The modern era of cryonics began when Robert Ettinger proposed the idea in a privately published book. He reasoned that though the process of freezing a person is fatal, it may be a curable condition in the future. Later Ettinger would argue for the feasibility of cryonics by saying that death was not an event but in fact a process. He would reason that if the brain were not fully incapacitated by a catastrophic event, a patient was not in fact dead. ____27___ Legal death was actually a legal pronouncement by a qualified person stating that further medical care was not appropriate for a patient. Ettinger further iterated that cells in the human body do not die until many hours after the point at which a person is considered legally dead. During that golden period of time a person can be cryogenically preserved and later treated once an effective treatment was available. 

 The first patients were preserved in the 1960s and it was initially termed a success by those in the cryonics community. However, due to errors in freezing and the absence of cryoprotectors in the first generation of preserved patients, all but one person preserved before 1973 have been lost. Cryogenics is often mistakenly thought of as the freezing of a patient’s body, but it is actually an extremely low temperature preservation process of legally dead individuals. While individuals can be frozen, there are several problems that arise out of the process. ____28___Also others balk at the seemingly outrageous cost of preserving a person. The total cost of freezing and perpetual maintenance usually exceeds 50,000 dollars. Yet, others realize that having their body frozen may give them the opportunity to lengthen their life by hundreds or even thousands of years in the future. While cryonics was risky before, many in the cryonics community view the process as being quite safe and would not hesitate to be cryogenically frozen. 

 Revival for patients preserved using current technology is impossible as any damage done to cells through the lack of oxygen, cryoprotectant toxicity, and thermal stress is unfixable. Successful cryonics at this point is impossible but may be in the future. ____29_____Hypothetical scenarios include microscopic robots doing repairs to the cell structure at a molecular level. Currently several prototypes have been made of robot hands one millimeter across designed to help perform surgery and defuse bombs. Other ideas include the possibility of merely preserving a person’s head so that in the future mind transfer can be implemented. With mind transfer, memories and personality are downloaded much like programs can be downloaded onto a computer and then uploaded into a laboratory grown body or a body from a person in a persistent vegetative state.

 ____30___ Those that feel the body has a soul dismiss cryonics because of the thought that it does not allow the soul to properly rise into heaven. Cryonics proponents fire back that the people being preserved are not dead and that while there is still hope for a recovery, the soul will not leave the body. Though these people appear to be dead, they are, according to cryonics proponents, only in a long term coma. Theological arguments assume that the body has no chance of being revived and even if possible, it would be a way to cheat death and would go against the rules of the Bible.

 
(A) Before patients can be revived, the issue of tissue regeneration must be addressed as a preserved person will have extensive damage to their body tissue. 

 
(B) Ettinger went on to found the Cryonics Institute in Michigan where he, his mother and his first and second wives all now reside in metal flasks kept at −196 °C.

 
(C) Mainly, people question the ability for the body to be preserved well enough to keep tissue intact.
(D) While the concept has never become mainstream, the number of people choosing to sign up is steadily increasing year on year. 

 
(E) Cryonics faces ethical questions too from people who feel that the process of cryonics conflicts with common beliefs of death and the afterlife. 

 (AB) Cryonics is still a controversial topic with many doubting its feasibility. 

 (AC) Clinical death was actually the cessation of blood circulation and breathing.

 A. The phenomenon of cultural transmission can be observed in not only human beings but also animals. The executive chef shows his/her apprentice how to make a tender chicken dish. Likely, in the world of animals, sparrows learn how to do vocal dialects from older sparrows. Through the process of socialization, young or more incapable members of the group gradually pick up the common knowledge, skills, and information. However, the process of cultural transmission can be largely affected by external factors, such as the physical environment, that may lead an individual to interpret a traditional concept in a novel way. The environmental stimuli that contribute to this variance can include climate, migration patterns, conflict, suitability for survival, and endemic pathogens. Although differences exist, cultural transmission is an important way for “a new comer” to gain the membership into a social group. 

A recent study published in the journal Science finds that cultural transmission is behind the spread of a hunting technique among humpback whales off New England. Lobtail feeding is the focus of the study. The researchers first saw lobtail feeding in 1980. Within 30 years, 37 percent of the observed humpbacks had learned to hunt fish by slapping the surface of the water with its tail. The whales will gobble up the fish that the resulting bubbles pen in. With 27 years of data from whale-watching boats in the Guld of Maine, the researchers have created mathematical models to examine the spread of lobtail feeding. The results show that humpback whales that spend more time with lobtail feeders were more likely to pick up the method themselves. Clearly, whales are capable of sophisticated social interactions—and we've only seen the tip of the tail.

    Breast-feeding is an important and special occurrence between a mother and her child. It leaves the child and mother healthier and happier. However, it also can lead to certain complications for the mother, like mastitis. Mastitis is a breast infection that mostly occurs among women who are breast-feeding. It’s sometimes called lactation mastitis or puerperal mastitis by doctors. Women who aren’t breast-feeding can also develop mastitis, which is called periductal mastitis.

   While it’s more common for these symptoms to occur (as is the infection in general) within the first six months after birth, and more so in the first six to 12 weeks of breast-feeding, mastitis can occur at any point of the breast-feeding period. Typically, the lactation mastitis occurs in only one breast.

   In breast-feeding women, mastitis is often caused by a buildup of milk within the breast. This is known as milk stasis. Apart from infrequent or missed feedings, milk stasis can occur, for instance, when a baby has problems sucking. In some cases, this buildup of milk can also become infected with bacteria. This is known as infective mastitis. Bacteria can enter the breast through cracked or sore nipples.

    However, mastitis is easily self-diagnosable and very self-treatable. There are many natural ways to treat mastitis. Some of the treatments are actually identical to the preventative tips for avoiding breast infections, such as regular breast-feeding and wearing loose clothing throughout the day. There are also many treatments that serve dual purposes: both relieving the symptoms of mastitis and helping clear the blockages of the clogged milk duct, thus allowing the passage of the bacteria and ending the mastitis infection all together. It’s important to be very on top of treating a blocked milk duct or swollen area quickly to avoid the possibility of infection.

    If you show signs of impending or full-blow, mastitis, in addition to resting, the following natural remedies will be a huge help: First of all, keep feeding. Maintaining a regular schedule through the infection, as long as you or the baby doesn’t exhibit oral thrush symptoms and it’s not too painful, helps unblock the milk duct. Secondly, massaging around the affected area before and after warming the breast is a good combination to use. Warm baths and showers before or after breast-feeding are similarly effective heat-related helpers. Next, raw, green cabbage leaves have been used for generations for new mothers to help engorgement, but they’re also effective in fighting against infections like mastitis in the nipple area. Simply place a leaf of cabbage inside the bra for several hours a day. By keeping the cabbage in the fridge, the leaves cool and are even more soothing. You can replace the cabbage every few hours. Finally, mix half a teaspoon of salt in eight ounces of water and soak your nipples after nursing. The low-salt saline rinse, which has the salinity close to tears, helps keep the nipples bacteria-free and can also reduce pain and swelling. It’s both preventative and a treatment for mastitis.

    As with all infections and ailments, when it comes to mastitis, it’s important to do what you can to avoid blocked milk ducts and other risk factors. Learning proper breast-feeding techniques to avoid overly chapped or painful nipples, which then become susceptible to infection, is also paramount.

　　Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770. His father, Johann Beethoven, was also a musician and wanted his son to be a child prodigy.   26   

　　Johann’s resolution to make his son into a successful musician was so extreme that he would pull poor Ludwig out of bed in the middle of the night and force the young boy to practice piano until the early hours of the morning. 

　　At the age of 11, Ludwig received professional piano and composition training in Bonn under the royal court’s organist, and by the mid-1790s he had made a reputation for himself as a master pianist in Vienna, the musical capital of the age.   27   

　　A huge turning point in Beethoven’s life occurred in 1798, when his hearing started to become impaired.   28   This caused him to shun company and become depressed. He even contemplated suicide. 

　　Battling both depression and his loss of hearing, Beethoven continued to produce music with a special adaptation to his piano.   29   The music that he created during this period expressed heroism and struggle and went on to become some of his most famous compositions. 

　　 30   After the performance of his Ninth Symphony, he turned around to see the ecstatic applause of the audience but broke down in tears when he realized that he couldn’t hear them. 

　　 After a long illness, Beethoven died at the age of 56 on March 26, 1827. The true cause of his death was unknown for a long time, but later analysis of his hair and skeleton suggests that he was accidentally poisoned by his doctors, who prescribed excessive doses of lead-based medicine. Whatever the cause, the death of the great man shocked Vienna. Twenty thousand people attended his funeral procession, paying their respects to a true musical genius of their time. 

   Although nest-building is an instinctive ability, there is considerable adaptability in both site selection and use of materials, especially with those species which build quite elaborate constructions. Furthermore, some element of learning is often evident since younger birds do not build as well as their practiced elders. Young ravens, for example, first attempt to build with sticks of quite unsuitable size, while a jackdaw's first nest includes virtually any movable object. The novelist John Steinbeck recorded the contents of a young osprey nest built in his garden, which included three shirts, a bath towel, and one arrow.

   Birds also display remarkable behavior in collecting building materials. Crows have been seen to tear off stout green twigs, and sparrow-hawks will dive purposefully onto a branch until it snaps and then hang upside down to break it off. Golden eagles, over generations of work, construct enormous nests. One of these, examined after it had been dislodged by high winds, weighed almost two tons and included foundation branches almost two meters long. The carrying capacity of the eagles, however, is only relative to their size and most birds are able to carry an extra load of just over twenty percent of their body weight.

 For hundreds of years, the Roman Empire dominated half of Europe, most of the Middle East and large areas of North Africa. Due to its sheer size and power, the Roman Empire was perhaps the greatest empire the world has ever known. 

The history of the Roman Empire dates back to the year of 753 B.C., when a community of farmers got together and found the city of Rome. The city was to remain the heart of the Empire that would go on to influence the language, government and religion of all western countries today. Rome was a successful capital partly because of its location, being situated twenty-five kilometers from the sea and behind the steep hills. This gave Rome safety from outside attack as well as access to rich soil for agriculture. Rome was also located on the Italian Peninsula that extended into the Mediterranean Sea. This provided Roman ships the perfect port from which to launch attacks on the other Mediterranean cultures. In fact, the Romans were so confident in the strength of their empire they referred to the Mediterranean as “our sea.” 

The borders of the Empire expanded with each victory, giving the Romans access to more resources. For example, they used lead from Britain, coal from France, grain from Egypt and marble from Greece. Throughout the Roman Empire, people were allowed to speak their own languages and follow their own customs, as long as they obeyed Roman law. The people conquered by Rome were granted Roman citizenship, which guaranteed protection under the legal system and against outside threats. Roman citizens could also use the roads, the postal system and the fresh water facilities that the Romans constructed. Citizens of the Roman Empire were classified into three main classes. The power upper class was made up of the Senate and other government officials. The large middle class was comprised of the farmers, city workers and soldiers. The lowest class consisted of slave who were captured in war. The slaves, however, could be granted full Roman citizenship and end their slavery if they proved themselves to be hard-working and this gave them motivation to work hard. At the height of the Empire, the city of Rome had a population of about one million people. Like most cities built by the Romans, it was carefully planned and had facilities such as public baths, and efficient sewerage system, theaters and a coliseum for public entertainment. The coliseum in Rome could seat 50,000

 people who would come to watch violent and bloody exhibitions. Sometimes warriors would fight to the death 

with swords and spears in front of huge audiences. On other occasions, lions from Africa were starved and put into the arena with criminals slaves. Horse and chariot racing was also a favorite sport of the Romans and the best competitors became public heroes.

 The most famous ruler of the Roman Empire was a man called Julius Caesar. He ruled from 58 B.C. until he was assassinated in 41 B.C. During his time, the Roman Empire expanded its borders into France and across Northern Europe. Augustus was another great ruler who was emperor from 27 B.C. until 14 A.D. Augustus created a political environment that resulted in three hundred years of peace throughout the Empire. The Empire was at its greatest strength at around 100 A.D. During this time, it imported large quantities of silk from China, spices from India and ivory from Africa.

 The most significant threat to the Empire came from Christianity that started to spread from the Middle East. The Romans killed Jesus Christ in 30 A.D. for treason, but over time the religion he founded gained popularity. Christianity was forbidden in the Empire until 313 A.D., when Constantine allowed people free

 choice of religion. The enormous size of the empire was too much to control from Rome and during the fourth century, the Roman Empire began to crumble. By the year 476 the Roman Empire had collapsed.

For most of us, summer is a season to enjoy outdoor activities. But for people who live in tropical regions,

 summer can bring huge storms capable of damaging buildings with wind and floods. This is because hurricanes

 occur when the water temperatures in the ocean rise above normal levels. What may start out as a minor 

storm can quickly be whipped up in to a devastating hurricane after gathering strength from warm water. A hurricane is an enormous circular vortex of clouds and wind. In order to develop, a hurricane requires water temperatures of at least twenty-six degrees Celsius. When a tropical storm occurs, the energy of the 

warm water and the moisture in the air can turn the storm into a hurricane. The location and size of hurricanes are observed by meteorologists using satellite equipment and radar. The media get the information and are able to warn the public about when and where the hurricane will strike. Hurricanes are given names by meteorologists to help people identify them. Although hurricanes are easily located by using sophisticated equipment, they are difficult to be judged because of their unpredictable movement and speed. Most hurricanes last for about ten days. When they cross onto land, they frictional drag from the ground causes their winds to slow and weaken. The most dangerous hurricanes, therefore, are the ones that move along a coastline and inflict damage on land while keeping their energy source of warm water. Every year the south-eastern coast of the United States becomes exposed to hurricanes that form thousands of kilometers away in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricanes are most likely to occur in August and September because at this time the water temperature is high due to several months’ direct sunlight and humidity. In September 1999, a tropical storm gathered strength in the Atlantic. It was named Hurricane Floyd after four days of growth. American meteorologists used satellite equipment to track Hurricane Floyd and issued severe weather warnings for the states of Georgia and South Carolina. As Hurricane Floyd approached the coast, more than two million people were forced to evacuate the coast under government instructions. Fortunately, only a small number of people were killed by the hurricane and once it crossed the coast, its strength died down. Another area prone to hurricanes is the Bay of Bengal, between India and Bangladesh. In November 1970,

 the worst damage in modern times occurred when approximately three hundred thousand people died in 

Bangladesh as a result of the tidal waves and flooding caused by a slow-moving hurricane. East Asia is also

 frequently affected by hurricanes. Countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines and China are threatened every year by an average of five hurricanes that occur between August and October. In recent years, Hurricane

 Nicole traveled along the coastline of China and caused flooding which broke the banks of the Yangtze River. As a result, two million Chinese people were left homeless and the flooding was the worst seen in this region for fifty years.

 Damage will always occur if a hurricane passes over land. People exposed to a hurricane must therefore take the following precautions. All objects outside the house must be securely fastened so they won’t be blown away. Shutters must be placed over house windows to prevent them being smashed. People must remain inside during a hurricane as flying debris and lightning can be deadly. It is also important to have candles and flashlights handy in case of electricity failure.

 Every year about fifty hurricanes occur around the world. All we can do is to try to restrict the damage by making sure people are well prepared in regions where hurricanes most often occur. Experts, however, are predicting that in the future we will experience more hurricanes per year than we currently do. Because of the greenhouse effect and global warming, the warmer water temperatures are expected. With warmer water on our planet, hurricanes will occur more often and with greater force than they do today.

  By definition, environmental protection refers to a practice of protecting the environment for the benefits of natural environment and/or humans. On the whole, natural environment is currently being damaged or threatened due to the pressures of human population and technology. So far, much of the discussion regarding environmental protection has often centered on the role of the government, legislation, and enforcement. Nevertheless, in its broadest sense, environmental protection should be viewed as the responsibility of all people rather than simply that of the government. Ideally, when decisions that may impact the environment are being made, a broad range of stakeholders, such as industry, indigenous groups, environmental groups, and community representatives should all be involved.

   Generally speaking, environmental protection is deeply influenced by three intertwined factors: environmental legislation, ethics, and education. Each of these factors has its impact on national-level environmental decisions as well as personal-level values and behaviors. In order to make environmental protection become a reality, societies should develop each of these areas that can inform and influence environmental decisions. In addition, although environmental protection shouldn’t be regarded as simply the responsibility of government agencies, they are still of great importance in setting up and maintaining fundamental standards that protect the environment and the people who interact with it.

   To understand the nature of the liberal arts college and its function in our society, it is important to understand the difference between education and training. Training is intended primarily for the service of society; education is primarily for the individual. Society needs doctors, lawyers, engineers, and teachers to perform specific tasks necessary to its operation, just as it needs carpenters and plumbers. Our training centers---the professional and trade schools---fulfill these needs.

   Although education is for the improvement of the individual, it also serves the society by providing a leavening of men and women of understanding, of perception and wisdom. They are our intellectual leaders, the critics of our culture, the defenders of our free traditions, the instigators of our progress. They serve the society by examining its function, appraising its needs, and criticizing its direction. They may be earning their livings by practicing one of the professions, or in pursuing a trade, or by engaging in business enterprise. They may be rich or poor. They may occupy positions of power and prestige, or they may be engaged in some humble employment. Without them, however, the society either disintegrates or else becomes an anthill.