Datasets:

tasksource

/

race-c

like 0

What does the passage mainly discuss?

As many as one thousand years ago in the Southwest, the Hopi and Zuni Indians of North America were building with adobe－sun baked brick plastered with mud. Their homes looked remarkably like modern apartment houses. Some were four stories high and contained quarters for perhaps a thousand people, along with store rooms for grain and other goods. These buildings were usually put up against cliffs, both to make construction easier and for defense against enemies. They were really villages in themselves, as later Spanish explorers must have realized since they called them "pueblos", which is Spanish for town. The people of the pueblos raised what are called"the three sisters" - corn, beans, and squash. They made excellent pottery and wove marvelous baskets, some so fine that they could hold water. The Southwest has always been a dry country, where water is scarce. The Hopi and Zuni brought water from streams to their fields and gardens through irrigation ditches. Water was so important that it played a major role in their religion. They developed elaborate ceremonies and religious rituals to bring rain. The way of life of less settled groups was simpler and more strongly influenced by nature. Small tribes such as the Shoshone and Ute wandered the dry and mountainous lands between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. They gathered seeds and hunted small animals such as small rabbits and snakes. In the Far North the ancestors of today's Inuit hunted seals, walruses, and the great whales. They lived right on the frozen seas in shelters called igloos built of blocks of packed snow. When summer came, they fished for salmon and hunted the lordly caribou. The Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Sioux tribes, known as the Plains Indians, lived on the grasslands between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. They hunted bison, commonly called the buffalo. Its meat was the chief food of these tribes, and its hide was used to make their clothing and covering of their tents and tipis.

23.txt

It can be inferred from the passage that the dwellings of the Hopi and Zuni were _ .

As many as one thousand years ago in the Southwest, the Hopi and Zuni Indians of North America were building with adobe－sun baked brick plastered with mud. Their homes looked remarkably like modern apartment houses. Some were four stories high and contained quarters for perhaps a thousand people, along with store rooms for grain and other goods. These buildings were usually put up against cliffs, both to make construction easier and for defense against enemies. They were really villages in themselves, as later Spanish explorers must have realized since they called them "pueblos", which is Spanish for town. The people of the pueblos raised what are called"the three sisters" - corn, beans, and squash. They made excellent pottery and wove marvelous baskets, some so fine that they could hold water. The Southwest has always been a dry country, where water is scarce. The Hopi and Zuni brought water from streams to their fields and gardens through irrigation ditches. Water was so important that it played a major role in their religion. They developed elaborate ceremonies and religious rituals to bring rain. The way of life of less settled groups was simpler and more strongly influenced by nature. Small tribes such as the Shoshone and Ute wandered the dry and mountainous lands between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. They gathered seeds and hunted small animals such as small rabbits and snakes. In the Far North the ancestors of today's Inuit hunted seals, walruses, and the great whales. They lived right on the frozen seas in shelters called igloos built of blocks of packed snow. When summer came, they fished for salmon and hunted the lordly caribou. The Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Sioux tribes, known as the Plains Indians, lived on the grasslands between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. They hunted bison, commonly called the buffalo. Its meat was the chief food of these tribes, and its hide was used to make their clothing and covering of their tents and tipis.

23.txt

The new contact lens is meant for ________.

A new high-performance contact lens under development at the department for applied physics at the University of Heidelberg will not only correct ordinary vision defects but will enhance normal night vision as much as five times, making people's vision sharper than that of cats. Bille and his team work with an optical instrument called an active mirror-a device used in astronomical telescopes to spot newly emerging stars and far distant galaxies. Connected to a wave-front sensor that tracks and measures the course of a laser beam into the eye and back, the aluminum mirror detects the deficiencies of the cornea, the transparent protective layer covering the lens of the human eye. The highly precise data from the two instruments-which, Bille hopes, will one day be found at the opticians all over the world-serve as a basis for the production of completely individualized contact lenses that correct and enhance the wearer's vision. By day, Bille's contact lenses will focus rays of light so accurately on the retina （）that the image of a small leaf or the outline of a far distant tree will be formed with a sharpness that surpasses that of conventional vision aids by almost half a diopter ( ). At night, the lenses have an even greater potential. "Because the new lens-in contrast to the already existing ones-also works when it's dark and the pupil is wide open," says Bille, "lens wearers will be able to identify a face at a distance of 100 meters"-80 meters farther than they would normally be able to see. In his experiments night vision was enhanced by an even greater factor: in semi-darkness, test subjects could see up to 15 times better than without the lenses. Bille's lenses are expected to reach the market in the year 2000, and one tentative plan is to use the Internet to transmit information on patients' visual defects from the optician to the manufacturer, who will then produce and mail the contact lenses within a couple of days. The physicist expects the lenses to cost about a dollar a pair, about the same as conventional one-day disposable lenses.

4179.txt

What do the two instruments mentioned in the second paragraph (Line 5) refer to?

A new high-performance contact lens under development at the department for applied physics at the University of Heidelberg will not only correct ordinary vision defects but will enhance normal night vision as much as five times, making people's vision sharper than that of cats. Bille and his team work with an optical instrument called an active mirror-a device used in astronomical telescopes to spot newly emerging stars and far distant galaxies. Connected to a wave-front sensor that tracks and measures the course of a laser beam into the eye and back, the aluminum mirror detects the deficiencies of the cornea, the transparent protective layer covering the lens of the human eye. The highly precise data from the two instruments-which, Bille hopes, will one day be found at the opticians all over the world-serve as a basis for the production of completely individualized contact lenses that correct and enhance the wearer's vision. By day, Bille's contact lenses will focus rays of light so accurately on the retina （）that the image of a small leaf or the outline of a far distant tree will be formed with a sharpness that surpasses that of conventional vision aids by almost half a diopter ( ). At night, the lenses have an even greater potential. "Because the new lens-in contrast to the already existing ones-also works when it's dark and the pupil is wide open," says Bille, "lens wearers will be able to identify a face at a distance of 100 meters"-80 meters farther than they would normally be able to see. In his experiments night vision was enhanced by an even greater factor: in semi-darkness, test subjects could see up to 15 times better than without the lenses. Bille's lenses are expected to reach the market in the year 2000, and one tentative plan is to use the Internet to transmit information on patients' visual defects from the optician to the manufacturer, who will then produce and mail the contact lenses within a couple of days. The physicist expects the lenses to cost about a dollar a pair, about the same as conventional one-day disposable lenses.

4179.txt

Individualized contact lenses (Line 7, Para. 2) are lenses designed ________.

A new high-performance contact lens under development at the department for applied physics at the University of Heidelberg will not only correct ordinary vision defects but will enhance normal night vision as much as five times, making people's vision sharper than that of cats. Bille and his team work with an optical instrument called an active mirror-a device used in astronomical telescopes to spot newly emerging stars and far distant galaxies. Connected to a wave-front sensor that tracks and measures the course of a laser beam into the eye and back, the aluminum mirror detects the deficiencies of the cornea, the transparent protective layer covering the lens of the human eye. The highly precise data from the two instruments-which, Bille hopes, will one day be found at the opticians all over the world-serve as a basis for the production of completely individualized contact lenses that correct and enhance the wearer's vision. By day, Bille's contact lenses will focus rays of light so accurately on the retina （）that the image of a small leaf or the outline of a far distant tree will be formed with a sharpness that surpasses that of conventional vision aids by almost half a diopter ( ). At night, the lenses have an even greater potential. "Because the new lens-in contrast to the already existing ones-also works when it's dark and the pupil is wide open," says Bille, "lens wearers will be able to identify a face at a distance of 100 meters"-80 meters farther than they would normally be able to see. In his experiments night vision was enhanced by an even greater factor: in semi-darkness, test subjects could see up to 15 times better than without the lenses. Bille's lenses are expected to reach the market in the year 2000, and one tentative plan is to use the Internet to transmit information on patients' visual defects from the optician to the manufacturer, who will then produce and mail the contact lenses within a couple of days. The physicist expects the lenses to cost about a dollar a pair, about the same as conventional one-day disposable lenses.

4179.txt

According to Bille, with the new lenses the wearer's vision ________.

A new high-performance contact lens under development at the department for applied physics at the University of Heidelberg will not only correct ordinary vision defects but will enhance normal night vision as much as five times, making people's vision sharper than that of cats. Bille and his team work with an optical instrument called an active mirror-a device used in astronomical telescopes to spot newly emerging stars and far distant galaxies. Connected to a wave-front sensor that tracks and measures the course of a laser beam into the eye and back, the aluminum mirror detects the deficiencies of the cornea, the transparent protective layer covering the lens of the human eye. The highly precise data from the two instruments-which, Bille hopes, will one day be found at the opticians all over the world-serve as a basis for the production of completely individualized contact lenses that correct and enhance the wearer's vision. By day, Bille's contact lenses will focus rays of light so accurately on the retina （）that the image of a small leaf or the outline of a far distant tree will be formed with a sharpness that surpasses that of conventional vision aids by almost half a diopter ( ). At night, the lenses have an even greater potential. "Because the new lens-in contrast to the already existing ones-also works when it's dark and the pupil is wide open," says Bille, "lens wearers will be able to identify a face at a distance of 100 meters"-80 meters farther than they would normally be able to see. In his experiments night vision was enhanced by an even greater factor: in semi-darkness, test subjects could see up to 15 times better than without the lenses. Bille's lenses are expected to reach the market in the year 2000, and one tentative plan is to use the Internet to transmit information on patients' visual defects from the optician to the manufacturer, who will then produce and mail the contact lenses within a couple of days. The physicist expects the lenses to cost about a dollar a pair, about the same as conventional one-day disposable lenses.

4179.txt

Which of the following is true about Bille's lenses?

A new high-performance contact lens under development at the department for applied physics at the University of Heidelberg will not only correct ordinary vision defects but will enhance normal night vision as much as five times, making people's vision sharper than that of cats. Bille and his team work with an optical instrument called an active mirror-a device used in astronomical telescopes to spot newly emerging stars and far distant galaxies. Connected to a wave-front sensor that tracks and measures the course of a laser beam into the eye and back, the aluminum mirror detects the deficiencies of the cornea, the transparent protective layer covering the lens of the human eye. The highly precise data from the two instruments-which, Bille hopes, will one day be found at the opticians all over the world-serve as a basis for the production of completely individualized contact lenses that correct and enhance the wearer's vision. By day, Bille's contact lenses will focus rays of light so accurately on the retina （）that the image of a small leaf or the outline of a far distant tree will be formed with a sharpness that surpasses that of conventional vision aids by almost half a diopter ( ). At night, the lenses have an even greater potential. "Because the new lens-in contrast to the already existing ones-also works when it's dark and the pupil is wide open," says Bille, "lens wearers will be able to identify a face at a distance of 100 meters"-80 meters farther than they would normally be able to see. In his experiments night vision was enhanced by an even greater factor: in semi-darkness, test subjects could see up to 15 times better than without the lenses. Bille's lenses are expected to reach the market in the year 2000, and one tentative plan is to use the Internet to transmit information on patients' visual defects from the optician to the manufacturer, who will then produce and mail the contact lenses within a couple of days. The physicist expects the lenses to cost about a dollar a pair, about the same as conventional one-day disposable lenses.

4179.txt

In the first paragraph, Damien Hirst's sale was referred to as "a last victory" because .

The longest bull run in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of 56 works by Damien Hirst, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, at Sotheby's in London on September 15th 2008. All but two pieces sold, fetching more than ￡70m, a record for a sale by a single artist. It was a last victory. As the auctioneer called out bids, in New York one of the oldest banks on Wall Street, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy, triggering the most severe financial crisis since the 1920s. The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after rising bewilderingly since 2003. At its peak in 2007 it was worth some $65 billion, reckons Clare McAndrew, founder of Arts Economics, a research firm - double the figure five years earlier. Since then it may have come down to $50 billion. But the market generates interest far beyond its size because it brings together great wealth, enormous egos, greed, passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries. In the weeks and months that followed Mr. Hirst's sale, spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable. In the art world that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms. Sales of contemporary art fell by two-thirds, and in the most overheated sector, they were down by nearly 90% in the year to November 2008. Within weeks the world's two biggest auction houses, Sotheby's and Christie's, had to pay out nearly $200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them. The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buying Impressionists at the end of 1989. This time experts reckon that prices are about 40% down on their peak on average, though some have been far more volatile. But Edward Dolman, Christie's chief executive, says, "I'm pretty confident we're at the bottom." What makes this slump different from the last, he says, is that there are still buyers in the market, whereas in the early 1990s, when interest rates were high, there was no demand even though many collectors wanted to sell. Christie's revenues in the first half of 2009 were still higher than in the first half of 2006. Almost everyone who was interviewed for this special report said that the biggest problem at the moment is not a lack of demand but a lack of good work to sell. The three Ds - death, debt and divorce - still deliver works of art to the market. But anyone who does not have to sell is keeping away, waiting for confidence to return.

2656.txt

By saying "spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable" (Line 1-2, Para.3), the author suggests that .

The longest bull run in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of 56 works by Damien Hirst, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, at Sotheby's in London on September 15th 2008. All but two pieces sold, fetching more than ￡70m, a record for a sale by a single artist. It was a last victory. As the auctioneer called out bids, in New York one of the oldest banks on Wall Street, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy, triggering the most severe financial crisis since the 1920s. The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after rising bewilderingly since 2003. At its peak in 2007 it was worth some $65 billion, reckons Clare McAndrew, founder of Arts Economics, a research firm - double the figure five years earlier. Since then it may have come down to $50 billion. But the market generates interest far beyond its size because it brings together great wealth, enormous egos, greed, passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries. In the weeks and months that followed Mr. Hirst's sale, spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable. In the art world that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms. Sales of contemporary art fell by two-thirds, and in the most overheated sector, they were down by nearly 90% in the year to November 2008. Within weeks the world's two biggest auction houses, Sotheby's and Christie's, had to pay out nearly $200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them. The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buying Impressionists at the end of 1989. This time experts reckon that prices are about 40% down on their peak on average, though some have been far more volatile. But Edward Dolman, Christie's chief executive, says, "I'm pretty confident we're at the bottom." What makes this slump different from the last, he says, is that there are still buyers in the market, whereas in the early 1990s, when interest rates were high, there was no demand even though many collectors wanted to sell. Christie's revenues in the first half of 2009 were still higher than in the first half of 2006. Almost everyone who was interviewed for this special report said that the biggest problem at the moment is not a lack of demand but a lack of good work to sell. The three Ds - death, debt and divorce - still deliver works of art to the market. But anyone who does not have to sell is keeping away, waiting for confidence to return.

2656.txt

What do we learn about the art market from the passage?

The longest bull run in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of 56 works by Damien Hirst, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, at Sotheby's in London on September 15th 2008. All but two pieces sold, fetching more than ￡70m, a record for a sale by a single artist. It was a last victory. As the auctioneer called out bids, in New York one of the oldest banks on Wall Street, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy, triggering the most severe financial crisis since the 1920s. The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after rising bewilderingly since 2003. At its peak in 2007 it was worth some $65 billion, reckons Clare McAndrew, founder of Arts Economics, a research firm - double the figure five years earlier. Since then it may have come down to $50 billion. But the market generates interest far beyond its size because it brings together great wealth, enormous egos, greed, passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries. In the weeks and months that followed Mr. Hirst's sale, spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable. In the art world that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms. Sales of contemporary art fell by two-thirds, and in the most overheated sector, they were down by nearly 90% in the year to November 2008. Within weeks the world's two biggest auction houses, Sotheby's and Christie's, had to pay out nearly $200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them. The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buying Impressionists at the end of 1989. This time experts reckon that prices are about 40% down on their peak on average, though some have been far more volatile. But Edward Dolman, Christie's chief executive, says, "I'm pretty confident we're at the bottom." What makes this slump different from the last, he says, is that there are still buyers in the market, whereas in the early 1990s, when interest rates were high, there was no demand even though many collectors wanted to sell. Christie's revenues in the first half of 2009 were still higher than in the first half of 2006. Almost everyone who was interviewed for this special report said that the biggest problem at the moment is not a lack of demand but a lack of good work to sell. The three Ds - death, debt and divorce - still deliver works of art to the market. But anyone who does not have to sell is keeping away, waiting for confidence to return.

2656.txt

The three Ds mentioned in the last paragraph are .

The longest bull run in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of 56 works by Damien Hirst, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, at Sotheby's in London on September 15th 2008. All but two pieces sold, fetching more than ￡70m, a record for a sale by a single artist. It was a last victory. As the auctioneer called out bids, in New York one of the oldest banks on Wall Street, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy, triggering the most severe financial crisis since the 1920s. The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after rising bewilderingly since 2003. At its peak in 2007 it was worth some $65 billion, reckons Clare McAndrew, founder of Arts Economics, a research firm - double the figure five years earlier. Since then it may have come down to $50 billion. But the market generates interest far beyond its size because it brings together great wealth, enormous egos, greed, passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries. In the weeks and months that followed Mr. Hirst's sale, spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable. In the art world that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms. Sales of contemporary art fell by two-thirds, and in the most overheated sector, they were down by nearly 90% in the year to November 2008. Within weeks the world's two biggest auction houses, Sotheby's and Christie's, had to pay out nearly $200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them. The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buying Impressionists at the end of 1989. This time experts reckon that prices are about 40% down on their peak on average, though some have been far more volatile. But Edward Dolman, Christie's chief executive, says, "I'm pretty confident we're at the bottom." What makes this slump different from the last, he says, is that there are still buyers in the market, whereas in the early 1990s, when interest rates were high, there was no demand even though many collectors wanted to sell. Christie's revenues in the first half of 2009 were still higher than in the first half of 2006. Almost everyone who was interviewed for this special report said that the biggest problem at the moment is not a lack of demand but a lack of good work to sell. The three Ds - death, debt and divorce - still deliver works of art to the market. But anyone who does not have to sell is keeping away, waiting for confidence to return.

2656.txt

What is mainly discussed in the passage?

The longest bull run in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of 56 works by Damien Hirst, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, at Sotheby's in London on September 15th 2008. All but two pieces sold, fetching more than ￡70m, a record for a sale by a single artist. It was a last victory. As the auctioneer called out bids, in New York one of the oldest banks on Wall Street, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy, triggering the most severe financial crisis since the 1920s. The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after rising bewilderingly since 2003. At its peak in 2007 it was worth some $65 billion, reckons Clare McAndrew, founder of Arts Economics, a research firm - double the figure five years earlier. Since then it may have come down to $50 billion. But the market generates interest far beyond its size because it brings together great wealth, enormous egos, greed, passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries. In the weeks and months that followed Mr. Hirst's sale, spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable. In the art world that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms. Sales of contemporary art fell by two-thirds, and in the most overheated sector, they were down by nearly 90% in the year to November 2008. Within weeks the world's two biggest auction houses, Sotheby's and Christie's, had to pay out nearly $200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them. The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buying Impressionists at the end of 1989. This time experts reckon that prices are about 40% down on their peak on average, though some have been far more volatile. But Edward Dolman, Christie's chief executive, says, "I'm pretty confident we're at the bottom." What makes this slump different from the last, he says, is that there are still buyers in the market, whereas in the early 1990s, when interest rates were high, there was no demand even though many collectors wanted to sell. Christie's revenues in the first half of 2009 were still higher than in the first half of 2006. Almost everyone who was interviewed for this special report said that the biggest problem at the moment is not a lack of demand but a lack of good work to sell. The three Ds - death, debt and divorce - still deliver works of art to the market. But anyone who does not have to sell is keeping away, waiting for confidence to return.

2656.txt

What does the passage mainly discuss?

According to anthropologists, people in preindustrial societies spent 3 to 4 hours per day or about 20 hours per week doing the work necessary for life. Modern comparisons of the amount of work performed per week, however, begin with the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) when 10- to 12-hour workdays with six workdays per week were the norm. Even with extensive time devoted to work, however, both incomes and standards of living were low. As incomes rose near the end of the Industrial Revolution, it became increasingly common to treat Saturday afternoons as a half-day holiday. The half holiday had become standard practice in Britain by the 1870's, but did not become common in the United States until the 1920's. In the United States, the first third of the twentieth century saw the workweek move from 60 hours per week to just under 50 hours by the start of the 1930's. In 1914 Henry Ford reduced daily work hours at his automobile plants from 9 to 8. In 1926 he announced that henceforth his factories would close for the entire day on Saturday. At the time, Ford received criticism from other firms such as United States Steel and Westinghouse, but the idea was popular with workers. The Depression years of the 1930's brought with them the notion of job sharing to spread available work around; the workweek dropped to a modem low for the United States of 35 hours. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act mandated a weekly maximum of 40 hours to begin in 1940, and since that time the 8-hour day, 5-day workweek has been the standard in the United States. Adjustments in various places, however, show that this standard is not immutable. In 1987, for example, German metalworkers struck for and received a 37.5-hour workweek; and in 1990 many workers in Britain won a 37-hour week. Since 1989, the Japanese government has moved from a 6- to a 5-day workweek and has set a national target of 1,800 work hours per year for the average worker. The average amount of work per year in Japan in 1989 was 2,088 hours per worker, compared to 1,957 for the United States and 1,646 for France.

1766.txt

Compared to preiudustrial times, the number of hours in the workweek in the nineteenth century

According to anthropologists, people in preindustrial societies spent 3 to 4 hours per day or about 20 hours per week doing the work necessary for life. Modern comparisons of the amount of work performed per week, however, begin with the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) when 10- to 12-hour workdays with six workdays per week were the norm. Even with extensive time devoted to work, however, both incomes and standards of living were low. As incomes rose near the end of the Industrial Revolution, it became increasingly common to treat Saturday afternoons as a half-day holiday. The half holiday had become standard practice in Britain by the 1870's, but did not become common in the United States until the 1920's. In the United States, the first third of the twentieth century saw the workweek move from 60 hours per week to just under 50 hours by the start of the 1930's. In 1914 Henry Ford reduced daily work hours at his automobile plants from 9 to 8. In 1926 he announced that henceforth his factories would close for the entire day on Saturday. At the time, Ford received criticism from other firms such as United States Steel and Westinghouse, but the idea was popular with workers. The Depression years of the 1930's brought with them the notion of job sharing to spread available work around; the workweek dropped to a modem low for the United States of 35 hours. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act mandated a weekly maximum of 40 hours to begin in 1940, and since that time the 8-hour day, 5-day workweek has been the standard in the United States. Adjustments in various places, however, show that this standard is not immutable. In 1987, for example, German metalworkers struck for and received a 37.5-hour workweek; and in 1990 many workers in Britain won a 37-hour week. Since 1989, the Japanese government has moved from a 6- to a 5-day workweek and has set a national target of 1,800 work hours per year for the average worker. The average amount of work per year in Japan in 1989 was 2,088 hours per worker, compared to 1,957 for the United States and 1,646 for France.

1766.txt

The word "norm" in line 5 is closest in meaning to

According to anthropologists, people in preindustrial societies spent 3 to 4 hours per day or about 20 hours per week doing the work necessary for life. Modern comparisons of the amount of work performed per week, however, begin with the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) when 10- to 12-hour workdays with six workdays per week were the norm. Even with extensive time devoted to work, however, both incomes and standards of living were low. As incomes rose near the end of the Industrial Revolution, it became increasingly common to treat Saturday afternoons as a half-day holiday. The half holiday had become standard practice in Britain by the 1870's, but did not become common in the United States until the 1920's. In the United States, the first third of the twentieth century saw the workweek move from 60 hours per week to just under 50 hours by the start of the 1930's. In 1914 Henry Ford reduced daily work hours at his automobile plants from 9 to 8. In 1926 he announced that henceforth his factories would close for the entire day on Saturday. At the time, Ford received criticism from other firms such as United States Steel and Westinghouse, but the idea was popular with workers. The Depression years of the 1930's brought with them the notion of job sharing to spread available work around; the workweek dropped to a modem low for the United States of 35 hours. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act mandated a weekly maximum of 40 hours to begin in 1940, and since that time the 8-hour day, 5-day workweek has been the standard in the United States. Adjustments in various places, however, show that this standard is not immutable. In 1987, for example, German metalworkers struck for and received a 37.5-hour workweek; and in 1990 many workers in Britain won a 37-hour week. Since 1989, the Japanese government has moved from a 6- to a 5-day workweek and has set a national target of 1,800 work hours per year for the average worker. The average amount of work per year in Japan in 1989 was 2,088 hours per worker, compared to 1,957 for the United States and 1,646 for France.

1766.txt

The word "henceforth" in line 13 is closest in meaning to

According to anthropologists, people in preindustrial societies spent 3 to 4 hours per day or about 20 hours per week doing the work necessary for life. Modern comparisons of the amount of work performed per week, however, begin with the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) when 10- to 12-hour workdays with six workdays per week were the norm. Even with extensive time devoted to work, however, both incomes and standards of living were low. As incomes rose near the end of the Industrial Revolution, it became increasingly common to treat Saturday afternoons as a half-day holiday. The half holiday had become standard practice in Britain by the 1870's, but did not become common in the United States until the 1920's. In the United States, the first third of the twentieth century saw the workweek move from 60 hours per week to just under 50 hours by the start of the 1930's. In 1914 Henry Ford reduced daily work hours at his automobile plants from 9 to 8. In 1926 he announced that henceforth his factories would close for the entire day on Saturday. At the time, Ford received criticism from other firms such as United States Steel and Westinghouse, but the idea was popular with workers. The Depression years of the 1930's brought with them the notion of job sharing to spread available work around; the workweek dropped to a modem low for the United States of 35 hours. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act mandated a weekly maximum of 40 hours to begin in 1940, and since that time the 8-hour day, 5-day workweek has been the standard in the United States. Adjustments in various places, however, show that this standard is not immutable. In 1987, for example, German metalworkers struck for and received a 37.5-hour workweek; and in 1990 many workers in Britain won a 37-hour week. Since 1989, the Japanese government has moved from a 6- to a 5-day workweek and has set a national target of 1,800 work hours per year for the average worker. The average amount of work per year in Japan in 1989 was 2,088 hours per worker, compared to 1,957 for the United States and 1,646 for France.

1766.txt

The "idea" mentioned in line 15 refers to

According to anthropologists, people in preindustrial societies spent 3 to 4 hours per day or about 20 hours per week doing the work necessary for life. Modern comparisons of the amount of work performed per week, however, begin with the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) when 10- to 12-hour workdays with six workdays per week were the norm. Even with extensive time devoted to work, however, both incomes and standards of living were low. As incomes rose near the end of the Industrial Revolution, it became increasingly common to treat Saturday afternoons as a half-day holiday. The half holiday had become standard practice in Britain by the 1870's, but did not become common in the United States until the 1920's. In the United States, the first third of the twentieth century saw the workweek move from 60 hours per week to just under 50 hours by the start of the 1930's. In 1914 Henry Ford reduced daily work hours at his automobile plants from 9 to 8. In 1926 he announced that henceforth his factories would close for the entire day on Saturday. At the time, Ford received criticism from other firms such as United States Steel and Westinghouse, but the idea was popular with workers. The Depression years of the 1930's brought with them the notion of job sharing to spread available work around; the workweek dropped to a modem low for the United States of 35 hours. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act mandated a weekly maximum of 40 hours to begin in 1940, and since that time the 8-hour day, 5-day workweek has been the standard in the United States. Adjustments in various places, however, show that this standard is not immutable. In 1987, for example, German metalworkers struck for and received a 37.5-hour workweek; and in 1990 many workers in Britain won a 37-hour week. Since 1989, the Japanese government has moved from a 6- to a 5-day workweek and has set a national target of 1,800 work hours per year for the average worker. The average amount of work per year in Japan in 1989 was 2,088 hours per worker, compared to 1,957 for the United States and 1,646 for France.

1766.txt

What is one reason for the change in the length of the workweek for the average worker in the United States during the 1930's?

According to anthropologists, people in preindustrial societies spent 3 to 4 hours per day or about 20 hours per week doing the work necessary for life. Modern comparisons of the amount of work performed per week, however, begin with the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) when 10- to 12-hour workdays with six workdays per week were the norm. Even with extensive time devoted to work, however, both incomes and standards of living were low. As incomes rose near the end of the Industrial Revolution, it became increasingly common to treat Saturday afternoons as a half-day holiday. The half holiday had become standard practice in Britain by the 1870's, but did not become common in the United States until the 1920's. In the United States, the first third of the twentieth century saw the workweek move from 60 hours per week to just under 50 hours by the start of the 1930's. In 1914 Henry Ford reduced daily work hours at his automobile plants from 9 to 8. In 1926 he announced that henceforth his factories would close for the entire day on Saturday. At the time, Ford received criticism from other firms such as United States Steel and Westinghouse, but the idea was popular with workers. The Depression years of the 1930's brought with them the notion of job sharing to spread available work around; the workweek dropped to a modem low for the United States of 35 hours. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act mandated a weekly maximum of 40 hours to begin in 1940, and since that time the 8-hour day, 5-day workweek has been the standard in the United States. Adjustments in various places, however, show that this standard is not immutable. In 1987, for example, German metalworkers struck for and received a 37.5-hour workweek; and in 1990 many workers in Britain won a 37-hour week. Since 1989, the Japanese government has moved from a 6- to a 5-day workweek and has set a national target of 1,800 work hours per year for the average worker. The average amount of work per year in Japan in 1989 was 2,088 hours per worker, compared to 1,957 for the United States and 1,646 for France.

1766.txt

Which of the following is mentioned as one of the purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ?

According to anthropologists, people in preindustrial societies spent 3 to 4 hours per day or about 20 hours per week doing the work necessary for life. Modern comparisons of the amount of work performed per week, however, begin with the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) when 10- to 12-hour workdays with six workdays per week were the norm. Even with extensive time devoted to work, however, both incomes and standards of living were low. As incomes rose near the end of the Industrial Revolution, it became increasingly common to treat Saturday afternoons as a half-day holiday. The half holiday had become standard practice in Britain by the 1870's, but did not become common in the United States until the 1920's. In the United States, the first third of the twentieth century saw the workweek move from 60 hours per week to just under 50 hours by the start of the 1930's. In 1914 Henry Ford reduced daily work hours at his automobile plants from 9 to 8. In 1926 he announced that henceforth his factories would close for the entire day on Saturday. At the time, Ford received criticism from other firms such as United States Steel and Westinghouse, but the idea was popular with workers. The Depression years of the 1930's brought with them the notion of job sharing to spread available work around; the workweek dropped to a modem low for the United States of 35 hours. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act mandated a weekly maximum of 40 hours to begin in 1940, and since that time the 8-hour day, 5-day workweek has been the standard in the United States. Adjustments in various places, however, show that this standard is not immutable. In 1987, for example, German metalworkers struck for and received a 37.5-hour workweek; and in 1990 many workers in Britain won a 37-hour week. Since 1989, the Japanese government has moved from a 6- to a 5-day workweek and has set a national target of 1,800 work hours per year for the average worker. The average amount of work per year in Japan in 1989 was 2,088 hours per worker, compared to 1,957 for the United States and 1,646 for France.

1766.txt

The word "mandated" in line 18 is closest in meaning to

According to anthropologists, people in preindustrial societies spent 3 to 4 hours per day or about 20 hours per week doing the work necessary for life. Modern comparisons of the amount of work performed per week, however, begin with the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) when 10- to 12-hour workdays with six workdays per week were the norm. Even with extensive time devoted to work, however, both incomes and standards of living were low. As incomes rose near the end of the Industrial Revolution, it became increasingly common to treat Saturday afternoons as a half-day holiday. The half holiday had become standard practice in Britain by the 1870's, but did not become common in the United States until the 1920's. In the United States, the first third of the twentieth century saw the workweek move from 60 hours per week to just under 50 hours by the start of the 1930's. In 1914 Henry Ford reduced daily work hours at his automobile plants from 9 to 8. In 1926 he announced that henceforth his factories would close for the entire day on Saturday. At the time, Ford received criticism from other firms such as United States Steel and Westinghouse, but the idea was popular with workers. The Depression years of the 1930's brought with them the notion of job sharing to spread available work around; the workweek dropped to a modem low for the United States of 35 hours. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act mandated a weekly maximum of 40 hours to begin in 1940, and since that time the 8-hour day, 5-day workweek has been the standard in the United States. Adjustments in various places, however, show that this standard is not immutable. In 1987, for example, German metalworkers struck for and received a 37.5-hour workweek; and in 1990 many workers in Britain won a 37-hour week. Since 1989, the Japanese government has moved from a 6- to a 5-day workweek and has set a national target of 1,800 work hours per year for the average worker. The average amount of work per year in Japan in 1989 was 2,088 hours per worker, compared to 1,957 for the United States and 1,646 for France.

1766.txt

The word "immutable" in line 21 is closest in meaning to

According to anthropologists, people in preindustrial societies spent 3 to 4 hours per day or about 20 hours per week doing the work necessary for life. Modern comparisons of the amount of work performed per week, however, begin with the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) when 10- to 12-hour workdays with six workdays per week were the norm. Even with extensive time devoted to work, however, both incomes and standards of living were low. As incomes rose near the end of the Industrial Revolution, it became increasingly common to treat Saturday afternoons as a half-day holiday. The half holiday had become standard practice in Britain by the 1870's, but did not become common in the United States until the 1920's. In the United States, the first third of the twentieth century saw the workweek move from 60 hours per week to just under 50 hours by the start of the 1930's. In 1914 Henry Ford reduced daily work hours at his automobile plants from 9 to 8. In 1926 he announced that henceforth his factories would close for the entire day on Saturday. At the time, Ford received criticism from other firms such as United States Steel and Westinghouse, but the idea was popular with workers. The Depression years of the 1930's brought with them the notion of job sharing to spread available work around; the workweek dropped to a modem low for the United States of 35 hours. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act mandated a weekly maximum of 40 hours to begin in 1940, and since that time the 8-hour day, 5-day workweek has been the standard in the United States. Adjustments in various places, however, show that this standard is not immutable. In 1987, for example, German metalworkers struck for and received a 37.5-hour workweek; and in 1990 many workers in Britain won a 37-hour week. Since 1989, the Japanese government has moved from a 6- to a 5-day workweek and has set a national target of 1,800 work hours per year for the average worker. The average amount of work per year in Japan in 1989 was 2,088 hours per worker, compared to 1,957 for the United States and 1,646 for France.

1766.txt

Which of the following is NOT mentioned as evidence that the length of the workweek has been declining since the nineteenth century?

According to anthropologists, people in preindustrial societies spent 3 to 4 hours per day or about 20 hours per week doing the work necessary for life. Modern comparisons of the amount of work performed per week, however, begin with the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) when 10- to 12-hour workdays with six workdays per week were the norm. Even with extensive time devoted to work, however, both incomes and standards of living were low. As incomes rose near the end of the Industrial Revolution, it became increasingly common to treat Saturday afternoons as a half-day holiday. The half holiday had become standard practice in Britain by the 1870's, but did not become common in the United States until the 1920's. In the United States, the first third of the twentieth century saw the workweek move from 60 hours per week to just under 50 hours by the start of the 1930's. In 1914 Henry Ford reduced daily work hours at his automobile plants from 9 to 8. In 1926 he announced that henceforth his factories would close for the entire day on Saturday. At the time, Ford received criticism from other firms such as United States Steel and Westinghouse, but the idea was popular with workers. The Depression years of the 1930's brought with them the notion of job sharing to spread available work around; the workweek dropped to a modem low for the United States of 35 hours. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act mandated a weekly maximum of 40 hours to begin in 1940, and since that time the 8-hour day, 5-day workweek has been the standard in the United States. Adjustments in various places, however, show that this standard is not immutable. In 1987, for example, German metalworkers struck for and received a 37.5-hour workweek; and in 1990 many workers in Britain won a 37-hour week. Since 1989, the Japanese government has moved from a 6- to a 5-day workweek and has set a national target of 1,800 work hours per year for the average worker. The average amount of work per year in Japan in 1989 was 2,088 hours per worker, compared to 1,957 for the United States and 1,646 for France.

1766.txt

According to the passage , one goal of the Japanese government is to reduce the average annual amount of work to

According to anthropologists, people in preindustrial societies spent 3 to 4 hours per day or about 20 hours per week doing the work necessary for life. Modern comparisons of the amount of work performed per week, however, begin with the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) when 10- to 12-hour workdays with six workdays per week were the norm. Even with extensive time devoted to work, however, both incomes and standards of living were low. As incomes rose near the end of the Industrial Revolution, it became increasingly common to treat Saturday afternoons as a half-day holiday. The half holiday had become standard practice in Britain by the 1870's, but did not become common in the United States until the 1920's. In the United States, the first third of the twentieth century saw the workweek move from 60 hours per week to just under 50 hours by the start of the 1930's. In 1914 Henry Ford reduced daily work hours at his automobile plants from 9 to 8. In 1926 he announced that henceforth his factories would close for the entire day on Saturday. At the time, Ford received criticism from other firms such as United States Steel and Westinghouse, but the idea was popular with workers. The Depression years of the 1930's brought with them the notion of job sharing to spread available work around; the workweek dropped to a modem low for the United States of 35 hours. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act mandated a weekly maximum of 40 hours to begin in 1940, and since that time the 8-hour day, 5-day workweek has been the standard in the United States. Adjustments in various places, however, show that this standard is not immutable. In 1987, for example, German metalworkers struck for and received a 37.5-hour workweek; and in 1990 many workers in Britain won a 37-hour week. Since 1989, the Japanese government has moved from a 6- to a 5-day workweek and has set a national target of 1,800 work hours per year for the average worker. The average amount of work per year in Japan in 1989 was 2,088 hours per worker, compared to 1,957 for the United States and 1,646 for France.

1766.txt

Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 1 as a disadvantage of the Mesopotamian plain?

The earliest of the city states of the ancient Near East appeared at the southern end of the Mesopotamian plain, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. It was here that the civilization known as Sumer emerged in its earliest form in the fifth millennium. At first sight, the plain did not appear to be a likely home for a civilization. There were few natural resources, no timber, stone, or metals. Rainfall was limited, and what water there was rushed across the plain in the annual flood of melted snow. As the plain fell only 20 meters in 500 kilometers, the beds of the rivers shifted constantly. It was this that made the organization of irrigation, particularly the building of canals to channel and preserve the water, essential. Once this was done and the silt carried down by the rivers was planted, the rewards were rich: four to five times what rain-fed earth would produce. It was these conditions that allowed an elite to emerge, probably as an organizing class, and to sustain itself through the control of surplus crops. It is difficult to isolate the factors that led to the next development-the emergence of urban settlements. The earliest, that of Eridu, about 4500 B.C.E., and Uruk, a thousand years later, center on impressive temple complexes built of mud brick. In some way, the elite had associated themselves with the power of the gods. Uruk, for instance, had two patron gods-Anu, the god of the sky and sovereign of all other gods, and Inanna, a goddess of love and war-and there were others, patrons of different cities. Human beings were at their mercy. The biblical story of the Flood may originate in Sumer. In the earliest version, the gods destroy the human race because its clamor had been so disturbing to them. It used to be believed that before 3000 B.C.E. the political and economic life of the cities was centered on their temples, but it now seems probable that the cities had secular rulers from earliest times. Within the city lived administrators, craftspeople, and merchants. (Trading was important, as so many raw materials, the semiprecious stones for the decoration of the temples, timbers for roofs, and all metals, had to be imported.) An increasingly sophisticated system of administration led in about 3300 B.C.E. to the appearance of writing. The earliest script was based on logograms, with a symbol being used to express a whole word. The logograms were incised on damp clay tablets with a stylus with a wedge shape at its end. (The Romans called the shape cuneus and this gives the script its name of cuneiform.) Two thousand logograms have been recorded from these early centuries of writing. A more economical approach was to use a sign to express not a whole word but a single syllable. (To take an example: the Sumerian word for " head" was "sag." Whenever a word including a syllable in which the sound "sag" was to be written, the sign for "sag" could be used to express that syllable with the remaining syllables of the word expressed by other signs.) By 2300 B.C.E. the number of signs required had been reduced to 600, and the range of words that could be expressed had widened. Texts dealing with economic matters predominated, as they always had done; but at this point works of theology, literature, history, and law also appeared. Other innovations of the late fourth millennium include the wheel, probably developed first as a more efficient way of making pottery and then transferred to transport. A tablet engraved about 3000 B.C.E. provides the earliest known example from Sumer, a roofed boxlike sledge mounted on four solid wheels. A major development was the discovery, again about 3000 B.C.E., that if copper, which had been known in Mesopotamia since about 3500 B.C.E., was mixed with tin, a much harder metal, bronze, would result. Although copper and stone tools continued to be used, bronze was far more successful in creating sharp edges that could be used as anything from saws and scythes to weapons. The period from 3000 to 1000 B.C.E., when the use of bronze became widespread, is normally referred to as the Bronze Age.

4094.txt

According to paragraph 1, which of the following made it possible for anelite to emerge?

The earliest of the city states of the ancient Near East appeared at the southern end of the Mesopotamian plain, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. It was here that the civilization known as Sumer emerged in its earliest form in the fifth millennium. At first sight, the plain did not appear to be a likely home for a civilization. There were few natural resources, no timber, stone, or metals. Rainfall was limited, and what water there was rushed across the plain in the annual flood of melted snow. As the plain fell only 20 meters in 500 kilometers, the beds of the rivers shifted constantly. It was this that made the organization of irrigation, particularly the building of canals to channel and preserve the water, essential. Once this was done and the silt carried down by the rivers was planted, the rewards were rich: four to five times what rain-fed earth would produce. It was these conditions that allowed an elite to emerge, probably as an organizing class, and to sustain itself through the control of surplus crops. It is difficult to isolate the factors that led to the next development-the emergence of urban settlements. The earliest, that of Eridu, about 4500 B.C.E., and Uruk, a thousand years later, center on impressive temple complexes built of mud brick. In some way, the elite had associated themselves with the power of the gods. Uruk, for instance, had two patron gods-Anu, the god of the sky and sovereign of all other gods, and Inanna, a goddess of love and war-and there were others, patrons of different cities. Human beings were at their mercy. The biblical story of the Flood may originate in Sumer. In the earliest version, the gods destroy the human race because its clamor had been so disturbing to them. It used to be believed that before 3000 B.C.E. the political and economic life of the cities was centered on their temples, but it now seems probable that the cities had secular rulers from earliest times. Within the city lived administrators, craftspeople, and merchants. (Trading was important, as so many raw materials, the semiprecious stones for the decoration of the temples, timbers for roofs, and all metals, had to be imported.) An increasingly sophisticated system of administration led in about 3300 B.C.E. to the appearance of writing. The earliest script was based on logograms, with a symbol being used to express a whole word. The logograms were incised on damp clay tablets with a stylus with a wedge shape at its end. (The Romans called the shape cuneus and this gives the script its name of cuneiform.) Two thousand logograms have been recorded from these early centuries of writing. A more economical approach was to use a sign to express not a whole word but a single syllable. (To take an example: the Sumerian word for " head" was "sag." Whenever a word including a syllable in which the sound "sag" was to be written, the sign for "sag" could be used to express that syllable with the remaining syllables of the word expressed by other signs.) By 2300 B.C.E. the number of signs required had been reduced to 600, and the range of words that could be expressed had widened. Texts dealing with economic matters predominated, as they always had done; but at this point works of theology, literature, history, and law also appeared. Other innovations of the late fourth millennium include the wheel, probably developed first as a more efficient way of making pottery and then transferred to transport. A tablet engraved about 3000 B.C.E. provides the earliest known example from Sumer, a roofed boxlike sledge mounted on four solid wheels. A major development was the discovery, again about 3000 B.C.E., that if copper, which had been known in Mesopotamia since about 3500 B.C.E., was mixed with tin, a much harder metal, bronze, would result. Although copper and stone tools continued to be used, bronze was far more successful in creating sharp edges that could be used as anything from saws and scythes to weapons. The period from 3000 to 1000 B.C.E., when the use of bronze became widespread, is normally referred to as the Bronze Age.

4094.txt

The word "sustain"in the passage(paragraph 1)is closest in meaning to

The earliest of the city states of the ancient Near East appeared at the southern end of the Mesopotamian plain, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. It was here that the civilization known as Sumer emerged in its earliest form in the fifth millennium. At first sight, the plain did not appear to be a likely home for a civilization. There were few natural resources, no timber, stone, or metals. Rainfall was limited, and what water there was rushed across the plain in the annual flood of melted snow. As the plain fell only 20 meters in 500 kilometers, the beds of the rivers shifted constantly. It was this that made the organization of irrigation, particularly the building of canals to channel and preserve the water, essential. Once this was done and the silt carried down by the rivers was planted, the rewards were rich: four to five times what rain-fed earth would produce. It was these conditions that allowed an elite to emerge, probably as an organizing class, and to sustain itself through the control of surplus crops. It is difficult to isolate the factors that led to the next development-the emergence of urban settlements. The earliest, that of Eridu, about 4500 B.C.E., and Uruk, a thousand years later, center on impressive temple complexes built of mud brick. In some way, the elite had associated themselves with the power of the gods. Uruk, for instance, had two patron gods-Anu, the god of the sky and sovereign of all other gods, and Inanna, a goddess of love and war-and there were others, patrons of different cities. Human beings were at their mercy. The biblical story of the Flood may originate in Sumer. In the earliest version, the gods destroy the human race because its clamor had been so disturbing to them. It used to be believed that before 3000 B.C.E. the political and economic life of the cities was centered on their temples, but it now seems probable that the cities had secular rulers from earliest times. Within the city lived administrators, craftspeople, and merchants. (Trading was important, as so many raw materials, the semiprecious stones for the decoration of the temples, timbers for roofs, and all metals, had to be imported.) An increasingly sophisticated system of administration led in about 3300 B.C.E. to the appearance of writing. The earliest script was based on logograms, with a symbol being used to express a whole word. The logograms were incised on damp clay tablets with a stylus with a wedge shape at its end. (The Romans called the shape cuneus and this gives the script its name of cuneiform.) Two thousand logograms have been recorded from these early centuries of writing. A more economical approach was to use a sign to express not a whole word but a single syllable. (To take an example: the Sumerian word for " head" was "sag." Whenever a word including a syllable in which the sound "sag" was to be written, the sign for "sag" could be used to express that syllable with the remaining syllables of the word expressed by other signs.) By 2300 B.C.E. the number of signs required had been reduced to 600, and the range of words that could be expressed had widened. Texts dealing with economic matters predominated, as they always had done; but at this point works of theology, literature, history, and law also appeared. Other innovations of the late fourth millennium include the wheel, probably developed first as a more efficient way of making pottery and then transferred to transport. A tablet engraved about 3000 B.C.E. provides the earliest known example from Sumer, a roofed boxlike sledge mounted on four solid wheels. A major development was the discovery, again about 3000 B.C.E., that if copper, which had been known in Mesopotamia since about 3500 B.C.E., was mixed with tin, a much harder metal, bronze, would result. Although copper and stone tools continued to be used, bronze was far more successful in creating sharp edges that could be used as anything from saws and scythes to weapons. The period from 3000 to 1000 B.C.E., when the use of bronze became widespread, is normally referred to as the Bronze Age.

4094.txt

According to paragraph 2, Eridu and Uruk are examples of urbansettlements that

The earliest of the city states of the ancient Near East appeared at the southern end of the Mesopotamian plain, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. It was here that the civilization known as Sumer emerged in its earliest form in the fifth millennium. At first sight, the plain did not appear to be a likely home for a civilization. There were few natural resources, no timber, stone, or metals. Rainfall was limited, and what water there was rushed across the plain in the annual flood of melted snow. As the plain fell only 20 meters in 500 kilometers, the beds of the rivers shifted constantly. It was this that made the organization of irrigation, particularly the building of canals to channel and preserve the water, essential. Once this was done and the silt carried down by the rivers was planted, the rewards were rich: four to five times what rain-fed earth would produce. It was these conditions that allowed an elite to emerge, probably as an organizing class, and to sustain itself through the control of surplus crops. It is difficult to isolate the factors that led to the next development-the emergence of urban settlements. The earliest, that of Eridu, about 4500 B.C.E., and Uruk, a thousand years later, center on impressive temple complexes built of mud brick. In some way, the elite had associated themselves with the power of the gods. Uruk, for instance, had two patron gods-Anu, the god of the sky and sovereign of all other gods, and Inanna, a goddess of love and war-and there were others, patrons of different cities. Human beings were at their mercy. The biblical story of the Flood may originate in Sumer. In the earliest version, the gods destroy the human race because its clamor had been so disturbing to them. It used to be believed that before 3000 B.C.E. the political and economic life of the cities was centered on their temples, but it now seems probable that the cities had secular rulers from earliest times. Within the city lived administrators, craftspeople, and merchants. (Trading was important, as so many raw materials, the semiprecious stones for the decoration of the temples, timbers for roofs, and all metals, had to be imported.) An increasingly sophisticated system of administration led in about 3300 B.C.E. to the appearance of writing. The earliest script was based on logograms, with a symbol being used to express a whole word. The logograms were incised on damp clay tablets with a stylus with a wedge shape at its end. (The Romans called the shape cuneus and this gives the script its name of cuneiform.) Two thousand logograms have been recorded from these early centuries of writing. A more economical approach was to use a sign to express not a whole word but a single syllable. (To take an example: the Sumerian word for " head" was "sag." Whenever a word including a syllable in which the sound "sag" was to be written, the sign for "sag" could be used to express that syllable with the remaining syllables of the word expressed by other signs.) By 2300 B.C.E. the number of signs required had been reduced to 600, and the range of words that could be expressed had widened. Texts dealing with economic matters predominated, as they always had done; but at this point works of theology, literature, history, and law also appeared. Other innovations of the late fourth millennium include the wheel, probably developed first as a more efficient way of making pottery and then transferred to transport. A tablet engraved about 3000 B.C.E. provides the earliest known example from Sumer, a roofed boxlike sledge mounted on four solid wheels. A major development was the discovery, again about 3000 B.C.E., that if copper, which had been known in Mesopotamia since about 3500 B.C.E., was mixed with tin, a much harder metal, bronze, would result. Although copper and stone tools continued to be used, bronze was far more successful in creating sharp edges that could be used as anything from saws and scythes to weapons. The period from 3000 to 1000 B.C.E., when the use of bronze became widespread, is normally referred to as the Bronze Age.

4094.txt

The word "sovereign"in the passage is closest in meaning to

The earliest of the city states of the ancient Near East appeared at the southern end of the Mesopotamian plain, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. It was here that the civilization known as Sumer emerged in its earliest form in the fifth millennium. At first sight, the plain did not appear to be a likely home for a civilization. There were few natural resources, no timber, stone, or metals. Rainfall was limited, and what water there was rushed across the plain in the annual flood of melted snow. As the plain fell only 20 meters in 500 kilometers, the beds of the rivers shifted constantly. It was this that made the organization of irrigation, particularly the building of canals to channel and preserve the water, essential. Once this was done and the silt carried down by the rivers was planted, the rewards were rich: four to five times what rain-fed earth would produce. It was these conditions that allowed an elite to emerge, probably as an organizing class, and to sustain itself through the control of surplus crops. It is difficult to isolate the factors that led to the next development-the emergence of urban settlements. The earliest, that of Eridu, about 4500 B.C.E., and Uruk, a thousand years later, center on impressive temple complexes built of mud brick. In some way, the elite had associated themselves with the power of the gods. Uruk, for instance, had two patron gods-Anu, the god of the sky and sovereign of all other gods, and Inanna, a goddess of love and war-and there were others, patrons of different cities. Human beings were at their mercy. The biblical story of the Flood may originate in Sumer. In the earliest version, the gods destroy the human race because its clamor had been so disturbing to them. It used to be believed that before 3000 B.C.E. the political and economic life of the cities was centered on their temples, but it now seems probable that the cities had secular rulers from earliest times. Within the city lived administrators, craftspeople, and merchants. (Trading was important, as so many raw materials, the semiprecious stones for the decoration of the temples, timbers for roofs, and all metals, had to be imported.) An increasingly sophisticated system of administration led in about 3300 B.C.E. to the appearance of writing. The earliest script was based on logograms, with a symbol being used to express a whole word. The logograms were incised on damp clay tablets with a stylus with a wedge shape at its end. (The Romans called the shape cuneus and this gives the script its name of cuneiform.) Two thousand logograms have been recorded from these early centuries of writing. A more economical approach was to use a sign to express not a whole word but a single syllable. (To take an example: the Sumerian word for " head" was "sag." Whenever a word including a syllable in which the sound "sag" was to be written, the sign for "sag" could be used to express that syllable with the remaining syllables of the word expressed by other signs.) By 2300 B.C.E. the number of signs required had been reduced to 600, and the range of words that could be expressed had widened. Texts dealing with economic matters predominated, as they always had done; but at this point works of theology, literature, history, and law also appeared. Other innovations of the late fourth millennium include the wheel, probably developed first as a more efficient way of making pottery and then transferred to transport. A tablet engraved about 3000 B.C.E. provides the earliest known example from Sumer, a roofed boxlike sledge mounted on four solid wheels. A major development was the discovery, again about 3000 B.C.E., that if copper, which had been known in Mesopotamia since about 3500 B.C.E., was mixed with tin, a much harder metal, bronze, would result. Although copper and stone tools continued to be used, bronze was far more successful in creating sharp edges that could be used as anything from saws and scythes to weapons. The period from 3000 to 1000 B.C.E., when the use of bronze became widespread, is normally referred to as the Bronze Age.

4094.txt

According to paragraph 3, which of the following led to the appearanceof writing?

The earliest of the city states of the ancient Near East appeared at the southern end of the Mesopotamian plain, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. It was here that the civilization known as Sumer emerged in its earliest form in the fifth millennium. At first sight, the plain did not appear to be a likely home for a civilization. There were few natural resources, no timber, stone, or metals. Rainfall was limited, and what water there was rushed across the plain in the annual flood of melted snow. As the plain fell only 20 meters in 500 kilometers, the beds of the rivers shifted constantly. It was this that made the organization of irrigation, particularly the building of canals to channel and preserve the water, essential. Once this was done and the silt carried down by the rivers was planted, the rewards were rich: four to five times what rain-fed earth would produce. It was these conditions that allowed an elite to emerge, probably as an organizing class, and to sustain itself through the control of surplus crops. It is difficult to isolate the factors that led to the next development-the emergence of urban settlements. The earliest, that of Eridu, about 4500 B.C.E., and Uruk, a thousand years later, center on impressive temple complexes built of mud brick. In some way, the elite had associated themselves with the power of the gods. Uruk, for instance, had two patron gods-Anu, the god of the sky and sovereign of all other gods, and Inanna, a goddess of love and war-and there were others, patrons of different cities. Human beings were at their mercy. The biblical story of the Flood may originate in Sumer. In the earliest version, the gods destroy the human race because its clamor had been so disturbing to them. It used to be believed that before 3000 B.C.E. the political and economic life of the cities was centered on their temples, but it now seems probable that the cities had secular rulers from earliest times. Within the city lived administrators, craftspeople, and merchants. (Trading was important, as so many raw materials, the semiprecious stones for the decoration of the temples, timbers for roofs, and all metals, had to be imported.) An increasingly sophisticated system of administration led in about 3300 B.C.E. to the appearance of writing. The earliest script was based on logograms, with a symbol being used to express a whole word. The logograms were incised on damp clay tablets with a stylus with a wedge shape at its end. (The Romans called the shape cuneus and this gives the script its name of cuneiform.) Two thousand logograms have been recorded from these early centuries of writing. A more economical approach was to use a sign to express not a whole word but a single syllable. (To take an example: the Sumerian word for " head" was "sag." Whenever a word including a syllable in which the sound "sag" was to be written, the sign for "sag" could be used to express that syllable with the remaining syllables of the word expressed by other signs.) By 2300 B.C.E. the number of signs required had been reduced to 600, and the range of words that could be expressed had widened. Texts dealing with economic matters predominated, as they always had done; but at this point works of theology, literature, history, and law also appeared. Other innovations of the late fourth millennium include the wheel, probably developed first as a more efficient way of making pottery and then transferred to transport. A tablet engraved about 3000 B.C.E. provides the earliest known example from Sumer, a roofed boxlike sledge mounted on four solid wheels. A major development was the discovery, again about 3000 B.C.E., that if copper, which had been known in Mesopotamia since about 3500 B.C.E., was mixed with tin, a much harder metal, bronze, would result. Although copper and stone tools continued to be used, bronze was far more successful in creating sharp edges that could be used as anything from saws and scythes to weapons. The period from 3000 to 1000 B.C.E., when the use of bronze became widespread, is normally referred to as the Bronze Age.

4094.txt

In paragraph 3, why does the author provide the information that the number of signs in use had dropped from 2,000 to 600 by 2300 B.C.E.

The earliest of the city states of the ancient Near East appeared at the southern end of the Mesopotamian plain, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. It was here that the civilization known as Sumer emerged in its earliest form in the fifth millennium. At first sight, the plain did not appear to be a likely home for a civilization. There were few natural resources, no timber, stone, or metals. Rainfall was limited, and what water there was rushed across the plain in the annual flood of melted snow. As the plain fell only 20 meters in 500 kilometers, the beds of the rivers shifted constantly. It was this that made the organization of irrigation, particularly the building of canals to channel and preserve the water, essential. Once this was done and the silt carried down by the rivers was planted, the rewards were rich: four to five times what rain-fed earth would produce. It was these conditions that allowed an elite to emerge, probably as an organizing class, and to sustain itself through the control of surplus crops. It is difficult to isolate the factors that led to the next development-the emergence of urban settlements. The earliest, that of Eridu, about 4500 B.C.E., and Uruk, a thousand years later, center on impressive temple complexes built of mud brick. In some way, the elite had associated themselves with the power of the gods. Uruk, for instance, had two patron gods-Anu, the god of the sky and sovereign of all other gods, and Inanna, a goddess of love and war-and there were others, patrons of different cities. Human beings were at their mercy. The biblical story of the Flood may originate in Sumer. In the earliest version, the gods destroy the human race because its clamor had been so disturbing to them. It used to be believed that before 3000 B.C.E. the political and economic life of the cities was centered on their temples, but it now seems probable that the cities had secular rulers from earliest times. Within the city lived administrators, craftspeople, and merchants. (Trading was important, as so many raw materials, the semiprecious stones for the decoration of the temples, timbers for roofs, and all metals, had to be imported.) An increasingly sophisticated system of administration led in about 3300 B.C.E. to the appearance of writing. The earliest script was based on logograms, with a symbol being used to express a whole word. The logograms were incised on damp clay tablets with a stylus with a wedge shape at its end. (The Romans called the shape cuneus and this gives the script its name of cuneiform.) Two thousand logograms have been recorded from these early centuries of writing. A more economical approach was to use a sign to express not a whole word but a single syllable. (To take an example: the Sumerian word for " head" was "sag." Whenever a word including a syllable in which the sound "sag" was to be written, the sign for "sag" could be used to express that syllable with the remaining syllables of the word expressed by other signs.) By 2300 B.C.E. the number of signs required had been reduced to 600, and the range of words that could be expressed had widened. Texts dealing with economic matters predominated, as they always had done; but at this point works of theology, literature, history, and law also appeared. Other innovations of the late fourth millennium include the wheel, probably developed first as a more efficient way of making pottery and then transferred to transport. A tablet engraved about 3000 B.C.E. provides the earliest known example from Sumer, a roofed boxlike sledge mounted on four solid wheels. A major development was the discovery, again about 3000 B.C.E., that if copper, which had been known in Mesopotamia since about 3500 B.C.E., was mixed with tin, a much harder metal, bronze, would result. Although copper and stone tools continued to be used, bronze was far more successful in creating sharp edges that could be used as anything from saws and scythes to weapons. The period from 3000 to 1000 B.C.E., when the use of bronze became widespread, is normally referred to as the Bronze Age.

4094.txt

According to paragraph 3, ancient texts most commonly dealt with

The earliest of the city states of the ancient Near East appeared at the southern end of the Mesopotamian plain, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. It was here that the civilization known as Sumer emerged in its earliest form in the fifth millennium. At first sight, the plain did not appear to be a likely home for a civilization. There were few natural resources, no timber, stone, or metals. Rainfall was limited, and what water there was rushed across the plain in the annual flood of melted snow. As the plain fell only 20 meters in 500 kilometers, the beds of the rivers shifted constantly. It was this that made the organization of irrigation, particularly the building of canals to channel and preserve the water, essential. Once this was done and the silt carried down by the rivers was planted, the rewards were rich: four to five times what rain-fed earth would produce. It was these conditions that allowed an elite to emerge, probably as an organizing class, and to sustain itself through the control of surplus crops. It is difficult to isolate the factors that led to the next development-the emergence of urban settlements. The earliest, that of Eridu, about 4500 B.C.E., and Uruk, a thousand years later, center on impressive temple complexes built of mud brick. In some way, the elite had associated themselves with the power of the gods. Uruk, for instance, had two patron gods-Anu, the god of the sky and sovereign of all other gods, and Inanna, a goddess of love and war-and there were others, patrons of different cities. Human beings were at their mercy. The biblical story of the Flood may originate in Sumer. In the earliest version, the gods destroy the human race because its clamor had been so disturbing to them. It used to be believed that before 3000 B.C.E. the political and economic life of the cities was centered on their temples, but it now seems probable that the cities had secular rulers from earliest times. Within the city lived administrators, craftspeople, and merchants. (Trading was important, as so many raw materials, the semiprecious stones for the decoration of the temples, timbers for roofs, and all metals, had to be imported.) An increasingly sophisticated system of administration led in about 3300 B.C.E. to the appearance of writing. The earliest script was based on logograms, with a symbol being used to express a whole word. The logograms were incised on damp clay tablets with a stylus with a wedge shape at its end. (The Romans called the shape cuneus and this gives the script its name of cuneiform.) Two thousand logograms have been recorded from these early centuries of writing. A more economical approach was to use a sign to express not a whole word but a single syllable. (To take an example: the Sumerian word for " head" was "sag." Whenever a word including a syllable in which the sound "sag" was to be written, the sign for "sag" could be used to express that syllable with the remaining syllables of the word expressed by other signs.) By 2300 B.C.E. the number of signs required had been reduced to 600, and the range of words that could be expressed had widened. Texts dealing with economic matters predominated, as they always had done; but at this point works of theology, literature, history, and law also appeared. Other innovations of the late fourth millennium include the wheel, probably developed first as a more efficient way of making pottery and then transferred to transport. A tablet engraved about 3000 B.C.E. provides the earliest known example from Sumer, a roofed boxlike sledge mounted on four solid wheels. A major development was the discovery, again about 3000 B.C.E., that if copper, which had been known in Mesopotamia since about 3500 B.C.E., was mixed with tin, a much harder metal, bronze, would result. Although copper and stone tools continued to be used, bronze was far more successful in creating sharp edges that could be used as anything from saws and scythes to weapons. The period from 3000 to 1000 B.C.E., when the use of bronze became widespread, is normally referred to as the Bronze Age.

4094.txt

According to paragraph 4, the earliest wheels probably

The earliest of the city states of the ancient Near East appeared at the southern end of the Mesopotamian plain, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. It was here that the civilization known as Sumer emerged in its earliest form in the fifth millennium. At first sight, the plain did not appear to be a likely home for a civilization. There were few natural resources, no timber, stone, or metals. Rainfall was limited, and what water there was rushed across the plain in the annual flood of melted snow. As the plain fell only 20 meters in 500 kilometers, the beds of the rivers shifted constantly. It was this that made the organization of irrigation, particularly the building of canals to channel and preserve the water, essential. Once this was done and the silt carried down by the rivers was planted, the rewards were rich: four to five times what rain-fed earth would produce. It was these conditions that allowed an elite to emerge, probably as an organizing class, and to sustain itself through the control of surplus crops. It is difficult to isolate the factors that led to the next development-the emergence of urban settlements. The earliest, that of Eridu, about 4500 B.C.E., and Uruk, a thousand years later, center on impressive temple complexes built of mud brick. In some way, the elite had associated themselves with the power of the gods. Uruk, for instance, had two patron gods-Anu, the god of the sky and sovereign of all other gods, and Inanna, a goddess of love and war-and there were others, patrons of different cities. Human beings were at their mercy. The biblical story of the Flood may originate in Sumer. In the earliest version, the gods destroy the human race because its clamor had been so disturbing to them. It used to be believed that before 3000 B.C.E. the political and economic life of the cities was centered on their temples, but it now seems probable that the cities had secular rulers from earliest times. Within the city lived administrators, craftspeople, and merchants. (Trading was important, as so many raw materials, the semiprecious stones for the decoration of the temples, timbers for roofs, and all metals, had to be imported.) An increasingly sophisticated system of administration led in about 3300 B.C.E. to the appearance of writing. The earliest script was based on logograms, with a symbol being used to express a whole word. The logograms were incised on damp clay tablets with a stylus with a wedge shape at its end. (The Romans called the shape cuneus and this gives the script its name of cuneiform.) Two thousand logograms have been recorded from these early centuries of writing. A more economical approach was to use a sign to express not a whole word but a single syllable. (To take an example: the Sumerian word for " head" was "sag." Whenever a word including a syllable in which the sound "sag" was to be written, the sign for "sag" could be used to express that syllable with the remaining syllables of the word expressed by other signs.) By 2300 B.C.E. the number of signs required had been reduced to 600, and the range of words that could be expressed had widened. Texts dealing with economic matters predominated, as they always had done; but at this point works of theology, literature, history, and law also appeared. Other innovations of the late fourth millennium include the wheel, probably developed first as a more efficient way of making pottery and then transferred to transport. A tablet engraved about 3000 B.C.E. provides the earliest known example from Sumer, a roofed boxlike sledge mounted on four solid wheels. A major development was the discovery, again about 3000 B.C.E., that if copper, which had been known in Mesopotamia since about 3500 B.C.E., was mixed with tin, a much harder metal, bronze, would result. Although copper and stone tools continued to be used, bronze was far more successful in creating sharp edges that could be used as anything from saws and scythes to weapons. The period from 3000 to 1000 B.C.E., when the use of bronze became widespread, is normally referred to as the Bronze Age.

4094.txt

The word "engraved"in the passage(paragraph 4)is closest in meaning to

The earliest of the city states of the ancient Near East appeared at the southern end of the Mesopotamian plain, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. It was here that the civilization known as Sumer emerged in its earliest form in the fifth millennium. At first sight, the plain did not appear to be a likely home for a civilization. There were few natural resources, no timber, stone, or metals. Rainfall was limited, and what water there was rushed across the plain in the annual flood of melted snow. As the plain fell only 20 meters in 500 kilometers, the beds of the rivers shifted constantly. It was this that made the organization of irrigation, particularly the building of canals to channel and preserve the water, essential. Once this was done and the silt carried down by the rivers was planted, the rewards were rich: four to five times what rain-fed earth would produce. It was these conditions that allowed an elite to emerge, probably as an organizing class, and to sustain itself through the control of surplus crops. It is difficult to isolate the factors that led to the next development-the emergence of urban settlements. The earliest, that of Eridu, about 4500 B.C.E., and Uruk, a thousand years later, center on impressive temple complexes built of mud brick. In some way, the elite had associated themselves with the power of the gods. Uruk, for instance, had two patron gods-Anu, the god of the sky and sovereign of all other gods, and Inanna, a goddess of love and war-and there were others, patrons of different cities. Human beings were at their mercy. The biblical story of the Flood may originate in Sumer. In the earliest version, the gods destroy the human race because its clamor had been so disturbing to them. It used to be believed that before 3000 B.C.E. the political and economic life of the cities was centered on their temples, but it now seems probable that the cities had secular rulers from earliest times. Within the city lived administrators, craftspeople, and merchants. (Trading was important, as so many raw materials, the semiprecious stones for the decoration of the temples, timbers for roofs, and all metals, had to be imported.) An increasingly sophisticated system of administration led in about 3300 B.C.E. to the appearance of writing. The earliest script was based on logograms, with a symbol being used to express a whole word. The logograms were incised on damp clay tablets with a stylus with a wedge shape at its end. (The Romans called the shape cuneus and this gives the script its name of cuneiform.) Two thousand logograms have been recorded from these early centuries of writing. A more economical approach was to use a sign to express not a whole word but a single syllable. (To take an example: the Sumerian word for " head" was "sag." Whenever a word including a syllable in which the sound "sag" was to be written, the sign for "sag" could be used to express that syllable with the remaining syllables of the word expressed by other signs.) By 2300 B.C.E. the number of signs required had been reduced to 600, and the range of words that could be expressed had widened. Texts dealing with economic matters predominated, as they always had done; but at this point works of theology, literature, history, and law also appeared. Other innovations of the late fourth millennium include the wheel, probably developed first as a more efficient way of making pottery and then transferred to transport. A tablet engraved about 3000 B.C.E. provides the earliest known example from Sumer, a roofed boxlike sledge mounted on four solid wheels. A major development was the discovery, again about 3000 B.C.E., that if copper, which had been known in Mesopotamia since about 3500 B.C.E., was mixed with tin, a much harder metal, bronze, would result. Although copper and stone tools continued to be used, bronze was far more successful in creating sharp edges that could be used as anything from saws and scythes to weapons. The period from 3000 to 1000 B.C.E., when the use of bronze became widespread, is normally referred to as the Bronze Age.

4094.txt

The word "widespread"in the passage(paragraph 4)is closest in meaning to

The earliest of the city states of the ancient Near East appeared at the southern end of the Mesopotamian plain, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. It was here that the civilization known as Sumer emerged in its earliest form in the fifth millennium. At first sight, the plain did not appear to be a likely home for a civilization. There were few natural resources, no timber, stone, or metals. Rainfall was limited, and what water there was rushed across the plain in the annual flood of melted snow. As the plain fell only 20 meters in 500 kilometers, the beds of the rivers shifted constantly. It was this that made the organization of irrigation, particularly the building of canals to channel and preserve the water, essential. Once this was done and the silt carried down by the rivers was planted, the rewards were rich: four to five times what rain-fed earth would produce. It was these conditions that allowed an elite to emerge, probably as an organizing class, and to sustain itself through the control of surplus crops. It is difficult to isolate the factors that led to the next development-the emergence of urban settlements. The earliest, that of Eridu, about 4500 B.C.E., and Uruk, a thousand years later, center on impressive temple complexes built of mud brick. In some way, the elite had associated themselves with the power of the gods. Uruk, for instance, had two patron gods-Anu, the god of the sky and sovereign of all other gods, and Inanna, a goddess of love and war-and there were others, patrons of different cities. Human beings were at their mercy. The biblical story of the Flood may originate in Sumer. In the earliest version, the gods destroy the human race because its clamor had been so disturbing to them. It used to be believed that before 3000 B.C.E. the political and economic life of the cities was centered on their temples, but it now seems probable that the cities had secular rulers from earliest times. Within the city lived administrators, craftspeople, and merchants. (Trading was important, as so many raw materials, the semiprecious stones for the decoration of the temples, timbers for roofs, and all metals, had to be imported.) An increasingly sophisticated system of administration led in about 3300 B.C.E. to the appearance of writing. The earliest script was based on logograms, with a symbol being used to express a whole word. The logograms were incised on damp clay tablets with a stylus with a wedge shape at its end. (The Romans called the shape cuneus and this gives the script its name of cuneiform.) Two thousand logograms have been recorded from these early centuries of writing. A more economical approach was to use a sign to express not a whole word but a single syllable. (To take an example: the Sumerian word for " head" was "sag." Whenever a word including a syllable in which the sound "sag" was to be written, the sign for "sag" could be used to express that syllable with the remaining syllables of the word expressed by other signs.) By 2300 B.C.E. the number of signs required had been reduced to 600, and the range of words that could be expressed had widened. Texts dealing with economic matters predominated, as they always had done; but at this point works of theology, literature, history, and law also appeared. Other innovations of the late fourth millennium include the wheel, probably developed first as a more efficient way of making pottery and then transferred to transport. A tablet engraved about 3000 B.C.E. provides the earliest known example from Sumer, a roofed boxlike sledge mounted on four solid wheels. A major development was the discovery, again about 3000 B.C.E., that if copper, which had been known in Mesopotamia since about 3500 B.C.E., was mixed with tin, a much harder metal, bronze, would result. Although copper and stone tools continued to be used, bronze was far more successful in creating sharp edges that could be used as anything from saws and scythes to weapons. The period from 3000 to 1000 B.C.E., when the use of bronze became widespread, is normally referred to as the Bronze Age.

4094.txt

He wanted to borrow money because he wanted to_ .

Hobbs was an orphan.He worked in a fact&y and every day he got a little money.Hard work changed him thin and weak.He wanted to borrow a lot of money to learn painting pietures，but he did not think he could pay off the debts. One day the lawyer said to him，"One thousand dollars，and here is the money."As Hobbs took the package of noted，he was very dumbfounded.He didn't know where the money canle from and how to spend it.He said to himself,"I could go to find a hotel and live like a rich man for a few days：or I give up my work in the factory and do what I'd like to d0：painting pictures.I could do that for a few weeks.but what would I do after that?I should have lost my place of the factory and have no money to live on.If it were a little less money.I would buy a new coat，or a radi0，or give a dinner to my friends.If it were more，I could give up the work and Pay for painting pictures.But it's too much for one and too little for the other." "Here is the reading of your uncle's will"，said the lawyer，"telling what is to be done with this money after his death.I must ask you to remember one point.Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money，as soon as you have spent it.""Yes.I see.I'll do that."said the young man.

1859.txt

Hobbs was dumbfounded on receiving the money because he thought_ .

Hobbs was an orphan.He worked in a fact&y and every day he got a little money.Hard work changed him thin and weak.He wanted to borrow a lot of money to learn painting pietures，but he did not think he could pay off the debts. One day the lawyer said to him，"One thousand dollars，and here is the money."As Hobbs took the package of noted，he was very dumbfounded.He didn't know where the money canle from and how to spend it.He said to himself,"I could go to find a hotel and live like a rich man for a few days：or I give up my work in the factory and do what I'd like to d0：painting pictures.I could do that for a few weeks.but what would I do after that?I should have lost my place of the factory and have no money to live on.If it were a little less money.I would buy a new coat，or a radi0，or give a dinner to my friends.If it were more，I could give up the work and Pay for painting pictures.But it's too much for one and too little for the other." "Here is the reading of your uncle's will"，said the lawyer，"telling what is to be done with this money after his death.I must ask you to remember one point.Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money，as soon as you have spent it.""Yes.I see.I'll do that."said the young man.

1859.txt

With the money he got，first Hobbs_ .

Hobbs was an orphan.He worked in a fact&y and every day he got a little money.Hard work changed him thin and weak.He wanted to borrow a lot of money to learn painting pietures，but he did not think he could pay off the debts. One day the lawyer said to him，"One thousand dollars，and here is the money."As Hobbs took the package of noted，he was very dumbfounded.He didn't know where the money canle from and how to spend it.He said to himself,"I could go to find a hotel and live like a rich man for a few days：or I give up my work in the factory and do what I'd like to d0：painting pictures.I could do that for a few weeks.but what would I do after that?I should have lost my place of the factory and have no money to live on.If it were a little less money.I would buy a new coat，or a radi0，or give a dinner to my friends.If it were more，I could give up the work and Pay for painting pictures.But it's too much for one and too little for the other." "Here is the reading of your uncle's will"，said the lawyer，"telling what is to be done with this money after his death.I must ask you to remember one point.Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money，as soon as you have spent it.""Yes.I see.I'll do that."said the young man.

1859.txt

We know from the passage that with the levels of FGF2 decreasing, the rats will .

A chemical important of brain development may play a role in explaining why some people are genetically likely to suffer from anxiety and could lead to new treatments, U.S. researchers said. They said highly anxious rats which were kept had very low levels of a brain chemical called fibroblast growth factor 2 or FGF2, compared with rats that were more relaxed. But when they improved the anxious rats' living conditions - giving them new toys to explore and a bigger cage to live in - levels of this brain chemical increased and they became less anxious. "The levels of this brain chemical increased in response to the experiences that the rats were exposed to. It also decreased their anxiety". Javier Perez of the University of Michigan said in a telephone interview. "It made them behave the same way as the rats that were relaxed", he said. In a former study of people who were severely depressed before they died, the team found the gene that makes FGF2 was producing very low levels of the growth factor, which is known primarily for organizing the brain during development and repairing it after injury. Perez thinks the brain chemical may be a marker for genetic vulnerability to anxiety and depression. But it can also respond to changes in the environment in a positive way, possibly by preserving new brain cells. While both the calm and anxious rats produced the same number of new brain cells, these cells were less likely to survive in the high-anxiety rats, the team found. Giving the rats better living conditions or injecting them with FGF2 helped improve cell survival. "This discovery may pave the way for new, more specific treatments for anxiety that will not be based on sedation, but will instead fight the real cause of the disease," Dr. Pier Vincenzo Piazza from France said in a statement.

1018.txt

What's the better way to increase the levels of FGF2?

A chemical important of brain development may play a role in explaining why some people are genetically likely to suffer from anxiety and could lead to new treatments, U.S. researchers said. They said highly anxious rats which were kept had very low levels of a brain chemical called fibroblast growth factor 2 or FGF2, compared with rats that were more relaxed. But when they improved the anxious rats' living conditions - giving them new toys to explore and a bigger cage to live in - levels of this brain chemical increased and they became less anxious. "The levels of this brain chemical increased in response to the experiences that the rats were exposed to. It also decreased their anxiety". Javier Perez of the University of Michigan said in a telephone interview. "It made them behave the same way as the rats that were relaxed", he said. In a former study of people who were severely depressed before they died, the team found the gene that makes FGF2 was producing very low levels of the growth factor, which is known primarily for organizing the brain during development and repairing it after injury. Perez thinks the brain chemical may be a marker for genetic vulnerability to anxiety and depression. But it can also respond to changes in the environment in a positive way, possibly by preserving new brain cells. While both the calm and anxious rats produced the same number of new brain cells, these cells were less likely to survive in the high-anxiety rats, the team found. Giving the rats better living conditions or injecting them with FGF2 helped improve cell survival. "This discovery may pave the way for new, more specific treatments for anxiety that will not be based on sedation, but will instead fight the real cause of the disease," Dr. Pier Vincenzo Piazza from France said in a statement.

1018.txt

What's the main influence of the new discovery?

A chemical important of brain development may play a role in explaining why some people are genetically likely to suffer from anxiety and could lead to new treatments, U.S. researchers said. They said highly anxious rats which were kept had very low levels of a brain chemical called fibroblast growth factor 2 or FGF2, compared with rats that were more relaxed. But when they improved the anxious rats' living conditions - giving them new toys to explore and a bigger cage to live in - levels of this brain chemical increased and they became less anxious. "The levels of this brain chemical increased in response to the experiences that the rats were exposed to. It also decreased their anxiety". Javier Perez of the University of Michigan said in a telephone interview. "It made them behave the same way as the rats that were relaxed", he said. In a former study of people who were severely depressed before they died, the team found the gene that makes FGF2 was producing very low levels of the growth factor, which is known primarily for organizing the brain during development and repairing it after injury. Perez thinks the brain chemical may be a marker for genetic vulnerability to anxiety and depression. But it can also respond to changes in the environment in a positive way, possibly by preserving new brain cells. While both the calm and anxious rats produced the same number of new brain cells, these cells were less likely to survive in the high-anxiety rats, the team found. Giving the rats better living conditions or injecting them with FGF2 helped improve cell survival. "This discovery may pave the way for new, more specific treatments for anxiety that will not be based on sedation, but will instead fight the real cause of the disease," Dr. Pier Vincenzo Piazza from France said in a statement.

1018.txt

Which of the following would be the most suitable title for the passage?

A chemical important of brain development may play a role in explaining why some people are genetically likely to suffer from anxiety and could lead to new treatments, U.S. researchers said. They said highly anxious rats which were kept had very low levels of a brain chemical called fibroblast growth factor 2 or FGF2, compared with rats that were more relaxed. But when they improved the anxious rats' living conditions - giving them new toys to explore and a bigger cage to live in - levels of this brain chemical increased and they became less anxious. "The levels of this brain chemical increased in response to the experiences that the rats were exposed to. It also decreased their anxiety". Javier Perez of the University of Michigan said in a telephone interview. "It made them behave the same way as the rats that were relaxed", he said. In a former study of people who were severely depressed before they died, the team found the gene that makes FGF2 was producing very low levels of the growth factor, which is known primarily for organizing the brain during development and repairing it after injury. Perez thinks the brain chemical may be a marker for genetic vulnerability to anxiety and depression. But it can also respond to changes in the environment in a positive way, possibly by preserving new brain cells. While both the calm and anxious rats produced the same number of new brain cells, these cells were less likely to survive in the high-anxiety rats, the team found. Giving the rats better living conditions or injecting them with FGF2 helped improve cell survival. "This discovery may pave the way for new, more specific treatments for anxiety that will not be based on sedation, but will instead fight the real cause of the disease," Dr. Pier Vincenzo Piazza from France said in a statement.

1018.txt

The primary purpose of this passage is to

Many philosophers disagree over the definition of morality, but most disputants fall into one of two categories; egocentrics, who define morality as the pursuit of self-fulfillment, and sociocentrics, who define morality as an individual's obligations to society. Where does the truth lie? Fortunately, the stem of the word "morality" provides some clues. The word "mores" originally referred to the customs of preliterate cultures. Mores, which embodied each culture's ideal principles for governing every citizen, were developed in the belief that the foundation of a community lies in the cultivation of individual powers to be placed in service to the community. These mores were concerned with such skills as food- gathering and warfare as well as an individual's relationships with others. Thus, I submit "morality" must be concerned with what is honored by the community at large. However, self-fulfillment is important to morality because unfulfilled citizens, no matter how virtuous, cannot perform the duties morality assigns them.

1886.txt

According to the passage, mores in preliterate cultures concerned such skills as warfare and food-gathering because these skills were

Many philosophers disagree over the definition of morality, but most disputants fall into one of two categories; egocentrics, who define morality as the pursuit of self-fulfillment, and sociocentrics, who define morality as an individual's obligations to society. Where does the truth lie? Fortunately, the stem of the word "morality" provides some clues. The word "mores" originally referred to the customs of preliterate cultures. Mores, which embodied each culture's ideal principles for governing every citizen, were developed in the belief that the foundation of a community lies in the cultivation of individual powers to be placed in service to the community. These mores were concerned with such skills as food- gathering and warfare as well as an individual's relationships with others. Thus, I submit "morality" must be concerned with what is honored by the community at large. However, self-fulfillment is important to morality because unfulfilled citizens, no matter how virtuous, cannot perform the duties morality assigns them.

1886.txt

It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements regarding sociocentrics and egocentrics?

Many philosophers disagree over the definition of morality, but most disputants fall into one of two categories; egocentrics, who define morality as the pursuit of self-fulfillment, and sociocentrics, who define morality as an individual's obligations to society. Where does the truth lie? Fortunately, the stem of the word "morality" provides some clues. The word "mores" originally referred to the customs of preliterate cultures. Mores, which embodied each culture's ideal principles for governing every citizen, were developed in the belief that the foundation of a community lies in the cultivation of individual powers to be placed in service to the community. These mores were concerned with such skills as food- gathering and warfare as well as an individual's relationships with others. Thus, I submit "morality" must be concerned with what is honored by the community at large. However, self-fulfillment is important to morality because unfulfilled citizens, no matter how virtuous, cannot perform the duties morality assigns them.

1886.txt

With which of the following statements regarding the relationship between the individual and morality would the author be most likely to agree?

Many philosophers disagree over the definition of morality, but most disputants fall into one of two categories; egocentrics, who define morality as the pursuit of self-fulfillment, and sociocentrics, who define morality as an individual's obligations to society. Where does the truth lie? Fortunately, the stem of the word "morality" provides some clues. The word "mores" originally referred to the customs of preliterate cultures. Mores, which embodied each culture's ideal principles for governing every citizen, were developed in the belief that the foundation of a community lies in the cultivation of individual powers to be placed in service to the community. These mores were concerned with such skills as food- gathering and warfare as well as an individual's relationships with others. Thus, I submit "morality" must be concerned with what is honored by the community at large. However, self-fulfillment is important to morality because unfulfilled citizens, no matter how virtuous, cannot perform the duties morality assigns them.

1886.txt

The last sentence of Paragraph 1 means many investors_ .

Stamp-collecting, once exclusively the hobby of small boys and an all-consuming passion for the older enthusiast, has now become the target of financial speculators. Stamps are both portable and negotiable anywhere and have thus attracted investors with no knowledge of the subject. However , many of these people have burned their fingers as all forms of investment require specialized knowledge. There are many cautionary tales. The Post Office issued three stamps to commemorate the 1966 World Cup held in England. When England won the Cup, the four-penny value was overprinted with the words "England Winners. " The speculators moved in, the stamp being sold out on the day of issue and soon changing hands at up to sixty times its face value. When profit-taking started, the price dropped sharply and now the stamps are easily obtainable at a price which will not make a hole in any schoolboy's pocket. However, interesting stamps-particularly stamps from the nineteenth century in good condition-will always be a sound investment. The condition of most childhood collections means that they will seldom fetch very much. Rare stamp can only increase in value over the years. Surprisingly the first stamp ever issued, the British 1840 Penny Black, is not that much of a rarity and will never have the value of, say, the Mauritius One Penny of 1859. Such rarities are beyond the means of most stamp-collectors, who content themselves with the collection of stamps from a particular country or countries, or of stamps on a particular theme: music, sport, flowers and so on. This specialization is necessitated by the vast number of stamps issued every year. In the old days, though, a rich collector might have been able to own almost every stamp ever issued. For most people, then, stamp-collecting is a satisfying and absorbing hobby, not a form of investment.

1456.txt

Which of the following is NOT TRUE of stamps?

Stamp-collecting, once exclusively the hobby of small boys and an all-consuming passion for the older enthusiast, has now become the target of financial speculators. Stamps are both portable and negotiable anywhere and have thus attracted investors with no knowledge of the subject. However , many of these people have burned their fingers as all forms of investment require specialized knowledge. There are many cautionary tales. The Post Office issued three stamps to commemorate the 1966 World Cup held in England. When England won the Cup, the four-penny value was overprinted with the words "England Winners. " The speculators moved in, the stamp being sold out on the day of issue and soon changing hands at up to sixty times its face value. When profit-taking started, the price dropped sharply and now the stamps are easily obtainable at a price which will not make a hole in any schoolboy's pocket. However, interesting stamps-particularly stamps from the nineteenth century in good condition-will always be a sound investment. The condition of most childhood collections means that they will seldom fetch very much. Rare stamp can only increase in value over the years. Surprisingly the first stamp ever issued, the British 1840 Penny Black, is not that much of a rarity and will never have the value of, say, the Mauritius One Penny of 1859. Such rarities are beyond the means of most stamp-collectors, who content themselves with the collection of stamps from a particular country or countries, or of stamps on a particular theme: music, sport, flowers and so on. This specialization is necessitated by the vast number of stamps issued every year. In the old days, though, a rich collector might have been able to own almost every stamp ever issued. For most people, then, stamp-collecting is a satisfying and absorbing hobby, not a form of investment.

1456.txt

In stamp-collecting, most people want to_ .

Stamp-collecting, once exclusively the hobby of small boys and an all-consuming passion for the older enthusiast, has now become the target of financial speculators. Stamps are both portable and negotiable anywhere and have thus attracted investors with no knowledge of the subject. However , many of these people have burned their fingers as all forms of investment require specialized knowledge. There are many cautionary tales. The Post Office issued three stamps to commemorate the 1966 World Cup held in England. When England won the Cup, the four-penny value was overprinted with the words "England Winners. " The speculators moved in, the stamp being sold out on the day of issue and soon changing hands at up to sixty times its face value. When profit-taking started, the price dropped sharply and now the stamps are easily obtainable at a price which will not make a hole in any schoolboy's pocket. However, interesting stamps-particularly stamps from the nineteenth century in good condition-will always be a sound investment. The condition of most childhood collections means that they will seldom fetch very much. Rare stamp can only increase in value over the years. Surprisingly the first stamp ever issued, the British 1840 Penny Black, is not that much of a rarity and will never have the value of, say, the Mauritius One Penny of 1859. Such rarities are beyond the means of most stamp-collectors, who content themselves with the collection of stamps from a particular country or countries, or of stamps on a particular theme: music, sport, flowers and so on. This specialization is necessitated by the vast number of stamps issued every year. In the old days, though, a rich collector might have been able to own almost every stamp ever issued. For most people, then, stamp-collecting is a satisfying and absorbing hobby, not a form of investment.

1456.txt

Which stamp is most valuable according to this passage?

Stamp-collecting, once exclusively the hobby of small boys and an all-consuming passion for the older enthusiast, has now become the target of financial speculators. Stamps are both portable and negotiable anywhere and have thus attracted investors with no knowledge of the subject. However , many of these people have burned their fingers as all forms of investment require specialized knowledge. There are many cautionary tales. The Post Office issued three stamps to commemorate the 1966 World Cup held in England. When England won the Cup, the four-penny value was overprinted with the words "England Winners. " The speculators moved in, the stamp being sold out on the day of issue and soon changing hands at up to sixty times its face value. When profit-taking started, the price dropped sharply and now the stamps are easily obtainable at a price which will not make a hole in any schoolboy's pocket. However, interesting stamps-particularly stamps from the nineteenth century in good condition-will always be a sound investment. The condition of most childhood collections means that they will seldom fetch very much. Rare stamp can only increase in value over the years. Surprisingly the first stamp ever issued, the British 1840 Penny Black, is not that much of a rarity and will never have the value of, say, the Mauritius One Penny of 1859. Such rarities are beyond the means of most stamp-collectors, who content themselves with the collection of stamps from a particular country or countries, or of stamps on a particular theme: music, sport, flowers and so on. This specialization is necessitated by the vast number of stamps issued every year. In the old days, though, a rich collector might have been able to own almost every stamp ever issued. For most people, then, stamp-collecting is a satisfying and absorbing hobby, not a form of investment.

1456.txt

The passage deals primarily with_ .

Stamp-collecting, once exclusively the hobby of small boys and an all-consuming passion for the older enthusiast, has now become the target of financial speculators. Stamps are both portable and negotiable anywhere and have thus attracted investors with no knowledge of the subject. However , many of these people have burned their fingers as all forms of investment require specialized knowledge. There are many cautionary tales. The Post Office issued three stamps to commemorate the 1966 World Cup held in England. When England won the Cup, the four-penny value was overprinted with the words "England Winners. " The speculators moved in, the stamp being sold out on the day of issue and soon changing hands at up to sixty times its face value. When profit-taking started, the price dropped sharply and now the stamps are easily obtainable at a price which will not make a hole in any schoolboy's pocket. However, interesting stamps-particularly stamps from the nineteenth century in good condition-will always be a sound investment. The condition of most childhood collections means that they will seldom fetch very much. Rare stamp can only increase in value over the years. Surprisingly the first stamp ever issued, the British 1840 Penny Black, is not that much of a rarity and will never have the value of, say, the Mauritius One Penny of 1859. Such rarities are beyond the means of most stamp-collectors, who content themselves with the collection of stamps from a particular country or countries, or of stamps on a particular theme: music, sport, flowers and so on. This specialization is necessitated by the vast number of stamps issued every year. In the old days, though, a rich collector might have been able to own almost every stamp ever issued. For most people, then, stamp-collecting is a satisfying and absorbing hobby, not a form of investment.

1456.txt

The word " priorities" in the sentence means _ .

In the debates about how a particular piece of land is to be used, the priorities often conflict. What should you do, for example, if you find out that under the fertile fields of a farming community there is a thick bed of coal which can be strip mined? Strip mining rips up top soil and vegetation. But mining may create jobs, bring money to the towns businesses. Those who approve of strip mining say that the coal is needed, and they point out that it is quicker and cheaper to get coal from the surface than to go deep into the earth to get it by standard mining techniques. On the other hand, it takes nature 500 years to create an inch of top soil. As the countryside fills up, people are becoming more aware of the need for open space. Nearly every proposal for a new power plant, highway, or airport draws fierce opposition. Everyone wants the big, land-eating " uglies " to be in someone else's backyard. Minneapolis and St.Paul, Minnesota, for example, have been debating about the site of a future airport for years. Yet if a new airport is needed, it will have to go somewhere. ? How do we find our way out of the land-used problem? One way might be to reexamine our values, to think in new directions. Does everyone have to have a car with its need for highways and parking lots? What about developing mass transit systems that use less land? Do suburbs have to sprawl? Can they be designed so they use less space? Do we have to have more energy? If we do, do we really have to strip-mine coal to provide it? However difficult they may be to arrive at, choices will have to be made if we want to preserve the beauty and usefulness of the land. For there is at least one point on which all of us can agree: The land does have its limits.

781.txt

" … , people are becoming more aware of the need for open space. " tells us that _ .

In the debates about how a particular piece of land is to be used, the priorities often conflict. What should you do, for example, if you find out that under the fertile fields of a farming community there is a thick bed of coal which can be strip mined? Strip mining rips up top soil and vegetation. But mining may create jobs, bring money to the towns businesses. Those who approve of strip mining say that the coal is needed, and they point out that it is quicker and cheaper to get coal from the surface than to go deep into the earth to get it by standard mining techniques. On the other hand, it takes nature 500 years to create an inch of top soil. As the countryside fills up, people are becoming more aware of the need for open space. Nearly every proposal for a new power plant, highway, or airport draws fierce opposition. Everyone wants the big, land-eating " uglies " to be in someone else's backyard. Minneapolis and St.Paul, Minnesota, for example, have been debating about the site of a future airport for years. Yet if a new airport is needed, it will have to go somewhere. ? How do we find our way out of the land-used problem? One way might be to reexamine our values, to think in new directions. Does everyone have to have a car with its need for highways and parking lots? What about developing mass transit systems that use less land? Do suburbs have to sprawl? Can they be designed so they use less space? Do we have to have more energy? If we do, do we really have to strip-mine coal to provide it? However difficult they may be to arrive at, choices will have to be made if we want to preserve the beauty and usefulness of the land. For there is at least one point on which all of us can agree: The land does have its limits.

781.txt

How do we find our way out of the land use problems?

In the debates about how a particular piece of land is to be used, the priorities often conflict. What should you do, for example, if you find out that under the fertile fields of a farming community there is a thick bed of coal which can be strip mined? Strip mining rips up top soil and vegetation. But mining may create jobs, bring money to the towns businesses. Those who approve of strip mining say that the coal is needed, and they point out that it is quicker and cheaper to get coal from the surface than to go deep into the earth to get it by standard mining techniques. On the other hand, it takes nature 500 years to create an inch of top soil. As the countryside fills up, people are becoming more aware of the need for open space. Nearly every proposal for a new power plant, highway, or airport draws fierce opposition. Everyone wants the big, land-eating " uglies " to be in someone else's backyard. Minneapolis and St.Paul, Minnesota, for example, have been debating about the site of a future airport for years. Yet if a new airport is needed, it will have to go somewhere. ? How do we find our way out of the land-used problem? One way might be to reexamine our values, to think in new directions. Does everyone have to have a car with its need for highways and parking lots? What about developing mass transit systems that use less land? Do suburbs have to sprawl? Can they be designed so they use less space? Do we have to have more energy? If we do, do we really have to strip-mine coal to provide it? However difficult they may be to arrive at, choices will have to be made if we want to preserve the beauty and usefulness of the land. For there is at least one point on which all of us can agree: The land does have its limits.

781.txt

" Everyone wants the big, land-eating ‘ uglies to be in someone else s backyard. " shows that _ .

In the debates about how a particular piece of land is to be used, the priorities often conflict. What should you do, for example, if you find out that under the fertile fields of a farming community there is a thick bed of coal which can be strip mined? Strip mining rips up top soil and vegetation. But mining may create jobs, bring money to the towns businesses. Those who approve of strip mining say that the coal is needed, and they point out that it is quicker and cheaper to get coal from the surface than to go deep into the earth to get it by standard mining techniques. On the other hand, it takes nature 500 years to create an inch of top soil. As the countryside fills up, people are becoming more aware of the need for open space. Nearly every proposal for a new power plant, highway, or airport draws fierce opposition. Everyone wants the big, land-eating " uglies " to be in someone else's backyard. Minneapolis and St.Paul, Minnesota, for example, have been debating about the site of a future airport for years. Yet if a new airport is needed, it will have to go somewhere. ? How do we find our way out of the land-used problem? One way might be to reexamine our values, to think in new directions. Does everyone have to have a car with its need for highways and parking lots? What about developing mass transit systems that use less land? Do suburbs have to sprawl? Can they be designed so they use less space? Do we have to have more energy? If we do, do we really have to strip-mine coal to provide it? However difficult they may be to arrive at, choices will have to be made if we want to preserve the beauty and usefulness of the land. For there is at least one point on which all of us can agree: The land does have its limits.

781.txt

The main idea of this article is _ .

In the debates about how a particular piece of land is to be used, the priorities often conflict. What should you do, for example, if you find out that under the fertile fields of a farming community there is a thick bed of coal which can be strip mined? Strip mining rips up top soil and vegetation. But mining may create jobs, bring money to the towns businesses. Those who approve of strip mining say that the coal is needed, and they point out that it is quicker and cheaper to get coal from the surface than to go deep into the earth to get it by standard mining techniques. On the other hand, it takes nature 500 years to create an inch of top soil. As the countryside fills up, people are becoming more aware of the need for open space. Nearly every proposal for a new power plant, highway, or airport draws fierce opposition. Everyone wants the big, land-eating " uglies " to be in someone else's backyard. Minneapolis and St.Paul, Minnesota, for example, have been debating about the site of a future airport for years. Yet if a new airport is needed, it will have to go somewhere. ? How do we find our way out of the land-used problem? One way might be to reexamine our values, to think in new directions. Does everyone have to have a car with its need for highways and parking lots? What about developing mass transit systems that use less land? Do suburbs have to sprawl? Can they be designed so they use less space? Do we have to have more energy? If we do, do we really have to strip-mine coal to provide it? However difficult they may be to arrive at, choices will have to be made if we want to preserve the beauty and usefulness of the land. For there is at least one point on which all of us can agree: The land does have its limits.

781.txt

The black and white stripes of the zebra are most useful form

Cryptic Coloring Cryptic coloring is by far the commonest use of color in the struggle for existence. It is employed for the purpose of attack (aggressive resemblance or anticryptic coloring ) as well as of defense (protective resemblance or procryptic coloring ). The fact that the same method concealment, may be used both for attack and defense has been well explained by T.Belt who suggests as an illustration the rapidity of movement which is also made use of by both pursuer and pursued, which is similarly raised to a maximum in both by the gradual dying out of the slowest through a series of generations. Cryptic coloring is commonly associated with other aids in the struggle for life. Thus well-concealed mammals and birds, when discovered, will generally endeavor to escape by speed and will often attempt to defend themselves actively. On the other hand, small animals which have no means of active defense, such as large, numbers of insects, frequently depend upon concealment alone. Protective resemblance is far commoner among animals than aggressive resemblance, in correspondence with the fact that predaceous forms are as a rule much larger and much less numerous than their prey. In the case of insectivorous Vertebrata and their prey such differences exist in an exaggerated form. Cryptic coloring, whether used for defense of attack, may be either general or special. In general resemblance the animal, in consequence of its coloring, produces the same effect as its environment, but the conditions do not require any special adaptation of shape and outline. General resemblance is especially common among the animal inhabiting some uniformly colored expanse of the earth's surface, such as an ocean or a desert. In the former, animals of all shapes are frequently protected by their transparent blue color, on the latter, equally diverse forms are defended by their sandy appearance. The effect of a uniform appearance may be produced by a combination of tints in startling contrast. Thus the black and white stripes of the zebra blend together at a little distance, and "their proportion is such as exactly to match the pale tint which arid ground possesses when seen by moonlight." Special resemblance is far commoner than general and is the form which is usually met with on the diversified surface of the earth, on the shores, and in shallow water, as well as on the floating masses of algae on the surface of the ocean, such as the Sargasso Sea. In these environments the cryptic coloring of animals is usually aided by special modifications of shape, and by the instinct which leads them to assume particular attitudes. Complete stillness and the assumption of a certain attitude play an essential part in general resemblance on land; but in special resemblance the attitude is often highly specialized, and perhaps more important than any other element in the complex method by which concealment is effected. In special resemblance the combination of coloring, shape, and attitude is such as to produce a more or less exact resemblance to some one of the objects in the environment, such as a leaf of twig, a patch of lichen, a flake of bark. In all cases the resemblance is to some object which is of no interest to the enemy or prey respectively. The animal is not hidden from view by becoming indistinguishable from its background as in the case of general resemblance, but it is mistaken for some well-know object. seeking the interpretation of these most interesting and elaborate adaptations, attempts have been made along two lines. The first seeks to explain the effect as a result of the direct influence of the environment upon the individual (G.L.L.Buffon), or by the inherited effects of efforts and the use and disuse of parts (J.B.P.Lamarck). The second believes that natural selection produced the result and afterwards maintained it by the survival of the best concealed in each generation. The former suggestion breaks down when the complex nature of numerous special resemblances is appreciated. Thus the arrangement of colors of many kinds into an appropriate pattern requires the cooperation of a suitable shape and the rigidly exact adoption of a certain elaborate attitude. The latter is instinctive and thus depends on the central nervous system. The cryptic effect is due to the exact cooperation of all these factors; and in the present state of science, the only possible hole of an interpretation lies in the theory of natural selection, which can accumulate any and every variation which tends toward survival. A few of the chief types of methods by which concealment is effected may be briefly described. The colors of large numbers of vertebrate animals are darkest on the back and become gradually lighter on the sides, passing into white on the belly. Abbot H. Thayer has suggested that this gradation obliterates the appearance of solidity, which is due to shadow. The color harmony, which is also essential to concealment, is produced because the back is of the same tint as the environment (e. g. earth), bathed in the cold blue-white of the sky, while the belly, being cold blue-white and bathed in shadow and yellow earth reflections produces the same effects. This method of neutralizing shadow for the purpose of concealment by increased lightness of tint was first suggested by E.B.Poulton in the case of a larva and a pupa, but he did not appreciate the great importance of the principle. In an analogous method an animal in front of a background of dark shadow may have part of its body obliterated by the existence of a dark tint, the remainder resembling, e.g., a part of a leaf. This method of rendering invisible any part which would interfere with the resemblance is well know in mimicry.

215.txt

Aggressive resemblance occurs when

Cryptic Coloring Cryptic coloring is by far the commonest use of color in the struggle for existence. It is employed for the purpose of attack (aggressive resemblance or anticryptic coloring ) as well as of defense (protective resemblance or procryptic coloring ). The fact that the same method concealment, may be used both for attack and defense has been well explained by T.Belt who suggests as an illustration the rapidity of movement which is also made use of by both pursuer and pursued, which is similarly raised to a maximum in both by the gradual dying out of the slowest through a series of generations. Cryptic coloring is commonly associated with other aids in the struggle for life. Thus well-concealed mammals and birds, when discovered, will generally endeavor to escape by speed and will often attempt to defend themselves actively. On the other hand, small animals which have no means of active defense, such as large, numbers of insects, frequently depend upon concealment alone. Protective resemblance is far commoner among animals than aggressive resemblance, in correspondence with the fact that predaceous forms are as a rule much larger and much less numerous than their prey. In the case of insectivorous Vertebrata and their prey such differences exist in an exaggerated form. Cryptic coloring, whether used for defense of attack, may be either general or special. In general resemblance the animal, in consequence of its coloring, produces the same effect as its environment, but the conditions do not require any special adaptation of shape and outline. General resemblance is especially common among the animal inhabiting some uniformly colored expanse of the earth's surface, such as an ocean or a desert. In the former, animals of all shapes are frequently protected by their transparent blue color, on the latter, equally diverse forms are defended by their sandy appearance. The effect of a uniform appearance may be produced by a combination of tints in startling contrast. Thus the black and white stripes of the zebra blend together at a little distance, and "their proportion is such as exactly to match the pale tint which arid ground possesses when seen by moonlight." Special resemblance is far commoner than general and is the form which is usually met with on the diversified surface of the earth, on the shores, and in shallow water, as well as on the floating masses of algae on the surface of the ocean, such as the Sargasso Sea. In these environments the cryptic coloring of animals is usually aided by special modifications of shape, and by the instinct which leads them to assume particular attitudes. Complete stillness and the assumption of a certain attitude play an essential part in general resemblance on land; but in special resemblance the attitude is often highly specialized, and perhaps more important than any other element in the complex method by which concealment is effected. In special resemblance the combination of coloring, shape, and attitude is such as to produce a more or less exact resemblance to some one of the objects in the environment, such as a leaf of twig, a patch of lichen, a flake of bark. In all cases the resemblance is to some object which is of no interest to the enemy or prey respectively. The animal is not hidden from view by becoming indistinguishable from its background as in the case of general resemblance, but it is mistaken for some well-know object. seeking the interpretation of these most interesting and elaborate adaptations, attempts have been made along two lines. The first seeks to explain the effect as a result of the direct influence of the environment upon the individual (G.L.L.Buffon), or by the inherited effects of efforts and the use and disuse of parts (J.B.P.Lamarck). The second believes that natural selection produced the result and afterwards maintained it by the survival of the best concealed in each generation. The former suggestion breaks down when the complex nature of numerous special resemblances is appreciated. Thus the arrangement of colors of many kinds into an appropriate pattern requires the cooperation of a suitable shape and the rigidly exact adoption of a certain elaborate attitude. The latter is instinctive and thus depends on the central nervous system. The cryptic effect is due to the exact cooperation of all these factors; and in the present state of science, the only possible hole of an interpretation lies in the theory of natural selection, which can accumulate any and every variation which tends toward survival. A few of the chief types of methods by which concealment is effected may be briefly described. The colors of large numbers of vertebrate animals are darkest on the back and become gradually lighter on the sides, passing into white on the belly. Abbot H. Thayer has suggested that this gradation obliterates the appearance of solidity, which is due to shadow. The color harmony, which is also essential to concealment, is produced because the back is of the same tint as the environment (e. g. earth), bathed in the cold blue-white of the sky, while the belly, being cold blue-white and bathed in shadow and yellow earth reflections produces the same effects. This method of neutralizing shadow for the purpose of concealment by increased lightness of tint was first suggested by E.B.Poulton in the case of a larva and a pupa, but he did not appreciate the great importance of the principle. In an analogous method an animal in front of a background of dark shadow may have part of its body obliterated by the existence of a dark tint, the remainder resembling, e.g., a part of a leaf. This method of rendering invisible any part which would interfere with the resemblance is well know in mimicry.

215.txt

Special resemblance differs from general resemblance in that the animal relies on

Cryptic Coloring Cryptic coloring is by far the commonest use of color in the struggle for existence. It is employed for the purpose of attack (aggressive resemblance or anticryptic coloring ) as well as of defense (protective resemblance or procryptic coloring ). The fact that the same method concealment, may be used both for attack and defense has been well explained by T.Belt who suggests as an illustration the rapidity of movement which is also made use of by both pursuer and pursued, which is similarly raised to a maximum in both by the gradual dying out of the slowest through a series of generations. Cryptic coloring is commonly associated with other aids in the struggle for life. Thus well-concealed mammals and birds, when discovered, will generally endeavor to escape by speed and will often attempt to defend themselves actively. On the other hand, small animals which have no means of active defense, such as large, numbers of insects, frequently depend upon concealment alone. Protective resemblance is far commoner among animals than aggressive resemblance, in correspondence with the fact that predaceous forms are as a rule much larger and much less numerous than their prey. In the case of insectivorous Vertebrata and their prey such differences exist in an exaggerated form. Cryptic coloring, whether used for defense of attack, may be either general or special. In general resemblance the animal, in consequence of its coloring, produces the same effect as its environment, but the conditions do not require any special adaptation of shape and outline. General resemblance is especially common among the animal inhabiting some uniformly colored expanse of the earth's surface, such as an ocean or a desert. In the former, animals of all shapes are frequently protected by their transparent blue color, on the latter, equally diverse forms are defended by their sandy appearance. The effect of a uniform appearance may be produced by a combination of tints in startling contrast. Thus the black and white stripes of the zebra blend together at a little distance, and "their proportion is such as exactly to match the pale tint which arid ground possesses when seen by moonlight." Special resemblance is far commoner than general and is the form which is usually met with on the diversified surface of the earth, on the shores, and in shallow water, as well as on the floating masses of algae on the surface of the ocean, such as the Sargasso Sea. In these environments the cryptic coloring of animals is usually aided by special modifications of shape, and by the instinct which leads them to assume particular attitudes. Complete stillness and the assumption of a certain attitude play an essential part in general resemblance on land; but in special resemblance the attitude is often highly specialized, and perhaps more important than any other element in the complex method by which concealment is effected. In special resemblance the combination of coloring, shape, and attitude is such as to produce a more or less exact resemblance to some one of the objects in the environment, such as a leaf of twig, a patch of lichen, a flake of bark. In all cases the resemblance is to some object which is of no interest to the enemy or prey respectively. The animal is not hidden from view by becoming indistinguishable from its background as in the case of general resemblance, but it is mistaken for some well-know object. seeking the interpretation of these most interesting and elaborate adaptations, attempts have been made along two lines. The first seeks to explain the effect as a result of the direct influence of the environment upon the individual (G.L.L.Buffon), or by the inherited effects of efforts and the use and disuse of parts (J.B.P.Lamarck). The second believes that natural selection produced the result and afterwards maintained it by the survival of the best concealed in each generation. The former suggestion breaks down when the complex nature of numerous special resemblances is appreciated. Thus the arrangement of colors of many kinds into an appropriate pattern requires the cooperation of a suitable shape and the rigidly exact adoption of a certain elaborate attitude. The latter is instinctive and thus depends on the central nervous system. The cryptic effect is due to the exact cooperation of all these factors; and in the present state of science, the only possible hole of an interpretation lies in the theory of natural selection, which can accumulate any and every variation which tends toward survival. A few of the chief types of methods by which concealment is effected may be briefly described. The colors of large numbers of vertebrate animals are darkest on the back and become gradually lighter on the sides, passing into white on the belly. Abbot H. Thayer has suggested that this gradation obliterates the appearance of solidity, which is due to shadow. The color harmony, which is also essential to concealment, is produced because the back is of the same tint as the environment (e. g. earth), bathed in the cold blue-white of the sky, while the belly, being cold blue-white and bathed in shadow and yellow earth reflections produces the same effects. This method of neutralizing shadow for the purpose of concealment by increased lightness of tint was first suggested by E.B.Poulton in the case of a larva and a pupa, but he did not appreciate the great importance of the principle. In an analogous method an animal in front of a background of dark shadow may have part of its body obliterated by the existence of a dark tint, the remainder resembling, e.g., a part of a leaf. This method of rendering invisible any part which would interfere with the resemblance is well know in mimicry.

215.txt

The title below that best expresses the ides of this passage is

Cryptic Coloring Cryptic coloring is by far the commonest use of color in the struggle for existence. It is employed for the purpose of attack (aggressive resemblance or anticryptic coloring ) as well as of defense (protective resemblance or procryptic coloring ). The fact that the same method concealment, may be used both for attack and defense has been well explained by T.Belt who suggests as an illustration the rapidity of movement which is also made use of by both pursuer and pursued, which is similarly raised to a maximum in both by the gradual dying out of the slowest through a series of generations. Cryptic coloring is commonly associated with other aids in the struggle for life. Thus well-concealed mammals and birds, when discovered, will generally endeavor to escape by speed and will often attempt to defend themselves actively. On the other hand, small animals which have no means of active defense, such as large, numbers of insects, frequently depend upon concealment alone. Protective resemblance is far commoner among animals than aggressive resemblance, in correspondence with the fact that predaceous forms are as a rule much larger and much less numerous than their prey. In the case of insectivorous Vertebrata and their prey such differences exist in an exaggerated form. Cryptic coloring, whether used for defense of attack, may be either general or special. In general resemblance the animal, in consequence of its coloring, produces the same effect as its environment, but the conditions do not require any special adaptation of shape and outline. General resemblance is especially common among the animal inhabiting some uniformly colored expanse of the earth's surface, such as an ocean or a desert. In the former, animals of all shapes are frequently protected by their transparent blue color, on the latter, equally diverse forms are defended by their sandy appearance. The effect of a uniform appearance may be produced by a combination of tints in startling contrast. Thus the black and white stripes of the zebra blend together at a little distance, and "their proportion is such as exactly to match the pale tint which arid ground possesses when seen by moonlight." Special resemblance is far commoner than general and is the form which is usually met with on the diversified surface of the earth, on the shores, and in shallow water, as well as on the floating masses of algae on the surface of the ocean, such as the Sargasso Sea. In these environments the cryptic coloring of animals is usually aided by special modifications of shape, and by the instinct which leads them to assume particular attitudes. Complete stillness and the assumption of a certain attitude play an essential part in general resemblance on land; but in special resemblance the attitude is often highly specialized, and perhaps more important than any other element in the complex method by which concealment is effected. In special resemblance the combination of coloring, shape, and attitude is such as to produce a more or less exact resemblance to some one of the objects in the environment, such as a leaf of twig, a patch of lichen, a flake of bark. In all cases the resemblance is to some object which is of no interest to the enemy or prey respectively. The animal is not hidden from view by becoming indistinguishable from its background as in the case of general resemblance, but it is mistaken for some well-know object. seeking the interpretation of these most interesting and elaborate adaptations, attempts have been made along two lines. The first seeks to explain the effect as a result of the direct influence of the environment upon the individual (G.L.L.Buffon), or by the inherited effects of efforts and the use and disuse of parts (J.B.P.Lamarck). The second believes that natural selection produced the result and afterwards maintained it by the survival of the best concealed in each generation. The former suggestion breaks down when the complex nature of numerous special resemblances is appreciated. Thus the arrangement of colors of many kinds into an appropriate pattern requires the cooperation of a suitable shape and the rigidly exact adoption of a certain elaborate attitude. The latter is instinctive and thus depends on the central nervous system. The cryptic effect is due to the exact cooperation of all these factors; and in the present state of science, the only possible hole of an interpretation lies in the theory of natural selection, which can accumulate any and every variation which tends toward survival. A few of the chief types of methods by which concealment is effected may be briefly described. The colors of large numbers of vertebrate animals are darkest on the back and become gradually lighter on the sides, passing into white on the belly. Abbot H. Thayer has suggested that this gradation obliterates the appearance of solidity, which is due to shadow. The color harmony, which is also essential to concealment, is produced because the back is of the same tint as the environment (e. g. earth), bathed in the cold blue-white of the sky, while the belly, being cold blue-white and bathed in shadow and yellow earth reflections produces the same effects. This method of neutralizing shadow for the purpose of concealment by increased lightness of tint was first suggested by E.B.Poulton in the case of a larva and a pupa, but he did not appreciate the great importance of the principle. In an analogous method an animal in front of a background of dark shadow may have part of its body obliterated by the existence of a dark tint, the remainder resembling, e.g., a part of a leaf. This method of rendering invisible any part which would interfere with the resemblance is well know in mimicry.

215.txt

Of the following which is the least common?

Cryptic Coloring Cryptic coloring is by far the commonest use of color in the struggle for existence. It is employed for the purpose of attack (aggressive resemblance or anticryptic coloring ) as well as of defense (protective resemblance or procryptic coloring ). The fact that the same method concealment, may be used both for attack and defense has been well explained by T.Belt who suggests as an illustration the rapidity of movement which is also made use of by both pursuer and pursued, which is similarly raised to a maximum in both by the gradual dying out of the slowest through a series of generations. Cryptic coloring is commonly associated with other aids in the struggle for life. Thus well-concealed mammals and birds, when discovered, will generally endeavor to escape by speed and will often attempt to defend themselves actively. On the other hand, small animals which have no means of active defense, such as large, numbers of insects, frequently depend upon concealment alone. Protective resemblance is far commoner among animals than aggressive resemblance, in correspondence with the fact that predaceous forms are as a rule much larger and much less numerous than their prey. In the case of insectivorous Vertebrata and their prey such differences exist in an exaggerated form. Cryptic coloring, whether used for defense of attack, may be either general or special. In general resemblance the animal, in consequence of its coloring, produces the same effect as its environment, but the conditions do not require any special adaptation of shape and outline. General resemblance is especially common among the animal inhabiting some uniformly colored expanse of the earth's surface, such as an ocean or a desert. In the former, animals of all shapes are frequently protected by their transparent blue color, on the latter, equally diverse forms are defended by their sandy appearance. The effect of a uniform appearance may be produced by a combination of tints in startling contrast. Thus the black and white stripes of the zebra blend together at a little distance, and "their proportion is such as exactly to match the pale tint which arid ground possesses when seen by moonlight." Special resemblance is far commoner than general and is the form which is usually met with on the diversified surface of the earth, on the shores, and in shallow water, as well as on the floating masses of algae on the surface of the ocean, such as the Sargasso Sea. In these environments the cryptic coloring of animals is usually aided by special modifications of shape, and by the instinct which leads them to assume particular attitudes. Complete stillness and the assumption of a certain attitude play an essential part in general resemblance on land; but in special resemblance the attitude is often highly specialized, and perhaps more important than any other element in the complex method by which concealment is effected. In special resemblance the combination of coloring, shape, and attitude is such as to produce a more or less exact resemblance to some one of the objects in the environment, such as a leaf of twig, a patch of lichen, a flake of bark. In all cases the resemblance is to some object which is of no interest to the enemy or prey respectively. The animal is not hidden from view by becoming indistinguishable from its background as in the case of general resemblance, but it is mistaken for some well-know object. seeking the interpretation of these most interesting and elaborate adaptations, attempts have been made along two lines. The first seeks to explain the effect as a result of the direct influence of the environment upon the individual (G.L.L.Buffon), or by the inherited effects of efforts and the use and disuse of parts (J.B.P.Lamarck). The second believes that natural selection produced the result and afterwards maintained it by the survival of the best concealed in each generation. The former suggestion breaks down when the complex nature of numerous special resemblances is appreciated. Thus the arrangement of colors of many kinds into an appropriate pattern requires the cooperation of a suitable shape and the rigidly exact adoption of a certain elaborate attitude. The latter is instinctive and thus depends on the central nervous system. The cryptic effect is due to the exact cooperation of all these factors; and in the present state of science, the only possible hole of an interpretation lies in the theory of natural selection, which can accumulate any and every variation which tends toward survival. A few of the chief types of methods by which concealment is effected may be briefly described. The colors of large numbers of vertebrate animals are darkest on the back and become gradually lighter on the sides, passing into white on the belly. Abbot H. Thayer has suggested that this gradation obliterates the appearance of solidity, which is due to shadow. The color harmony, which is also essential to concealment, is produced because the back is of the same tint as the environment (e. g. earth), bathed in the cold blue-white of the sky, while the belly, being cold blue-white and bathed in shadow and yellow earth reflections produces the same effects. This method of neutralizing shadow for the purpose of concealment by increased lightness of tint was first suggested by E.B.Poulton in the case of a larva and a pupa, but he did not appreciate the great importance of the principle. In an analogous method an animal in front of a background of dark shadow may have part of its body obliterated by the existence of a dark tint, the remainder resembling, e.g., a part of a leaf. This method of rendering invisible any part which would interfere with the resemblance is well know in mimicry.

215.txt

The main problem of the round-the-clock working system lies in _ .

We all know that the normal human daily cycle of activity is of some 7-8 hours' sleep alternating with some 16-17 hours' wakefulness and that the sleep normally coincides with the hours of darkness. Our present concern is with how easily and to what extent this cycle can be modified. The question is no mere academic one. The ease, for example, with which people can change from working in the day to working at night is a question of growing importance in industry where automation calls for round-the-clock working of machines. It normally takes from five days to one week for a person to adapt to a reversed routine of sleep and wakefulness, sleeping during the day and working at night. Unfortunately, it is often the case in industry that shifts are changed every week; a person may work from 12 midnight to 8 a.m. one week, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. the next, and 4 p.m. to 12 midnight the third and so on. This means that no sooner has he got used to one routine than he has to change to another, so that much of his time is spent neither working nor sleeping very efficiently. The only real solution appears to be to hand over the night shift to a number of permanent night workers. An interesting study of the domestic life and health of night-shift workers was carried out by Brown in 1957. She found a high incidence of disturbed sleep and other disorders among those on alternating day and night shifts, but no abnormal occurrence of these phenomena among those on permanent night work. This latter system then appears to be the best long-term policy, but meanwhile something may be done to relieve the pressure of alternate day and night work by selecting those people who can adapt most quickly to the changes of routine. One way of knowing when a person has adapted is by measuring his body temperature. People occupied in normal daytime work will have a high temperature during the hours of wakefulness and a low one at night; when they change to night work the pattern will only gradually go back to match the new routine and the speed with which it does so parallels, broadly speaking, the adaptation of the body as a whole, particularly in terms of performance. Therefore, by taking body temperature at two-hour intervals throughout the period of wakefulness, it can be seen how quickly a person can adapt to a reversed routine, and this could be used as a basis for selection. So far, however, such a form of selection does not seem to have been applied in practice.

3982.txt

The best solution to implementing the 24-hour working system seems _ .

We all know that the normal human daily cycle of activity is of some 7-8 hours' sleep alternating with some 16-17 hours' wakefulness and that the sleep normally coincides with the hours of darkness. Our present concern is with how easily and to what extent this cycle can be modified. The question is no mere academic one. The ease, for example, with which people can change from working in the day to working at night is a question of growing importance in industry where automation calls for round-the-clock working of machines. It normally takes from five days to one week for a person to adapt to a reversed routine of sleep and wakefulness, sleeping during the day and working at night. Unfortunately, it is often the case in industry that shifts are changed every week; a person may work from 12 midnight to 8 a.m. one week, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. the next, and 4 p.m. to 12 midnight the third and so on. This means that no sooner has he got used to one routine than he has to change to another, so that much of his time is spent neither working nor sleeping very efficiently. The only real solution appears to be to hand over the night shift to a number of permanent night workers. An interesting study of the domestic life and health of night-shift workers was carried out by Brown in 1957. She found a high incidence of disturbed sleep and other disorders among those on alternating day and night shifts, but no abnormal occurrence of these phenomena among those on permanent night work. This latter system then appears to be the best long-term policy, but meanwhile something may be done to relieve the pressure of alternate day and night work by selecting those people who can adapt most quickly to the changes of routine. One way of knowing when a person has adapted is by measuring his body temperature. People occupied in normal daytime work will have a high temperature during the hours of wakefulness and a low one at night; when they change to night work the pattern will only gradually go back to match the new routine and the speed with which it does so parallels, broadly speaking, the adaptation of the body as a whole, particularly in terms of performance. Therefore, by taking body temperature at two-hour intervals throughout the period of wakefulness, it can be seen how quickly a person can adapt to a reversed routine, and this could be used as a basis for selection. So far, however, such a form of selection does not seem to have been applied in practice.

3982.txt

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

We all know that the normal human daily cycle of activity is of some 7-8 hours' sleep alternating with some 16-17 hours' wakefulness and that the sleep normally coincides with the hours of darkness. Our present concern is with how easily and to what extent this cycle can be modified. The question is no mere academic one. The ease, for example, with which people can change from working in the day to working at night is a question of growing importance in industry where automation calls for round-the-clock working of machines. It normally takes from five days to one week for a person to adapt to a reversed routine of sleep and wakefulness, sleeping during the day and working at night. Unfortunately, it is often the case in industry that shifts are changed every week; a person may work from 12 midnight to 8 a.m. one week, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. the next, and 4 p.m. to 12 midnight the third and so on. This means that no sooner has he got used to one routine than he has to change to another, so that much of his time is spent neither working nor sleeping very efficiently. The only real solution appears to be to hand over the night shift to a number of permanent night workers. An interesting study of the domestic life and health of night-shift workers was carried out by Brown in 1957. She found a high incidence of disturbed sleep and other disorders among those on alternating day and night shifts, but no abnormal occurrence of these phenomena among those on permanent night work. This latter system then appears to be the best long-term policy, but meanwhile something may be done to relieve the pressure of alternate day and night work by selecting those people who can adapt most quickly to the changes of routine. One way of knowing when a person has adapted is by measuring his body temperature. People occupied in normal daytime work will have a high temperature during the hours of wakefulness and a low one at night; when they change to night work the pattern will only gradually go back to match the new routine and the speed with which it does so parallels, broadly speaking, the adaptation of the body as a whole, particularly in terms of performance. Therefore, by taking body temperature at two-hour intervals throughout the period of wakefulness, it can be seen how quickly a person can adapt to a reversed routine, and this could be used as a basis for selection. So far, however, such a form of selection does not seem to have been applied in practice.

3982.txt

It is possible to find out if a person has adapted to the changes of routine by measuring his body temperature because _ .

We all know that the normal human daily cycle of activity is of some 7-8 hours' sleep alternating with some 16-17 hours' wakefulness and that the sleep normally coincides with the hours of darkness. Our present concern is with how easily and to what extent this cycle can be modified. The question is no mere academic one. The ease, for example, with which people can change from working in the day to working at night is a question of growing importance in industry where automation calls for round-the-clock working of machines. It normally takes from five days to one week for a person to adapt to a reversed routine of sleep and wakefulness, sleeping during the day and working at night. Unfortunately, it is often the case in industry that shifts are changed every week; a person may work from 12 midnight to 8 a.m. one week, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. the next, and 4 p.m. to 12 midnight the third and so on. This means that no sooner has he got used to one routine than he has to change to another, so that much of his time is spent neither working nor sleeping very efficiently. The only real solution appears to be to hand over the night shift to a number of permanent night workers. An interesting study of the domestic life and health of night-shift workers was carried out by Brown in 1957. She found a high incidence of disturbed sleep and other disorders among those on alternating day and night shifts, but no abnormal occurrence of these phenomena among those on permanent night work. This latter system then appears to be the best long-term policy, but meanwhile something may be done to relieve the pressure of alternate day and night work by selecting those people who can adapt most quickly to the changes of routine. One way of knowing when a person has adapted is by measuring his body temperature. People occupied in normal daytime work will have a high temperature during the hours of wakefulness and a low one at night; when they change to night work the pattern will only gradually go back to match the new routine and the speed with which it does so parallels, broadly speaking, the adaptation of the body as a whole, particularly in terms of performance. Therefore, by taking body temperature at two-hour intervals throughout the period of wakefulness, it can be seen how quickly a person can adapt to a reversed routine, and this could be used as a basis for selection. So far, however, such a form of selection does not seem to have been applied in practice.

3982.txt

The phrase " coincide with" (Line 3, Para.1) could best be replaced by _ .

We all know that the normal human daily cycle of activity is of some 7-8 hours' sleep alternating with some 16-17 hours' wakefulness and that the sleep normally coincides with the hours of darkness. Our present concern is with how easily and to what extent this cycle can be modified. The question is no mere academic one. The ease, for example, with which people can change from working in the day to working at night is a question of growing importance in industry where automation calls for round-the-clock working of machines. It normally takes from five days to one week for a person to adapt to a reversed routine of sleep and wakefulness, sleeping during the day and working at night. Unfortunately, it is often the case in industry that shifts are changed every week; a person may work from 12 midnight to 8 a.m. one week, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. the next, and 4 p.m. to 12 midnight the third and so on. This means that no sooner has he got used to one routine than he has to change to another, so that much of his time is spent neither working nor sleeping very efficiently. The only real solution appears to be to hand over the night shift to a number of permanent night workers. An interesting study of the domestic life and health of night-shift workers was carried out by Brown in 1957. She found a high incidence of disturbed sleep and other disorders among those on alternating day and night shifts, but no abnormal occurrence of these phenomena among those on permanent night work. This latter system then appears to be the best long-term policy, but meanwhile something may be done to relieve the pressure of alternate day and night work by selecting those people who can adapt most quickly to the changes of routine. One way of knowing when a person has adapted is by measuring his body temperature. People occupied in normal daytime work will have a high temperature during the hours of wakefulness and a low one at night; when they change to night work the pattern will only gradually go back to match the new routine and the speed with which it does so parallels, broadly speaking, the adaptation of the body as a whole, particularly in terms of performance. Therefore, by taking body temperature at two-hour intervals throughout the period of wakefulness, it can be seen how quickly a person can adapt to a reversed routine, and this could be used as a basis for selection. So far, however, such a form of selection does not seem to have been applied in practice.

3982.txt

The passage is primarily concerned with doing which of the following?

Although a historical lack of access to formal Spanish- language education initially limited the opportunities of some Chicanos to hone their skills as writers of Spanish, their bilingual culture clearly fostered an exuberant and compelling oral tradition. It has thus generally been by way of the emphasis on oral literary creativity that these Chicano writers, whose English language works are sometimes uninspired, developed the powerful and arresting language that characterized their Spanish-language works. This Spanish-English difference is not surprising. When writing in Spanish,these authors stayed close to the spoken traditions of their communities where publication, support, and instructive response would come quickly in local or regional newspapers. Works in English,however, often required the elimination of nuance or colloquialism, the adoption of a formal tone, and the adjustment of themes or ideas to satisfy the different demands of national publications.

1902.txt

According to the author, the Chicano oral experience contributed directly to which of the following characteristics in the work of some Chicano writers?

Although a historical lack of access to formal Spanish- language education initially limited the opportunities of some Chicanos to hone their skills as writers of Spanish, their bilingual culture clearly fostered an exuberant and compelling oral tradition. It has thus generally been by way of the emphasis on oral literary creativity that these Chicano writers, whose English language works are sometimes uninspired, developed the powerful and arresting language that characterized their Spanish-language works. This Spanish-English difference is not surprising. When writing in Spanish,these authors stayed close to the spoken traditions of their communities where publication, support, and instructive response would come quickly in local or regional newspapers. Works in English,however, often required the elimination of nuance or colloquialism, the adoption of a formal tone, and the adjustment of themes or ideas to satisfy the different demands of national publications.

1902.txt

Which of the following best describes the function of the last two sentences of the passage (lines 11-19)?

Although a historical lack of access to formal Spanish- language education initially limited the opportunities of some Chicanos to hone their skills as writers of Spanish, their bilingual culture clearly fostered an exuberant and compelling oral tradition. It has thus generally been by way of the emphasis on oral literary creativity that these Chicano writers, whose English language works are sometimes uninspired, developed the powerful and arresting language that characterized their Spanish-language works. This Spanish-English difference is not surprising. When writing in Spanish,these authors stayed close to the spoken traditions of their communities where publication, support, and instructive response would come quickly in local or regional newspapers. Works in English,however, often required the elimination of nuance or colloquialism, the adoption of a formal tone, and the adjustment of themes or ideas to satisfy the different demands of national publications.

1902.txt

The passage suggests that which of the following was probably characteristic of the "national publications" mentioned in line 19?

Although a historical lack of access to formal Spanish- language education initially limited the opportunities of some Chicanos to hone their skills as writers of Spanish, their bilingual culture clearly fostered an exuberant and compelling oral tradition. It has thus generally been by way of the emphasis on oral literary creativity that these Chicano writers, whose English language works are sometimes uninspired, developed the powerful and arresting language that characterized their Spanish-language works. This Spanish-English difference is not surprising. When writing in Spanish,these authors stayed close to the spoken traditions of their communities where publication, support, and instructive response would come quickly in local or regional newspapers. Works in English,however, often required the elimination of nuance or colloquialism, the adoption of a formal tone, and the adjustment of themes or ideas to satisfy the different demands of national publications.

1902.txt

According to the passage, Houdinis success in prison escapes depends on _ .

The Man of Many Secrets - Harry Houdini - was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was a man famous for his escapes - from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his magic tricks. Of course, his secret was not magic or supernatural powers. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted. Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in club in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch. It was the publicity that came from this that started Harry Houdinis success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck - and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, pass quickly from her mouth to his. Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? World-wild fame, and a name remembered today.

2632.txt

It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous _ .

The Man of Many Secrets - Harry Houdini - was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was a man famous for his escapes - from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his magic tricks. Of course, his secret was not magic or supernatural powers. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted. Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in club in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch. It was the publicity that came from this that started Harry Houdinis success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck - and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, pass quickly from her mouth to his. Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? World-wild fame, and a name remembered today.

2632.txt

Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

The Man of Many Secrets - Harry Houdini - was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was a man famous for his escapes - from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his magic tricks. Of course, his secret was not magic or supernatural powers. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted. Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in club in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch. It was the publicity that came from this that started Harry Houdinis success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck - and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, pass quickly from her mouth to his. Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? World-wild fame, and a name remembered today.

2632.txt

David Smith refers to himself as having been "a clothes addict," because _ .

Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. "I was a clothes addict," he jokes. "I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled." Today David wears casual clothes-khaki pants and sports shirt-to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. "I'm working harder than ever," David says, "and I need to feel comfortable." More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday(but only on Friday). This became known as "dress-down Friday" of "casual Friday". "What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing." said business consultant Maisly Jones. Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it's easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. "A lot of young people don't want to dress up for work," says the owner of a software company, "so it's hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code." Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. "Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day," one person said. "For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes."

2886.txt

David Smith wears casual clothes now, because _ .

Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. "I was a clothes addict," he jokes. "I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled." Today David wears casual clothes-khaki pants and sports shirt-to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. "I'm working harder than ever," David says, "and I need to feel comfortable." More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday(but only on Friday). This became known as "dress-down Friday" of "casual Friday". "What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing." said business consultant Maisly Jones. Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it's easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. "A lot of young people don't want to dress up for work," says the owner of a software company, "so it's hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code." Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. "Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day," one person said. "For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes."

2886.txt

According to this passage, which of the following statements is false?

Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. "I was a clothes addict," he jokes. "I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled." Today David wears casual clothes-khaki pants and sports shirt-to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. "I'm working harder than ever," David says, "and I need to feel comfortable." More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday(but only on Friday). This became known as "dress-down Friday" of "casual Friday". "What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing." said business consultant Maisly Jones. Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it's easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. "A lot of young people don't want to dress up for work," says the owner of a software company, "so it's hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code." Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. "Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day," one person said. "For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes."

2886.txt

According to this passage, which of the following statements is true?

Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. "I was a clothes addict," he jokes. "I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled." Today David wears casual clothes-khaki pants and sports shirt-to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. "I'm working harder than ever," David says, "and I need to feel comfortable." More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday(but only on Friday). This became known as "dress-down Friday" of "casual Friday". "What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing." said business consultant Maisly Jones. Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it's easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. "A lot of young people don't want to dress up for work," says the owner of a software company, "so it's hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code." Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. "Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day," one person said. "For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes."

2886.txt

In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned in the passage except _ .

Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. "I was a clothes addict," he jokes. "I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled." Today David wears casual clothes-khaki pants and sports shirt-to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. "I'm working harder than ever," David says, "and I need to feel comfortable." More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday(but only on Friday). This became known as "dress-down Friday" of "casual Friday". "What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing." said business consultant Maisly Jones. Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it's easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. "A lot of young people don't want to dress up for work," says the owner of a software company, "so it's hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code." Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. "Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day," one person said. "For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes."

2886.txt

Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the text?

The private automobile has long played an important role in the United States. In fact, it has become a necessary and important part of the American way of life. In 1986, sixty-nine percent of American families owned at least one car, and thirty-eight percent had more than one. By giving workers rapid transportation, the automobile has freed them from having to live near their place of work. This has encouraged the growth of the cities, but it has also led to traffic problems. For farm families the automobile is very helpful. It has made it possible for them to travel to town very often for business and for pleasure, and also to transport their children to distant schools. Family life has been affected in various ways. The car helps to keep them to travel to keep families together when it is used for picnics, outings, and other shared experiences. however, when teenage children have the use of the car, their parents cant keep an eye on them. There is a great danger if the driver has been drinking alcohol or taking drugs - or is showing off by speeding or breaking other traffic laws. Mothers of victims of such accidents have formed an organization called MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). These women want to prevent further tragedies. They have worked to encourage the government to limit the youngest drinking age. Students have formed a similar organization, SADD(Students Against Drunk Driving) and are spreading the same message among their friends. For many Americans the automobile is a necessity. But for some, it is also a mark of social position and for young people, a sign of becoming an adult. Altogether, cars mean very much to Americans.

2626.txt

What has been done to deal with the problem of drunk driving?

The private automobile has long played an important role in the United States. In fact, it has become a necessary and important part of the American way of life. In 1986, sixty-nine percent of American families owned at least one car, and thirty-eight percent had more than one. By giving workers rapid transportation, the automobile has freed them from having to live near their place of work. This has encouraged the growth of the cities, but it has also led to traffic problems. For farm families the automobile is very helpful. It has made it possible for them to travel to town very often for business and for pleasure, and also to transport their children to distant schools. Family life has been affected in various ways. The car helps to keep them to travel to keep families together when it is used for picnics, outings, and other shared experiences. however, when teenage children have the use of the car, their parents cant keep an eye on them. There is a great danger if the driver has been drinking alcohol or taking drugs - or is showing off by speeding or breaking other traffic laws. Mothers of victims of such accidents have formed an organization called MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). These women want to prevent further tragedies. They have worked to encourage the government to limit the youngest drinking age. Students have formed a similar organization, SADD(Students Against Drunk Driving) and are spreading the same message among their friends. For many Americans the automobile is a necessity. But for some, it is also a mark of social position and for young people, a sign of becoming an adult. Altogether, cars mean very much to Americans.

2626.txt

We can infer from the text that _ in America.

The private automobile has long played an important role in the United States. In fact, it has become a necessary and important part of the American way of life. In 1986, sixty-nine percent of American families owned at least one car, and thirty-eight percent had more than one. By giving workers rapid transportation, the automobile has freed them from having to live near their place of work. This has encouraged the growth of the cities, but it has also led to traffic problems. For farm families the automobile is very helpful. It has made it possible for them to travel to town very often for business and for pleasure, and also to transport their children to distant schools. Family life has been affected in various ways. The car helps to keep them to travel to keep families together when it is used for picnics, outings, and other shared experiences. however, when teenage children have the use of the car, their parents cant keep an eye on them. There is a great danger if the driver has been drinking alcohol or taking drugs - or is showing off by speeding or breaking other traffic laws. Mothers of victims of such accidents have formed an organization called MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). These women want to prevent further tragedies. They have worked to encourage the government to limit the youngest drinking age. Students have formed a similar organization, SADD(Students Against Drunk Driving) and are spreading the same message among their friends. For many Americans the automobile is a necessity. But for some, it is also a mark of social position and for young people, a sign of becoming an adult. Altogether, cars mean very much to Americans.

2626.txt

What does the author say is the problem with women?

It's time to reevaluate how women handle conflict at work. Being overworked or over-committed at home and on the job will not get you where you want to be in life. It will only slow you down and hinder your career goals. Did you know women are more likely than men to feel exhausted? Nearly twice as many women than men ages 18-44 reported feeling "very tired" or "exhausted", according to a recent study. This may not be surprising given that this is the age range when women have children. It's also the age range when many women are trying to balance careers and home. One reason women may feel exhausted is that they have a hard time saying "no." Women want to be able to do it all -- volunteer for school parties or cook delicious meals -- and so their answer to any request is often "Yes, I can." Women struggle to say "no" in the workplace for similar reasons, including the desire to be liked by their colleagues. Unfortunately, this inability to say "no" may be hurting women's health as well as their career. At the workplace, men use conflict as a way to position themselves, while women often avoid conflict or strive to be the peacemaker, because they don't want to be viewed as aggressive or disruptive at work. For example, there's a problem that needs to be addressed immediately, resulting in a dispute over who should be the one to fix it. Men are more likely to face that dispute from the perspective of what benefits them most, whereas women may approach the same dispute from the perspective of what's the easiest and quickest way to resolve the problem -- even if that means doing the boring work themselves. This difference in handling conflict could be the deciding factor on who gets promoted to a leadership position and who does not. Leaders have to be able to delegate and manage resources wisely -- including staff expertise. Shouldering more of the workload may not earn you that promotion. Instead, it may highlight your inability to delegate effectively.

682.txt

Why do working women of child-bearing age tend to feel drained of energy?

It's time to reevaluate how women handle conflict at work. Being overworked or over-committed at home and on the job will not get you where you want to be in life. It will only slow you down and hinder your career goals. Did you know women are more likely than men to feel exhausted? Nearly twice as many women than men ages 18-44 reported feeling "very tired" or "exhausted", according to a recent study. This may not be surprising given that this is the age range when women have children. It's also the age range when many women are trying to balance careers and home. One reason women may feel exhausted is that they have a hard time saying "no." Women want to be able to do it all -- volunteer for school parties or cook delicious meals -- and so their answer to any request is often "Yes, I can." Women struggle to say "no" in the workplace for similar reasons, including the desire to be liked by their colleagues. Unfortunately, this inability to say "no" may be hurting women's health as well as their career. At the workplace, men use conflict as a way to position themselves, while women often avoid conflict or strive to be the peacemaker, because they don't want to be viewed as aggressive or disruptive at work. For example, there's a problem that needs to be addressed immediately, resulting in a dispute over who should be the one to fix it. Men are more likely to face that dispute from the perspective of what benefits them most, whereas women may approach the same dispute from the perspective of what's the easiest and quickest way to resolve the problem -- even if that means doing the boring work themselves. This difference in handling conflict could be the deciding factor on who gets promoted to a leadership position and who does not. Leaders have to be able to delegate and manage resources wisely -- including staff expertise. Shouldering more of the workload may not earn you that promotion. Instead, it may highlight your inability to delegate effectively.

682.txt

What may hinder the future prospects of career women?

It's time to reevaluate how women handle conflict at work. Being overworked or over-committed at home and on the job will not get you where you want to be in life. It will only slow you down and hinder your career goals. Did you know women are more likely than men to feel exhausted? Nearly twice as many women than men ages 18-44 reported feeling "very tired" or "exhausted", according to a recent study. This may not be surprising given that this is the age range when women have children. It's also the age range when many women are trying to balance careers and home. One reason women may feel exhausted is that they have a hard time saying "no." Women want to be able to do it all -- volunteer for school parties or cook delicious meals -- and so their answer to any request is often "Yes, I can." Women struggle to say "no" in the workplace for similar reasons, including the desire to be liked by their colleagues. Unfortunately, this inability to say "no" may be hurting women's health as well as their career. At the workplace, men use conflict as a way to position themselves, while women often avoid conflict or strive to be the peacemaker, because they don't want to be viewed as aggressive or disruptive at work. For example, there's a problem that needs to be addressed immediately, resulting in a dispute over who should be the one to fix it. Men are more likely to face that dispute from the perspective of what benefits them most, whereas women may approach the same dispute from the perspective of what's the easiest and quickest way to resolve the problem -- even if that means doing the boring work themselves. This difference in handling conflict could be the deciding factor on who gets promoted to a leadership position and who does not. Leaders have to be able to delegate and manage resources wisely -- including staff expertise. Shouldering more of the workload may not earn you that promotion. Instead, it may highlight your inability to delegate effectively.

682.txt

Men and woman differ in their approach to resolving workplace conflicts in that ______.

It's time to reevaluate how women handle conflict at work. Being overworked or over-committed at home and on the job will not get you where you want to be in life. It will only slow you down and hinder your career goals. Did you know women are more likely than men to feel exhausted? Nearly twice as many women than men ages 18-44 reported feeling "very tired" or "exhausted", according to a recent study. This may not be surprising given that this is the age range when women have children. It's also the age range when many women are trying to balance careers and home. One reason women may feel exhausted is that they have a hard time saying "no." Women want to be able to do it all -- volunteer for school parties or cook delicious meals -- and so their answer to any request is often "Yes, I can." Women struggle to say "no" in the workplace for similar reasons, including the desire to be liked by their colleagues. Unfortunately, this inability to say "no" may be hurting women's health as well as their career. At the workplace, men use conflict as a way to position themselves, while women often avoid conflict or strive to be the peacemaker, because they don't want to be viewed as aggressive or disruptive at work. For example, there's a problem that needs to be addressed immediately, resulting in a dispute over who should be the one to fix it. Men are more likely to face that dispute from the perspective of what benefits them most, whereas women may approach the same dispute from the perspective of what's the easiest and quickest way to resolve the problem -- even if that means doing the boring work themselves. This difference in handling conflict could be the deciding factor on who gets promoted to a leadership position and who does not. Leaders have to be able to delegate and manage resources wisely -- including staff expertise. Shouldering more of the workload may not earn you that promotion. Instead, it may highlight your inability to delegate effectively.

682.txt

What is important to a good leader?

It's time to reevaluate how women handle conflict at work. Being overworked or over-committed at home and on the job will not get you where you want to be in life. It will only slow you down and hinder your career goals. Did you know women are more likely than men to feel exhausted? Nearly twice as many women than men ages 18-44 reported feeling "very tired" or "exhausted", according to a recent study. This may not be surprising given that this is the age range when women have children. It's also the age range when many women are trying to balance careers and home. One reason women may feel exhausted is that they have a hard time saying "no." Women want to be able to do it all -- volunteer for school parties or cook delicious meals -- and so their answer to any request is often "Yes, I can." Women struggle to say "no" in the workplace for similar reasons, including the desire to be liked by their colleagues. Unfortunately, this inability to say "no" may be hurting women's health as well as their career. At the workplace, men use conflict as a way to position themselves, while women often avoid conflict or strive to be the peacemaker, because they don't want to be viewed as aggressive or disruptive at work. For example, there's a problem that needs to be addressed immediately, resulting in a dispute over who should be the one to fix it. Men are more likely to face that dispute from the perspective of what benefits them most, whereas women may approach the same dispute from the perspective of what's the easiest and quickest way to resolve the problem -- even if that means doing the boring work themselves. This difference in handling conflict could be the deciding factor on who gets promoted to a leadership position and who does not. Leaders have to be able to delegate and manage resources wisely -- including staff expertise. Shouldering more of the workload may not earn you that promotion. Instead, it may highlight your inability to delegate effectively.

682.txt

According to the passage，which of the following statements about crying is TRUE?

Politics is an emotional business.Still，many people found themselves unusually moved by the historic presidential inauguration.Watching the huge crowds，we saw laughter,cheers，hugs-but also many tears. It made us wonder ,why do people cry ?It is believed that tears must be good for us-a way to calm the mind and cleanse the soul.Yet studies show that crying sometimes makes people feel worse. Three researchers in Florida and the Netherlands recently looked more deeply into the subject. They examined detailed descriptions of crying experiences.Psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg at the University of South Florida says they wanted to study crying as it happens in everyday life，not in a laboratory.The team analyzed information from the International Study on Adult Crying.As Dart of that study,3，000 people in different countries，mostly college students，wrote about recent crying experiences.They noted causes，surroundings and any people involved in the event.They also reported how they felt after they cried. Professor Rottenberg says the research showed that all crying experiences are not created equally. Crying does not always make a person feel better,he says.About lo percent of people reported feeling worse after they cried.But a third felt better after crying.And a majority reported the experience was helpful.The research showed that people who cry alone may not do as well as those with others around. People who reached out for emotional support at the time--and received it--reported better resuIts from the crying experience.But those who felt shame or embarrassment while crying were less likely to report that crying had been helpful. Research has shown that women cry more often and more intensely than men，but it mav not be to better effect.The new findings did not show that a person's sex was a predictor of beneficial crying. In other words，just because women cry more does not mean they are more likely to have a"good"cry. The paper entitled／s Crying Beneficial?appeared in December in Current Directions in Psychologica，Science.Scientists say the science of crying is still in its infancy.

1644.txt

Shedding tears is believed to do good to us because _ .

Politics is an emotional business.Still，many people found themselves unusually moved by the historic presidential inauguration.Watching the huge crowds，we saw laughter,cheers，hugs-but also many tears. It made us wonder ,why do people cry ?It is believed that tears must be good for us-a way to calm the mind and cleanse the soul.Yet studies show that crying sometimes makes people feel worse. Three researchers in Florida and the Netherlands recently looked more deeply into the subject. They examined detailed descriptions of crying experiences.Psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg at the University of South Florida says they wanted to study crying as it happens in everyday life，not in a laboratory.The team analyzed information from the International Study on Adult Crying.As Dart of that study,3，000 people in different countries，mostly college students，wrote about recent crying experiences.They noted causes，surroundings and any people involved in the event.They also reported how they felt after they cried. Professor Rottenberg says the research showed that all crying experiences are not created equally. Crying does not always make a person feel better,he says.About lo percent of people reported feeling worse after they cried.But a third felt better after crying.And a majority reported the experience was helpful.The research showed that people who cry alone may not do as well as those with others around. People who reached out for emotional support at the time--and received it--reported better resuIts from the crying experience.But those who felt shame or embarrassment while crying were less likely to report that crying had been helpful. Research has shown that women cry more often and more intensely than men，but it mav not be to better effect.The new findings did not show that a person's sex was a predictor of beneficial crying. In other words，just because women cry more does not mean they are more likely to have a"good"cry. The paper entitled／s Crying Beneficial?appeared in December in Current Directions in Psychologica，Science.Scientists say the science of crying is still in its infancy.

1644.txt

Studies show that one will not feel better after crying when _ .

Politics is an emotional business.Still，many people found themselves unusually moved by the historic presidential inauguration.Watching the huge crowds，we saw laughter,cheers，hugs-but also many tears. It made us wonder ,why do people cry ?It is believed that tears must be good for us-a way to calm the mind and cleanse the soul.Yet studies show that crying sometimes makes people feel worse. Three researchers in Florida and the Netherlands recently looked more deeply into the subject. They examined detailed descriptions of crying experiences.Psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg at the University of South Florida says they wanted to study crying as it happens in everyday life，not in a laboratory.The team analyzed information from the International Study on Adult Crying.As Dart of that study,3，000 people in different countries，mostly college students，wrote about recent crying experiences.They noted causes，surroundings and any people involved in the event.They also reported how they felt after they cried. Professor Rottenberg says the research showed that all crying experiences are not created equally. Crying does not always make a person feel better,he says.About lo percent of people reported feeling worse after they cried.But a third felt better after crying.And a majority reported the experience was helpful.The research showed that people who cry alone may not do as well as those with others around. People who reached out for emotional support at the time--and received it--reported better resuIts from the crying experience.But those who felt shame or embarrassment while crying were less likely to report that crying had been helpful. Research has shown that women cry more often and more intensely than men，but it mav not be to better effect.The new findings did not show that a person's sex was a predictor of beneficial crying. In other words，just because women cry more does not mean they are more likely to have a"good"cry. The paper entitled／s Crying Beneficial?appeared in December in Current Directions in Psychologica，Science.Scientists say the science of crying is still in its infancy.

1644.txt

That women cry more does not mean they are more likely to have a"good"cry implies that _ .

Politics is an emotional business.Still，many people found themselves unusually moved by the historic presidential inauguration.Watching the huge crowds，we saw laughter,cheers，hugs-but also many tears. It made us wonder ,why do people cry ?It is believed that tears must be good for us-a way to calm the mind and cleanse the soul.Yet studies show that crying sometimes makes people feel worse. Three researchers in Florida and the Netherlands recently looked more deeply into the subject. They examined detailed descriptions of crying experiences.Psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg at the University of South Florida says they wanted to study crying as it happens in everyday life，not in a laboratory.The team analyzed information from the International Study on Adult Crying.As Dart of that study,3，000 people in different countries，mostly college students，wrote about recent crying experiences.They noted causes，surroundings and any people involved in the event.They also reported how they felt after they cried. Professor Rottenberg says the research showed that all crying experiences are not created equally. Crying does not always make a person feel better,he says.About lo percent of people reported feeling worse after they cried.But a third felt better after crying.And a majority reported the experience was helpful.The research showed that people who cry alone may not do as well as those with others around. People who reached out for emotional support at the time--and received it--reported better resuIts from the crying experience.But those who felt shame or embarrassment while crying were less likely to report that crying had been helpful. Research has shown that women cry more often and more intensely than men，but it mav not be to better effect.The new findings did not show that a person's sex was a predictor of beneficial crying. In other words，just because women cry more does not mean they are more likely to have a"good"cry. The paper entitled／s Crying Beneficial?appeared in December in Current Directions in Psychologica，Science.Scientists say the science of crying is still in its infancy.

1644.txt

What do scientists mean by saying that the science of crying is still in its infancy?

Politics is an emotional business.Still，many people found themselves unusually moved by the historic presidential inauguration.Watching the huge crowds，we saw laughter,cheers，hugs-but also many tears. It made us wonder ,why do people cry ?It is believed that tears must be good for us-a way to calm the mind and cleanse the soul.Yet studies show that crying sometimes makes people feel worse. Three researchers in Florida and the Netherlands recently looked more deeply into the subject. They examined detailed descriptions of crying experiences.Psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg at the University of South Florida says they wanted to study crying as it happens in everyday life，not in a laboratory.The team analyzed information from the International Study on Adult Crying.As Dart of that study,3，000 people in different countries，mostly college students，wrote about recent crying experiences.They noted causes，surroundings and any people involved in the event.They also reported how they felt after they cried. Professor Rottenberg says the research showed that all crying experiences are not created equally. Crying does not always make a person feel better,he says.About lo percent of people reported feeling worse after they cried.But a third felt better after crying.And a majority reported the experience was helpful.The research showed that people who cry alone may not do as well as those with others around. People who reached out for emotional support at the time--and received it--reported better resuIts from the crying experience.But those who felt shame or embarrassment while crying were less likely to report that crying had been helpful. Research has shown that women cry more often and more intensely than men，but it mav not be to better effect.The new findings did not show that a person's sex was a predictor of beneficial crying. In other words，just because women cry more does not mean they are more likely to have a"good"cry. The paper entitled／s Crying Beneficial?appeared in December in Current Directions in Psychologica，Science.Scientists say the science of crying is still in its infancy.

1644.txt

In the first paragraph, the author mentions that 95% of the Earth's crust is composed of igneous rock to support the idea that

Any rock that has cooled and solidified from a molten state is an igneous rock. Therefore, if the Earth began as a superheated sphere in space, all the rocks making up its crust may well have been igneous and thus the ancestors of all other rocks. Even today, approximately 95 percent of the entire crust is igneous. Periodically, molten material wells out of the Earth's interior to invade the surface layers or to flow onto the surface itself. This material cools into a wide variety of igneous rocks. In the molten state, it is called magma as it pushes into the crust and lava when it runs out onto the surface. All magma consists basically of a variety of silicate minerals (high in silicon-oxygen compounds), but the chemical composition of any given flow may differ radically from that of any other. The resulting igneous rocks will reflect these differences. Igneous rocks also vary in texture as well as chemistry. Granite, for instance, is a coarse-grained igneous rock whose individual mineral crystals have formed to a size easily seen by the naked eye. A slow rate of cooling has allowed the crystals to reach this size. Normally, slow cooling occurs when the crust is invaded by magma that remains buried well below the surface. Granite may be found on the surface of the contemporary landscape, but from its coarse texture we know that it must have formed through slow cooling at a great depth and later been laid bare by erosion. Igneous rocks with this coarse-grained texture that formed at depth are called plutonic. On the other hand, if the same magma flows onto the surface and is quickly cooled by the atmosphere, the resulting rock will be fine-grained and appear quite different from granite, although the chemical composition will be identical. This kind of rock is called rhyolite. The most finely grained igneous rock is volcanic glass or obsidian, which has no crystals. Some researchers believe this is because of rapid cooling; others believe it is because of a lack of water vapor and other gases in the lava. The black obsidian cliffs of Yellowstone National Park are the result of a lava flow of basalt running head on into a glacier. Some of the glacier melted on contact, but suddenly there also appeared a huge black mass of glassy stone.

2087.txt

The word "invade" in line 5 is closest in meaning to

Any rock that has cooled and solidified from a molten state is an igneous rock. Therefore, if the Earth began as a superheated sphere in space, all the rocks making up its crust may well have been igneous and thus the ancestors of all other rocks. Even today, approximately 95 percent of the entire crust is igneous. Periodically, molten material wells out of the Earth's interior to invade the surface layers or to flow onto the surface itself. This material cools into a wide variety of igneous rocks. In the molten state, it is called magma as it pushes into the crust and lava when it runs out onto the surface. All magma consists basically of a variety of silicate minerals (high in silicon-oxygen compounds), but the chemical composition of any given flow may differ radically from that of any other. The resulting igneous rocks will reflect these differences. Igneous rocks also vary in texture as well as chemistry. Granite, for instance, is a coarse-grained igneous rock whose individual mineral crystals have formed to a size easily seen by the naked eye. A slow rate of cooling has allowed the crystals to reach this size. Normally, slow cooling occurs when the crust is invaded by magma that remains buried well below the surface. Granite may be found on the surface of the contemporary landscape, but from its coarse texture we know that it must have formed through slow cooling at a great depth and later been laid bare by erosion. Igneous rocks with this coarse-grained texture that formed at depth are called plutonic. On the other hand, if the same magma flows onto the surface and is quickly cooled by the atmosphere, the resulting rock will be fine-grained and appear quite different from granite, although the chemical composition will be identical. This kind of rock is called rhyolite. The most finely grained igneous rock is volcanic glass or obsidian, which has no crystals. Some researchers believe this is because of rapid cooling; others believe it is because of a lack of water vapor and other gases in the lava. The black obsidian cliffs of Yellowstone National Park are the result of a lava flow of basalt running head on into a glacier. Some of the glacier melted on contact, but suddenly there also appeared a huge black mass of glassy stone.

2087.txt

The word "contemporary" in line 15 is closest in meaning to

Any rock that has cooled and solidified from a molten state is an igneous rock. Therefore, if the Earth began as a superheated sphere in space, all the rocks making up its crust may well have been igneous and thus the ancestors of all other rocks. Even today, approximately 95 percent of the entire crust is igneous. Periodically, molten material wells out of the Earth's interior to invade the surface layers or to flow onto the surface itself. This material cools into a wide variety of igneous rocks. In the molten state, it is called magma as it pushes into the crust and lava when it runs out onto the surface. All magma consists basically of a variety of silicate minerals (high in silicon-oxygen compounds), but the chemical composition of any given flow may differ radically from that of any other. The resulting igneous rocks will reflect these differences. Igneous rocks also vary in texture as well as chemistry. Granite, for instance, is a coarse-grained igneous rock whose individual mineral crystals have formed to a size easily seen by the naked eye. A slow rate of cooling has allowed the crystals to reach this size. Normally, slow cooling occurs when the crust is invaded by magma that remains buried well below the surface. Granite may be found on the surface of the contemporary landscape, but from its coarse texture we know that it must have formed through slow cooling at a great depth and later been laid bare by erosion. Igneous rocks with this coarse-grained texture that formed at depth are called plutonic. On the other hand, if the same magma flows onto the surface and is quickly cooled by the atmosphere, the resulting rock will be fine-grained and appear quite different from granite, although the chemical composition will be identical. This kind of rock is called rhyolite. The most finely grained igneous rock is volcanic glass or obsidian, which has no crystals. Some researchers believe this is because of rapid cooling; others believe it is because of a lack of water vapor and other gases in the lava. The black obsidian cliffs of Yellowstone National Park are the result of a lava flow of basalt running head on into a glacier. Some of the glacier melted on contact, but suddenly there also appeared a huge black mass of glassy stone.

2087.txt

The word "it" in line 16 refers to

Any rock that has cooled and solidified from a molten state is an igneous rock. Therefore, if the Earth began as a superheated sphere in space, all the rocks making up its crust may well have been igneous and thus the ancestors of all other rocks. Even today, approximately 95 percent of the entire crust is igneous. Periodically, molten material wells out of the Earth's interior to invade the surface layers or to flow onto the surface itself. This material cools into a wide variety of igneous rocks. In the molten state, it is called magma as it pushes into the crust and lava when it runs out onto the surface. All magma consists basically of a variety of silicate minerals (high in silicon-oxygen compounds), but the chemical composition of any given flow may differ radically from that of any other. The resulting igneous rocks will reflect these differences. Igneous rocks also vary in texture as well as chemistry. Granite, for instance, is a coarse-grained igneous rock whose individual mineral crystals have formed to a size easily seen by the naked eye. A slow rate of cooling has allowed the crystals to reach this size. Normally, slow cooling occurs when the crust is invaded by magma that remains buried well below the surface. Granite may be found on the surface of the contemporary landscape, but from its coarse texture we know that it must have formed through slow cooling at a great depth and later been laid bare by erosion. Igneous rocks with this coarse-grained texture that formed at depth are called plutonic. On the other hand, if the same magma flows onto the surface and is quickly cooled by the atmosphere, the resulting rock will be fine-grained and appear quite different from granite, although the chemical composition will be identical. This kind of rock is called rhyolite. The most finely grained igneous rock is volcanic glass or obsidian, which has no crystals. Some researchers believe this is because of rapid cooling; others believe it is because of a lack of water vapor and other gases in the lava. The black obsidian cliffs of Yellowstone National Park are the result of a lava flow of basalt running head on into a glacier. Some of the glacier melted on contact, but suddenly there also appeared a huge black mass of glassy stone.

2087.txt

Granite that has been found above ground has been

Any rock that has cooled and solidified from a molten state is an igneous rock. Therefore, if the Earth began as a superheated sphere in space, all the rocks making up its crust may well have been igneous and thus the ancestors of all other rocks. Even today, approximately 95 percent of the entire crust is igneous. Periodically, molten material wells out of the Earth's interior to invade the surface layers or to flow onto the surface itself. This material cools into a wide variety of igneous rocks. In the molten state, it is called magma as it pushes into the crust and lava when it runs out onto the surface. All magma consists basically of a variety of silicate minerals (high in silicon-oxygen compounds), but the chemical composition of any given flow may differ radically from that of any other. The resulting igneous rocks will reflect these differences. Igneous rocks also vary in texture as well as chemistry. Granite, for instance, is a coarse-grained igneous rock whose individual mineral crystals have formed to a size easily seen by the naked eye. A slow rate of cooling has allowed the crystals to reach this size. Normally, slow cooling occurs when the crust is invaded by magma that remains buried well below the surface. Granite may be found on the surface of the contemporary landscape, but from its coarse texture we know that it must have formed through slow cooling at a great depth and later been laid bare by erosion. Igneous rocks with this coarse-grained texture that formed at depth are called plutonic. On the other hand, if the same magma flows onto the surface and is quickly cooled by the atmosphere, the resulting rock will be fine-grained and appear quite different from granite, although the chemical composition will be identical. This kind of rock is called rhyolite. The most finely grained igneous rock is volcanic glass or obsidian, which has no crystals. Some researchers believe this is because of rapid cooling; others believe it is because of a lack of water vapor and other gases in the lava. The black obsidian cliffs of Yellowstone National Park are the result of a lava flow of basalt running head on into a glacier. Some of the glacier melted on contact, but suddenly there also appeared a huge black mass of glassy stone.

2087.txt

Which of the following is produced when magma cools rapidly?

Any rock that has cooled and solidified from a molten state is an igneous rock. Therefore, if the Earth began as a superheated sphere in space, all the rocks making up its crust may well have been igneous and thus the ancestors of all other rocks. Even today, approximately 95 percent of the entire crust is igneous. Periodically, molten material wells out of the Earth's interior to invade the surface layers or to flow onto the surface itself. This material cools into a wide variety of igneous rocks. In the molten state, it is called magma as it pushes into the crust and lava when it runs out onto the surface. All magma consists basically of a variety of silicate minerals (high in silicon-oxygen compounds), but the chemical composition of any given flow may differ radically from that of any other. The resulting igneous rocks will reflect these differences. Igneous rocks also vary in texture as well as chemistry. Granite, for instance, is a coarse-grained igneous rock whose individual mineral crystals have formed to a size easily seen by the naked eye. A slow rate of cooling has allowed the crystals to reach this size. Normally, slow cooling occurs when the crust is invaded by magma that remains buried well below the surface. Granite may be found on the surface of the contemporary landscape, but from its coarse texture we know that it must have formed through slow cooling at a great depth and later been laid bare by erosion. Igneous rocks with this coarse-grained texture that formed at depth are called plutonic. On the other hand, if the same magma flows onto the surface and is quickly cooled by the atmosphere, the resulting rock will be fine-grained and appear quite different from granite, although the chemical composition will be identical. This kind of rock is called rhyolite. The most finely grained igneous rock is volcanic glass or obsidian, which has no crystals. Some researchers believe this is because of rapid cooling; others believe it is because of a lack of water vapor and other gases in the lava. The black obsidian cliffs of Yellowstone National Park are the result of a lava flow of basalt running head on into a glacier. Some of the glacier melted on contact, but suddenly there also appeared a huge black mass of glassy stone.

2087.txt

The word "finely" in line 22 is closest in meaning to

Any rock that has cooled and solidified from a molten state is an igneous rock. Therefore, if the Earth began as a superheated sphere in space, all the rocks making up its crust may well have been igneous and thus the ancestors of all other rocks. Even today, approximately 95 percent of the entire crust is igneous. Periodically, molten material wells out of the Earth's interior to invade the surface layers or to flow onto the surface itself. This material cools into a wide variety of igneous rocks. In the molten state, it is called magma as it pushes into the crust and lava when it runs out onto the surface. All magma consists basically of a variety of silicate minerals (high in silicon-oxygen compounds), but the chemical composition of any given flow may differ radically from that of any other. The resulting igneous rocks will reflect these differences. Igneous rocks also vary in texture as well as chemistry. Granite, for instance, is a coarse-grained igneous rock whose individual mineral crystals have formed to a size easily seen by the naked eye. A slow rate of cooling has allowed the crystals to reach this size. Normally, slow cooling occurs when the crust is invaded by magma that remains buried well below the surface. Granite may be found on the surface of the contemporary landscape, but from its coarse texture we know that it must have formed through slow cooling at a great depth and later been laid bare by erosion. Igneous rocks with this coarse-grained texture that formed at depth are called plutonic. On the other hand, if the same magma flows onto the surface and is quickly cooled by the atmosphere, the resulting rock will be fine-grained and appear quite different from granite, although the chemical composition will be identical. This kind of rock is called rhyolite. The most finely grained igneous rock is volcanic glass or obsidian, which has no crystals. Some researchers believe this is because of rapid cooling; others believe it is because of a lack of water vapor and other gases in the lava. The black obsidian cliffs of Yellowstone National Park are the result of a lava flow of basalt running head on into a glacier. Some of the glacier melted on contact, but suddenly there also appeared a huge black mass of glassy stone.

2087.txt

Which of the following is another name for volcanic glass?

Any rock that has cooled and solidified from a molten state is an igneous rock. Therefore, if the Earth began as a superheated sphere in space, all the rocks making up its crust may well have been igneous and thus the ancestors of all other rocks. Even today, approximately 95 percent of the entire crust is igneous. Periodically, molten material wells out of the Earth's interior to invade the surface layers or to flow onto the surface itself. This material cools into a wide variety of igneous rocks. In the molten state, it is called magma as it pushes into the crust and lava when it runs out onto the surface. All magma consists basically of a variety of silicate minerals (high in silicon-oxygen compounds), but the chemical composition of any given flow may differ radically from that of any other. The resulting igneous rocks will reflect these differences. Igneous rocks also vary in texture as well as chemistry. Granite, for instance, is a coarse-grained igneous rock whose individual mineral crystals have formed to a size easily seen by the naked eye. A slow rate of cooling has allowed the crystals to reach this size. Normally, slow cooling occurs when the crust is invaded by magma that remains buried well below the surface. Granite may be found on the surface of the contemporary landscape, but from its coarse texture we know that it must have formed through slow cooling at a great depth and later been laid bare by erosion. Igneous rocks with this coarse-grained texture that formed at depth are called plutonic. On the other hand, if the same magma flows onto the surface and is quickly cooled by the atmosphere, the resulting rock will be fine-grained and appear quite different from granite, although the chemical composition will be identical. This kind of rock is called rhyolite. The most finely grained igneous rock is volcanic glass or obsidian, which has no crystals. Some researchers believe this is because of rapid cooling; others believe it is because of a lack of water vapor and other gases in the lava. The black obsidian cliffs of Yellowstone National Park are the result of a lava flow of basalt running head on into a glacier. Some of the glacier melted on contact, but suddenly there also appeared a huge black mass of glassy stone.

2087.txt

What does the passage mainly discuss?

Rent control is the system whereby the local government tells building owners how much they can charge their tenants in rent. In the United States, rent controls date back to at least World War II. In 1943 the federal government imposed rent controls to help solve the problem of housing shortages during wartime. The federal program ended after the war, but in some locations, including New York City, controls continued. Under New York's controls, a landlord generally cannot raise rents on apartments as long as the tenants continue to renew their leases. In places such as Santa Monica, California, rent controls are more recent. They were spurred by the inflation of the 1970's, which, combined with California's rapid population growth, pushed housing prices, as well as rents, to record levels. In 1979 Santa Monica's municipal government ordered landlords to roll back their rents to the levels charged in 1978. Future rents could only go up by two-thirds as much as any increase in the overall price level. In any housing market, rental prices perform three functions: (1) promoting the efficient maintenance of existing housing and stimulating the construction of new housing, (2) allocating existing scarce housing among competing claimants, and (3) rationing use of existing housing by potential renters. One result of rent control is a decrease in the construction of new rental units. Rent controls have artificially depressed the most important long-term determinant of profitability - rents. Consider some examples. In a recent year in Dallas, Texas, with a 16 percent rental vacancy rate but no rent control laws, 11,000 new housing units were built. In the same year, in San Francisco, California, only 2,000 units were built. The major difference? San Francisco has only a 1.6 percent vacancy rate but stringent rent control laws. In New York City, except for government-subsidized construction, the only rental units being built are luxury units, which are exempt from controls. In Santa Monica, California, new apartments are not being constructed. New office rental space and commercial developments are, however. They are exempt from rent controls.

1893.txt

The word "They" in line 9 refers to

Rent control is the system whereby the local government tells building owners how much they can charge their tenants in rent. In the United States, rent controls date back to at least World War II. In 1943 the federal government imposed rent controls to help solve the problem of housing shortages during wartime. The federal program ended after the war, but in some locations, including New York City, controls continued. Under New York's controls, a landlord generally cannot raise rents on apartments as long as the tenants continue to renew their leases. In places such as Santa Monica, California, rent controls are more recent. They were spurred by the inflation of the 1970's, which, combined with California's rapid population growth, pushed housing prices, as well as rents, to record levels. In 1979 Santa Monica's municipal government ordered landlords to roll back their rents to the levels charged in 1978. Future rents could only go up by two-thirds as much as any increase in the overall price level. In any housing market, rental prices perform three functions: (1) promoting the efficient maintenance of existing housing and stimulating the construction of new housing, (2) allocating existing scarce housing among competing claimants, and (3) rationing use of existing housing by potential renters. One result of rent control is a decrease in the construction of new rental units. Rent controls have artificially depressed the most important long-term determinant of profitability - rents. Consider some examples. In a recent year in Dallas, Texas, with a 16 percent rental vacancy rate but no rent control laws, 11,000 new housing units were built. In the same year, in San Francisco, California, only 2,000 units were built. The major difference? San Francisco has only a 1.6 percent vacancy rate but stringent rent control laws. In New York City, except for government-subsidized construction, the only rental units being built are luxury units, which are exempt from controls. In Santa Monica, California, new apartments are not being constructed. New office rental space and commercial developments are, however. They are exempt from rent controls.

1893.txt