B) little achievement was made in man's drive to better social relationships C) the optimistic view has already lost its sway in the past century D) we have to disregard the course of society in order to better the world CADDB 18
People who live and work in areas with elevated levels of ozone and other airborne pollutants appear to run an increased risk of lung cancer, US researchers report in the December issue of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The researchers, Dr. Beeson of Texas University and colleagues studied more than 4,000 female and 2,000 male, white, nonsmoking volunteers from 1977 to 1992.
At the start of the study, the volunteers filled out questionnaires about their occupations, their exercise patterns, diet and other lifestyle choices, and their family's health history. The questionnaires also asked whether the volunteers had any respiratory symptoms, how many hours they spent outdoors, and where they lived and worked. The researchers updated this information in 1987 and again in 1992. Using air quality monitoring station data, Beeson and colleagues then determined the levels of particle soot, ozone or \sulfur dioxide, and other pollutants that the volunteers were exposed to, given where they lived and worked. Over the course of the 15-year study, 20 of the women and 16 of the men were diagnosed with lung cancer.
Analyzing the relationship between exposure to airborne pollutants and lung cancer risk, the researchers found that both men and women regularly exposed to levels of particle soot that were higher than the National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 50 microgram per meter cubed ran an increased risk of lung cancer. And both men and women exposed to elevated levels of sulfur dioxide ran an increased risk of lung cancer.
In addition, men regularly exposed to ozone levels of 80 parts per billion (ppb) ran more than three times the risk of lung cancer as men exposed to lower levels. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limit on ozone is 120 ppb, Beeson and colleagues report. Women, however, did not appear to run an increased risk of lung cancer if exposed to high levels of smog.
\then females,\they write. \was especially true for the summer when ozone levels are higher.\add. Some research findings also suggest that the female sex hormone estrogen may partly offset the consequences of exposure to high ozone levels.
\adequately protect the large portion of the US male population who live or work in communities where the current standard for ozone is frequently exceeded,\
and colleagues conclude. \lung cancer is needed to better understand the observed gender difference in regard to ozone exposure as well as to better separate the independent effects of ozone, airborne particulate matter sulfur dioxide, and other airborne pollutants.\1. Which of the following is not included in the questionnaire?
A) What kind of food they eat. B) Their jobs. C) Sleeping habits.
D) The family's health history.
2. In the research done by Dr. Beeson and his colleagues ________.
A) researchers asked the volunteers to fill out questionnaires once a year B) researchers intentionally studied twice as many female as male volunteers C) the volunteers were asked to expose to high levels of airborne pollutants D) the volunteers were asked to fill out questionnaires three times in 15 years
3. It was found in the research that did not seem to run an increased risk of lung cancer ________.
A) women exposed to high levels of sulfur dioxide B) men regularly exposed to high levels of sulfur dioxide C) women exposed to high levels of smog D) men regularly exposed to high levels of smog
4. It can be inferred from the research mentioned in this passage ________.
A) males are more vulnerable to dangers in life than females B) female is stronger sex than male
C) male sex hormone may not be able to decrease the effect of exposure to high ozone levels
D) spending much time outdoors in summer is not harmful to females
5. The proper title for this passage should be ________.
A) Smog Appears to Up Lung Cancer Risk B) Airborne Pollutants C) Lung Cancer Risk D) The Gender Difference
CDCCA 19
The beginning of what was to become the United States was characterized by inconsistencies in the values and behavior of its population, inconsistencies that were reflected by its spokesmen who took conflicting stances in many areas; but on the subject of race, the conflicts were particularly vivid. The idea that the Caucasian race and European civilization were superior was well developed in the culture of the colonists at the very time that the \republic was founded. Voluminous historical evidence indicates that, in the mind of the average colonist, the African was a heathen, he was black, and he was different in crucial philosophical ways. As time progressed, he was also increasingly captive, adding to the conception of deviance. The African, therefore, could be justifiable (and even philanthropically) treated as property, according to the reasoning of slave traders and slaveholders.
Although slaves were treated as objects, bountiful evidence suggests that they did not view themselves similarly. There are many published autobiographies of slaves, and Afro-American scholars are beginning to know enough about West African culture to appreciate the existential climate in which the early captive were raised and which, therefore, could not be totally destroyed by the enslavement experience. This was a climate that defined in dividuality in collective terms. Individuals were members of a tribe, within which they had prescribed roles determined by the history of their family within the tribe.
The colonial plantation system that was established and into which Africans were thrust did virtually eliminate tribal affiliations. Individuals were separated from kin; interrelationships among kin kept together were often transient because of sales. A new identification with those slaves working and living together in a given place could satisfy what was undoubtedly a natural tendency to be a member of a group. New family units became the most important attachments of individual slaves. Thus, as the system of slavery was gradually institutionalized, West African affiliation tendencies adapted to it.
This exceedingly complex dual influence is still reflected in black community life, and the double consciousness of black Americans is the major characteristic of Afro-American mentality. DuBois articulated this divided consciousness as follows: The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife - this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging, he wishes neither of the older selves to be best.
Several black political movements have looked upon this duality as destructively conflictual and have variously urged its reconciliation. Thus, the integrationists and the black nationalists, to be crudely general, have both been concerned with resolving the conflict, but opposite directions.
1. Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the passage?
A) The History of Black People in the United States. B) West African Tribal Relations.
C) The Origin of Modern Afro-American Consciousness. D) The Legacy of Slavery: A Modern Nation Divided.
2. Which of the following can be inferred about the viewpoint expressed in the second paragraph of the passage?
A) It is a reinterpretation of slave life based on new research done by Afro-American scholars.
B) It is based entirely on recently published descriptions of slave life written by slaves themselves.
C) It is highly speculative and supported by little actual historical evidence. D) It is supported by descriptions of slave life written by early Americans who actually owned slaves.
3. The author puts the word \________.
A) emphasize his admiration for the early Americans B) ridicule the idea of democracy
C) remind the reader of the principles of the new nation
D) underscore the fact that equality did not extend to everyone
4. The tone of the passage could best be described as ________.
A) informed and anecdotal B) critical and argumentative C) impassioned and angry D) analytical and objective
5. It can be inferred that ________ are the two elements of the \mentioned.
A) slavery and West African culture
B) a sense of individuality and a sense of tribal identification C) the history of West Africa and modern black political movements D) integrationism and black nationalism
CADDA 20
Media mogul Ted Turner yesterday sold more than of his AOL Time Waner Inc. holdings for about $780 million, a move that reflects his efforts to slash his financial stake in the media giant. After the close of regular trading yesterday, Turner sold a block of 60 million shares to Goldman Sachs & Co. for $13.07 per share, or 31 cents below the stock's closing price yesterday. Goldman was said by Wall Street sources to be offering the stock to major investors for $13.15.
An outspoken critic of the corporation, Turner remains AOL Time Warner's largest individual shareholder, with 45 million shares, and a member of its board of directors. A spokeswoman for Turner referred questions to AOL Time Warner.
At his peak Turner owned about 130 million shares, but he lost billions of dollars in wealth and grew bitter after the stock plunged following the merger of America Online and Time Warner in January 2001. Turner, who initially supported the merger, later expressed outrage over revelations that America Online had manipulated its financial results. The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating AOL, and the corporation has acknowledged discovering tens of millions of dollars of overstated revenue.