ACA FLEX Reading 9-9

Many argue that art cannot be defined. We could go about this in several ways. Art is often considered as the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations and ways of expression, including music, literature, film, sculpture and paintings. The meaning of art is explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics. At least, that is what Wikipedia claims.

• AArt is a difficult and complex form to explain.
• BArt is a broad and comprehensive field
• CArt is similar to philosophy according to Wikipedia
• DArt is a process of intentionally arranging factors

Essays are used as an assessment tool to evaluate your ability to research a topic and construct an argument, as well as your understanding of subject content. This does not mean that essays are a 'regurgitation' of everything your lecture has said throughout the course. Essays are your opportunity to explore in greater depth aspects of the course - theories, issues, texts, etc. and in some cases relate these aspects to a particular context. It is your opportunity to articulate your ideas, but in a certain way: using formal academic style.

• AEssays are a means of assessment of the ability to research
• BIt provides better insights into many aspects of the course
• CYou can express your thought through a formal manner
• DEssays are basically what your lecture has said throughout the course.

People are living longer and this longevity is good news for sales teams. It results in a much more ________ (3) customer base for them to work from. Why we are living longer is not the issue for anyone ________ (4) in drawing up plans to market a product. What they focus on is the fact that there are now more age groups to target, which means that a sales pitch can be re-worked a number of times to more exactly fit each one. For example, ________ (5) referring simply to 'adults', there are now 'starting adults', 'young adults' and 'established adults'. ________ (6), markets no longer talk about 'children', but tend to refer to a fuller range of categories that includes 'kids', 'tweens', 'pre-teens' and 'teenagers', We now have a very diverse population in terms of age, and that can only be a ________ (7) for business.

Canada is a country of the enormous natural resources. It is the world's largest exporter of fore products and a ________ (8) exporter of fish, furs, and wheat. Minerals ________ (9) a key role in Canada's transformation into an urban-industrial economy. Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, and Saskatchewan are the principal mining regions. Ontario and the Northwest (NWT) and Yukon Territories are also ________ (10) producer of uranium and potash, the third largest of asbestos, gypsum, and nickel, and the fourth largest of zinc. Oil and gas are exploited in Alberta, off the Atlantic coast, and in the northwest -- huge additional reserves are thought to exist in the high Arctic; oil price ________ (11) extraction profitable at a growing number of the country's deposit. Canada is also one of the world's top hydroelectricity producers.

Scientists have discovered the cause of a mass extinction of sea-floor marine organisms 800,000 years ago — which also provides insight into how climate change can impact ________ (12) deep ocean biota. In a new study ________ (13) in the journal Nature Communications, scientists from the universities of Nottingham and Durham and the British Geological Survey (BGS), have discovered the cause of a mass extinction within marine organisms called foraminifera. Foraminifera are an important group in relation to biomass in the deep ocean and the cause of their extinction was ________ (14) unknown. Scientists tested various possible ________ (15) for the mass extinction and were able to discount others such as ocean cooling. ________ (16) they discovered that the extinction was caused by a global change in plankton at the surface of the ocean.

It might seem illogical that the development of modern currency rests on a scientific discovery, but the invention of the “touchstone” allowed ancient societies to create a standard by which valuable metals could be judged. In its most basic form, a touchstone is any dark, finely grained stone upon which soft metals leave traces. When rubbed, a process known as “probing”, precious metal alloy cleaves to the stone, leaving a stripe. The colour of the stripe (which reveals the percentage of its content that is base metal) can then be compared to a stripe of a known grade of a standard alloy. Despite its primitiveness, this probing process allowed merchants to examine alloys quickly and with reasonable certainly. Though civilizations were using gold and silver currencies as early as 500 B.C., coins were easily forged or diluted with less valuable metals, such as tin or lead. The invention and popularization of the touchstone ensured that pure gold and silver could become a standard expression of value.

• AA measure to compare the value of gold and silver with tin and lead
• BAn attempt to generalize the value of gold and silver
• CAn ancient means of ascertaining the purity of a metal
• DA measure of security against adulterated coins
• EA means by which governments could standardize currency values

It is a great deal easier to motivate employees in a growing organization than a declining one. When organizations are expanding and adding personnel, promotional opportunities, pay rises, and the excitement of being associated with a dynamic organization create Slings of optimism. Management is able to use the growth to entice and encourage employees. When an organization is shrinking, the best and most mobile workers are prone to leave voluntarily. Unfortunately, they are the ones the organization can least afford to lose- those with the highest skills and experience. The minor employees remain because their job options are limited. Morale also surfers during decline. People fear they may be the next to be made redundant. Productivity often suffers, as employees spend their time-sharing rumours and providing one another with moral support rather than focusing on their jobs. For those whose jobs are secure, pay increases are rarely possible. Pay cuts, unheard of during times of growth, may even be imposed. The challenge to management is how to motivate employees under such retrenchment conditions.

• AIt is a challenge to motivate employees in a thriving organization
• BOrganization cannot afford to lose its most mobile employees
• CIn shrinking companies, increased salaries are provided to those who decides to stay
• DProductivity suffers when employees provide moral support to each other
• EPay cuts hardly occur during growth stage of an organization

Bullying can take a variety of forms, from the verbal - being taunted or called hurtful names - to the physical - being kicked or shoved - as well as indirect forms, such as being excluded from social groups. A survey I conducted with Irene Whitney found that in British primary schools up to a quarter of pupils reported experience of bullying, which in about one in ten cases was persistent. There was less bullying in secondary schools, with about one in twenty-five suffering persistent bullying, but these cases may be particularly recalcitrant. Bullying is clearly unpleasant, and can make the child experiencing it feel unworthy and depressed. In extreme cases it can even lead to suicide, though this is thankfully rare. Victimized pupils are more likely to experience difficulties with interpersonal relationships as adults, while children who persistently bully are more likely to grow up to be physically violent, and convicted of anti-social offences. Until recently, not much was known about the topic, and little help was available to teachers to deal with bullying. Perhaps as a consequence, schools would often deny the problem. ‘There is no bullying at this school’ has been a common refrain, almost certainly untrue. Fortunately, more schools are now saying: ‘There is not much bullying here, but when it occurs we have a clear policy for dealing with it.’

• AIn Britain, bullying was more prevalent in secondary schools than in primary schools
• BBullying has the potential to make a child feel unhappy
• CIn extreme cases bullying often leads to suicide
• DChildren who bully become criminals in the future
• ESchools admit that there is bullying there.

In the UK, travel times to work had been stable for at least six centuries, with people avoiding situations that required them to spend more than half an hour travelling to work. Trains and cars initially allowed people to live at greater distances without taking longer to reach their destination. However, public infrastructure did not keep pace with urban sprawl, causing massive congestion problems which now make commuting times far higher. There is a widespread belief that increasing wealth encourages people to live farther out where cars are the only viable transport. The example of European cities refutes that. They are often wealthier than their American counterparts but have not generated the same level of car use. In Stockholm, car use has actually fallen in recent years as the city has become larger and wealthier. A new study makes this point even more starkly. Developing cities in Asia, such as Jakarta and Bangkok, make more use of the car than wealthy Asian cities such as Tokyo and Singapore. In cities that developed later, the World Bank and Asian Development Bank discouraged the building of public transport and people have been forced to rely on cars - creating the massive traffic jams that characterize those cities.

• AIn the UK, people spend an hour travelling to work
• BEuropean cities have more cars than the US cities
• CDeveloping cities in Asia have more cars than the developed ones
• DStockholm has experienced a decrease in use of cars as the city expands
• EMassive traffic jams are often created by public transport