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What did the disappearance of gray wolves bring about?

After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves. Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around. The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations - major food sources for the wolf - grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation , which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park' s red foxes, and completely drove away the park' s beavers. As early as 1966,biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park.They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems.Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets. The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolvers. The U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone.Today,the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone.Elk,deer,and coyote populations are down,while beavers and red fores have made a comeback.The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.

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What is the author's attitude towards the Yellowstone wolf project?

After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves. Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around. The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations - major food sources for the wolf - grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation , which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park' s red foxes, and completely drove away the park' s beavers. As early as 1966,biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park.They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems.Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets. The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolvers. The U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone.Today,the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone.Elk,deer,and coyote populations are down,while beavers and red fores have made a comeback.The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.

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The passage focuses on comets primarily in terms of their

No two comets ever look identical, but they have basic features in common, one of the most obvious of which is a coma. A coma looks like a misty, patch of light with one or more tails often streaming from it in the direction away from the sun. At the heart of a comet's coma lies a nucleus of solid material, typically no more than 10 kilometers across. The visible coma is a huge cloud of gas and dust that has escaped from the nucleus, which then surrounds like an extended atmosphere. The coma can extend as far as a million kilometers outward from the nucleus. Around the coma there is often an even larger invisible envelope of hydrogen gas. The most graphic proof that the grand spectacle of a comet develops from a relatively small and inconspicuous chunk of ice and dust was the close-up image obtained in 1986 by the European Giotto probe of the nucleus of Halley's Comet. It turned out to be a bit like a very dark asteroid, measuring 16 by 8 kilometers. Ices have evaporated from its outer layers to leave a crust of nearly black dust all over the surface. Bright jets of gas from evaporating ice burst out on the side facing the Sun, where the surface gets heated up, carrying dust with them. This is how the coma and the tails are created. Comets grow tails only when they get warm enough for ice and dust to boil off. As a comet's orbit brings it closer to the sun, first the coma grows, then two distinct tails usually form. One, the less common kind, contains electrically charged (i.e., ionizeD. atoms of gas, which are blown off directly in the direction away from the Sun by the magnetic field of the solar wind. The other tail is made of neutral dust particles, which get gently pushed back by the pressure of the sunlight itself. Unlike the ion tail, which is straight, the dust tail becomes curved as the particles follow their own orbits around the Sun.

359.txt

The word "identical" in line 1 is closest in meaning to

No two comets ever look identical, but they have basic features in common, one of the most obvious of which is a coma. A coma looks like a misty, patch of light with one or more tails often streaming from it in the direction away from the sun. At the heart of a comet's coma lies a nucleus of solid material, typically no more than 10 kilometers across. The visible coma is a huge cloud of gas and dust that has escaped from the nucleus, which then surrounds like an extended atmosphere. The coma can extend as far as a million kilometers outward from the nucleus. Around the coma there is often an even larger invisible envelope of hydrogen gas. The most graphic proof that the grand spectacle of a comet develops from a relatively small and inconspicuous chunk of ice and dust was the close-up image obtained in 1986 by the European Giotto probe of the nucleus of Halley's Comet. It turned out to be a bit like a very dark asteroid, measuring 16 by 8 kilometers. Ices have evaporated from its outer layers to leave a crust of nearly black dust all over the surface. Bright jets of gas from evaporating ice burst out on the side facing the Sun, where the surface gets heated up, carrying dust with them. This is how the coma and the tails are created. Comets grow tails only when they get warm enough for ice and dust to boil off. As a comet's orbit brings it closer to the sun, first the coma grows, then two distinct tails usually form. One, the less common kind, contains electrically charged (i.e., ionizeD. atoms of gas, which are blown off directly in the direction away from the Sun by the magnetic field of the solar wind. The other tail is made of neutral dust particles, which get gently pushed back by the pressure of the sunlight itself. Unlike the ion tail, which is straight, the dust tail becomes curved as the particles follow their own orbits around the Sun.

359.txt

The word "heart" in line 4 is closest in meaning to

No two comets ever look identical, but they have basic features in common, one of the most obvious of which is a coma. A coma looks like a misty, patch of light with one or more tails often streaming from it in the direction away from the sun. At the heart of a comet's coma lies a nucleus of solid material, typically no more than 10 kilometers across. The visible coma is a huge cloud of gas and dust that has escaped from the nucleus, which then surrounds like an extended atmosphere. The coma can extend as far as a million kilometers outward from the nucleus. Around the coma there is often an even larger invisible envelope of hydrogen gas. The most graphic proof that the grand spectacle of a comet develops from a relatively small and inconspicuous chunk of ice and dust was the close-up image obtained in 1986 by the European Giotto probe of the nucleus of Halley's Comet. It turned out to be a bit like a very dark asteroid, measuring 16 by 8 kilometers. Ices have evaporated from its outer layers to leave a crust of nearly black dust all over the surface. Bright jets of gas from evaporating ice burst out on the side facing the Sun, where the surface gets heated up, carrying dust with them. This is how the coma and the tails are created. Comets grow tails only when they get warm enough for ice and dust to boil off. As a comet's orbit brings it closer to the sun, first the coma grows, then two distinct tails usually form. One, the less common kind, contains electrically charged (i.e., ionizeD. atoms of gas, which are blown off directly in the direction away from the Sun by the magnetic field of the solar wind. The other tail is made of neutral dust particles, which get gently pushed back by the pressure of the sunlight itself. Unlike the ion tail, which is straight, the dust tail becomes curved as the particles follow their own orbits around the Sun.

359.txt

Why does the author mention the Giotto probe in paragraph 3?

No two comets ever look identical, but they have basic features in common, one of the most obvious of which is a coma. A coma looks like a misty, patch of light with one or more tails often streaming from it in the direction away from the sun. At the heart of a comet's coma lies a nucleus of solid material, typically no more than 10 kilometers across. The visible coma is a huge cloud of gas and dust that has escaped from the nucleus, which then surrounds like an extended atmosphere. The coma can extend as far as a million kilometers outward from the nucleus. Around the coma there is often an even larger invisible envelope of hydrogen gas. The most graphic proof that the grand spectacle of a comet develops from a relatively small and inconspicuous chunk of ice and dust was the close-up image obtained in 1986 by the European Giotto probe of the nucleus of Halley's Comet. It turned out to be a bit like a very dark asteroid, measuring 16 by 8 kilometers. Ices have evaporated from its outer layers to leave a crust of nearly black dust all over the surface. Bright jets of gas from evaporating ice burst out on the side facing the Sun, where the surface gets heated up, carrying dust with them. This is how the coma and the tails are created. Comets grow tails only when they get warm enough for ice and dust to boil off. As a comet's orbit brings it closer to the sun, first the coma grows, then two distinct tails usually form. One, the less common kind, contains electrically charged (i.e., ionizeD. atoms of gas, which are blown off directly in the direction away from the Sun by the magnetic field of the solar wind. The other tail is made of neutral dust particles, which get gently pushed back by the pressure of the sunlight itself. Unlike the ion tail, which is straight, the dust tail becomes curved as the particles follow their own orbits around the Sun.

359.txt

It can be inferred from the passage that the nucleus of a comet is made up of

No two comets ever look identical, but they have basic features in common, one of the most obvious of which is a coma. A coma looks like a misty, patch of light with one or more tails often streaming from it in the direction away from the sun. At the heart of a comet's coma lies a nucleus of solid material, typically no more than 10 kilometers across. The visible coma is a huge cloud of gas and dust that has escaped from the nucleus, which then surrounds like an extended atmosphere. The coma can extend as far as a million kilometers outward from the nucleus. Around the coma there is often an even larger invisible envelope of hydrogen gas. The most graphic proof that the grand spectacle of a comet develops from a relatively small and inconspicuous chunk of ice and dust was the close-up image obtained in 1986 by the European Giotto probe of the nucleus of Halley's Comet. It turned out to be a bit like a very dark asteroid, measuring 16 by 8 kilometers. Ices have evaporated from its outer layers to leave a crust of nearly black dust all over the surface. Bright jets of gas from evaporating ice burst out on the side facing the Sun, where the surface gets heated up, carrying dust with them. This is how the coma and the tails are created. Comets grow tails only when they get warm enough for ice and dust to boil off. As a comet's orbit brings it closer to the sun, first the coma grows, then two distinct tails usually form. One, the less common kind, contains electrically charged (i.e., ionizeD. atoms of gas, which are blown off directly in the direction away from the Sun by the magnetic field of the solar wind. The other tail is made of neutral dust particles, which get gently pushed back by the pressure of the sunlight itself. Unlike the ion tail, which is straight, the dust tail becomes curved as the particles follow their own orbits around the Sun.

359.txt

The word "graphic" in line 9 is closest in meaning to

No two comets ever look identical, but they have basic features in common, one of the most obvious of which is a coma. A coma looks like a misty, patch of light with one or more tails often streaming from it in the direction away from the sun. At the heart of a comet's coma lies a nucleus of solid material, typically no more than 10 kilometers across. The visible coma is a huge cloud of gas and dust that has escaped from the nucleus, which then surrounds like an extended atmosphere. The coma can extend as far as a million kilometers outward from the nucleus. Around the coma there is often an even larger invisible envelope of hydrogen gas. The most graphic proof that the grand spectacle of a comet develops from a relatively small and inconspicuous chunk of ice and dust was the close-up image obtained in 1986 by the European Giotto probe of the nucleus of Halley's Comet. It turned out to be a bit like a very dark asteroid, measuring 16 by 8 kilometers. Ices have evaporated from its outer layers to leave a crust of nearly black dust all over the surface. Bright jets of gas from evaporating ice burst out on the side facing the Sun, where the surface gets heated up, carrying dust with them. This is how the coma and the tails are created. Comets grow tails only when they get warm enough for ice and dust to boil off. As a comet's orbit brings it closer to the sun, first the coma grows, then two distinct tails usually form. One, the less common kind, contains electrically charged (i.e., ionizeD. atoms of gas, which are blown off directly in the direction away from the Sun by the magnetic field of the solar wind. The other tail is made of neutral dust particles, which get gently pushed back by the pressure of the sunlight itself. Unlike the ion tail, which is straight, the dust tail becomes curved as the particles follow their own orbits around the Sun.

359.txt

Which of the following occurred as the ices from Halley's Comet evaporated?

No two comets ever look identical, but they have basic features in common, one of the most obvious of which is a coma. A coma looks like a misty, patch of light with one or more tails often streaming from it in the direction away from the sun. At the heart of a comet's coma lies a nucleus of solid material, typically no more than 10 kilometers across. The visible coma is a huge cloud of gas and dust that has escaped from the nucleus, which then surrounds like an extended atmosphere. The coma can extend as far as a million kilometers outward from the nucleus. Around the coma there is often an even larger invisible envelope of hydrogen gas. The most graphic proof that the grand spectacle of a comet develops from a relatively small and inconspicuous chunk of ice and dust was the close-up image obtained in 1986 by the European Giotto probe of the nucleus of Halley's Comet. It turned out to be a bit like a very dark asteroid, measuring 16 by 8 kilometers. Ices have evaporated from its outer layers to leave a crust of nearly black dust all over the surface. Bright jets of gas from evaporating ice burst out on the side facing the Sun, where the surface gets heated up, carrying dust with them. This is how the coma and the tails are created. Comets grow tails only when they get warm enough for ice and dust to boil off. As a comet's orbit brings it closer to the sun, first the coma grows, then two distinct tails usually form. One, the less common kind, contains electrically charged (i.e., ionizeD. atoms of gas, which are blown off directly in the direction away from the Sun by the magnetic field of the solar wind. The other tail is made of neutral dust particles, which get gently pushed back by the pressure of the sunlight itself. Unlike the ion tail, which is straight, the dust tail becomes curved as the particles follow their own orbits around the Sun.

359.txt

All of the following statements about the tails of comets are true EXCEPT:

No two comets ever look identical, but they have basic features in common, one of the most obvious of which is a coma. A coma looks like a misty, patch of light with one or more tails often streaming from it in the direction away from the sun. At the heart of a comet's coma lies a nucleus of solid material, typically no more than 10 kilometers across. The visible coma is a huge cloud of gas and dust that has escaped from the nucleus, which then surrounds like an extended atmosphere. The coma can extend as far as a million kilometers outward from the nucleus. Around the coma there is often an even larger invisible envelope of hydrogen gas. The most graphic proof that the grand spectacle of a comet develops from a relatively small and inconspicuous chunk of ice and dust was the close-up image obtained in 1986 by the European Giotto probe of the nucleus of Halley's Comet. It turned out to be a bit like a very dark asteroid, measuring 16 by 8 kilometers. Ices have evaporated from its outer layers to leave a crust of nearly black dust all over the surface. Bright jets of gas from evaporating ice burst out on the side facing the Sun, where the surface gets heated up, carrying dust with them. This is how the coma and the tails are created. Comets grow tails only when they get warm enough for ice and dust to boil off. As a comet's orbit brings it closer to the sun, first the coma grows, then two distinct tails usually form. One, the less common kind, contains electrically charged (i.e., ionizeD. atoms of gas, which are blown off directly in the direction away from the Sun by the magnetic field of the solar wind. The other tail is made of neutral dust particles, which get gently pushed back by the pressure of the sunlight itself. Unlike the ion tail, which is straight, the dust tail becomes curved as the particles follow their own orbits around the Sun.

359.txt

The word "distinct" in line 17 is closest in meaning to

No two comets ever look identical, but they have basic features in common, one of the most obvious of which is a coma. A coma looks like a misty, patch of light with one or more tails often streaming from it in the direction away from the sun. At the heart of a comet's coma lies a nucleus of solid material, typically no more than 10 kilometers across. The visible coma is a huge cloud of gas and dust that has escaped from the nucleus, which then surrounds like an extended atmosphere. The coma can extend as far as a million kilometers outward from the nucleus. Around the coma there is often an even larger invisible envelope of hydrogen gas. The most graphic proof that the grand spectacle of a comet develops from a relatively small and inconspicuous chunk of ice and dust was the close-up image obtained in 1986 by the European Giotto probe of the nucleus of Halley's Comet. It turned out to be a bit like a very dark asteroid, measuring 16 by 8 kilometers. Ices have evaporated from its outer layers to leave a crust of nearly black dust all over the surface. Bright jets of gas from evaporating ice burst out on the side facing the Sun, where the surface gets heated up, carrying dust with them. This is how the coma and the tails are created. Comets grow tails only when they get warm enough for ice and dust to boil off. As a comet's orbit brings it closer to the sun, first the coma grows, then two distinct tails usually form. One, the less common kind, contains electrically charged (i.e., ionizeD. atoms of gas, which are blown off directly in the direction away from the Sun by the magnetic field of the solar wind. The other tail is made of neutral dust particles, which get gently pushed back by the pressure of the sunlight itself. Unlike the ion tail, which is straight, the dust tail becomes curved as the particles follow their own orbits around the Sun.

359.txt

Compared to the tail of electrically charged atoms, the tail of neutral dust particles is relatively

No two comets ever look identical, but they have basic features in common, one of the most obvious of which is a coma. A coma looks like a misty, patch of light with one or more tails often streaming from it in the direction away from the sun. At the heart of a comet's coma lies a nucleus of solid material, typically no more than 10 kilometers across. The visible coma is a huge cloud of gas and dust that has escaped from the nucleus, which then surrounds like an extended atmosphere. The coma can extend as far as a million kilometers outward from the nucleus. Around the coma there is often an even larger invisible envelope of hydrogen gas. The most graphic proof that the grand spectacle of a comet develops from a relatively small and inconspicuous chunk of ice and dust was the close-up image obtained in 1986 by the European Giotto probe of the nucleus of Halley's Comet. It turned out to be a bit like a very dark asteroid, measuring 16 by 8 kilometers. Ices have evaporated from its outer layers to leave a crust of nearly black dust all over the surface. Bright jets of gas from evaporating ice burst out on the side facing the Sun, where the surface gets heated up, carrying dust with them. This is how the coma and the tails are created. Comets grow tails only when they get warm enough for ice and dust to boil off. As a comet's orbit brings it closer to the sun, first the coma grows, then two distinct tails usually form. One, the less common kind, contains electrically charged (i.e., ionizeD. atoms of gas, which are blown off directly in the direction away from the Sun by the magnetic field of the solar wind. The other tail is made of neutral dust particles, which get gently pushed back by the pressure of the sunlight itself. Unlike the ion tail, which is straight, the dust tail becomes curved as the particles follow their own orbits around the Sun.

359.txt

According to the passage _ .

SINGAPORE-Another Thai worker died in his sleep last Friday, the second such death in the past three days and the 10th since the beginning of the year. Thongehai Sombattra, 22, is said to be the youngest to have died mysteriously this year. A total of 10 young Thai construction workers in their late 20s and 30s who appeared well and healthy when they went to bed have died since the beginning of this year. They were either found dead in the morning or had died suddenly in the middle on the night after some difficulty in breathing. From China Daily, March 19,1990

1779.txt

During the past three days, Thongchai Sombattra died last Friday, the other passed away _ .

SINGAPORE-Another Thai worker died in his sleep last Friday, the second such death in the past three days and the 10th since the beginning of the year. Thongehai Sombattra, 22, is said to be the youngest to have died mysteriously this year. A total of 10 young Thai construction workers in their late 20s and 30s who appeared well and healthy when they went to bed have died since the beginning of this year. They were either found dead in the morning or had died suddenly in the middle on the night after some difficulty in breathing. From China Daily, March 19,1990

1779.txt

Thongchai Sombattra, who died mysteriously, _ .

SINGAPORE-Another Thai worker died in his sleep last Friday, the second such death in the past three days and the 10th since the beginning of the year. Thongehai Sombattra, 22, is said to be the youngest to have died mysteriously this year. A total of 10 young Thai construction workers in their late 20s and 30s who appeared well and healthy when they went to bed have died since the beginning of this year. They were either found dead in the morning or had died suddenly in the middle on the night after some difficulty in breathing. From China Daily, March 19,1990

1779.txt

Besides Thongchai Sombattra, the others could be _ .

SINGAPORE-Another Thai worker died in his sleep last Friday, the second such death in the past three days and the 10th since the beginning of the year. Thongehai Sombattra, 22, is said to be the youngest to have died mysteriously this year. A total of 10 young Thai construction workers in their late 20s and 30s who appeared well and healthy when they went to bed have died since the beginning of this year. They were either found dead in the morning or had died suddenly in the middle on the night after some difficulty in breathing. From China Daily, March 19,1990

1779.txt

_ caused the ten Thai construction workers' death.

SINGAPORE-Another Thai worker died in his sleep last Friday, the second such death in the past three days and the 10th since the beginning of the year. Thongehai Sombattra, 22, is said to be the youngest to have died mysteriously this year. A total of 10 young Thai construction workers in their late 20s and 30s who appeared well and healthy when they went to bed have died since the beginning of this year. They were either found dead in the morning or had died suddenly in the middle on the night after some difficulty in breathing. From China Daily, March 19,1990

1779.txt

Which one of the following statements is NOT true of the "voice broadcast" services?

Mobile phones are making life better for people in remote, underserved areas of India. They no longer have to walk kilometers to public call offices to use a telephone-an essential tool for buying and selling goods based on the latest market data, getting credit from lenders and other commonplace activities. So far, most of the benefits have come from one of the phone's simplest features: voice calls. With more than 250 million mobile users and 6 million new ones added each month, India now has the "teledensity" to support more-sophisticated mobile technologies, which could have a big impact on Indian society and the economy in the next few years. These include "voice broadcast" services that would let a truck owner inform residents of a village about a scheduled trip to the city, or doctors announce the availability of polio vaccinations. A more complex system would allow a small business, say, to keep track of shipments. What's holding up these services is the lack of mobile banking. With urban markets nearing saturation, global giants like Nokia are now looking to appeal to the hinterlands. Reliance Communications, which has offered Internet service over its mobile phones since 2002, is sponsoring a contest this year for developers to invent new rural services. "We want to really take advantage of our mobile platform, our data network, and our ability to provide the mobile Internet experience to bridge the digital divide," says Mahesh Prasad, president of applications and development. Several small companies are at work on mobile banking for small businesses. New Delhi-based ekgaon technologies has developed a system for tracking transactions made by so-called Self Help Groups, which pool members' money and offer small loans to poor people. The system uses a camera-equipped mobile phone to scan forms and a voice-recognition system. A.Little.World, a mobile software business in Mumbai, has developed a microfinance and payment system that lets customers perform banking transactions through a local agent affiliated with a bank. Customers get a secure electronic identity via phone or smart card; agents take deposits and dispense cash. Biometric data, such as fingerprints, make the phones and smart cards more secure than paper-based banking. A.Little.World has extended such services to about 400 local businesses acting as agents. And it's now working on a national rollout with the State Bank of India-the biggest player in the rural market. Meanwhile, ekgaon, whose partners include CARE, WorldVision and the World Bank, has a pilot transaction-management system for 10,000 Self Help Groups, with plans to extend it to 14 Indian states. Mobile banking services can reduce the cost of transactions for loans and other services-the main obstacle to providing banking for the poor-by as much as three quarters, according to ekgaon's chief operating officer Rohit Magotra. Mobile transactions could have an even broader effect applied to India's social-security payments and public-distribution system, which sells essential goods to the poor at subsidized rates. By March 2008, people in 8,000 villages in Andhra Pradesh will get their benefits zapped via mobile phone to their smart cards, which they may eventually use instead of cash to buy goods at the ration shop. A.Little.World, which is building the system, says a nationwide service could help reduce fraud in the public-distribution system. It would also mean going from a bankless world to a cashless one, maybe even faster than America or Europe.

3437.txt

Golbal giants like Nokia are turning their focus on the rural areas because _

Mobile phones are making life better for people in remote, underserved areas of India. They no longer have to walk kilometers to public call offices to use a telephone-an essential tool for buying and selling goods based on the latest market data, getting credit from lenders and other commonplace activities. So far, most of the benefits have come from one of the phone's simplest features: voice calls. With more than 250 million mobile users and 6 million new ones added each month, India now has the "teledensity" to support more-sophisticated mobile technologies, which could have a big impact on Indian society and the economy in the next few years. These include "voice broadcast" services that would let a truck owner inform residents of a village about a scheduled trip to the city, or doctors announce the availability of polio vaccinations. A more complex system would allow a small business, say, to keep track of shipments. What's holding up these services is the lack of mobile banking. With urban markets nearing saturation, global giants like Nokia are now looking to appeal to the hinterlands. Reliance Communications, which has offered Internet service over its mobile phones since 2002, is sponsoring a contest this year for developers to invent new rural services. "We want to really take advantage of our mobile platform, our data network, and our ability to provide the mobile Internet experience to bridge the digital divide," says Mahesh Prasad, president of applications and development. Several small companies are at work on mobile banking for small businesses. New Delhi-based ekgaon technologies has developed a system for tracking transactions made by so-called Self Help Groups, which pool members' money and offer small loans to poor people. The system uses a camera-equipped mobile phone to scan forms and a voice-recognition system. A.Little.World, a mobile software business in Mumbai, has developed a microfinance and payment system that lets customers perform banking transactions through a local agent affiliated with a bank. Customers get a secure electronic identity via phone or smart card; agents take deposits and dispense cash. Biometric data, such as fingerprints, make the phones and smart cards more secure than paper-based banking. A.Little.World has extended such services to about 400 local businesses acting as agents. And it's now working on a national rollout with the State Bank of India-the biggest player in the rural market. Meanwhile, ekgaon, whose partners include CARE, WorldVision and the World Bank, has a pilot transaction-management system for 10,000 Self Help Groups, with plans to extend it to 14 Indian states. Mobile banking services can reduce the cost of transactions for loans and other services-the main obstacle to providing banking for the poor-by as much as three quarters, according to ekgaon's chief operating officer Rohit Magotra. Mobile transactions could have an even broader effect applied to India's social-security payments and public-distribution system, which sells essential goods to the poor at subsidized rates. By March 2008, people in 8,000 villages in Andhra Pradesh will get their benefits zapped via mobile phone to their smart cards, which they may eventually use instead of cash to buy goods at the ration shop. A.Little.World, which is building the system, says a nationwide service could help reduce fraud in the public-distribution system. It would also mean going from a bankless world to a cashless one, maybe even faster than America or Europe.

3437.txt

The system developed by A. Little. World. is more secure than the traditional banking because _

Mobile phones are making life better for people in remote, underserved areas of India. They no longer have to walk kilometers to public call offices to use a telephone-an essential tool for buying and selling goods based on the latest market data, getting credit from lenders and other commonplace activities. So far, most of the benefits have come from one of the phone's simplest features: voice calls. With more than 250 million mobile users and 6 million new ones added each month, India now has the "teledensity" to support more-sophisticated mobile technologies, which could have a big impact on Indian society and the economy in the next few years. These include "voice broadcast" services that would let a truck owner inform residents of a village about a scheduled trip to the city, or doctors announce the availability of polio vaccinations. A more complex system would allow a small business, say, to keep track of shipments. What's holding up these services is the lack of mobile banking. With urban markets nearing saturation, global giants like Nokia are now looking to appeal to the hinterlands. Reliance Communications, which has offered Internet service over its mobile phones since 2002, is sponsoring a contest this year for developers to invent new rural services. "We want to really take advantage of our mobile platform, our data network, and our ability to provide the mobile Internet experience to bridge the digital divide," says Mahesh Prasad, president of applications and development. Several small companies are at work on mobile banking for small businesses. New Delhi-based ekgaon technologies has developed a system for tracking transactions made by so-called Self Help Groups, which pool members' money and offer small loans to poor people. The system uses a camera-equipped mobile phone to scan forms and a voice-recognition system. A.Little.World, a mobile software business in Mumbai, has developed a microfinance and payment system that lets customers perform banking transactions through a local agent affiliated with a bank. Customers get a secure electronic identity via phone or smart card; agents take deposits and dispense cash. Biometric data, such as fingerprints, make the phones and smart cards more secure than paper-based banking. A.Little.World has extended such services to about 400 local businesses acting as agents. And it's now working on a national rollout with the State Bank of India-the biggest player in the rural market. Meanwhile, ekgaon, whose partners include CARE, WorldVision and the World Bank, has a pilot transaction-management system for 10,000 Self Help Groups, with plans to extend it to 14 Indian states. Mobile banking services can reduce the cost of transactions for loans and other services-the main obstacle to providing banking for the poor-by as much as three quarters, according to ekgaon's chief operating officer Rohit Magotra. Mobile transactions could have an even broader effect applied to India's social-security payments and public-distribution system, which sells essential goods to the poor at subsidized rates. By March 2008, people in 8,000 villages in Andhra Pradesh will get their benefits zapped via mobile phone to their smart cards, which they may eventually use instead of cash to buy goods at the ration shop. A.Little.World, which is building the system, says a nationwide service could help reduce fraud in the public-distribution system. It would also mean going from a bankless world to a cashless one, maybe even faster than America or Europe.

3437.txt

Mobile banking services have the following advantages except _

Mobile phones are making life better for people in remote, underserved areas of India. They no longer have to walk kilometers to public call offices to use a telephone-an essential tool for buying and selling goods based on the latest market data, getting credit from lenders and other commonplace activities. So far, most of the benefits have come from one of the phone's simplest features: voice calls. With more than 250 million mobile users and 6 million new ones added each month, India now has the "teledensity" to support more-sophisticated mobile technologies, which could have a big impact on Indian society and the economy in the next few years. These include "voice broadcast" services that would let a truck owner inform residents of a village about a scheduled trip to the city, or doctors announce the availability of polio vaccinations. A more complex system would allow a small business, say, to keep track of shipments. What's holding up these services is the lack of mobile banking. With urban markets nearing saturation, global giants like Nokia are now looking to appeal to the hinterlands. Reliance Communications, which has offered Internet service over its mobile phones since 2002, is sponsoring a contest this year for developers to invent new rural services. "We want to really take advantage of our mobile platform, our data network, and our ability to provide the mobile Internet experience to bridge the digital divide," says Mahesh Prasad, president of applications and development. Several small companies are at work on mobile banking for small businesses. New Delhi-based ekgaon technologies has developed a system for tracking transactions made by so-called Self Help Groups, which pool members' money and offer small loans to poor people. The system uses a camera-equipped mobile phone to scan forms and a voice-recognition system. A.Little.World, a mobile software business in Mumbai, has developed a microfinance and payment system that lets customers perform banking transactions through a local agent affiliated with a bank. Customers get a secure electronic identity via phone or smart card; agents take deposits and dispense cash. Biometric data, such as fingerprints, make the phones and smart cards more secure than paper-based banking. A.Little.World has extended such services to about 400 local businesses acting as agents. And it's now working on a national rollout with the State Bank of India-the biggest player in the rural market. Meanwhile, ekgaon, whose partners include CARE, WorldVision and the World Bank, has a pilot transaction-management system for 10,000 Self Help Groups, with plans to extend it to 14 Indian states. Mobile banking services can reduce the cost of transactions for loans and other services-the main obstacle to providing banking for the poor-by as much as three quarters, according to ekgaon's chief operating officer Rohit Magotra. Mobile transactions could have an even broader effect applied to India's social-security payments and public-distribution system, which sells essential goods to the poor at subsidized rates. By March 2008, people in 8,000 villages in Andhra Pradesh will get their benefits zapped via mobile phone to their smart cards, which they may eventually use instead of cash to buy goods at the ration shop. A.Little.World, which is building the system, says a nationwide service could help reduce fraud in the public-distribution system. It would also mean going from a bankless world to a cashless one, maybe even faster than America or Europe.

3437.txt

The passage is mainly about _

Mobile phones are making life better for people in remote, underserved areas of India. They no longer have to walk kilometers to public call offices to use a telephone-an essential tool for buying and selling goods based on the latest market data, getting credit from lenders and other commonplace activities. So far, most of the benefits have come from one of the phone's simplest features: voice calls. With more than 250 million mobile users and 6 million new ones added each month, India now has the "teledensity" to support more-sophisticated mobile technologies, which could have a big impact on Indian society and the economy in the next few years. These include "voice broadcast" services that would let a truck owner inform residents of a village about a scheduled trip to the city, or doctors announce the availability of polio vaccinations. A more complex system would allow a small business, say, to keep track of shipments. What's holding up these services is the lack of mobile banking. With urban markets nearing saturation, global giants like Nokia are now looking to appeal to the hinterlands. Reliance Communications, which has offered Internet service over its mobile phones since 2002, is sponsoring a contest this year for developers to invent new rural services. "We want to really take advantage of our mobile platform, our data network, and our ability to provide the mobile Internet experience to bridge the digital divide," says Mahesh Prasad, president of applications and development. Several small companies are at work on mobile banking for small businesses. New Delhi-based ekgaon technologies has developed a system for tracking transactions made by so-called Self Help Groups, which pool members' money and offer small loans to poor people. The system uses a camera-equipped mobile phone to scan forms and a voice-recognition system. A.Little.World, a mobile software business in Mumbai, has developed a microfinance and payment system that lets customers perform banking transactions through a local agent affiliated with a bank. Customers get a secure electronic identity via phone or smart card; agents take deposits and dispense cash. Biometric data, such as fingerprints, make the phones and smart cards more secure than paper-based banking. A.Little.World has extended such services to about 400 local businesses acting as agents. And it's now working on a national rollout with the State Bank of India-the biggest player in the rural market. Meanwhile, ekgaon, whose partners include CARE, WorldVision and the World Bank, has a pilot transaction-management system for 10,000 Self Help Groups, with plans to extend it to 14 Indian states. Mobile banking services can reduce the cost of transactions for loans and other services-the main obstacle to providing banking for the poor-by as much as three quarters, according to ekgaon's chief operating officer Rohit Magotra. Mobile transactions could have an even broader effect applied to India's social-security payments and public-distribution system, which sells essential goods to the poor at subsidized rates. By March 2008, people in 8,000 villages in Andhra Pradesh will get their benefits zapped via mobile phone to their smart cards, which they may eventually use instead of cash to buy goods at the ration shop. A.Little.World, which is building the system, says a nationwide service could help reduce fraud in the public-distribution system. It would also mean going from a bankless world to a cashless one, maybe even faster than America or Europe.

3437.txt

What was Rebecca Hosking?

A small town in southwest Britain is banning plastic bags in an attempt to help the environment and cut waste-a step that environmentalists believe is a first for Europe. Shopkeepers in Modbury population 1,500, agreed to stop handing out disposable plastic bags to customers on Saturday. They said paper sacks and cloth carrier bags would be offered instead. Last month, San Franciso became the first U.S. city to ban plastic grocery bags. Internationally, laws to discourage the use of plastic bags have been passed in parts of South Africa and Ireland, where govermments either tax shoppers who use them or fine companies that hand them out. Bangladesh already bans them, and so do at least 30 remote Alaskan villages. Modbury, about 225 miles southwest of London, has also declared a bag ammesty, allowing local people to hand in plastic bags that have piled up at home. They will be sent for a recveling. The Modbury ban was the idea of Rebecca Hosking, who saw the effect of bags on manne life while working in the Pacific as a wildlife camerawoman. She said response in the town so far had been "really positive". "Modbury is quite an old-fashioned town and a lot of people have wicker baskets to go out shopping anyway," Hosking told Sky News Television. The Worldwatch Institute, an environmental research agency, states that 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year in the United States alone. More than 500 billion are used yearly around the world.

3369.txt

It can be inferred from the passage that.

A small town in southwest Britain is banning plastic bags in an attempt to help the environment and cut waste-a step that environmentalists believe is a first for Europe. Shopkeepers in Modbury population 1,500, agreed to stop handing out disposable plastic bags to customers on Saturday. They said paper sacks and cloth carrier bags would be offered instead. Last month, San Franciso became the first U.S. city to ban plastic grocery bags. Internationally, laws to discourage the use of plastic bags have been passed in parts of South Africa and Ireland, where govermments either tax shoppers who use them or fine companies that hand them out. Bangladesh already bans them, and so do at least 30 remote Alaskan villages. Modbury, about 225 miles southwest of London, has also declared a bag ammesty, allowing local people to hand in plastic bags that have piled up at home. They will be sent for a recveling. The Modbury ban was the idea of Rebecca Hosking, who saw the effect of bags on manne life while working in the Pacific as a wildlife camerawoman. She said response in the town so far had been "really positive". "Modbury is quite an old-fashioned town and a lot of people have wicker baskets to go out shopping anyway," Hosking told Sky News Television. The Worldwatch Institute, an environmental research agency, states that 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year in the United States alone. More than 500 billion are used yearly around the world.

3369.txt

Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A small town in southwest Britain is banning plastic bags in an attempt to help the environment and cut waste-a step that environmentalists believe is a first for Europe. Shopkeepers in Modbury population 1,500, agreed to stop handing out disposable plastic bags to customers on Saturday. They said paper sacks and cloth carrier bags would be offered instead. Last month, San Franciso became the first U.S. city to ban plastic grocery bags. Internationally, laws to discourage the use of plastic bags have been passed in parts of South Africa and Ireland, where govermments either tax shoppers who use them or fine companies that hand them out. Bangladesh already bans them, and so do at least 30 remote Alaskan villages. Modbury, about 225 miles southwest of London, has also declared a bag ammesty, allowing local people to hand in plastic bags that have piled up at home. They will be sent for a recveling. The Modbury ban was the idea of Rebecca Hosking, who saw the effect of bags on manne life while working in the Pacific as a wildlife camerawoman. She said response in the town so far had been "really positive". "Modbury is quite an old-fashioned town and a lot of people have wicker baskets to go out shopping anyway," Hosking told Sky News Television. The Worldwatch Institute, an environmental research agency, states that 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year in the United States alone. More than 500 billion are used yearly around the world.

3369.txt

The expression" land on the president's desk" （Line 2, Paragraph 1）means that _ .

Both the House and the Senate have recently passed bills to reform student lending, and observers think a final bill may land on the president's desk in a month. Democrats have always been critical of federal interest-rate subsidies to private lenders, which is how student loans are organised. They are spurred on by scandal-many lenders like Student Loan Xpress have been caught handing illegal kickbacks to college aid officials-and by the fact that a private-equity consortium, led by J. C. Flowers, is in the process of buying out Sallie Mae, the largest student lender. This has put a spotlight on the fat margins of the $85 billion-a-year student-loan industry, where Sallie Mae's five-year average return on equity was an astonishing 52% per year. At present the federal government subsidises student loans in two ways. First, the government lends through the William D. Ford direct loan programme, which competes with private lenders and has about a quarter of the student-loan market. Second, private lenders get subsidies that allow them to lower the interest rates they charge students. In the past, lenders have successfully resisted proposed reductions to their subsidies of as little as ten basis points by threatening to leave the market. Now the bills are proposing to reduce subsidies by 50-55 basis points. The principal terms of both bills are sensible. They increase the maximum" Pell Grant" for low-income students from $4,050 currently to $5,400 by 2011. The funding comes by cutting about $18 billion-19 billion in lender subsidies over five years. Next, graduates' loan repayments are capped at a manageable percentage of income and all debt is cancelled after 25 years of repayment. Finally, the bills provide more loan forgiveness for graduates who enter public-service careers, including police, firefighters, nurses and inner-city teachers. Taken together, these are the biggest changes since the student-loan system was created, in 1965, as part of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programmes. The biggest risk in cutting the interest-rate subsidies is that banks may leave student lending en masse, or that smaller lenders may be forced out of the market. This would mean few choices for students and possibly a large number of borrowers swamping the government programme. " Congress still wants lending to be profitable, just not too profitable," says Ajita Talwalker of TICAS, a non-partisan institute that studies the accessibility and affordability of higher education. This may prove a tough balancing act, since no one knows what the right number is. Critics still find the bills defective. Higher-education costs have risen much faster than inflation or aid increases, so students have been paying more out-of-pocket and taking more private loans. Yet both bills do little to tackle the rise in tuition costs. Richard Vedder of Ohio University points out that productivity is a major problem; professors in many schools have a weekly teaching workload that is a third lighter than 40 years ago, but their pay and benefits have increased. All sides agree there needs to be more transparency in costs and an element of price competition. As far as the bills at hand are concerned, many experts are calling for the House to drop its entitlement programmes, which make certain spending mandatory, and to direct the money to the Pell Grants.

549.txt

Cutting the interest-rate subsidies is risky because _ .

Both the House and the Senate have recently passed bills to reform student lending, and observers think a final bill may land on the president's desk in a month. Democrats have always been critical of federal interest-rate subsidies to private lenders, which is how student loans are organised. They are spurred on by scandal-many lenders like Student Loan Xpress have been caught handing illegal kickbacks to college aid officials-and by the fact that a private-equity consortium, led by J. C. Flowers, is in the process of buying out Sallie Mae, the largest student lender. This has put a spotlight on the fat margins of the $85 billion-a-year student-loan industry, where Sallie Mae's five-year average return on equity was an astonishing 52% per year. At present the federal government subsidises student loans in two ways. First, the government lends through the William D. Ford direct loan programme, which competes with private lenders and has about a quarter of the student-loan market. Second, private lenders get subsidies that allow them to lower the interest rates they charge students. In the past, lenders have successfully resisted proposed reductions to their subsidies of as little as ten basis points by threatening to leave the market. Now the bills are proposing to reduce subsidies by 50-55 basis points. The principal terms of both bills are sensible. They increase the maximum" Pell Grant" for low-income students from $4,050 currently to $5,400 by 2011. The funding comes by cutting about $18 billion-19 billion in lender subsidies over five years. Next, graduates' loan repayments are capped at a manageable percentage of income and all debt is cancelled after 25 years of repayment. Finally, the bills provide more loan forgiveness for graduates who enter public-service careers, including police, firefighters, nurses and inner-city teachers. Taken together, these are the biggest changes since the student-loan system was created, in 1965, as part of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programmes. The biggest risk in cutting the interest-rate subsidies is that banks may leave student lending en masse, or that smaller lenders may be forced out of the market. This would mean few choices for students and possibly a large number of borrowers swamping the government programme. " Congress still wants lending to be profitable, just not too profitable," says Ajita Talwalker of TICAS, a non-partisan institute that studies the accessibility and affordability of higher education. This may prove a tough balancing act, since no one knows what the right number is. Critics still find the bills defective. Higher-education costs have risen much faster than inflation or aid increases, so students have been paying more out-of-pocket and taking more private loans. Yet both bills do little to tackle the rise in tuition costs. Richard Vedder of Ohio University points out that productivity is a major problem; professors in many schools have a weekly teaching workload that is a third lighter than 40 years ago, but their pay and benefits have increased. All sides agree there needs to be more transparency in costs and an element of price competition. As far as the bills at hand are concerned, many experts are calling for the House to drop its entitlement programmes, which make certain spending mandatory, and to direct the money to the Pell Grants.

549.txt

The writer mentioned the" 50-55 basis points" at the end of the 2nd paragraph to show that _ .

Both the House and the Senate have recently passed bills to reform student lending, and observers think a final bill may land on the president's desk in a month. Democrats have always been critical of federal interest-rate subsidies to private lenders, which is how student loans are organised. They are spurred on by scandal-many lenders like Student Loan Xpress have been caught handing illegal kickbacks to college aid officials-and by the fact that a private-equity consortium, led by J. C. Flowers, is in the process of buying out Sallie Mae, the largest student lender. This has put a spotlight on the fat margins of the $85 billion-a-year student-loan industry, where Sallie Mae's five-year average return on equity was an astonishing 52% per year. At present the federal government subsidises student loans in two ways. First, the government lends through the William D. Ford direct loan programme, which competes with private lenders and has about a quarter of the student-loan market. Second, private lenders get subsidies that allow them to lower the interest rates they charge students. In the past, lenders have successfully resisted proposed reductions to their subsidies of as little as ten basis points by threatening to leave the market. Now the bills are proposing to reduce subsidies by 50-55 basis points. The principal terms of both bills are sensible. They increase the maximum" Pell Grant" for low-income students from $4,050 currently to $5,400 by 2011. The funding comes by cutting about $18 billion-19 billion in lender subsidies over five years. Next, graduates' loan repayments are capped at a manageable percentage of income and all debt is cancelled after 25 years of repayment. Finally, the bills provide more loan forgiveness for graduates who enter public-service careers, including police, firefighters, nurses and inner-city teachers. Taken together, these are the biggest changes since the student-loan system was created, in 1965, as part of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programmes. The biggest risk in cutting the interest-rate subsidies is that banks may leave student lending en masse, or that smaller lenders may be forced out of the market. This would mean few choices for students and possibly a large number of borrowers swamping the government programme. " Congress still wants lending to be profitable, just not too profitable," says Ajita Talwalker of TICAS, a non-partisan institute that studies the accessibility and affordability of higher education. This may prove a tough balancing act, since no one knows what the right number is. Critics still find the bills defective. Higher-education costs have risen much faster than inflation or aid increases, so students have been paying more out-of-pocket and taking more private loans. Yet both bills do little to tackle the rise in tuition costs. Richard Vedder of Ohio University points out that productivity is a major problem; professors in many schools have a weekly teaching workload that is a third lighter than 40 years ago, but their pay and benefits have increased. All sides agree there needs to be more transparency in costs and an element of price competition. As far as the bills at hand are concerned, many experts are calling for the House to drop its entitlement programmes, which make certain spending mandatory, and to direct the money to the Pell Grants.

549.txt

It can be indicated from the last paragraph that _ .

Both the House and the Senate have recently passed bills to reform student lending, and observers think a final bill may land on the president's desk in a month. Democrats have always been critical of federal interest-rate subsidies to private lenders, which is how student loans are organised. They are spurred on by scandal-many lenders like Student Loan Xpress have been caught handing illegal kickbacks to college aid officials-and by the fact that a private-equity consortium, led by J. C. Flowers, is in the process of buying out Sallie Mae, the largest student lender. This has put a spotlight on the fat margins of the $85 billion-a-year student-loan industry, where Sallie Mae's five-year average return on equity was an astonishing 52% per year. At present the federal government subsidises student loans in two ways. First, the government lends through the William D. Ford direct loan programme, which competes with private lenders and has about a quarter of the student-loan market. Second, private lenders get subsidies that allow them to lower the interest rates they charge students. In the past, lenders have successfully resisted proposed reductions to their subsidies of as little as ten basis points by threatening to leave the market. Now the bills are proposing to reduce subsidies by 50-55 basis points. The principal terms of both bills are sensible. They increase the maximum" Pell Grant" for low-income students from $4,050 currently to $5,400 by 2011. The funding comes by cutting about $18 billion-19 billion in lender subsidies over five years. Next, graduates' loan repayments are capped at a manageable percentage of income and all debt is cancelled after 25 years of repayment. Finally, the bills provide more loan forgiveness for graduates who enter public-service careers, including police, firefighters, nurses and inner-city teachers. Taken together, these are the biggest changes since the student-loan system was created, in 1965, as part of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programmes. The biggest risk in cutting the interest-rate subsidies is that banks may leave student lending en masse, or that smaller lenders may be forced out of the market. This would mean few choices for students and possibly a large number of borrowers swamping the government programme. " Congress still wants lending to be profitable, just not too profitable," says Ajita Talwalker of TICAS, a non-partisan institute that studies the accessibility and affordability of higher education. This may prove a tough balancing act, since no one knows what the right number is. Critics still find the bills defective. Higher-education costs have risen much faster than inflation or aid increases, so students have been paying more out-of-pocket and taking more private loans. Yet both bills do little to tackle the rise in tuition costs. Richard Vedder of Ohio University points out that productivity is a major problem; professors in many schools have a weekly teaching workload that is a third lighter than 40 years ago, but their pay and benefits have increased. All sides agree there needs to be more transparency in costs and an element of price competition. As far as the bills at hand are concerned, many experts are calling for the House to drop its entitlement programmes, which make certain spending mandatory, and to direct the money to the Pell Grants.

549.txt

Toward the issue of student lending and high-education costs, the attitude of many experts seems to be _ .

Both the House and the Senate have recently passed bills to reform student lending, and observers think a final bill may land on the president's desk in a month. Democrats have always been critical of federal interest-rate subsidies to private lenders, which is how student loans are organised. They are spurred on by scandal-many lenders like Student Loan Xpress have been caught handing illegal kickbacks to college aid officials-and by the fact that a private-equity consortium, led by J. C. Flowers, is in the process of buying out Sallie Mae, the largest student lender. This has put a spotlight on the fat margins of the $85 billion-a-year student-loan industry, where Sallie Mae's five-year average return on equity was an astonishing 52% per year. At present the federal government subsidises student loans in two ways. First, the government lends through the William D. Ford direct loan programme, which competes with private lenders and has about a quarter of the student-loan market. Second, private lenders get subsidies that allow them to lower the interest rates they charge students. In the past, lenders have successfully resisted proposed reductions to their subsidies of as little as ten basis points by threatening to leave the market. Now the bills are proposing to reduce subsidies by 50-55 basis points. The principal terms of both bills are sensible. They increase the maximum" Pell Grant" for low-income students from $4,050 currently to $5,400 by 2011. The funding comes by cutting about $18 billion-19 billion in lender subsidies over five years. Next, graduates' loan repayments are capped at a manageable percentage of income and all debt is cancelled after 25 years of repayment. Finally, the bills provide more loan forgiveness for graduates who enter public-service careers, including police, firefighters, nurses and inner-city teachers. Taken together, these are the biggest changes since the student-loan system was created, in 1965, as part of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programmes. The biggest risk in cutting the interest-rate subsidies is that banks may leave student lending en masse, or that smaller lenders may be forced out of the market. This would mean few choices for students and possibly a large number of borrowers swamping the government programme. " Congress still wants lending to be profitable, just not too profitable," says Ajita Talwalker of TICAS, a non-partisan institute that studies the accessibility and affordability of higher education. This may prove a tough balancing act, since no one knows what the right number is. Critics still find the bills defective. Higher-education costs have risen much faster than inflation or aid increases, so students have been paying more out-of-pocket and taking more private loans. Yet both bills do little to tackle the rise in tuition costs. Richard Vedder of Ohio University points out that productivity is a major problem; professors in many schools have a weekly teaching workload that is a third lighter than 40 years ago, but their pay and benefits have increased. All sides agree there needs to be more transparency in costs and an element of price competition. As far as the bills at hand are concerned, many experts are calling for the House to drop its entitlement programmes, which make certain spending mandatory, and to direct the money to the Pell Grants.

549.txt

What do critics say about texting?

Texting has long been bemoaned as the downfall of the written word, "penmanship for illiterates," as one critic called it. To which the proper response is LOL. Texting properly isn't writing at all. It's a "spoken" language that is getting richer and more complex by the year. First, some historical perspective. Writing was only invented 5500 years ago, whereas language probably traces back at least 80000 years. Thus talking came first; writing is just a craft that came along later. As such, the first writing was based on the way people talk, with short sentences. However, while talking is largely subconscious and rapid, writing is deliberate and slow. Over time, writers took advantage of this and started crafting long-winded sentences such as this one:"The whole engagement lasted above12 hours, till the gradual retreat of the Persians was changed into a disorderly flight, of which the shameful example was given by the principal leaders and..." No one talks like that casually--or should. But it is natural to desire to do so for special occasions. In the old days, we didn't much write like talking because there was no mechanism to reproduce the speed of conversation. But texting and instant messaging do--and a revolution has begun. It involves the crude mechanics of writing, but in its economy, spontaneity and even vulgarity, texting is actually a new kind of talking, with its own kind of grammar and conventions. Take LOL. It doesn't actually mean "laughing out loud" in a literal sense anymore. LOL has evolved into something much subtler and sophisticated and is used even when nothing is remotely amusing. Jocelyn texts "Where have you been?" and Annabelle texts back "LOL at the library studying for two hours." LOLsignals basic empathy between texters, easing tension and creating a sense of equality. Instead of having a literal meaning, it does something--conveying an attitude--just like the -ed ending conveys pasttense rather than "meaning" anything. LOL, of all things, is grammar. Of course no one thinks about that consciously. But then most of communication operates without being noticed. Over time, the meaning of a word or an expression drifts--meat used to mean any kind offood, silly used to mean, believe it or not, blessed. Civilization, then, is fine--people banging away on their smart phones are fluently using a codeseparate from the one they use in actual writing, and there is no evidence that texting is ruining composition skills. Worldwide people speak differently from the way they write, and texting--quick,casual and only intended to be read onceis actually a way of talking with your fingers.

1318.txt

In what way does the author say writing is different from talking?

Texting has long been bemoaned as the downfall of the written word, "penmanship for illiterates," as one critic called it. To which the proper response is LOL. Texting properly isn't writing at all. It's a "spoken" language that is getting richer and more complex by the year. First, some historical perspective. Writing was only invented 5500 years ago, whereas language probably traces back at least 80000 years. Thus talking came first; writing is just a craft that came along later. As such, the first writing was based on the way people talk, with short sentences. However, while talking is largely subconscious and rapid, writing is deliberate and slow. Over time, writers took advantage of this and started crafting long-winded sentences such as this one:"The whole engagement lasted above12 hours, till the gradual retreat of the Persians was changed into a disorderly flight, of which the shameful example was given by the principal leaders and..." No one talks like that casually--or should. But it is natural to desire to do so for special occasions. In the old days, we didn't much write like talking because there was no mechanism to reproduce the speed of conversation. But texting and instant messaging do--and a revolution has begun. It involves the crude mechanics of writing, but in its economy, spontaneity and even vulgarity, texting is actually a new kind of talking, with its own kind of grammar and conventions. Take LOL. It doesn't actually mean "laughing out loud" in a literal sense anymore. LOL has evolved into something much subtler and sophisticated and is used even when nothing is remotely amusing. Jocelyn texts "Where have you been?" and Annabelle texts back "LOL at the library studying for two hours." LOLsignals basic empathy between texters, easing tension and creating a sense of equality. Instead of having a literal meaning, it does something--conveying an attitude--just like the -ed ending conveys pasttense rather than "meaning" anything. LOL, of all things, is grammar. Of course no one thinks about that consciously. But then most of communication operates without being noticed. Over time, the meaning of a word or an expression drifts--meat used to mean any kind offood, silly used to mean, believe it or not, blessed. Civilization, then, is fine--people banging away on their smart phones are fluently using a codeseparate from the one they use in actual writing, and there is no evidence that texting is ruining composition skills. Worldwide people speak differently from the way they write, and texting--quick,casual and only intended to be read onceis actually a way of talking with your fingers.

1318.txt

Why is LOL much used in texting?

Texting has long been bemoaned as the downfall of the written word, "penmanship for illiterates," as one critic called it. To which the proper response is LOL. Texting properly isn't writing at all. It's a "spoken" language that is getting richer and more complex by the year. First, some historical perspective. Writing was only invented 5500 years ago, whereas language probably traces back at least 80000 years. Thus talking came first; writing is just a craft that came along later. As such, the first writing was based on the way people talk, with short sentences. However, while talking is largely subconscious and rapid, writing is deliberate and slow. Over time, writers took advantage of this and started crafting long-winded sentences such as this one:"The whole engagement lasted above12 hours, till the gradual retreat of the Persians was changed into a disorderly flight, of which the shameful example was given by the principal leaders and..." No one talks like that casually--or should. But it is natural to desire to do so for special occasions. In the old days, we didn't much write like talking because there was no mechanism to reproduce the speed of conversation. But texting and instant messaging do--and a revolution has begun. It involves the crude mechanics of writing, but in its economy, spontaneity and even vulgarity, texting is actually a new kind of talking, with its own kind of grammar and conventions. Take LOL. It doesn't actually mean "laughing out loud" in a literal sense anymore. LOL has evolved into something much subtler and sophisticated and is used even when nothing is remotely amusing. Jocelyn texts "Where have you been?" and Annabelle texts back "LOL at the library studying for two hours." LOLsignals basic empathy between texters, easing tension and creating a sense of equality. Instead of having a literal meaning, it does something--conveying an attitude--just like the -ed ending conveys pasttense rather than "meaning" anything. LOL, of all things, is grammar. Of course no one thinks about that consciously. But then most of communication operates without being noticed. Over time, the meaning of a word or an expression drifts--meat used to mean any kind offood, silly used to mean, believe it or not, blessed. Civilization, then, is fine--people banging away on their smart phones are fluently using a codeseparate from the one they use in actual writing, and there is no evidence that texting is ruining composition skills. Worldwide people speak differently from the way they write, and texting--quick,casual and only intended to be read onceis actually a way of talking with your fingers.

1318.txt

Examples like meat and silly are cited to show .

Texting has long been bemoaned as the downfall of the written word, "penmanship for illiterates," as one critic called it. To which the proper response is LOL. Texting properly isn't writing at all. It's a "spoken" language that is getting richer and more complex by the year. First, some historical perspective. Writing was only invented 5500 years ago, whereas language probably traces back at least 80000 years. Thus talking came first; writing is just a craft that came along later. As such, the first writing was based on the way people talk, with short sentences. However, while talking is largely subconscious and rapid, writing is deliberate and slow. Over time, writers took advantage of this and started crafting long-winded sentences such as this one:"The whole engagement lasted above12 hours, till the gradual retreat of the Persians was changed into a disorderly flight, of which the shameful example was given by the principal leaders and..." No one talks like that casually--or should. But it is natural to desire to do so for special occasions. In the old days, we didn't much write like talking because there was no mechanism to reproduce the speed of conversation. But texting and instant messaging do--and a revolution has begun. It involves the crude mechanics of writing, but in its economy, spontaneity and even vulgarity, texting is actually a new kind of talking, with its own kind of grammar and conventions. Take LOL. It doesn't actually mean "laughing out loud" in a literal sense anymore. LOL has evolved into something much subtler and sophisticated and is used even when nothing is remotely amusing. Jocelyn texts "Where have you been?" and Annabelle texts back "LOL at the library studying for two hours." LOLsignals basic empathy between texters, easing tension and creating a sense of equality. Instead of having a literal meaning, it does something--conveying an attitude--just like the -ed ending conveys pasttense rather than "meaning" anything. LOL, of all things, is grammar. Of course no one thinks about that consciously. But then most of communication operates without being noticed. Over time, the meaning of a word or an expression drifts--meat used to mean any kind offood, silly used to mean, believe it or not, blessed. Civilization, then, is fine--people banging away on their smart phones are fluently using a codeseparate from the one they use in actual writing, and there is no evidence that texting is ruining composition skills. Worldwide people speak differently from the way they write, and texting--quick,casual and only intended to be read onceis actually a way of talking with your fingers.

1318.txt

What does the author think of texting?

Texting has long been bemoaned as the downfall of the written word, "penmanship for illiterates," as one critic called it. To which the proper response is LOL. Texting properly isn't writing at all. It's a "spoken" language that is getting richer and more complex by the year. First, some historical perspective. Writing was only invented 5500 years ago, whereas language probably traces back at least 80000 years. Thus talking came first; writing is just a craft that came along later. As such, the first writing was based on the way people talk, with short sentences. However, while talking is largely subconscious and rapid, writing is deliberate and slow. Over time, writers took advantage of this and started crafting long-winded sentences such as this one:"The whole engagement lasted above12 hours, till the gradual retreat of the Persians was changed into a disorderly flight, of which the shameful example was given by the principal leaders and..." No one talks like that casually--or should. But it is natural to desire to do so for special occasions. In the old days, we didn't much write like talking because there was no mechanism to reproduce the speed of conversation. But texting and instant messaging do--and a revolution has begun. It involves the crude mechanics of writing, but in its economy, spontaneity and even vulgarity, texting is actually a new kind of talking, with its own kind of grammar and conventions. Take LOL. It doesn't actually mean "laughing out loud" in a literal sense anymore. LOL has evolved into something much subtler and sophisticated and is used even when nothing is remotely amusing. Jocelyn texts "Where have you been?" and Annabelle texts back "LOL at the library studying for two hours." LOLsignals basic empathy between texters, easing tension and creating a sense of equality. Instead of having a literal meaning, it does something--conveying an attitude--just like the -ed ending conveys pasttense rather than "meaning" anything. LOL, of all things, is grammar. Of course no one thinks about that consciously. But then most of communication operates without being noticed. Over time, the meaning of a word or an expression drifts--meat used to mean any kind offood, silly used to mean, believe it or not, blessed. Civilization, then, is fine--people banging away on their smart phones are fluently using a codeseparate from the one they use in actual writing, and there is no evidence that texting is ruining composition skills. Worldwide people speak differently from the way they write, and texting--quick,casual and only intended to be read onceis actually a way of talking with your fingers.

1318.txt

What does the author say about present-day universities?

Recently I attended several meetings where we talked about ways to retain students and keep younger faculty members from going elsewhere. It seems higher education has become an industry of meeting-holders whose task it is to "solve" problemsreal or imagined. And in my position as a professor at three different colleges, the actual problems in educating our young people and older students have deepened, while the number of people hirednot to teach but to hold meetingshas increased significantly. Every new problem creates a new job for an administrative fixer. Take our Center for Teaching Excellence. Contrary to its title, the center is a clearing house for using technology in classrooms and in online courses. It's an administrative sham of the kind that has multiplied over the last 30 years. I offer a simple proposition in response: Many of our problemsclass attendance, educational success, student happiness and well-beingmight be improved by cutting down the bureaucratic mechanisms and meetings and instead hiring an army of good teachers. If we replaced half of our administrative staff with classroom teachers, we might actually get a majority of our classes back to 20or fewer students per teacher. This would be an environment in which teachers and students actually knew each other. The teachers must be free to teach in their own waythe curriculum should be flexible enough so that they can use their individual talents to achieve the goals of the course. Additionally, they should be allowed to teach, and be rewarded for doing it well. Teachers are not people who are great at and consumed by research and happen to appear in a classroom. Good teaching and research are not exclusive, but they are also not automatic companions. Teaching is an art and a craft, talent and practice; it is not something that just anyone can be good at. It is utterly confusing to me that people do not recognize this, despite the fact that pretty much anyone who has been a student can tell the difference between their best and worst teachers.

2442.txt

According to the author, what kind of people do universities lack most?

Recently I attended several meetings where we talked about ways to retain students and keep younger faculty members from going elsewhere. It seems higher education has become an industry of meeting-holders whose task it is to "solve" problemsreal or imagined. And in my position as a professor at three different colleges, the actual problems in educating our young people and older students have deepened, while the number of people hirednot to teach but to hold meetingshas increased significantly. Every new problem creates a new job for an administrative fixer. Take our Center for Teaching Excellence. Contrary to its title, the center is a clearing house for using technology in classrooms and in online courses. It's an administrative sham of the kind that has multiplied over the last 30 years. I offer a simple proposition in response: Many of our problemsclass attendance, educational success, student happiness and well-beingmight be improved by cutting down the bureaucratic mechanisms and meetings and instead hiring an army of good teachers. If we replaced half of our administrative staff with classroom teachers, we might actually get a majority of our classes back to 20or fewer students per teacher. This would be an environment in which teachers and students actually knew each other. The teachers must be free to teach in their own waythe curriculum should be flexible enough so that they can use their individual talents to achieve the goals of the course. Additionally, they should be allowed to teach, and be rewarded for doing it well. Teachers are not people who are great at and consumed by research and happen to appear in a classroom. Good teaching and research are not exclusive, but they are also not automatic companions. Teaching is an art and a craft, talent and practice; it is not something that just anyone can be good at. It is utterly confusing to me that people do not recognize this, despite the fact that pretty much anyone who has been a student can tell the difference between their best and worst teachers.

2442.txt

What does the author imply about the classes at present?

Recently I attended several meetings where we talked about ways to retain students and keep younger faculty members from going elsewhere. It seems higher education has become an industry of meeting-holders whose task it is to "solve" problemsreal or imagined. And in my position as a professor at three different colleges, the actual problems in educating our young people and older students have deepened, while the number of people hirednot to teach but to hold meetingshas increased significantly. Every new problem creates a new job for an administrative fixer. Take our Center for Teaching Excellence. Contrary to its title, the center is a clearing house for using technology in classrooms and in online courses. It's an administrative sham of the kind that has multiplied over the last 30 years. I offer a simple proposition in response: Many of our problemsclass attendance, educational success, student happiness and well-beingmight be improved by cutting down the bureaucratic mechanisms and meetings and instead hiring an army of good teachers. If we replaced half of our administrative staff with classroom teachers, we might actually get a majority of our classes back to 20or fewer students per teacher. This would be an environment in which teachers and students actually knew each other. The teachers must be free to teach in their own waythe curriculum should be flexible enough so that they can use their individual talents to achieve the goals of the course. Additionally, they should be allowed to teach, and be rewarded for doing it well. Teachers are not people who are great at and consumed by research and happen to appear in a classroom. Good teaching and research are not exclusive, but they are also not automatic companions. Teaching is an art and a craft, talent and practice; it is not something that just anyone can be good at. It is utterly confusing to me that people do not recognize this, despite the fact that pretty much anyone who has been a student can tell the difference between their best and worst teachers.

2442.txt

What does the author think of teaching ability?

Recently I attended several meetings where we talked about ways to retain students and keep younger faculty members from going elsewhere. It seems higher education has become an industry of meeting-holders whose task it is to "solve" problemsreal or imagined. And in my position as a professor at three different colleges, the actual problems in educating our young people and older students have deepened, while the number of people hirednot to teach but to hold meetingshas increased significantly. Every new problem creates a new job for an administrative fixer. Take our Center for Teaching Excellence. Contrary to its title, the center is a clearing house for using technology in classrooms and in online courses. It's an administrative sham of the kind that has multiplied over the last 30 years. I offer a simple proposition in response: Many of our problemsclass attendance, educational success, student happiness and well-beingmight be improved by cutting down the bureaucratic mechanisms and meetings and instead hiring an army of good teachers. If we replaced half of our administrative staff with classroom teachers, we might actually get a majority of our classes back to 20or fewer students per teacher. This would be an environment in which teachers and students actually knew each other. The teachers must be free to teach in their own waythe curriculum should be flexible enough so that they can use their individual talents to achieve the goals of the course. Additionally, they should be allowed to teach, and be rewarded for doing it well. Teachers are not people who are great at and consumed by research and happen to appear in a classroom. Good teaching and research are not exclusive, but they are also not automatic companions. Teaching is an art and a craft, talent and practice; it is not something that just anyone can be good at. It is utterly confusing to me that people do not recognize this, despite the fact that pretty much anyone who has been a student can tell the difference between their best and worst teachers.

2442.txt

What is the author's suggestion for improving university teaching?

Recently I attended several meetings where we talked about ways to retain students and keep younger faculty members from going elsewhere. It seems higher education has become an industry of meeting-holders whose task it is to "solve" problemsreal or imagined. And in my position as a professor at three different colleges, the actual problems in educating our young people and older students have deepened, while the number of people hirednot to teach but to hold meetingshas increased significantly. Every new problem creates a new job for an administrative fixer. Take our Center for Teaching Excellence. Contrary to its title, the center is a clearing house for using technology in classrooms and in online courses. It's an administrative sham of the kind that has multiplied over the last 30 years. I offer a simple proposition in response: Many of our problemsclass attendance, educational success, student happiness and well-beingmight be improved by cutting down the bureaucratic mechanisms and meetings and instead hiring an army of good teachers. If we replaced half of our administrative staff with classroom teachers, we might actually get a majority of our classes back to 20or fewer students per teacher. This would be an environment in which teachers and students actually knew each other. The teachers must be free to teach in their own waythe curriculum should be flexible enough so that they can use their individual talents to achieve the goals of the course. Additionally, they should be allowed to teach, and be rewarded for doing it well. Teachers are not people who are great at and consumed by research and happen to appear in a classroom. Good teaching and research are not exclusive, but they are also not automatic companions. Teaching is an art and a craft, talent and practice; it is not something that just anyone can be good at. It is utterly confusing to me that people do not recognize this, despite the fact that pretty much anyone who has been a student can tell the difference between their best and worst teachers.

2442.txt

Which of the following is closest in meaning to the first paragraph?

The aim of the teacher is to get his pupils as quickly as possible over the period in which each printed symbol is looked at for its shape, and arrive at the stage when the pupil looks at words and phrases, for their meaning, almost without noticing the shapes of the separate letters. When a good reader is at work he does not look at letters, nor even at words, one by one however quickly; he takes in the meaning of two, three, or four words at a time, in a single moment. Watch carefully the eyes of a person who is reading, and it will be seen that they do not travel smoothly along the lines of print, but they move by jumps separated by very short stops. The eyes of a very good reader move quickly, taking long jumps and making very short halts ; the eyes of a poor reader move more slowly, taking only short jumps and stopping longer at each halt. Sometimes, when he meets a difficulty, he even goes backwards to see again what has already been looked at once. The teacher's task is therefore clear: it is to train his pupils to take in several words at a glance (one eye-jump') and to remove the necessity for going backwards to read something a second time. This shows at once that letter-by-letter, or syllable-by-syllable, or word-by-word reading, with the finger pointing to the word, carefully fixing each one in turn, is wrong. It is wrong because such a method ties the pupil's eyes down to a very short jump, and the aim is to train for the long jump. Moreover, a very short jump is too short to provide any meaning or sense; and it will be found that having struggled with three or four words separately, the pupil has to look at them again, all together and in one group, in order to get the meaning of the whole phrase.

2637.txt

In a single moment, a good reader picks up ________.

The aim of the teacher is to get his pupils as quickly as possible over the period in which each printed symbol is looked at for its shape, and arrive at the stage when the pupil looks at words and phrases, for their meaning, almost without noticing the shapes of the separate letters. When a good reader is at work he does not look at letters, nor even at words, one by one however quickly; he takes in the meaning of two, three, or four words at a time, in a single moment. Watch carefully the eyes of a person who is reading, and it will be seen that they do not travel smoothly along the lines of print, but they move by jumps separated by very short stops. The eyes of a very good reader move quickly, taking long jumps and making very short halts ; the eyes of a poor reader move more slowly, taking only short jumps and stopping longer at each halt. Sometimes, when he meets a difficulty, he even goes backwards to see again what has already been looked at once. The teacher's task is therefore clear: it is to train his pupils to take in several words at a glance (one eye-jump') and to remove the necessity for going backwards to read something a second time. This shows at once that letter-by-letter, or syllable-by-syllable, or word-by-word reading, with the finger pointing to the word, carefully fixing each one in turn, is wrong. It is wrong because such a method ties the pupil's eyes down to a very short jump, and the aim is to train for the long jump. Moreover, a very short jump is too short to provide any meaning or sense; and it will be found that having struggled with three or four words separately, the pupil has to look at them again, all together and in one group, in order to get the meaning of the whole phrase.

2637.txt

According to the passage, which of the following is FALSE?

The aim of the teacher is to get his pupils as quickly as possible over the period in which each printed symbol is looked at for its shape, and arrive at the stage when the pupil looks at words and phrases, for their meaning, almost without noticing the shapes of the separate letters. When a good reader is at work he does not look at letters, nor even at words, one by one however quickly; he takes in the meaning of two, three, or four words at a time, in a single moment. Watch carefully the eyes of a person who is reading, and it will be seen that they do not travel smoothly along the lines of print, but they move by jumps separated by very short stops. The eyes of a very good reader move quickly, taking long jumps and making very short halts ; the eyes of a poor reader move more slowly, taking only short jumps and stopping longer at each halt. Sometimes, when he meets a difficulty, he even goes backwards to see again what has already been looked at once. The teacher's task is therefore clear: it is to train his pupils to take in several words at a glance (one eye-jump') and to remove the necessity for going backwards to read something a second time. This shows at once that letter-by-letter, or syllable-by-syllable, or word-by-word reading, with the finger pointing to the word, carefully fixing each one in turn, is wrong. It is wrong because such a method ties the pupil's eyes down to a very short jump, and the aim is to train for the long jump. Moreover, a very short jump is too short to provide any meaning or sense; and it will be found that having struggled with three or four words separately, the pupil has to look at them again, all together and in one group, in order to get the meaning of the whole phrase.

2637.txt

One may have to read something a second time if ________.

The aim of the teacher is to get his pupils as quickly as possible over the period in which each printed symbol is looked at for its shape, and arrive at the stage when the pupil looks at words and phrases, for their meaning, almost without noticing the shapes of the separate letters. When a good reader is at work he does not look at letters, nor even at words, one by one however quickly; he takes in the meaning of two, three, or four words at a time, in a single moment. Watch carefully the eyes of a person who is reading, and it will be seen that they do not travel smoothly along the lines of print, but they move by jumps separated by very short stops. The eyes of a very good reader move quickly, taking long jumps and making very short halts ; the eyes of a poor reader move more slowly, taking only short jumps and stopping longer at each halt. Sometimes, when he meets a difficulty, he even goes backwards to see again what has already been looked at once. The teacher's task is therefore clear: it is to train his pupils to take in several words at a glance (one eye-jump') and to remove the necessity for going backwards to read something a second time. This shows at once that letter-by-letter, or syllable-by-syllable, or word-by-word reading, with the finger pointing to the word, carefully fixing each one in turn, is wrong. It is wrong because such a method ties the pupil's eyes down to a very short jump, and the aim is to train for the long jump. Moreover, a very short jump is too short to provide any meaning or sense; and it will be found that having struggled with three or four words separately, the pupil has to look at them again, all together and in one group, in order to get the meaning of the whole phrase.

2637.txt

The main idea of the last paragraph is that ________.

The aim of the teacher is to get his pupils as quickly as possible over the period in which each printed symbol is looked at for its shape, and arrive at the stage when the pupil looks at words and phrases, for their meaning, almost without noticing the shapes of the separate letters. When a good reader is at work he does not look at letters, nor even at words, one by one however quickly; he takes in the meaning of two, three, or four words at a time, in a single moment. Watch carefully the eyes of a person who is reading, and it will be seen that they do not travel smoothly along the lines of print, but they move by jumps separated by very short stops. The eyes of a very good reader move quickly, taking long jumps and making very short halts ; the eyes of a poor reader move more slowly, taking only short jumps and stopping longer at each halt. Sometimes, when he meets a difficulty, he even goes backwards to see again what has already been looked at once. The teacher's task is therefore clear: it is to train his pupils to take in several words at a glance (one eye-jump') and to remove the necessity for going backwards to read something a second time. This shows at once that letter-by-letter, or syllable-by-syllable, or word-by-word reading, with the finger pointing to the word, carefully fixing each one in turn, is wrong. It is wrong because such a method ties the pupil's eyes down to a very short jump, and the aim is to train for the long jump. Moreover, a very short jump is too short to provide any meaning or sense; and it will be found that having struggled with three or four words separately, the pupil has to look at them again, all together and in one group, in order to get the meaning of the whole phrase.

2637.txt

What did Tim want to do after learning about Imagination Library?

Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York--he in computers, she in special education. "Teaching means everything to us," Tim would say. In April1998, he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose. Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton' s foundation that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's home town of Sevier, Tennessee. "I thought, maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire," Tim recalls. He placed the brochure on his desk, "as a reminder." Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on imagination library.com. The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts. The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters. Rather than sign up online, they went to Dollywood for a look-see. "We didn't want to give the children rubbish," says Linda. The books-reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists and Dollywood board members-included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama series. Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work. Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their in their area. Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative: "This program introduces us to books I've never heard of." The Richters spend about $400 amonth sending books to 200 children. "Some people sit there and wait to die," says Tim. "Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left."

2906.txt

According to the text, Dollly Parton is _ .

Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York--he in computers, she in special education. "Teaching means everything to us," Tim would say. In April1998, he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose. Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton' s foundation that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's home town of Sevier, Tennessee. "I thought, maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire," Tim recalls. He placed the brochure on his desk, "as a reminder." Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on imagination library.com. The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts. The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters. Rather than sign up online, they went to Dollywood for a look-see. "We didn't want to give the children rubbish," says Linda. The books-reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists and Dollywood board members-included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama series. Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work. Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their in their area. Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative: "This program introduces us to books I've never heard of." The Richters spend about $400 amonth sending books to 200 children. "Some people sit there and wait to die," says Tim. "Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left."

2906.txt

Why did the Richters go to Dollywood?

Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York--he in computers, she in special education. "Teaching means everything to us," Tim would say. In April1998, he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose. Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton' s foundation that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's home town of Sevier, Tennessee. "I thought, maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire," Tim recalls. He placed the brochure on his desk, "as a reminder." Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on imagination library.com. The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts. The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters. Rather than sign up online, they went to Dollywood for a look-see. "We didn't want to give the children rubbish," says Linda. The books-reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists and Dollywood board members-included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama series. Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work. Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their in their area. Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative: "This program introduces us to books I've never heard of." The Richters spend about $400 amonth sending books to 200 children. "Some people sit there and wait to die," says Tim. "Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left."

2906.txt

What can we learn from Tim's words in the last paragraph?

Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York--he in computers, she in special education. "Teaching means everything to us," Tim would say. In April1998, he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose. Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton' s foundation that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's home town of Sevier, Tennessee. "I thought, maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire," Tim recalls. He placed the brochure on his desk, "as a reminder." Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on imagination library.com. The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts. The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters. Rather than sign up online, they went to Dollywood for a look-see. "We didn't want to give the children rubbish," says Linda. The books-reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists and Dollywood board members-included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama series. Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work. Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their in their area. Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative: "This program introduces us to books I've never heard of." The Richters spend about $400 amonth sending books to 200 children. "Some people sit there and wait to die," says Tim. "Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left."

2906.txt

It can be inferred from the first paragraph that parents of gap students may _ .

Talk to any parent of a student who took anadventurous gap year (a year between school anduniversity when some students earn money, travel,etc.) and a misty look will come into their eyes. There are some disasters and even the mostmotivated, organised gap student does require family back-up, financial, emotional andphysical. The parental mistiness is not just about the brilliant experience that has maturedtheir offspring; it is vicarious living. We all wish pre?university gap years had been thefashion in our day. We can see how much tougher our kids become; how much more preparedto benefit from university or to decide positively that they are going to do something otherthan a degree. Gap years are fashionable, as is reflected in the huge growth in the number of charities andprivate companies offering them. Pictures of Prince William toiling in Chile have helped, but thetrend has been gathering steam for a decade. The range of gap packages starts withbackpacking, includes working with charities, building hospitals and schools and, verycommonly, working as a language assistant, teaching English. With this trend, however, comesa danger. Once parents feel that a well-structured year is essential to their would?beundergraduates progress to a better university, a good degree, an impressive CV and well paidemployment, as the gap companies blurbs suggest it might be, then parents will startorganising-and paying for-the gaps. Where there are disasters, according to Richard Oliver, director of the gap companies' umbrellaorganisation, the Year Out Group, it is usually because of poor planning. That can be the faultof the company or of the student, he says, but the best insurance is thoughtful preparation. "When people get it wrong, it is usually medical or, especially among girls, it is that they havenot been away from home before or because expectation does not match reality." The point of a gap year is that it should be the time when the school leaver gets to do the thingthat he or she fancies. Kids don't mature if mum and dad decide how they are going tomature. If the 18-year-old's way of maturing is to slob out on Hampstead Heath soaking upsunshine or spending a year working with fishermen in Cornwall, then thats what will beproductive for that person. The consensus, however, is that some structure is an advantageand that the prime mover needs to be the student. The 18-year-old who was dispatched by his parents at two weeks'notice to Canada to learn to bea snowboarding instructor at a cost of ￡5,800, probably came back with little more than ahangover. The 18-year-old on the same package who worked for his fare and spent the rest ofhis year instructing in resorts from New Zealand to Switzerland, and came back to apply foruniversity, is the positive counterbalance. [502 words]

203.txt

According to the text, which of the following is true?

Talk to any parent of a student who took anadventurous gap year (a year between school anduniversity when some students earn money, travel,etc.) and a misty look will come into their eyes. There are some disasters and even the mostmotivated, organised gap student does require family back-up, financial, emotional andphysical. The parental mistiness is not just about the brilliant experience that has maturedtheir offspring; it is vicarious living. We all wish pre?university gap years had been thefashion in our day. We can see how much tougher our kids become; how much more preparedto benefit from university or to decide positively that they are going to do something otherthan a degree. Gap years are fashionable, as is reflected in the huge growth in the number of charities andprivate companies offering them. Pictures of Prince William toiling in Chile have helped, but thetrend has been gathering steam for a decade. The range of gap packages starts withbackpacking, includes working with charities, building hospitals and schools and, verycommonly, working as a language assistant, teaching English. With this trend, however, comesa danger. Once parents feel that a well-structured year is essential to their would?beundergraduates progress to a better university, a good degree, an impressive CV and well paidemployment, as the gap companies blurbs suggest it might be, then parents will startorganising-and paying for-the gaps. Where there are disasters, according to Richard Oliver, director of the gap companies' umbrellaorganisation, the Year Out Group, it is usually because of poor planning. That can be the faultof the company or of the student, he says, but the best insurance is thoughtful preparation. "When people get it wrong, it is usually medical or, especially among girls, it is that they havenot been away from home before or because expectation does not match reality." The point of a gap year is that it should be the time when the school leaver gets to do the thingthat he or she fancies. Kids don't mature if mum and dad decide how they are going tomature. If the 18-year-old's way of maturing is to slob out on Hampstead Heath soaking upsunshine or spending a year working with fishermen in Cornwall, then thats what will beproductive for that person. The consensus, however, is that some structure is an advantageand that the prime mover needs to be the student. The 18-year-old who was dispatched by his parents at two weeks'notice to Canada to learn to bea snowboarding instructor at a cost of ￡5,800, probably came back with little more than ahangover. The 18-year-old on the same package who worked for his fare and spent the rest ofhis year instructing in resorts from New Zealand to Switzerland, and came back to apply foruniversity, is the positive counterbalance. [502 words]

203.txt

The word "packages" (Line 3, Para. 2) means _ .

Talk to any parent of a student who took anadventurous gap year (a year between school anduniversity when some students earn money, travel,etc.) and a misty look will come into their eyes. There are some disasters and even the mostmotivated, organised gap student does require family back-up, financial, emotional andphysical. The parental mistiness is not just about the brilliant experience that has maturedtheir offspring; it is vicarious living. We all wish pre?university gap years had been thefashion in our day. We can see how much tougher our kids become; how much more preparedto benefit from university or to decide positively that they are going to do something otherthan a degree. Gap years are fashionable, as is reflected in the huge growth in the number of charities andprivate companies offering them. Pictures of Prince William toiling in Chile have helped, but thetrend has been gathering steam for a decade. The range of gap packages starts withbackpacking, includes working with charities, building hospitals and schools and, verycommonly, working as a language assistant, teaching English. With this trend, however, comesa danger. Once parents feel that a well-structured year is essential to their would?beundergraduates progress to a better university, a good degree, an impressive CV and well paidemployment, as the gap companies blurbs suggest it might be, then parents will startorganising-and paying for-the gaps. Where there are disasters, according to Richard Oliver, director of the gap companies' umbrellaorganisation, the Year Out Group, it is usually because of poor planning. That can be the faultof the company or of the student, he says, but the best insurance is thoughtful preparation. "When people get it wrong, it is usually medical or, especially among girls, it is that they havenot been away from home before or because expectation does not match reality." The point of a gap year is that it should be the time when the school leaver gets to do the thingthat he or she fancies. Kids don't mature if mum and dad decide how they are going tomature. If the 18-year-old's way of maturing is to slob out on Hampstead Heath soaking upsunshine or spending a year working with fishermen in Cornwall, then thats what will beproductive for that person. The consensus, however, is that some structure is an advantageand that the prime mover needs to be the student. The 18-year-old who was dispatched by his parents at two weeks'notice to Canada to learn to bea snowboarding instructor at a cost of ￡5,800, probably came back with little more than ahangover. The 18-year-old on the same package who worked for his fare and spent the rest ofhis year instructing in resorts from New Zealand to Switzerland, and came back to apply foruniversity, is the positive counterbalance. [502 words]

203.txt

What can cause the disasters of gap years?

Talk to any parent of a student who took anadventurous gap year (a year between school anduniversity when some students earn money, travel,etc.) and a misty look will come into their eyes. There are some disasters and even the mostmotivated, organised gap student does require family back-up, financial, emotional andphysical. The parental mistiness is not just about the brilliant experience that has maturedtheir offspring; it is vicarious living. We all wish pre?university gap years had been thefashion in our day. We can see how much tougher our kids become; how much more preparedto benefit from university or to decide positively that they are going to do something otherthan a degree. Gap years are fashionable, as is reflected in the huge growth in the number of charities andprivate companies offering them. Pictures of Prince William toiling in Chile have helped, but thetrend has been gathering steam for a decade. The range of gap packages starts withbackpacking, includes working with charities, building hospitals and schools and, verycommonly, working as a language assistant, teaching English. With this trend, however, comesa danger. Once parents feel that a well-structured year is essential to their would?beundergraduates progress to a better university, a good degree, an impressive CV and well paidemployment, as the gap companies blurbs suggest it might be, then parents will startorganising-and paying for-the gaps. Where there are disasters, according to Richard Oliver, director of the gap companies' umbrellaorganisation, the Year Out Group, it is usually because of poor planning. That can be the faultof the company or of the student, he says, but the best insurance is thoughtful preparation. "When people get it wrong, it is usually medical or, especially among girls, it is that they havenot been away from home before or because expectation does not match reality." The point of a gap year is that it should be the time when the school leaver gets to do the thingthat he or she fancies. Kids don't mature if mum and dad decide how they are going tomature. If the 18-year-old's way of maturing is to slob out on Hampstead Heath soaking upsunshine or spending a year working with fishermen in Cornwall, then thats what will beproductive for that person. The consensus, however, is that some structure is an advantageand that the prime mover needs to be the student. The 18-year-old who was dispatched by his parents at two weeks'notice to Canada to learn to bea snowboarding instructor at a cost of ￡5,800, probably came back with little more than ahangover. The 18-year-old on the same package who worked for his fare and spent the rest ofhis year instructing in resorts from New Zealand to Switzerland, and came back to apply foruniversity, is the positive counterbalance. [502 words]

203.txt

An 18-year-old is believed to take a meaningful gap year when he/she. _

Talk to any parent of a student who took anadventurous gap year (a year between school anduniversity when some students earn money, travel,etc.) and a misty look will come into their eyes. There are some disasters and even the mostmotivated, organised gap student does require family back-up, financial, emotional andphysical. The parental mistiness is not just about the brilliant experience that has maturedtheir offspring; it is vicarious living. We all wish pre?university gap years had been thefashion in our day. We can see how much tougher our kids become; how much more preparedto benefit from university or to decide positively that they are going to do something otherthan a degree. Gap years are fashionable, as is reflected in the huge growth in the number of charities andprivate companies offering them. Pictures of Prince William toiling in Chile have helped, but thetrend has been gathering steam for a decade. The range of gap packages starts withbackpacking, includes working with charities, building hospitals and schools and, verycommonly, working as a language assistant, teaching English. With this trend, however, comesa danger. Once parents feel that a well-structured year is essential to their would?beundergraduates progress to a better university, a good degree, an impressive CV and well paidemployment, as the gap companies blurbs suggest it might be, then parents will startorganising-and paying for-the gaps. Where there are disasters, according to Richard Oliver, director of the gap companies' umbrellaorganisation, the Year Out Group, it is usually because of poor planning. That can be the faultof the company or of the student, he says, but the best insurance is thoughtful preparation. "When people get it wrong, it is usually medical or, especially among girls, it is that they havenot been away from home before or because expectation does not match reality." The point of a gap year is that it should be the time when the school leaver gets to do the thingthat he or she fancies. Kids don't mature if mum and dad decide how they are going tomature. If the 18-year-old's way of maturing is to slob out on Hampstead Heath soaking upsunshine or spending a year working with fishermen in Cornwall, then thats what will beproductive for that person. The consensus, however, is that some structure is an advantageand that the prime mover needs to be the student. The 18-year-old who was dispatched by his parents at two weeks'notice to Canada to learn to bea snowboarding instructor at a cost of ￡5,800, probably came back with little more than ahangover. The 18-year-old on the same package who worked for his fare and spent the rest ofhis year instructing in resorts from New Zealand to Switzerland, and came back to apply foruniversity, is the positive counterbalance. [502 words]

203.txt

The observation of weather conditions by satellites is advantageous because it_ .

A weather map is an important tool for geographers. A succession of three or four maps presents a continuous picture of weather changes. Weather forecasters are able to determine the speed of air masses and fronts; to determine whether an individual pressure area is deepening or becoming shallow and whether a front is increasing or decreasing in intensity. They are also able to determine whether an air mass is retaining its original characteristics or taking on those of the surface over which it is moving. Thus, a most significant function of the map is to reveal a synoptic picture of conditions in the atmosphere at a given time. All students of geography should be able to interpret a weather map accurately. Weather maps contain an enormous amount of information about weather condition existing at the time of observation over a large geographical area. They reveal in a few minutes what otherwise would take hours to describe. The United States Weather Bureau issues information about approaching storms, floods, frosts and all climatic conditions in general. Twice a month it issues a 30-day "out-look" which is a rough guide to weather conditions likely to occur over broad areas of the United States. These 30-day outlooks are based upon an analysis of the upper air levels which often set the stage for the development of air masses, fronts, and storms. Considerable effort is being exerted today to achieve more accurate weather predictions. With the use of electronic instruments and earth satellites, enormous gains have taken place recently in identifying and tracking storms over regions which have but few meteorological stations. Extensive experiments are also in progress for weather modification studies. But the limitations of weather modification have prevented meteorological results except in the seeding of super¬cooled, upslope mountainous winds which have produced additional rainfall on the windward side of mountain ranges. Nevertheless, they have provided a clearer understanding of the fundamentals of weather elements.

1443.txt

One characteristic of weather maps NOT mentioned by the author in this passage is

A weather map is an important tool for geographers. A succession of three or four maps presents a continuous picture of weather changes. Weather forecasters are able to determine the speed of air masses and fronts; to determine whether an individual pressure area is deepening or becoming shallow and whether a front is increasing or decreasing in intensity. They are also able to determine whether an air mass is retaining its original characteristics or taking on those of the surface over which it is moving. Thus, a most significant function of the map is to reveal a synoptic picture of conditions in the atmosphere at a given time. All students of geography should be able to interpret a weather map accurately. Weather maps contain an enormous amount of information about weather condition existing at the time of observation over a large geographical area. They reveal in a few minutes what otherwise would take hours to describe. The United States Weather Bureau issues information about approaching storms, floods, frosts and all climatic conditions in general. Twice a month it issues a 30-day "out-look" which is a rough guide to weather conditions likely to occur over broad areas of the United States. These 30-day outlooks are based upon an analysis of the upper air levels which often set the stage for the development of air masses, fronts, and storms. Considerable effort is being exerted today to achieve more accurate weather predictions. With the use of electronic instruments and earth satellites, enormous gains have taken place recently in identifying and tracking storms over regions which have but few meteorological stations. Extensive experiments are also in progress for weather modification studies. But the limitations of weather modification have prevented meteorological results except in the seeding of super¬cooled, upslope mountainous winds which have produced additional rainfall on the windward side of mountain ranges. Nevertheless, they have provided a clearer understanding of the fundamentals of weather elements.

1443.txt

The thirty-day forecast is determined by examining_ .

A weather map is an important tool for geographers. A succession of three or four maps presents a continuous picture of weather changes. Weather forecasters are able to determine the speed of air masses and fronts; to determine whether an individual pressure area is deepening or becoming shallow and whether a front is increasing or decreasing in intensity. They are also able to determine whether an air mass is retaining its original characteristics or taking on those of the surface over which it is moving. Thus, a most significant function of the map is to reveal a synoptic picture of conditions in the atmosphere at a given time. All students of geography should be able to interpret a weather map accurately. Weather maps contain an enormous amount of information about weather condition existing at the time of observation over a large geographical area. They reveal in a few minutes what otherwise would take hours to describe. The United States Weather Bureau issues information about approaching storms, floods, frosts and all climatic conditions in general. Twice a month it issues a 30-day "out-look" which is a rough guide to weather conditions likely to occur over broad areas of the United States. These 30-day outlooks are based upon an analysis of the upper air levels which often set the stage for the development of air masses, fronts, and storms. Considerable effort is being exerted today to achieve more accurate weather predictions. With the use of electronic instruments and earth satellites, enormous gains have taken place recently in identifying and tracking storms over regions which have but few meteorological stations. Extensive experiments are also in progress for weather modification studies. But the limitations of weather modification have prevented meteorological results except in the seeding of super¬cooled, upslope mountainous winds which have produced additional rainfall on the windward side of mountain ranges. Nevertheless, they have provided a clearer understanding of the fundamentals of weather elements.

1443.txt

At the present time, experiments are being conducted in_

A weather map is an important tool for geographers. A succession of three or four maps presents a continuous picture of weather changes. Weather forecasters are able to determine the speed of air masses and fronts; to determine whether an individual pressure area is deepening or becoming shallow and whether a front is increasing or decreasing in intensity. They are also able to determine whether an air mass is retaining its original characteristics or taking on those of the surface over which it is moving. Thus, a most significant function of the map is to reveal a synoptic picture of conditions in the atmosphere at a given time. All students of geography should be able to interpret a weather map accurately. Weather maps contain an enormous amount of information about weather condition existing at the time of observation over a large geographical area. They reveal in a few minutes what otherwise would take hours to describe. The United States Weather Bureau issues information about approaching storms, floods, frosts and all climatic conditions in general. Twice a month it issues a 30-day "out-look" which is a rough guide to weather conditions likely to occur over broad areas of the United States. These 30-day outlooks are based upon an analysis of the upper air levels which often set the stage for the development of air masses, fronts, and storms. Considerable effort is being exerted today to achieve more accurate weather predictions. With the use of electronic instruments and earth satellites, enormous gains have taken place recently in identifying and tracking storms over regions which have but few meteorological stations. Extensive experiments are also in progress for weather modification studies. But the limitations of weather modification have prevented meteorological results except in the seeding of super¬cooled, upslope mountainous winds which have produced additional rainfall on the windward side of mountain ranges. Nevertheless, they have provided a clearer understanding of the fundamentals of weather elements.

1443.txt

Artificial rainmaking has been most successful in the_ .

A weather map is an important tool for geographers. A succession of three or four maps presents a continuous picture of weather changes. Weather forecasters are able to determine the speed of air masses and fronts; to determine whether an individual pressure area is deepening or becoming shallow and whether a front is increasing or decreasing in intensity. They are also able to determine whether an air mass is retaining its original characteristics or taking on those of the surface over which it is moving. Thus, a most significant function of the map is to reveal a synoptic picture of conditions in the atmosphere at a given time. All students of geography should be able to interpret a weather map accurately. Weather maps contain an enormous amount of information about weather condition existing at the time of observation over a large geographical area. They reveal in a few minutes what otherwise would take hours to describe. The United States Weather Bureau issues information about approaching storms, floods, frosts and all climatic conditions in general. Twice a month it issues a 30-day "out-look" which is a rough guide to weather conditions likely to occur over broad areas of the United States. These 30-day outlooks are based upon an analysis of the upper air levels which often set the stage for the development of air masses, fronts, and storms. Considerable effort is being exerted today to achieve more accurate weather predictions. With the use of electronic instruments and earth satellites, enormous gains have taken place recently in identifying and tracking storms over regions which have but few meteorological stations. Extensive experiments are also in progress for weather modification studies. But the limitations of weather modification have prevented meteorological results except in the seeding of super¬cooled, upslope mountainous winds which have produced additional rainfall on the windward side of mountain ranges. Nevertheless, they have provided a clearer understanding of the fundamentals of weather elements.

1443.txt

What aspect of potash does the passage mainly discuss?

Potash (the old name for potassium carbonate) is one of the two alkalis (the other being soda, sodium carbonate) that were used from remote antiquity in the making of glass, and from the early Middle Ages in the making of soap: the former being the product of heating a mixture of alkali and sand, the latter a product of alkali and vegetable oil. Their importance in the communities of colonial North America need hardly be stressed. Potash and soda are not interchangeable for all purposes, but for glass- or soap-making either would do. Soda was obtained largely from the ashes of certain Mediterranean sea plants, potash from those of inland vegetation. Hence potash was more familiar to the early European settlers of the North American continent. The settlement at Jamestown in Virginia was in many ways a microcosm of the economy of colonial North America, and potash was one of its first concerns. It was required for the glassworks, the first factory in the British colonies, and was produced in sufficient quantity to permit the inclusion of potash in the first cargo shipped out of Jamestown. The second ship to arrive in the settlement from England included among its passengers experts in potash making. The method of making potash was simple enough. Logs was piled up and burned in the open, and the ashes collected. The ashes were placed in a barrel with holes in the bottom, and water was poured over them. The solution draining from the barrel was boiled down in iron kettles. The resulting mass was further heated to fuse the mass into what was called potash. In North America, potash making quickly became an adjunct to the clearing of land for agriculture, for it was estimated that as much as half the cost of clearing land could be recovered by the sale of potash. Some potash was exported from Maine and New Hampshire in the seventeenth century, but the market turned out to be mainly domestic, consisting mostly of shipments from the northern to the southern colonies. For despite the beginning of the trade at Jamestown and such encouragements as a series of acts "to encourage the making of potash," beginning in 1707 in South Carolina, the softwoods in the South proved to be poor sources of the substance.

4257.txt

All of the following statements are true of both potash and soda EXPECT:

Potash (the old name for potassium carbonate) is one of the two alkalis (the other being soda, sodium carbonate) that were used from remote antiquity in the making of glass, and from the early Middle Ages in the making of soap: the former being the product of heating a mixture of alkali and sand, the latter a product of alkali and vegetable oil. Their importance in the communities of colonial North America need hardly be stressed. Potash and soda are not interchangeable for all purposes, but for glass- or soap-making either would do. Soda was obtained largely from the ashes of certain Mediterranean sea plants, potash from those of inland vegetation. Hence potash was more familiar to the early European settlers of the North American continent. The settlement at Jamestown in Virginia was in many ways a microcosm of the economy of colonial North America, and potash was one of its first concerns. It was required for the glassworks, the first factory in the British colonies, and was produced in sufficient quantity to permit the inclusion of potash in the first cargo shipped out of Jamestown. The second ship to arrive in the settlement from England included among its passengers experts in potash making. The method of making potash was simple enough. Logs was piled up and burned in the open, and the ashes collected. The ashes were placed in a barrel with holes in the bottom, and water was poured over them. The solution draining from the barrel was boiled down in iron kettles. The resulting mass was further heated to fuse the mass into what was called potash. In North America, potash making quickly became an adjunct to the clearing of land for agriculture, for it was estimated that as much as half the cost of clearing land could be recovered by the sale of potash. Some potash was exported from Maine and New Hampshire in the seventeenth century, but the market turned out to be mainly domestic, consisting mostly of shipments from the northern to the southern colonies. For despite the beginning of the trade at Jamestown and such encouragements as a series of acts "to encourage the making of potash," beginning in 1707 in South Carolina, the softwoods in the South proved to be poor sources of the substance.

4257.txt

They phrase "the latter" in line 4 refers to

Potash (the old name for potassium carbonate) is one of the two alkalis (the other being soda, sodium carbonate) that were used from remote antiquity in the making of glass, and from the early Middle Ages in the making of soap: the former being the product of heating a mixture of alkali and sand, the latter a product of alkali and vegetable oil. Their importance in the communities of colonial North America need hardly be stressed. Potash and soda are not interchangeable for all purposes, but for glass- or soap-making either would do. Soda was obtained largely from the ashes of certain Mediterranean sea plants, potash from those of inland vegetation. Hence potash was more familiar to the early European settlers of the North American continent. The settlement at Jamestown in Virginia was in many ways a microcosm of the economy of colonial North America, and potash was one of its first concerns. It was required for the glassworks, the first factory in the British colonies, and was produced in sufficient quantity to permit the inclusion of potash in the first cargo shipped out of Jamestown. The second ship to arrive in the settlement from England included among its passengers experts in potash making. The method of making potash was simple enough. Logs was piled up and burned in the open, and the ashes collected. The ashes were placed in a barrel with holes in the bottom, and water was poured over them. The solution draining from the barrel was boiled down in iron kettles. The resulting mass was further heated to fuse the mass into what was called potash. In North America, potash making quickly became an adjunct to the clearing of land for agriculture, for it was estimated that as much as half the cost of clearing land could be recovered by the sale of potash. Some potash was exported from Maine and New Hampshire in the seventeenth century, but the market turned out to be mainly domestic, consisting mostly of shipments from the northern to the southern colonies. For despite the beginning of the trade at Jamestown and such encouragements as a series of acts "to encourage the making of potash," beginning in 1707 in South Carolina, the softwoods in the South proved to be poor sources of the substance.

4257.txt

The word "stressed" in line 6 is closest in meaning to

Potash (the old name for potassium carbonate) is one of the two alkalis (the other being soda, sodium carbonate) that were used from remote antiquity in the making of glass, and from the early Middle Ages in the making of soap: the former being the product of heating a mixture of alkali and sand, the latter a product of alkali and vegetable oil. Their importance in the communities of colonial North America need hardly be stressed. Potash and soda are not interchangeable for all purposes, but for glass- or soap-making either would do. Soda was obtained largely from the ashes of certain Mediterranean sea plants, potash from those of inland vegetation. Hence potash was more familiar to the early European settlers of the North American continent. The settlement at Jamestown in Virginia was in many ways a microcosm of the economy of colonial North America, and potash was one of its first concerns. It was required for the glassworks, the first factory in the British colonies, and was produced in sufficient quantity to permit the inclusion of potash in the first cargo shipped out of Jamestown. The second ship to arrive in the settlement from England included among its passengers experts in potash making. The method of making potash was simple enough. Logs was piled up and burned in the open, and the ashes collected. The ashes were placed in a barrel with holes in the bottom, and water was poured over them. The solution draining from the barrel was boiled down in iron kettles. The resulting mass was further heated to fuse the mass into what was called potash. In North America, potash making quickly became an adjunct to the clearing of land for agriculture, for it was estimated that as much as half the cost of clearing land could be recovered by the sale of potash. Some potash was exported from Maine and New Hampshire in the seventeenth century, but the market turned out to be mainly domestic, consisting mostly of shipments from the northern to the southern colonies. For despite the beginning of the trade at Jamestown and such encouragements as a series of acts "to encourage the making of potash," beginning in 1707 in South Carolina, the softwoods in the South proved to be poor sources of the substance.

4257.txt

The word "interchangeable" in line 7 is closest in meaning to

Potash (the old name for potassium carbonate) is one of the two alkalis (the other being soda, sodium carbonate) that were used from remote antiquity in the making of glass, and from the early Middle Ages in the making of soap: the former being the product of heating a mixture of alkali and sand, the latter a product of alkali and vegetable oil. Their importance in the communities of colonial North America need hardly be stressed. Potash and soda are not interchangeable for all purposes, but for glass- or soap-making either would do. Soda was obtained largely from the ashes of certain Mediterranean sea plants, potash from those of inland vegetation. Hence potash was more familiar to the early European settlers of the North American continent. The settlement at Jamestown in Virginia was in many ways a microcosm of the economy of colonial North America, and potash was one of its first concerns. It was required for the glassworks, the first factory in the British colonies, and was produced in sufficient quantity to permit the inclusion of potash in the first cargo shipped out of Jamestown. The second ship to arrive in the settlement from England included among its passengers experts in potash making. The method of making potash was simple enough. Logs was piled up and burned in the open, and the ashes collected. The ashes were placed in a barrel with holes in the bottom, and water was poured over them. The solution draining from the barrel was boiled down in iron kettles. The resulting mass was further heated to fuse the mass into what was called potash. In North America, potash making quickly became an adjunct to the clearing of land for agriculture, for it was estimated that as much as half the cost of clearing land could be recovered by the sale of potash. Some potash was exported from Maine and New Hampshire in the seventeenth century, but the market turned out to be mainly domestic, consisting mostly of shipments from the northern to the southern colonies. For despite the beginning of the trade at Jamestown and such encouragements as a series of acts "to encourage the making of potash," beginning in 1707 in South Carolina, the softwoods in the South proved to be poor sources of the substance.

4257.txt

It can be inferred from the passage that potash was more common than soda in colonial North America because

Potash (the old name for potassium carbonate) is one of the two alkalis (the other being soda, sodium carbonate) that were used from remote antiquity in the making of glass, and from the early Middle Ages in the making of soap: the former being the product of heating a mixture of alkali and sand, the latter a product of alkali and vegetable oil. Their importance in the communities of colonial North America need hardly be stressed. Potash and soda are not interchangeable for all purposes, but for glass- or soap-making either would do. Soda was obtained largely from the ashes of certain Mediterranean sea plants, potash from those of inland vegetation. Hence potash was more familiar to the early European settlers of the North American continent. The settlement at Jamestown in Virginia was in many ways a microcosm of the economy of colonial North America, and potash was one of its first concerns. It was required for the glassworks, the first factory in the British colonies, and was produced in sufficient quantity to permit the inclusion of potash in the first cargo shipped out of Jamestown. The second ship to arrive in the settlement from England included among its passengers experts in potash making. The method of making potash was simple enough. Logs was piled up and burned in the open, and the ashes collected. The ashes were placed in a barrel with holes in the bottom, and water was poured over them. The solution draining from the barrel was boiled down in iron kettles. The resulting mass was further heated to fuse the mass into what was called potash. In North America, potash making quickly became an adjunct to the clearing of land for agriculture, for it was estimated that as much as half the cost of clearing land could be recovered by the sale of potash. Some potash was exported from Maine and New Hampshire in the seventeenth century, but the market turned out to be mainly domestic, consisting mostly of shipments from the northern to the southern colonies. For despite the beginning of the trade at Jamestown and such encouragements as a series of acts "to encourage the making of potash," beginning in 1707 in South Carolina, the softwoods in the South proved to be poor sources of the substance.

4257.txt

According to paragraph 4, all of the following were needed for making potash EXCEPT

Potash (the old name for potassium carbonate) is one of the two alkalis (the other being soda, sodium carbonate) that were used from remote antiquity in the making of glass, and from the early Middle Ages in the making of soap: the former being the product of heating a mixture of alkali and sand, the latter a product of alkali and vegetable oil. Their importance in the communities of colonial North America need hardly be stressed. Potash and soda are not interchangeable for all purposes, but for glass- or soap-making either would do. Soda was obtained largely from the ashes of certain Mediterranean sea plants, potash from those of inland vegetation. Hence potash was more familiar to the early European settlers of the North American continent. The settlement at Jamestown in Virginia was in many ways a microcosm of the economy of colonial North America, and potash was one of its first concerns. It was required for the glassworks, the first factory in the British colonies, and was produced in sufficient quantity to permit the inclusion of potash in the first cargo shipped out of Jamestown. The second ship to arrive in the settlement from England included among its passengers experts in potash making. The method of making potash was simple enough. Logs was piled up and burned in the open, and the ashes collected. The ashes were placed in a barrel with holes in the bottom, and water was poured over them. The solution draining from the barrel was boiled down in iron kettles. The resulting mass was further heated to fuse the mass into what was called potash. In North America, potash making quickly became an adjunct to the clearing of land for agriculture, for it was estimated that as much as half the cost of clearing land could be recovered by the sale of potash. Some potash was exported from Maine and New Hampshire in the seventeenth century, but the market turned out to be mainly domestic, consisting mostly of shipments from the northern to the southern colonies. For despite the beginning of the trade at Jamestown and such encouragements as a series of acts "to encourage the making of potash," beginning in 1707 in South Carolina, the softwoods in the South proved to be poor sources of the substance.

4257.txt

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

Potash (the old name for potassium carbonate) is one of the two alkalis (the other being soda, sodium carbonate) that were used from remote antiquity in the making of glass, and from the early Middle Ages in the making of soap: the former being the product of heating a mixture of alkali and sand, the latter a product of alkali and vegetable oil. Their importance in the communities of colonial North America need hardly be stressed. Potash and soda are not interchangeable for all purposes, but for glass- or soap-making either would do. Soda was obtained largely from the ashes of certain Mediterranean sea plants, potash from those of inland vegetation. Hence potash was more familiar to the early European settlers of the North American continent. The settlement at Jamestown in Virginia was in many ways a microcosm of the economy of colonial North America, and potash was one of its first concerns. It was required for the glassworks, the first factory in the British colonies, and was produced in sufficient quantity to permit the inclusion of potash in the first cargo shipped out of Jamestown. The second ship to arrive in the settlement from England included among its passengers experts in potash making. The method of making potash was simple enough. Logs was piled up and burned in the open, and the ashes collected. The ashes were placed in a barrel with holes in the bottom, and water was poured over them. The solution draining from the barrel was boiled down in iron kettles. The resulting mass was further heated to fuse the mass into what was called potash. In North America, potash making quickly became an adjunct to the clearing of land for agriculture, for it was estimated that as much as half the cost of clearing land could be recovered by the sale of potash. Some potash was exported from Maine and New Hampshire in the seventeenth century, but the market turned out to be mainly domestic, consisting mostly of shipments from the northern to the southern colonies. For despite the beginning of the trade at Jamestown and such encouragements as a series of acts "to encourage the making of potash," beginning in 1707 in South Carolina, the softwoods in the South proved to be poor sources of the substance.

4257.txt

According to the passage , a major benefit of making potash was that

Potash (the old name for potassium carbonate) is one of the two alkalis (the other being soda, sodium carbonate) that were used from remote antiquity in the making of glass, and from the early Middle Ages in the making of soap: the former being the product of heating a mixture of alkali and sand, the latter a product of alkali and vegetable oil. Their importance in the communities of colonial North America need hardly be stressed. Potash and soda are not interchangeable for all purposes, but for glass- or soap-making either would do. Soda was obtained largely from the ashes of certain Mediterranean sea plants, potash from those of inland vegetation. Hence potash was more familiar to the early European settlers of the North American continent. The settlement at Jamestown in Virginia was in many ways a microcosm of the economy of colonial North America, and potash was one of its first concerns. It was required for the glassworks, the first factory in the British colonies, and was produced in sufficient quantity to permit the inclusion of potash in the first cargo shipped out of Jamestown. The second ship to arrive in the settlement from England included among its passengers experts in potash making. The method of making potash was simple enough. Logs was piled up and burned in the open, and the ashes collected. The ashes were placed in a barrel with holes in the bottom, and water was poured over them. The solution draining from the barrel was boiled down in iron kettles. The resulting mass was further heated to fuse the mass into what was called potash. In North America, potash making quickly became an adjunct to the clearing of land for agriculture, for it was estimated that as much as half the cost of clearing land could be recovered by the sale of potash. Some potash was exported from Maine and New Hampshire in the seventeenth century, but the market turned out to be mainly domestic, consisting mostly of shipments from the northern to the southern colonies. For despite the beginning of the trade at Jamestown and such encouragements as a series of acts "to encourage the making of potash," beginning in 1707 in South Carolina, the softwoods in the South proved to be poor sources of the substance.

4257.txt

According to paragraph 5, the softwoods in the South posed which of the following problems for southern settles?

Potash (the old name for potassium carbonate) is one of the two alkalis (the other being soda, sodium carbonate) that were used from remote antiquity in the making of glass, and from the early Middle Ages in the making of soap: the former being the product of heating a mixture of alkali and sand, the latter a product of alkali and vegetable oil. Their importance in the communities of colonial North America need hardly be stressed. Potash and soda are not interchangeable for all purposes, but for glass- or soap-making either would do. Soda was obtained largely from the ashes of certain Mediterranean sea plants, potash from those of inland vegetation. Hence potash was more familiar to the early European settlers of the North American continent. The settlement at Jamestown in Virginia was in many ways a microcosm of the economy of colonial North America, and potash was one of its first concerns. It was required for the glassworks, the first factory in the British colonies, and was produced in sufficient quantity to permit the inclusion of potash in the first cargo shipped out of Jamestown. The second ship to arrive in the settlement from England included among its passengers experts in potash making. The method of making potash was simple enough. Logs was piled up and burned in the open, and the ashes collected. The ashes were placed in a barrel with holes in the bottom, and water was poured over them. The solution draining from the barrel was boiled down in iron kettles. The resulting mass was further heated to fuse the mass into what was called potash. In North America, potash making quickly became an adjunct to the clearing of land for agriculture, for it was estimated that as much as half the cost of clearing land could be recovered by the sale of potash. Some potash was exported from Maine and New Hampshire in the seventeenth century, but the market turned out to be mainly domestic, consisting mostly of shipments from the northern to the southern colonies. For despite the beginning of the trade at Jamestown and such encouragements as a series of acts "to encourage the making of potash," beginning in 1707 in South Carolina, the softwoods in the South proved to be poor sources of the substance.

4257.txt

Which one of the following is not the measure taken by RIAA to fight against music piracy on campus?

For many college students, back to school also means back to downloading music over the university's high-speed Internet connection. But not so fast: The music industry's crackdown on piracy on campus didn't stop with the end of the spring semester. In August, the Recording Industry Association of America sent pre-litigation letters to 58 colleges-coast to coast, from Boston University to San Diego State. More than 2,400 letters already have been sent to students at schools targeted by the RIAA. The letters offer students the option of paying a settlement fee based on the number of tunes the student allegedly downloaded illegally or taking the risk of a potentially more expensive lawsuit. The music association isolates Internet addresses that generate high downloading and file-sharing traffic, then asks the school to turn over the identity of those students, so it can get in touch with them. Some schools, like the University of Wisconsin, have declined to assist the RIAA, explaining that "to identify the IP users and forward the letters to them would put the university in an uncomfortable and inappropriate alliance with the RIAA," says Meg McCall, a spokesperson for the university. "While we agree that violation of copyright law is serious and should be addressed, the only way to be certain of infractions is to pursue ac Students also are a bit flummoxed by the pre-litigation letters, though many appear to be opting for the quick settlement. When Cassandra Hunt, then a sophomore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received a notice from the school stating she was identified for violating copyright law, she asked the RIAA about the settlement fees. Explaining that it had identified 272 songs, which could potentially cost $750 per song should her case go to trial, it offered her a settlement fee. "Now, I know what you're thinking," wrote the physics major in an op-ed for The Tech last year. "With a collection of 272 whole songs, no wonder the RIAA felt compelled to squash my threat to the sanctity of music. However the lady on the phone told me they'd be willing to settle for $3,750." And that fee, explains Hunt, was requested to be paid within 15 days (though the RIAA offers a six-month payment plan). Colleges are taking their own measures to persuade students not to pirate music. Some schools are making deals with music download services such as Ruckus to provide their students with free, legal options. Penn State is one of the schools that have signed up for Ruckus, which also incorporates social-networking features. Users can "friend" others to see what playlists they are putting together and download those songs in seconds if their school has a Ruckus server installed. "We like to think of ourselves as a discovery tool," explains Charlie Moore, a senior vice president of Ruckus. But the songs downloaded can be listened to on the Ruckus player only, explains Moore. While some portable media devices can play the songs, Ruckus tunes can't be imported into iTunes or iPods. Students at Penn State also have reported some problems getting the Ruckus service to work on Apple's Mac computers. Nevertheless, that's still likely less commotion than they face from a pre-litigation letter.

3691.txt

University of Wisconsin declined to assist the RIAA because _

For many college students, back to school also means back to downloading music over the university's high-speed Internet connection. But not so fast: The music industry's crackdown on piracy on campus didn't stop with the end of the spring semester. In August, the Recording Industry Association of America sent pre-litigation letters to 58 colleges-coast to coast, from Boston University to San Diego State. More than 2,400 letters already have been sent to students at schools targeted by the RIAA. The letters offer students the option of paying a settlement fee based on the number of tunes the student allegedly downloaded illegally or taking the risk of a potentially more expensive lawsuit. The music association isolates Internet addresses that generate high downloading and file-sharing traffic, then asks the school to turn over the identity of those students, so it can get in touch with them. Some schools, like the University of Wisconsin, have declined to assist the RIAA, explaining that "to identify the IP users and forward the letters to them would put the university in an uncomfortable and inappropriate alliance with the RIAA," says Meg McCall, a spokesperson for the university. "While we agree that violation of copyright law is serious and should be addressed, the only way to be certain of infractions is to pursue ac Students also are a bit flummoxed by the pre-litigation letters, though many appear to be opting for the quick settlement. When Cassandra Hunt, then a sophomore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received a notice from the school stating she was identified for violating copyright law, she asked the RIAA about the settlement fees. Explaining that it had identified 272 songs, which could potentially cost $750 per song should her case go to trial, it offered her a settlement fee. "Now, I know what you're thinking," wrote the physics major in an op-ed for The Tech last year. "With a collection of 272 whole songs, no wonder the RIAA felt compelled to squash my threat to the sanctity of music. However the lady on the phone told me they'd be willing to settle for $3,750." And that fee, explains Hunt, was requested to be paid within 15 days (though the RIAA offers a six-month payment plan). Colleges are taking their own measures to persuade students not to pirate music. Some schools are making deals with music download services such as Ruckus to provide their students with free, legal options. Penn State is one of the schools that have signed up for Ruckus, which also incorporates social-networking features. Users can "friend" others to see what playlists they are putting together and download those songs in seconds if their school has a Ruckus server installed. "We like to think of ourselves as a discovery tool," explains Charlie Moore, a senior vice president of Ruckus. But the songs downloaded can be listened to on the Ruckus player only, explains Moore. While some portable media devices can play the songs, Ruckus tunes can't be imported into iTunes or iPods. Students at Penn State also have reported some problems getting the Ruckus service to work on Apple's Mac computers. Nevertheless, that's still likely less commotion than they face from a pre-litigation letter.

3691.txt

The word "flummoxed" (Line 1, Paragraph 4) most probably means _

For many college students, back to school also means back to downloading music over the university's high-speed Internet connection. But not so fast: The music industry's crackdown on piracy on campus didn't stop with the end of the spring semester. In August, the Recording Industry Association of America sent pre-litigation letters to 58 colleges-coast to coast, from Boston University to San Diego State. More than 2,400 letters already have been sent to students at schools targeted by the RIAA. The letters offer students the option of paying a settlement fee based on the number of tunes the student allegedly downloaded illegally or taking the risk of a potentially more expensive lawsuit. The music association isolates Internet addresses that generate high downloading and file-sharing traffic, then asks the school to turn over the identity of those students, so it can get in touch with them. Some schools, like the University of Wisconsin, have declined to assist the RIAA, explaining that "to identify the IP users and forward the letters to them would put the university in an uncomfortable and inappropriate alliance with the RIAA," says Meg McCall, a spokesperson for the university. "While we agree that violation of copyright law is serious and should be addressed, the only way to be certain of infractions is to pursue ac Students also are a bit flummoxed by the pre-litigation letters, though many appear to be opting for the quick settlement. When Cassandra Hunt, then a sophomore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received a notice from the school stating she was identified for violating copyright law, she asked the RIAA about the settlement fees. Explaining that it had identified 272 songs, which could potentially cost $750 per song should her case go to trial, it offered her a settlement fee. "Now, I know what you're thinking," wrote the physics major in an op-ed for The Tech last year. "With a collection of 272 whole songs, no wonder the RIAA felt compelled to squash my threat to the sanctity of music. However the lady on the phone told me they'd be willing to settle for $3,750." And that fee, explains Hunt, was requested to be paid within 15 days (though the RIAA offers a six-month payment plan). Colleges are taking their own measures to persuade students not to pirate music. Some schools are making deals with music download services such as Ruckus to provide their students with free, legal options. Penn State is one of the schools that have signed up for Ruckus, which also incorporates social-networking features. Users can "friend" others to see what playlists they are putting together and download those songs in seconds if their school has a Ruckus server installed. "We like to think of ourselves as a discovery tool," explains Charlie Moore, a senior vice president of Ruckus. But the songs downloaded can be listened to on the Ruckus player only, explains Moore. While some portable media devices can play the songs, Ruckus tunes can't be imported into iTunes or iPods. Students at Penn State also have reported some problems getting the Ruckus service to work on Apple's Mac computers. Nevertheless, that's still likely less commotion than they face from a pre-litigation letter.

3691.txt

The case of Cassandra Hunt implies that _

For many college students, back to school also means back to downloading music over the university's high-speed Internet connection. But not so fast: The music industry's crackdown on piracy on campus didn't stop with the end of the spring semester. In August, the Recording Industry Association of America sent pre-litigation letters to 58 colleges-coast to coast, from Boston University to San Diego State. More than 2,400 letters already have been sent to students at schools targeted by the RIAA. The letters offer students the option of paying a settlement fee based on the number of tunes the student allegedly downloaded illegally or taking the risk of a potentially more expensive lawsuit. The music association isolates Internet addresses that generate high downloading and file-sharing traffic, then asks the school to turn over the identity of those students, so it can get in touch with them. Some schools, like the University of Wisconsin, have declined to assist the RIAA, explaining that "to identify the IP users and forward the letters to them would put the university in an uncomfortable and inappropriate alliance with the RIAA," says Meg McCall, a spokesperson for the university. "While we agree that violation of copyright law is serious and should be addressed, the only way to be certain of infractions is to pursue ac Students also are a bit flummoxed by the pre-litigation letters, though many appear to be opting for the quick settlement. When Cassandra Hunt, then a sophomore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received a notice from the school stating she was identified for violating copyright law, she asked the RIAA about the settlement fees. Explaining that it had identified 272 songs, which could potentially cost $750 per song should her case go to trial, it offered her a settlement fee. "Now, I know what you're thinking," wrote the physics major in an op-ed for The Tech last year. "With a collection of 272 whole songs, no wonder the RIAA felt compelled to squash my threat to the sanctity of music. However the lady on the phone told me they'd be willing to settle for $3,750." And that fee, explains Hunt, was requested to be paid within 15 days (though the RIAA offers a six-month payment plan). Colleges are taking their own measures to persuade students not to pirate music. Some schools are making deals with music download services such as Ruckus to provide their students with free, legal options. Penn State is one of the schools that have signed up for Ruckus, which also incorporates social-networking features. Users can "friend" others to see what playlists they are putting together and download those songs in seconds if their school has a Ruckus server installed. "We like to think of ourselves as a discovery tool," explains Charlie Moore, a senior vice president of Ruckus. But the songs downloaded can be listened to on the Ruckus player only, explains Moore. While some portable media devices can play the songs, Ruckus tunes can't be imported into iTunes or iPods. Students at Penn State also have reported some problems getting the Ruckus service to work on Apple's Mac computers. Nevertheless, that's still likely less commotion than they face from a pre-litigation letter.

3691.txt

About services provided by Rucks to the students, which one of the following is NOT true?

For many college students, back to school also means back to downloading music over the university's high-speed Internet connection. But not so fast: The music industry's crackdown on piracy on campus didn't stop with the end of the spring semester. In August, the Recording Industry Association of America sent pre-litigation letters to 58 colleges-coast to coast, from Boston University to San Diego State. More than 2,400 letters already have been sent to students at schools targeted by the RIAA. The letters offer students the option of paying a settlement fee based on the number of tunes the student allegedly downloaded illegally or taking the risk of a potentially more expensive lawsuit. The music association isolates Internet addresses that generate high downloading and file-sharing traffic, then asks the school to turn over the identity of those students, so it can get in touch with them. Some schools, like the University of Wisconsin, have declined to assist the RIAA, explaining that "to identify the IP users and forward the letters to them would put the university in an uncomfortable and inappropriate alliance with the RIAA," says Meg McCall, a spokesperson for the university. "While we agree that violation of copyright law is serious and should be addressed, the only way to be certain of infractions is to pursue ac Students also are a bit flummoxed by the pre-litigation letters, though many appear to be opting for the quick settlement. When Cassandra Hunt, then a sophomore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received a notice from the school stating she was identified for violating copyright law, she asked the RIAA about the settlement fees. Explaining that it had identified 272 songs, which could potentially cost $750 per song should her case go to trial, it offered her a settlement fee. "Now, I know what you're thinking," wrote the physics major in an op-ed for The Tech last year. "With a collection of 272 whole songs, no wonder the RIAA felt compelled to squash my threat to the sanctity of music. However the lady on the phone told me they'd be willing to settle for $3,750." And that fee, explains Hunt, was requested to be paid within 15 days (though the RIAA offers a six-month payment plan). Colleges are taking their own measures to persuade students not to pirate music. Some schools are making deals with music download services such as Ruckus to provide their students with free, legal options. Penn State is one of the schools that have signed up for Ruckus, which also incorporates social-networking features. Users can "friend" others to see what playlists they are putting together and download those songs in seconds if their school has a Ruckus server installed. "We like to think of ourselves as a discovery tool," explains Charlie Moore, a senior vice president of Ruckus. But the songs downloaded can be listened to on the Ruckus player only, explains Moore. While some portable media devices can play the songs, Ruckus tunes can't be imported into iTunes or iPods. Students at Penn State also have reported some problems getting the Ruckus service to work on Apple's Mac computers. Nevertheless, that's still likely less commotion than they face from a pre-litigation letter.

3691.txt

Reading as a kind of conversation between the reader and the text becomes conscious only when ________.

Reading is thought to be a kind of conversation between the reader and the text. The reader puts questions, as it were, to the text and gets answers. In the light of these he puts further questions, and so on. For most of the time this "conversation" goes on below the level of consciousness. At times, however, we become aware of it. This is usually when we are running into difficulties, when mismatch is occurring between expectations and meaning. When successful matching is being experienced, our questioning of the text continues at the unconscious level. Different people converse with the text differently. Some stay very close to the words on the page; others take off imaginatively from the words, interpreting, criticizing, analyzing and examining. The former represents a kind of comprehension which is written in the text. The latter represents higher levels of comprehension. The balance between these is important, especially for advanced readers. There is another conversation which from our point of view is equally important, and that is to do not with what is read but with how it is read. We call this a "process" conversation as opposed to a "content" conversation. It is concerned not with meaning but with the strategies we employ in reading. If we are an advanced reader our ability to hold a process conversation with a text is usually pretty well developed. Not so our ability to hold a content conversation. It is precisely this kind of conversation that is of importance when we are seeking to develop our reading to meet the new demands being placed upon us by studying at a higher level.

3512.txt

At a lower level of comprehension, readers tend to ________.

Reading is thought to be a kind of conversation between the reader and the text. The reader puts questions, as it were, to the text and gets answers. In the light of these he puts further questions, and so on. For most of the time this "conversation" goes on below the level of consciousness. At times, however, we become aware of it. This is usually when we are running into difficulties, when mismatch is occurring between expectations and meaning. When successful matching is being experienced, our questioning of the text continues at the unconscious level. Different people converse with the text differently. Some stay very close to the words on the page; others take off imaginatively from the words, interpreting, criticizing, analyzing and examining. The former represents a kind of comprehension which is written in the text. The latter represents higher levels of comprehension. The balance between these is important, especially for advanced readers. There is another conversation which from our point of view is equally important, and that is to do not with what is read but with how it is read. We call this a "process" conversation as opposed to a "content" conversation. It is concerned not with meaning but with the strategies we employ in reading. If we are an advanced reader our ability to hold a process conversation with a text is usually pretty well developed. Not so our ability to hold a content conversation. It is precisely this kind of conversation that is of importance when we are seeking to develop our reading to meet the new demands being placed upon us by studying at a higher level.

3512.txt

A "process" conversation has to do with ________.

Reading is thought to be a kind of conversation between the reader and the text. The reader puts questions, as it were, to the text and gets answers. In the light of these he puts further questions, and so on. For most of the time this "conversation" goes on below the level of consciousness. At times, however, we become aware of it. This is usually when we are running into difficulties, when mismatch is occurring between expectations and meaning. When successful matching is being experienced, our questioning of the text continues at the unconscious level. Different people converse with the text differently. Some stay very close to the words on the page; others take off imaginatively from the words, interpreting, criticizing, analyzing and examining. The former represents a kind of comprehension which is written in the text. The latter represents higher levels of comprehension. The balance between these is important, especially for advanced readers. There is another conversation which from our point of view is equally important, and that is to do not with what is read but with how it is read. We call this a "process" conversation as opposed to a "content" conversation. It is concerned not with meaning but with the strategies we employ in reading. If we are an advanced reader our ability to hold a process conversation with a text is usually pretty well developed. Not so our ability to hold a content conversation. It is precisely this kind of conversation that is of importance when we are seeking to develop our reading to meet the new demands being placed upon us by studying at a higher level.

3512.txt

According to the passage, it is of great importance for readers at a higher level to maintain a balance between ________.

Reading is thought to be a kind of conversation between the reader and the text. The reader puts questions, as it were, to the text and gets answers. In the light of these he puts further questions, and so on. For most of the time this "conversation" goes on below the level of consciousness. At times, however, we become aware of it. This is usually when we are running into difficulties, when mismatch is occurring between expectations and meaning. When successful matching is being experienced, our questioning of the text continues at the unconscious level. Different people converse with the text differently. Some stay very close to the words on the page; others take off imaginatively from the words, interpreting, criticizing, analyzing and examining. The former represents a kind of comprehension which is written in the text. The latter represents higher levels of comprehension. The balance between these is important, especially for advanced readers. There is another conversation which from our point of view is equally important, and that is to do not with what is read but with how it is read. We call this a "process" conversation as opposed to a "content" conversation. It is concerned not with meaning but with the strategies we employ in reading. If we are an advanced reader our ability to hold a process conversation with a text is usually pretty well developed. Not so our ability to hold a content conversation. It is precisely this kind of conversation that is of importance when we are seeking to develop our reading to meet the new demands being placed upon us by studying at a higher level.

3512.txt

If we want to develop our reading ability at an advanced level, we should ________.

Reading is thought to be a kind of conversation between the reader and the text. The reader puts questions, as it were, to the text and gets answers. In the light of these he puts further questions, and so on. For most of the time this "conversation" goes on below the level of consciousness. At times, however, we become aware of it. This is usually when we are running into difficulties, when mismatch is occurring between expectations and meaning. When successful matching is being experienced, our questioning of the text continues at the unconscious level. Different people converse with the text differently. Some stay very close to the words on the page; others take off imaginatively from the words, interpreting, criticizing, analyzing and examining. The former represents a kind of comprehension which is written in the text. The latter represents higher levels of comprehension. The balance between these is important, especially for advanced readers. There is another conversation which from our point of view is equally important, and that is to do not with what is read but with how it is read. We call this a "process" conversation as opposed to a "content" conversation. It is concerned not with meaning but with the strategies we employ in reading. If we are an advanced reader our ability to hold a process conversation with a text is usually pretty well developed. Not so our ability to hold a content conversation. It is precisely this kind of conversation that is of importance when we are seeking to develop our reading to meet the new demands being placed upon us by studying at a higher level.

3512.txt

Opportunity is a record-breaking rover in the sense of _ .

NASA's Mars rover Opportunity has boldly gone where no rover has gone before-- at least in terms of distance. Since arriving on the Red Planet in 2004, Opportunity has traveled 25.01 miles,more than any other wheeled vehicle has on another world. On July 27, after years of moving about on Martian ground, the golf-cart:sized Opportunity had driven more than 24 miles, beating the previous record holder--a Soviet rover sent to the moon in 1973. "This is so remarkable considering Opportunity was intended to drive about 1 kilometer and was never designed for distance," says John Callas, the Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager. He works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "But what is really important is not how many miles the rover has racked up, but how much exploration and discovery we have accomplished over that distance." Opportunity The solar-powered Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit, landed on Mars I0 years ago on a mission expected to last 3 months. The objective of the rovers was to help scientists learn more about the planet and to search for signs of life, such as the possible presence of water. Spirit stopped communicating with Earth in March 2010, a few months after it got stuck in a sand pit. But Opportunity has continued to collect and analyze Martian soil and rocks. During its mission, Opportunity has captured, and sent back to Earth, some 187,000 panoramic and microscopic images of Mars with its cameras. It has also provided scientists with data on the planet's atmosphere, soil, rocks, and terrain. Marathon Rover The rover doesn't seem to be ready to stop just yet. If Opportunity can continue on, it will reach another major investigation site when its odometer hits 26.2 miles. Scientists call this site Marathon Valley, because when the rover reaches the area, it will have traveled the same distance as the length of a marathon since its arrival on Mars. Researchers believe that clay minerals exposed near Marathon Valley could hold clues to Mars's ancient environment. Opportunity's continuing travels will also help researchers as they plan for an eventual human mission to the Red Planet.

1277.txt

What does John Callas say about Opportunity's long distance travel?

NASA's Mars rover Opportunity has boldly gone where no rover has gone before-- at least in terms of distance. Since arriving on the Red Planet in 2004, Opportunity has traveled 25.01 miles,more than any other wheeled vehicle has on another world. On July 27, after years of moving about on Martian ground, the golf-cart:sized Opportunity had driven more than 24 miles, beating the previous record holder--a Soviet rover sent to the moon in 1973. "This is so remarkable considering Opportunity was intended to drive about 1 kilometer and was never designed for distance," says John Callas, the Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager. He works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "But what is really important is not how many miles the rover has racked up, but how much exploration and discovery we have accomplished over that distance." Opportunity The solar-powered Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit, landed on Mars I0 years ago on a mission expected to last 3 months. The objective of the rovers was to help scientists learn more about the planet and to search for signs of life, such as the possible presence of water. Spirit stopped communicating with Earth in March 2010, a few months after it got stuck in a sand pit. But Opportunity has continued to collect and analyze Martian soil and rocks. During its mission, Opportunity has captured, and sent back to Earth, some 187,000 panoramic and microscopic images of Mars with its cameras. It has also provided scientists with data on the planet's atmosphere, soil, rocks, and terrain. Marathon Rover The rover doesn't seem to be ready to stop just yet. If Opportunity can continue on, it will reach another major investigation site when its odometer hits 26.2 miles. Scientists call this site Marathon Valley, because when the rover reaches the area, it will have traveled the same distance as the length of a marathon since its arrival on Mars. Researchers believe that clay minerals exposed near Marathon Valley could hold clues to Mars's ancient environment. Opportunity's continuing travels will also help researchers as they plan for an eventual human mission to the Red Planet.

1277.txt

One of the objectives of sending Opportunity and Spirit to Mars is to_ .

NASA's Mars rover Opportunity has boldly gone where no rover has gone before-- at least in terms of distance. Since arriving on the Red Planet in 2004, Opportunity has traveled 25.01 miles,more than any other wheeled vehicle has on another world. On July 27, after years of moving about on Martian ground, the golf-cart:sized Opportunity had driven more than 24 miles, beating the previous record holder--a Soviet rover sent to the moon in 1973. "This is so remarkable considering Opportunity was intended to drive about 1 kilometer and was never designed for distance," says John Callas, the Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager. He works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "But what is really important is not how many miles the rover has racked up, but how much exploration and discovery we have accomplished over that distance." Opportunity The solar-powered Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit, landed on Mars I0 years ago on a mission expected to last 3 months. The objective of the rovers was to help scientists learn more about the planet and to search for signs of life, such as the possible presence of water. Spirit stopped communicating with Earth in March 2010, a few months after it got stuck in a sand pit. But Opportunity has continued to collect and analyze Martian soil and rocks. During its mission, Opportunity has captured, and sent back to Earth, some 187,000 panoramic and microscopic images of Mars with its cameras. It has also provided scientists with data on the planet's atmosphere, soil, rocks, and terrain. Marathon Rover The rover doesn't seem to be ready to stop just yet. If Opportunity can continue on, it will reach another major investigation site when its odometer hits 26.2 miles. Scientists call this site Marathon Valley, because when the rover reaches the area, it will have traveled the same distance as the length of a marathon since its arrival on Mars. Researchers believe that clay minerals exposed near Marathon Valley could hold clues to Mars's ancient environment. Opportunity's continuing travels will also help researchers as they plan for an eventual human mission to the Red Planet.

1277.txt

Which of the following statements is TRUE of Opportunity?

NASA's Mars rover Opportunity has boldly gone where no rover has gone before-- at least in terms of distance. Since arriving on the Red Planet in 2004, Opportunity has traveled 25.01 miles,more than any other wheeled vehicle has on another world. On July 27, after years of moving about on Martian ground, the golf-cart:sized Opportunity had driven more than 24 miles, beating the previous record holder--a Soviet rover sent to the moon in 1973. "This is so remarkable considering Opportunity was intended to drive about 1 kilometer and was never designed for distance," says John Callas, the Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager. He works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "But what is really important is not how many miles the rover has racked up, but how much exploration and discovery we have accomplished over that distance." Opportunity The solar-powered Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit, landed on Mars I0 years ago on a mission expected to last 3 months. The objective of the rovers was to help scientists learn more about the planet and to search for signs of life, such as the possible presence of water. Spirit stopped communicating with Earth in March 2010, a few months after it got stuck in a sand pit. But Opportunity has continued to collect and analyze Martian soil and rocks. During its mission, Opportunity has captured, and sent back to Earth, some 187,000 panoramic and microscopic images of Mars with its cameras. It has also provided scientists with data on the planet's atmosphere, soil, rocks, and terrain. Marathon Rover The rover doesn't seem to be ready to stop just yet. If Opportunity can continue on, it will reach another major investigation site when its odometer hits 26.2 miles. Scientists call this site Marathon Valley, because when the rover reaches the area, it will have traveled the same distance as the length of a marathon since its arrival on Mars. Researchers believe that clay minerals exposed near Marathon Valley could hold clues to Mars's ancient environment. Opportunity's continuing travels will also help researchers as they plan for an eventual human mission to the Red Planet.

1277.txt

It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _ .

NASA's Mars rover Opportunity has boldly gone where no rover has gone before-- at least in terms of distance. Since arriving on the Red Planet in 2004, Opportunity has traveled 25.01 miles,more than any other wheeled vehicle has on another world. On July 27, after years of moving about on Martian ground, the golf-cart:sized Opportunity had driven more than 24 miles, beating the previous record holder--a Soviet rover sent to the moon in 1973. "This is so remarkable considering Opportunity was intended to drive about 1 kilometer and was never designed for distance," says John Callas, the Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager. He works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "But what is really important is not how many miles the rover has racked up, but how much exploration and discovery we have accomplished over that distance." Opportunity The solar-powered Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit, landed on Mars I0 years ago on a mission expected to last 3 months. The objective of the rovers was to help scientists learn more about the planet and to search for signs of life, such as the possible presence of water. Spirit stopped communicating with Earth in March 2010, a few months after it got stuck in a sand pit. But Opportunity has continued to collect and analyze Martian soil and rocks. During its mission, Opportunity has captured, and sent back to Earth, some 187,000 panoramic and microscopic images of Mars with its cameras. It has also provided scientists with data on the planet's atmosphere, soil, rocks, and terrain. Marathon Rover The rover doesn't seem to be ready to stop just yet. If Opportunity can continue on, it will reach another major investigation site when its odometer hits 26.2 miles. Scientists call this site Marathon Valley, because when the rover reaches the area, it will have traveled the same distance as the length of a marathon since its arrival on Mars. Researchers believe that clay minerals exposed near Marathon Valley could hold clues to Mars's ancient environment. Opportunity's continuing travels will also help researchers as they plan for an eventual human mission to the Red Planet.

1277.txt

According to the author, the importance of greenspaces in the urban environment ________.

Greenspace facilities are contributing to an important extent to the quality of the urban environment. Fortunately it is no longer necessary that every lecture or every book about this subject has to start with the proof of this idea. At present, it is generally accepted, although more as a self-evident statement than on the base of a closely-reasoned scientific proof. The recognition of the importance of greenspaces in the urban environment is a first step on the right way, this does not mean, however, that sufficient details are known about the functions of greenspace in towns and about the way in which the inhabitants are using these spaces. As to this rather complex subject I shall, within the scope of this lecture, enter into one aspect only, namely the recreative function of greenspace facilities. The theoretical separation of living, working, traffic and recreation which for many years has been used in town-and-country planning, has in my opinion resulted in disproportionate attention for forms of recreation far from home, whereas there was relatively little attention for improvement of recreative possibilities in the direct neighbourhood of the home. We have come to the conclusion that this is not right, because an important part of the time which we do not pass in sleeping or working, is used for activities at and around home. So it is obvious that recreation in the open air has to begin at the street-door of the house. The urban environment has to offer as many recreation activities as possible, and the design of these has to be such that more obligatory activities can also have a recreative aspect. The very best standard of living is nothing if it is not possible to take a pleasant walk in the district, if the children cannot be allowed to play in the streets, because the risks of traffic are too great, if during shopping you can nowhere find a spot for enjoying for a moment the nice weather, in short, if you only feel yourself at home after the street-door of your house is closed after you.

343.txt

The theoretical separation of living, working, traffic and recreation has led to ________.

Greenspace facilities are contributing to an important extent to the quality of the urban environment. Fortunately it is no longer necessary that every lecture or every book about this subject has to start with the proof of this idea. At present, it is generally accepted, although more as a self-evident statement than on the base of a closely-reasoned scientific proof. The recognition of the importance of greenspaces in the urban environment is a first step on the right way, this does not mean, however, that sufficient details are known about the functions of greenspace in towns and about the way in which the inhabitants are using these spaces. As to this rather complex subject I shall, within the scope of this lecture, enter into one aspect only, namely the recreative function of greenspace facilities. The theoretical separation of living, working, traffic and recreation which for many years has been used in town-and-country planning, has in my opinion resulted in disproportionate attention for forms of recreation far from home, whereas there was relatively little attention for improvement of recreative possibilities in the direct neighbourhood of the home. We have come to the conclusion that this is not right, because an important part of the time which we do not pass in sleeping or working, is used for activities at and around home. So it is obvious that recreation in the open air has to begin at the street-door of the house. The urban environment has to offer as many recreation activities as possible, and the design of these has to be such that more obligatory activities can also have a recreative aspect. The very best standard of living is nothing if it is not possible to take a pleasant walk in the district, if the children cannot be allowed to play in the streets, because the risks of traffic are too great, if during shopping you can nowhere find a spot for enjoying for a moment the nice weather, in short, if you only feel yourself at home after the street-door of your house is closed after you.

343.txt

The author suggests that the recreative possibilities of green space should be provided ________.

Greenspace facilities are contributing to an important extent to the quality of the urban environment. Fortunately it is no longer necessary that every lecture or every book about this subject has to start with the proof of this idea. At present, it is generally accepted, although more as a self-evident statement than on the base of a closely-reasoned scientific proof. The recognition of the importance of greenspaces in the urban environment is a first step on the right way, this does not mean, however, that sufficient details are known about the functions of greenspace in towns and about the way in which the inhabitants are using these spaces. As to this rather complex subject I shall, within the scope of this lecture, enter into one aspect only, namely the recreative function of greenspace facilities. The theoretical separation of living, working, traffic and recreation which for many years has been used in town-and-country planning, has in my opinion resulted in disproportionate attention for forms of recreation far from home, whereas there was relatively little attention for improvement of recreative possibilities in the direct neighbourhood of the home. We have come to the conclusion that this is not right, because an important part of the time which we do not pass in sleeping or working, is used for activities at and around home. So it is obvious that recreation in the open air has to begin at the street-door of the house. The urban environment has to offer as many recreation activities as possible, and the design of these has to be such that more obligatory activities can also have a recreative aspect. The very best standard of living is nothing if it is not possible to take a pleasant walk in the district, if the children cannot be allowed to play in the streets, because the risks of traffic are too great, if during shopping you can nowhere find a spot for enjoying for a moment the nice weather, in short, if you only feel yourself at home after the street-door of your house is closed after you.

343.txt

According to the author, greenspace facilities should be designed in such a way that ________.

Greenspace facilities are contributing to an important extent to the quality of the urban environment. Fortunately it is no longer necessary that every lecture or every book about this subject has to start with the proof of this idea. At present, it is generally accepted, although more as a self-evident statement than on the base of a closely-reasoned scientific proof. The recognition of the importance of greenspaces in the urban environment is a first step on the right way, this does not mean, however, that sufficient details are known about the functions of greenspace in towns and about the way in which the inhabitants are using these spaces. As to this rather complex subject I shall, within the scope of this lecture, enter into one aspect only, namely the recreative function of greenspace facilities. The theoretical separation of living, working, traffic and recreation which for many years has been used in town-and-country planning, has in my opinion resulted in disproportionate attention for forms of recreation far from home, whereas there was relatively little attention for improvement of recreative possibilities in the direct neighbourhood of the home. We have come to the conclusion that this is not right, because an important part of the time which we do not pass in sleeping or working, is used for activities at and around home. So it is obvious that recreation in the open air has to begin at the street-door of the house. The urban environment has to offer as many recreation activities as possible, and the design of these has to be such that more obligatory activities can also have a recreative aspect. The very best standard of living is nothing if it is not possible to take a pleasant walk in the district, if the children cannot be allowed to play in the streets, because the risks of traffic are too great, if during shopping you can nowhere find a spot for enjoying for a moment the nice weather, in short, if you only feel yourself at home after the street-door of your house is closed after you.

343.txt

The main idea of this passage is that ________.

Greenspace facilities are contributing to an important extent to the quality of the urban environment. Fortunately it is no longer necessary that every lecture or every book about this subject has to start with the proof of this idea. At present, it is generally accepted, although more as a self-evident statement than on the base of a closely-reasoned scientific proof. The recognition of the importance of greenspaces in the urban environment is a first step on the right way, this does not mean, however, that sufficient details are known about the functions of greenspace in towns and about the way in which the inhabitants are using these spaces. As to this rather complex subject I shall, within the scope of this lecture, enter into one aspect only, namely the recreative function of greenspace facilities. The theoretical separation of living, working, traffic and recreation which for many years has been used in town-and-country planning, has in my opinion resulted in disproportionate attention for forms of recreation far from home, whereas there was relatively little attention for improvement of recreative possibilities in the direct neighbourhood of the home. We have come to the conclusion that this is not right, because an important part of the time which we do not pass in sleeping or working, is used for activities at and around home. So it is obvious that recreation in the open air has to begin at the street-door of the house. The urban environment has to offer as many recreation activities as possible, and the design of these has to be such that more obligatory activities can also have a recreative aspect. The very best standard of living is nothing if it is not possible to take a pleasant walk in the district, if the children cannot be allowed to play in the streets, because the risks of traffic are too great, if during shopping you can nowhere find a spot for enjoying for a moment the nice weather, in short, if you only feel yourself at home after the street-door of your house is closed after you.

343.txt

What is Arum and Roksa's finding about higher education in America?

Across the board, American colleges and universities are not doing a very good job of preparing their students for the workplace or their post-graduation lives. This was made clear by the work of two sociologists, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa.In 2011 they released a landmark study titled"Academically Adrift," which documented the lack of intellectual growth experienced by many people enrolled in college. In particular, Arum and Roksa found, college students were not developing the critical thinking, analytic reasoning and other higher-level skills that are necessary to thrive in today's knowledge-based economy and to lead our nation in a time of complex challenges and dynamic change. Arum and Roksa placed the blame for students' lack of learning on a watered-down college curriculum and lowered undergraduate work standards. Although going to college is supposed to be a Full-time job, students spent, on average, only 12 to 14 hours a week studying and many were skating through their semesters without doing a significant amount of reading and writing. Students who take more challenging classes and spend more time studying do learn more. But the priorities of many undergraduates are with extracurricular activities, playing sports, and partying and socializing. Laura Hamilton, the author of a study on parents who pay for college, will argue in a forthcoming book that college administrations are overly concerned with the social and athletic activities of their students. In Paying for the Party, Hamilton describes what she calls the "arty pathway," which eases many students through college, helped-along by various clubs that send students into the party scene and a host of easier majors.By sanctioning this watered-down version of college, universities are"catering to the social and educational needs of wealthy students at the expense of others" who won't enjoy the financial backing or social connections of richer students once they graduate. These students need to build skills and knowledge during college if they are to use their degrees as a stepping-stone to middle-class mobility. But more privileged students must not waste this opportunity either. As recent graduates can testify, the job market isn't kind to candidates who can't demonstrate genuine competence, along with a well-cultivated willingness to work hard. Nor is the global economy forgiving of an American workforce with increasingly weak literacy, math and science abilities. College graduates will still fare better than those with only a high school education, of course. But a university degree unaccompanied by a gain in knowledge or skills is an empty achievement indeed. For students who have been coasting through college, and for American universities that have been demanding less work, offering more attractions and charging higher tuition, the party may soon be over.

1670.txt

What is responsible for the students' lack of higher-level skills?

Across the board, American colleges and universities are not doing a very good job of preparing their students for the workplace or their post-graduation lives. This was made clear by the work of two sociologists, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa.In 2011 they released a landmark study titled"Academically Adrift," which documented the lack of intellectual growth experienced by many people enrolled in college. In particular, Arum and Roksa found, college students were not developing the critical thinking, analytic reasoning and other higher-level skills that are necessary to thrive in today's knowledge-based economy and to lead our nation in a time of complex challenges and dynamic change. Arum and Roksa placed the blame for students' lack of learning on a watered-down college curriculum and lowered undergraduate work standards. Although going to college is supposed to be a Full-time job, students spent, on average, only 12 to 14 hours a week studying and many were skating through their semesters without doing a significant amount of reading and writing. Students who take more challenging classes and spend more time studying do learn more. But the priorities of many undergraduates are with extracurricular activities, playing sports, and partying and socializing. Laura Hamilton, the author of a study on parents who pay for college, will argue in a forthcoming book that college administrations are overly concerned with the social and athletic activities of their students. In Paying for the Party, Hamilton describes what she calls the "arty pathway," which eases many students through college, helped-along by various clubs that send students into the party scene and a host of easier majors.By sanctioning this watered-down version of college, universities are"catering to the social and educational needs of wealthy students at the expense of others" who won't enjoy the financial backing or social connections of richer students once they graduate. These students need to build skills and knowledge during college if they are to use their degrees as a stepping-stone to middle-class mobility. But more privileged students must not waste this opportunity either. As recent graduates can testify, the job market isn't kind to candidates who can't demonstrate genuine competence, along with a well-cultivated willingness to work hard. Nor is the global economy forgiving of an American workforce with increasingly weak literacy, math and science abilities. College graduates will still fare better than those with only a high school education, of course. But a university degree unaccompanied by a gain in knowledge or skills is an empty achievement indeed. For students who have been coasting through college, and for American universities that have been demanding less work, offering more attractions and charging higher tuition, the party may soon be over.

1670.txt

What does Laura Hamilton say about college administrations?

Across the board, American colleges and universities are not doing a very good job of preparing their students for the workplace or their post-graduation lives. This was made clear by the work of two sociologists, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa.In 2011 they released a landmark study titled"Academically Adrift," which documented the lack of intellectual growth experienced by many people enrolled in college. In particular, Arum and Roksa found, college students were not developing the critical thinking, analytic reasoning and other higher-level skills that are necessary to thrive in today's knowledge-based economy and to lead our nation in a time of complex challenges and dynamic change. Arum and Roksa placed the blame for students' lack of learning on a watered-down college curriculum and lowered undergraduate work standards. Although going to college is supposed to be a Full-time job, students spent, on average, only 12 to 14 hours a week studying and many were skating through their semesters without doing a significant amount of reading and writing. Students who take more challenging classes and spend more time studying do learn more. But the priorities of many undergraduates are with extracurricular activities, playing sports, and partying and socializing. Laura Hamilton, the author of a study on parents who pay for college, will argue in a forthcoming book that college administrations are overly concerned with the social and athletic activities of their students. In Paying for the Party, Hamilton describes what she calls the "arty pathway," which eases many students through college, helped-along by various clubs that send students into the party scene and a host of easier majors.By sanctioning this watered-down version of college, universities are"catering to the social and educational needs of wealthy students at the expense of others" who won't enjoy the financial backing or social connections of richer students once they graduate. These students need to build skills and knowledge during college if they are to use their degrees as a stepping-stone to middle-class mobility. But more privileged students must not waste this opportunity either. As recent graduates can testify, the job market isn't kind to candidates who can't demonstrate genuine competence, along with a well-cultivated willingness to work hard. Nor is the global economy forgiving of an American workforce with increasingly weak literacy, math and science abilities. College graduates will still fare better than those with only a high school education, of course. But a university degree unaccompanied by a gain in knowledge or skills is an empty achievement indeed. For students who have been coasting through college, and for American universities that have been demanding less work, offering more attractions and charging higher tuition, the party may soon be over.

1670.txt

What can be learned about the socially and financially privileged students?

Across the board, American colleges and universities are not doing a very good job of preparing their students for the workplace or their post-graduation lives. This was made clear by the work of two sociologists, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa.In 2011 they released a landmark study titled"Academically Adrift," which documented the lack of intellectual growth experienced by many people enrolled in college. In particular, Arum and Roksa found, college students were not developing the critical thinking, analytic reasoning and other higher-level skills that are necessary to thrive in today's knowledge-based economy and to lead our nation in a time of complex challenges and dynamic change. Arum and Roksa placed the blame for students' lack of learning on a watered-down college curriculum and lowered undergraduate work standards. Although going to college is supposed to be a Full-time job, students spent, on average, only 12 to 14 hours a week studying and many were skating through their semesters without doing a significant amount of reading and writing. Students who take more challenging classes and spend more time studying do learn more. But the priorities of many undergraduates are with extracurricular activities, playing sports, and partying and socializing. Laura Hamilton, the author of a study on parents who pay for college, will argue in a forthcoming book that college administrations are overly concerned with the social and athletic activities of their students. In Paying for the Party, Hamilton describes what she calls the "arty pathway," which eases many students through college, helped-along by various clubs that send students into the party scene and a host of easier majors.By sanctioning this watered-down version of college, universities are"catering to the social and educational needs of wealthy students at the expense of others" who won't enjoy the financial backing or social connections of richer students once they graduate. These students need to build skills and knowledge during college if they are to use their degrees as a stepping-stone to middle-class mobility. But more privileged students must not waste this opportunity either. As recent graduates can testify, the job market isn't kind to candidates who can't demonstrate genuine competence, along with a well-cultivated willingness to work hard. Nor is the global economy forgiving of an American workforce with increasingly weak literacy, math and science abilities. College graduates will still fare better than those with only a high school education, of course. But a university degree unaccompanied by a gain in knowledge or skills is an empty achievement indeed. For students who have been coasting through college, and for American universities that have been demanding less work, offering more attractions and charging higher tuition, the party may soon be over.

1670.txt

What does the author suggest in the last paragraph?

Across the board, American colleges and universities are not doing a very good job of preparing their students for the workplace or their post-graduation lives. This was made clear by the work of two sociologists, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa.In 2011 they released a landmark study titled"Academically Adrift," which documented the lack of intellectual growth experienced by many people enrolled in college. In particular, Arum and Roksa found, college students were not developing the critical thinking, analytic reasoning and other higher-level skills that are necessary to thrive in today's knowledge-based economy and to lead our nation in a time of complex challenges and dynamic change. Arum and Roksa placed the blame for students' lack of learning on a watered-down college curriculum and lowered undergraduate work standards. Although going to college is supposed to be a Full-time job, students spent, on average, only 12 to 14 hours a week studying and many were skating through their semesters without doing a significant amount of reading and writing. Students who take more challenging classes and spend more time studying do learn more. But the priorities of many undergraduates are with extracurricular activities, playing sports, and partying and socializing. Laura Hamilton, the author of a study on parents who pay for college, will argue in a forthcoming book that college administrations are overly concerned with the social and athletic activities of their students. In Paying for the Party, Hamilton describes what she calls the "arty pathway," which eases many students through college, helped-along by various clubs that send students into the party scene and a host of easier majors.By sanctioning this watered-down version of college, universities are"catering to the social and educational needs of wealthy students at the expense of others" who won't enjoy the financial backing or social connections of richer students once they graduate. These students need to build skills and knowledge during college if they are to use their degrees as a stepping-stone to middle-class mobility. But more privileged students must not waste this opportunity either. As recent graduates can testify, the job market isn't kind to candidates who can't demonstrate genuine competence, along with a well-cultivated willingness to work hard. Nor is the global economy forgiving of an American workforce with increasingly weak literacy, math and science abilities. College graduates will still fare better than those with only a high school education, of course. But a university degree unaccompanied by a gain in knowledge or skills is an empty achievement indeed. For students who have been coasting through college, and for American universities that have been demanding less work, offering more attractions and charging higher tuition, the party may soon be over.

1670.txt

What is the cause of the problem that people living on parts of the south coast of England face?

People living on parts of the south coast of England face a serious problem. In 1993, the owners of a large hotel and of several houses discovered, to their horror, that their gardens had disappeared overnight. The sea had eaten into the soft limestone cliffs on which they had been built. While experts were studying the problem, the hotel and several houses disappeared altogether, sliding down the cliff and into the sea. Erosion of the white cliffs along the south coast of England has always been a problem but it has become more serious in recent years. Dozens of homes have had to be abandoned as the sea has crept farther and farther inland. Experts have studied the areas most affected and have drawn up a map for local people, forecasting the year in which their homes will be swallowed up by the hungry sea. Angry owners have called on the Government to erect sea defenses to protect their homes. Government surveyors have pointed out that in most cases, this is impossible. New sea walls would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and would merely make the waves and currents go further along the coast, shifting the problem from one area to another. The danger is likely to continue, they say, until the waves reach an inland area of hard rock which will not be eaten as limestone is. Meanwhile, if you want to buy a cheap house with an uncertain future, apply to a house agent in one of the threatened areas on the south coast of England. You can get a house for a knockdown price but it may turn out to be a knockdown home.

2360.txt

The erosion of the white cliffs in the south of England _ .

People living on parts of the south coast of England face a serious problem. In 1993, the owners of a large hotel and of several houses discovered, to their horror, that their gardens had disappeared overnight. The sea had eaten into the soft limestone cliffs on which they had been built. While experts were studying the problem, the hotel and several houses disappeared altogether, sliding down the cliff and into the sea. Erosion of the white cliffs along the south coast of England has always been a problem but it has become more serious in recent years. Dozens of homes have had to be abandoned as the sea has crept farther and farther inland. Experts have studied the areas most affected and have drawn up a map for local people, forecasting the year in which their homes will be swallowed up by the hungry sea. Angry owners have called on the Government to erect sea defenses to protect their homes. Government surveyors have pointed out that in most cases, this is impossible. New sea walls would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and would merely make the waves and currents go further along the coast, shifting the problem from one area to another. The danger is likely to continue, they say, until the waves reach an inland area of hard rock which will not be eaten as limestone is. Meanwhile, if you want to buy a cheap house with an uncertain future, apply to a house agent in one of the threatened areas on the south coast of England. You can get a house for a knockdown price but it may turn out to be a knockdown home.

2360.txt

The experts' study on the problem of erosion can _ .

People living on parts of the south coast of England face a serious problem. In 1993, the owners of a large hotel and of several houses discovered, to their horror, that their gardens had disappeared overnight. The sea had eaten into the soft limestone cliffs on which they had been built. While experts were studying the problem, the hotel and several houses disappeared altogether, sliding down the cliff and into the sea. Erosion of the white cliffs along the south coast of England has always been a problem but it has become more serious in recent years. Dozens of homes have had to be abandoned as the sea has crept farther and farther inland. Experts have studied the areas most affected and have drawn up a map for local people, forecasting the year in which their homes will be swallowed up by the hungry sea. Angry owners have called on the Government to erect sea defenses to protect their homes. Government surveyors have pointed out that in most cases, this is impossible. New sea walls would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and would merely make the waves and currents go further along the coast, shifting the problem from one area to another. The danger is likely to continue, they say, until the waves reach an inland area of hard rock which will not be eaten as limestone is. Meanwhile, if you want to buy a cheap house with an uncertain future, apply to a house agent in one of the threatened areas on the south coast of England. You can get a house for a knockdown price but it may turn out to be a knockdown home.

2360.txt

It is not feasible to build sea defenses to protect against erosion because _ .

People living on parts of the south coast of England face a serious problem. In 1993, the owners of a large hotel and of several houses discovered, to their horror, that their gardens had disappeared overnight. The sea had eaten into the soft limestone cliffs on which they had been built. While experts were studying the problem, the hotel and several houses disappeared altogether, sliding down the cliff and into the sea. Erosion of the white cliffs along the south coast of England has always been a problem but it has become more serious in recent years. Dozens of homes have had to be abandoned as the sea has crept farther and farther inland. Experts have studied the areas most affected and have drawn up a map for local people, forecasting the year in which their homes will be swallowed up by the hungry sea. Angry owners have called on the Government to erect sea defenses to protect their homes. Government surveyors have pointed out that in most cases, this is impossible. New sea walls would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and would merely make the waves and currents go further along the coast, shifting the problem from one area to another. The danger is likely to continue, they say, until the waves reach an inland area of hard rock which will not be eaten as limestone is. Meanwhile, if you want to buy a cheap house with an uncertain future, apply to a house agent in one of the threatened areas on the south coast of England. You can get a house for a knockdown price but it may turn out to be a knockdown home.

2360.txt

According to the author, when buying a house along the south coast of England, people should _ .

People living on parts of the south coast of England face a serious problem. In 1993, the owners of a large hotel and of several houses discovered, to their horror, that their gardens had disappeared overnight. The sea had eaten into the soft limestone cliffs on which they had been built. While experts were studying the problem, the hotel and several houses disappeared altogether, sliding down the cliff and into the sea. Erosion of the white cliffs along the south coast of England has always been a problem but it has become more serious in recent years. Dozens of homes have had to be abandoned as the sea has crept farther and farther inland. Experts have studied the areas most affected and have drawn up a map for local people, forecasting the year in which their homes will be swallowed up by the hungry sea. Angry owners have called on the Government to erect sea defenses to protect their homes. Government surveyors have pointed out that in most cases, this is impossible. New sea walls would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and would merely make the waves and currents go further along the coast, shifting the problem from one area to another. The danger is likely to continue, they say, until the waves reach an inland area of hard rock which will not be eaten as limestone is. Meanwhile, if you want to buy a cheap house with an uncertain future, apply to a house agent in one of the threatened areas on the south coast of England. You can get a house for a knockdown price but it may turn out to be a knockdown home.

2360.txt

According to the passage, which of the following does Turner exclude from his conception of ritual?

lthough Victor Turner's writings have proved fruitful for fields beyond anthropology, his definition of ritual is overly restrictive. Ritual, he says, is "pre- list scribed formal behavior for occasions not given over to technological routine, having reference to beliefs in mystical beings or powers," " Technological routine" refers to the means by which a social group provides for its material needs. Turner's differentiating ritual from technology helps us recognize that festivals and celebrations may have little purpose other than play, but it obscures the practical aims, such as making crops grow or healing patients, of other rituals. Further, Turner's definition implies a necessary relationship between ritual and mystical beliefs. However, not all rituals are religious; some religions have no reference to mystical beings; and individuals may be required only to participate in, not necessarily believe in, a ritual. Turner's assumption that ritual behavior follows belief thus limits the usefulness of his definition in studying ritual across cultures.

1953.txt