ACA FLEX Reading 7-10

At one time, one could only trace one's family ancestry by writing letters, visiting courthouses, and begging relatives for any crumb of information. However, today with the World Wide Web, the task has become much simpler. Much of the archived history of our lives and our ancestors' lives is readily available on-line. In addition, there are specific software programs in existence that will walk you through the process of creating a family tree and take you to appropriate Internet sites for record information. Another alternative is hiring someone or some company to do your tree for you. Depending on your dedication and time, a method is available for you. You might think about tracing your family roots. It is fun for many and will let you in on your family's past. Even if you find a skeleton in the closet, maybe you could just ignore that twig of your family tree.

• AWhen we trace our family's history, we may find bad as well as good things.
• BTracing our family tree is not worth the effort.
• CThe records we must search in order to come up with a family tree have changed due to the World Wide Web.
• DTracing one's family tree is worthwhile for everyone.

The railroad was not the first institution to impose regularity on society or to draw attention to the importance of precise timekeeping. For as long as merchants have set out their wares at daybreak and communal festivities have been celebrated, people have been in rough agreement with their neighbors as to the time of day. The value of this tradition is today more apparent than ever. Were it not for public acceptance of a single yardstick of time, social life would be unbearably chaotic: the massive daily transfers of goods, services, and information would proceed in fits and starts; the very fabric of modern society would begin to unravel.

• AIn modern society, we must make more time for our neighbors.
• BAn accepted way of measuring time is essential for the smooth functioning of society.
• CThe traditions of society are timeless.
• DSociety judges people by the times at which they conduct certain activities.

In these distant times the sun was seen to make its daily ________ (3) across the sky. At night the moon appeared. Every new night the moon waxed or waned a little and on a few nights it did not appear at all. At night the great dome of the heavens was dotted with tiny specks of light. They ________ (4) known as the stars. It was thought that every star in the heavens had its own purpose and that the ________ (5) of the universe could be discovered by making a study of them. It was well known that there were wandering stars, they appeared in different nightly positions against their neighbours and they became known as planets. It took centuries, in fact it took millennia, for man to ________ (6) the true nature of these wandering stars and to evolve a model of the world to accommodate them and to ________ (7) their positions in the sky.

Joseph Engelberger, a pioneer in industrial robotics, once remarked “I can't ________ (8) a robot but I know one when I see one” If you consider all the different ________ (9) people ________ (10) robots, you can see that it's nearly impossible to come up with a ________ (11) definition. Everybody has a ________ (12) idea of what constitutes a robot.

Wind is air moving around. Some winds can move as fast ________ (13) a racing car, over 100 miles an ________ (14). Winds can travel around the world. Wind can make you feel cold because you lose heat from your body ________ (15) when it is windy. Weather forecasters need to ________ (16) the speed and direction of the wind. The strength of wind is measured using the Beaufort scale from wind force when there is no wind, to wind force 12 which can damage houses and buildings and is called hurricane force.

In 1979, the government of Nicaragua established a number of social programmes, including a National Literacy Crusade. By 1985, about 300,000 illiterate adults from all over the country, many of whom had never attended primary school, had learnt how to read, write and use numbers. During this period, researchers from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the Central American Institute of Health in Nicaragua, the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua and the Costa Rican Institute of Health interviewed nearly 3,000 women, some of whom had learnt to read as children, some during the literacy crusade and some who had never learnt at all. The women were asked how many children they had given birth to and how many of them had died in infancy. The research teams also examined the surviving children to find out how well-nourished they were. The investigators’ findings were striking. In the late 1970s, the infant mortality rate for the children of illiterate mothers was around 110 deaths per thousand live births. At this point in their lives, those mothers who later went on to learn to read had a similar level of child mortality (105/1000). For women educated in primary school, however, the infant mortality rate was significantly lower, at 80 per thousand.

• ABy 1985, 300,000 illiterate women in Nicaragua had learnt to read, write and use numbers
• BThe research showed that mother’s education had a direct impact on infant mortality rate
• CLiteracy crusade was a social campaign with a view to educating women
• DThe research was conducted during a period between 1979 and 1985
• EThe researchers found that children of the educated mothers were healthier

International trade is growing at a startling pace. While the global economy has been expanding at a bit over 3% a year, the volume of trade has been rising at a compound annual rate of about twice that. Foreign products, from meat to machinery, play a more important role in almost every economy in the world, and foreign markets now tempt businesses that never much worried about sales beyond their nation's borders. What lies behind this explosion in international commerce? The general worldwide decline in trade barriers, such as customs duties and import quotas, is surely one explanation. The economic opening of countries that have traditionally been minor players is another. But one force behind the import-export boom has passed all but unnoticed: the rapidly falling cost of getting goods to market. Theoretically, in the world of trade, shipping costs do not matter. Goods, once they have been made, are assumed to move instantly and at no cost from place to place. The real world, however, is full of frictions. Cheap labour may make Chinese clothing competitive in America, but if delays in shipment tie up working capital and cause winter coats to arrive in spring, trade may lose its advantages.

• AFree movement of goods from one country to another
• BSome counties now prefer foreign products over their domestic products
• CMore countries started to increasingly engage in international trade
• DThe effects of the introduction of electronic delivery
• ECosts involved in transporting a product from abroad have dropped considerably
• FAvailability of cheap labour in some parts of the world

As more women in the United States move up the professional ladder, more are finding it necessary to make business trips alone. Since this is new for many, some tips are certainly in order. If you are married, it is a good idea to encourage your husband and children to learn to cook few simple meals while you are away. They will be much happier and probably they will enjoy the experience. If you will be eating alone a good deal, choose good restaurants. In the end, they will be much better for your digestion. You may also find it useful to call the restaurant in advance and state that you will be eating alone. You will probably get better service and almost certainly a better table. Finally, and most importantly, anticipate your travel needs as a businesswoman; this starts with lightweight luggage which you can easily manage even when fully packed. Take a folding case inside your suitcase; it will come in extremely handy for dirty clothes, as well as for business documents and papers you no longer need on the trip. And make sure you have a briefcase so that you can keep currently required papers separate. Obviously, experience helps, but you make things easier on yourself from the first by careful planning, so that right from the start you really can have a good trip!

• AA greater percentage of women are advancing professionally in the U.S. than previously
• BProfessional men refuse to accompany their female colleagues on business trips
• CEach year there are more female business travellers in the United States
• DWomen are moving up the professional hierarchy faster than their male opposite numbers
• EIt is a good idea for a traveling businesswoman to travel and eat alone
• FProfessional women should teach their family members some rudimentary culinary art

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Body mass index (BMI), a measurement which compares weight and height, defines people as overweight (pre-obese) when their BMI is between 25 kg/m2 and 30 kg/m2, and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m2. Obesity increases the likelihood of various diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breathing difficulties during sleep, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive dietary calories, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility, although a few cases are caused primarily by genes, endocrine disorders, medications or psychiatric illness. Evidence to support the view that some obese people eat little yet gain weight due to a slow metabolism is limited; on average obese people have a greater energy expenditure than their thin counterparts due to the energy required to maintain an increased body mass. The primary treatment for obesity is dieting and physical exercise. To supplement this, or in case of failure, anti- obesity drugs may be taken to reduce appetite or inhibit fat absorption. In severe cases, surgery is performed or an intragastrical balloon is placed to reduce stomach volume and/or bowel length, leading to earlier satiation and reduced ability to absorb nutrients from food. Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide, with increasing prevalence in adults and children, and authorities view it as one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century. Obesity is stigmatized in much of the modern world (particularly in the Western world), though it was widely perceived as a symbol of wealth and fertility at other times in history, and still is in some parts of the world.

• AA combination of excessive dietary calories and lack of physical activity and genetic susceptibility
• BConstant snacking
• CEndocrine disorders
• DMedications
• ELack of self-control
• FGenes