问答题The Dreadlock Deadlock In the fall of 1993 Christopher Polk transferred from FedEx's hub in Indianapolis to take over a delivery route in Flatbush District, Brooklyn, N.Y. But moving to the country's largest community of Caribbean and African immigrants only precipitated a far more profound journey. "I was becoming culturally aware of the history of the black people," says Polk, now 31, "and that gave me these spiritual questions." His answer came providentially, by way of a music video featuring Lord Jamai, who raps about the Rastafarian belief in the sanctity of dreadlocks —the cords of permanently interlocked strands first worn by African chiefs perhaps 6,000 years ago. Now a practicing Rastafarian, Polk sports thick garlands that gently cascade onto his shoulders. "Your hair is your covenant," he says. "Once you grow your locks, it puts you on a path." Unfortunately, that path was a collision course with Federal Express's grooming policy, which requires men to confine their dos to "a reasonable style". After years of deliberation, Polk's bosses gave him a choice: shear his locks or be transferred to a lower-paid job with no customer contact. He refused both options and was terminated in June 2000. His tale is not unique. Although Rastafarians number about 5,000 nationally, today dreadlocks, twists or braids are at the height of fashion, nearly as common as Afros were 30 years ago. If Afros symbolized militancy, dreads signal a more spiritual self-declaration, a figurative locking with African ancestors. As Stanford professor Kennell Jackson, who teaches a course called "African Coiffures and Their New World Legacies" puts it, "There's a divinity to these locks." Divine or not, some employers consider them unacceptably outré. Six other New York-area FedEx employees have lost their jobs because of dreadlocks. They have sued, alleging religious discrimination; the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and New York's attorney general have also charged FedEx with violating religious protections in the Civil Rights Act. The dreadlock deadlock may be easing. FedEx altered its policy slightly a few weeks ago: in the future, observant employees who seek a waiver may wear their locks tucked under uniform hats, says a company spokeswoman. The concession isn't enough to settle the lawsuits yet. The EEOC also wants reinstatement for the fired drivers, says trial attorney Michael Ranis. He's optimistic. Some new styles, he knows, grow more appealing over time.

问答题Some of the most popular attractions across America are the many free concerts offered to the public throughout the year. These involve not only amateur performers, but professional artists as well. The public parks of many cities across the country usually have bandstands and large lawns. As a service to citizens, they rent out space to performers free of charge. Amateur groups, with nothing more than a desire to perform, offer their talents freely to the public. Semi. professional artists are pleased to get the chance to perform before the public to perfect their craft and nurture the hope of being discovered before beginning a professional career. Famous professionals also give free concerts to make contact with their admiring fans. Often such concerts are sponsored by a large corporate organization and offered to the public free of charge as a cultural service and support for the arts. The free concerts feature all kinds of music from rock and roll, jazz, country-western to the classics. In addition, free performances may include the plays of Shakespeare or experimental theater of modem dramatists. In New York's Central Park there has long been a summer Shakespeare festival which draws huge crowds to the free performances. Of these concerts the ones held on a summer evening in the park are the most popular. They take on a festive air. Friends and groups gather together after work and spread out a blanket on the lawn facing the performers' stage. The early comers get the best locations and enjoy a picnic supper while it is still daylight. The free seating is on a first come basis. Therefore, by the time the concert begins, as many as five thousand or more people may be in attendance. The concerts usually begin at 8 p. m. and are performed under the stars. The sound is made sufficiently loud SO that no matter where one chooses to sit, he Can hear very well. The only disturbance may be the sound of an overhead airplane on its final approach to an airport or the far-off siren(警笛声) of all ambulance on its way to the hospital. This matters little! What counts is to soak up the atmosphere created by the music and to be with friends in the flesh open air. The best part of it all is that it's free !

问答题"Clean your plate !" and "Be a member of the clean-plate club ! "Just about every kid in the US has heard this from a parent or grandparent. Often, it's accompanied by an appeal: "Just think about those starving orphans(孤儿) in Africa! " Sure, we should be grateful for every bite of food. Unfortunately, many people in the US take a few too many bites. Instead of saying "clean the plate", perhaps we should save some food for tomorrow. According to news reports, US restaurants are partly to blame for the growing bellies (肚子). A waiter puts a plate of food in front of each customer, with two to four times the amount recommended by the government, according to a USA Today story. Americans traditionally associate quantity with value and most restaurants try to give them that. They serve large portions to stand apart from competitors and to give the customers value. They prefer to have customers complain about too much food rather than too little. Barbara Rolls, a nutrition professor at Pennsylvania State University, told USA Today that restaurant portion sizes began to grow in the 1970s, the same time that the American waistline began to expand. Health experts have tried to get many restaurants to serve smaller portions. Now, apparently, some customers are calling for this too. A restaurant industry trade magazine reported last month that 57 percent of more than 4,000 people surveyed believed restaurants serve portions that are too large; 23 percent had no opinion; 20 percent disagreed. But a closer look at the survey indicates that many Americans who can't afford fine dining still prefer large portions. Seventy percent of those earning at least $ 150,000 per year prefer smaller portions. But only 45 percent of those earning less than $ 25,000 want smaller. It's not that working class Americans don't want to eat healthy. It's just that after long hours at low-paying jobs, getting less on their plate hardly seems like a good deal. They live from paycheck to paycheck, happy to save a little money for next year's Christmas presents.

问答题Some people call him "Guidone"—big Guido. Large in both physical stature and reputation, Guido Rossi, who took over as Telecom Italia"s chairman on September 15th following the surprise resignation of Marco Tronchetti Provera, has stood out from the Italian business crowd for more than three decades. Mr. Rossi, who attended Harvard law school in the 1950s and wrote a book on American bankruptcy law, made his name as a corporate lawyer keen on market rules and their enforcement. He has since worked in both private and public sectors, including stints in the Italian Senate and as one of the European Commission"s group of company-law experts. As well as running a busy legal practice, he also has a reputation as a corporate troubleshooter and all-round Mr Fix-It, and is often called upon to clean up organisations in crisis. His role at Telecom Italia marks a return to the company he headed for ten months in 1997, during its politically tricky and legally complex privatisation. Before that, Mr Rossi had been sent in to sort out Ferruzzi-Montedison, an agri-business and chemicals group, which had collapsed after magistrates uncovered tangentopoli ("bribesville"). Last year his legal scheming was crucial in ABN Amro"s victorious bid for Banca Antonveneta. Most recently, he acted as special commissioner at Italy"s football association, where he was drafted in to sort out the mess after a massive match-rigging scandal exploded earlier this year. Alas, his efforts to bleach football"s dark stains produced the same meagre results as his other efforts to get Italian business and finance to change its ways. "Like Italians when tangentopoli burst, fans wanted justice when the scandal broke; but enthusiasm for legality quickly waned," sighs Francesco Saverio Borrelli, Milan"s former chief prosecutor, who headed the city"s assault on corruption during the 1990s and was appointed by Mr Rossi to dig out football"s dirt. The political muscle of the clubs prevented tough measures being taken against them, reflecting Italy"s two-tier justice system in which the rich and powerful can do what they like. "Economic interests in football far outweigh sporting interests," remarks Mr Borrelli. The rottenness in football shocked even the unshakeable Mr Rossi. "Football did not want rules, it just wanted me to solve its problems," he says. Despairing of being able to change much, he resigned in September and turned his attention to Telecom Italia.

问答题旅游是一项集观光、娱乐、健身为一体的愉快而美好的活动。旅游业随着时代进步而不断发展。 20世纪中叶以来，现代旅游在世界范围内迅速兴起，旅游人数不断增加，旅游产业规模持续扩大，旅游经济地位提升，旅游活动愈益成为各国人民交流文化、增进友谊、扩大交往的重要渠道，对人类活动和社会进步发生越来越广泛的影响。 古往今来，旅游一直是人们增长知识、丰富阅历、强健体魄的美好追求。 在古代，中国先哲们就提出了“观国之光”的思想，倡导“读万卷书，行万里路”，游历名山大川，承天地之灵气，接山水之精华。

问答题对于正在致力于文化建设与保护的中国来说，“一河一路”的申遗成功，只是又一个传承悠久文明、保护古老文化的新起点。 丝绸之路，是古代一条以丝绸贸易为主，通往西域的商路，是古代东方与西方政治、经济、思想和文化技艺交流的重要通道。在第38届世界遗产大会上，中国、哈萨克斯坦、吉尔吉斯斯坦三国联合对“丝绸之路：长安—天山廊道的路网”申报世界遗产，并获得了成功。 跨国申遗，中国首次，不仅有助于推动不同文明对话、交流、合作，更能有效推动各地区、不同国家间的经济文化发展。这次申遗成功，对推动不同国家发展的意义更加明显，也为今后跨国管理、文物保护提出了更多要求。 从汉武帝派张骞出使西域开始，作为一条中国连通西方、走向世界的路，丝绸之路寓意着友好与交流。 作为连接东西方世界的第一条道路，“丝绸之路”不仅运输货物，还被赋予了精神认同性。通过“丝绸之路”，技术得到了传播，思想得到了交融，东西方第一次如此大范围进行交流，增进了彼此的友谊和理解。

问答题长期以来西方人一直怀疑由草药制成的中成药是否有效。在过去的几年内，中国传统医药在世界范围内经历了严格的科学审查。 为证明和提高传统治疗方法的效益，中国大陆投入了巨资在这方面进行艰苦研究。香港一直在努力使自己成为世界上传统中医研究的带头人。台湾也提出它将把自己建成一个中医技术中心。 传统中医药的研究工作在亚洲以外地区的大学和其它机构也蓬勃开展。这些揭开传统医学秘密的研究工作可能会为中西医都大感头疼的疾病患者带来福音。 尽管在理论上中西医之间还存在着分歧，一些对中医药感兴趣的著名国际制药公司已开始在中国实施小规模的研究项目。一批新药已在亚洲各地接受试验。

问答题中国是一个有着悠久历史的国家，一个经历了深重苦难的国家，一个实行中国特色社会主义制度的国家，一个世界上最大的发展中国家和正在发生深刻变革的国家。我认为这高度概括了中国的国家特点，中国就是这么一个古老与现代交融，发展与改革并存，背负苦难记忆，矢志民族复兴，坚定走自己发展道路的发展中大国。理解了什么是“中国”，也就容易理解什么是“中国梦”。中国梦就是中国的未来发展目标，其基本内涵就是国家富强、民族振兴、人民幸福，实现中华民族的伟大复兴。中国梦是中国在历经千难万苦，走上发展正途后的必然追求和不懈目标。 中国梦不是一个国家要国强必霸，独步天下，不是一个国家要穷兵黩武，复仇雪耻，不是一个国家要垄断能源资源，控制全球市场，不是一个国家要独享经济好处，不顾别人死活。中国梦的天生属性是和平、发展、合作、共赢。 中国梦首先是和平梦。和平是人民的永恒期望，它犹如空气和阳光，受益而不觉，失之则难存。自近代以来被侵略、被奴役的历史记忆，让中国人尤其珍惜今天的生活，希望和平、反对战争。中国今天的发展成就，更是在和平条件下参与国际分工合作，通过人民辛勤劳动创造出来的。 中国梦是发展梦。没有发展，不可能实现持久和平。

问答题道教以道为最高信仰，而道在人身上的体现则是德。论坛主题为“行道立德、济世利人”，就是要躬行践履道教的教义思想，充分发挥道教的正能量。论坛五大亮点：一是本届论坛举办地龙虎山为道教发源地之一，是道教正一派祖庭所在地、历代天师居住的地方。二是本届论坛突出道教文化本色。论坛开、闭幕式将凸显道教元素，音乐、武术、祈福法会、养生演示人员大多来自道教界。增加了《道教养生方法精粹》一书的首发式，安排了道医义诊活动等。三是本届论坛更具有国际性和广泛性。论坛共邀请了来自美国、日本、韩国、英国、德国、法国、比利时、西班牙、墨西哥等20多个国家和我国港澳台地区的道教修炼者、道教文化爱好者、专家学者、社会知名人士等出席。四是本届论坛更加注重用好新媒体。主办方为本次论坛特别制作了网站专题，开通了微博，利用网络新媒体即时宣传论坛进展情况，扩大社会知晓度。五是本次论坛更加注重挖掘“可视性”。主办方安排了三场电视论坛，分别为“文化之道”、“养生之道”、“天人之道”，特邀著名高道大德、专家学者、社会贤达参与，共同探讨交流道教的诚信理念、慈爱思想及生态智慧等。

问答题Chicago Public Schools are going to great lengths to hire teachers-now the school district recruits teachers from other countries to help solve a shortage of teachers. It all started in 1999, when Rouses Hannon, a math and physics teacher from Palestine, visited Chicago. He read about the teacher shortage at Chicago Public Schools and asked the school board if they'd hire him. The board was interested and decided to create a special program for foreign-born teachers like Hannon, and he was the first teacher hired. The program is called the Global Educator Outreach or GEO, and it's a partnership between in Chicago is so extreme, the Government allows the school district to temporarily hire foreign teaching candidates using H1-B visas. The Government grants these vise only to skilled foreign-born citizens so they can work in highly specialized jobs that can't be filled with available U.S. workforce. Through the GEO, the school district has hired dozens of teachers from 22 different countries. Applicants must pass an English language test and specialize in math, science, world language or bilingual education. Hannon and the first GEO teachers started in the classroom at the beginning of the 2000-2001 school year． What do the GEO teachers think of the American classroom? Hannon．who was hired to teach math at Gage Park High School，says classrooms in Chicago are very different from those in Palestine．For one thing，he says，the fixed schedule that forces students to attend the same classes at the same time each day becomes too dull．In Palestine，the class schedule changes each week．He says in Palestine，the colure forces students to work hard because if they don't they'll he kicked cut and put in vocational schools，which limits their career options．There is not nearly as much pressure for American students to do well．He says he has lo do double the amounts of work just to get his students interested．

问答题PANAMA CITY: Voters were expected Sunday to approve the largest modernization project in the 92-year history of the Panama Canal, a $5.25 billion plan to expand the waterway to allow for larger ships while alleviating traffic problems. The government of President Martin Torrijos has billed the referendum as historic, saying the work would double the capacity of a canal already on pace to generate about $1.4 billion in revenue this year. Critics claim the expansion would benefit the canal"s customers more than Panamanians, and worry that costs could balloon, forcing this debt-ridden country to borrow even more. The project would build a third set of locks on the Pacific and Atlantic ends of the canal by 2015, allowing it to handle modern container ships, cruise liners and tankers too large for its locks, which are 33 meters, or 108 feet, wide. The Panama Canal Authority, the autonomous government agency that runs the canal, says the project would be paid for by increasing tolls and would generate $6 billion in revenue by 2025. There is nothing Panamanians are more passionate about than the canal. "It"s incomparable in the hemisphere," said Samuel Lewis Navarro, the country"s vice president and foreign secretary. "It"s in our heart, part of our soul." Public opinion polls indicate that the plan would be approved overwhelmingly. Green and white signs throughout the country read "Yes for our children," while tens of thousands of billboards and bumper stickers trumpet new jobs. "The canal needs you," television and radio ads implore. "It will mean more boats, and that means more jobs," said Damasco Polanco, who was herding cows on horseback in Nuevo Provedencia, on the banks of Lake Gatún, an artificial reservoir that supplies water to the canal. The canal employs 8,000 workers and the expansion is expected to generate as many as 40,000 new jobs. Unemployment in Panama is 9.5 percent, and 40 percent of the country lives in poverty. But critics fear that the expansion could cost nearly double the government"s estimate, as well as stoke corruption and uncontrolled debt. "The poor continue to suffer while the rich get richer," said José Felix Castillo, 62, a high school teacher who was one of about 3,000 supporters who took to Panama City"s streets to protest the measure on Friday. Lewis Navarro noted that a portion of the revenue generated by each ton of cargo that passes through the waterway goes to education and social programs. "We aren"t talking about 40 percent poverty as a consequence of the canal," he said. "It"s exactly the opposite."

问答题Until recently, scientists knew little about life in the deep sea, nor had they reason to believe that it was being threatened. Now, with the benefit of technology that allows for deeper exploration, researchers have uncovered a remarkable array of species inhabiting the ocean floor at depths of more than 660 feet, or about 200 meters. At the same time, however, technology has also enabled fishermen to reach far deeper than ever before, into areas where bottom trawls can destroy in minutes what has taken nature hundreds and in some cases thousands of years to build. Many of the world's coral species, for example, are found at depths of more than 200 meters. It is also estimated that roughly half of the world's highest seamounts—areas that rise from the ocean floor and are particularly rich in marine life—are also found in the deep ocean. These deep sea ecosystems provide shelter, spawning and breeding areas for fish and other creatures, as well as protection from strong currents and predators. Moreover, they are believed to harbor some of the most extensive reservoirs of life on earth, with estimates ranging from 500,000 to 100 million species inhabiting these largely unexplored and highly fragile ecosystems. Yet just as we are beginning to recognize the tremendous diversity of life in these areas, along with the potential benefits newly found species may hold for human society in the form of potential food products and new medicines, they are at risk of being lost forever. With enhanced ability both to identify where these species-rich areas are located and to trawl in deeper water than before, commercial fishing vessels are now beginning to reach down with nets the size of football fields, catching everything in their path while simultaneously crashing fragile corals and breaking up the delicate structure of reefs and seamounts that provide critical habitat to the countless species of fish and other marine life that inhabit the deep ocean floor. Because deep sea bottom trawling is a recent phenomenon, the damage that has been done is still limited. If steps are taken quickly to prevent this kind of destructive activity from occurring on the high seas, the benefits both to the marine environment and to future generations are incalculable. And they far outweigh the short-term costs to the fishing industry.

问答题进入新世纪，国际形势继续发生深刻复杂的变化。世界多极化和经济全球化在曲折中发展。科技进步日新月异，我们既面临着必须抓住的发展机遇，也面临着必须认真应对的严峻挑战，尽管当今世界还存在着这样那样的矛盾和利益冲突，不确定、不稳定因素有所增加，但和平与发展仍是当今时代的主题，世界要和平、国家要发展、人民要合作是不可阻挡的历史潮流。 当前亚洲形势总体稳定，和平、发展、合作已成为前进中亚洲的主流。经过共同努力，亚洲有关国家摆脱了金融危机的阴影，战胜了非典和禽流感疫情的冲击，经济结构调整取得成效，产业升级换代步伐加快，区域合作方兴未艾，抗御风险能力不断增强。亚洲仍然是全球最具发展活力的地区之一，也继续是全球贸易的重要增长点之一。我们对亚洲的发展前景充满信心。

问答题{{U}}中华民族历来尊重人的尊严和价值。还在遥远的古代，我们的先人就已提出“民为贵”的思想，认为“天生万物，唯人为贵”，一切社会的发展和进步，都取决于人的发展和进步，取决于人的尊严的维护和价值的发挥。中国共产党领导人民进行革命、建设和改革，就是要实现全中国人民广泛的自由、民主和人权。今天中国所焕发出来的巨人活力，是中国人民拥有广泛自由、民主的生动写照。中的发展中大国，仍然必须首先保障最广大人民的生存权和发展权，不然一切其他权利都无从谈起。中国确保十二亿多人的生存权和发展权，这是对世界人权进步事业的重大贡献。{{/U}}

问答题中华文明经历了5000多年的历史变迁，但始终一脉相承，积淀着中华民族最深层的精神追求，代表着中华民族独特的精神标识，为中华民族生生不息、发展壮大供了丰厚滋养。中华文明是在中国大地上产生的文明，也是同其他文明不断交流互鉴而形成的文明。 公元前100多年，中国就开始开辟通往西域的丝绸之路。汉代张骞于公元前138年和119年两次出使西域，向西域传播了中华文化，也引进了葡萄、苜蓿、石榴、胡麻、芝麻等西域文化成果。西汉时期，中国的船队就到达了印度和斯里兰卡，用中国的丝绸换取了琉璃、珍珠等物品。中国唐代是中国历史上对外交流的活跃期。据史料记载，唐代中国通使交好的国家多达70多个，那时候的首都长安里来自各国的使臣、商人、留学生云集成群。这个大交流促进了中华文化远播世界，也促进了各国文化和物产传入中国。15世纪初，中国明代著名航海家郑和七次远洋航海，到了东南亚很多国家，一直抵达非洲东海岸的肯尼亚，留下了中国同沿途各国人民友好交往的佳话。明末清初，中国人积极学习现代科技知识，欧洲的天文学、医学、数学、几何学、地理学知识纷纷传入中国，开阔中国人的知识视野。之后，中外文明交流互鉴更是频繁展开，这其中有冲突、矛盾、疑惑、拒绝，但更多是学习、消化、融合、创新。

问答题In the European Union, carrots must be firm but not woody, cucumbers must not be too curved and celery has to be free of any type of cavity. This was the law, one that banned overly curved, extra-knobbly or oddly shaped produce from supermarket shelves. But in a victory for opponents of European regulation, 100 pages of legislation determining the size, shape and texture of fruit and vegetables have been torn up. On Wednesday, EU officials agreed to axe rules laying down standards for 26 products, from peas to plums. In doing so, the authorities hope they have killed off regulations routinely used by critics—most notably in the British media—to ridicule the meddling tendencies of the EU. After years of news stories about the permitted angle or curvature of fruit and vegetables, the decision Wednesday also coincided with the rising price of commodities. With the cost of the weekly supermarket visit on the rise, it has become increasingly hard to defend the act of throwing away food just because it looks strange. Beginning in July next year, when the changes go into force, standards on the 26 products will disappear altogether. Shoppers will then be able to choose their produce whatever its appearance. Under a compromise reached with national governments, many of which opposed the changes, standards will remain for 10 types of fruit and vegetables, including apples, citrus fruit, peaches, pears, strawberries and tomatoes. But those in this category that do not meet European norms will still be allowed onto the market, providing they are marked as being substandard or intended for cooking or processing. "This marks a new dawn for the curvy cucumber and the knobbly carrot," said Mariann Fischer Boel, European commissioner for agriculture, who argued that regulations were better left to market operators. "In these days of high food prices and general economic difficulties," Fischer Boel added, "consumers should be able to choose from the widest range of products possible. It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they are the "wrong" shape." That sentiment was not shared by 16 of the EU"s 27 nations—including Greece, France, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy and Poland—which tried to block the changes at a meeting of the Agricultural Management Committee. Several worried that the abolition of standards would lead to the creation of national ones, said one official speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions. Copa-Cogeca, which represents European agricultural trade unions and cooperatives, also criticized the changes. "We fear that the absence of EU standards will lead member states to establish national standards and that private standards will proliferate," said its secretary general, Pekka Pesonen. But the decision to scale back on standards will be welcomed by euro-skeptics who have long pilloried the EU executive"s interest in intrusive regulation. One such controversy revolved around the correct degree of bend in bananas—a type of fruit not covered by the Wednesday ruling. In fact, there is no practical regulation on the issue. Commission Regulation (EC) 2257/94 says that bananas must be "free from malformation or abnormal curvature," though Class 1 bananas can have "slight defects of shape" and Class 2 bananas can have full "defects of shape." By contrast, the curvature of cucumbers has been a preoccupation of European officials. Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1677/88 states that Class I and "Extra class" cucumbers are allowed a bend of 10 millimeters per 10 centimeters of length. Class II cucumbers can bend twice as much. It also says cucumbers must be fresh in appearance, firm, clean and practically free of any visible foreign matter or pests, free of bitter taste and of any foreign smell. Such restrictions will disappear next year, and about 100 pages of rules and regulations will go as well, a move welcomed by Nell Parish, chairman of the European Parliament"s agriculture committee. "Food is food, no matter what it looks like," Parish said. "To stop stores selling perfectly decent food during a food crisis is morally unjustifiable. Credit should be given to the EU agriculture commissioner for pushing through these proposals. Consumers care about the taste and quality of food, not how it looks."

问答题一直以来，哈佛大学要求在校本科生除了自己的主修专业课程之外，还要修习一系列课程，以确保他们受到的本科教育涵盖了宽泛的研究课题和研究方法。哈佛大学新的通识教育项目大胆地致力于将学生在课堂上学到的知识与校园围墙外的生活、甚至毕业后的生活联系起来。通识教育课程的内容和其他课程内容具有相连性，但教学方式并不一样。通识教育课程的目的不是将学生带入一门学科，而是将一门学科融入学生的生活。通识教育项目把艺术和科学与学生们面临的21世纪的世界以及毕业后的生活联系起来，让学生了解哈佛大学所有的研究课题和研究技巧。 通识教育课程由本科生主修课程之外的一系列课程组成，从而取代了过去30多年来一直实行的核心课程体系。目前，有很多的通识教育课程是由较大的核心课程转化而来，其他诸如“生命的定义：从夸克(quark)到意识”这类课程就是全新的了。这些新课程将课堂学习和其更广泛的含义联系起来，不仅是跨学科的，还超越了课堂本身。其中有些课程还是由不同系别的教授联合授课的。

问答题Uganda's eagerness for genuine development is reflected in its schoolchildren's smiles and in the fact that so many children are now going to school. Since 1997, when the government began to provide universal primary education, total primary enrollment had risen from 3 million to 7.6 million in 2004. Schools have opened where none existed before, although there is some way to go in reaching the poorest areas of the country. Uganda has also made strides in secondary and higher education, to the point that it is attracting many students from other countries. At the secondary level, enrollment is above 700,000, with the private sector providing the majority of schools. For those who want to take their education further, there are 12 private universities in addition to the four publicly funded institutions, together providing 75,000 places. Education is seen as a vital component in the fight against poverty. The battle for better health is another, although it is one that will take longer to win in a country that carries a high burden of disease, including malaria and AIDS. Here, the solutions can only arise from a combination of international support and government determination to continue spending public money on preventive care and better public health information. Current government plans include recruiting thousands of nurses, increasing the availability of drugs and building 200 new maternity units. Uganda's high rate of population growth, at 3.6 percent per annum, poses a special challenge in the fight against poverty, says Finance Minister Gerald Ssendaula, who points out that the fertility rate, at 6.9 children per female, is the highest in Africa. The government's newly revised Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) puts the "restoration of security" at the top of the current government agenda. This is because it estimates that Uganda has lost 3 percent of its gross domestic product each year that the conflict has persisted. Displaced people are not only a financial burden, they are unable to contribute to the economy. The other core challenges identified by the revised PEAP are finding ways to keep the lowest income growing, improving the quality of education, giving people more control over the size of their families and using public resources transparently and efficiently. It is a document that other poor countries could learn from.

问答题Strolling beside Amsterdam"s oldest canals, where buildings carry dates like 1541 and 1603, it is easy to imagine the city"s prosperity in the 17th century. Replace today"s bicycles and cars with horse-drawn carts, add more barges on the waterways, and this is essentially how Amsterdam must have looked to Rembrandt as he did his rounds of wealthy merchants. Such musings are not, of course, unprompted. This year, Amsterdam is celebrating the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt"s birth, and it is hard to escape his shadow. His birthplace in Leiden, 20 miles south, has naturally organized its own festivities. But Amsterdam has two advantages: it boasts the world"s largest Rembrandt collection—and tourists like to come here anyway. True, anniversaries can be pretty corny, but what city resists them? This year, Amsterdam is competing with Salzburg, where Mozart was born 250 years ago, and Aix-en-Provence, where Cézanne died a century ago. A sign in Amsterdam"s tourist office by the Central Station hints at one motive for such occasions: "Buy your Rembrandt products here." Still, if you start off by liking Rembrandt, as I do, there is much to discover. For instance, when in Amsterdam I always make a point of paying homage to the Rembrandt masterpieces in the Rijksmuseum, yet until now I had never bothered to visit Rembrandt House, where the painter lived from 1639 until driven out by bankruptcy in 1658. In brief, had never much connected his art to his person. Now, at least, I have made a stab at doing so because, for this anniversary (he was born on July 15, 1606), Amsterdam has organized a host of events that offer insights into Rembrandt"s world. They highlight not only what is known about his life, but also the people he painted and the city he lived in from the age of 25 until his death at 63 in 1669. Although the Rijksmuseum is undergoing a massive renovation through 2009, the museum is not snubbing its favorite son. Throughout the year, in part of the building to be renovated last, it is presenting some 400 paintings and other 17th-century objects representing the Golden Age in which Rembrandt prospered. These include works by Jan Steen, Vermeer and Frans Hals as well as by Rembrandt and his pupils. And they climax with Rembrandt"s largest and best known oil, "The Night Watch," itself the focus of "Nightwatching," a light and sound installation by the British movie director and Amsterdam resident, Peter Greenaway.