What are ten examples of solutions that you might find in your home?

Solutions are formed by mixing solute in a solvent. Thus, a solution is a homogeneous mixture. We can find a number of solutions in our homes. Here is a brief list:

1. Salt water is formed when we mix salt (generally table salt) in water. Here, water is the solvent and salt is the solute.


2. Sugar water is formed by mixing sugar in water.


3. Mouthwash consists of a number of chemicals dissolved in water. 


4. Tincture of iodine is obtained by dissolving crystals of iodine in alcohol.


5. Soda contains sugar, carbon dioxide, color, etc. in water.


6. Kool Aid contains sugar and color in water.


7. Vinegar is obtained when we mix acetic acid in water.


8. Hydrogen peroxide solution is typically a 3-6% solution of hydrogen peroxide. This is formed by mixing hydrogen peroxide in water.


9. Detergent solution is obtained by mixing detergent in water.


10. Window cleaner consists of a number of chemicals and fragrance in water. 

Hope this helps. 

How does the abridged version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet differ from the unabridged version?

An abridged version of any text is a shortened version of the original. The differences between the abridged version and the original always depends on exactly how much of the original text was cut out, and that will always vary per the decisions of the editors. Some abridged versions of texts maintain 70% of the original, whereas others only maintain 25%. Looking at some of the abridged versions of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, many editors have chosen to cut performance time of the play down from about 2 hours to about 30 to 45 minutes, which would roughly maintain between 28% to 37% of the original text, which is definitely very little of the original text.

Looking at one version edited by Shawn Peters, we see that he maintained the original Shakespearean language and expressed the main points of all scenes. However, a lot of the dialogue has been cut out, and many of those lines reveal essential character traits that serve to help develop Shakespeare's themes; lines cut out also serve to develop the philosophical views Shakespeare expresses in the play.

One example of what seems to be a simple line of dialogue cut out of the original but actually reveals a great deal about Tybalt's character can be seen the opening scene of the abridged version. The abridged version immediately starts with the servants of the Capulets and Montagues beginning a fight and Benvolio trying to bring peace by beating down their swords. Tybalt immediately joins the fray, saying, "Turn thee, Benvolio, look upon they death." Yet, in the original, Tybalt's opening line is, "What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds?" (1.1.52). While it seems like such a small change, Tybalt's real opening line reveals just how quick Tybalt is to misjudge a situation and to react violently, two critical character traits that lead to his downfall.

In addition, critical opening lines spoken by the prince are cut out from the original in the abridged version. The prince's opening speech reads as follows in the original:
Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace,
Profaners of this neighbour-stained steel,--
Will they not hear? (1.168-70)
The phrase "neighbour-stained steel" is especially key to expressing one of Shakespeare's central points: these are neighbors, not enemies from distant shores, that are causing so much death and destruction due to persistence in acting upon their irrational emotions rather than their sound reasoning.

What is a brief account of the conflict experienced in the Middle East since the 1990s?

There have been many conflicts in the Middle East from 1990-2016. There have been many reasons for these conflicts. I will highlight a few of these conflicts for you.

In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. This dispute began over an oil well near the border between these two countries. When Iraq invaded Kuwait, the United Nations joined the conflict to help free Kuwait from Iraqi rule.  The involvement of the United Nations forced Iraq to leave Kuwait.

There have been many battles between Israel and the Palestinians. The Palestinians have claimed that the land Israel has belongs to them. The Israelis believe the land is Israeli land. There have been many battles in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as both sides have fought each other. The Second Intifada against Israel led to much fighting between the Israelis and the Palestinians. There also have been many terrorist attacks against Israel.

The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 beginning a war that lasted until 2011. We were looking for weapons of mass destruction. We also wanted to remove Saddam Hussein from power. We believed Iraq was supporting the actions of terrorist groups. While we didn’t find weapons of mass destruction, we did topple Saddam Hussein.

In 2011, there was an uprising in Egypt. This led to the toppling of the government of President Hosni Mubarak. Egyptians were unhappy with the lack of political reform and the lack of political freedom. They also were unhappy with the lack of economic reform. The protesters took to the streets and demanded the end of President Mubarak’s rule.

The most recent example of conflict can be seen with the rise of ISIS. ISIS began to seize control over some parts of Syria and Iraq. They have expanded their influence to other countries in the region, including Libya. They now are fighting many western countries, as they are opposed to western ways of living.

There have been many conflicts in the Middle East since 1990s. I have explained some of them. If you look at my sources, you will be able to find additional examples of conflict.

Discuss the management information system (MIS) and a global economy in the 21st century.

Management information systems (MISs) in business acquire and organize information from business-internal and business-external sources, for example, internal cash register receipt data and external commodities price changes. The MIS makes information available to management for facilitating faster and better decision-making—often using real-time data—and the MIS generates scheduled reports detailing changes at all levels of the organization (Inc.com). Once reserved for large corporations with their own mainframes, the technological innovations of mobile digital platforms and cloud computing—run from software instead of from mainframes—fits the MIS to international businesses and brings the MIS to globally located entrepreneurs.

Small business entrepreneurs located globally can develop their own MIS through software, as explained by Inc.com in "Management Information Systems (MIS)." Software can link a computer network of the business and its suppliers, distributors, customers, and customer service and sales personnel. The software-managed databases of information from each network branch constitutes the new, globally-oriented small business MIS.

Two examples of this globalized MIS are in the jewelry and furniture businesses springing up in Asian countries, like China and Vietnam, that have computer links to raw resource suppliers, technology suppliers (e.g., suppliers of the nano-technology for gold-filled jewelry), international distribution platforms (e.g., ebay.com), international shipping companies (e.g., Chinese and U.S. postal systems operating jointly through international treaty) and an international customer base. Information linked, acquired and organized by computer networking makes a globally available MIS an integral component of the growing global marketplace, once the domain of multinational corporations but increasingly the stage for the globalized small business.

Where is the summary of Chapter 4 of Blink by Malcolm Gladwell?

If you follow the link below, you’ll find a brief summary for each chapter of Blink.

Chapter Four is titled “Paul Van Riper’s Big Victory: Creating Structure for Spontaneity.” Here Gladwell uses examples from the U.S. military, fire fighters, emergency room personnel, and even a comedy improvisation troupe to analyze how people in stressful situations make successful spur-of-the-moment or spontaneous decisions. Each one of these groups straddles a line between needing as much information as possible, and acting as quickly as feasible. The studies that Gladwell presents show that having more information at one’s fingertips can actually mean less success. Yes, a high degree of past practice is involved, and yes, using instincts that draw on that experience are key factors. But people have no time to scrutinize every piece of information on the spot. This is particularly noticeable in the examples of the military war game in the Middle East and the Cook County Hospital emergency room in Chicago. They have to go with brief details based on the whole picture. Gladwell summarizes it this way:

There are, I think, two important lessons here. The first is that truly successful decision making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking. … The second lesson is that in good decision making, frugality matters.

In other words, less can be more.

What surprise does Henry Baskerville get at the hotel?

In Chapter Four, Sir Henry Baskerville tells Sherlock Holmes of his surprise when he received a letter upon his arrival at the Northumberland Hotel. According to Sir Henry, no one but Dr. Mortimer had been privy to his plans. What surprises Sir Henry even more is the content of the letter.

The letter contains only one line which reads "As you value your life or your reason, keep away from the moor." What is even more surprising is that all the words, except one, have been cut out from a newspaper. The only word that has been written in ink is "moor." Sherlock Holmes deduces that the author of the letter had likely cut out the words from the Times newspaper, as he recognizes the distinctive print on the paper.

Holmes also surmises that the author is someone who is educated and also someone who wishes to remain anonymous, hence the pasted words on the letter. As it is very often possible to determine the likely identity of a letter-writer from the handwriting, the writer appears to have used the pasted words to evade detection.

Another puzzle that concerns Sir Henry is that, after he put a pair of boots outside his hotel room to be cleaned, only one has been returned to him. Although a singularly perplexing incident, Holmes thinks that the boot will turn up eventually. To Holmes, the most important consideration is whether it is safe for Sir Henry to go to Baskerville Hall. He warns Sir Henry that he will likely face danger if he decides to go there. However, Sir Henry is adamant that he will go, maintaining that he will not intimidated to stay away from the home of his own family.

What was a claim that Helen Keller made in The Story of My Life?

Helen Keller made many claims throughout her autobiography, The Story of My Life.  One claim she made was that her plagiarism when she wrote the short story "The Frost King" had been completely unintentional.  She also claimed that Mr. Anagnos thought her plagiarism had been done intentionally to impress him.

Helen wrote a short story when she was nearly twelve-years-old.  She claimed that this story was inspired by the beautiful foliage that Miss Sullivan had described to her one autumn.  From this inspiration, Helen wrote her story.  She later realized that her story closely resembled one which had been read to her previously.  Helen had sent her story to Mr. Anagnos at the Perkins Institution.

Mr. Anagnos was surprised when he found out that Helen's story resembled another.  He had originally been pleased with it, and he had had the story published in a report.  When it was discovered that Helen had plagiarized, she was questioned "before a court of investigation composed of the teachers and officers of the Institution" (Chapter XIV).  Helen made a claim that Mr. Anagnos thought "that Miss Sullivan and [her] had deliberately stolen the bright thoughts of another and imposed them on him to win his admiration."

What is a summary of the story "Mom Luby and the Social Worker" by Kristin Hunter?

"Mom Luby and the Social Worker" tells the story of an elderly woman named Mom Luby who runs a speakeasy in the Prohibition era and fosters two young children, Elijah and Puddin'. A social worker, Miss Rushmore, visits one day to check on the conditions of the foster home. She requests that Mom Luby fill out forms and asks when she buys clothing for her children. In response, Mom Luby lists off the chores she does each day to explain to Miss Rushmore why she hadn't had time to pick up clothing. The list is so long that Miss Rushmore doesn't believe her, so she asks to accompany Mom Luby on her errands. The two leave and return two hours later, with Miss Rushmore shocked at how much Mom Luby accomplished in that period of time. Miss Rushmore then concludes that Mom Luby does not need further examination or assistance because her level of productivity shows she is a successful foster parent.

How fast must a nonrelativistic electron move so that its de Broglie wavelength is the same as the wavelength of a 3.4-eV photon? (mass e = 9.11 x...

First, determine the wavelength of the photon. To do so, apply the formula of energy of photon.

`E = hf`

Since the frequency of light is `f=c/lambda`, the formula of photon's energy can be re-written as:

`E=(hc)/lambda`

Then, isolate the wavelength of the photon.

`lambda= (hc)/E`

Plugging in the values, the formula becomes:

`lambda = ((6.63 xx10^(-34)J*s )(3xx10^8 m/s))/(3.4eV*(1.60xx10^(-19)J)/(1eV))`

`lambda=3.65625 xx10^(-7)`

So, the wavelength of the photon is `3.65625 xx10^(-7)` m.

Next, consider the formula for DeBroglie wavelength.

`lambda=h/(mv)`

Then, isolate the speed of the particle.

`v=h/(mlambda)`

Since it is given that the wavelength of the photon is the same as the DeBroglie wavelength of the electron, plug in `lambda=3.65625xx10^(-7).' m. Also, plug in the value of the Planck's constant and the mass of electron.

`v=(6.63xx10^(-34) J*s)/((9.11xx10^(-31)kg)(3.65625xx10^(-7)m))`

`v=1990.47 m/s`

Therefore, the speed of the electron is 1990.47 m/s.

How did Poe, Twain, Hawthorne, and Melville believe one should act in order to live life to the fullest? Some of the assigned readings for this...

First, according to a search on the Google Ngram viewer, this particular phrase "living life to its fullest" originated in the 1920s, had a few brief years of moderate popularity, and then did not resurface until the 1960s. It gained traction with the popular self-help movements of the late twentieth century and has continued to be associated with popular self-help fads in the twenty-first century. Since all of the authors you mention lived in the nineteenth century, it would be chronologically impossible for them to have expressed positions derived from twentieth-century self help movements.

Various different works by these authors show different obstacles to leading happy and fulfilling lives. In many case, the obstacles are external circumstances. An epidemic of bubonic plague, the Spanish Inquisition, and slavery are among the external obstacles to living some form of good life in various works by these authors. For Twain, authority figures and middle class conventions can serve as obstacles. 

Poe often creates narrators whose own twisted minds are their worst enemies. The narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" is haunted by his own paranoid delusions. In the case of Montresor in "A Cask of Amontillado" one could argue that his obsession with revenge warps and twists his life, but the tone of the story suggests that in fact pursuing and fulfilling his plot for revenge against Fortunato has given him a certain degree of satisfaction. 

Hawthorne and Melville both had strongly Calvinist family backgrounds and their works often have strong religious themes, and a particular awareness of original sin and the inherent darkness of human nature. To achieve some sort of fulfillment in their lives, characters struggle against the evils in their own nature, including in particular the vice of sloth or complacency, i.e. the temptation to take the easiest or most comfortable route in life. 

What are some of the key literary elements in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, and could you please give examples?

One of the most significant literary elements employed by this play is irony.  Certainly, Act III presents us with major situational irony -- when something about a situation itself defies expectation -- when Deputy Governor Danforth refuses to believe the truth told by Mary Warren and John Proctor and, instead, believes Abigail Williams and the other girls who are actually lying.  He tells Proctor, "We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment," when, in fact, this judge is completely incapable of detecting concealment and deception.  It is ironic that a judge is incapable of winnowing out truth from lies.

Miller also employs dramatic irony -- when the audience knows more than a character -- in this act.  We know that Mary and Proctor are telling the truth; we know that there is no such thing as witchcraft, for that matter.  However, Danforth cannot see that his belief that "the voice of Heaven is speaking through the children" is incorrect.  He is mistaken, and he condemns many innocents as a result of his error.  We know more than he does, and this builds tension and suspense for the audience as we await the revelation of truth.

Try using the Drake equation with values that you find reasonable. How many civilizations do you estimate there are in our Galaxy?

Briefly, the Drake equation is used to arrive at a rough, probabilistic estimate of the number of intelligent, technologically advanced extraterrestrial civilizations within the Milky Way galaxy whose electromagnetic emissions are detectable. 

The many variables include:

i. The average rate of star formation in our galaxy

ii. The fraction of those stars with planets

iii. The number of habitable planets per star

iv. The fraction of habitable planets on which life actually appears

v. The fraction of life-bearing planets on which intelligent life emerges

vi. The fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space

vii. The length of time such civilizations release detectable signals into space

The estimations on these variables can range from reasonable to speculative given the lack of data sets to draw upon when it comes to the existence of life on other planets. Choosing what estimates feel right to you will depend in large part to your own inclinations. However, there are generally agreed upon ranges for each variable that can help guide your own calculation.

Given the most up-to-date research, the rate of star formation (i) is estimated to be about 1.5-3 stars per year. The fraction of stars with planets (ii) is estimated to be about 1 - meaning stars with planets are the rule as opposed to the exception. Based on data obtained from the Kepler space mission, it is estimated that the number of habitable planets (iii) in the galaxy is around 40 billion out of a total of about 100 billion, or 0.4. Trying to determine the fraction of habitable planets that actually develop life (iv) is where it starts to get speculative. Since we only have one sample, Earth, to draw from and life seemed to develop relatively quickly once conditions were right, this variable is usually set at 1. The fraction of life-bearing planets which develop intelligent life (v) is even more difficult to gauge. Scientists dispute to what degree our solar system's location is uniquely free of destructive forces and how inevitable intelligence is in evolution. Determining this value will depend a lot on your own inclinations. Those who feel it is inevitable, generally put the value at 1. The fraction of civilizations which develop the ability to send communication signals into space (vi) would depend on the likelihood that a intelligent life form discovers radio technology and intentionally - or even unintentionally - transmits them into space. Drake himself estimated this variable at 10%-20% or 0.1 - 0.2. Finally, one estimation for the overall lifetime of such a civilization (vii) has been developed by Michael Shermer. Shermer arrived at his estimation by calculating the lifespan of sixty historic Earthly civilizations. After doing so, his estimate settled at 420 years. 

If using some of these estimates you could arrive at a formula that looks like this: 

N = 1.5 x 1 x 0.4 x 1 x 1 x 0.1 x 420

N = 25 communicating civilization in the Milky Way

What does "a score" mean in the poem "Loveliest of Trees, the Cherry Now"?

Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

The word score means twenty. "Score" is not commonly used anymore, but it is not entirely obsolete. In the first line of the stanza quoted above, the poet is estimating that his lifetime should be threescore (sixty) years plus ten, or seventy years. In the second line he reveals that he is now twenty years old; so in the third line, when he says, "And take from seventy springs a score," he means he is mentally deducting twenty years (a score) from his seventy years of life expectancy.

Cherry trees blossom very early in the spring. The poet is calculating that he has fifty springs of life expectancy left. It is a nice way of paying tribute to the beautiful cherry trees. He is thinking only of how many times he can hope to see them in bloom again. Many people will agree with him that the cherry tree is the loveliest of trees. They are not only beautiful, but they are harbingers of spring.

The English poet A. E. Housman, who is remembered for his cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad, was born in 1859 and died in 1936; so he actually lived to be seventy-seven years old, a little longer than he had expected.

What is the town's opinion of Mr. Hooper at the end of "The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne?

In the end of "The Minister's Black Veil," the townspeople fear the Reverend Mr. Hooper because of the ambiguity of secret sin and sorrow which envelops him with his refusal to remove his veil.

Those who attend Mr. Hooper's final moments "shrink from one another in mutual fright" as the minister refuses to remove his veil even as he dies. As he falls back, he utters these dreadful words,

Why do you tremble at me alone?... Tremble also at each other! ...when man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his Creator, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin.

As he dies, Mr. Hooper tells those present, "I look around me, and lo! on every visage a Black Veil!"

Because they have been unable to see Mr. Hooper's face once the minister has donned the black veil, the congregation is unsure of how to perceive Mr. Hooper and the shadow he declares that he senses. Apprehensive about what the minister may perceive in them, people have avoided the minister, except for the occasions of certain services he renders as a clergyman because he is still perceived as very devoted to God:

in this manner Mr. Hooper spent a long life, irreproachable in outward act, yet shrouded in dismal suspicions; kind and loving, though unloved, and dimly feared; a man apart from men.

This description fits the town's opinion of Mr. Hooper at the end of the story.

In the book "The Dispossessed" We have seen that the women in Urrasti society are clearly defined as “the Other” socially, politically, and...

In stark contrast to Anarres, which was founded by a woman and promotes relative gender equality, Urrasti women are highly objectified and othered. Despite their limited social status, Urrasti women often exert their power through their mode of dress. Shevek is surprised when he meets Vea and other Urrasti women who dress in far more revealing outfits than Takver and the other women on Annares. Throughout the story, it is revealed that Urrasti women use their femininity to exert some form of power over the men who rule their society. Vea is aware that she holds power when men desire her and makes use of this fact through her often flirtatious behavior. Through Vea, Shevek also learns that Urrasti women find great power in the inner spirituality of the planet. While they are politically and scientifically stifled, they are often able to exert more influence in religious and artistic circles. Even in a laboratory setting, one of Shevek's colleagues notes that female employees make a name for themselves through their industriousness and willingness to work for the good of the team. Each of these subtle forms of power is an example of how Urrasti women do their best to thrive under limiting circumstances.

Where does the turn take place in "Sonnet XXX" by William Shakespeare?

Uncharacteristically, the turn in thought does not occur in Sonnet XXX until the final couplet.

Perhaps in keeping with the "remembrance of things past," the lines of this sonnet return again and again to ideas that "grieve at grievances foregone" in imitation of the persistence of sorrowful memories. The haunting of these memories is also connoted by the suddenness of the sibilant alliteration in the beginning—"sessions of sweet silent thought"—and the slower alliteration in lines 6 with the lingering sorrow of "death's dateless night" and line 9 and 10 with "grieve at grievances foregone" and "woe to woe." 

This poignant sonnet underscores the insight that people do not so much possess memories as their memories possess them. The speaker in this sonnet "pays" over and over for his memories of the loss of things he has desired, the time he has wasted, his defeats in love, and his failure to achieve many of his goals. Despite all his sorrows, the speaker need only dwell on the love of his "dear friend" and "all losses are restored and sorrows end." Indeed, the final couplet provides the resolution to the speaker's rue and grief:

For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

The speaker's lover brings him such fulfillment that he forgets all his remembrances of "old woes," and he would not change places with any, even a king.

In Chapters 5–6 of John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, what was Lennie and George's dream? Did they achieve it? Did the dream change as a...

George and Lennie’s dream was to have land of their own, but they were not able to achieve it because of their circumstances.

George keeps Lennie and himself motivated with dreams of having a ranch of their own one day.  It is like a bedtime story for the childlike Lennie: land of their own where they can settle down, and Lennie can tend the rabbits.  For George, it means an end to the migrant lifestyle.  For Lennie, it means no more judgement, and rabbits to pet.

Although Lennie’s understanding of the world is limited, he does realize that he is judged by others.  He knows, for example, that when he kills the puppy accidentally it will upset George.  In Lennie’s mind, it will interfere with the dream of land and the rabbits that go with it.   That is a cause and effect that Lennie understands.

"Why do you got to get killed? You ain't so little as mice." He picked up the pup and hurled it from him. He turned his back on it. He sat bent over his knees and he whispered, "Now I won't get to tend the rabbits. Now he won't let me." (Ch. 5) 

When Curley’s wife enters, he tells her that he is not going to talk to her.  Again, he won’t be able to tend the rabbits if he does.  She tells him she is lonely and George won't let him talk to her because he doesn’t want Curley to be mad.  George told Lennie to avoid Curley because he was the boss’s son.  He didn’t want them to lose their jobs, and was afraid that Curley would pick a fight because he was small and small men liked to pick fights with Lennie. 

Curley’s wife visits Lennie because she is lonely.  She tells him that she could have had a different life.  She could have been in movies and had nice clothes, and instead she is reduced to visiting Lennie in the barn because he is the only one who will even talk to her.  Lennie shares his dream with Curley’s wife, just as she shares hers with him. 

"We gonna have a little place," Lennie explained patiently. "We gonna have a house an' a garden and a place for alfalfa, an' that alfalfa is for the rabbits, an' I take a sack and get it all fulla alfalfa and then I take it to the rabbits." (Ch. 5) 

She tells him he is “nuts,” but unfortunately offers to let him stroke her hair since he is so infatuated with soft things.  She is desperate for attention.  He is lonely too.  In that moment, both of their dreams are quashed.  He strokes her hair—and breaks her neck. 

Thus the real obstacle to George and Lennie’s dream was that it was an impossible dream.  It was a fantasy with no basis in reality.  As much as George tried to protect Lennie from himself, it was not possible.  Lennie’s childlike innocence was a contrast to his strength.  He never realized what he was doing, and when George was not there to stop him, he was a danger to society. 

When Candy and George find the body, George’s reaction is resignation, and not resentment or sadness. 

George said softly, "-I think I knowed from the very first. I think I know'd we'd never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would."

"Then- it's all off?" Candy asked sulkily.  (Ch. 5) 

George’s acknowledgement that the dream was never possible comes from a long line of disappointments.  He has spent his life taking care of Lennie.  Lennie was his bastion against loneliness, as well as a constant frustration.  He was also his responsibility.  George realized that he had to protect Lennie in the only way had left.

Even before he shot Lennie, George called upon the vision of their dream to calm him.

George had been listening to the distant sounds. For a moment he was businesslike. "Look acrost the river, Lennie, an' I'll tell you so you can almost see it." (Ch. 6)

Of course, George knew at this point that the dream was not to be.  It was a bittersweet illusion to carry Lennie into the afterlife.  George was putting Lennie out of his misery, like Candy allowing his old dog to be shot.  He didn't want to do it, but he had to.  It was better than the alternative.

For men who have nothing, sometimes a dream is all it takes to keep going.  The American Dream is to have land of one's own.  During the Great Depression, it was even more out of reach.  George and Lennie, as migrant farm workers, drew upon that dream for motivation.  It held them together.  It bonded them with others, such as Candy and Crooks.  Ultimately, it slipped through their fingers, because it was never real at all.

What present has Gobbo brought to give to Shylock?

The present is food ("a dish of doves"—line 124).  

This takes place in Act II, Scene 2. Gobbo has come to visit his son Launcelot after not seeing him for a few years. Launcelot has been working as a servant for Shylock, so Gobbo, wanting to show respect, brings a present for his son's master.

At the same time Gobbo comes to visit, however, Launcelot has just decided to stop working for Shylock. As a result, he does not want his father to give Shylock the present. ("Give him a present? Give him a halter!"—lines 97-98). Instead, Launcelot instructs his father to give the present to Bassanio, with whom he hopes to get a job. When Bassanio shows up, Gobbo offers him the "dish of doves." The doves never make it to Shylock.

What led to the transformation of Scrooge from a miser to a generous man?

Scrooge's change is the result of his being visited by the ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley, as well as three spirits: the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and yet to come.  Jacob's ghost sets the stage for the others, showing Scrooge that the purpose of life, really, is to help others.  He allows Scrooge to see other spirits who mourn their inability to assist the living; these spirits want nothing more than to help the poverty-stricken, but now they are no longer able.  Instead, they have only their chains, their pain, and their regret.

Then, the ghost of Christmas past shows Scrooge scenes from his youth, scenes that help him to understand how he began to change from a hopeful child into an embittered adult.  The ghost also shows him how pleasant it was to have a generous boss.  The ghost of Christmas present allows him to see Christmas at his employee, Bob Cratchit's, house, how meager the feast is and how grateful the family is for it.  He also sees the dinner at his nephew's house, an invitation he'd refused, noting that his nephew seems to have a genuine concern for him.  Finally, the ghost of Christmas yet to come shows him the death of Tiny Tim, Bob's sick child, as well as his own passing, mourned by no one, indeed, even robbed by his former servant.

All of these visitations help Scrooge to see that he has made decisions based on money, and those decisions have rendered him alone.  He seemed to fear being abandoned, as he was as a child, and so he clung to something that could never leave him: his gold.  Once he realized that sharing his money would result in happiness, not just for those whose loans he's forgiven but for himself as well, he determines to give generously.

What is the plot of the story "One Thousand Dollars" by O. Henry?

O. Henry's stories often express the romantic wish that people, who possess an inherent dignity, are essentially good and generous. "One Thousand Dollars" expresses this wish.

Here is the structure of the plot of this story:

• Exposition

After his uncle dies, lawyer Tolman informs Bobby Gillian that he has been bequeathed $1000.00. Tolman tells Gillian that he must render an account of how he has spent this money as soon as he has disposed of it. Without any idea of how to spend this sum, "a confoundedly awkward amount," as he calls it, Gillian decides to ask for advice.

• Rising Action

Gillian goes to his men's club and talks to a sarcastic older man who "sequesters" himself in a winged chair. After explaining his inheritance, he asks Old Bryson what he should do with the money. Bryson sardonically offers several ideas, one of which is to purchase a diamond necklace for the chorus girl that Gillian has been seeing. He then suggests that Gillian move to Idaho. "I advise a sheep ranch, as I have a particular dislike for sheep."

Gillian departs and takes a cab. While riding, he asks the cab driver what he would do with $1000.00, and the cab driver says he would open a saloon. When he gets out of the cab, Gillian talks to a blind man selling pencils. Suddenly, Gillian decides to return to the cab and has the driver take him to the law offices of Tolman & Sharp where he asks about Miss Hayden, a ward of his late uncle, and her inheritance. The lawyers tell him that she has only received ten dollars and a ring.

Gillian returns to the cab and directs the driver to the home of his uncle. There he finds Miss Hayden, who is dressed in black, in the library, writing letters. Gillian tells her that his uncle had a codicil which left her $1000.00. Appearing faint when she receives this sum, Miss Hayden exclaims, "Oh! Oh!" Then, Gillian tells her that he loves her, but she only replies, "I am sorry." Disappointed, Gillian asks if he may write a note. On the paper he writes his account of the money he has received,

Paid by the black sheep, Robert Gillian, $1000 in account of the eternal happiness, owed by Heaven to the best and dearest woman on earth.

Then, Gillian returns to the law offices.

Gillian informs the lawyers that he has spent the one thousand and hands them the envelope; so, they bend down and pull from a safe a codicil to his uncle's will which bequeaths to Gillian $50,000.00 if he has spent the first sum unselfishly. Otherwise, the sum is to go to Miss Hayden.
As lawyer Tolman starts to open Gillian's account of how he has spent the $1000.00, the young man snatches the envelope and tears it into pieces. "I lost the thousand dollars on the races. Good-day to you, gentlemen."

• Falling Action

Tolman and Sharp shake their heads mournfully, convinced that Gillian has continued what his uncle termed "reprehensible dissipation."

• Denouement

Gillian departs, whistling. He is happy in his act of love for Miss Hayden.

Which theory better explains the origin of the universe: the Big Bang Theory or the Steady State Theory?

Perhaps the best theory that explains the origins of the universe has not been imagined and stated yet. Between the Big Bang Theory and the Steady State Theory, the scientific community is fairly certain that a steady state universe is incorrect. Steady State ideas began to die out around the 1950's, when radio telescope astronomers began to compile data about distant galaxies. Steady State Theory assumes that distant parts of the universe should look the same as nearer parts of the universe. In the 1960's Martin Ryle showed off an impressive amount of data that showed a greater density of radio sources far away from Earth. This organization is something predicted by the Big Bang Theory, but it would not be true according to the Steady State Theory. Further support of a universe created through a big bang comes from quasars (which are really far away and brighter than entire galaxies). Using laws established by Edwin Hubble, astronomers have been able to verify that quasars were much more common in the past than they are at present. That evidence basically cements the idea that the universe is changing, evolving, and very different now than it used to be. That concept is something that would happen in a universe created through a big bang, but it is not something that would happen in a steady state universe. I believe that the Big Bang Theory is a better theory than the Steady State Theory.  

How does Shakespeare portray Macbeth as a tragic hero, specifically with reference to noble status, hamartia, and peripiteia?

One characteristic of a tragic hero is that he must be a "great man," or of noble status. Macbeth is a highly regarded war hero. In Act I, Scene 2, the Sergeant describes his prowess on the battlefield to Duncan and Malcolm. Amidst the mayhem and chaos around him, the blood and death, Macbeth is totally focused — without concern for his own safety — on reaching Macdonwald, the traitor, and killing him with purpose and precision:

For brave Macbeth — well he deserves that name —
Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like valor's minion carved out his passage
Till he faced the slave,
Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps,
And fix'd his head upon our battlements (17-25).

Macbeth is also advancing in the ranks of Duncan's court. For his valor, the King — with promise of future honors and compensation — rewards him. Macbeth is also the King's cousin and well-loved by him. He is also highly regarded in the Scottish ranks.

Another characteristic of a tragic hero is hamartia. Hamartia is a "tragic mistake, misconception or flaw."

Macbeth, easily tricked by the witches, takes matters into his own hands so that he will become king, as they appeal to his obsessive aspirations for power. He admits he has little real purpose for his bloodthirsty behavior. He has, after all, everything he could want as Duncan's subject, friend, and cousin. His tragic flaw is his "vaulting ambition."

Macbeth:
I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself,
And falls on th'other (Act I, Scene 7, lines 25-28).

Peripiteia is defined as "a sudden turn of events or an unexpected reversal, especially in a literary work."

The most obvious reversal of events takes place in Act V when Macbeth realizes the witches told him half-truths to win his soul to eternal damnation, as Shakespearean audiences believed regicide was a mortal sin. Until now, the first predictions (becoming the Thane of Cawdor and becoming king) were easily enough won. Macbeth is rewarded with his new title (Cawdor) by Duncan. Becoming king is something Macbeth and Lady Macbeth orchestrate by murdering the King while he stays at their home. While the first set of predictions lure Macbeth in, the second set of predictions give him a feeling of invincibility. He is told to beware of Macduff, which leads Macbeth to have Macduff's family killed. The second prediction notes that no man born of a woman can harm Macbeth. (In theory, that would mean no one ever born could defeat Macbeth.) The third prediction notes that Macbeth will not be vanquished until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane Hill. Trees don't, technically, move. The double-speak used by the witches encourages Macbeth to take what they say literally. However, the witches are speaking figuratively with the intention to trick Macbeth. Macduff was not "born" by traditional means, but delivered by Caesarian section; so he was born, but not the way most people are (Act V, Scene 8, lines 17-20). The trees do not move, but soldiers advancing while camouflaged by rough-hewn branches give the appearance of the woods moving (Act V, Scene 4, lines 6-9).

Macbeth has staked all on the witches' equivocations. Once they have tricked him into totally believing their empty promises, Macbeth is defeated. His destruction lies in the details of circumstances he perceived to be set in stone. These details bring about a complete reversal to the plans of greatness Macbeth anticipated for himself, and bring to fruition the ultimate demise of a once-stalwart hero and trusted friend. Everything rests on Macbeth's insatiable, driving ambition to be and have more.

Citing these three characteristics, Macbeth is a tragic hero in the purest sense.

Which persuasive devices does the inspector use in his final speech?

As the inspector is leaving the Birlings' house, he says that although Eva Smith is dead, "there are millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, with hopes and fears." He reminds the family that members of society are responsible for each other. The persuasive device that the inspector is using is pathos, or appealing to the emotions of the Birling family, to convince them that what they all did to Eva Smith is wrong and that they have a responsibility for people in the working class. He also says that if people don't learn that lesson, they will eventually have to learn it "in fire and blood and anguish." Again using pathos, he reminds the audience of the anguish that they will continue to cause if they don't amend their ways. To reinforce his point, he also uses the device of repetition, as he repeats the words "millions" and "with." His repetition of these words reinforces the idea that the society is made up of countless people like Eva Smith, who upper class people like the Birlings are taking advantage of.

Summarize paragraph 5-24 in Peter Singer's essay "The Singer Solution to World Poverty."

This part of Singer's essay is about the questions NYU philosophy professor Peter Unger devised to investigate our understanding about whether it's ethically wrong to live well when people around the world are suffering from preventable diseases. Singer provides some examples, such as that of a man who has an expensive car who could destroy it to stop a train that will run over a child but doesn't do so. While most people would deem this person's actions wrong, they still don't give the $200 or so that it would take, according to Unger, to allow a sickly two-year-old to develop into a healthy six-year-old. However, it is difficult to determine if there is a moral difference between the man who does not save the child on the tracks and the wealthy westerner who does not give $200 to save suffering children. Singer concludes that since governments, such as that of the U.S., give less than what the United Nations recommends in international humanitarian aid and many westerners do not give any aid, we have a moral imperative to give surplus wealth to help suffering people around the world. 

What is the rather singular coincidence that Helen speaks of in Chapter One of The Story of My Life and why is it unique?

The coincidence that Keller speaks of in Chapter 1 is that one of her ancestors on her father's side taught the deaf in Switzerland. This ancestor was the first teacher of the deaf in Zurich and wrote a book on the subject. This situation is unique because when Keller was born, the field of deaf education could be considered in its relative infancy. It is also a strange coincidence because Keller was not born deaf but became deaf by contracting a childhood illness, perhaps secret fever or meningitis, that caused her to be both deaf and blind. Her parents were not educated in how to work with deaf children, and they eventually brought her to a physician who referred the family to Alexander Graham Bell. Through him, the family was connected with Anne Sullivan, Keller's teacher and friend for many years, and to the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston. 

What did Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon have in common and what set them apart from each other?

Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon were all presidents during the Vietnam era in American history.  All three presidents had strong civil rights records and helped end segregation.  

Kennedy and Johnson were both Democrats whereas Nixon was a Republican.  Johnson was a long-time senator before he was picked as Kennedy's vice-president.  Nixon was vice-president under Eisenhower and lost the 1960 election to Kennedy before he won the White House in 1968.  Kennedy won the 1960 election before he was assassinated in 1963.  Kennedy also had the shortest political record of the three, having served just one term in the Senate.  Nixon resigned in 1973 during the Watergate scandal.  Kennedy is best known for his role during Bay of Pigs fiasco and the Cuban Missile Crisis in which he opened up better relations with the Soviet Union.  Johnson is best known for his role in escalating the Vietnam War.  Internationally, Nixon is best known for bringing about a closer American relationship with China.  

How there could have been a tradition of the Church before there was a New Testament?

The evolution of Christianity was a complex process. Although one could argue that it began with Jesus and his followers, another way to think about Christianity as an organized religion is to date its foundation from the death of Jesus, when various of his followers needed some organized way to propagate his message. If you read the letters of St. Paul, which are now part of the New Testament, you can see that there were various Christian communities in existence before Paul began his mission. In fact, many of the letters and travels of Paul have as their purpose communicating with such communities which had been founded by various other disciples or traveling missionaries. 

These early converts and teachers relied on orally transmitted traditions, including stories and sayings, handed down orally from teacher to pupil and missionary to convert, many of whom may have been illiterate (note that literacy was restricted mainly to upper class men in this period). These Christian communities, who practiced baptism and celebrated the Eucharist, constituted the Church, and while they had many oral traditions and perhaps some written narratives or collections of the sayings of Jesus, their traditions existed long before the New Testament was assembled into its current form (a process that was not completed until the second century), and before the Gospels as we know them were written down. In fact, the four Gospels probably reflect four slightly different church traditions. 

What effect does Lucy's death have on the speaker in "She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways" by William Wordsworth?

The key lines to answer this question are in the final stanza (lines 9-12):

She lived unknown, and few could know
        When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and, oh,
         The difference to me!

In this section, Wordsworth establishes two seemingly contradictory claims: first, he says Lucy was unknown and therefore hardly missed when she passed away. He also asserts that Lucy's death profoundly affected him. The implied effect on the speaker in this poem is one of sadness; despite the fact that Lucy seemed relatively unimportant, the speaker seems to be particularly grief-stricken upon hearing of her death. This detail is important, as Wordsworth suggests relative obscurity doesn't matter, and that largely unknown individuals can still be immensely important. This theme is one of the most vital ideas in the poem, and it is also essential within the context of Romantic poetry, which often glorified the individual set apart from society.