首页
试卷库
试题库
当前位置:
X题卡
>
所有题目
>
题目详情
In most parts of the world, climate change is a worrying subject. Not so in California. At a rece...
查看本题答案
包含此试题的试卷
国家统考科目《相同项单选集》真题及答案
点击查看
你可能感兴趣的试题
Hurricanewarningsareissued______whenwindsofforce1o
in all parts of the world
in some parts of the world
from all corners of the world
from every corner of the world"
A.tosendgoodstovariouspartsoftheworldB.atanytimedu
Wecancwithpeopleinmostpartsoftheworldbytelephone.
Peopleindifferentpartsoftheworldholdvarious_______
Insomepartsoftheworldtea____withmilkandsugar.
is serving
is served
serves
served
There________alotofwildcranesinotherpartsoftheworl
is
are
was
were
Insomepartsoftheworldtea__withmilkandsugar.
is serving
is served
serves
served
A.tosendgoodstovariouspartsoftheworldB.atanytimedu
A.tosendgoodstovariouspartsoftheworldB.atanytimedu
Asanoldsailorhehas____________inmostpartsoftheworl
knocked over
knocked about
knocked out
knocked off
Insomepartsoftheworldtea_______withmilkandsugar.
is serving
is served
serves
served
Adeadlyheatwave热浪hashappenedinpartsofIndiathisyear
阅读下面短文根据其内容完成后面各项任务Inmostpartsoftheworldtherearefo
Insomepartsoftheworldtea________withmilkandsugar.
serves
serving
is served
served
In__partsoftheworldthingsaredifferent.
other
others
the other one
the others
??A.tosendgoodstovariouspartsoftheworld? ?B.atany
Nowadaystherearestillmany______raceconflictsindiff
PeoplefromdifferentpartsoftheworldwillgotoLondon__
in
from
to
for
Adeadlyheatwave热浪hashappenedinpartsofIndiathisyear
A.tosendgoodstovariouspartsoftheworld??B.atanytime
热门试题
更多
Culturalresponsestomodernizationoftenmanifestthemselvesinthemassmedia.ForexampleAldousHuxleyinBraveNewWorldcreatedafictionalworldinwhichhecautionedreadersthatmodernscienceandtechnologyposedathreattoindividualdignity.CharlieChaplin’sfilmModernTimessetinafuturisticmanufacturingplantalsotoldthestoryofthedehumanizingimpactofmodernizationandmachinery.Writersandartistsintheircriticismsofthemodernworldoftenpointtotechnology’sabilitytoalienatepeoplefromoneanothercapitalism’stendencytofostergreedandgovernment’sinclinationtocreatebureaucraciesthatoppressratherthanhelppeople. Amongthemajorvaluesofthemodernperiodfourtypicallymanifestthemselvesintheculturalenvironment:celebratingtheindividualbelievinginrationalorderworkingefficientlyandrejectingtradition.Thesevaluesofthemodernperiodwereoriginallyembodiedintheprintingpressandlaterinnewspapersandmagazines.Theprintmediaencouragedthevisionofindividualwriterspublishersandreaderswhocirculatednewideas.Whereasthepremodernperiodwasguidedbystrongbeliefsinanaturalordivineorderbecomingmodernmeantelevatingindividualself-expressiontoacentralposition.AlongwithdemocraticbreakthroughshoweverindividualismandtheIndustrialRevolutiontriggeredmodernformsofhierarchyinwhichcertainindividualsandgroupsachievedhigherstandinginthesocialorder.Forexamplethosewhomanagedcommercialenterprisesgainedmorecontrolovertheeconomicladderwhileanintellectualclassofmodernexpertswhomasteredspecializedrealmsofknowledgegainedincreasingpoweroverthenation’ssocialpoliticalandculturalagendas. Tobemodernalsomeanttovaluethecapacityoforganizedscientificmindstosolveproblemsefficiently.Progressivethinkersmaintainedthattheprintingpressthetelegraphandtherailroadincombinationwithascientificattitudewouldfosteranewtypeofinformedsociety.Atthecoreofthissocietytheprintedmassmediaparticularlynewspaperswouldeducatethecitizenryhelpingtobuildandmaintainanorganizedsocialframework.Journalistsstroveforthepremodernidealthroughamorefact-basedandefficientapproachtoreporting.Theydiscardeddecorativewritingandchampionedaleanlook.Modernfront-pagenewsde-emphasizeddescriptioncommentaryandhistoricalcontext.TheleadsentencesthatreportedapresidentialpressconferencebegantolooksimilarwhethertheywereonthefrontpageinTupeloMississippiorWahpetonNorthDakota.JustasmodernarchitecturemademanyAmericanskylineslookalikethefrontpagesofnewspapersbegantoresembleoneanother. Finallytobemodernmeanttothrowofftherigidrulesofthepasttobreakwithtradition.Modernjournalismbecamecaptivatedbytimelyandimmediateevents.Asaresultthemorestandardizedformsoffront-pagejournalismontheonehandchampionedfactsandcurrenteventswhileefficientlymeetingdeadlines.Butontheotherhandmodernnewspapersoftenfailedtotakeahistoricalperspectiveortoanalyzesufficientlytheideasunderlyingtheseevents. AllofthefollowingarethemajorvaluesofthemodernworldEXCEPT
SomeoftheconcernssurroundingTurkey’sapplicationtojointheEuropeanUniontobe1onbytheEU’sCouncilofMinistersonDecember17thareeconomic--inparticularthecountry’srelativepoverty.ItsGDPperheadislessthanathirdoftheaverageforthe15pre-2004membersoftheEU.2itisnotfaroffthatofLatvia--oneofthetennewmemberswhich3onMay1st2004anditismuchthesameas4oftwocountriesBulgariaandRomaniawhichthisweekconcluded5talkswiththeEUthatcouldmakethemfullmembersonJanuary1st2007. 6thecountry’srecenteconomicprogresshasbeenaccordingtoDonaldJohnstonthesecretary-generaloftheOECDstunning.GDPinthesecondquarteroftheyearwas13.4%higherthanayearearliera7ofgrowththatnoEUcountrycomescloseto8.Turkey’s9ratehasjustfallenintosinglefiguresforthefirsttimesince1972andthisweekthecountry10agreementwiththeIMFonanewthree-year$10billioneconomicprogramthatwillhelpTurkey11inflationtowardEuropeanlevelsandenhancetheeconomy’sresilience. Resiliencehasnothistoricallybeenthecountry’seconomicstrongpoint.12throughoutthe1990sgrowthoscillatedlikeanelectrocardiogram13aviolentheartattack.This14hasbeenoneofthemainreasonswhythecountryhasfaileddismallytoattractmuch-neededforeigndirectinvestment.Itsstockofsuchinvestmentislowernowthanitwasinthe1980sandannual15havescarcelyeverreached$1billion. Onedeterrenttoforeigninvestorsisdueto16onJanuary1st2005.OnthatdayTurkeywilltakeawaytherightofvirtuallyeveryoneofitscitizenstocallthemselvesamillionaire.Sixzeroswillberemovedfromthefacevalueofthelira里拉土耳其货币单位;oneunitofthelocal17willhenceforthbeworthwhat1millionarenow--ieabout£0.530.53欧元.Goodswillhavetobe18inboththenewandoldliraforthewholeoftheyear19foreignbankersand20canbegintolookforwardtoatimeinTurkeywhentheywillnolongerhavetojugglementallywithindeterminatestringsofzeros. 14
Itistrueasthemovementcriticsassertthatthepresentwomen’sliberationgroupsarealmostentirelybasedamong"middleclass"womenthatiscollegeandcareerwomen;andtheissuesofpsychologicalandsexualexploitationandtoalesserextentexploitationthroughconsumptionhavebeenthemostprominentones. Itisnotsurprisingthatthewomen’sliberationmovementshouldbeginamongbourgeoiswomenandshouldbedominatedinthebeginningbytheirconsciousnessandtheirparticularconcerns.Radicalwomenaregenerallythepostwarmiddleclassgenerationthatgrewupwiththerighttovotethechanceathighereducationandtrainingforsupportiverolesintheprofessionsandbusiness.Mostofthemareyoungandsophisticatedenoughtohavenotyethadchildrenanddonothavetomarrytosupportthemselves.Incomparisonwithmostwomentheyarecapableofacertainamountofcontrolovertheirlives. Thehigherdevelopmentofbourgeoisdemocraticsocietyallowsthewomenwhobenefitfromeducationandrelativeequalitytoseethecontradictionsbetweenitsrhetoriceverychildcanbecomepresidentandtheiractualplaceinthatsociety.Theworkingclasswomanmightbelievethateducationcouldhavemadeherfinanciallyindependentbuttheeducatedcareerwomanfindsthatmoneyhasnotmadeherindependent.Infactbecauseshehasbeenallowedtoprogresshalfwayontheupward-mobilityladdershecanseetherestofthedistancethatisdeniedheronlybecausesheisawoman.Shecanseethesimilaritybetweenheroppressionandthatofothersectionsofthepopulation.Thusfromtheirownexperienceradicalwomeninthemovementareawareofmorefaultsinthesocietythanracismandimperialism.Becausetheyhavepushedthedemocraticmythtoitslimitstheyknowconcretelyhowitlimitsthem. AtthesametimethatradicalwomenwerelearningaboutAmericansocietytheywerealsobecomingawareofthemalechauvinisminthemovement.Infactthatisusuallythecauseoftheirfirstconscious100verbalizationoftheprejudicetheyfeel;itismoredisillusioningtoknowthatthesamecontradictionexistsbetweenthemovement’srhetoricofequalityanditsrealityforweexpectmoreofourcomrades. Thisrealizationofthedeep-seatedprejudiceagainstthemselvesinthemovementproducestwocommonreactionsamongitswomen:1apreoccupationwiththisimmediatebarrierandperhapsaresultanthopelessnessand2atendencytoretreatinwardtobuythefool’sgoldofcreatingapersonallyliberatedlifestyle. Howeverourconceptofliberationrepresentsaconsciousnessthatconditionshaveforcedonuswhilemostofoursistersarechainedbyotherconditionsbiologicalandeconomicthatoverwhelmtheirhumanityanddesiresforself-fulfillment.Ourbackgroundaccountsforourignoranceaboutthestarkoppressionofwomen’sdailylives. Theauthorimpliesinthelastparagraphthat
SomeoftheconcernssurroundingTurkey’sapplicationtojointheEuropeanUniontobe1onbytheEU’sCouncilofMinistersonDecember17thareeconomic--inparticularthecountry’srelativepoverty.ItsGDPperheadislessthanathirdoftheaverageforthe15pre-2004membersoftheEU.2itisnotfaroffthatofLatvia--oneofthetennewmemberswhich3onMay1st2004anditismuchthesameas4oftwocountriesBulgariaandRomaniawhichthisweekconcluded5talkswiththeEUthatcouldmakethemfullmembersonJanuary1st2007. 6thecountry’srecenteconomicprogresshasbeenaccordingtoDonaldJohnstonthesecretary-generaloftheOECDstunning.GDPinthesecondquarteroftheyearwas13.4%higherthanayearearliera7ofgrowththatnoEUcountrycomescloseto8.Turkey’s9ratehasjustfallenintosinglefiguresforthefirsttimesince1972andthisweekthecountry10agreementwiththeIMFonanewthree-year$10billioneconomicprogramthatwillhelpTurkey11inflationtowardEuropeanlevelsandenhancetheeconomy’sresilience. Resiliencehasnothistoricallybeenthecountry’seconomicstrongpoint.12throughoutthe1990sgrowthoscillatedlikeanelectrocardiogram13aviolentheartattack.This14hasbeenoneofthemainreasonswhythecountryhasfaileddismallytoattractmuch-neededforeigndirectinvestment.Itsstockofsuchinvestmentislowernowthanitwasinthe1980sandannual15havescarcelyeverreached$1billion. Onedeterrenttoforeigninvestorsisdueto16onJanuary1st2005.OnthatdayTurkeywilltakeawaytherightofvirtuallyeveryoneofitscitizenstocallthemselvesamillionaire.Sixzeroswillberemovedfromthefacevalueofthelira里拉土耳其货币单位;oneunitofthelocal17willhenceforthbeworthwhat1millionarenow--ieabout£0.530.53欧元.Goodswillhavetobe18inboththenewandoldliraforthewholeoftheyear19foreignbankersand20canbegintolookforwardtoatimeinTurkeywhentheywillnolongerhavetojugglementallywithindeterminatestringsofzeros. 18
Itistrueasthemovementcriticsassertthatthepresentwomen’sliberationgroupsarealmostentirelybasedamong"middleclass"womenthatiscollegeandcareerwomen;andtheissuesofpsychologicalandsexualexploitationandtoalesserextentexploitationthroughconsumptionhavebeenthemostprominentones. Itisnotsurprisingthatthewomen’sliberationmovementshouldbeginamongbourgeoiswomenandshouldbedominatedinthebeginningbytheirconsciousnessandtheirparticularconcerns.Radicalwomenaregenerallythepostwarmiddleclassgenerationthatgrewupwiththerighttovotethechanceathighereducationandtrainingforsupportiverolesintheprofessionsandbusiness.Mostofthemareyoungandsophisticatedenoughtohavenotyethadchildrenanddonothavetomarrytosupportthemselves.Incomparisonwithmostwomentheyarecapableofacertainamountofcontrolovertheirlives. Thehigherdevelopmentofbourgeoisdemocraticsocietyallowsthewomenwhobenefitfromeducationandrelativeequalitytoseethecontradictionsbetweenitsrhetoriceverychildcanbecomepresidentandtheiractualplaceinthatsociety.Theworkingclasswomanmightbelievethateducationcouldhavemadeherfinanciallyindependentbuttheeducatedcareerwomanfindsthatmoneyhasnotmadeherindependent.Infactbecauseshehasbeenallowedtoprogresshalfwayontheupward-mobilityladdershecanseetherestofthedistancethatisdeniedheronlybecausesheisawoman.Shecanseethesimilaritybetweenheroppressionandthatofothersectionsofthepopulation.Thusfromtheirownexperienceradicalwomeninthemovementareawareofmorefaultsinthesocietythanracismandimperialism.Becausetheyhavepushedthedemocraticmythtoitslimitstheyknowconcretelyhowitlimitsthem. AtthesametimethatradicalwomenwerelearningaboutAmericansocietytheywerealsobecomingawareofthemalechauvinisminthemovement.Infactthatisusuallythecauseoftheirfirstconscious100verbalizationoftheprejudicetheyfeel;itismoredisillusioningtoknowthatthesamecontradictionexistsbetweenthemovement’srhetoricofequalityanditsrealityforweexpectmoreofourcomrades. Thisrealizationofthedeep-seatedprejudiceagainstthemselvesinthemovementproducestwocommonreactionsamongitswomen:1apreoccupationwiththisimmediatebarrierandperhapsaresultanthopelessnessand2atendencytoretreatinwardtobuythefool’sgoldofcreatingapersonallyliberatedlifestyle. Howeverourconceptofliberationrepresentsaconsciousnessthatconditionshaveforcedonuswhilemostofoursistersarechainedbyotherconditionsbiologicalandeconomicthatoverwhelmtheirhumanityanddesiresforself-fulfillment.Ourbackgroundaccountsforourignoranceaboutthestarkoppressionofwomen’sdailylives. Whatdoradicalwomenexpectmorefromtheirmalecounterparts
Itistrueasthemovementcriticsassertthatthepresentwomen’sliberationgroupsarealmostentirelybasedamong"middleclass"womenthatiscollegeandcareerwomen;andtheissuesofpsychologicalandsexualexploitationandtoalesserextentexploitationthroughconsumptionhavebeenthemostprominentones. Itisnotsurprisingthatthewomen’sliberationmovementshouldbeginamongbourgeoiswomenandshouldbedominatedinthebeginningbytheirconsciousnessandtheirparticularconcerns.Radicalwomenaregenerallythepostwarmiddleclassgenerationthatgrewupwiththerighttovotethechanceathighereducationandtrainingforsupportiverolesintheprofessionsandbusiness.Mostofthemareyoungandsophisticatedenoughtohavenotyethadchildrenanddonothavetomarrytosupportthemselves.Incomparisonwithmostwomentheyarecapableofacertainamountofcontrolovertheirlives. Thehigherdevelopmentofbourgeoisdemocraticsocietyallowsthewomenwhobenefitfromeducationandrelativeequalitytoseethecontradictionsbetweenitsrhetoriceverychildcanbecomepresidentandtheiractualplaceinthatsociety.Theworkingclasswomanmightbelievethateducationcouldhavemadeherfinanciallyindependentbuttheeducatedcareerwomanfindsthatmoneyhasnotmadeherindependent.Infactbecauseshehasbeenallowedtoprogresshalfwayontheupward-mobilityladdershecanseetherestofthedistancethatisdeniedheronlybecausesheisawoman.Shecanseethesimilaritybetweenheroppressionandthatofothersectionsofthepopulation.Thusfromtheirownexperienceradicalwomeninthemovementareawareofmorefaultsinthesocietythanracismandimperialism.Becausetheyhavepushedthedemocraticmythtoitslimitstheyknowconcretelyhowitlimitsthem. AtthesametimethatradicalwomenwerelearningaboutAmericansocietytheywerealsobecomingawareofthemalechauvinisminthemovement.Infactthatisusuallythecauseoftheirfirstconscious100verbalizationoftheprejudicetheyfeel;itismoredisillusioningtoknowthatthesamecontradictionexistsbetweenthemovement’srhetoricofequalityanditsrealityforweexpectmoreofourcomrades. Thisrealizationofthedeep-seatedprejudiceagainstthemselvesinthemovementproducestwocommonreactionsamongitswomen:1apreoccupationwiththisimmediatebarrierandperhapsaresultanthopelessnessand2atendencytoretreatinwardtobuythefool’sgoldofcreatingapersonallyliberatedlifestyle. Howeverourconceptofliberationrepresentsaconsciousnessthatconditionshaveforcedonuswhilemostofoursistersarechainedbyotherconditionsbiologicalandeconomicthatoverwhelmtheirhumanityanddesiresforself-fulfillment.Ourbackgroundaccountsforourignoranceaboutthestarkoppressionofwomen’sdailylives. ThebasicdifferencebetweenMiddleClasswomenandotherwomenintheliberationmovementisthat
In1929JohnD.Rockefellerdecideditwastimetosellshareswhenevenashoe-shineboyofferedhimasharetip.DuringthepastweekTheEconomist’seconomicseditorhasbeenadvisedbyataxidriveraplumberandahairdresserthat"youcan’tgowrong"investinginhousing-themoreyouownthebetter.IsthisasignthatitistimetogetoutAttheveryleastashousepricesaroundtheworldclimbtoeverloftierheightsandmoreandmorepeoplejumpontothebuy-to-letladderitistimetoexposesomeofthefallaciesregularlytrottedoutbysomanyself-appointedhousingexperts. Onecommonerroristhathousepricesmustcontinuetorisebecauseofalimitedsupplyofland.Forinstanceitisarguedthat"housepriceswillalwaysriseinLondonbecauselotsofpeoplewanttolivehere".Butthisconfusesthelevelofpriceswiththeirrateofchange.Homepricesareboundtobehigherinbigcitiesbecauseoflandscarcitybutthisdoesnotguaranteethaturbanhousepriceswillkeeprisingindefinitely-justlookatTokyo’shugeprice-dropssince1990.Andthoughitistruethatafixedsupplyofhomesmaypushuphousepricesifthepopulationisrisingthiswouldimplyasteadyriseinpricesnotthe20%annualjumpsofrecentyears. Asecondflawedargumentisthatlowinterestratesmakebuyingahomecheaperandsopushupdemandandprices.Lowerinterestratesmayhaveallowedsomepeoplewhootherwisecouldnothaveaffordedamortgagetobuyahome.Butmanyborrowerswhothinkmortgagesarecheaperaresufferingfrommoneyillusion. Interestratesarenotverylowinrealinflation-adjustedterms.Initialinterestpaymentsmayseemlowinrelationtoincomebutbecauseinflationisalsolowitwillnoterodetherealburdenofdebtasswiftlyasitoncedid.Soinlateryearsmortgagepaymentswillbemuchlargerinrealterms.Toarguethatlownominalinterestratesmakebuyingahomecheaperislikearguingthatacarloanpaidoffoverfouryearsischeaperthanonerepaidovertwoyears. FallacynumberthreeisafavouriteclaimofAlanGreenspanchairmanofAmerica’sFederalReserve.Thisisthatpricebubblesarelesslikelyinhousingthaninthestockmarketbecausehighertransactioncostsdiscouragespeculation.Infactseveralstudieshaveshownthatbothintheoryandinpracticebubblesaremorelikelyinhousingthaninshares.AstudybytheIMFfindsthatasharpriseinhousepricesisfarmorelikelytobefollowedbyabustthanisashare-priceboom. Whatistherelationshipbetweentheopeningparagraphandtherestofthetext
Goingtotheballparkvisitingfriendsandplayingbingoaresimplediversionsformanyofus.Butfortheelderlythesesocialpastimesmayplayacriticalroleinpreservingtheirphysicalandmentalhealth. 46Infactanewstudysuggeststhatthelesstimeolderpeoplespendengagedinsocialactivitythefastertheirmotorfunctiontendstodecline."Everybodyintheir60s70sand80siswalkingmoreslowlythantheydidwhentheywere25"saysDr.AronBuchmananeurologistattheRushUniversityMedicalCenterinChicagoandleadingauthorofthestudywhichwaspublishedintheJune22ndissueoftheArchivesofInternalMedicine.47"Ourstudyshowstheconnectionbetweensocialactivityandmotorfunction--andopensupawholenewuniverseofhowwemightintervene." 48Anincreasingbodyofevidencehassuggestedthatparticipatinginmentallystimulatingactivitysocializingfrequentlyandexercisingmayhelpprotectagainstage-relateddecline-atleastcognitivedecline.Asearlyas1995neuroscientistCarlCotmanwhostudiesaginganddementiaattheUniversityofCaliforniaatIrvinepublishedapaperinNatureshowingthatphysicalexerciseproducesaproteinthathelpskeepneuronsfromdyingandspurstheformationofnewneuralconnectionsinthebrain.49MorerecentlyCotmandemonstratedinstudiesofelderlydogsandmicethatenrichingtheirsocialenvironmentisassociatedwithimprovementinbrainfunction. Researchersarealsofindingthatsocialactivitymaybelinkedtothesameprotectiveeffectinpeople.Arecentstudyof2500adultsages70to79publishedinthejournalNeurologyfoundthatthosewhowereabletostaymentallysharpwerealsothosewhoexercisedonceaweekormorehadatleastaninthgradeliteracylevelandweresociallyactive. Whilefurtherresearchneedstobedonetoestablishtheexactimpactofsocialactivityandexerciseonspecificage-relateddeclines50it’slikelythatareductioninsocialactivitymaysimplybeasymptomofphysicaldeclinesincepeoplemaynaturallywithdrawfromsocialengagementastheylosemotorskills-mostresearcherswouldagreethatitisnotunreasonabletoencourageseniorstogetouttheremore.Only10%ofpeopleover65gettherecommendedamountofexerciseatleast2.5to5hoursaweekandgiventhatseniorsalreadytendtobemoresociallyisolatedthanyoungeradultsit’sdifficulttomotivatethemtobecomemoreactive."Ifyouarealoneyouarelesslikelytofollowrecommendations"notesVerghese.ItmighthelpthoughifyouvisitGrandmamoreoftenandletherknowthataregularpastimemayjusthelpherstayfitterandsharperlonger. 50it’slikelythatareductioninsocialactivitymaysimplybeasymptomofphysicaldeclinesincepeoplemaynaturallywithdrawfromsocialengagementastheylosemotorskills
Thequestionofwhetherwarisinevitableisonewhichhasconcernedmanyoftheworld’sgreatwriters.Beforeconsideringthisquestionitwillbeusefultointroducesomerelatedconcepts.Conflictdefinedasoppositionamongsocialentitiesdirectedagainstoneanotherisdistinguishedfromcompetitiondefinedasoppositionamongsocialentitiesindependentlystrivingforsomethingwhichisininadequateaupply.Competitorsmaynotbeawareofoneanotherwhilethepartiestoaconflictare.Conflictandcompetitionarebothcategoriesofoppositionwhichhasbeendefinedasaprocessbywhichsocialentitiesfunctionisthedisserviceofoneanother. Oppositionisthuscontrastedwithcooperationtheprocessbywhichsocialentitiesfunctionintheserviceofoneanother.Thesedefinitionsarenecessarybecauseitisimportanttoemphasizethatcompetitionbetweenindividualsorgroupsininevitableinaworldoflimitedresourcesbutconflictisnot.Conflictneverthelessisverylikelytooccurandisprobablyanessentialanddesirableelementofhumansocieties. Manyauthorshavearguedfortheinevitabilityofwarfromthepremisethatinthestruggleforexistenceamonganimalspecies0nlythefittestsurvive.Ingeneralhoweverthisstruggleinnatureiscompetitionnotconflict.Socialanimalssuchasmonkeysandcattlefighttowinormaintainleadershipofthegroup.Thestruggleforexistenceoccursnotinsuchfightsbutinthecompetitionforlimitedfeedingareasandforoccupancyofareasfreefrommeat-eatinganimals.Thosewhofailinthiscompetitionstarvetodeathorbecomevictimstootherspecies.Thisstruggleforexistencedoesnotresemblehumanwarbutratherthecompetitionofindividualsforjobsmarketsandmaterials.Theessenceofthestruggleisthecompetitionforthenecessitiesoflifethatareinsufficienttosatisfyall. Amongnationsthereiscompetitionindevelopingresourcestradesskillsandasatisfactorywayoflife.Thesuccessfulnationsgrowandprosper;theunsuccessfuldecline.Whileitistruethatthiscompetitionmayinduceeffortstoexpandterritoryattheexpenseofothersandthusleadtoconflictitcannotbesaidthatwar-likeconflictamongnationsisinevitablealthoughcompetitionis. ThephrasefunctioninthedisserviceofoneanotherPara.1mostprobablymeans
Abiteofacookiecontainingpeanutscouldcausetheairwaytoconstrictfatally.Sharingatoywithanotherchildwhohadearliereatenapeanutbutterandjellysandwichcouldraiseacaseofhives.ApeanutbuttercupdroppedinaHalloweenbagcouldcontaminatetherestofthetreatsposinganunknownrisk. Thesearethescenariosthat"makeyourbonemarrowturncold"accordingtoL.ValGiddingsvicepresidentforfoodandagricultureoftheBiotechnologyIndustryOrganization.BesidesrepresentingthepolicyinterestsoffoodbiotechcompaniesinWashingtonD.C.Giddingsisthefatherofafour-year-oldboywithaseverepeanutallergy.Peanutsareonlyoneofthemostallergenicfoods;estimatesofthenumberofpeoplewhoexperienceareactiontothebeanshoveraround2percentofthepopulation. Giddingssaysthatpeanutsareonlyoneofseveralfoodsthatbiotechnologistsarealteringgeneticallyinanattempttoeliminatetheproteinsthatdogreatharmtosomepeople’simmunesystems.Althoughsoyallergiesdonotusuallycauselife-threateningreactionsthescientistsarealsotargetingsoybeanswhichcanbefoundintwothirdsofallmanufacturedfoodmakingthesupermarketaminefieldforpeopleallergictosoy.Biotechnologistsarefocusingonwheattooandmightsoonexpandtheirresearchtotherestofthe"bigeight"allergy-inducingfoods:treenutsmilkeggsshellfishandfish. LastSeptemberforexampleAnthonyJ.KinneyacropgeneticsresearcheratDuPontExperimentalStationinWilmingtonDel.andhiscolleaguesreportedusingatechniquecalledRNAinterferenceRNAitosilencethegenesthatencodep34aproteinresponsibleforcausing65percentofallsoybeanallergies.RNAiexploitsthemechanismthatcellsusetoprotectthemselvesagainstforeigngeneticmaterial;itcausesacelltodestroyRNAtranscribedfromagivengeneeffectivelyturningoffthegene. Whetherthepublicwillacceptfoodgeneticallymodifiedtobelow-allergenisstillunknown.CourtneyChabotDreyeraspokespersonforPioneerHi-BredInternationalasubsidiaryofDuPontsaysthatthecompanywillconductstudiestodeterminewhetherapromisingmarketexistsforlowallergensoybeforedevelopingtheseedsforsaletofarmers.SheestimatesthatPioneerHi-Bredissevenyearsawayfromcommercializingthealteredsoybeans. DougGurian-ShermanscientificdirectorofthebiotechnologyprojectattheCenterforScienceinthePublicInterest—agroupthathasadvocatedenhancedFoodandDrugAdministrationoversightforgeneticallymodifiedfoods—commentsthathisorganizationwouldnotopposelow-allergenfoodsiftheyprovetobesafe.Buthewondersabout"identitypreservation"atermusedinthefoodindustrytodescribethedeliberateseparationofgeneticallyengineeredandnonengineeredproducts.Abatchofnonengineeredpeanutsorsoybeansmightcontaminatemachineryreservedforlow-allergenversionshesuggestsreducingthebenefitofthegene-alteredfood.Suchissuesofidentitypreservationcouldmakelow-allergengeneticallymodifiedfoodstoocostlytoproduceChabotDreyeradmits.Butshesays"it’sstilltooearlytoseeifthat’strue./ Accordingtothetextfoodshavebeengeneticallyalteredto
Acomputermodelhasbeendevelopedthatcanpredictwhatwordyouarethinkingof.41ResearchersledbyTomMitchellofCarnegieMellonUniversityinPittsburghPennsylvania"trained"acomputermodeltorecognizethepatternsofbrainactivityassociatedwith60imageseachofwhichrepresentedadifferentnounsuchas"celery"or"aeroplane". 42.Wordssuchas"hammer"forexampleaxeknowntocausemovement-relatedareasofthebraintolightup;ontheotherhandtheword"castle"triggersactivityinregionsthatprocessspatialinformation.Mitchellandhiscolleaguesalsoknewthatdifferentnounsareassociatedmoreoftenwithsomeverbsthanwithothers--theverb"eat"forexampleismorelikelytobefoundinconjunctionwith"celery"thanwith"aeroplane".Theresearchersdesignedthemodeltotryandusethesesemanticlinkstoworkouthowthebrainwouldreacttoparticularnouns.Theyfed25suchverbsintothemodel. 43.Theresearchersthenfedthemodel58ofthe60nounstotrainit.Foreachnounthemodelsortedthroughatrillion-wordbodyoftexttofindhowitwasrelatedtothe25verbsandhowthatrelatedtotheactivationpattern.Aftertrainingthemodelswereputtothetest.Theirtaskwastopredictthepatternofactivityforthetwomissingwordsfromthegroupof60andthentodeducewhichwordwaswhich.Onaveragethemodelscameupwiththerightanswermorethanthree-quartersofthetime. Theteamthenwentonestepfurtherthistimetrainingthemodelson59ofthe60testwordsandthenshowingthemanewbrainactivitypatternandofferingthemachoiceof1001wordstomatchit.Themodelsperformedwellabovechancewhentheyweremadetorankthe1001wordsaccordingtohowwelltheymatchedthepattern.Theideaissimilartoanother"brain-reading"technique.44.Itshouldn’tbetoodifficulttogetthemodeltochooseaccuratelybetweenalargernumberofwordssaysJohn-DylanHaynes. AnaverageEnglishspeakerknows50000wordsMitchellsayssothemodelcouldintheorybeusedtoselectanywordasubjectchoosestothinkof.EvenwholesentencesmightnotbetoodistantaprospectforthemodelsaysMitchell."Nowthatwecanseeindividualwordsitgivesthescaffoldingforstartingtoseewhatthebraindoeswithmultiplewordsasitassemblesthem"hesays.45 Modelssuchasthisonecouldalsobeusefulindiagnosingdisordersoflanguageorhelpingstudentspickupaforeignlanguage.Insemanticdementiaforexamplepeoplelosetheabilitytorememberthemeaningsofthings--shownapictureofachihuahuatheycanonlyrecall"dog"forexample--butlittleisknownaboutwhatexactlygoeswronginthebrain."Wecouldlookatwhattheneuralencodingisforthis"saysMitchell. [A]TheteamthenusedfunctionalmagneticresonanceimagingFMRItoscanthebrainsof9volunteersastheylookedatimagesofthenouns [B]Thestudycanpredictwhatpictureapersonisseeingfromaselectionofmorethan100reportedbyNatureearlierthisyear [C]Themodelmayhelptoresolvequestionsabouthowthebrainprocesseswordsandlanguageandmightevenleadtotechniquesfordecodingpeople’sthoughts [D]Thisgivesresearchersthechancetounderstandthe"mentalchemistry"thatthebraindoeswhenitprocessessuchphrasesMitchellsuggests [E]Thisresearchmaybeusefulforahumancomputerinterfacebutdoesnotcapturethecomplexnetworkthatallowsarealbraintolearnandusewordsinacreativeway [F]Theteamstartedwiththeassumptionthatthebrainprocesseswordsintermsofhowtheyrelatetomovementandsensoryinformation [G]Thenewmodelisdifferentinthatithastolookatthemeaningsofthewordsratherthanjustlower-levelvisualfeaturesofapicture 42
Goingtotheballparkvisitingfriendsandplayingbingoaresimplediversionsformanyofus.Butfortheelderlythesesocialpastimesmayplayacriticalroleinpreservingtheirphysicalandmentalhealth. 46Infactanewstudysuggeststhatthelesstimeolderpeoplespendengagedinsocialactivitythefastertheirmotorfunctiontendstodecline."Everybodyintheir60s70sand80siswalkingmoreslowlythantheydidwhentheywere25"saysDr.AronBuchmananeurologistattheRushUniversityMedicalCenterinChicagoandleadingauthorofthestudywhichwaspublishedintheJune22ndissueoftheArchivesofInternalMedicine.47"Ourstudyshowstheconnectionbetweensocialactivityandmotorfunction--andopensupawholenewuniverseofhowwemightintervene." 48Anincreasingbodyofevidencehassuggestedthatparticipatinginmentallystimulatingactivitysocializingfrequentlyandexercisingmayhelpprotectagainstage-relateddecline-atleastcognitivedecline.Asearlyas1995neuroscientistCarlCotmanwhostudiesaginganddementiaattheUniversityofCaliforniaatIrvinepublishedapaperinNatureshowingthatphysicalexerciseproducesaproteinthathelpskeepneuronsfromdyingandspurstheformationofnewneuralconnectionsinthebrain.49MorerecentlyCotmandemonstratedinstudiesofelderlydogsandmicethatenrichingtheirsocialenvironmentisassociatedwithimprovementinbrainfunction. Researchersarealsofindingthatsocialactivitymaybelinkedtothesameprotectiveeffectinpeople.Arecentstudyof2500adultsages70to79publishedinthejournalNeurologyfoundthatthosewhowereabletostaymentallysharpwerealsothosewhoexercisedonceaweekormorehadatleastaninthgradeliteracylevelandweresociallyactive. Whilefurtherresearchneedstobedonetoestablishtheexactimpactofsocialactivityandexerciseonspecificage-relateddeclines50it’slikelythatareductioninsocialactivitymaysimplybeasymptomofphysicaldeclinesincepeoplemaynaturallywithdrawfromsocialengagementastheylosemotorskills-mostresearcherswouldagreethatitisnotunreasonabletoencourageseniorstogetouttheremore.Only10%ofpeopleover65gettherecommendedamountofexerciseatleast2.5to5hoursaweekandgiventhatseniorsalreadytendtobemoresociallyisolatedthanyoungeradultsit’sdifficulttomotivatethemtobecomemoreactive."Ifyouarealoneyouarelesslikelytofollowrecommendations"notesVerghese.ItmighthelpthoughifyouvisitGrandmamoreoftenandletherknowthataregularpastimemayjusthelpherstayfitterandsharperlonger. 48Anincreasingbodyofevidencehassuggestedthatparticipatinginmentallystimulatingactivitysocializingfrequentlyandexercisingmayhelpprotectagainstage-relateddecline-atleastcognitivedecline.
SomeoftheconcernssurroundingTurkey’sapplicationtojointheEuropeanUniontobe1onbytheEU’sCouncilofMinistersonDecember17thareeconomic--inparticularthecountry’srelativepoverty.ItsGDPperheadislessthanathirdoftheaverageforthe15pre-2004membersoftheEU.2itisnotfaroffthatofLatvia--oneofthetennewmemberswhich3onMay1st2004anditismuchthesameas4oftwocountriesBulgariaandRomaniawhichthisweekconcluded5talkswiththeEUthatcouldmakethemfullmembersonJanuary1st2007. 6thecountry’srecenteconomicprogresshasbeenaccordingtoDonaldJohnstonthesecretary-generaloftheOECDstunning.GDPinthesecondquarteroftheyearwas13.4%higherthanayearearliera7ofgrowththatnoEUcountrycomescloseto8.Turkey’s9ratehasjustfallenintosinglefiguresforthefirsttimesince1972andthisweekthecountry10agreementwiththeIMFonanewthree-year$10billioneconomicprogramthatwillhelpTurkey11inflationtowardEuropeanlevelsandenhancetheeconomy’sresilience. Resiliencehasnothistoricallybeenthecountry’seconomicstrongpoint.12throughoutthe1990sgrowthoscillatedlikeanelectrocardiogram13aviolentheartattack.This14hasbeenoneofthemainreasonswhythecountryhasfaileddismallytoattractmuch-neededforeigndirectinvestment.Itsstockofsuchinvestmentislowernowthanitwasinthe1980sandannual15havescarcelyeverreached$1billion. Onedeterrenttoforeigninvestorsisdueto16onJanuary1st2005.OnthatdayTurkeywilltakeawaytherightofvirtuallyeveryoneofitscitizenstocallthemselvesamillionaire.Sixzeroswillberemovedfromthefacevalueofthelira里拉土耳其货币单位;oneunitofthelocal17willhenceforthbeworthwhat1millionarenow--ieabout£0.530.53欧元.Goodswillhavetobe18inboththenewandoldliraforthewholeoftheyear19foreignbankersand20canbegintolookforwardtoatimeinTurkeywhentheywillnolongerhavetojugglementallywithindeterminatestringsofzeros. 2
Directions: Writeanessayof160--200wordsbasedonthefollowingdrawing.Inyouressayyoushould 1describethepicturebriefly 2explainitsintendedmeaningandthen 3supportyourviewwithanexample/examples. YoushouldwriteneatlyonANSWERSHEET2.
SomeoftheconcernssurroundingTurkey’sapplicationtojointheEuropeanUniontobe1onbytheEU’sCouncilofMinistersonDecember17thareeconomic--inparticularthecountry’srelativepoverty.ItsGDPperheadislessthanathirdoftheaverageforthe15pre-2004membersoftheEU.2itisnotfaroffthatofLatvia--oneofthetennewmemberswhich3onMay1st2004anditismuchthesameas4oftwocountriesBulgariaandRomaniawhichthisweekconcluded5talkswiththeEUthatcouldmakethemfullmembersonJanuary1st2007. 6thecountry’srecenteconomicprogresshasbeenaccordingtoDonaldJohnstonthesecretary-generaloftheOECDstunning.GDPinthesecondquarteroftheyearwas13.4%higherthanayearearliera7ofgrowththatnoEUcountrycomescloseto8.Turkey’s9ratehasjustfallenintosinglefiguresforthefirsttimesince1972andthisweekthecountry10agreementwiththeIMFonanewthree-year$10billioneconomicprogramthatwillhelpTurkey11inflationtowardEuropeanlevelsandenhancetheeconomy’sresilience. Resiliencehasnothistoricallybeenthecountry’seconomicstrongpoint.12throughoutthe1990sgrowthoscillatedlikeanelectrocardiogram13aviolentheartattack.This14hasbeenoneofthemainreasonswhythecountryhasfaileddismallytoattractmuch-neededforeigndirectinvestment.Itsstockofsuchinvestmentislowernowthanitwasinthe1980sandannual15havescarcelyeverreached$1billion. Onedeterrenttoforeigninvestorsisdueto16onJanuary1st2005.OnthatdayTurkeywilltakeawaytherightofvirtuallyeveryoneofitscitizenstocallthemselvesamillionaire.Sixzeroswillberemovedfromthefacevalueofthelira里拉土耳其货币单位;oneunitofthelocal17willhenceforthbeworthwhat1millionarenow--ieabout£0.530.53欧元.Goodswillhavetobe18inboththenewandoldliraforthewholeoftheyear19foreignbankersand20canbegintolookforwardtoatimeinTurkeywhentheywillnolongerhavetojugglementallywithindeterminatestringsofzeros. 6
SomeoftheconcernssurroundingTurkey’sapplicationtojointheEuropeanUniontobe1onbytheEU’sCouncilofMinistersonDecember17thareeconomic--inparticularthecountry’srelativepoverty.ItsGDPperheadislessthanathirdoftheaverageforthe15pre-2004membersoftheEU.2itisnotfaroffthatofLatvia--oneofthetennewmemberswhich3onMay1st2004anditismuchthesameas4oftwocountriesBulgariaandRomaniawhichthisweekconcluded5talkswiththeEUthatcouldmakethemfullmembersonJanuary1st2007. 6thecountry’srecenteconomicprogresshasbeenaccordingtoDonaldJohnstonthesecretary-generaloftheOECDstunning.GDPinthesecondquarteroftheyearwas13.4%higherthanayearearliera7ofgrowththatnoEUcountrycomescloseto8.Turkey’s9ratehasjustfallenintosinglefiguresforthefirsttimesince1972andthisweekthecountry10agreementwiththeIMFonanewthree-year$10billioneconomicprogramthatwillhelpTurkey11inflationtowardEuropeanlevelsandenhancetheeconomy’sresilience. Resiliencehasnothistoricallybeenthecountry’seconomicstrongpoint.12throughoutthe1990sgrowthoscillatedlikeanelectrocardiogram13aviolentheartattack.This14hasbeenoneofthemainreasonswhythecountryhasfaileddismallytoattractmuch-neededforeigndirectinvestment.Itsstockofsuchinvestmentislowernowthanitwasinthe1980sandannual15havescarcelyeverreached$1billion. Onedeterrenttoforeigninvestorsisdueto16onJanuary1st2005.OnthatdayTurkeywilltakeawaytherightofvirtuallyeveryoneofitscitizenstocallthemselvesamillionaire.Sixzeroswillberemovedfromthefacevalueofthelira里拉土耳其货币单位;oneunitofthelocal17willhenceforthbeworthwhat1millionarenow--ieabout£0.530.53欧元.Goodswillhavetobe18inboththenewandoldliraforthewholeoftheyear19foreignbankersand20canbegintolookforwardtoatimeinTurkeywhentheywillnolongerhavetojugglementallywithindeterminatestringsofzeros. 20
Thequestionofwhetherwarisinevitableisonewhichhasconcernedmanyoftheworld’sgreatwriters.Beforeconsideringthisquestionitwillbeusefultointroducesomerelatedconcepts.Conflictdefinedasoppositionamongsocialentitiesdirectedagainstoneanotherisdistinguishedfromcompetitiondefinedasoppositionamongsocialentitiesindependentlystrivingforsomethingwhichisininadequateaupply.Competitorsmaynotbeawareofoneanotherwhilethepartiestoaconflictare.Conflictandcompetitionarebothcategoriesofoppositionwhichhasbeendefinedasaprocessbywhichsocialentitiesfunctionisthedisserviceofoneanother. Oppositionisthuscontrastedwithcooperationtheprocessbywhichsocialentitiesfunctionintheserviceofoneanother.Thesedefinitionsarenecessarybecauseitisimportanttoemphasizethatcompetitionbetweenindividualsorgroupsininevitableinaworldoflimitedresourcesbutconflictisnot.Conflictneverthelessisverylikelytooccurandisprobablyanessentialanddesirableelementofhumansocieties. Manyauthorshavearguedfortheinevitabilityofwarfromthepremisethatinthestruggleforexistenceamonganimalspecies0nlythefittestsurvive.Ingeneralhoweverthisstruggleinnatureiscompetitionnotconflict.Socialanimalssuchasmonkeysandcattlefighttowinormaintainleadershipofthegroup.Thestruggleforexistenceoccursnotinsuchfightsbutinthecompetitionforlimitedfeedingareasandforoccupancyofareasfreefrommeat-eatinganimals.Thosewhofailinthiscompetitionstarvetodeathorbecomevictimstootherspecies.Thisstruggleforexistencedoesnotresemblehumanwarbutratherthecompetitionofindividualsforjobsmarketsandmaterials.Theessenceofthestruggleisthecompetitionforthenecessitiesoflifethatareinsufficienttosatisfyall. Amongnationsthereiscompetitionindevelopingresourcestradesskillsandasatisfactorywayoflife.Thesuccessfulnationsgrowandprosper;theunsuccessfuldecline.Whileitistruethatthiscompetitionmayinduceeffortstoexpandterritoryattheexpenseofothersandthusleadtoconflictitcannotbesaidthatwar-likeconflictamongnationsisinevitablealthoughcompetitionis. Inthefirstparagraphtheauthorgivesthedefinitionsofsometermsinorderto
Goingtotheballparkvisitingfriendsandplayingbingoaresimplediversionsformanyofus.Butfortheelderlythesesocialpastimesmayplayacriticalroleinpreservingtheirphysicalandmentalhealth. 46Infactanewstudysuggeststhatthelesstimeolderpeoplespendengagedinsocialactivitythefastertheirmotorfunctiontendstodecline."Everybodyintheir60s70sand80siswalkingmoreslowlythantheydidwhentheywere25"saysDr.AronBuchmananeurologistattheRushUniversityMedicalCenterinChicagoandleadingauthorofthestudywhichwaspublishedintheJune22ndissueoftheArchivesofInternalMedicine.47"Ourstudyshowstheconnectionbetweensocialactivityandmotorfunction--andopensupawholenewuniverseofhowwemightintervene." 48Anincreasingbodyofevidencehassuggestedthatparticipatinginmentallystimulatingactivitysocializingfrequentlyandexercisingmayhelpprotectagainstage-relateddecline-atleastcognitivedecline.Asearlyas1995neuroscientistCarlCotmanwhostudiesaginganddementiaattheUniversityofCaliforniaatIrvinepublishedapaperinNatureshowingthatphysicalexerciseproducesaproteinthathelpskeepneuronsfromdyingandspurstheformationofnewneuralconnectionsinthebrain.49MorerecentlyCotmandemonstratedinstudiesofelderlydogsandmicethatenrichingtheirsocialenvironmentisassociatedwithimprovementinbrainfunction. Researchersarealsofindingthatsocialactivitymaybelinkedtothesameprotectiveeffectinpeople.Arecentstudyof2500adultsages70to79publishedinthejournalNeurologyfoundthatthosewhowereabletostaymentallysharpwerealsothosewhoexercisedonceaweekormorehadatleastaninthgradeliteracylevelandweresociallyactive. Whilefurtherresearchneedstobedonetoestablishtheexactimpactofsocialactivityandexerciseonspecificage-relateddeclines50it’slikelythatareductioninsocialactivitymaysimplybeasymptomofphysicaldeclinesincepeoplemaynaturallywithdrawfromsocialengagementastheylosemotorskills-mostresearcherswouldagreethatitisnotunreasonabletoencourageseniorstogetouttheremore.Only10%ofpeopleover65gettherecommendedamountofexerciseatleast2.5to5hoursaweekandgiventhatseniorsalreadytendtobemoresociallyisolatedthanyoungeradultsit’sdifficulttomotivatethemtobecomemoreactive."Ifyouarealoneyouarelesslikelytofollowrecommendations"notesVerghese.ItmighthelpthoughifyouvisitGrandmamoreoftenandletherknowthataregularpastimemayjusthelpherstayfitterandsharperlonger. 46Infactanewstudysuggeststhatthelesstimeolderpeoplespendengagedinsocialactivitythefastertheirmotorfunctiontendstodecline.
In1929JohnD.Rockefellerdecideditwastimetosellshareswhenevenashoe-shineboyofferedhimasharetip.DuringthepastweekTheEconomist’seconomicseditorhasbeenadvisedbyataxidriveraplumberandahairdresserthat"youcan’tgowrong"investinginhousing-themoreyouownthebetter.IsthisasignthatitistimetogetoutAttheveryleastashousepricesaroundtheworldclimbtoeverloftierheightsandmoreandmorepeoplejumpontothebuy-to-letladderitistimetoexposesomeofthefallaciesregularlytrottedoutbysomanyself-appointedhousingexperts. Onecommonerroristhathousepricesmustcontinuetorisebecauseofalimitedsupplyofland.Forinstanceitisarguedthat"housepriceswillalwaysriseinLondonbecauselotsofpeoplewanttolivehere".Butthisconfusesthelevelofpriceswiththeirrateofchange.Homepricesareboundtobehigherinbigcitiesbecauseoflandscarcitybutthisdoesnotguaranteethaturbanhousepriceswillkeeprisingindefinitely-justlookatTokyo’shugeprice-dropssince1990.Andthoughitistruethatafixedsupplyofhomesmaypushuphousepricesifthepopulationisrisingthiswouldimplyasteadyriseinpricesnotthe20%annualjumpsofrecentyears. Asecondflawedargumentisthatlowinterestratesmakebuyingahomecheaperandsopushupdemandandprices.Lowerinterestratesmayhaveallowedsomepeoplewhootherwisecouldnothaveaffordedamortgagetobuyahome.Butmanyborrowerswhothinkmortgagesarecheaperaresufferingfrommoneyillusion. Interestratesarenotverylowinrealinflation-adjustedterms.Initialinterestpaymentsmayseemlowinrelationtoincomebutbecauseinflationisalsolowitwillnoterodetherealburdenofdebtasswiftlyasitoncedid.Soinlateryearsmortgagepaymentswillbemuchlargerinrealterms.Toarguethatlownominalinterestratesmakebuyingahomecheaperislikearguingthatacarloanpaidoffoverfouryearsischeaperthanonerepaidovertwoyears. FallacynumberthreeisafavouriteclaimofAlanGreenspanchairmanofAmerica’sFederalReserve.Thisisthatpricebubblesarelesslikelyinhousingthaninthestockmarketbecausehighertransactioncostsdiscouragespeculation.Infactseveralstudieshaveshownthatbothintheoryandinpracticebubblesaremorelikelyinhousingthaninshares.AstudybytheIMFfindsthatasharpriseinhousepricesisfarmorelikelytobefollowedbyabustthanisashare-priceboom. TheviewsofAlanGreenspanandtheauthorofthetextonpricebubblesare
SomeoftheconcernssurroundingTurkey’sapplicationtojointheEuropeanUniontobe1onbytheEU’sCouncilofMinistersonDecember17thareeconomic--inparticularthecountry’srelativepoverty.ItsGDPperheadislessthanathirdoftheaverageforthe15pre-2004membersoftheEU.2itisnotfaroffthatofLatvia--oneofthetennewmemberswhich3onMay1st2004anditismuchthesameas4oftwocountriesBulgariaandRomaniawhichthisweekconcluded5talkswiththeEUthatcouldmakethemfullmembersonJanuary1st2007. 6thecountry’srecenteconomicprogresshasbeenaccordingtoDonaldJohnstonthesecretary-generaloftheOECDstunning.GDPinthesecondquarteroftheyearwas13.4%higherthanayearearliera7ofgrowththatnoEUcountrycomescloseto8.Turkey’s9ratehasjustfallenintosinglefiguresforthefirsttimesince1972andthisweekthecountry10agreementwiththeIMFonanewthree-year$10billioneconomicprogramthatwillhelpTurkey11inflationtowardEuropeanlevelsandenhancetheeconomy’sresilience. Resiliencehasnothistoricallybeenthecountry’seconomicstrongpoint.12throughoutthe1990sgrowthoscillatedlikeanelectrocardiogram13aviolentheartattack.This14hasbeenoneofthemainreasonswhythecountryhasfaileddismallytoattractmuch-neededforeigndirectinvestment.Itsstockofsuchinvestmentislowernowthanitwasinthe1980sandannual15havescarcelyeverreached$1billion. Onedeterrenttoforeigninvestorsisdueto16onJanuary1st2005.OnthatdayTurkeywilltakeawaytherightofvirtuallyeveryoneofitscitizenstocallthemselvesamillionaire.Sixzeroswillberemovedfromthefacevalueofthelira里拉土耳其货币单位;oneunitofthelocal17willhenceforthbeworthwhat1millionarenow--ieabout£0.530.53欧元.Goodswillhavetobe18inboththenewandoldliraforthewholeoftheyear19foreignbankersand20canbegintolookforwardtoatimeinTurkeywhentheywillnolongerhavetojugglementallywithindeterminatestringsofzeros. 16
Acomputermodelhasbeendevelopedthatcanpredictwhatwordyouarethinkingof.41ResearchersledbyTomMitchellofCarnegieMellonUniversityinPittsburghPennsylvania"trained"acomputermodeltorecognizethepatternsofbrainactivityassociatedwith60imageseachofwhichrepresentedadifferentnounsuchas"celery"or"aeroplane". 42.Wordssuchas"hammer"forexampleaxeknowntocausemovement-relatedareasofthebraintolightup;ontheotherhandtheword"castle"triggersactivityinregionsthatprocessspatialinformation.Mitchellandhiscolleaguesalsoknewthatdifferentnounsareassociatedmoreoftenwithsomeverbsthanwithothers--theverb"eat"forexampleismorelikelytobefoundinconjunctionwith"celery"thanwith"aeroplane".Theresearchersdesignedthemodeltotryandusethesesemanticlinkstoworkouthowthebrainwouldreacttoparticularnouns.Theyfed25suchverbsintothemodel. 43.Theresearchersthenfedthemodel58ofthe60nounstotrainit.Foreachnounthemodelsortedthroughatrillion-wordbodyoftexttofindhowitwasrelatedtothe25verbsandhowthatrelatedtotheactivationpattern.Aftertrainingthemodelswereputtothetest.Theirtaskwastopredictthepatternofactivityforthetwomissingwordsfromthegroupof60andthentodeducewhichwordwaswhich.Onaveragethemodelscameupwiththerightanswermorethanthree-quartersofthetime. Theteamthenwentonestepfurtherthistimetrainingthemodelson59ofthe60testwordsandthenshowingthemanewbrainactivitypatternandofferingthemachoiceof1001wordstomatchit.Themodelsperformedwellabovechancewhentheyweremadetorankthe1001wordsaccordingtohowwelltheymatchedthepattern.Theideaissimilartoanother"brain-reading"technique.44.Itshouldn’tbetoodifficulttogetthemodeltochooseaccuratelybetweenalargernumberofwordssaysJohn-DylanHaynes. AnaverageEnglishspeakerknows50000wordsMitchellsayssothemodelcouldintheorybeusedtoselectanywordasubjectchoosestothinkof.EvenwholesentencesmightnotbetoodistantaprospectforthemodelsaysMitchell."Nowthatwecanseeindividualwordsitgivesthescaffoldingforstartingtoseewhatthebraindoeswithmultiplewordsasitassemblesthem"hesays.45 Modelssuchasthisonecouldalsobeusefulindiagnosingdisordersoflanguageorhelpingstudentspickupaforeignlanguage.Insemanticdementiaforexamplepeoplelosetheabilitytorememberthemeaningsofthings--shownapictureofachihuahuatheycanonlyrecall"dog"forexample--butlittleisknownaboutwhatexactlygoeswronginthebrain."Wecouldlookatwhattheneuralencodingisforthis"saysMitchell. [A]TheteamthenusedfunctionalmagneticresonanceimagingFMRItoscanthebrainsof9volunteersastheylookedatimagesofthenouns [B]Thestudycanpredictwhatpictureapersonisseeingfromaselectionofmorethan100reportedbyNatureearlierthisyear [C]Themodelmayhelptoresolvequestionsabouthowthebrainprocesseswordsandlanguageandmightevenleadtotechniquesfordecodingpeople’sthoughts [D]Thisgivesresearchersthechancetounderstandthe"mentalchemistry"thatthebraindoeswhenitprocessessuchphrasesMitchellsuggests [E]Thisresearchmaybeusefulforahumancomputerinterfacebutdoesnotcapturethecomplexnetworkthatallowsarealbraintolearnandusewordsinacreativeway [F]Theteamstartedwiththeassumptionthatthebrainprocesseswordsintermsofhowtheyrelatetomovementandsensoryinformation [G]Thenewmodelisdifferentinthatithastolookatthemeaningsofthewordsratherthanjustlower-levelvisualfeaturesofapicture 44
SomeoftheconcernssurroundingTurkey’sapplicationtojointheEuropeanUniontobe1onbytheEU’sCouncilofMinistersonDecember17thareeconomic--inparticularthecountry’srelativepoverty.ItsGDPperheadislessthanathirdoftheaverageforthe15pre-2004membersoftheEU.2itisnotfaroffthatofLatvia--oneofthetennewmemberswhich3onMay1st2004anditismuchthesameas4oftwocountriesBulgariaandRomaniawhichthisweekconcluded5talkswiththeEUthatcouldmakethemfullmembersonJanuary1st2007. 6thecountry’srecenteconomicprogresshasbeenaccordingtoDonaldJohnstonthesecretary-generaloftheOECDstunning.GDPinthesecondquarteroftheyearwas13.4%higherthanayearearliera7ofgrowththatnoEUcountrycomescloseto8.Turkey’s9ratehasjustfallenintosinglefiguresforthefirsttimesince1972andthisweekthecountry10agreementwiththeIMFonanewthree-year$10billioneconomicprogramthatwillhelpTurkey11inflationtowardEuropeanlevelsandenhancetheeconomy’sresilience. Resiliencehasnothistoricallybeenthecountry’seconomicstrongpoint.12throughoutthe1990sgrowthoscillatedlikeanelectrocardiogram13aviolentheartattack.This14hasbeenoneofthemainreasonswhythecountryhasfaileddismallytoattractmuch-neededforeigndirectinvestment.Itsstockofsuchinvestmentislowernowthanitwasinthe1980sandannual15havescarcelyeverreached$1billion. Onedeterrenttoforeigninvestorsisdueto16onJanuary1st2005.OnthatdayTurkeywilltakeawaytherightofvirtuallyeveryoneofitscitizenstocallthemselvesamillionaire.Sixzeroswillberemovedfromthefacevalueofthelira里拉土耳其货币单位;oneunitofthelocal17willhenceforthbeworthwhat1millionarenow--ieabout£0.530.53欧元.Goodswillhavetobe18inboththenewandoldliraforthewholeoftheyear19foreignbankersand20canbegintolookforwardtoatimeinTurkeywhentheywillnolongerhavetojugglementallywithindeterminatestringsofzeros. 8
Culturalresponsestomodernizationoftenmanifestthemselvesinthemassmedia.ForexampleAldousHuxleyinBraveNewWorldcreatedafictionalworldinwhichhecautionedreadersthatmodernscienceandtechnologyposedathreattoindividualdignity.CharlieChaplin’sfilmModernTimessetinafuturisticmanufacturingplantalsotoldthestoryofthedehumanizingimpactofmodernizationandmachinery.Writersandartistsintheircriticismsofthemodernworldoftenpointtotechnology’sabilitytoalienatepeoplefromoneanothercapitalism’stendencytofostergreedandgovernment’sinclinationtocreatebureaucraciesthatoppressratherthanhelppeople. Amongthemajorvaluesofthemodernperiodfourtypicallymanifestthemselvesintheculturalenvironment:celebratingtheindividualbelievinginrationalorderworkingefficientlyandrejectingtradition.Thesevaluesofthemodernperiodwereoriginallyembodiedintheprintingpressandlaterinnewspapersandmagazines.Theprintmediaencouragedthevisionofindividualwriterspublishersandreaderswhocirculatednewideas.Whereasthepremodernperiodwasguidedbystrongbeliefsinanaturalordivineorderbecomingmodernmeantelevatingindividualself-expressiontoacentralposition.AlongwithdemocraticbreakthroughshoweverindividualismandtheIndustrialRevolutiontriggeredmodernformsofhierarchyinwhichcertainindividualsandgroupsachievedhigherstandinginthesocialorder.Forexamplethosewhomanagedcommercialenterprisesgainedmorecontrolovertheeconomicladderwhileanintellectualclassofmodernexpertswhomasteredspecializedrealmsofknowledgegainedincreasingpoweroverthenation’ssocialpoliticalandculturalagendas. Tobemodernalsomeanttovaluethecapacityoforganizedscientificmindstosolveproblemsefficiently.Progressivethinkersmaintainedthattheprintingpressthetelegraphandtherailroadincombinationwithascientificattitudewouldfosteranewtypeofinformedsociety.Atthecoreofthissocietytheprintedmassmediaparticularlynewspaperswouldeducatethecitizenryhelpingtobuildandmaintainanorganizedsocialframework.Journalistsstroveforthepremodernidealthroughamorefact-basedandefficientapproachtoreporting.Theydiscardeddecorativewritingandchampionedaleanlook.Modernfront-pagenewsde-emphasizeddescriptioncommentaryandhistoricalcontext.TheleadsentencesthatreportedapresidentialpressconferencebegantolooksimilarwhethertheywereonthefrontpageinTupeloMississippiorWahpetonNorthDakota.JustasmodernarchitecturemademanyAmericanskylineslookalikethefrontpagesofnewspapersbegantoresembleoneanother. Finallytobemodernmeanttothrowofftherigidrulesofthepasttobreakwithtradition.Modernjournalismbecamecaptivatedbytimelyandimmediateevents.Asaresultthemorestandardizedformsoffront-pagejournalismontheonehandchampionedfactsandcurrenteventswhileefficientlymeetingdeadlines.Butontheotherhandmodernnewspapersoftenfailedtotakeahistoricalperspectiveortoanalyzesufficientlytheideasunderlyingtheseevents. Modernjournalisticreportingemphasizes
IfyouareatouristinterestedinseeingabaseballgamewhileinNewYorkyoucanFindoutwhichofitsteamsareintownsimplybysendingamessagetoAskForCents.com.Inafewminutestheanswercomesbackapparentlysuppliedbyamachinebutactuallycomposedbyahuman.Usinghumanstoprocessinformationinamachine-likewayisnotnew-itwaspioneeredbytheMechanicalTurkafamed18th-centurychess-playingmachinethatwasoperatedbyahiddenchessmaster.Butwhilecomputershavesincesurpassedthehumanbrainatchessmanytasksstillbaffleeventhemostpowerfulelectronicbrain. ForinstancecomputerscanfindyouabaseballschedulebuttheycannottellyoudirectlyiftheYankeesareintown.Norcantheytellyouwhethersittinginthebleachersisagoodideaonafirstdate.AskForCentscanbecauseitsanswerscomefrompeople."Whateverquestionyoucancomeupwiththere’sapersonthatcanprovidetheanswer--youdon’thavetheinflexibilityofanalgorithm-drivensystem"saysJesseHeitlerwhodevelopedAskForCents.Mr.HeitlerwasabletodothisthankstoanewsoftwaretooldevelopedbyAmazontheonlineretailerthatallowscomputingtaskstobefarmedouttopeopleovertheinternet.AptlyenoughAmazon’ssystemiscalledMechanicalTurk. Amazon’sTurkisparttoolkitforsoftwaredevelopersandpartonlinebazaar:anyonewithinternetaccesscanregisterasaTurkuserandstartperformingtheHumanIntelligenceTasksHITslistedontheTurkwebsitemturk.com.Companiescanbecome"requesters"bysettingupaseparateaccounttiedtoabankaccountthatwillpayoutfeesandthenpostingtheirHITs.MostHITspaybetweenonecentand$5.Sofarpeoplefrommorethan100countrieshaveperformedHITsthoughonlythosewithAmericanbankaccountscanreceivemoneyfortheirwork;othersarepaidinAmazongiftcertificates. Mr.Heitlersayshehadpreviouslytriedtobuildasimilartoolbutconcludedthattheinfrastructurewouldbedifficulttooperateprofitably.AmazonalreadyhasanextensivesoftwareinfrastructuredesignedforlinkingbuyerswithsellershoweverandtheTurksimplyextendsthatexistingmodel.LastNovemberAmazonunveiledaprototypeofthesystemwhichitcalls"artificialartificialintelligence".ThepremiseisthathumansarevastlysuperiortocomputersattaskssuchaspatternrecognitionsaysPeterCohendirectoroftheprojectatAmazonsowhynotletsoftwaretakeadvantageofhumanstrengths Mr.CohencreditsAmazon’sbossJeffBezoswiththeconceptfortheTurk.Otherpeoplehavehadsimilarideas.EricBonabeauofIcosystemanAmericanfirmthatbuildssoftwaretoolsmodeledonnaturalsystemshasbuiltwhathecallsthe"HunchEngine"tocombinehumanintelligencewithcomputeranalysis.TheFrenchpostalserviceforexamplehasusedittohelpitsworkerschoosethebestdeliveryroutesandpharmaceuticalresearchersareusingittodeterminemolecularstructuresbycombiningtheirgutinstinctswithknownresultsstoredinadatabase.AndafirmcalledSeriosityhopestotapthecollectivebrainpowerofthelegionsofobsessiveplayersofmultiplayeronlinegamessuchas"WorldofWarcraft"bygettingthemtoperformsmallreal-worldtaskssuchassortingphotographswhileplayingandpayingtheminthegame’sowncurrency. AskForCents.cornisoperatedonthebasisof
SomeoftheconcernssurroundingTurkey’sapplicationtojointheEuropeanUniontobe1onbytheEU’sCouncilofMinistersonDecember17thareeconomic--inparticularthecountry’srelativepoverty.ItsGDPperheadislessthanathirdoftheaverageforthe15pre-2004membersoftheEU.2itisnotfaroffthatofLatvia--oneofthetennewmemberswhich3onMay1st2004anditismuchthesameas4oftwocountriesBulgariaandRomaniawhichthisweekconcluded5talkswiththeEUthatcouldmakethemfullmembersonJanuary1st2007. 6thecountry’srecenteconomicprogresshasbeenaccordingtoDonaldJohnstonthesecretary-generaloftheOECDstunning.GDPinthesecondquarteroftheyearwas13.4%higherthanayearearliera7ofgrowththatnoEUcountrycomescloseto8.Turkey’s9ratehasjustfallenintosinglefiguresforthefirsttimesince1972andthisweekthecountry10agreementwiththeIMFonanewthree-year$10billioneconomicprogramthatwillhelpTurkey11inflationtowardEuropeanlevelsandenhancetheeconomy’sresilience. Resiliencehasnothistoricallybeenthecountry’seconomicstrongpoint.12throughoutthe1990sgrowthoscillatedlikeanelectrocardiogram13aviolentheartattack.This14hasbeenoneofthemainreasonswhythecountryhasfaileddismallytoattractmuch-neededforeigndirectinvestment.Itsstockofsuchinvestmentislowernowthanitwasinthe1980sandannual15havescarcelyeverreached$1billion. Onedeterrenttoforeigninvestorsisdueto16onJanuary1st2005.OnthatdayTurkeywilltakeawaytherightofvirtuallyeveryoneofitscitizenstocallthemselvesamillionaire.Sixzeroswillberemovedfromthefacevalueofthelira里拉土耳其货币单位;oneunitofthelocal17willhenceforthbeworthwhat1millionarenow--ieabout£0.530.53欧元.Goodswillhavetobe18inboththenewandoldliraforthewholeoftheyear19foreignbankersand20canbegintolookforwardtoatimeinTurkeywhentheywillnolongerhavetojugglementallywithindeterminatestringsofzeros. 10
IfyouareatouristinterestedinseeingabaseballgamewhileinNewYorkyoucanFindoutwhichofitsteamsareintownsimplybysendingamessagetoAskForCents.com.Inafewminutestheanswercomesbackapparentlysuppliedbyamachinebutactuallycomposedbyahuman.Usinghumanstoprocessinformationinamachine-likewayisnotnew-itwaspioneeredbytheMechanicalTurkafamed18th-centurychess-playingmachinethatwasoperatedbyahiddenchessmaster.Butwhilecomputershavesincesurpassedthehumanbrainatchessmanytasksstillbaffleeventhemostpowerfulelectronicbrain. ForinstancecomputerscanfindyouabaseballschedulebuttheycannottellyoudirectlyiftheYankeesareintown.Norcantheytellyouwhethersittinginthebleachersisagoodideaonafirstdate.AskForCentscanbecauseitsanswerscomefrompeople."Whateverquestionyoucancomeupwiththere’sapersonthatcanprovidetheanswer--youdon’thavetheinflexibilityofanalgorithm-drivensystem"saysJesseHeitlerwhodevelopedAskForCents.Mr.HeitlerwasabletodothisthankstoanewsoftwaretooldevelopedbyAmazontheonlineretailerthatallowscomputingtaskstobefarmedouttopeopleovertheinternet.AptlyenoughAmazon’ssystemiscalledMechanicalTurk. Amazon’sTurkisparttoolkitforsoftwaredevelopersandpartonlinebazaar:anyonewithinternetaccesscanregisterasaTurkuserandstartperformingtheHumanIntelligenceTasksHITslistedontheTurkwebsitemturk.com.Companiescanbecome"requesters"bysettingupaseparateaccounttiedtoabankaccountthatwillpayoutfeesandthenpostingtheirHITs.MostHITspaybetweenonecentand$5.Sofarpeoplefrommorethan100countrieshaveperformedHITsthoughonlythosewithAmericanbankaccountscanreceivemoneyfortheirwork;othersarepaidinAmazongiftcertificates. Mr.Heitlersayshehadpreviouslytriedtobuildasimilartoolbutconcludedthattheinfrastructurewouldbedifficulttooperateprofitably.AmazonalreadyhasanextensivesoftwareinfrastructuredesignedforlinkingbuyerswithsellershoweverandtheTurksimplyextendsthatexistingmodel.LastNovemberAmazonunveiledaprototypeofthesystemwhichitcalls"artificialartificialintelligence".ThepremiseisthathumansarevastlysuperiortocomputersattaskssuchaspatternrecognitionsaysPeterCohendirectoroftheprojectatAmazonsowhynotletsoftwaretakeadvantageofhumanstrengths Mr.CohencreditsAmazon’sbossJeffBezoswiththeconceptfortheTurk.Otherpeoplehavehadsimilarideas.EricBonabeauofIcosystemanAmericanfirmthatbuildssoftwaretoolsmodeledonnaturalsystemshasbuiltwhathecallsthe"HunchEngine"tocombinehumanintelligencewithcomputeranalysis.TheFrenchpostalserviceforexamplehasusedittohelpitsworkerschoosethebestdeliveryroutesandpharmaceuticalresearchersareusingittodeterminemolecularstructuresbycombiningtheirgutinstinctswithknownresultsstoredinadatabase.AndafirmcalledSeriosityhopestotapthecollectivebrainpowerofthelegionsofobsessiveplayersofmultiplayeronlinegamessuchas"WorldofWarcraft"bygettingthemtoperformsmallreal-worldtaskssuchassortingphotographswhileplayingandpayingtheminthegame’sowncurrency. AmazonissuccessfulwithTurkisprobablybecause
SomeoftheconcernssurroundingTurkey’sapplicationtojointheEuropeanUniontobe1onbytheEU’sCouncilofMinistersonDecember17thareeconomic--inparticularthecountry’srelativepoverty.ItsGDPperheadislessthanathirdoftheaverageforthe15pre-2004membersoftheEU.2itisnotfaroffthatofLatvia--oneofthetennewmemberswhich3onMay1st2004anditismuchthesameas4oftwocountriesBulgariaandRomaniawhichthisweekconcluded5talkswiththeEUthatcouldmakethemfullmembersonJanuary1st2007. 6thecountry’srecenteconomicprogresshasbeenaccordingtoDonaldJohnstonthesecretary-generaloftheOECDstunning.GDPinthesecondquarteroftheyearwas13.4%higherthanayearearliera7ofgrowththatnoEUcountrycomescloseto8.Turkey’s9ratehasjustfallenintosinglefiguresforthefirsttimesince1972andthisweekthecountry10agreementwiththeIMFonanewthree-year$10billioneconomicprogramthatwillhelpTurkey11inflationtowardEuropeanlevelsandenhancetheeconomy’sresilience. Resiliencehasnothistoricallybeenthecountry’seconomicstrongpoint.12throughoutthe1990sgrowthoscillatedlikeanelectrocardiogram13aviolentheartattack.This14hasbeenoneofthemainreasonswhythecountryhasfaileddismallytoattractmuch-neededforeigndirectinvestment.Itsstockofsuchinvestmentislowernowthanitwasinthe1980sandannual15havescarcelyeverreached$1billion. Onedeterrenttoforeigninvestorsisdueto16onJanuary1st2005.OnthatdayTurkeywilltakeawaytherightofvirtuallyeveryoneofitscitizenstocallthemselvesamillionaire.Sixzeroswillberemovedfromthefacevalueofthelira里拉土耳其货币单位;oneunitofthelocal17willhenceforthbeworthwhat1millionarenow--ieabout£0.530.53欧元.Goodswillhavetobe18inboththenewandoldliraforthewholeoftheyear19foreignbankersand20canbegintolookforwardtoatimeinTurkeywhentheywillnolongerhavetojugglementallywithindeterminatestringsofzeros. 4
Thequestionofwhetherwarisinevitableisonewhichhasconcernedmanyoftheworld’sgreatwriters.Beforeconsideringthisquestionitwillbeusefultointroducesomerelatedconcepts.Conflictdefinedasoppositionamongsocialentitiesdirectedagainstoneanotherisdistinguishedfromcompetitiondefinedasoppositionamongsocialentitiesindependentlystrivingforsomethingwhichisininadequateaupply.Competitorsmaynotbeawareofoneanotherwhilethepartiestoaconflictare.Conflictandcompetitionarebothcategoriesofoppositionwhichhasbeendefinedasaprocessbywhichsocialentitiesfunctionisthedisserviceofoneanother. Oppositionisthuscontrastedwithcooperationtheprocessbywhichsocialentitiesfunctionintheserviceofoneanother.Thesedefinitionsarenecessarybecauseitisimportanttoemphasizethatcompetitionbetweenindividualsorgroupsininevitableinaworldoflimitedresourcesbutconflictisnot.Conflictneverthelessisverylikelytooccurandisprobablyanessentialanddesirableelementofhumansocieties. Manyauthorshavearguedfortheinevitabilityofwarfromthepremisethatinthestruggleforexistenceamonganimalspecies0nlythefittestsurvive.Ingeneralhoweverthisstruggleinnatureiscompetitionnotconflict.Socialanimalssuchasmonkeysandcattlefighttowinormaintainleadershipofthegroup.Thestruggleforexistenceoccursnotinsuchfightsbutinthecompetitionforlimitedfeedingareasandforoccupancyofareasfreefrommeat-eatinganimals.Thosewhofailinthiscompetitionstarvetodeathorbecomevictimstootherspecies.Thisstruggleforexistencedoesnotresemblehumanwarbutratherthecompetitionofindividualsforjobsmarketsandmaterials.Theessenceofthestruggleisthecompetitionforthenecessitiesoflifethatareinsufficienttosatisfyall. Amongnationsthereiscompetitionindevelopingresourcestradesskillsandasatisfactorywayoflife.Thesuccessfulnationsgrowandprosper;theunsuccessfuldecline.Whileitistruethatthiscompetitionmayinduceeffortstoexpandterritoryattheexpenseofothersandthusleadtoconflictitcannotbesaidthatwar-likeconflictamongnationsisinevitablealthoughcompetitionis. Thepassageisprobablyintendedtoanswerthequestion.
SomeoftheconcernssurroundingTurkey’sapplicationtojointheEuropeanUniontobe1onbytheEU’sCouncilofMinistersonDecember17thareeconomic--inparticularthecountry’srelativepoverty.ItsGDPperheadislessthanathirdoftheaverageforthe15pre-2004membersoftheEU.2itisnotfaroffthatofLatvia--oneofthetennewmemberswhich3onMay1st2004anditismuchthesameas4oftwocountriesBulgariaandRomaniawhichthisweekconcluded5talkswiththeEUthatcouldmakethemfullmembersonJanuary1st2007. 6thecountry’srecenteconomicprogresshasbeenaccordingtoDonaldJohnstonthesecretary-generaloftheOECDstunning.GDPinthesecondquarteroftheyearwas13.4%higherthanayearearliera7ofgrowththatnoEUcountrycomescloseto8.Turkey’s9ratehasjustfallenintosinglefiguresforthefirsttimesince1972andthisweekthecountry10agreementwiththeIMFonanewthree-year$10billioneconomicprogramthatwillhelpTurkey11inflationtowardEuropeanlevelsandenhancetheeconomy’sresilience. Resiliencehasnothistoricallybeenthecountry’seconomicstrongpoint.12throughoutthe1990sgrowthoscillatedlikeanelectrocardiogram13aviolentheartattack.This14hasbeenoneofthemainreasonswhythecountryhasfaileddismallytoattractmuch-neededforeigndirectinvestment.Itsstockofsuchinvestmentislowernowthanitwasinthe1980sandannual15havescarcelyeverreached$1billion. Onedeterrenttoforeigninvestorsisdueto16onJanuary1st2005.OnthatdayTurkeywilltakeawaytherightofvirtuallyeveryoneofitscitizenstocallthemselvesamillionaire.Sixzeroswillberemovedfromthefacevalueofthelira里拉土耳其货币单位;oneunitofthelocal17willhenceforthbeworthwhat1millionarenow--ieabout£0.530.53欧元.Goodswillhavetobe18inboththenewandoldliraforthewholeoftheyear19foreignbankersand20canbegintolookforwardtoatimeinTurkeywhentheywillnolongerhavetojugglementallywithindeterminatestringsofzeros. 12
MillionsofAmericansandforeignersseeGI.JoeasamindlesswartoythesymbolofAmericanmilitaryadventurismbutthat’snothowitusedtobe.Tothemenandwomenwho1inWorldWarI1andthepeopletheyliberatedtheGI.wasthe2mangrownintoherothepoolfarmkidtornawayfromhishometheguywho3alltheburdensofbattlewhosleptincoldfoxholeswhowentwithoutthe4of1hodandshelterwhostuckitoutanddrovebacktheNazireignofmurder.Thiswasnotavohmteersoldiernotsomeonewellpaid5anaverageguyup6thebesttrainedbestequippedfiercestmostbrutalenemiesseenincenturies. Hisnameisnotmuch.GI.isjustamilitaryabbreviation7GovermnentIssueanditwasonallofthearticle8tosoldiers.AndJoeAcommonnameforaguywhonever9ittothetop.JoeBlowJoeMagrae...aworkingclassname.TheUnitedStateshas10hadapresidentorvieepresidentorsecretaryofstateJoe. GI.Joehada11careerfightingGemanJapaneseandKoreantroops.Heappearsasacharacterora12ofAmericanpersonalitiesinthe1945movieTheStoryofGLJoebasedonthelastdaysofwarcorrespondentErniePyle.SomeofthesoldiersPyle13portraydethemselvesinthefihn.Pylewasfamousforcoveringthe14sideofthewarlwritingaboutthedirt-snow-and-mudsoldiersnothowmanymileswere15orwhattownswerecapturedorliberated.Hisreports16the"willie"cartoonsoffamedStarsandStripesartistBillMaulden.Bothmen17thedirtandexhaustionofwarthe18ofcivilizationthatthesoldierssharedwitheachotherandthecivilians:coffeetobaccowhiskeysheltersleep.19EgyptFranceandadozenmorecountriesG.I.JoewasanyAmericansoldier20themostimportantpersonintheirlives. 20
热门题库
更多
高考政治
高考历史
国家统考科目
香港法概论
反间谍法
__学
合同法
证据学
民事诉讼法学
民法学
刑法学
消费者权益保护法
法理学
竞争法
国际公法
国际经济法