
] | Why does the author mention the "rock paintings deep in the Sahara"? | The Sahara is a highly diverse, albeit dry, region that has undergone major climatic changes since 10,000 B.C. As recently as 6,000 B.C. the southern frontier of the desert was far to the north of where it is now, while semiarid grassland and shallow freshwater lakes covered much of what are now arid plains. This was a landscape where antelope of all kinds aboundedalong with Bos primigenius, a kind of oxen that has become extinct. The areas that are now desert were, like all arid regions, very susceptible to cycles of higher and lower levels of rainfall, resulting in major, sudden changes in distributions of plants and animals. The people who hunted the sparse desert animals responded to drought by managing the wild resources they hunted and gathered, especially wild oxen, which had to have regular water supplies to survive.
Even before the drought, the Sahara was never well watered. Both humans and animals were constantly on the move, in search of food and reliable water supplies. Under these circumstances, archaeologist Andrew Smith believes, the small herds of Bos primigenius in the desert became smaller, more closely knit breeding units as the drought took hold. The beasts were more disciplined, so that it was easier for hunters to predict their habits, and capture animals at will. At the same time, both cattle and humans were more confined in their movements, staying much closer to permanent water supplies for long periods of time. As a result, cattle and humans came into close association.
Smith believes that the hunters were well aware of the more disciplined ways in which their prey behaved. Instead of following the cattle on their annual migrations, the hunters began to prevent the herd from moving from one spot to another. At first, they controlled the movement of the herd while ensuring continuance of their meat diet. But soon they also gained genetic control of the animals, which led to rapid physical changes in the herd. South African farmers who maintain herds of wild eland (large African antelopes with short, twisted horns) report that the offspring soon diminish in size, unless wild bulls are introduced constantly from outside. The same effects of inbreeding may have occurred in controlled cattle populations, with some additional, and perhaps unrecognized, advantages. The newly domesticated animals behaved better, were easier to control, and may have enjoyed a higher birth rate, which in turn yielded greater milk supplies. We know from rock paintings deep in the Sahara that the herders were soon selecting breeding animals to produce offspring with different horn shapes and hide colors.
It is still unclear whether domesticated cattle were tamed independently in northern Africa or introduced to the continent from southwest Asia. Whatever the source of the original tamed herds might have been, it seems entirely likely that much the same process of juxtaposition (living side by side) and control occurred in both southwest Asia and northern Africa, and even in Europe, among peoples who had an intimate knowledge of the behavior of wild cattle. The experiments with domestication probably occurred in many places, as people living in ever-drier environments cast around for more predictable food supplies.
The cattle herders had only a few possessions: unsophisticated pots and polished adzes. They also hunted with bow and arrow. The Saharan people left a remarkable record of their lives painted on the walls of caves deep in the desert. Their artistic endeavors have been preserved in paintings of wild animals, cattle, goats, humans, and scenes of daily life that extend back perhaps to 5,000 B.C. The widespread distribution of pastoral sites of this period suggests that the Saharans ranged their herds over widely separated summer and winter grazing grounds.
About 3,500 B.C., climatic conditions again deteriorated. The Sahara slowly became drier and lakes vanished. On the other hand, rainfall increased in the interior of western Africa, and the northern limit of the tsetse fly, an insect fatal to cattle, moved south. So the herders shifted south, following the major river systems into savanna regions. By this time, the Saharan people were probably using domestic crops, experimenting with such summer rainfall crops as sorghum and millet as they move out of areas where they could grow wheat, barley, and other Mediterranean crops.
adzes: cutting tools with blades set at right angles to the handle. | 3980.txt | 1 |
[
"They were controlled more easily by the farmers.",
"They produced a larger number of offspring.",
"They produce more milk.",
"They were larger in size."
] | According to paragraph 3, all of the following statements were true of newly domesticated animals EXCEPT | The Sahara is a highly diverse, albeit dry, region that has undergone major climatic changes since 10,000 B.C. As recently as 6,000 B.C. the southern frontier of the desert was far to the north of where it is now, while semiarid grassland and shallow freshwater lakes covered much of what are now arid plains. This was a landscape where antelope of all kinds aboundedalong with Bos primigenius, a kind of oxen that has become extinct. The areas that are now desert were, like all arid regions, very susceptible to cycles of higher and lower levels of rainfall, resulting in major, sudden changes in distributions of plants and animals. The people who hunted the sparse desert animals responded to drought by managing the wild resources they hunted and gathered, especially wild oxen, which had to have regular water supplies to survive.
Even before the drought, the Sahara was never well watered. Both humans and animals were constantly on the move, in search of food and reliable water supplies. Under these circumstances, archaeologist Andrew Smith believes, the small herds of Bos primigenius in the desert became smaller, more closely knit breeding units as the drought took hold. The beasts were more disciplined, so that it was easier for hunters to predict their habits, and capture animals at will. At the same time, both cattle and humans were more confined in their movements, staying much closer to permanent water supplies for long periods of time. As a result, cattle and humans came into close association.
Smith believes that the hunters were well aware of the more disciplined ways in which their prey behaved. Instead of following the cattle on their annual migrations, the hunters began to prevent the herd from moving from one spot to another. At first, they controlled the movement of the herd while ensuring continuance of their meat diet. But soon they also gained genetic control of the animals, which led to rapid physical changes in the herd. South African farmers who maintain herds of wild eland (large African antelopes with short, twisted horns) report that the offspring soon diminish in size, unless wild bulls are introduced constantly from outside. The same effects of inbreeding may have occurred in controlled cattle populations, with some additional, and perhaps unrecognized, advantages. The newly domesticated animals behaved better, were easier to control, and may have enjoyed a higher birth rate, which in turn yielded greater milk supplies. We know from rock paintings deep in the Sahara that the herders were soon selecting breeding animals to produce offspring with different horn shapes and hide colors.
It is still unclear whether domesticated cattle were tamed independently in northern Africa or introduced to the continent from southwest Asia. Whatever the source of the original tamed herds might have been, it seems entirely likely that much the same process of juxtaposition (living side by side) and control occurred in both southwest Asia and northern Africa, and even in Europe, among peoples who had an intimate knowledge of the behavior of wild cattle. The experiments with domestication probably occurred in many places, as people living in ever-drier environments cast around for more predictable food supplies.
The cattle herders had only a few possessions: unsophisticated pots and polished adzes. They also hunted with bow and arrow. The Saharan people left a remarkable record of their lives painted on the walls of caves deep in the desert. Their artistic endeavors have been preserved in paintings of wild animals, cattle, goats, humans, and scenes of daily life that extend back perhaps to 5,000 B.C. The widespread distribution of pastoral sites of this period suggests that the Saharans ranged their herds over widely separated summer and winter grazing grounds.
About 3,500 B.C., climatic conditions again deteriorated. The Sahara slowly became drier and lakes vanished. On the other hand, rainfall increased in the interior of western Africa, and the northern limit of the tsetse fly, an insect fatal to cattle, moved south. So the herders shifted south, following the major river systems into savanna regions. By this time, the Saharan people were probably using domestic crops, experimenting with such summer rainfall crops as sorghum and millet as they move out of areas where they could grow wheat, barley, and other Mediterranean crops.
adzes: cutting tools with blades set at right angles to the handle. | 3980.txt | 3 |
[
"They had few possessions apart from cattle.",
"After about 5,000 B.C., they lived primarily in caves that were located deep in the desert.",
"Between the summer and winter seasons, they moved their herds over long distances.",
"They painted animals and scenes of daily life on the walls of caves."
] | According to paragraph 5, each of the following was true about the early Saharan people EXCEPT | The Sahara is a highly diverse, albeit dry, region that has undergone major climatic changes since 10,000 B.C. As recently as 6,000 B.C. the southern frontier of the desert was far to the north of where it is now, while semiarid grassland and shallow freshwater lakes covered much of what are now arid plains. This was a landscape where antelope of all kinds aboundedalong with Bos primigenius, a kind of oxen that has become extinct. The areas that are now desert were, like all arid regions, very susceptible to cycles of higher and lower levels of rainfall, resulting in major, sudden changes in distributions of plants and animals. The people who hunted the sparse desert animals responded to drought by managing the wild resources they hunted and gathered, especially wild oxen, which had to have regular water supplies to survive.
Even before the drought, the Sahara was never well watered. Both humans and animals were constantly on the move, in search of food and reliable water supplies. Under these circumstances, archaeologist Andrew Smith believes, the small herds of Bos primigenius in the desert became smaller, more closely knit breeding units as the drought took hold. The beasts were more disciplined, so that it was easier for hunters to predict their habits, and capture animals at will. At the same time, both cattle and humans were more confined in their movements, staying much closer to permanent water supplies for long periods of time. As a result, cattle and humans came into close association.
Smith believes that the hunters were well aware of the more disciplined ways in which their prey behaved. Instead of following the cattle on their annual migrations, the hunters began to prevent the herd from moving from one spot to another. At first, they controlled the movement of the herd while ensuring continuance of their meat diet. But soon they also gained genetic control of the animals, which led to rapid physical changes in the herd. South African farmers who maintain herds of wild eland (large African antelopes with short, twisted horns) report that the offspring soon diminish in size, unless wild bulls are introduced constantly from outside. The same effects of inbreeding may have occurred in controlled cattle populations, with some additional, and perhaps unrecognized, advantages. The newly domesticated animals behaved better, were easier to control, and may have enjoyed a higher birth rate, which in turn yielded greater milk supplies. We know from rock paintings deep in the Sahara that the herders were soon selecting breeding animals to produce offspring with different horn shapes and hide colors.
It is still unclear whether domesticated cattle were tamed independently in northern Africa or introduced to the continent from southwest Asia. Whatever the source of the original tamed herds might have been, it seems entirely likely that much the same process of juxtaposition (living side by side) and control occurred in both southwest Asia and northern Africa, and even in Europe, among peoples who had an intimate knowledge of the behavior of wild cattle. The experiments with domestication probably occurred in many places, as people living in ever-drier environments cast around for more predictable food supplies.
The cattle herders had only a few possessions: unsophisticated pots and polished adzes. They also hunted with bow and arrow. The Saharan people left a remarkable record of their lives painted on the walls of caves deep in the desert. Their artistic endeavors have been preserved in paintings of wild animals, cattle, goats, humans, and scenes of daily life that extend back perhaps to 5,000 B.C. The widespread distribution of pastoral sites of this period suggests that the Saharans ranged their herds over widely separated summer and winter grazing grounds.
About 3,500 B.C., climatic conditions again deteriorated. The Sahara slowly became drier and lakes vanished. On the other hand, rainfall increased in the interior of western Africa, and the northern limit of the tsetse fly, an insect fatal to cattle, moved south. So the herders shifted south, following the major river systems into savanna regions. By this time, the Saharan people were probably using domestic crops, experimenting with such summer rainfall crops as sorghum and millet as they move out of areas where they could grow wheat, barley, and other Mediterranean crops.
adzes: cutting tools with blades set at right angles to the handle. | 3980.txt | 1 |
[
"methods.",
"styles.",
"scenes.",
"efforts."
] | The word "endeavors" in the passage is closest in meaning to | The Sahara is a highly diverse, albeit dry, region that has undergone major climatic changes since 10,000 B.C. As recently as 6,000 B.C. the southern frontier of the desert was far to the north of where it is now, while semiarid grassland and shallow freshwater lakes covered much of what are now arid plains. This was a landscape where antelope of all kinds aboundedalong with Bos primigenius, a kind of oxen that has become extinct. The areas that are now desert were, like all arid regions, very susceptible to cycles of higher and lower levels of rainfall, resulting in major, sudden changes in distributions of plants and animals. The people who hunted the sparse desert animals responded to drought by managing the wild resources they hunted and gathered, especially wild oxen, which had to have regular water supplies to survive.
Even before the drought, the Sahara was never well watered. Both humans and animals were constantly on the move, in search of food and reliable water supplies. Under these circumstances, archaeologist Andrew Smith believes, the small herds of Bos primigenius in the desert became smaller, more closely knit breeding units as the drought took hold. The beasts were more disciplined, so that it was easier for hunters to predict their habits, and capture animals at will. At the same time, both cattle and humans were more confined in their movements, staying much closer to permanent water supplies for long periods of time. As a result, cattle and humans came into close association.
Smith believes that the hunters were well aware of the more disciplined ways in which their prey behaved. Instead of following the cattle on their annual migrations, the hunters began to prevent the herd from moving from one spot to another. At first, they controlled the movement of the herd while ensuring continuance of their meat diet. But soon they also gained genetic control of the animals, which led to rapid physical changes in the herd. South African farmers who maintain herds of wild eland (large African antelopes with short, twisted horns) report that the offspring soon diminish in size, unless wild bulls are introduced constantly from outside. The same effects of inbreeding may have occurred in controlled cattle populations, with some additional, and perhaps unrecognized, advantages. The newly domesticated animals behaved better, were easier to control, and may have enjoyed a higher birth rate, which in turn yielded greater milk supplies. We know from rock paintings deep in the Sahara that the herders were soon selecting breeding animals to produce offspring with different horn shapes and hide colors.
It is still unclear whether domesticated cattle were tamed independently in northern Africa or introduced to the continent from southwest Asia. Whatever the source of the original tamed herds might have been, it seems entirely likely that much the same process of juxtaposition (living side by side) and control occurred in both southwest Asia and northern Africa, and even in Europe, among peoples who had an intimate knowledge of the behavior of wild cattle. The experiments with domestication probably occurred in many places, as people living in ever-drier environments cast around for more predictable food supplies.
The cattle herders had only a few possessions: unsophisticated pots and polished adzes. They also hunted with bow and arrow. The Saharan people left a remarkable record of their lives painted on the walls of caves deep in the desert. Their artistic endeavors have been preserved in paintings of wild animals, cattle, goats, humans, and scenes of daily life that extend back perhaps to 5,000 B.C. The widespread distribution of pastoral sites of this period suggests that the Saharans ranged their herds over widely separated summer and winter grazing grounds.
About 3,500 B.C., climatic conditions again deteriorated. The Sahara slowly became drier and lakes vanished. On the other hand, rainfall increased in the interior of western Africa, and the northern limit of the tsetse fly, an insect fatal to cattle, moved south. So the herders shifted south, following the major river systems into savanna regions. By this time, the Saharan people were probably using domestic crops, experimenting with such summer rainfall crops as sorghum and millet as they move out of areas where they could grow wheat, barley, and other Mediterranean crops.
adzes: cutting tools with blades set at right angles to the handle. | 3980.txt | 3 |
[
"became unstable.",
"caused hardship.",
"changed completely.",
"got worse."
] | The word "deteriorated" in the passage is closest in meaning to | The Sahara is a highly diverse, albeit dry, region that has undergone major climatic changes since 10,000 B.C. As recently as 6,000 B.C. the southern frontier of the desert was far to the north of where it is now, while semiarid grassland and shallow freshwater lakes covered much of what are now arid plains. This was a landscape where antelope of all kinds aboundedalong with Bos primigenius, a kind of oxen that has become extinct. The areas that are now desert were, like all arid regions, very susceptible to cycles of higher and lower levels of rainfall, resulting in major, sudden changes in distributions of plants and animals. The people who hunted the sparse desert animals responded to drought by managing the wild resources they hunted and gathered, especially wild oxen, which had to have regular water supplies to survive.
Even before the drought, the Sahara was never well watered. Both humans and animals were constantly on the move, in search of food and reliable water supplies. Under these circumstances, archaeologist Andrew Smith believes, the small herds of Bos primigenius in the desert became smaller, more closely knit breeding units as the drought took hold. The beasts were more disciplined, so that it was easier for hunters to predict their habits, and capture animals at will. At the same time, both cattle and humans were more confined in their movements, staying much closer to permanent water supplies for long periods of time. As a result, cattle and humans came into close association.
Smith believes that the hunters were well aware of the more disciplined ways in which their prey behaved. Instead of following the cattle on their annual migrations, the hunters began to prevent the herd from moving from one spot to another. At first, they controlled the movement of the herd while ensuring continuance of their meat diet. But soon they also gained genetic control of the animals, which led to rapid physical changes in the herd. South African farmers who maintain herds of wild eland (large African antelopes with short, twisted horns) report that the offspring soon diminish in size, unless wild bulls are introduced constantly from outside. The same effects of inbreeding may have occurred in controlled cattle populations, with some additional, and perhaps unrecognized, advantages. The newly domesticated animals behaved better, were easier to control, and may have enjoyed a higher birth rate, which in turn yielded greater milk supplies. We know from rock paintings deep in the Sahara that the herders were soon selecting breeding animals to produce offspring with different horn shapes and hide colors.
It is still unclear whether domesticated cattle were tamed independently in northern Africa or introduced to the continent from southwest Asia. Whatever the source of the original tamed herds might have been, it seems entirely likely that much the same process of juxtaposition (living side by side) and control occurred in both southwest Asia and northern Africa, and even in Europe, among peoples who had an intimate knowledge of the behavior of wild cattle. The experiments with domestication probably occurred in many places, as people living in ever-drier environments cast around for more predictable food supplies.
The cattle herders had only a few possessions: unsophisticated pots and polished adzes. They also hunted with bow and arrow. The Saharan people left a remarkable record of their lives painted on the walls of caves deep in the desert. Their artistic endeavors have been preserved in paintings of wild animals, cattle, goats, humans, and scenes of daily life that extend back perhaps to 5,000 B.C. The widespread distribution of pastoral sites of this period suggests that the Saharans ranged their herds over widely separated summer and winter grazing grounds.
About 3,500 B.C., climatic conditions again deteriorated. The Sahara slowly became drier and lakes vanished. On the other hand, rainfall increased in the interior of western Africa, and the northern limit of the tsetse fly, an insect fatal to cattle, moved south. So the herders shifted south, following the major river systems into savanna regions. By this time, the Saharan people were probably using domestic crops, experimenting with such summer rainfall crops as sorghum and millet as they move out of areas where they could grow wheat, barley, and other Mediterranean crops.
adzes: cutting tools with blades set at right angles to the handle. | 3980.txt | 3 |
[
"They could easily grow Mediterranean crops in those regions.",
"They could more easily domesticated sorghum and millet in those regions.",
"The tsetse fly was no longer a problem in those regions.",
"The river systems in those regions provided reliable sources of water in the summer."
] | According to paragraph 6, what allowed the herders to shift south into the savanna regions after about 3,500 B.C. | The Sahara is a highly diverse, albeit dry, region that has undergone major climatic changes since 10,000 B.C. As recently as 6,000 B.C. the southern frontier of the desert was far to the north of where it is now, while semiarid grassland and shallow freshwater lakes covered much of what are now arid plains. This was a landscape where antelope of all kinds aboundedalong with Bos primigenius, a kind of oxen that has become extinct. The areas that are now desert were, like all arid regions, very susceptible to cycles of higher and lower levels of rainfall, resulting in major, sudden changes in distributions of plants and animals. The people who hunted the sparse desert animals responded to drought by managing the wild resources they hunted and gathered, especially wild oxen, which had to have regular water supplies to survive.
Even before the drought, the Sahara was never well watered. Both humans and animals were constantly on the move, in search of food and reliable water supplies. Under these circumstances, archaeologist Andrew Smith believes, the small herds of Bos primigenius in the desert became smaller, more closely knit breeding units as the drought took hold. The beasts were more disciplined, so that it was easier for hunters to predict their habits, and capture animals at will. At the same time, both cattle and humans were more confined in their movements, staying much closer to permanent water supplies for long periods of time. As a result, cattle and humans came into close association.
Smith believes that the hunters were well aware of the more disciplined ways in which their prey behaved. Instead of following the cattle on their annual migrations, the hunters began to prevent the herd from moving from one spot to another. At first, they controlled the movement of the herd while ensuring continuance of their meat diet. But soon they also gained genetic control of the animals, which led to rapid physical changes in the herd. South African farmers who maintain herds of wild eland (large African antelopes with short, twisted horns) report that the offspring soon diminish in size, unless wild bulls are introduced constantly from outside. The same effects of inbreeding may have occurred in controlled cattle populations, with some additional, and perhaps unrecognized, advantages. The newly domesticated animals behaved better, were easier to control, and may have enjoyed a higher birth rate, which in turn yielded greater milk supplies. We know from rock paintings deep in the Sahara that the herders were soon selecting breeding animals to produce offspring with different horn shapes and hide colors.
It is still unclear whether domesticated cattle were tamed independently in northern Africa or introduced to the continent from southwest Asia. Whatever the source of the original tamed herds might have been, it seems entirely likely that much the same process of juxtaposition (living side by side) and control occurred in both southwest Asia and northern Africa, and even in Europe, among peoples who had an intimate knowledge of the behavior of wild cattle. The experiments with domestication probably occurred in many places, as people living in ever-drier environments cast around for more predictable food supplies.
The cattle herders had only a few possessions: unsophisticated pots and polished adzes. They also hunted with bow and arrow. The Saharan people left a remarkable record of their lives painted on the walls of caves deep in the desert. Their artistic endeavors have been preserved in paintings of wild animals, cattle, goats, humans, and scenes of daily life that extend back perhaps to 5,000 B.C. The widespread distribution of pastoral sites of this period suggests that the Saharans ranged their herds over widely separated summer and winter grazing grounds.
About 3,500 B.C., climatic conditions again deteriorated. The Sahara slowly became drier and lakes vanished. On the other hand, rainfall increased in the interior of western Africa, and the northern limit of the tsetse fly, an insect fatal to cattle, moved south. So the herders shifted south, following the major river systems into savanna regions. By this time, the Saharan people were probably using domestic crops, experimenting with such summer rainfall crops as sorghum and millet as they move out of areas where they could grow wheat, barley, and other Mediterranean crops.
adzes: cutting tools with blades set at right angles to the handle. | 3980.txt | 2 |
[
"Motorways have no sharp bends.",
"Motorways have no roundabouts.",
"Motorways have no traffic lights.",
"Motorways have no speed restriction."
] | Which of the following is NOT TRUE? | Motorways are, no doubt, the safest roads in the country. Mile for mile, vehicle for vehicle, you are much less likely or seriously injured than on an ordinary road. On the other hand, if you do have a serious accident on motorway, fatalities are much more likely to occur than in a comparable accident elsewhere on the roads.
Motorways have no sharp bends, no roundabouts or traffic lights and thus speeds are much greater than on other roads. Though the 70m. p. h. limit is still in force, it is often treated with the contempt that most drivers have for the 30 m. p. h. limit applying in built-up areas in Britain. Added to this is the fact that motorway drivers seem to like traveling with perhaps barely ten meters between each vehicle. The resulting horrific pileups(involving maybe a hundred vehicles) when one vehicle stops for some reason-mechanical failure, driver error and so on-have become all too familiar through pictures in newspapers or on television. How many of these drivers realize that it takes a car about one hundred meters to brake to a stop from 70 m. p. h. ? Drivers also seem to think that motorway driving frees them from sudden change of the weather. However wet the road, whatever the visibility in mist or fog, they plough at very high speeds oblivious of police warnings or speed restrictions until their journey comes to a premature conclusion.
Perhaps one remedy for this motorway madness would be better driver education. At present, learner drivers are barred from motorways and are thus, as far as this kind of driving is concerned, thrown in at the deep end. However, much more efficient policing is required, for it is the duty of the police not only to enforce the law but also to protect the general public from its own folly. | 1471.txt | 3 |
[
"there are much more accidents on ordinary roads",
"motorways are not the safest roads",
"in an accident, people are much more unlikely to be killed on motorways",
"people are more likely to be killed on motorways"
] | This passage may lead us to infer that_ . | Motorways are, no doubt, the safest roads in the country. Mile for mile, vehicle for vehicle, you are much less likely or seriously injured than on an ordinary road. On the other hand, if you do have a serious accident on motorway, fatalities are much more likely to occur than in a comparable accident elsewhere on the roads.
Motorways have no sharp bends, no roundabouts or traffic lights and thus speeds are much greater than on other roads. Though the 70m. p. h. limit is still in force, it is often treated with the contempt that most drivers have for the 30 m. p. h. limit applying in built-up areas in Britain. Added to this is the fact that motorway drivers seem to like traveling with perhaps barely ten meters between each vehicle. The resulting horrific pileups(involving maybe a hundred vehicles) when one vehicle stops for some reason-mechanical failure, driver error and so on-have become all too familiar through pictures in newspapers or on television. How many of these drivers realize that it takes a car about one hundred meters to brake to a stop from 70 m. p. h. ? Drivers also seem to think that motorway driving frees them from sudden change of the weather. However wet the road, whatever the visibility in mist or fog, they plough at very high speeds oblivious of police warnings or speed restrictions until their journey comes to a premature conclusion.
Perhaps one remedy for this motorway madness would be better driver education. At present, learner drivers are barred from motorways and are thus, as far as this kind of driving is concerned, thrown in at the deep end. However, much more efficient policing is required, for it is the duty of the police not only to enforce the law but also to protect the general public from its own folly. | 1471.txt | 0 |
[
"Drivers realize that it takes a car about a hundred meters to brake to a stop from 70 m. p. h. .",
"Drivers drive very fast in mist or fog.",
"Drivers like traveling with short distance in between.",
"Drivers drive at mad speeds."
] | Which of the following was not a reason for road accident? | Motorways are, no doubt, the safest roads in the country. Mile for mile, vehicle for vehicle, you are much less likely or seriously injured than on an ordinary road. On the other hand, if you do have a serious accident on motorway, fatalities are much more likely to occur than in a comparable accident elsewhere on the roads.
Motorways have no sharp bends, no roundabouts or traffic lights and thus speeds are much greater than on other roads. Though the 70m. p. h. limit is still in force, it is often treated with the contempt that most drivers have for the 30 m. p. h. limit applying in built-up areas in Britain. Added to this is the fact that motorway drivers seem to like traveling with perhaps barely ten meters between each vehicle. The resulting horrific pileups(involving maybe a hundred vehicles) when one vehicle stops for some reason-mechanical failure, driver error and so on-have become all too familiar through pictures in newspapers or on television. How many of these drivers realize that it takes a car about one hundred meters to brake to a stop from 70 m. p. h. ? Drivers also seem to think that motorway driving frees them from sudden change of the weather. However wet the road, whatever the visibility in mist or fog, they plough at very high speeds oblivious of police warnings or speed restrictions until their journey comes to a premature conclusion.
Perhaps one remedy for this motorway madness would be better driver education. At present, learner drivers are barred from motorways and are thus, as far as this kind of driving is concerned, thrown in at the deep end. However, much more efficient policing is required, for it is the duty of the police not only to enforce the law but also to protect the general public from its own folly. | 1471.txt | 0 |
[
"pessimistic",
"optimistic",
"careless",
"serious"
] | The drivers' attitude toward the weather is_ . | Motorways are, no doubt, the safest roads in the country. Mile for mile, vehicle for vehicle, you are much less likely or seriously injured than on an ordinary road. On the other hand, if you do have a serious accident on motorway, fatalities are much more likely to occur than in a comparable accident elsewhere on the roads.
Motorways have no sharp bends, no roundabouts or traffic lights and thus speeds are much greater than on other roads. Though the 70m. p. h. limit is still in force, it is often treated with the contempt that most drivers have for the 30 m. p. h. limit applying in built-up areas in Britain. Added to this is the fact that motorway drivers seem to like traveling with perhaps barely ten meters between each vehicle. The resulting horrific pileups(involving maybe a hundred vehicles) when one vehicle stops for some reason-mechanical failure, driver error and so on-have become all too familiar through pictures in newspapers or on television. How many of these drivers realize that it takes a car about one hundred meters to brake to a stop from 70 m. p. h. ? Drivers also seem to think that motorway driving frees them from sudden change of the weather. However wet the road, whatever the visibility in mist or fog, they plough at very high speeds oblivious of police warnings or speed restrictions until their journey comes to a premature conclusion.
Perhaps one remedy for this motorway madness would be better driver education. At present, learner drivers are barred from motorways and are thus, as far as this kind of driving is concerned, thrown in at the deep end. However, much more efficient policing is required, for it is the duty of the police not only to enforce the law but also to protect the general public from its own folly. | 1471.txt | 2 |
[
"better driver education",
"that learner drivers are barred from motorways",
"that more efficient policing is required",
"all of them"
] | The ways to deal with motorway madness may be_ . | Motorways are, no doubt, the safest roads in the country. Mile for mile, vehicle for vehicle, you are much less likely or seriously injured than on an ordinary road. On the other hand, if you do have a serious accident on motorway, fatalities are much more likely to occur than in a comparable accident elsewhere on the roads.
Motorways have no sharp bends, no roundabouts or traffic lights and thus speeds are much greater than on other roads. Though the 70m. p. h. limit is still in force, it is often treated with the contempt that most drivers have for the 30 m. p. h. limit applying in built-up areas in Britain. Added to this is the fact that motorway drivers seem to like traveling with perhaps barely ten meters between each vehicle. The resulting horrific pileups(involving maybe a hundred vehicles) when one vehicle stops for some reason-mechanical failure, driver error and so on-have become all too familiar through pictures in newspapers or on television. How many of these drivers realize that it takes a car about one hundred meters to brake to a stop from 70 m. p. h. ? Drivers also seem to think that motorway driving frees them from sudden change of the weather. However wet the road, whatever the visibility in mist or fog, they plough at very high speeds oblivious of police warnings or speed restrictions until their journey comes to a premature conclusion.
Perhaps one remedy for this motorway madness would be better driver education. At present, learner drivers are barred from motorways and are thus, as far as this kind of driving is concerned, thrown in at the deep end. However, much more efficient policing is required, for it is the duty of the police not only to enforce the law but also to protect the general public from its own folly. | 1471.txt | 3 |
[
"1980",
"80,400,000",
"2.64",
"90 milion"
] | The smaller figure of families reported here is _ . | Washingtom,April4-The United States has morethan 90millon families for the first time ,but eachcontains fewer people on average than ever ,theCensus Bureau reported today.
The 90,031,000 families in the United Statesaveraged 2.64 members each as of last July 1. ―Thereason is, in effect, changes in the age structure,‖explained Campbell Gibson, a population researcher for the bureau. Most Americans born inthe great explosion of births after World War II are mow in their 20‘s and 20‘s when they aremost likely to set up families, he said.
The fact that many are doing so increased the number of families from 80.4million in 1980to 88.8 million in 1986 and past the 90 million mark last summer. At the same time, theaverage number of people per family dropped from 2.75 in 1935 to 2.65 in 1986 and then to2.64,Mr Gibson said.
By comparison, the 1970 Census found the average family contained 3.15 peopleFamilies averaged more than four people in 1939 and more than five in 1880. The growingnumber of ever- smaller families is still going on, but Mr Gibson pointed out that family growthwas mot the same as population increase in the 1970‘s. The same age factors that areincreasing the number of families also happened then, but in the 1970‘s the proportionof families in each age group was also growing.
That has not continued in the 1980‘s for a number of possible reasons, Mr Gibson said.
For example, in the 1880‘s more young people have chosen to remain home with theirparents instead of setting up housekeeping on their own ,as many did in the 1970‘s. This couldbe caused by the increasing cost of housing, he said. Delays in marriage while was not the onlyfactor for the family changes. | 2507.txt | 1 |
[
"About 9.96million new families have been set up since 1980.",
"All the big families were split into smaller ones.",
"There is a great number of young people who are newly married.",
"There was a great explosion of births during the present Second World War."
] | How did Mr Gibsin explain the reason of the increase in families? _ . | Washingtom,April4-The United States has morethan 90millon families for the first time ,but eachcontains fewer people on average than ever ,theCensus Bureau reported today.
The 90,031,000 families in the United Statesaveraged 2.64 members each as of last July 1. ―Thereason is, in effect, changes in the age structure,‖explained Campbell Gibson, a population researcher for the bureau. Most Americans born inthe great explosion of births after World War II are mow in their 20‘s and 20‘s when they aremost likely to set up families, he said.
The fact that many are doing so increased the number of families from 80.4million in 1980to 88.8 million in 1986 and past the 90 million mark last summer. At the same time, theaverage number of people per family dropped from 2.75 in 1935 to 2.65 in 1986 and then to2.64,Mr Gibson said.
By comparison, the 1970 Census found the average family contained 3.15 peopleFamilies averaged more than four people in 1939 and more than five in 1880. The growingnumber of ever- smaller families is still going on, but Mr Gibson pointed out that family growthwas mot the same as population increase in the 1970‘s. The same age factors that areincreasing the number of families also happened then, but in the 1970‘s the proportionof families in each age group was also growing.
That has not continued in the 1980‘s for a number of possible reasons, Mr Gibson said.
For example, in the 1880‘s more young people have chosen to remain home with theirparents instead of setting up housekeeping on their own ,as many did in the 1970‘s. This couldbe caused by the increasing cost of housing, he said. Delays in marriage while was not the onlyfactor for the family changes. | 2507.txt | 2 |
[
"peopAle should get married at a later age.",
"The average number of family numbers should be 2.64.",
"It‘s not clear in the report.",
"Young people should set up housekeeping on their own ,as many did in the 1970‘s."
] | What is the reporter‘s attitude toward the present situation? _ . | Washingtom,April4-The United States has morethan 90millon families for the first time ,but eachcontains fewer people on average than ever ,theCensus Bureau reported today.
The 90,031,000 families in the United Statesaveraged 2.64 members each as of last July 1. ―Thereason is, in effect, changes in the age structure,‖explained Campbell Gibson, a population researcher for the bureau. Most Americans born inthe great explosion of births after World War II are mow in their 20‘s and 20‘s when they aremost likely to set up families, he said.
The fact that many are doing so increased the number of families from 80.4million in 1980to 88.8 million in 1986 and past the 90 million mark last summer. At the same time, theaverage number of people per family dropped from 2.75 in 1935 to 2.65 in 1986 and then to2.64,Mr Gibson said.
By comparison, the 1970 Census found the average family contained 3.15 peopleFamilies averaged more than four people in 1939 and more than five in 1880. The growingnumber of ever- smaller families is still going on, but Mr Gibson pointed out that family growthwas mot the same as population increase in the 1970‘s. The same age factors that areincreasing the number of families also happened then, but in the 1970‘s the proportionof families in each age group was also growing.
That has not continued in the 1980‘s for a number of possible reasons, Mr Gibson said.
For example, in the 1880‘s more young people have chosen to remain home with theirparents instead of setting up housekeeping on their own ,as many did in the 1970‘s. This couldbe caused by the increasing cost of housing, he said. Delays in marriage while was not the onlyfactor for the family changes. | 2507.txt | 2 |
[
"delay in marriage will not help the number of families",
"Delay in marriage is the major factor of the family changes",
"The writer felt sorry that many young people now delay their marriages",
"There must be some other factors which have led to the slower family growth in the1980‘s."
] | From the last paragraph we may infer that _ . | Washingtom,April4-The United States has morethan 90millon families for the first time ,but eachcontains fewer people on average than ever ,theCensus Bureau reported today.
The 90,031,000 families in the United Statesaveraged 2.64 members each as of last July 1. ―Thereason is, in effect, changes in the age structure,‖explained Campbell Gibson, a population researcher for the bureau. Most Americans born inthe great explosion of births after World War II are mow in their 20‘s and 20‘s when they aremost likely to set up families, he said.
The fact that many are doing so increased the number of families from 80.4million in 1980to 88.8 million in 1986 and past the 90 million mark last summer. At the same time, theaverage number of people per family dropped from 2.75 in 1935 to 2.65 in 1986 and then to2.64,Mr Gibson said.
By comparison, the 1970 Census found the average family contained 3.15 peopleFamilies averaged more than four people in 1939 and more than five in 1880. The growingnumber of ever- smaller families is still going on, but Mr Gibson pointed out that family growthwas mot the same as population increase in the 1970‘s. The same age factors that areincreasing the number of families also happened then, but in the 1970‘s the proportionof families in each age group was also growing.
That has not continued in the 1980‘s for a number of possible reasons, Mr Gibson said.
For example, in the 1880‘s more young people have chosen to remain home with theirparents instead of setting up housekeeping on their own ,as many did in the 1970‘s. This couldbe caused by the increasing cost of housing, he said. Delays in marriage while was not the onlyfactor for the family changes. | 2507.txt | 3 |
[
"you have to sell something in order to buy something",
"you have to buy something in order to sell something",
"you don't have to buy something in order to sell something",
"the seller and the purchaser are the same person"
] | Using money as a medium of exchange means that _ . | As a medium of exchange, money permits the separation of exchange into the two distinct acts of buying and selling. Hence producers who know they will be paid in money, can concentrate on finding the most suitable outlet for their goods, while buyers who will pay in money, can concentrate on finding the cheapest market for the wings they wish to purchase. (83) Specialization is encouraged, because people whose output is not a complete product but only a part of one can be paid an amount equivalent to their share of the product.
Another advantage of money is that it is a measure of value. In a barter economy it would be necessary to determine how many plates were worth one hundred weight of cotton, or how many pens should be exchanged for a ton of coal. (84) The process of establishing relative values would have to be undertaken for every act of exchange, according to what products were being offered against one another, and according to the two parties'desires and preferences.
Thirdly, money acts as store of wealth. It is difficult to imagine saving under a barter system. No one engaged on only one stage in the manufacture of a product could save part of his output, since he would be producing nothing complete. Most products deteriorate fairly rapidly, either physically or in value, as a result of long storage; even if storage were possible, the practice of storing products for years on end would involve
obvious disadvantages. If wealth could not be saved, or only with great difficulty, future needs could not be provided. | 2077.txt | 2 |
[
"people can use their money to buy whatever they want",
"people get paid according to their share of the product.",
"people pay great attention to the manufacture of a product",
"people cannot use their money to buy whatever they want"
] | Specialization is encouraged because _ . | As a medium of exchange, money permits the separation of exchange into the two distinct acts of buying and selling. Hence producers who know they will be paid in money, can concentrate on finding the most suitable outlet for their goods, while buyers who will pay in money, can concentrate on finding the cheapest market for the wings they wish to purchase. (83) Specialization is encouraged, because people whose output is not a complete product but only a part of one can be paid an amount equivalent to their share of the product.
Another advantage of money is that it is a measure of value. In a barter economy it would be necessary to determine how many plates were worth one hundred weight of cotton, or how many pens should be exchanged for a ton of coal. (84) The process of establishing relative values would have to be undertaken for every act of exchange, according to what products were being offered against one another, and according to the two parties'desires and preferences.
Thirdly, money acts as store of wealth. It is difficult to imagine saving under a barter system. No one engaged on only one stage in the manufacture of a product could save part of his output, since he would be producing nothing complete. Most products deteriorate fairly rapidly, either physically or in value, as a result of long storage; even if storage were possible, the practice of storing products for years on end would involve
obvious disadvantages. If wealth could not be saved, or only with great difficulty, future needs could not be provided. | 2077.txt | 3 |
[
"value is decided by weight",
"value is decided by number",
"money is used and goods are not exchanged",
"goods are exchanged and money is not used"
] | A barter economy is one in which _ . | As a medium of exchange, money permits the separation of exchange into the two distinct acts of buying and selling. Hence producers who know they will be paid in money, can concentrate on finding the most suitable outlet for their goods, while buyers who will pay in money, can concentrate on finding the cheapest market for the wings they wish to purchase. (83) Specialization is encouraged, because people whose output is not a complete product but only a part of one can be paid an amount equivalent to their share of the product.
Another advantage of money is that it is a measure of value. In a barter economy it would be necessary to determine how many plates were worth one hundred weight of cotton, or how many pens should be exchanged for a ton of coal. (84) The process of establishing relative values would have to be undertaken for every act of exchange, according to what products were being offered against one another, and according to the two parties'desires and preferences.
Thirdly, money acts as store of wealth. It is difficult to imagine saving under a barter system. No one engaged on only one stage in the manufacture of a product could save part of his output, since he would be producing nothing complete. Most products deteriorate fairly rapidly, either physically or in value, as a result of long storage; even if storage were possible, the practice of storing products for years on end would involve
obvious disadvantages. If wealth could not be saved, or only with great difficulty, future needs could not be provided. | 2077.txt | 3 |
[
"this would need years of practice",
"coal, for example, would lose its value",
"they could not be stored for years on end",
"many products would lose their value"
] | If one had to save products instead of money, _. | As a medium of exchange, money permits the separation of exchange into the two distinct acts of buying and selling. Hence producers who know they will be paid in money, can concentrate on finding the most suitable outlet for their goods, while buyers who will pay in money, can concentrate on finding the cheapest market for the wings they wish to purchase. (83) Specialization is encouraged, because people whose output is not a complete product but only a part of one can be paid an amount equivalent to their share of the product.
Another advantage of money is that it is a measure of value. In a barter economy it would be necessary to determine how many plates were worth one hundred weight of cotton, or how many pens should be exchanged for a ton of coal. (84) The process of establishing relative values would have to be undertaken for every act of exchange, according to what products were being offered against one another, and according to the two parties'desires and preferences.
Thirdly, money acts as store of wealth. It is difficult to imagine saving under a barter system. No one engaged on only one stage in the manufacture of a product could save part of his output, since he would be producing nothing complete. Most products deteriorate fairly rapidly, either physically or in value, as a result of long storage; even if storage were possible, the practice of storing products for years on end would involve
obvious disadvantages. If wealth could not be saved, or only with great difficulty, future needs could not be provided. | 2077.txt | 3 |
[
"Two",
"Three",
"Four",
"Five"
] | How many advantages of money are mentioned in this passage? | As a medium of exchange, money permits the separation of exchange into the two distinct acts of buying and selling. Hence producers who know they will be paid in money, can concentrate on finding the most suitable outlet for their goods, while buyers who will pay in money, can concentrate on finding the cheapest market for the wings they wish to purchase. (83) Specialization is encouraged, because people whose output is not a complete product but only a part of one can be paid an amount equivalent to their share of the product.
Another advantage of money is that it is a measure of value. In a barter economy it would be necessary to determine how many plates were worth one hundred weight of cotton, or how many pens should be exchanged for a ton of coal. (84) The process of establishing relative values would have to be undertaken for every act of exchange, according to what products were being offered against one another, and according to the two parties'desires and preferences.
Thirdly, money acts as store of wealth. It is difficult to imagine saving under a barter system. No one engaged on only one stage in the manufacture of a product could save part of his output, since he would be producing nothing complete. Most products deteriorate fairly rapidly, either physically or in value, as a result of long storage; even if storage were possible, the practice of storing products for years on end would involve
obvious disadvantages. If wealth could not be saved, or only with great difficulty, future needs could not be provided. | 2077.txt | 1 |
[
"he made the first electric light",
"electric power was l00 years old",
"the country realized electricity's importance",
"he died in 1931"
] | People decided to honor Edison when_ . | Thomas Alva Edison was awarded more patents on inventions than any other American.
When he died in l931，Americans wondered how they could best show their respect for him.
One suggestion was that the nation observe a minute or two of total black-out.All electric power would be shut off in homes streets and factories.
Perhaps this suggestion made Americans realize fully what Edison and his inventions
meant to them.Electric power was too important to the country.Shutting it off for even a short time would have led to complete confusion.A black-out was out of the question.
On the day of Edison's funeral，many people silently dimmed their lights.In this way they honored the man who had done mroe than anyone else to put the great force of electricity at his countrymen's fingertips. | 1868.txt | 3 |
[
"turn off the lights in factories and schools",
"observe a few minutes of total silence",
"dim all electric lights",
"shut off all electricity for a short time"
] | The suggestion was to_ . | Thomas Alva Edison was awarded more patents on inventions than any other American.
When he died in l931，Americans wondered how they could best show their respect for him.
One suggestion was that the nation observe a minute or two of total black-out.All electric power would be shut off in homes streets and factories.
Perhaps this suggestion made Americans realize fully what Edison and his inventions
meant to them.Electric power was too important to the country.Shutting it off for even a short time would have led to complete confusion.A black-out was out of the question.
On the day of Edison's funeral，many people silently dimmed their lights.In this way they honored the man who had done mroe than anyone else to put the great force of electricity at his countrymen's fingertips. | 1868.txt | 3 |
[
"heard of his death",
"heard of the plan to honor him",
"first used electric power",
"tried to carry out the plan"
] | Americans fully realized what Edison's inventions meant when they_ . | Thomas Alva Edison was awarded more patents on inventions than any other American.
When he died in l931，Americans wondered how they could best show their respect for him.
One suggestion was that the nation observe a minute or two of total black-out.All electric power would be shut off in homes streets and factories.
Perhaps this suggestion made Americans realize fully what Edison and his inventions
meant to them.Electric power was too important to the country.Shutting it off for even a short time would have led to complete confusion.A black-out was out of the question.
On the day of Edison's funeral，many people silently dimmed their lights.In this way they honored the man who had done mroe than anyone else to put the great force of electricity at his countrymen's fingertips. | 1868.txt | 1 |
[
"not everyone wanted to honor Edison",
"it was too diffcult",
"electric power Was too important to the country",
"it honored only one of Edison's inventions"
] | The plan was never carried out because_ . | Thomas Alva Edison was awarded more patents on inventions than any other American.
When he died in l931，Americans wondered how they could best show their respect for him.
One suggestion was that the nation observe a minute or two of total black-out.All electric power would be shut off in homes streets and factories.
Perhaps this suggestion made Americans realize fully what Edison and his inventions
meant to them.Electric power was too important to the country.Shutting it off for even a short time would have led to complete confusion.A black-out was out of the question.
On the day of Edison's funeral，many people silently dimmed their lights.In this way they honored the man who had done mroe than anyone else to put the great force of electricity at his countrymen's fingertips. | 1868.txt | 2 |
[
"populations grew unexpectedly",
"the majority were well educated",
"1ire expectancy increased sharply",
"science and technology advanced"
] | One of the radical changes in developed nations in the 20th century was that_ | The 20th century witnessed two profound changes in regions of the world where people are well educated and science and technology flourish：Life expectancy nearly doubled，and fertility rates fell dramatically.As a result，individuals and populations are aging.
VirtuaIlv all educated people are aware of the graying of the United States，yet relatively few are as aware of its implications for science，technology， and human culture.Longer life is a remarkable achievement，but now we need to apply what we are learning in the natural and social sciences to redesign human cuIture to accommodate long lives. We need to find cures for Alzheimer's disease and arthritis， develoD technologies that render many age-related frailties such as poor balance invisible in the way eyeglasses now compensate for presbyopia，and begin seriously rethinking cultural norms，such as the timing of education and retirement.
Longevity is the largely unexpected consequence of improvements in general living conditions. Genetically speaking，we are no smarter or heartier than our relatives were 10，000 years a90. Nonetheless。in practical terms we are more biologically fit than our great-grandparents.Robert Fogel and his colleague Dora Costa coined the term technophysio evolutionto refer to improvements in biological functioning that are a consequence of technological advances.They point out that technologies developed mostly in the past century vastly improved the quality and sustainability of the food supply. Subseauent improvements in nutrition were so dramatic that average body size increased by 50％and life expectancy doubled.The working capacity of vital organs greatly improved.Breakthroughs in manufaeturin9，transportation，energy'production，and communications contributed further to improvements in biological functionin9.Medical technology now enables full recovery from accidents or illnesses that were previously fatal or disabling.
Remember，however，that advances of the 20th century did not aim to increase longevity or alleviate the disabling conditions of later life.Longer life was the byproduct of better conditions for the young. The challenge today is to build a world that is j ust as responsive to the needs of very old people as to the very voun9.The solutions must come from science and technology. Unlike evolution by natural selection。which operates across millennia，improvements in functioning due to technological advances can occur in a matter of years.In fact，given that the first of the 7 7 million Baby Boomers turned 60 in 2006。there is no time to waste.To the extent that we effectively use science and technology to compensate for human frailties at advanced ages，the conversation under way in the nation changes from one about old age to one about long Iife，and this is a far more interesting and more productive Conversation to have. [444 words] | 1220.txt | 2 |
[
"manage to adapt our culture to it",
"redesign our educational systems",
"find cures for age-related diseases",
"develop technologies for old people"
] | Facing the rapid increase of the aging population，we should_ | The 20th century witnessed two profound changes in regions of the world where people are well educated and science and technology flourish：Life expectancy nearly doubled，and fertility rates fell dramatically.As a result，individuals and populations are aging.
VirtuaIlv all educated people are aware of the graying of the United States，yet relatively few are as aware of its implications for science，technology， and human culture.Longer life is a remarkable achievement，but now we need to apply what we are learning in the natural and social sciences to redesign human cuIture to accommodate long lives. We need to find cures for Alzheimer's disease and arthritis， develoD technologies that render many age-related frailties such as poor balance invisible in the way eyeglasses now compensate for presbyopia，and begin seriously rethinking cultural norms，such as the timing of education and retirement.
Longevity is the largely unexpected consequence of improvements in general living conditions. Genetically speaking，we are no smarter or heartier than our relatives were 10，000 years a90. Nonetheless。in practical terms we are more biologically fit than our great-grandparents.Robert Fogel and his colleague Dora Costa coined the term technophysio evolutionto refer to improvements in biological functioning that are a consequence of technological advances.They point out that technologies developed mostly in the past century vastly improved the quality and sustainability of the food supply. Subseauent improvements in nutrition were so dramatic that average body size increased by 50％and life expectancy doubled.The working capacity of vital organs greatly improved.Breakthroughs in manufaeturin9，transportation，energy'production，and communications contributed further to improvements in biological functionin9.Medical technology now enables full recovery from accidents or illnesses that were previously fatal or disabling.
Remember，however，that advances of the 20th century did not aim to increase longevity or alleviate the disabling conditions of later life.Longer life was the byproduct of better conditions for the young. The challenge today is to build a world that is j ust as responsive to the needs of very old people as to the very voun9.The solutions must come from science and technology. Unlike evolution by natural selection。which operates across millennia，improvements in functioning due to technological advances can occur in a matter of years.In fact，given that the first of the 7 7 million Baby Boomers turned 60 in 2006。there is no time to waste.To the extent that we effectively use science and technology to compensate for human frailties at advanced ages，the conversation under way in the nation changes from one about old age to one about long Iife，and this is a far more interesting and more productive Conversation to have. [444 words] | 1220.txt | 0 |
[
"largely beyond our expectations",
"attributed to various technological advances",
"due to the improved quality of the food supply",
"inevitable with the improvement of living conditions"
] | According to Robert Fogel and Dora Costa，improved biological functioning is_ . | The 20th century witnessed two profound changes in regions of the world where people are well educated and science and technology flourish：Life expectancy nearly doubled，and fertility rates fell dramatically.As a result，individuals and populations are aging.
VirtuaIlv all educated people are aware of the graying of the United States，yet relatively few are as aware of its implications for science，technology， and human culture.Longer life is a remarkable achievement，but now we need to apply what we are learning in the natural and social sciences to redesign human cuIture to accommodate long lives. We need to find cures for Alzheimer's disease and arthritis， develoD technologies that render many age-related frailties such as poor balance invisible in the way eyeglasses now compensate for presbyopia，and begin seriously rethinking cultural norms，such as the timing of education and retirement.
Longevity is the largely unexpected consequence of improvements in general living conditions. Genetically speaking，we are no smarter or heartier than our relatives were 10，000 years a90. Nonetheless。in practical terms we are more biologically fit than our great-grandparents.Robert Fogel and his colleague Dora Costa coined the term technophysio evolutionto refer to improvements in biological functioning that are a consequence of technological advances.They point out that technologies developed mostly in the past century vastly improved the quality and sustainability of the food supply. Subseauent improvements in nutrition were so dramatic that average body size increased by 50％and life expectancy doubled.The working capacity of vital organs greatly improved.Breakthroughs in manufaeturin9，transportation，energy'production，and communications contributed further to improvements in biological functionin9.Medical technology now enables full recovery from accidents or illnesses that were previously fatal or disabling.
Remember，however，that advances of the 20th century did not aim to increase longevity or alleviate the disabling conditions of later life.Longer life was the byproduct of better conditions for the young. The challenge today is to build a world that is j ust as responsive to the needs of very old people as to the very voun9.The solutions must come from science and technology. Unlike evolution by natural selection。which operates across millennia，improvements in functioning due to technological advances can occur in a matter of years.In fact，given that the first of the 7 7 million Baby Boomers turned 60 in 2006。there is no time to waste.To the extent that we effectively use science and technology to compensate for human frailties at advanced ages，the conversation under way in the nation changes from one about old age to one about long Iife，and this is a far more interesting and more productive Conversation to have. [444 words] | 1220.txt | 1 |
[
"to accommodate to the needs of young people",
"to improve living conditions for all the people",
"to increase the life expectancy of the majority",
"to attune to the needs of both old and young"
] | In the authors opinion, the world we have built is_ . | The 20th century witnessed two profound changes in regions of the world where people are well educated and science and technology flourish：Life expectancy nearly doubled，and fertility rates fell dramatically.As a result，individuals and populations are aging.
VirtuaIlv all educated people are aware of the graying of the United States，yet relatively few are as aware of its implications for science，technology， and human culture.Longer life is a remarkable achievement，but now we need to apply what we are learning in the natural and social sciences to redesign human cuIture to accommodate long lives. We need to find cures for Alzheimer's disease and arthritis， develoD technologies that render many age-related frailties such as poor balance invisible in the way eyeglasses now compensate for presbyopia，and begin seriously rethinking cultural norms，such as the timing of education and retirement.
Longevity is the largely unexpected consequence of improvements in general living conditions. Genetically speaking，we are no smarter or heartier than our relatives were 10，000 years a90. Nonetheless。in practical terms we are more biologically fit than our great-grandparents.Robert Fogel and his colleague Dora Costa coined the term technophysio evolutionto refer to improvements in biological functioning that are a consequence of technological advances.They point out that technologies developed mostly in the past century vastly improved the quality and sustainability of the food supply. Subseauent improvements in nutrition were so dramatic that average body size increased by 50％and life expectancy doubled.The working capacity of vital organs greatly improved.Breakthroughs in manufaeturin9，transportation，energy'production，and communications contributed further to improvements in biological functionin9.Medical technology now enables full recovery from accidents or illnesses that were previously fatal or disabling.
Remember，however，that advances of the 20th century did not aim to increase longevity or alleviate the disabling conditions of later life.Longer life was the byproduct of better conditions for the young. The challenge today is to build a world that is j ust as responsive to the needs of very old people as to the very voun9.The solutions must come from science and technology. Unlike evolution by natural selection。which operates across millennia，improvements in functioning due to technological advances can occur in a matter of years.In fact，given that the first of the 7 7 million Baby Boomers turned 60 in 2006。there is no time to waste.To the extent that we effectively use science and technology to compensate for human frailties at advanced ages，the conversation under way in the nation changes from one about old age to one about long Iife，and this is a far more interesting and more productive Conversation to have. [444 words] | 1220.txt | 0 |
[
"spare no efforts to increase life expectancy",
"be aware of the rapid graying of our society",
"apply science and technology in everyday life",
"try our best to improve the lives of old people"
] | The author proposes that we should_ . | The 20th century witnessed two profound changes in regions of the world where people are well educated and science and technology flourish：Life expectancy nearly doubled，and fertility rates fell dramatically.As a result，individuals and populations are aging.
VirtuaIlv all educated people are aware of the graying of the United States，yet relatively few are as aware of its implications for science，technology， and human culture.Longer life is a remarkable achievement，but now we need to apply what we are learning in the natural and social sciences to redesign human cuIture to accommodate long lives. We need to find cures for Alzheimer's disease and arthritis， develoD technologies that render many age-related frailties such as poor balance invisible in the way eyeglasses now compensate for presbyopia，and begin seriously rethinking cultural norms，such as the timing of education and retirement.
Longevity is the largely unexpected consequence of improvements in general living conditions. Genetically speaking，we are no smarter or heartier than our relatives were 10，000 years a90. Nonetheless。in practical terms we are more biologically fit than our great-grandparents.Robert Fogel and his colleague Dora Costa coined the term technophysio evolutionto refer to improvements in biological functioning that are a consequence of technological advances.They point out that technologies developed mostly in the past century vastly improved the quality and sustainability of the food supply. Subseauent improvements in nutrition were so dramatic that average body size increased by 50％and life expectancy doubled.The working capacity of vital organs greatly improved.Breakthroughs in manufaeturin9，transportation，energy'production，and communications contributed further to improvements in biological functionin9.Medical technology now enables full recovery from accidents or illnesses that were previously fatal or disabling.
Remember，however，that advances of the 20th century did not aim to increase longevity or alleviate the disabling conditions of later life.Longer life was the byproduct of better conditions for the young. The challenge today is to build a world that is j ust as responsive to the needs of very old people as to the very voun9.The solutions must come from science and technology. Unlike evolution by natural selection。which operates across millennia，improvements in functioning due to technological advances can occur in a matter of years.In fact，given that the first of the 7 7 million Baby Boomers turned 60 in 2006。there is no time to waste.To the extent that we effectively use science and technology to compensate for human frailties at advanced ages，the conversation under way in the nation changes from one about old age to one about long Iife，and this is a far more interesting and more productive Conversation to have. [444 words] | 1220.txt | 3 |
[
"at school",
"on the train",
"in the playground",
"in the street"
] | Where did Polly and Kathy meet? | Kathy and Polly were friends but they liked playing tricks on each other
One day Kathy met Polly in the street. She said, "Hi, Polly. It's good to see you."
"How can you see me when I'm not here?" Polly asked.
"What do you mean, you' re not here?" Kathy asked. "Of course you 're here."
"No, I'm not." Polly said. "and I'll bet you ten dollars that I can prove I'm not here."
"Alright," said Kathy. "Ten dollars. Now prove you' re not here."
"Easy," Polly said, "Am I in Hong Kong?"
"No," said Kathy.
"Am I in Paris?"
"No," said Kathy.
"If I'm not in Hong Kong and I'm not in Paris," Polly said, " then I must be somewhere else. Right?"
"Right," said Kathy. "You must be somewhere else."
"Exactly." said Polly. "And if I'm somewhere else I can't be here, can I? Ten dollars, please. "
"That's very clever, Polly," Kathy said, "but I can't give you ten dollars."
"Why not?" asked Polly. "We had a bet.
"Certainly we had a bet," Kathy said, "but how can I give you ten dollars if you're not here?"
And with a laugh she walked away. | 3551.txt | 3 |
[
"be friends with Kathy",
"bet on Kathy",
"make a bet with Kathy",
"give Kathy some money"
] | Polly wanted to _ . | Kathy and Polly were friends but they liked playing tricks on each other
One day Kathy met Polly in the street. She said, "Hi, Polly. It's good to see you."
"How can you see me when I'm not here?" Polly asked.
"What do you mean, you' re not here?" Kathy asked. "Of course you 're here."
"No, I'm not." Polly said. "and I'll bet you ten dollars that I can prove I'm not here."
"Alright," said Kathy. "Ten dollars. Now prove you' re not here."
"Easy," Polly said, "Am I in Hong Kong?"
"No," said Kathy.
"Am I in Paris?"
"No," said Kathy.
"If I'm not in Hong Kong and I'm not in Paris," Polly said, " then I must be somewhere else. Right?"
"Right," said Kathy. "You must be somewhere else."
"Exactly." said Polly. "And if I'm somewhere else I can't be here, can I? Ten dollars, please. "
"That's very clever, Polly," Kathy said, "but I can't give you ten dollars."
"Why not?" asked Polly. "We had a bet.
"Certainly we had a bet," Kathy said, "but how can I give you ten dollars if you're not here?"
And with a laugh she walked away. | 3551.txt | 2 |
[
"prove she wasn't there.",
"give Kathy ten dollars.",
"90 to Paris.",
"prove she was in Hong Kong."
] | What did Polly say she could do? | Kathy and Polly were friends but they liked playing tricks on each other
One day Kathy met Polly in the street. She said, "Hi, Polly. It's good to see you."
"How can you see me when I'm not here?" Polly asked.
"What do you mean, you' re not here?" Kathy asked. "Of course you 're here."
"No, I'm not." Polly said. "and I'll bet you ten dollars that I can prove I'm not here."
"Alright," said Kathy. "Ten dollars. Now prove you' re not here."
"Easy," Polly said, "Am I in Hong Kong?"
"No," said Kathy.
"Am I in Paris?"
"No," said Kathy.
"If I'm not in Hong Kong and I'm not in Paris," Polly said, " then I must be somewhere else. Right?"
"Right," said Kathy. "You must be somewhere else."
"Exactly." said Polly. "And if I'm somewhere else I can't be here, can I? Ten dollars, please. "
"That's very clever, Polly," Kathy said, "but I can't give you ten dollars."
"Why not?" asked Polly. "We had a bet.
"Certainly we had a bet," Kathy said, "but how can I give you ten dollars if you're not here?"
And with a laugh she walked away. | 3551.txt | 0 |
[
"She gave Polly ten dollars.",
"She proved she couldn't give Polly the money.",
"She was angry with Polly.",
"She refused the bet."
] | What did Kathy do? | Kathy and Polly were friends but they liked playing tricks on each other
One day Kathy met Polly in the street. She said, "Hi, Polly. It's good to see you."
"How can you see me when I'm not here?" Polly asked.
"What do you mean, you' re not here?" Kathy asked. "Of course you 're here."
"No, I'm not." Polly said. "and I'll bet you ten dollars that I can prove I'm not here."
"Alright," said Kathy. "Ten dollars. Now prove you' re not here."
"Easy," Polly said, "Am I in Hong Kong?"
"No," said Kathy.
"Am I in Paris?"
"No," said Kathy.
"If I'm not in Hong Kong and I'm not in Paris," Polly said, " then I must be somewhere else. Right?"
"Right," said Kathy. "You must be somewhere else."
"Exactly." said Polly. "And if I'm somewhere else I can't be here, can I? Ten dollars, please. "
"That's very clever, Polly," Kathy said, "but I can't give you ten dollars."
"Why not?" asked Polly. "We had a bet.
"Certainly we had a bet," Kathy said, "but how can I give you ten dollars if you're not here?"
And with a laugh she walked away. | 3551.txt | 1 |
[
"Polly is very clever",
"Kathy is very clever",
"neither of them is very clever",
"both of them are very clever"
] | So from the story we can know _ . | Kathy and Polly were friends but they liked playing tricks on each other
One day Kathy met Polly in the street. She said, "Hi, Polly. It's good to see you."
"How can you see me when I'm not here?" Polly asked.
"What do you mean, you' re not here?" Kathy asked. "Of course you 're here."
"No, I'm not." Polly said. "and I'll bet you ten dollars that I can prove I'm not here."
"Alright," said Kathy. "Ten dollars. Now prove you' re not here."
"Easy," Polly said, "Am I in Hong Kong?"
"No," said Kathy.
"Am I in Paris?"
"No," said Kathy.
"If I'm not in Hong Kong and I'm not in Paris," Polly said, " then I must be somewhere else. Right?"
"Right," said Kathy. "You must be somewhere else."
"Exactly." said Polly. "And if I'm somewhere else I can't be here, can I? Ten dollars, please. "
"That's very clever, Polly," Kathy said, "but I can't give you ten dollars."
"Why not?" asked Polly. "We had a bet.
"Certainly we had a bet," Kathy said, "but how can I give you ten dollars if you're not here?"
And with a laugh she walked away. | 3551.txt | 3 |
[
"automatic messaging system",
"Floodline 0845 988 1188",
"the Flood Warning team in Kent",
"automated voice messaging system"
] | People can easily get information and advice about flood any time of the day from _ . | Despite the high technology and investment(）in flood defences by the Environment Ageney.(），there is no way to stop all flooding-sooner or later nature will produce something that will beat even the strongest defences.
Warning people of this danger is very important if we are to prevent the great loss of life seen fifty-three years ago. Indeed if the Flood Warning system that currently exists had been around on that cold, stormy night in January 1953 ,many lives would have been spared.
The Environment Agency took over the role of flood warning in 1995 from the police who had to go door to door or sound alarms to get the news out.The service is being constantly improved and a combination of better technology and increased investment following the Easter Floods of 1998 has led to the creation of Floodline and an automatic(）messaging system that can warn thousands of people in very little time.
Floodline 0845 988 1188 offers information and advice 24 hours a day and of warnings are in place, callers can get information either from local updates or by using a quickdial code for their area.
The Flood Warning team in Kent has also sent letters to the people living close to the rivers or the sea and invited them to join the AVM(automated voice messaging）system. Anyone choosing to take up this free service will receive a recorded message directly to their home, business or pager telling them of the level of warning, giving them as much time as possible to carry out their flood plan and save items that cannot be replaced if lost or damaged, such as photographs or children's favorite toys. | 3653.txt | 1 |
[
"Environment Agency",
"Technology In Flood Defences",
"Flood Warning System",
"Easter Floods"
] | The best title for this passage may probably be _ . | Despite the high technology and investment(）in flood defences by the Environment Ageney.(），there is no way to stop all flooding-sooner or later nature will produce something that will beat even the strongest defences.
Warning people of this danger is very important if we are to prevent the great loss of life seen fifty-three years ago. Indeed if the Flood Warning system that currently exists had been around on that cold, stormy night in January 1953 ,many lives would have been spared.
The Environment Agency took over the role of flood warning in 1995 from the police who had to go door to door or sound alarms to get the news out.The service is being constantly improved and a combination of better technology and increased investment following the Easter Floods of 1998 has led to the creation of Floodline and an automatic(）messaging system that can warn thousands of people in very little time.
Floodline 0845 988 1188 offers information and advice 24 hours a day and of warnings are in place, callers can get information either from local updates or by using a quickdial code for their area.
The Flood Warning team in Kent has also sent letters to the people living close to the rivers or the sea and invited them to join the AVM(automated voice messaging）system. Anyone choosing to take up this free service will receive a recorded message directly to their home, business or pager telling them of the level of warning, giving them as much time as possible to carry out their flood plan and save items that cannot be replaced if lost or damaged, such as photographs or children's favorite toys. | 3653.txt | 2 |
[
"to display their country's military might",
"to accomplish some significant science",
"to find new areas for colonization",
"to pursue commercial and state interests"
] | According to the passage, the chief purpose of explorers in going to unknown places in the past was ________. | For centuries, explorers have risked their lives venturing into the unknown for reasons that were to varying degrees economic and nationalistic. Columbus went west to look for better trade routes to the Orient and to promote the greater glory of Spain. Lewis and Clark journeyed into the American wilderness to find out what the U.S. had acquired when it purchased Louisiana, and the Apollo astronauts rocketed to the moon in a dramatic show of technological muscle during the cold war.
Although their missions blended commercial and political-military imperatives, the explorers involved all accomplished some significant science simply by going where no scientists had gone before.
Today Mars looms（）as humanity's next great terra incognita（）. And with doubtful prospects for a short-term financial return, with the cold war a rapidly fading memory and amid a growing emphasis on international cooperation in large space ventures, it is clear that imperatives other than profits or nationalism will have to compel human beings to leave their tracks on the planet's reddish surface. Could it be that science, which has long played a minor role in exploration, is at last destined to take a leading role? The question naturally invites a couple of others: Are there experiments that only humans could do on Mars? Could those experiments provide insights profound enough to justify the expense of sending people across interplanetary space?
With Mars the scientific stakes are arguably higher than they have ever been. The issue of whether life ever existed on the planet, and whether it persists to this day, has been highlighted by mounting evidence that the Red Planet once had abundant stable, liquid water and by the continuing controversy over suggestions that bacterial fossils rode to Earth on a meteorite（）from valuable data about the range of conditions under which a planet can generate the complex chemistry that leads to life. If it could be established that life arose independently on Mars and Earth, the finding would provide the first concrete clues in one of the deepest mysteries in all of science: the prevalence of life in the universe. | 3905.txt | 3 |
[
"international cooperation",
"scientific research",
"nationalistic reasons",
"long-term pro fits"
] | At present, a probable inducement for countries to initiate large-scale space ventures is ________. | For centuries, explorers have risked their lives venturing into the unknown for reasons that were to varying degrees economic and nationalistic. Columbus went west to look for better trade routes to the Orient and to promote the greater glory of Spain. Lewis and Clark journeyed into the American wilderness to find out what the U.S. had acquired when it purchased Louisiana, and the Apollo astronauts rocketed to the moon in a dramatic show of technological muscle during the cold war.
Although their missions blended commercial and political-military imperatives, the explorers involved all accomplished some significant science simply by going where no scientists had gone before.
Today Mars looms（）as humanity's next great terra incognita（）. And with doubtful prospects for a short-term financial return, with the cold war a rapidly fading memory and amid a growing emphasis on international cooperation in large space ventures, it is clear that imperatives other than profits or nationalism will have to compel human beings to leave their tracks on the planet's reddish surface. Could it be that science, which has long played a minor role in exploration, is at last destined to take a leading role? The question naturally invites a couple of others: Are there experiments that only humans could do on Mars? Could those experiments provide insights profound enough to justify the expense of sending people across interplanetary space?
With Mars the scientific stakes are arguably higher than they have ever been. The issue of whether life ever existed on the planet, and whether it persists to this day, has been highlighted by mounting evidence that the Red Planet once had abundant stable, liquid water and by the continuing controversy over suggestions that bacterial fossils rode to Earth on a meteorite（）from valuable data about the range of conditions under which a planet can generate the complex chemistry that leads to life. If it could be established that life arose independently on Mars and Earth, the finding would provide the first concrete clues in one of the deepest mysteries in all of science: the prevalence of life in the universe. | 3905.txt | 2 |
[
"To find out if life ever existed there.",
"To see if humans could survive there.",
"To prove the feasibility of large-scale space ventures.",
"To show the leading role of science in space exploration."
] | What is the main goal of sending human missions to Mars? | For centuries, explorers have risked their lives venturing into the unknown for reasons that were to varying degrees economic and nationalistic. Columbus went west to look for better trade routes to the Orient and to promote the greater glory of Spain. Lewis and Clark journeyed into the American wilderness to find out what the U.S. had acquired when it purchased Louisiana, and the Apollo astronauts rocketed to the moon in a dramatic show of technological muscle during the cold war.
Although their missions blended commercial and political-military imperatives, the explorers involved all accomplished some significant science simply by going where no scientists had gone before.
Today Mars looms（）as humanity's next great terra incognita（）. And with doubtful prospects for a short-term financial return, with the cold war a rapidly fading memory and amid a growing emphasis on international cooperation in large space ventures, it is clear that imperatives other than profits or nationalism will have to compel human beings to leave their tracks on the planet's reddish surface. Could it be that science, which has long played a minor role in exploration, is at last destined to take a leading role? The question naturally invites a couple of others: Are there experiments that only humans could do on Mars? Could those experiments provide insights profound enough to justify the expense of sending people across interplanetary space?
With Mars the scientific stakes are arguably higher than they have ever been. The issue of whether life ever existed on the planet, and whether it persists to this day, has been highlighted by mounting evidence that the Red Planet once had abundant stable, liquid water and by the continuing controversy over suggestions that bacterial fossils rode to Earth on a meteorite（）from valuable data about the range of conditions under which a planet can generate the complex chemistry that leads to life. If it could be established that life arose independently on Mars and Earth, the finding would provide the first concrete clues in one of the deepest mysteries in all of science: the prevalence of life in the universe. | 3905.txt | 0 |
[
"with Mars the risks involved are much greater than any previous space ventures",
"in the case of Mars, the rewards of scientific exploration can be very high",
"in the case of Mars, much more research funds are needed than ever before",
"with Mars, scientists argue, the fundamental interests of science are at issue"
] | By saying "With Mars the scientific stakes are arguably higher than they have ever been" (Line 1, Para. 4), the author means that ________. | For centuries, explorers have risked their lives venturing into the unknown for reasons that were to varying degrees economic and nationalistic. Columbus went west to look for better trade routes to the Orient and to promote the greater glory of Spain. Lewis and Clark journeyed into the American wilderness to find out what the U.S. had acquired when it purchased Louisiana, and the Apollo astronauts rocketed to the moon in a dramatic show of technological muscle during the cold war.
Although their missions blended commercial and political-military imperatives, the explorers involved all accomplished some significant science simply by going where no scientists had gone before.
Today Mars looms（）as humanity's next great terra incognita（）. And with doubtful prospects for a short-term financial return, with the cold war a rapidly fading memory and amid a growing emphasis on international cooperation in large space ventures, it is clear that imperatives other than profits or nationalism will have to compel human beings to leave their tracks on the planet's reddish surface. Could it be that science, which has long played a minor role in exploration, is at last destined to take a leading role? The question naturally invites a couple of others: Are there experiments that only humans could do on Mars? Could those experiments provide insights profound enough to justify the expense of sending people across interplanetary space?
With Mars the scientific stakes are arguably higher than they have ever been. The issue of whether life ever existed on the planet, and whether it persists to this day, has been highlighted by mounting evidence that the Red Planet once had abundant stable, liquid water and by the continuing controversy over suggestions that bacterial fossils rode to Earth on a meteorite（）from valuable data about the range of conditions under which a planet can generate the complex chemistry that leads to life. If it could be established that life arose independently on Mars and Earth, the finding would provide the first concrete clues in one of the deepest mysteries in all of science: the prevalence of life in the universe. | 3905.txt | 1 |
[
"make clear the complex chemistry in the development of life",
"confirm the suggestion that bacterial fossils traveled to Earth on a meteorite",
"reveal the kind of conditions under which life originates",
"provide an explanation why life is common in the universe"
] | The passage tells us that proof of life on Mars would ________. | For centuries, explorers have risked their lives venturing into the unknown for reasons that were to varying degrees economic and nationalistic. Columbus went west to look for better trade routes to the Orient and to promote the greater glory of Spain. Lewis and Clark journeyed into the American wilderness to find out what the U.S. had acquired when it purchased Louisiana, and the Apollo astronauts rocketed to the moon in a dramatic show of technological muscle during the cold war.
Although their missions blended commercial and political-military imperatives, the explorers involved all accomplished some significant science simply by going where no scientists had gone before.
Today Mars looms（）as humanity's next great terra incognita（）. And with doubtful prospects for a short-term financial return, with the cold war a rapidly fading memory and amid a growing emphasis on international cooperation in large space ventures, it is clear that imperatives other than profits or nationalism will have to compel human beings to leave their tracks on the planet's reddish surface. Could it be that science, which has long played a minor role in exploration, is at last destined to take a leading role? The question naturally invites a couple of others: Are there experiments that only humans could do on Mars? Could those experiments provide insights profound enough to justify the expense of sending people across interplanetary space?
With Mars the scientific stakes are arguably higher than they have ever been. The issue of whether life ever existed on the planet, and whether it persists to this day, has been highlighted by mounting evidence that the Red Planet once had abundant stable, liquid water and by the continuing controversy over suggestions that bacterial fossils rode to Earth on a meteorite（）from valuable data about the range of conditions under which a planet can generate the complex chemistry that leads to life. If it could be established that life arose independently on Mars and Earth, the finding would provide the first concrete clues in one of the deepest mysteries in all of science: the prevalence of life in the universe. | 3905.txt | 2 |
[
"Because it is spelled differently from \"dinner.\"",
"Because the first diner was not a real diner.",
"Because diner was a new word.",
"Because it is a special kind of restaurant."
] | A man named Walter Scott had the first "diner" in 1872. Why is diner in quotation marks(）？ | Do you like to eat out? Do you like to eat quickly? Do you like inexpensive food? Some people go to fast-food restaurants for these reasons. In the past, people usually went to diners (）for these reasons. In fact, many people in the States still go to diners today for the same reasons.
A man named Walter Scott had the first "diner" in 1872. It wasn't really a diner. It was only a food cart. People on the street walked up to the cart to buy food. These carts served late-night workers who wanted a cup of coffee and all late-night meal. The meal was a sandwich or boiled eggs. In 1887, Samuel Jones built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside. However, they did not sit down. Later, people built diners with counters and stools, and people sat down while they ate.
Before long, many diners stayed open around the clock. In other words, people were able to eat in a diner at any time. Diners changed in other ways, too. The original menu of sandwiches and coffee became bigger. It included soup, favorite dish, and a breakfast menu. In addition, diners soon became permanent buildings. They were no longer carts on wheels.
Diners today look similar to the diners of the early 1900s. They are usually buildings with large windows. Inside, the diners have shining counters with stools, booths, and tables and chairs. People can eat all three meals in a modern diner.
Today, many people eat in fast-food restaurants such as McDonald's and Burger King. However, the diner remains an American tradition, and thousands of people still enjoy eating there. It was popular a century ago, and it is still popular today. | 3584.txt | 1 |
[
"Only breakfast.",
"Only lunch.",
"Only night-meals.",
"All of the above."
] | What meals did the first diners serve? | Do you like to eat out? Do you like to eat quickly? Do you like inexpensive food? Some people go to fast-food restaurants for these reasons. In the past, people usually went to diners (）for these reasons. In fact, many people in the States still go to diners today for the same reasons.
A man named Walter Scott had the first "diner" in 1872. It wasn't really a diner. It was only a food cart. People on the street walked up to the cart to buy food. These carts served late-night workers who wanted a cup of coffee and all late-night meal. The meal was a sandwich or boiled eggs. In 1887, Samuel Jones built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside. However, they did not sit down. Later, people built diners with counters and stools, and people sat down while they ate.
Before long, many diners stayed open around the clock. In other words, people were able to eat in a diner at any time. Diners changed in other ways, too. The original menu of sandwiches and coffee became bigger. It included soup, favorite dish, and a breakfast menu. In addition, diners soon became permanent buildings. They were no longer carts on wheels.
Diners today look similar to the diners of the early 1900s. They are usually buildings with large windows. Inside, the diners have shining counters with stools, booths, and tables and chairs. People can eat all three meals in a modern diner.
Today, many people eat in fast-food restaurants such as McDonald's and Burger King. However, the diner remains an American tradition, and thousands of people still enjoy eating there. It was popular a century ago, and it is still popular today. | 3584.txt | 2 |
[
"two ways",
"three ways",
"four ways",
"five ways"
] | According to paragraph 3, diners changed in _ . | Do you like to eat out? Do you like to eat quickly? Do you like inexpensive food? Some people go to fast-food restaurants for these reasons. In the past, people usually went to diners (）for these reasons. In fact, many people in the States still go to diners today for the same reasons.
A man named Walter Scott had the first "diner" in 1872. It wasn't really a diner. It was only a food cart. People on the street walked up to the cart to buy food. These carts served late-night workers who wanted a cup of coffee and all late-night meal. The meal was a sandwich or boiled eggs. In 1887, Samuel Jones built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside. However, they did not sit down. Later, people built diners with counters and stools, and people sat down while they ate.
Before long, many diners stayed open around the clock. In other words, people were able to eat in a diner at any time. Diners changed in other ways, too. The original menu of sandwiches and coffee became bigger. It included soup, favorite dish, and a breakfast menu. In addition, diners soon became permanent buildings. They were no longer carts on wheels.
Diners today look similar to the diners of the early 1900s. They are usually buildings with large windows. Inside, the diners have shining counters with stools, booths, and tables and chairs. People can eat all three meals in a modern diner.
Today, many people eat in fast-food restaurants such as McDonald's and Burger King. However, the diner remains an American tradition, and thousands of people still enjoy eating there. It was popular a century ago, and it is still popular today. | 3584.txt | 1 |
[
"Diners existed before fast-food restaurants.",
"The menu included more food than sandwiches and coffee.",
"Burger King is a fast-food restaurant.",
"Sandwiches became bigger."
] | Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? | Do you like to eat out? Do you like to eat quickly? Do you like inexpensive food? Some people go to fast-food restaurants for these reasons. In the past, people usually went to diners (）for these reasons. In fact, many people in the States still go to diners today for the same reasons.
A man named Walter Scott had the first "diner" in 1872. It wasn't really a diner. It was only a food cart. People on the street walked up to the cart to buy food. These carts served late-night workers who wanted a cup of coffee and all late-night meal. The meal was a sandwich or boiled eggs. In 1887, Samuel Jones built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside. However, they did not sit down. Later, people built diners with counters and stools, and people sat down while they ate.
Before long, many diners stayed open around the clock. In other words, people were able to eat in a diner at any time. Diners changed in other ways, too. The original menu of sandwiches and coffee became bigger. It included soup, favorite dish, and a breakfast menu. In addition, diners soon became permanent buildings. They were no longer carts on wheels.
Diners today look similar to the diners of the early 1900s. They are usually buildings with large windows. Inside, the diners have shining counters with stools, booths, and tables and chairs. People can eat all three meals in a modern diner.
Today, many people eat in fast-food restaurants such as McDonald's and Burger King. However, the diner remains an American tradition, and thousands of people still enjoy eating there. It was popular a century ago, and it is still popular today. | 3584.txt | 3 |
[
"the diner is a traditional, popular place to eat in the United States",
"Samuel Jones built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside",
"American diners serve many types of food 24 hours a day to their customers",
"diners are different from fast-food restaurants in many ways"
] | The main idea of the passage is _ . | Do you like to eat out? Do you like to eat quickly? Do you like inexpensive food? Some people go to fast-food restaurants for these reasons. In the past, people usually went to diners (）for these reasons. In fact, many people in the States still go to diners today for the same reasons.
A man named Walter Scott had the first "diner" in 1872. It wasn't really a diner. It was only a food cart. People on the street walked up to the cart to buy food. These carts served late-night workers who wanted a cup of coffee and all late-night meal. The meal was a sandwich or boiled eggs. In 1887, Samuel Jones built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside. However, they did not sit down. Later, people built diners with counters and stools, and people sat down while they ate.
Before long, many diners stayed open around the clock. In other words, people were able to eat in a diner at any time. Diners changed in other ways, too. The original menu of sandwiches and coffee became bigger. It included soup, favorite dish, and a breakfast menu. In addition, diners soon became permanent buildings. They were no longer carts on wheels.
Diners today look similar to the diners of the early 1900s. They are usually buildings with large windows. Inside, the diners have shining counters with stools, booths, and tables and chairs. People can eat all three meals in a modern diner.
Today, many people eat in fast-food restaurants such as McDonald's and Burger King. However, the diner remains an American tradition, and thousands of people still enjoy eating there. It was popular a century ago, and it is still popular today. | 3584.txt | 0 |
[
"Bone.",
"Metal knives.",
"Scissors.",
"Rubber and plastic."
] | Which of the following is NOT a tool used for surgical operations before the 1960s? | Thousands of years ago man used handy rocks for his surgical operations.Later he used sharp bone or horn, metal knives and more recently, rubber and plastic and that was where we stuck，in surgical instrument terms，for many years.In the l960s a new tool was developed，one which was，first of all，to be of great practical use to the armed forces and industry, but which was also，in time，to revolutionize the art and science of surgery,
The tool is the laser and it is being used by more and more surgeons all over the world，for a very large number of different complaints.The word"laser"means：light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.As we all know,light is hot，any source of light-from the sun itself down to a humble match burning-will give warmth.But light is usually spread out over a wide area.The Light in a laser beam，however，is concentrated.This means that a light with no more power than that produced by an ordinary electric light bulb becomes intensely strong as it is concentrated to a pinpoint-sized beam.
Experiments with these pinpoint beams showed researchers that different energy sources produce beams that have a particular effect on certain living cells.It is now possible for eye surgeons to operate on the back of human eye without harming the front of the eye，simply by passing a laser beam right though the eye-ball.No knives，no stitches，no unwanted damage-a true surgical wonder. Operations which once left patients exhausted and in need of long period of recovery time now leave them feeling relaxed and comfortable。So much more difficult operations can now be tried.
The rapid development of laser techniques in the past ten years has made it clear that the future is likely to be very exciting.Perhaps some cancers will be treated with laser in a way that makes surgery not only safer but also more effective.Altogether, tomorrow may see more and more information coming to light on the diseases which can be treated medically. | 1502.txt | 2 |
[
"a complete revolution in the，science of surgical techniques",
"an end to pain brought by all diseases",
"medical help accessible to more common people",
"complete changes in man's approach to surgery"
] | The appearance of the laser in the l960s results in _ . | Thousands of years ago man used handy rocks for his surgical operations.Later he used sharp bone or horn, metal knives and more recently, rubber and plastic and that was where we stuck，in surgical instrument terms，for many years.In the l960s a new tool was developed，one which was，first of all，to be of great practical use to the armed forces and industry, but which was also，in time，to revolutionize the art and science of surgery,
The tool is the laser and it is being used by more and more surgeons all over the world，for a very large number of different complaints.The word"laser"means：light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.As we all know,light is hot，any source of light-from the sun itself down to a humble match burning-will give warmth.But light is usually spread out over a wide area.The Light in a laser beam，however，is concentrated.This means that a light with no more power than that produced by an ordinary electric light bulb becomes intensely strong as it is concentrated to a pinpoint-sized beam.
Experiments with these pinpoint beams showed researchers that different energy sources produce beams that have a particular effect on certain living cells.It is now possible for eye surgeons to operate on the back of human eye without harming the front of the eye，simply by passing a laser beam right though the eye-ball.No knives，no stitches，no unwanted damage-a true surgical wonder. Operations which once left patients exhausted and in need of long period of recovery time now leave them feeling relaxed and comfortable。So much more difficult operations can now be tried.
The rapid development of laser techniques in the past ten years has made it clear that the future is likely to be very exciting.Perhaps some cancers will be treated with laser in a way that makes surgery not only safer but also more effective.Altogether, tomorrow may see more and more information coming to light on the diseases which can be treated medically. | 1502.txt | 0 |
[
"It sends out light to cover a wide area.",
"It has many sources of light.",
"It is a highly concentrated beam of light.",
"The source of its heat comes from the sun."
] | What is the reason mentioned in the passage that the laser beam is so strong? | Thousands of years ago man used handy rocks for his surgical operations.Later he used sharp bone or horn, metal knives and more recently, rubber and plastic and that was where we stuck，in surgical instrument terms，for many years.In the l960s a new tool was developed，one which was，first of all，to be of great practical use to the armed forces and industry, but which was also，in time，to revolutionize the art and science of surgery,
The tool is the laser and it is being used by more and more surgeons all over the world，for a very large number of different complaints.The word"laser"means：light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.As we all know,light is hot，any source of light-from the sun itself down to a humble match burning-will give warmth.But light is usually spread out over a wide area.The Light in a laser beam，however，is concentrated.This means that a light with no more power than that produced by an ordinary electric light bulb becomes intensely strong as it is concentrated to a pinpoint-sized beam.
Experiments with these pinpoint beams showed researchers that different energy sources produce beams that have a particular effect on certain living cells.It is now possible for eye surgeons to operate on the back of human eye without harming the front of the eye，simply by passing a laser beam right though the eye-ball.No knives，no stitches，no unwanted damage-a true surgical wonder. Operations which once left patients exhausted and in need of long period of recovery time now leave them feeling relaxed and comfortable。So much more difficult operations can now be tried.
The rapid development of laser techniques in the past ten years has made it clear that the future is likely to be very exciting.Perhaps some cancers will be treated with laser in a way that makes surgery not only safer but also more effective.Altogether, tomorrow may see more and more information coming to light on the diseases which can be treated medically. | 1502.txt | 2 |
[
"pinpoint beams have an extensive energy source",
"pinpoint beams with different sources have different effects",
"pinpoint beams have effects on living cells",
"pinpoint beams enable surgeons to do the most different operation"
] | The author cites the example of eye surgeons to illustrate that | Thousands of years ago man used handy rocks for his surgical operations.Later he used sharp bone or horn, metal knives and more recently, rubber and plastic and that was where we stuck，in surgical instrument terms，for many years.In the l960s a new tool was developed，one which was，first of all，to be of great practical use to the armed forces and industry, but which was also，in time，to revolutionize the art and science of surgery,
The tool is the laser and it is being used by more and more surgeons all over the world，for a very large number of different complaints.The word"laser"means：light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.As we all know,light is hot，any source of light-from the sun itself down to a humble match burning-will give warmth.But light is usually spread out over a wide area.The Light in a laser beam，however，is concentrated.This means that a light with no more power than that produced by an ordinary electric light bulb becomes intensely strong as it is concentrated to a pinpoint-sized beam.
Experiments with these pinpoint beams showed researchers that different energy sources produce beams that have a particular effect on certain living cells.It is now possible for eye surgeons to operate on the back of human eye without harming the front of the eye，simply by passing a laser beam right though the eye-ball.No knives，no stitches，no unwanted damage-a true surgical wonder. Operations which once left patients exhausted and in need of long period of recovery time now leave them feeling relaxed and comfortable。So much more difficult operations can now be tried.
The rapid development of laser techniques in the past ten years has made it clear that the future is likely to be very exciting.Perhaps some cancers will be treated with laser in a way that makes surgery not only safer but also more effective.Altogether, tomorrow may see more and more information coming to light on the diseases which can be treated medically. | 1502.txt | 1 |
[
"in another ten years we shall be able to cure cancer",
"we shall be capable of treating all the diseases",
"patients do not have to suffer any pain",
"surgery is likely to improve considerably"
] | The rapid development of laser techniques means that | Thousands of years ago man used handy rocks for his surgical operations.Later he used sharp bone or horn, metal knives and more recently, rubber and plastic and that was where we stuck，in surgical instrument terms，for many years.In the l960s a new tool was developed，one which was，first of all，to be of great practical use to the armed forces and industry, but which was also，in time，to revolutionize the art and science of surgery,
The tool is the laser and it is being used by more and more surgeons all over the world，for a very large number of different complaints.The word"laser"means：light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.As we all know,light is hot，any source of light-from the sun itself down to a humble match burning-will give warmth.But light is usually spread out over a wide area.The Light in a laser beam，however，is concentrated.This means that a light with no more power than that produced by an ordinary electric light bulb becomes intensely strong as it is concentrated to a pinpoint-sized beam.
Experiments with these pinpoint beams showed researchers that different energy sources produce beams that have a particular effect on certain living cells.It is now possible for eye surgeons to operate on the back of human eye without harming the front of the eye，simply by passing a laser beam right though the eye-ball.No knives，no stitches，no unwanted damage-a true surgical wonder. Operations which once left patients exhausted and in need of long period of recovery time now leave them feeling relaxed and comfortable。So much more difficult operations can now be tried.
The rapid development of laser techniques in the past ten years has made it clear that the future is likely to be very exciting.Perhaps some cancers will be treated with laser in a way that makes surgery not only safer but also more effective.Altogether, tomorrow may see more and more information coming to light on the diseases which can be treated medically. | 1502.txt | 3 |
[
"it had made painstaking efforts towards this goal",
"its domestic market was eight times larger than before",
"the war had destroyed the economies of most potential competitors",
"the unparalleled size of its workforce had given an impetus to its economy"
] | The U.S. achieved its predominance after World War II because . | A history of long and effortless success can be a dreadful handicap, but, if properly handled, it may become a driving force. When the United States entered just such a glowing period after the end of the Second World War, it had a market eight times larger than any competitor, giving its industries unparalleled economies of scale. Its scientists were the world's best, its workers the most skilled. America and Americans were prosperous beyond the dreams of the Europeans and Asians whose economies the war had destroyed.
It was inevitable that this primacy should have narrowed as other countries grew richer. Just as inevitably, the retreat from predominance proved painful. By the mid-1980s Americans had found themselves at a loss over their fading industrial competitiveness. Some huge American industries, such as consumer electronics, had shrunk or vanished in the face of foreign competition. By 1987 there was only one American television maker left, Zenith. (Now there is none: Zenith was bought by South Korea's LG Electronics in July.) Foreign-made cars and textiles were sweeping into the domestic market. America's machine-tool industry was on the ropes. For a while it looked as though the making of semiconductors, which America had invented and which sat at the heart of the new computer age, was going to be the next casualty.
All of this caused a crisis of confidence. Americans stopped taking prosperity for granted. They began to believe that their way of doing business was failing, and that their incomes would therefore shortly begin to fall as well. The mid-1980s brought one inquiry after another into the causes of America's industrial decline. Their sometimes sensational findings were filled with warnings about the growing competition from overseas.
How things have changed! In 1995 the United States can look back on five years of solid growth while Japan has been struggling. Few Americans attribute this solely to such obvious causes as a devalued dollar or the turning of the business cycle. Self-doubt has yielded to blind pride. "American industry has changed its structure, has gone on a diet, has learnt to be more quick-witted," according to Richard Cavanagh, executive dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. "It makes me proud to be an American just to see how our businesses are improving their productivity," says Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute, a think-tank in Washington, DC. And William Sahlman of the Harvard Business School believes that people will look back on this period as "a golden age of business management in the United States." | 903.txt | 2 |
[
"TV industry had withdrawn to its domestic market",
"semiconductor industry had been taken over by foreign enterprises",
"machine-tool industry had collapsed after suicidal actions",
"auto industry had lost part of its domestic market"
] | The loss of U.S. predominance in the world economy in the 1980s is manifested in the fact that the American . | A history of long and effortless success can be a dreadful handicap, but, if properly handled, it may become a driving force. When the United States entered just such a glowing period after the end of the Second World War, it had a market eight times larger than any competitor, giving its industries unparalleled economies of scale. Its scientists were the world's best, its workers the most skilled. America and Americans were prosperous beyond the dreams of the Europeans and Asians whose economies the war had destroyed.
It was inevitable that this primacy should have narrowed as other countries grew richer. Just as inevitably, the retreat from predominance proved painful. By the mid-1980s Americans had found themselves at a loss over their fading industrial competitiveness. Some huge American industries, such as consumer electronics, had shrunk or vanished in the face of foreign competition. By 1987 there was only one American television maker left, Zenith. (Now there is none: Zenith was bought by South Korea's LG Electronics in July.) Foreign-made cars and textiles were sweeping into the domestic market. America's machine-tool industry was on the ropes. For a while it looked as though the making of semiconductors, which America had invented and which sat at the heart of the new computer age, was going to be the next casualty.
All of this caused a crisis of confidence. Americans stopped taking prosperity for granted. They began to believe that their way of doing business was failing, and that their incomes would therefore shortly begin to fall as well. The mid-1980s brought one inquiry after another into the causes of America's industrial decline. Their sometimes sensational findings were filled with warnings about the growing competition from overseas.
How things have changed! In 1995 the United States can look back on five years of solid growth while Japan has been struggling. Few Americans attribute this solely to such obvious causes as a devalued dollar or the turning of the business cycle. Self-doubt has yielded to blind pride. "American industry has changed its structure, has gone on a diet, has learnt to be more quick-witted," according to Richard Cavanagh, executive dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. "It makes me proud to be an American just to see how our businesses are improving their productivity," says Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute, a think-tank in Washington, DC. And William Sahlman of the Harvard Business School believes that people will look back on this period as "a golden age of business management in the United States." | 903.txt | 3 |
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