In The Slave Dancer, what causes Jessie to lose his breath?

Interesting question! In the book The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox, Jessie loses his breath several times throughout the story.

Although Jessie loses his breath multiple times, he commonly seems to lose his breath in relation to the slaves. Frequently, when Jessie learns about the slaves, he loses his breath, which shows his shock and surprise. This happens multiple times.

For example, when Jessie sees the land from where they would take the slaves, his breath stops. As the text reveals:

“My breath came short – here, within eyesight, was the very world from which such slaves had been taken. Here on this small ship, we would be carrying God knows how many of them.”

This also happens when Jessie sees how the slaves are treated on the ship. As the text shows:

“Although many [slaves] were silent now, some continued to lament. I prayed they would stop for I had not drawn a breath since the child’s face [slave’s face] had appeared at the railing, and I wondered, gasping, when I would again.”

Thus, Jessie loses his breath multiple times. He commonly loses his breath in relation to the slaves. Additionally, Jessie loses his breath during other times as well, such as when he first comes on board and smells the ship (which arguably might be related to the odor of slave ships).

In Night by Elie Wiesel, why was celebrating Passover like playing a comedy?

In Night, the celebration of Passover was comic because people pretended to be happy.  

Wiesel shows the comedic aspect of Passover in Sighet.  Everyone played their traditional part in the festivities.  The weather was "sublime" and women like Wiesel's mother were "busy in the kitchen" as synagogues were closed. People met in "private homes," ensuring not to "provoke the Germans." Everyone in Sighet portrayed their part dutifully in this comedy.

However, it was clear that they were acting.  This attempt at comedy belied the Nazi presence in Sighet.  People were avoiding what was in their hearts: "We drank, we ate, we sang. The Bible commands us to rejoice during the eight days of celebration, but our hearts were not in it. We wished the holiday would end so as not to have to pretend."  Their acting was an attempt to deny or evade the bitter truth of Nazi occupation.  

Wiesel makes it clear that the comedy of Passover celebrations came to a tragic end on the seventh day as "the curtain finally rose" when "the Germans arrested the leaders of the Jewish community."  The Passover celebrations showed how the people of Sighet pretended to be happy.  The celebrations were an attempt at comedy in a world mired in tragedy.

In the combustion of methane, how many grams of methane are needed to produce 150 L of carbon dioxide?

The balanced equation for this reaction is:

    `~CH_4` + `~2O_2` -> `~CO_2 ` + `~2H_2O`

Given Amount

The given amount is: 150 L `~CO_2` .``

Conversion Factors

We will need to use the following mole conversion factors to solve this problem.

1 mole = 22.4 L `~CO_2`

1 mole = *molar mass = 16.042 g `~CH_4`  

*The molar mass is calculated by multiplying the atomic mass of each element in the compound by its subscript and adding the resulting products together.

Mole Ratio

We will also need the mole ratio between `~CO_2` and `~CH_4` . A mole ratio is the ratio between the coefficients of two substances in a chemical reaction.

The coefficient of `~CO_2` is 1.

The coefficient of `~CH_4` is 1.

Therefore, the mole ratio is: 1 mole `~CO_2` = 1 mole `~CH_4`

Stoichiometry Calculation

The calculation will take the general form:

   given amount x conversion factor x mole ratio x conversion factor

Therefore, 

   150 L `~CO_2` x (1 mole/22.4 L) x (1 mol `~CH_4` /1 mol `~CO_2` ) x (16.042 g/1 mole)

      = 107 g `~CH_4`

Notice that the conversion factors and mole ratio are oriented such that all units cancel out except for the final unit of grams.   

What is the full quotation about "bad mother" in Hamlet?

Your question apparently refers to the exchange between Hamlet and his mother in Act III, Scene 4, right after Hamlet kills Polonius, who was hiding behind the arras. Gertrude is horrified. She says,

O, what a rash and bloody deed is this!

Hamlet responds,

A bloody deed. Almost as bad, good mother,
As kill a king, and marry with his brother.

Hamlet is testing Gertrude. He wants to see how she reacts, whether she will give herself away with a guilty expression or even confess. He still suspects she was somehow involved in his father's murder. She may not have been an accomplice, but she may have known either that Claudius intended to commit the crime or else have known he was guilty of committing the crime after her husband's dead body was discovered in the garden. Gertrude's reaction seems to indicate she is innocent of any kind of complicity in the murder. She simply asks,

As kill a king?

Gertrude doesn't understand. She still believes her son is insane. Her further utterances suggest she is innocent of any wrongdoing except for marrying Claudius without observing a decent period of mourning for her dead husband and perhaps for what Hamlet considers an incestuous marriage. Here are two examples of her dialogue which suggest her innocence of any complicity in her late husband's death:

What have I done, that thou darest wag thy tongue
In noise so rude against me?

Ay me, what act,
That roars so loud and thunders in the index?

Hamlet must be convinced. Throughout the scene, he focuses on his mother's guilt in marrying an inferior man like Claudius and doing it so precipitously. He reduces his mother to tears. He will not attempt to convince her that Claudius killed her former husband, and he does not attempt to get her to conspire with him against Claudius. She will remain loyal to her new husband, as shown when Laertes storms into the castle at the head of a mob in Act IV, Scene 5 and threatens to start a rebellion. She will keep Hamlet's secret that he is not mad, though, and it is possible that she keeps her promise not to engage in any more lovemaking with Claudius.

According to the poem, "Five ways to kill a man," which is the easiest way to kill a man? By closely referring to the poem, describe the increasing...

According to the poem, the easiest way to kill a man is to deposit him somewhere in the middle of the twentieth century. This is a very interesting perspective, as the poet may be highlighting the effects of the modern age upon the average man. But, what's special about the twentieth century?

The twentieth century saw many technological advances that greatly benefited humankind; the growth of the Internet led to the development of social and business networks that could accommodate global demands. However, these advances did not come without a cost. Even as people became more connected on a global scale, this interconnection did not lead to an increase in intimacy and social cohesion. The implication is that a man's spirit could die even before his body did.

In the poem, the narrator imagines that there are four other ways to kill a man, but they are all cumbersome. In the first stanza, he begins by describing what can only be the crucifixion of Christ. All the elements of the gospel narrative are present in this stanza: 'a cock that crows,' the vinegar, and a 'man to hammer the nails home.'

In the second stanza, the narrator brings us to the medieval age, where men kill each other with bows and arrows and participate in jousting tournaments. In the third stanza, the narrator sneeringly proclaims that, in the modern age, we can now dispense with 'nobility' and do away with pretensions about killing. He alludes to the poisonous gases that led to excruciating deaths in the trenches during World War One. The 'plague of rats' in the trenches were real and did happen during the war, while the 'round hats made of steel' may have been a possible reference to the metal helmets soldiers wore during WWI.

World War One steel helmets.

Germans and Poison Gas During World War One.

In the fourth stanza, the narrator alludes to the destruction caused by the atomic bombs during World War Two. Notice that killing has now become a more detached action that can be executed from a remote location: with the flip of a switch, whole populations can be annihilated without the messy aftermath of arm-to-arm combat. All that would be needed to develop such weapons would be a 'nation's scientists' and 'several factories.' Basically, new technology has made the increasing ruthlessness of man possible.

What is an absence of respiration called?

We often confuse respiration with breathing. Breathing is a gas exchange process by which we take in oxygen with each inhale and release carbon dioxide with each exhale. This is a physical process which takes place continuously from the time of birth till the time of death. When this process is absent except at the time of death, it is regarded as APNOEA.

Vertebrate animals living on land all have lungs so that when the muscle below our rib cage (called diaphragm) is pulled down, air gets sucked into our lungs and oxygen in the inhaled air is exchanged for carbon dioxide from our body which is then exhaled when the diaphragm bows upwards.

Respiration is a biochemical process by which all living things obtain energy by combining oxygen and glucose to form energy in the form of ATP, carbon dioxide and water. Oxygen obtained by vertebrate animals in the process of breathing is utilised in carrying out the biochemical process called respiration.

What is the definition of an operating system and what are some of its capabilities?

An operating system is software (or, sometimes, firmware) that manages and controls a computer, serving as an interface between various applications and the computer hardware. End users do not interact directly with the operating system, which tends to work as a back end to application software. Although graphical user interfaces, like command line interfaces, are packaged as part of operating system software, navigation tools such as icons displayed by Linux, Windows, or other systems are actually modules allowing users to interact with the operating system; one operating system can have many different interfaces.

The key function of an operating system is to manage system resources such as memory, CPU usage, and various devices such as disk drives, printers, and keyboards. The two main components of system software are boot or startup commands, executed when the system is first turned on, and a wait loop in which the system monitors applications (including internal programs that monitor hardware), and executes code that allocates resources as needed when applications set flags or send interrupts requesting some system action. Operating systems also allow programs and devices to exchange information, communicating, for example, keystroke and mouse positioning data to a word processing program. 

Mention any two ways of preventing iron from rusting.

Rusting is the name commonly used to describe the corrosion of iron. When iron is exposed to oxygen and moisture, over time, it converts to iron oxides and loses its metallic character. Rusting can take place on pipes, ships and any other iron object. There are a number of ways we can protect iron objects from rusting. Galvanization is a commonly used method to protect pipelines carrying water from rusting. In the process of galvanization, a thin layer of zinc is coated over the iron metal thus breaking the contact between iron and air. Galvanized pipes are also known as GI or galvanized iron pipes. GI pipes are commonly used for water supply connections at residential and commercial buildings. Another commonly used method is the application of paint over the iron objects. Paint is commonly used on iron doors and windows to protect them from rusting. The idea here is to prevent any contact between the metal and air and moisture.

Hope this helps. 

Why, once her grandmother is defeated, does the narrator feel "triumphant yet strangely saddened"?

The narrator felt 'triumphant, yet strangely saddened' after winning the argument because she had hurt her grandmother and made her sad.

According to the story, the narrator's grandmother had taken her into a part of the gully she had never visited before; the purpose of the trip was to allow the narrator to see a very tall palm tree situated in a clearing amidst the densest foliage.

When the narrator's grandmother asked whether there was anything taller than the palm tree in New York City, the narrator asserted that the buildings in the city were 'hundreds of times' taller than the palm tree. In fact, she maintained that The Empire State Building was taller than the palm tree because it had over a hundred floors. When the grandmother became exasperated, the narrator argued that the Empire State Building was even taller than Bissex Hill, a hill she had previously visited on the island.

When the grandmother became angry at the narrator, the narrator clinched the argument by crowing that she could send her grandmother a postcard to prove her claims. At this announcement, the grandmother knew she was beaten. The text tells us that the 'stubborn light' in her eyes had then dimmed, and she had 'turned and started back through the gully, walking slowly, her steps groping and uncertain, as if she were suddenly no longer sure of the way...' So, the narrator's victory was bitter-sweet; she had won the argument, but she had also succeeded in humiliating and hurting her grandmother.

What is Rainsford's attitude towards the hunter and the hunted in "The Most Dangerous Game"?

Rainsford's attitude toward the hunter and the hunted changes as the narrative develops.

In the exposition of "The Most Dangerous Game," as they travel through the "moonless Caribbean night," Rainsford talks with his friend Whitney with whom he intends to hunt jaguar. Whitney muses on how the jaguar must feel when it, a predator, finds itself hunted. Rainsford dismisses Whitney's sympathy for the jaguar, "Bah! They've no understanding." But Whitney maintains that surely the animal understands the fear of death.

"Nonsense," laughed Rainsford. "....Be a realist. The world is made up of two classes--the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are hunters...."

Of course, the irony of this statement is that Rainsford himself later becomes a predator-turned-prey just as the jaguar does. Moreover, he learns the error of his declaration to Whitney that prey do not understand the threat of death because he later declares to Zaroff in their final confrontation, "I am still a beast at bay." Clearly, Rainsford has changed his opinion on the feelings of the hunted as he has learned how an animal at bay feels since he has been pursued by a predator and must fearfully hide in a tree. Furthermore, he later must flee pursuing hounds, and in order to escape, he risks a dangerous leap far out into the sea as the only hope of saving himself.

What are the effects of chlorofluorocarbon on the environment?

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were commonly used as aerosol spray can propellants. They could also be found in refrigerants in air conditioners and refrigerators. 

It was discovered that there was a link to the use of CFCs and ozone layer depletion. In 1995, the scientists who made this discovery were given a Nobel Prize.

The ozone layer over Antarctica usually thins for a short time naturally. However, there was excessive ozone thinning that couldn't be explained by natural causes. This ozone "hole" became gradually larger through the end of the 20th century. There is additional thinning in the ozone layer over the Arctic. 

When CFCs are released into the atmosphere, they rise to the stratosphere where UV radiation breaks them down and chlorine is released. Chlorine then adheres to the clouds and can react with ozone (O3) causing it to break down into oxygen (O2).

The ozone layer at the top of the stratosphere forms a protective layer that shields the Earth's surface from ultraviolet radiation. Because of the holes in the ozone layer, more dangerous UV radiation is entering the Earth's lower atmosphere and affecting life on the surface. 

Excessive UV radiation has been linked to skin cancer, cataracts and lowered immunity to diseases. The rate of skin cancer has been increasing in recent years.

Antarctic phytoplankton are diminishing and these are the producers of the ocean food chains in that region of the world which can have devastating affects on higher trophic levels that depend on these organisms.

UV radiation can act as a mutagenic agent and many cold--adapted Antarctic fish species have increased incidences of mutations in their eggs and young. Crops, forests, and organisms in ecosystems around the world are showing effects of excessive UV exposure.

The Montreal Protocol in 1987 was an agreement signed by many countries to reduce CFC production by 1998. Substitutes for CFCs were developed that don't destroy ozone.  Many countries around the world have since stopped producing and using CFCs.  Evidence based on satellite imaging has found that the ozone layer is recovering due to these efforts. 

Based on the ideas in Walden, how would Thoreau most likely feel about recent advances in technology, such as cell phones?

We will always have difficulties in presuming to speak for people who lived in a different time period, and in predicting how they would react if they suddenly showed up in ours. Nevertheless, from statements Henry David Thoreau made in Walden and in his other writings, we can offer suggestions about how he might react to some of our developments.

Thoreau witnessed the changes that came about as western civilization was moving from an agricultural society to an industrial one. Even so, he wasn’t opposed to new technologies across the board. In the “Sounds” chapter of Walden, he writes passionately about the intrusion of the Fitchburg Railroad line that runs alongside the pond. The train is an “iron horse” that makes “the hills echo with his snot like thunder, shaking the earth with his feet, and breathing fire and smoke from his nostrils.” And yet, he can see the value of this new technology. He sees the commercial value in being able to quickly transport goods from the countryside to the city and vice versa. For the rest of his life, he himself used the railroad frequently to travel, mostly around New England, in order to give lectures, to run errands, and to continue his natural explorations.

In the “Economy” chapter, he makes a telling comment about the invention of the telegraph, the precursor to the telephone:

Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at; as railroads lead to Boston or New York. We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate.

He could easily say the same thing about cell phone usage today. Does anyone have anything truly important to communicate? I believe he would be especially disturbed by people using cell phones loudly in public, for no good reason other than to touch base with someone they know. Thoreau was most likely an introvert. He spent a lot of time thinking and writing on his own. He disliked large gatherings, banal conversations, and the telling of gossip. For someone to intrude on his space with only half of a two-way conversation and with nothing important to say would probably have been an intolerable situation to him.

Thoreau loved to walk in natural areas and to study plants and animals. He sometimes allowed a friend to accompany him, but he was picky about this. He didn’t like his companions to talk much during these walks. He didn’t even like it when he walked and had other thoughts running through his own head. In his essay called “Walking,” he writes:

I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit. In my afternoon walk I would fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to society. But it sometimes happens that I cannot easily shake off the village. The thought of some work will run in my head and I am not where my body is – I am out of my senses. In my walks I would fain return to my senses.  What business have I in the woods, if I am thinking of something out of the woods?

Certainly he would not have wanted a call on a cell phone to jolt him out of his walks and natural explorations of what he considered sacred spaces. Nor would he have welcomed the sound of anyone else’s calls and conversations. He may have appreciated the convenience of portability and the value of a cell phone in an emergency. But for constant use? No. The evidence does not support this.

What is the importance of a play within a play in A Midsummer Night's Dream?

The first “importance” is the entertainment value for the Elizabethan audience, who hugely enjoyed comic antics, especially when they made fun of the London tradesmen, who were socially a cut below the noble aristocracy and the merchant class.  Secondly, the play retells a famous plot – Pyramus and Thisbe – thereby bringing up a popular classical reference.  But most importantly, it points up two features of the main plot: role-playing in society, and the inefficiency of ocular proof as a means of understanding how the world works (note how many misunderstandings caused by false "seeing" there are in all three plots).  These rustics have come into the woods (meaning out of society’s eyes, but also out of their natural environment) to prepare an entertainment for the coming wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta, as far above them in class as they could be (thus reinforcing the seriousness of the public ceremony, by mocking “love” in the lower classes).  Then, when the fairy plot is added, the audience sees love and marriage in all its aspects: holy, but also comical, and also a “mirage” indulged in by the participants.  This triple dramatization is more than clever on Shakespeare's part.  It demonstrates his sensitivity to the way of the world, to the universals that transcend class.  It is a portrait and a cartoon at the same time.

What is electrolysis?

Electrolysis is a process in which electrical currents are used to create a change. It’s commonly associated with a cosmetic medical procedure that stops hair from returning. 

In the medical field, electrolysis prevents the growth of new hairs. The electrical current enters the hair follicle through a probe resembling a pen and zaps the follicle, killing the area where new hairs sprout. It’s a popular method of permanent hair removal on the face, legs, and bikini area.

Electrolysis is also used in scientific fields like chemical engineering. The use of electric current spurs chemical reactions. It can separate different elements; for example, electrolysis can separate the hydrogen and oxygen in water. Through history, it has also been used to discover calcium, lithium, and other chemical elements.

What does Lula and Calpurnia's interaction suggest about racial tensions in Maycomb County?

In Chapter 12, Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to Sunday service at First Purchase African M.E. Church. When they enter the church, a woman named Lula notices the white children and says to Calpurnia, "I wants to know why you bringin' white chillun to nigger church" (74). Calpurnia tells Lula they are her company, and Lula says, "Yeah, an' I reckon you's comp'ny at the Finch house during' the week" (74). Lula tells Calpurnia she has no business bringing white children into their African American church. When Lula says, "they got their church, we got our'n. It is our church, ain't it, Miss Cal?," Cal says, "It's the same God, ain't it?" (74).

Lula and Cal's controversial interaction suggests the African American community is upset with the white citizens of Maycomb. Lula feels white people do not have the right to enter an African American church because she resents being segregated in the white community.

How was Jesus betrayed, tried, crucified, and resurrected according to the New Testament?

First, we should note that the New Testament includes four Gospels each of which give slightly different accounts of these events. The Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, known as the synoptic gospels, are not completely consistent with the Gospel of John. Also, these accounts lack detailed corroboration by independent sources, and thus we cannot be absolutely certain of their historicity with respect to specific details, although it is unlikely that they were pure fabrications.

Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve original disciples of Jesus, betrayed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper, by identifying Jesus to the soldiers. He did this in exchange for 30 silver coins.

Jesus was tried by Pontius Pilate who was prefect of the Roman province of Judaea. Although Pilate himself as portrayed in the New Testament considered Jesus relatively harmless and did not wish to execute him, in the Bible the crowds, especially the Jews, insisted that Jesus be condemned to death. 

Jesus was crucified on a cross between two thieves were were also being crucified at Golgotha. According to the New Testament, he died on the Cross, was buried, and then returned to life, not as a ghost or spirit, but as a physical presence, met with his disciples, and eventually ascended into Heaven. 

What is the importance of the world's climate regions?

Climate regions make a huge impact on the world. To begin with, biodiversity depends on having various climates, ranging from mostly hot to mostly cold, to support a full range of plants and animals. This is one reason why global warming is such a problem, as it is actually beginning to eliminate one climate through the melting of ice in the Arctic and Antarctica. Some animals depend on extreme cold and the influence that has on the environment. 

Climate regions are also vitally important to human culture. Prior to globalization, people led drastically different lives because of climates. They ate different food, wore different types of clothing, and lived in different types of homes. This happens because different climates make different raw materials available. 

Climate regions have also had an effect on human history and politics. For example, European expansion and colonization were influenced in part by the drive to get spices and tea, items that did not grow in northern climates. Christopher Columbus was attempting to get to India by a different route for this purpose when he ran into an entirely new-to-him continent. 

It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of climate regions, as they are such an integral part of the world in which we live. 

For a rocket on the ground to change its velocity in an upward direction, what must it do?

According to Newton's first law of motion, an object will continue in its state of motion until and unless an external force is applied to it. This means that an object at rest will remain at rest, while an object in motion will stay in motion until and unless an external force is applied to it.

Similarly, a rocket that is on the ground is at rest (zero speed). To change its velocity in an upward direction, that is to push it towards the sky, we need to provide it with some force. Earth's gravity constant pulls on everything on Earth and this causes objects to fall down when we let go of them. Similarly, the rocket is also experiencing a pull towards the Earth. To move it in the upward direction, we need to generate enough force (F = m x a) to overcome Earth's attractive force; only then can the rocket accelerate. 

Another way to think about the problem is this: the rocket initially has zero velocity and ultimately has some velocity. This change in velocity over a finite duration is known as acceleration.

Thus, for a rocket on the ground to change its velocity in an upward direction, it must accelerate.

Hope this helps.

How is Crake seen as a God in Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood?

The character of Crake, who is also Snowman's (Jimmy's) childhood friend Glenn, is heralded as a God-like being to the Crakers, the genetically altered species of humans that Crake bio-engineered. The reason Crake is depicted as their God is because Snowman answers various questions the Crakers have about the world. When they ask about where they come from, Snowman describes Crake, who takes on many of the same attributes as God in Christian theology, such as being all-seeing and all-powerful, being in the sky, and speaking through messengers to the people, in this case Snowman.

It is important to note that Crake himself was against religion and wanted to eliminate these systems of belief in creating his new generation of humans. However, the natural desire to know where you come from comes from the Crakers, who ask Snowman questions repeatedly. These stories about Crake being a God-like figure are a depiction that Snowman creates, and Crake is in fact just a human. He is, however, their creator and holds the same place and commands the same respect as a God figure.

The depiction of Crake as a God-like figure is extremely ironic on the part of Snowman, since Snowman knows Crake's aversion to religion and his desire to engineer it out of the Crakers. Crake himself said that "God is a cluster of neurons," indicating that he believes more in science than religion.  Crake was also resistant to the way institutions such as churches utilized religions for their own gain, as exemplified with the quote "Nature is to zoos as God is to churches." Therefore, the depiction of Crake as a God-like figure by Snowman, and the Crakers' firm belief in this truth, is an ironic retort to Glenn by Jimmy.

What is the setting of "Games at Twilight" by Anita Desai?

The setting of Anita Desai's "Games at Twilight" is tropical India.  The year is never established, but the story likely takes place during the time that Britain still ruled India.  The second sentence talks about having tea, which is a typical British activity.  The children also beg to play on the "veranda," which is also a proper British vocabulary word; however, the children's names are definitely not British, which is another reason that I think the setting is in India.  

Despite not being given a year, a reader can make an accurate guess as to the time of year that the story is happening during.  I believe the story takes place during the summer.  The opening paragraphs firmly establish that the weather is hot.  Not only that, but the heat is lasting into the late afternoon.  

I can be more specific about the setting location.  The majority of the story happens within a large, walled garden.  That's where the children play hide-and-seek.  The other main location is the shed that Ravi hides in.  

What are some lessons Meg learns about herself in A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle?

Meg Murry views herself as inadequate. She may be bright in some school subjects but she is horrible in others. She has very few social skills and few friends. She sees herself as an extremely flawed individual. When she meets the three Mrs. Ws, she learns a different view of herself. In preparation for her return to the planet Camazotz, Meg is given a gift from Mrs. Whatsit; she is given her faults. Meg objects that she is always trying to get rid of her faults; she does not see how these can help her to attack evil. Yet she learns that her faults are often the flip side of strengths. Her impatience leads her to be persistent in attacking IT. Her capacity to love unhesitatingly helps her to rescue Charles Wallace from his possession by IT. She learns that she does not need to be “perfect,” but can find strength in being herself with all her flaws.  

What characteristics does Okeke require in a wife for his son?

Okeke requires that a wife for his son should have a Christian background and be of good character.

To Okeke, love is not a necessary element in the area of matchmaking. Thus, he becomes incensed when he discovers that his son, Nnaemeka, has decided to make a love match, rather than to marry the girl he, Okeke, has picked for him. Okeke entertains very old-fashioned ideas about how a wife should behave.

He strongly believes that "no Christian woman should teach" and is upset when he discovers that his future daughter-in-law is a teacher at a girls' school in Lagos. Okeke has literally misinterpreted the Bible; in 1 Timothy 2:12, the apostle Paul proclaimed: "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." The original injunction was against women teaching men (in itself the subject of much debate today).

Due to his extreme prejudice, Okeke rejects Nene Atang even before he has had a chance to meet her and to become acquainted with her. He ignores the fact that Nene meets one of his original requirements: that a wife for his son should come from a Christian background. Because of his bias, Okeke brings much grief on himself, Nnaemeka, and Nene.

Why was Silent Spring such an important book?

Silent Spring was such an important book because it raised awareness of the damage that the large-scale use of pesticides (and human activities more broadly) were doing to the environment. Carson's highest-profile target in the book was DDT, a pesticide that had the unfortunate effect of killing birds as well.  By drawing attention to this problem (and highlighting its potential effects on humans as well) Carson achieved tangible results. The use of DDT was banned in the United States, along with several other pesticides. But the book is often seen to have been a crucial spark for an emerging environmentalist movement, one which itself confronted the effects of unregulated industry on the environment. This movement culminated with federal action, as President Richard Nixon signed the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as Clean Air and Clear Water acts into existence in the early 1970s. In the words of one author, "EPA [the federal Environmental Protection Agency] today may be said without exaggeration to be the extended shadow of Rachel Carson." Many Americans, chastened and fearful of the effects of pollution, and skeptical of the willingness of corporate industries to "self-regulate" pressured the federal government into action, and Silent Spring is often seen as a major factor in building momentum for this movement. 

`log_3(x^2) = 4.5` Solve the equation accurate to three decimal places

To solve a logarithmic equation, we may simplify  or rewrite it using the properties of logarithm.

For the given problem `log_(3)(x^2)=4.5` ,  we may apply the property:

`a^((log_(a)(x))) = x`

 The "log" cancels out which we need to accomplish on the left side of the equation.

Raising both sides by the base of 3:

`3^((log_3(x^2))) = 3^(4.5)`

 ` x^2= 3^(4.5) `

Taking the square root on both sides:

`sqrt(x^2) =+-sqrt(3^(4.5))`

`x= +-11.84466612`

Rounded off to three decimal places:

`x=+-11.845` .

Plug-in the x-values to check if they are the real solution:

`log_3(11.845^2)=4.5 ` so x = 11.845 is a real solution.

Now let `x=-11.845` 

 `log_3((-11.845)^2)`

`log_3(140.304025)=4.5` so x = -11.845 is a real solution.

So, x= 11.845, x = -11.845 are both solutions.

Why do Squeaky and Gretchen smile genuinely at each other after the race?

Squeaky and Gretchen smile at each other after the race because they now respect each other. Before the race, both think little of the other.

For example, Squeaky initially thinks Gretchen is vain and arrogant. Additionally, Mary Louise (formerly a close friend of Squeaky's) now socializes with Gretchen and engages in spiteful gossip against her. Rosie, the other girl who befriended Gretchen, is also on shaky ground with Squeaky because Rosie is unkind to Raymond, Squeaky's brother. When they meet on the day of the race, the girls treat each other warily, keeping each other at arms length:

Gretchen smiles, but it’s not a smile, and I’m thinking that girls never really smile at each other because they don’t know how and don’t want to know how and there’s probably no one to teach us how, cause grown-up girls don’t know either.

Squeaky and Gretchen view each other as competition. Neither thinks the other deserves to win. By the end of the race, however, both girls view each other with newfound respect and regard. Squeaky notices that Gretchen isn't just another pretty girl: she really worked hard to win.

And I lean down to catch my breath and here comes Gretchen walking back, for she’s overshot the finish line too, huffing and puffing with her hands on her hips taking it slow, breathing in steady time like a real pro and I sort of like her a little for the first time.

For her part, Gretchen now realizes Squeaky really does run well. Both girls smile to demonstrate their new regard for each other.

The following sentence is ambiguous. Provide two explanations which illustrate the different meanings of the sentence. "Please make sure you take...

The sentence is ambiguous because of the word "right." Right could refer to a direction of navigation, or it could refer to a correct choice.  

If somebody were to give you directions, and the intersections were confusing, the above sentence wouldn't necessarily tell you which direction to turn. I would hope that because the person is giving directions, "right" means a literal turn toward the right. In other words, don't go left.  

The ambiguity comes from the fact that the sentence might simply be telling you to make the correct choice at the intersection. If someone told you, "When you get to Broadway and 9th, take the correct path," whether that path is right, left, or straight is not indicated. It is assumed that the person knows the correct direction to navigate and doesn't need to be told in which direction to go. In my opinion, that's poor direction-giving. If I am giving somebody directions, I assume they don't know how to get somewhere. I will use "right" exclusively as a direction indicator. Occasionally, a person will repeat the directions back to me, and I am very careful with how I respond.

For example, the person might ask, "So, when I get to the corner of Ash and Lincoln, I go left?" If that is correct, I will say "correct." I will not say "right." If I say right, the person won't know if I am affirming them or correcting them.

What does Sophocles' Antigone communicate to the audience?

In Antigone, Sophocles communicates the importance of being humble. 

At the end of Antigone, there is a profound sense of emptiness.  We have seen Creon and Antigone collide with one another because they believed in the authenticity of their convictions.  Antigone believed she was doing right by her beliefs.  Creon is equally adamant in his unwillingness to compromise.  Family members appeal to both of them to change their mind.  However, neither one sacrifices their ego and, as a result, the unthinkable takes place.  While Creon does relent, it is too late.  The deaths of Creon's son and wife along with Antigone's death represent sadness resulting from human foolishness. 

Sophocles communicates the danger of self-aggrandizement.  He conveys the calamity that can await when we believe that we are better, smarter, and stronger than we really are.  This is revealed at the drama's conclusion. Creon appears before the Chorus and the audience as a broken man:

Let this rash man be led out of the way,
who, my child, unwillingly slew you,
and this woman, you, too—alas! I have
no where to turn to, nothing to lean on,
for everything goes cross in my hands,
and a difficult fate falls on my head.

Creon's language is very different from the bluster he displayed throughout the drama.  He has recognized that living a life without humility has made him a "rash man." He knows that his hubris resulted in the deaths of his son and wife.  He is forced to admit his limitations, a reality he would not previously entertain. Creon communicates how "a difficult fate" crushes us when we do not limit our ego and listen to others' counsel.

Sophocles communicates how we need to live within our limitations in order to find happiness.  In the drama's final lines, the Chorus communicates how we must be different than Creon or Antigone:   

Knowledge truly is by far the most important part
of happiness, but one must neglect nothing
that the gods demand.
Great words of the over-proud
balanced by great falls
taught us knowledge in our old age.

We are punished through "great falls" when we live as "the over-proud." Sophocles tells the audience that knowledge and wisdom mean living with humility and deference to something larger than ourselves.  Creon and Antigone communicate the dangers of living otherwise.

`y = C_1e^2x + C_2e^(-2x) + C_3sin(2x) + C_4cos(2x)` Determine whether the function is a solution of the differential equation `y^((4)) - 16y = 0`

Given,

`y = C_1e^2x + C_2e^(-2x) + C_3sin(2x) + C_4cos(2x)`

let us find

`y'=(C_1e^2x + C_2e^(-2x) + C_3sin(2x) + C_4cos(2x))'`

`= 2 C_1e^2x +(-2) C_2e^(-2x) +2 C_3cos(2x) -2 C_4 sin(2x)`

`y''=(2 C_1e^2x +(-2) C_2e^(-2x) +2 C_3cos(2x) -2 C_4 sin(2x))'`

`=4 C_1e^2x +(4) C_2e^(-2x) -4 C_3sin(2x) -4 C_4 cos(2x)`

`y'''=(4 C_1e^2x +(4) C_2e^(-2x) -4 C_3sin(2x) -4 C_4 cos(2x))'`

`=8 C_1e^2x +(-8) C_2e^(-2x) -8 C_3cos(2x) +8 C_4 sin(2x)`

`y''''=(8 C_1e^2x +(-8) C_2e^(-2x) -8 C_3cos(2x) +8 C_4 sin(2x))'`

`=(16 C_1e^2x +(-8)(-2) C_2e^(-2x) -8(-2) C_3sin(2x) +8(2) C_4 cos(2x))`

`=(16C_1e^2x +16 C_2e^(-2x) +16 C_3sin(2x) + 16C_4cos(2x))`

So lets check whether `y'''' -16 y =0` or not

`(16C_1e^2x +16 C_2e^(-2x) +16 C_3sin(2x) + 16C_4cos(2x))-16(C_1e^2x + C_2e^(-2x) + C_3sin(2x) + C_4cos(2x))`

=`(16C_1e^2x +16 C_2e^(-2x) +16 C_3sin(2x) + 16C_4cos(2x))-(16C_1e^2x +16 C_2e^(-2x) +16 C_3sin(2x) + 16C_4cos(2x))`

`=0`

so,

`y'''' -16 y =0`

Why were Claudius' actions in Hamlet not justified?

It would be difficult to justify Claudius's decision to murder his brother.  He kills old King Hamlet even before he's had a chance to confess his sins, and so he goes to judgment with all his sins still on his head.  He is currently in purgatory as a result of his brother's callous power grab.  You could certainly discuss his decision to murder his brother in cold blood as unjustifiable.

It is also difficult to justify the really hasty marriage of Claudius to his brother's wife, Gertrude.  They get married fewer than two months after old Hamlet's death, which makes it look like they didn't really care about him all that much or else they would need more time to grieve.  You could likewise discuss this behavior as unjustifiable.

Further, Claudius plots to kill his nephew/step-son, Hamlet, because Hamlet is becoming a little inconvenient.  His madness is making him unpredictable and difficult to control, and he seems to have some knowledge of Claudius's crime.  However, it would be difficult to justify Claudius's attempts to murder Hamlet for these reasons. 

What does Gary D. Schmidt's writing style feel like in Trouble? What kind of language does he use (repetitive words/phrases like Trouble, "build...

In the novel Trouble, Gary D. Schmidt's writing style feels very casual and conversational, just like the thoughts of a teenage boy. Schmidt especially creates the conversational style through interjections and repetition. The effect is that, even though the narrator is a third-person narrator with a limited focus on Henry, the words of the narrator sound like Henry's thoughts.

An interjection is a word or phrase added to a sentence to express emotion. Multiple examples of interjections can be seen throughout the book. One example occurs in the first chapter when the narrator describes the uniform Henry must wear to the John Greenleaf Whittier Academy for seventh and eighth graders:

... where all seventh- and eighth-grade students wore uniforms involving a white shirt, blue blazer, red-and-white tie (the school colors), khaki pants, black socks, black loafers, and--no kidding--red-and-white boxers. (p. 3)

The interrupting phrase "no kidding," surrounded by dashes, counts as an interjection that helps express the narrator's sense of absurdity. The narrator sees how ridiculous it is for a school to require a student to wear specific boxers and is expressing his sentiment in an interjection, just as a teenage boy would, using the same words a teenage boy would use.

Repetition also helps create a casual, conversational style that mimics a teenage boy's voice. Repetition can be found throughout the novel, especially as Henry reflects on his father's philosophy about staying away from trouble. Another example of repetition can be seen in passages describing Franklin:

... since [Henry] could never hope to match the records that Franklin Smith--Franklin Smith, O Franklin Smith, the great lord of us all, Franklin Smith--had put up on the wooden Athletic Records panel for his rugby play. (p. 3)

Repetition of the name Franklin Smith plus the phrase "great lord of us all," words a teenager would say, creates the narrator's verbal irony, irony that helps capture Henry's true feelings: Henry doesn't see why Franklin should be seen as such a wonderful person.

What are the main ideas in Hamlet's soliloquy in Hamlet, Act II, Scene II?

A critical part of this scene is the arrival of a group of actors at the castle. Hamlet listens to one of the players perform a speech about the death of Priam and Hecuba, the royalty of Troy. Hamlet decides that the players shall perform The Murder of Gonzago, slightly altered with a speech penned by him; the narrative of this play is very similar to the events of Hamlet's life, including the murder of a king.

Hamlet's soliloquy begins with him cursing himself for his inaction. He wonders how an actor could present such forceful passion over a work of fiction that has no personal significance to him while Hamlet himself is unable to act. Hamlet is in possession of great feeling, but lacks conviction. He considers his own apparent apathy, asking:

...Am I a coward?

Who calls me "villain"? Breaks my pate across?

Plucks off my beard and blows it in my face?

Tweaks me by the nose? Gives me the lie i' th' throat

As deep as to the lungs? Who does me this?

Hamlet wants someone to strike him or attack his character, for he believes he deserves it. If he was not such a coward, he would "have fatted all the region kites / With this slave's offal"... meaning that he would have fed the intestines of Claudius to vultures. Hamlet, thus, brands himself "an ass" for failing to revenge his father.

He starts to think that the play may be just the thing to get Claudius to confess his crimes, believing that murder will always announce itself eventually:

May be the devil, and the devil hath power

T' assume a pleasing shape.

Suspecting that perhaps the Ghost who has told him of this murder might be toying with him "to damn" him, Hamlet plans to watch Claudius' reaction to the play-within-a-play. He believes that in doing so he will be able to determine his uncle's guilt is real—to "catch the conscience of the king."

How could I give a twist to the story "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry and change the climax?

The climax of the actual O. Henry story is that Johnsy survives having pneumonia and Behrman dies after painting a leaf on the wall so that Johnsy doesn't see the last leaf fall. If you want to change the climax, you can change either part of the resolution of the story. For example, Johnsy can sadly die after she sees the last leaf fall from the wall. Another ending might involve Behrman surviving instead of perishing from pneumonia. A third potential ending might involve Johnsy surviving and Behrman surviving as well. If you wanted to add a twist to the story, Behrman could become a well-known painter after news of his painting the leaf on the wall begins to spread. People could arrive from miles around to see his masterpiece, and he could achieve the fame and renown he has long sought but has not to date achieved. 

Why is Charlemagne remembered in history?

Charlemagne, also called Charles the Great, was a Frankish King who is widely regarded as the father of modern Europe. In addition to being a king, he united much of the territory of (present-day) Europe under the Holy Roman Empire.

In the Middle Ages, it was not uncommon for warlord kings to gain great followings and capture neighboring kingdoms to rule for themselves. When Charlemagne's father, Pippin the Short, died, he split the Frankish kingdom between his two sons- Charlemagne and Carloman. Later, when Carloman died, Charlemagne ignored the rights of his heirs and took over his deceased brother's kingdom as ruler of all Francia. From then on, Charlemagne and his military began expanding and capturing territories belonging to the Saxons, the Gauls, and the Lombards all over the continent. 

Though he had captured so much territory and instituted great administrative reforms all throughout his lands, Charlemagne wasn't officially recognized by the Church until the year 800. Something important to bear in mind is that from the fall of the Roman Empire in the West during the 4th century, the Church and the Crown were separate entities. In the eyes of the people, both were somewhat weakened without the support of the other. In November of 800, Charlemagne traveled to Rome to meet with Pope Leo III, and was crowned Emperor of the Romans. With the Church and Crown reunited, the Holy Roman Empire wielded both secular and religious authority. 

In addition to his administrative reform throughout the Empire, Charlemagne inspired religious reform and implemented academic reform. One of his longest-lasting contributions to Western culture was introducing the Caroline Miniscule- a standardized script for all religious and academic texts to be written in. 

How big can a tsunami be?

A tsunami is a wave or series of waves caused by the displacement of water, as with seismic activity. Tsunami can be caused by landslides, glacier activity, underwater explosions, and earthquakes. Some tsunami are so massive that they can cause extensive damaged to populated and natural areas of coastline. In 2011, an earthquake and the resulting tsunami destroyed the Tohoku area of Japan. 

According to National Geographic, tsunami can reach heights of over 100 feet. When tsunami occur out in the deep ocean, they may be barely visible from the surface, only reaching a height of about 3 feet. As the wave moves closer to shore, however, the wave height increases as there is less space under the water-level for it to move. The wave length of a tsunami might be many miles long. The size of a tsunami is proportional to the activity which caused it-- an event which causes greater displacement of water will result in greater wave activity.

`y' = -sqrt(x)/(4y)` Solve the differential equation.

An ordinary differential equation (ODE)  is differential equation for the derivative of a function of one variable. When an ODE is in a form of `y'=f(x,y)` , this is just a first order ordinary differential equation. 

The given problem: `y' = -sqrt(x)/(4y)` is in a form of `y'=f(x,y)` .

 To evaluate this, we may express `y'` as `(dy)/(dx)` .

 The problem becomes:

`(dy)/(dx)= -sqrt(x)/(4y)`

We may apply the variable separable differential equation: `N(y) dy = M(x) d` x.

Cross-multiply `dx` to the right side:

`dy= -sqrt(x)/(4y)dx`

Cross-multiply `4y` to the left side:

`4ydy= -sqrt(x)dx`

Apply direct integration on both sides:

`int 4ydy= int -sqrt(x)dx`

Apply basic integration property: `int c*f(x)dx = c int f(x) dx` on both sides:

`4 int ydy= (-1) int sqrt(x)dx`

For the left side, we apply the Power Rule for integration: `int u^n du= u^(n+1)/(n+1)+C` .

`4 int y dy = 4*y^(1+1)/(1+1)`

               `= 4*y^2/2`

               `= 2y^2`

For the right side, we apply Law of Exponent: `sqrt(x)= x^(1/2)` before applying the Power Rule for integration: `int u^n du= u^(n+1)/(n+1)+C` .

`(-1) int x^(1/2)dx =(-1) x^(1/2+1)/(1/2+1)+C`

                       `=- x^(3/2)/(3/2)+C`

                       `=- x^(3/2)*(2/3)+C`

                       ` = -(2x^(3/2))/3+C`

Combining the results, we get the general solution for differential equation:

`2y^2= -(2x^(3/2))/3+C`

We may simplify it as:

`(1/2)[2y^2]= (1/2)[-(2x^(3/2))/3+C]`

`y^2= -(2x^(3/2))/6+C/2`

`y= +-sqrt(-(2x^(3/2))/6+C/2)`

`y= +-sqrt(-(x^(3/2))/3+C/2)` 

Why, in the play Othello, is Roderigo angry with Iago?

Roderigo is angry because he believes that Iago has been using him without any reward to himself. He has been giving Iago all his money in the hope that he would enable Roderigo to win Desdemona's affection since he is infatuated with her. At this point, there has been no improvement in his situation and he is frustrated at Iago's apparent delay. He tells him in Act 4, scene 2:

I do not find that thou dealest justly with me.

When Iago asks him why he makes this accusation, he says:

Every day thou daffest me with some device, Iago;
and rather, as it seems to me now, keepest from me
all conveniency than suppliest me with the least
advantage of hope. I will indeed no longer endure
it, nor am I yet persuaded to put up in peace what
already I have foolishly suffered.

Roderigo is clearly upset and tells Iago that he provides him with some kind of story or scheme but that it appears to him as if he is, in fact, keeping him from achieving his goal, which is to be with Desdemona. He tells Iago that he will no longer stand for it and he is not convinced enough about Iago's intentions. He is also not prepared to easily let go of what he has already foolishly given up and endured.

He, furthermore, tells Iago that he has already heard too much from him since his words and his actions don't match - i.e. he does not put his words into action. He also accuses Iago of having spent all his money and jewels and that he has bankrupted himself, yet, he has received no reward. Iago had received enough money and jewels from him to corrupt a politician and had promised that he had given the same to Desdemona. In return, Roderigo would receive attention and respect from Desdemona, but he had received nothing.

When Iago expresses his disapproval of Roderigo's accusations and tells him to be gone, he tells him that he cannot and will not go. He threatens Iago that he will confess what he has done to Desdemona and reclaim all his jewels. If he is not satisfied in this, he will seek restitution from Iago. 

Iago cleverly manipulates Roderigo by sweet talking him and saying that he recognizes true courage, purpose, and valour in him. He tells Roderigo that if he commits to one more action, he will truly have Desdemona for himself the next night or he could take his life, if not.

The gullible Roderigo is appeased and agrees to prevent Cassio to take Othello's place when he supposedly leaves for Mauritania. If Cassio is not fit to replace Othello, the general will have to stay in Cyprus and so too will Desdemona. And so, once again, Roderigo is manipulated and becomes Iago's convenient puppet.

In the end, though, it is Roderigo's damning letters, found on his person after he has been killed by Iago, that condemns the master schemer and exposes him for a fraud, a malicious liar, and a remorseless cheat.

In Bud, Not Buddy by Curtis, what are the names of Mrs. Sleet's children?

In Chapter 11, Lefty Lewis sees Bud hitchhiking and offers him a ride to Grand Rapids. Lefty then tells Bud that he needs to drive back to Flint so he can drop off blood at the Hurley Hospital. While they are driving, Bud falls asleep, and Lefty Lewis takes Bud to his daughter's home to spend the night. When Bud wakes up, he joins Lefty's family for breakfast. Mrs. Sleet is the name of Lefty's daughter, and she has two children, Kim and Scott. Bud is introduced to Kim and Scott during breakfast, and they bicker with each other like typical siblings. Scott is curious to learn about Bud's situation and asks Bud several questions about why he decided to run away. Kim then offers Bud a deal. She tells Bud that she will sing a song that she made up if he promises to answer one question. Bud agrees to the deal, Kim sings, then asks Bud how his mother died. Bud explains that his mother was ill and passed away without any pain. Kim and Scott then begin to argue again before Lefty Lewis and Mrs. Sleet return from the kitchen.

How is quantum physics linked to biological processes and what research is currently being conducted in this area?

Quantum biology is the branch of science that uses quantum mechanics to explain biological processes such as avian magnetoreception, photosynthesis, and vision. Quantum mechanics is the science of the very small (the subatomic level). At this scale, particles behave in a very different way than even the tiniest forms of life such as bacteria. An example of this is the ability of a particle to exist in two places at once. 

Avian magnetoreception refers to a bird’s ability to navigate using the Earth’s magnetic field. The bird’s magnetic sensor is activated  when light hits the retina. When this happens, two free radicals are created. These particles help birds sense the orientation of the Earth’s magnetic field. They are thought to be connected through quantum entanglement. Quantum entanglement is the ability of two particles to stay connected despite being separated.

Photosynthesis is the process that plants and some microorganisms use to provide nutrients for themselves and release oxygen into the atmosphere. The energy for photosynthesis is powered by light. Photons (light particles) need to make their way to the  photosynthetic reaction center for this to occur. Somehow, nearly all photons are able to take the most efficient path. It is believed that photons use coherence to find their way. In this case, coherence gives photons the ability to sample multiple routes simultaneously and then travel using the most efficient route.

Coherence also plays a role in vision. One of the fastest chemical reactions known is the photoisomerization of rhodopsin (a protein involved in sensing changes in light). This occurs as soon as it makes contact with light. Like photosynthesis, coherence is thought to guide particles towards the most efficient path.

What are two methods used to mine coal out of the ground so that we can use it to make electricity?

Two methods used to remove coal from the ground are:

• 
  Surface Mining: Surface mining is used when the coal is located within 200 feet of the surface. Large machines are used to remove soil and rock on top of the coal seam. When coal seams are located close to the top of a mountain, dynamite is used to remove the mountaintop and expose the coal seams. This type of surface mining is called mountaintop removal. Once the coal has been removed, the surface is covered with new soil and replanted.

• 
  Underground Mining: Underground mining is used when coal is deep underground. Miners use man-made elevators and underground tunnels to reach the coal. The miners are then able to use machines to remove the coal from the ground and transport it to the surface.

The coal is then processed and used to generate about 39% of the electricity produced in the United States. 

In "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe, how does the description of the cat as "sagacious" contribute to the meaning of the story?

The description of the cat as "sagacious" adds characterization and tension to the story.

"Sagacious" means "wise," particularly in a shrewd, discerning way. That is, sagacious people and animals can sniff out the truth and make insightful judgments about other people's personalities and motives. It's a word that often describes dogs rather than cats, a word for emphasizing the animals' remarkably keen intelligence, and in fact the narrator of Poe's "The Black Cat" first uses the word "sagacious" in reference to dogs.

So when the narrator goes on to describe the cat as sagacious, we instantly understand that this is not some dumb kitty who happens to belong to the narrator, but rather a sensitive, discerning creature:

"This latter was a remarkably large and beautiful animal, entirely black, and sagacious to an astonishing degree."

Knowing that the cat, Pluto, has penetrating insight, readers tense up, wondering what it is about the narrator that will be exposed through that cat's insight. We're eager to move forward in the text to find out what Pluto's sagacity will reveal.

What are the six distinct traits of professionalism?

The description of "six distinct traits of professionalism" can vary depending upon one's source. One set of traits—as described by the Kappa Omicron Nu National Honor Society for the Human Sciences (KON)—first addresses traits as categories of human competencies, then enumerates detailed definitions of sub-traits. The six distinct traits described by KON are ethical behavior, altruistic attitudes, responsible conduct, theoretical foundations, intellectual development, and committed convictions, skills and knowledge competence. To quote KON's description of a "professional style," the six characteristics are stated as:

Six Characteristics of Professional Style:
Ethical
Altruistic
Responsible
Theoretical
Intellectual
Committed
Competence is a Given!

Other sources describe similar traits as being definitive of professionalism, having some overlap with and some distinctiveness from the KON list. For instance, the Business Management Daily (BMD) describes the six characteristics of professionalism as having commitment; being well-spoken, with correct and appropriate language; leaving life drama at home, away from work; being well- and appropriately- groomed and tidy; being civil to co-workers and eschewing incivility; and being scrupulously honest and ethical.

BMD's description of trait details (drawn from the work of management expert Dan McCarthy) fits as sub-traits within KON's description of the traits of professionalism in this order: committed convictions, intellectual development, responsible conduct (twice), altruistic attitudes with responsible conduct, and ethical behavior (theoretical foundations and skills and knowledge competence aren't included in BMD's McCarthy description of the traits of professionalism).

Who is the speaker in J.R.R. Tolkien's poem "Roads Go Ever On"?

"Roads Go Ever On" is a walking song that Bilbo Baggins sings for the first time in chapter 19 of The Hobbit. Bilbo's first rendition of the poem conveys a feeling of weary relief as he gazes across the Shire after his long and dangerous journey. Bilbo's song seems to be a reflection on his journey, almost a self-congratulatory "job well done, Bilbo."

Bilbo sings other versions of "Roads Go Ever On" throughout Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. The songs generally mark a major transition period in Bilbo's life. For example, he hums the song after he gifts the One Ring to Frodo and leaves the Shire in Fellowship of the Ring. Bilbo's new journey is filled with "eager" hope to start his book and a new life free of the Ring. 

Bilbo is old and weary the final time he sings "Roads Go Ever On" in The Return of the King:

The Road goes ever on and on

Out from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

Let others follow it who can!

Let them a journey new begin,

But I at last with weary feet

Will turn towards the lighted inn,

My evening-rest and sleep to meet.

Bilbo gracefully acknowledges that his journey is complete and gives "others" a blessing for "a journey new."

What is Harriet Tubman's connection to the American Dream?

Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery. She also helped many other slaves escape to freedom with her role in the Underground Railroad. These actions are reflected in the American Dream.

The American Dream is to be able to lead a better life for yourself and for your family. Many people have come to the United States in order to try to improve their economic situation and to be able to have political and religious freedom. For those people who have been living here, the American Dream represents improving what they currently have in their lives.

When Harriet Tubman escaped to freedom, she was trying to get a better life for herself. When she returned to the South to help other slaves escape, including her own family members, she was trying to help these individuals improve their situation in life. Her brave actions, both for herself and for others, reflect the ideals that are a part of the American Dream.

Why do the adults keep referring to the term "good fishing" in Number the Stars?

Fishing is code for helping Jews out of the country.

Annemarie is puzzled when she overhears a conversation between her father and Henrik, her uncle. Henrik is a fisherman.  It is a good cover for clandestine activities.

"So, Henrik, is the weather good for fishing?" Papa asked cheerfully, and listened briefly.

Then he continued, "I'm sending Inge to you today with the children, and she will be bringing you a carton of cigarettes. (Ch. 6) 

Annemarie knows that they are not really talking about cigarettes, but she does not know what they are talking about.  Annemarie realizes that they actually are talking in code, and her mother is not sending Henrik a carton of cigarettes. She is sending him a little Jewish girl.

Why was Papa speaking that way, almost as if he were speaking in code? What was Mama really taking to Uncle Henrik?

Then she knew. It was Ellen. (Ch. 6)

When her mother, Ellen, Annemarie and Kristi are on the train, a German soldier stops them and asks them if they are celebrating the New Year.  He is trying to trick them into admitting they are Jewish, because the Jewish New Year is in October.  Annemarie’s mom doesn’t take the bait.  Krisiti chatters to the soldier about her shoes, and the soldier moves on.

Children have to mature prematurely in wartime.  Annemarie's parents try to tell her as little as possible, on a sort of need-to-know basis, because they do not want her to slip and say the wrong thing to someone.  As Annemarie demonstrates that she can be trusted, her parents begin to involve her more and more.  She even helps with Resistance activities, because she is a child and no one would suspect her.

How does Miller convey the personalities of the characters in The Crucible, particularly through dialogue?

Because this play is set in the late seventeenth century, the manner of speaking is already very different from modern and contemporary speech. In order to be able to detect character differences in speech patterns and word choice, one must read/ listen very carefully. The original version of the play text contains many additional stage directions and expository remarks by playwright Arthur Miller, and this material provides additional insights.

If one is looking mainly at dialogue to determine personality, then one has to look at word choices and the behaviors conveyed through them. John Proctor is well-spoken and intelligent, but his emotions are often revealed in his word choice; he also tends to curse, which reveals a man who does not let religious piety affect his determination to speak his mind.

Abigail is an example of a character who manipulates others with her words and behavior. She uses language to cajole and threaten, and is often flirtatious and charismatic (which explains why she gets others to do her bidding). She does this in the first act with the other girls when she thinks they might reveal the things she has done in the woods. Her dramatic words stun the girls into obeying her:  

And mark this—let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it. I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down! 

We also see in this speech and others spoken by Abigail that she is arrogant and has a sense of self-importance, and this behavior seems to affect the other girls, in particular Mary Warren, when they are asked to become officials of the court. Seeing Abigail so confident and bold convinces the other girls they need to act as she does, and in this we see the roots of the mass hysteria conveyed in the girls' playacting in the courtroom. John Proctor become angry at Mary when she continues to mention needing to be in the courtroom when he thinks she should be attending to her duties as his servant. He sees through their pretense, but the court officials choose not to. As he grows more frustrated with the situation, his dialogue becomes more intense and graphic, as when he desperately tries to convince the court that Abigail is out for vengeance in accusing his wife:

She thinks to dance with me on my wife‘s grave! And well she might!—for I thought of her softly, God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat! But it is a whore‘s vengeance, and you must see it; I set myself entirely in your hands, I know you must see it now. My wife is innocent, except she know a whore when she see one.

In chapter 19 of To Kill a Mockingbird, what does her realization about Mayella tell us about Scout?

Chapter 19 is actually where Tom Robinson gives his account of what happened with Mayella Ewell on the day of the alleged rape. Scout and the audience learn that Tom was asked by Mayella to enter the Ewell premises multiple times to do odd jobs for her. Tom says that he was willing to help Mayella with some things because he felt that her father didn't help her enough with chores or with the children. Tom was also sensitive to Mayella's financial situation and offered to help her free of charge. It is at this point that Scout makes the following realization:

"As Tom Robinson gave his testimony, it came to me that Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the world. She was even lonelier than Boo Radley, who had not been out of the house in twenty-five years" (191-192).

Scout is learning about Mayella, so she naturally applies this knowledge to what she knows in her own life about loneliness and thinks of Boo Radley. Along with the fact that Scout realizes Mayella is lonely, she also discovers that the poor girl doesn't have any friends. These realizations show that Scout is observant and developing a sense of empathy towards other people. Furthermore, Scout starts to think that maybe some people don't seem to fit anywhere in society; and, possibly Mayella and Boo Radley are just those types of misfits. She realizes these thoughts with an air of compassion, and an ounce of amazement, as she discovers the world through different eyes. Scout is growing and developing a heart of a woman.

What were some forms of punishment during the Middle Ages and how effective were they?

During the Medieval Period, Europe was very loosely organized in terms of government, including law codes. Law and justice were mostly carried out by those who worked for the local King or Lord, and the most severe crimes were those which affected this ruler. For example, a peasant who stole from their neighbor was likely to receive a far less severe punishment than one who stole from the King.

As with any sort of punishment for a crime, the intent of punishment in the Medieval Period was to deter people from ever committing that crime again. There were not rehabilitative forms of penance, as there are in some countries today. People who committed crimes might be subjected to anything from a fine to dismemberment. Those who were repeat offenders might begin with a rather tame punishment (such as banishment) and progress to something more severe with further crimes (like being burned at the stake.) 

Punishments were often designed to "fit" or reflect the crime a person had committed. Someone with repeated instances of theft, or one very hefty instance of theft, might have their hands cut off. Some crimes were punished by torture or the use of various devices, especially when one was believed to have committed a crime yet would not confess. People were subjected to such bodily pains as burning, being eaten alive by rats, or being locked up in public stocks to be beaten by others.

On the whole, Medieval forms of punishment were so psychologically and physically damaging that if a person did not die as a result of their punishment, they most certainly did not commit that crime again. And if they did, there was always execution. 

What are three reasons why Atticus takes the Robinson case in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

There is no question that Atticus Finch has been asked to take the Tom Robinson case because of his integrity. For, Judge Taylor knows that he is, indeed, as Miss Maudie has said, "...the same inside his house as he is on the public streets."

Here are three reasons for his taking the case which involve his integrity:

1. 
   Atticus is assigned this case by Judge Taylor.
   Atticus tells his younger brother Jack in Chapter 9 that he had hoped to get through life without having a controversial case involving racial issues. However, "John Taylor pointed at me and said, 'You're It'."


2. 
   If Atticus were to refuse this case, he would feel like a hypocrite before his children.
   In his conversation with Jack, Atticus also mentions that he could not refuse the Robinson case and face his children honestly again. For, all their lives, Atticus has taught Jem and Scout to treat people fairly, and, as he says in Chapter 3, to "climb into [another person's] skin and walk around in it. Atticus feels that Tom Robinson is owed the respect of being treated fairly, and Atticus realizes he is the best man to afford the man a fight for a fair trial.


3. 
   Atticus feels that the Robinson case goes to the principles of a man's conscience.
   Atticus feels that he must take this case because it involves the moral principles by which he has lived. He tells Scout,

This case, Tom Robinson's case, is something that goes to the essence of a man's conscience--Scout, I couldn't go to church and worship God if I didn't try to help that man. (Ch. 11)

Clearly, Atticus feels that he must "practice what he preaches," as the old saying goes, or he will lose all respect given him.

...if I didn't [take the case] I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again…

Analyze three quotes from chapter 5 in All Quiet on the Western Front.

The opening of chapter five in All Quiet on the Western Front reveals the daily difficulties that soldiers on the front had to encounter.  It represents yet one more aspect of life for which Paul and his fellow soldiers were not prepared:

Killing each separate louse is a tedious business when a man has hundreds. The little beasts are hard and the everlasting cracking with one's fingernails very soon becomes wearisome. So Tjaden has rigged up the lid of a boot-polish tin with a piece of wire over the lighted stump of a candle. The lice are simply thrown into this little pan. Crack! and they're done for.

Earlier in the narrative, Paul talked about how the young soldiers were told that they had to serve out of patriotic duty.  However, such words rang hollow when the recruits were put on the front line.  This is communicated in realities such as battling lice.  The young men must fight everyone and everything as part of their time on the front. Opposing soldiers, animals, and even lice posed a challenge.  The way Tjaden comes up with a way to kill lice is reflective of the struggle that young soldiers faced in war, something that never leaves Paul's thinking.

One reality that was never communicated to the soldiers was how much they would miss home.  Young people signed up for the war under the belief that it would be quick.  They were filled with visions of returning home as conquering heroes.  As chapter five unfolds, it is clear that missing home is taking a toll on the young soldiers:

Haie looks at him sadly and is silent. His thoughts still linger over the clear evenings in autumn, the Sundays in the heather, the village bells, the afternoons and evenings with the servant girls, the fried bacon and barley, the care-free hours in the ale-house-- He can't part with all these dreams so abruptly; he merely growls: "What silly questions you do ask."

Haie's memories of the life he once lived brings out an added dimension to war's pain.  The quote captures an ache that soldiers felt.  As Paul details, the war will forever change the soldiers who fought in it.  They will either die on the battlefield or return unable to adjust to their world.  As Haie's "thoughts still linger" on his past, it becomes clear that he will never be "care-free."  This is why he growls and cuts off his recollections.  He knows that he will never be able to find the happiness that was once there.  He will never be able to soothe the ache of yearning for how things used to be.

Paul and the other soldiers realize that their experiences on the front do not compare to what they were told in school.  They received a theoretical instruction that failed to account for the war's brutal reality:

We remember mighty little of all that rubbish. Anyway, it has never been the slightest use to us. At school nobody ever taught us how to light a cigarette in a storm of rain, nor how a fire could be made with wet wood--nor that it is best to stick a bayonet in the belly because there it doesn't get jammed, as it does in the ribs.

Paul speaks honestly about how "mighty little of all that rubbish" resonates with the soldiers who are at the front. The war has taught the men that what was told to them in institutions such as school has little connection to war's reality.  It never prepared them for what they were to face.  This only adds to their disillusionment.  It shows how the war inflicted emotional and physical wounds.

In "Raymond's Run," how does Squeaky show that she cares a lot about her family, her neighborhood, and the people who live in the inner-city?

Squeaky, the narrator in Toni Cade Bambara's short story "Raymond's Run," shows she cares about her family, her neighborhood, and the people who live in the inner city in several ways. 

She shows she cares about her neighborhood when she wins the race and says,

Then all the kids standing on the side pile on me, banging me on the back and slapping my head with their May Day programs, for I have won again and everybody on 151st Street can walk tall for another year.

Earlier in the story, Squeaky has stated that she's a poor girl. In a poor neighborhood, children don't necessarily have many possessions to be proud of. Their pride is in their character and their accomplishments. It's apparent that there is a strong sense of community in Squeaky since she runs not just for herself, but also to make her neighbors proud. Her win gives them all bragging rights for another year. 

Squeaky shows that she cares about her family by her protection of her mentally-challenged brother Raymond. She takes Raymond with her wherever she goes, and she will not stand for anyone saying anything mean to him or trying to take advantage of him. When she sees him running for the first time during the race, she considers giving up her running career to train him. 

And I have a big rep as the baddest thing around. And I’ve got a roomful of ribbons and medals and awards. But what has Raymond got to call his own?

The fact that Squeaky considers giving up something she loves and takes such great pride in shows her great love for her brother. She is willing to put his wants and needs ahead of her own.

The only textual evidence that Squeaky cares about the people in the inner-city is the same textual evidence that she cares about her neighborhood. It's the comment that she makes when she says that all the kids on 151st street can hold their heads high for another year because she has won the race. There are details contained in the story that show she lives in the inner city, like walking along Broadway street and crossing 34th Street. When she races with her dad, he gives her a "two fire hydrant" head start. These don't necessarily show that she cares about the people. In fact, she calls people stupid more than once in the story and is on guard all the time against ignorant comments people make to or about her brother. The fact that Squeaky does something that allows the kids on 151st street to hold their heads high for a year shows she cares about them. It shows she doesn't run only for herself. She also thinks of her family, community, and neighbors.

In Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, what were some problems the characters faced? What were the solutions to the problems?

In Warriors Don't Cry, the main problem that Melba and the other members of the Little Rock Nine faced was integrating Central High School in 1957-1958. Some of the white students at the school harassed the Little Rock Nine, while others even assaulted them or threw objects at them. In the face of danger, pressure, and harassment, the Little Rock Nine had to get through the school year by employing different solutions. Melba Pattillo, the author of the book, survived by imagining that she was a warrior doing battle in the school. She steeled herself for violence and attacks each day; she could not respond with violence, but she did respond with constant vigilance and mental toughness. The other students handled the violence and harassment in different ways; for example, Minnijean Brown dropped a tray loaded with chili on some students and then was expelled from school for calling some girls "white trash." The other students lasted out the year, and then the school closed rather than integrate.

`f(x) = coth^-1(x^2)` Find the derivative of the function

`f(x) = coth^-1(x^2)`

The derivative formula of inverse hyperbolic cotangent is

• `d/dx[coth^(-1)(u)]=1/(1-u^2)*(du)/dx`

Applying this formula, the derivative of the function will be

`f'(x)=d/dx[coth^(-1) (x^2)]`

`f'(x)=1/(1-(x^2)^2) * d/dx(x^2)`

`f'(x)=1/(1-x^4) * d/dx(x^2)`

To take the derivative of `x^2` , apply the formula

• `d/dx(x^n)= n*x^(n-1)`

So, f'(x) will become

`f'(x)=1/(1-x^4)* 2x`

`f'(x)=(2x)/(1-x^4)`

Therefore, the derivative of the function is `f'(x)=(2x)/(1-x^4)` .

In Whirligig by Paul Fleischman, what is Alexandra trying to do for Steph?

Alexandra and Steph show up in the second chapter, titled “Weeksboro, Maine.” They’re eighth graders, and it’s Christmas time, so a lot of snow is on the ground. Alexandra thinks Steph should get a boyfriend. They trudge out to the cliff beyond the McQuillen place to see the whirligig. Alexandra claims it’s the perfect place to do guided imagery – to imagine a dream of an alternate story, complete with many details -- and to get Steph a boyfriend. She talks aloud and imagines a future for Steph that involves her rescuing a drowning French Canadian boy with her boat. Then they hear a real human sound. It turns out to be a young boy who is visiting people in the area. Amazingly enough, he becomes a friend and perhaps even a boyfriend to Steph. The two girls therefore believe that the whirligig has the power to bring dreams to life. Steph keeps it painted and in good working order from that point on.

How did Macbeth earn the respect of King Duncan in Act One?

Macbeth earns the respect of Duncan through his prowess on the battlefield. Duncan is facing an uprising by the rebel Macdonwald as well as a Norwegian invasion, and Macbeth and Banquo lead his forces against them. Duncan learns from a Sergeant returning from the fray that Macbeth met Macdonwald on the field and "unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps, And fix'd his head upon our battlements." Then Macbeth and Banquo defeated the Norwegian king, who had taken advantage of the internal strife by launching an invasion. Duncan responds to the Sergeant's account of the battle by exclaiming that Macbeth is his "valiant cousin" and a "worthy gentleman." The king then rewards his kinsman's loyalty and valor by naming him Thane of Cawdor, replacing the former holder of that title, who would be executed for his role in the rebellion. Macbeth's portrayal in this scene as a valiant, loyal thane makes his degeneration into a murderous, scheming monster late in the play all the more dramatic.

Suppose the current equilibrium GDP for a country is $14.5 trillion and potential GDP is $14.3 trillion. Will decreasing government purchases by...

Neither of these fiscal policies will restore the country’s economy to its potential gross domestic product (GDP).  Both of them will close the inflationary gap, but they will both go too far and create a recessionary gap instead of bringing the economy exactly to its potential GDP.  The reason for this is the multiplier effect.

When actual GDP is higher than potential GDP, a country has what is called an inflationary gap.  It is producing more than it can sustainably produce in the long term.  Therefore, it will experience inflation.  In order to do away with this gap, the country should engage in contractionary fiscal policy.  That is, it should decrease spending and/or increase taxes.  In your scenario, the country would take the correct kind of action because it would either reduce spending or increase taxes.

However, when the government changes spending or tax levels, it cannot just do so by the exact amount of the inflationary gap.  This is because of the multiplier.  If the government reduces spending by $200 billion, GDP will actually fall much more than that.  Let us say that the government reduces spending by this much. GDP immediately falls by $200 billion, erasing the inflationary gap.  But then GDP falls further.  When the government paid out that $200 billion, the people who received it then went out and spent most of it.  They bought goods like groceries and services like haircuts.  The people who provided the groceries and haircuts got paid, and GDP increased.  Now, when the government stops spending the $200 billion, the people who used to receive it (and then spend it) will no longer do so.  They will no longer spend this money on groceries and haircuts.  Therefore, the total amount spent on all goods and services will decline much more than $200 billion.

When we look at fiscal policy, we have to understand that there is a multiplier effect.  If the government increases spending, GDP goes up by much more than the amount of the spending increase as people use their new income to buy more goods and services.  Conversely, if the government decreases spending, GDP drops but much more than the amount of the decrease because people cut back on their purchases as consumers.  Therefore, either of these changes will decrease the country’s GDP much more than is needed to close the inflationary gap.

What is a "pipel"?

Although you may not find the word "pipel" in a standard English dictionary, you can get a sense of what it means from the novel Night:

In his "service" was a young boy, a pipel, as they were called. This one had a delicate and beautiful face—an incredible sight in this camp.

So, a pipel is a young boy who works as an assistant and gets certain rewards. We assume that these boys get their special positions by being very physically attractive and by being subservient to the older men whom they serve.

This particular "pipel" is one who serves the overseer at Buna, has a beautiful appearance that reminds the narrator of an angel, and suffers a terrible death as punishment for being involved in some kind of sabotage.

When you consider the existence of this "angelic" pipel, his own brutal behavior toward his own father, and his terrible torture and death, you start to understand the intensity of the narrator's despair and the confusing, chaotic nature of his struggle to maintain his faith in humanity.

How did Timothy protect Phillip from the storm?

In Chapter 15, a large storm washes over the island. The wind blows over the hut in which Phillip and Timothy live, and Timothy protects Phillip by covering Phillip's body with his own. They spend two hours that way, as the storm blows over them with lashing rains and strong winds. The storm is so harsh that they can barely breathe.

As the sea begins to come up the beach, Timothy brings Phillip to the palm trees on the rise for shelter. Timothy ties Phillip and himself to the tree. Water laps against their ankles and feet, and Timothy continues to protect Phillip with his body against the driving wind. They remain that way for about an hour, until the wind dies down and they can untie themselves from the tree. When the eye of the storm passes over and the winds pick up again, worse than ever, Timothy again ties Phillip to the tree and protects the boy with his body. Several large waves pass over them, and, in the end, the storm kills Timothy while Phillip survives. Timothy gives his life to protect Phillip. 

What are the effects of kelp forest decline on specific organisms in the food chain?

Kelp forests are complex and critical components of cold water rocky marine coastlines; their destruction--often as the result of overfishing--has a detrimental impact on the organisms that feed off of and around (or dwell in) these forests.

Kelp forests exist within the same ecosystems as fish, crabs, molluscs, sea urchins, marine mammals, algae, and many other biota. An important function of kept forests includes serving as a habitat and canopy for predatory fish. As kelp forests experience deforestation, the population of organisms that would typically serve as prey increases. This causes a significant shift in the food chain, with new predators emerging and normally flourishing populations dying off at unusual rates.

The rise of sea urchin populations also contribute to the deforestation of kelp through overgrazing. Urchins feed on kelp forests, and if left unchecked by apex predators who consume them (such as sea otters, whose deaths are also a result of overfishing), they can turn an entire kelp forest into an urchin barren.

To examine specific species, we'd have to narrow our subject to determine what kind of kelp forests you are interested in. For example, if we are examining the kelp forests of Southern California, we can return to the above example. Sea otters, spiny lobsters (Panulirus interuptus), and sheephead fish (Semicossyphus pulcher) act as the dominant carnivores in an ecosystem. These creatures feed on the dominant herbivores, such as the white sea urchin (Lytechinus anamesus), the purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus), and the red sea urchin (S. franciscanus). If the dominant carnivores disappear (again, from overfishing or the presence of even larger predators, like killer whales), the above sea urchin populations will skyrocket; with more urchins feeding on the forest, the very sensitive kelp forests will be dramatically impacted. A paper published by The University of Maine called "Kelp Forest Ecosystems: Biodiversity, Stability, Resilience, and Future" beautifully explains this phenomenon. I've included the link below:

Whatever regulates sea urchin abundances or their grazing behaviour often controls the distribution and abundance of kelp forests... Predators are commonly strong interactors... and as such are the single most important agent controlling sea urchin populations... When sea urchin predators become the focus of intense and unsustainable fishing that extirpates them, hyperabundances of the sea urchins and kelp deforestation often result. 

This kind of event naturally has a detrimental impact on the other organisms feeding and living in this ecosystem, from molluscs and smaller fish to other algae and epibiota. 

For more information, please see the sources I've included below!

Some dreadful calamity will happen, it is not to be doubted this third time, after what has gone before. But surely this is a cruel haunting of me....

The speaker of these lines is the signalman and he is speaking to the narrator. The signalman feels certain that a "dreadful calamity" is about to happen because two accidents have recently occurred on the railway line and each of these was preceded by a ghostly apparition which warned him of the events to come.

The signalman suspects that this third ghostly sighting is designed to warn him of another impending accident but he is unable to decipher the ghost's message, prompting him to call it a "cruel haunting." He desperately wants to understand the meaning, to try and prevent an accident but is unable to do so.

The signalman is understandably grieved by these recent events and the prospect of another accident on his watch. This is supported by the narrator's observation of the man:

His pain of mind was most pitiable to see. It was the mental torture of a conscientious man, oppressed beyond endurance by an unintelligible responsibility involving life.

The narrator's response is to try and help the signalman. His initial scepticism now gone, the narrator wants to prove that he has indeed been visited by a ghost. His solution is to accompany the signalman to see the "wisest medical practitioner" in the area and take his opinion.

The narrator and the signalman thus agree to meet the next evening but the meeting never takes place. In a tragic twist of events, the signalman is killed the next morning and the narrator realises that the ghost had come to warn the signalman of his own death on the line.

Where did the Renaissance begin, and what were its main characteristics and changes associated with it?

The Renaissance began in the city-states of Italy, with the northern city of Florence usually associated with its origins. It flourished there for a number of reasons. These included the influx of wealth from trade, contact with the East through the Crusades and sustained trade, and patronage from the Church in Rome. The characteristics of the Renaissance included a renewed interest in classical Greek, Roman, and Hellenistic thought. This emphasis became known over time as humanism. Humanists regarded the medieval period that followed the collapse of the Roman Empire as an era of ignorance and darkness, and they believed that a renewed emphasis on human achievement and the intellect would light the way to a new era. This belief is most commonly associated with the art and architecture of the period. Artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and others became celebrities, receiving the patronage of such wealthy benefactors as the Medici family in Florence and the Pope himself. But humanism and a newer, more secular spirit was also reflected in literature, history, and what might be called political science, most notably in the work of Niccolo Machiavelli. All of this marked a significant change from the dominant ethos of the Middle Ages, which we usually associate with the conviction that men and everything else in the world were essentially passive instruments of God's will.

Why do you think the village still participates in the lottery?

There are several hints given in the story about why the village still participates in the lottery, but the main reason seems to be that it's always been done that way, and no one questions or analyzes it. 

"The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born. Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box." 

In this quote from Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery," readers understand that the villagers have been participating in the lottery as long as anyone can remember. The town's civic leader, Mr. Summers, encourages the villagers to adopt a new box for conducting the lottery, but no one wants to change even this small detail. This shows how resistant they are to change.  They have a this-is-the-way-we've-always-done-it mentality. They did let go of some of the minor aspects of the tradition of the lottery, such as the official chanting before the lottery, but they wouldn't let go of something as significant as the box. 

"The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions: most of them were quiet. wetting their lips. not looking around." 

This quote also shows that the villagers participate in the lottery as a blind routine. It's something they have always done. A few mention that other villages have talked about stopping lotteries, but their commitment to this idea is slim. They lack the verve, courage, perhaps even the interest, to pursue ending the lottery. Consider the following quote:

 " 'They do say,' Mr. Adams said to Old Man Warner, who stood next to him, 'that over in the north village they're talking of giving up the lottery.' Old Man Warner snorted. 'pack of crazy fools,' he said. 'Listening to the young folks, nothing's good enough for them. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live that way for a while. Used to be a saying about Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon. First thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There's always been a lottery,' he added petulantly"

Old man Warner adds that it is his seventy-seventh time to be in a lottery. This is said as a source of pride for him, possibly because he's survived that many lotteries. He says there is "nothing but trouble" in ending lotteries. He doesn't elaborate on that idea, but one could infer because of retort "Pack of crazy fools. Listening to the young folks," that it is an idea that is a folly of youth. He insinuates that the outcome of ending lotteries would be unsavory. 

"Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones."

This quote suggests that it is not the tradition itself that is important to the villagers. It is as if the brutality of it, the selective destruction, is what matters to them. The only one who cries out against it is Tessie, whose name is drawn and is the one who will be stoned. No one comes to her defense, and no one agrees with her claims that it isn't fair.