In "The Tiger in the Tunnel" by Ruskin Bond, what is the similarity between Baldeo and Tembu?

Baldeo and Tembu are both courageous. Baldeo took up the job as a railway watchman in a dangerous part of their location. He heard stories about a marauding tiger, but he still reported to his night duty without fail. On the night of the attack, he stood his ground and defended himself against attacks by the tiger. Tembu knew how dangerous the job was, but he still took up his father’s post after he was killed by the tiger.

Baldeo and Tembu are both responsible individuals. They understood the economic importance of the job in spite of the dangerous working conditions. The rice farms barely sustained their family and the situation forced Baldeo and later Tembu to take up the job as railway watchmen.

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, what does Scout learn from the missionary circle tea party?

One day, Aunt Alexandra hosted a missionary circle social at the Finch house.  Mrs. Grace Merriweather reported on the conditions of a group of people living in Africa.  She described their lives as being very uncivilized.  A missionary was there seeking to convert them.  Mrs. Merriweather placed the missionary on a pedestal as a saint.

Aunt Alexandra requested that Scout dress up in her best clothes and join the ladies.  Scout tried to be polite and engaged the ladies in conversation.  After a while, Atticus called Aunt Alexandra into the kitchen and Scout followed.  He revealed terrible news:  Tom Robinson had been shot trying to escape.  He had been killed.  At first, Scout observed her aunt's reaction, which was one of shock and sadness.  Then Scout "found [herself] shaking and couldn’t stop."  After a time, Aunt Alexandra suggested that they compose themselves and rejoin the ladies who were visiting for the social.  Scout went out into the living room with her aunt.  She was beginning to learn how to be a lady.  She reasoned:

"After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I."

Who was the first president of Nepal?

Nepal, historically, had a monarchy.  In 1990, the country transitioned into a parliamentary monarchy.  The country still had a prime minister.  It was not until 2008 that the country elected its first president after it transitioned into a republic.  That first president was Dr. Ram Baran Yadav.  Yadav was a physician before becoming president.  He became interested in politics while he was in medical school.  The country had a prime minister even after Dr. Yadav was elected president.

Yadav believed in democracy and promoted it during his political career.  He even went to jail during his struggle to promote democracy in Nepal.  Yadav eventually served in several political positions, such as Minister of Health and House of Representatives member.  He also served as a personal physician to one of Nepal's prime ministers and as a doctor in a rural part of the country. 

What is the exposition in the short story "Soldier's Home" by Ernest Hemingway?

The exposition is a part of the plot of a story which includes the setting, characters, and the basic situation. Hemingway's short story "Soldier's Home" is set in the Oklahoma town which is the home of the main character Harold Krebs. Other places which are mentioned in the story include the Methodist college which Krebs attended, places in Europe which Krebs encountered as a Marine fighting in World War I, and Kansas City, where he claims he will go to find a job at the end of the story. Krebs is the main character. He seems to be suffering from trauma and stress caused by the war because he tends to be apathetic and somewhat anti-social.

Other characters in the story include Krebs's devoutly religious mother, his father (who is prominent in the story despite the fact that he actually never appears but is often referred to) and his sister Helen. The basic situation is that Krebs has just returned from the war. The third person narrator states that Krebs fought in some of the most important battles of the war and also describes a photograph, taken in Germany, of Krebs, another soldier and two women. It seems to suggest that Krebs's military experience was unheroic considering that the German girls were "not beautiful" and the Rhine River, often described in the mythic tales of Germany, "does not show in the picture." As with much of his fiction, Hemingway never explicitly refers to important details which could be included in the exposition, especially Krebs's direct experience in combat. These details might go far in explaining Krebs's apparent inability to reintegrate into society.  

What is the difference between speed and velocity?

Many people use the terms more or less interchangeably (often using "velocity" when they mean "speed" but want to sound more impressive), but there is a very simple but vital difference between the two.

The easiest way to explain the difference between speed and velocity is that speed is a number, while velocity is a vector. Speed is the magnitude of velocity.

Speed has no direction associated with it; it's just a value, like 50 m/s or 60 mph.

But velocity has a direction, and is generally expressed in one of two forms: Components in x, y, and z, like this:
<30 m/s, 40 m/s, 0 m/s>

or magnitude and direction, like this:
50 m/s at 53 degrees north of east.

I've chosen these so they are in fact the same vector. This is analogous to the difference between rectangular (Cartesian) coordinates and polar coordinates.

Speed is the magnitude of direction; the above velocity vector has a magnitude of 50 m/s, so the speed is 50 m/s.

How does Doris Lessing's setting choice affect the themes and the progression of the plot of "Through the Tunnel"?

The setting of the story is fairly straightforward and appropriately vague. Jerry and his mother are on vacation together. Readers are told the vacation destination is a place that has large beaches, a bay, and big rocks at different parts of the beach. Readers are also told the vacation spot is familiar to both Jerry and his mother. That tells readers that the two of them have vacationed there together before.  

Thematically, the story is about a boy's rite of passage toward individualism and adulthood. Jerry desires some time and space away from his mother. Jerry's mother struggles with the concept, but she knows she needs to begin giving Jerry some personal freedom. She does this by allowing him to go the "wild beach" by himself. There, Jerry sees the other boys swimming through the tunnel. He makes it his personal goal to do the same before the vacation is over, and Jerry eventually succeeds.  

The setting is a realistic location that allows Jerry to pursue his independence. A day at the beach is likely relatable for a variety of readers, so the setting is immediately familiar to readers. Additionally, most readers have likely been in Jerry's position before and sought time away from parents. As a parent, I have had both Jerry's and his mother's experiences. I believe Lessing could have chosen a different setting to get the same point across to her audience. All Lessing needs is a setting that allows Jerry the opportunity to have a growing up moment. Camping in the woods or a day at the carnival could have supplied a similar situation.   

How does urban ethnography challenge assumptions about urban life and urban myths ?

Great question!

Urban ethnography challenges assumptions about urban life and urban myths through its very nature, and through its practices.

Ethnography applies direct, intense observation to cultural practices. Urban ethnography applies the techniques and methods of anthropology, which were traditionally applied to distant peoples (usually those considered primitive), to contemporary, urban populations. It can be applied here at home, rather than having to be practiced far away.

One of the goals of ethnography is to describe culture, and to do so with as much objectivity as possible. In that statement you see two distinct goals that would transform how people see urban life. The first is that it treats urban practices as a culture. When this happens, some urban activity (like, say, the use of gang tags) changes. It is no longer just vandalism, something criminal or senseless to be dismissed. It is a social practice with cultural meaning for those involved. The second is the objective, even scientific, approach involved. It is relatively easy to be objective about something distant from you. You aren't directly involved in the rings of Saturn, for example. However, it is much harder to be objective if you are actively involved in something, like a family or relationship. That's the case in many urban settings. People are part of what they are trying to understand, and so urban ethnography offers new possibilities for objectivity.