Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing to you regarding a price discrepancy I encountered between an item offered in your retail store and the same item offered on your website. I recently ordered an outfit from your online store, item #N4A8-BL. The price listed on the site was $109, which was paid by credit card. Please take a look at the attached receipt. Three days later, while shopping at our local mall, I visited one of your retail shops and found the exact same outfit priced at $79. I would like to ask for a refund of the price difference. I am assuming that this would be a better solution to packing up the outfit and shipping it back to you for a full refund.

Sincerely,
Patricia Cavelli

Some of the words we use most frequently are not expressive. If someone asked you what you thought of a movie or your dinner, you might respond: “It was fine.” Do you mean, ‘fine’ as in ‘fine wine,’ or ‘fine art?’ Or do you mean, ‘fine’ as in ‘excellent, good, fine or poor?’ ‘Fine’ can be used to express satisfaction or disappointment. There are hundreds of words that, like ‘fine,’ express very little meaning. They are fillers. Choose words that are more expressive, like ‘great’ or ‘terrific’ or ‘wonderful’ if you want to express pleasure, and words like ‘adequate’ or ‘satisfactory’ if your intent is to communicate that the movie or meal was okay, but nothing more. These words won’t be misunderstood.

Unlike books and paintings, music speaks to us through a re-creator, a musician who makes the printed music sound. A composition, even a familiar one, can be a new experience each time it’s performed. It is the job of the performer to bring life to the printed symbols laid out by a composer. Just how loud is a chord marked ? How fast is a section labeled allegro? No matter how many specific indications of rhythm, dynamics, or accent appear on a page, much is left to the performer. Like that of an actor, his or her interpretation is full of subtle timings and inflections. Performers project to　an audience a mixture of their own feelings and the composer’s intentions. Critics sometimes say about a particularly convincing interpretation that a performer is ‘identified’ with a work and its composer. That’s how close the relationship can be.

People love to tell others what to do; they believe giving advice is ‘helpful,’ even if the advice is not requested. Such telling worked in the Industrial Era because it was hierarchical in structure. This communication style implied the teller inherently had valuable information to provide and knew the correct solution. In the Information Age, people have more equal access to knowledge and, with the help of technology, are generally able to find their own solutions. If someone wants advice, they will ask for it. In general, telling is no longer well received. It can be perceived as lacking in respect, narrowing opportunities and shutting down possibilities by implying that the individual is incapable of solving a problem.

Whether or not we can catch up on sleep―on the weekend, say―is a hotly debated topic among sleep researchers; the latest evidence suggests that while it isn’t ideal, it might help. When Peter Liu, a UCLA sleep researcher, brought chronically sleep-restricted people into the lab for a weekend of sleep during which they slept about 10 hours per night, they showed improvements in the ability of insulin to process blood sugar. That suggests that catch-up sleep may undo some but not all of the damage that sleep deprivation causes, which is encouraging given how many adults don’t get the hours they need each night. Still, Liu isn’t ready to endorse the habit of sleeping less and making up for it later. “It’s like telling people you only need to eat healthy during the weekends, but during the week you can eat whatever you like,” he says.

*endorse: (공개적으로)지지하다

One morning, my 5-year-old daughter shook me awake excitedly. “A fairy has left you an amazing present,” she whispered. “Look!” I reached under my pillow and found a one dollar note, torn exactly in half. She said, “The fairy left half a dollar for you, and the other half is under daddy’s pillow.” I was struck speechless at her unexpected gift. Simultaneously, I found myself in a dilemma. Messages about how important it was for my daughter to learn the value of currency came flooding into my mind. Should I use this opportunity to teach her about not wasting money, explaining that a dollar torn in half is worthless? Should I try not to discourage her kind behavior? My thoughts all came in a rush: Which quality should I reinforce? Which behavior should I promote?

James Gibbs is best known for his successful blending of Renaissance and Baroque architectural elements into an early-18th century Neo-Classicism. He was born in Scotland and studied in Rome under the Late Baroque Italian architect Carlo Fontana. Returning to England in 1709, he was appointed a member of the commission authorized to build 50 churches in London. Between 1722 and 1726 Gibbs constructed his most famous church, Saint Martin-in-the-Fields, which has a spire rather than a dome rising from the roof of the building. Of Gibbs’ later works the circular ‘Radcliffe Camera’ library at Oxford University is his most ambitious and monumental achievement. His architectural style has influenced the architecture of churches in England and the United States.

The pie charts above show the global car color popularity based on the data of cars manufactured in 2013 and 2014. ① The most popular car color in the world was White in both 2013 and 2014. ② Black and Silver tied for second place in popularity in 2013, but Black stood alone as the second most favorite color in 2014. ③ Gray fell slightly in popularity from 13 percent in 2013 to 12 percent in 2014. ④ In 2013 and 2014, Red and Blue remained the same in popularity at 9 percent and 7 percent, respectively. ⑤ Natural was less popular than Red in 2013, but this was reversed in 2014.

*natural: 옅은 황갈색

HILLS HIGH SCHOOL PRESENTS

Oliver!
The Musical
based on the novel Oliver Twist

DATES AND TIMES:
 Friday, April 10th - 7 p.m.
 Saturday, April 11th - 2 p.m.,  7 p.m.

PLACE: Mary Hall

TICKETS:
 Adults - $10
 Students & Senior citizens - $8
 The ticket booth is open from March 9th to April 9th during normal school hours.

 ※ All seats are reservation only.
 ※ All profits will be donated to charity.

TICKET HOTLINE: (012) 848-1500

City Shuttle Bus

•The free shuttle bus service operates in our historic port city from Central Station to Marin Education Center via George Street.
•You can board the bus at any stops that display the green shuttle logo.
•Each shuttle bus is accessible to people in wheelchairs.
•Buses run every 10 minutes.

Operating Hours:
Weekdays   7:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Weekends   10:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

For more information, visit www.cityshuttlebus.com.

Leonardo da Vinci was one of the most learned and well-rounded persons ever to live. The entire universe from the wing of a dragonfly to the birth of the earth (A) was / were　the playground of his curious intelligence. But did Leonardo have some mystical or innate gift of insight and invention, or was his brilliance learned and earned? Certainly he had an unusual mind and an uncanny ability to see (B) that / what others didn’t see. But the six thousand pages of detailed notes and drawings present clear evidence of a diligent, curious student―a perpetual learner in laborious pursuit of wisdom who was constantly exploring, questioning, and testing. Expanding your mind is vital to being creative. Therefore, (C) invest / investing regularly in learning opportunities is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.

One day a wise old monk heard an impatient pounding on the door. ① He opened it and greeted a young man, who said, “I have studied with great and wise masters. However, just in case there is anything more I need to know, I have come to see if ② you can add to my knowledge.” “Very well,” said the monk. “Come and have tea, and we will discuss your studies.” When the tea was ready, the old man began to pour it into the visitor’s cup. When the cup was full, ③ he continued pouring until the tea spilled over the side of the cup. The startled man jumped back and shouted, “④ You’re a fool who does not even know when a cup is full!” The wise man calmly replied, “Just like this cup, your mind is so full of ideas that there is no room for any more. Come to me with an empty-cup mind, and then ⑤ you will learn something.”

We’re all told at school that white reflects sunlight and black absorbs it, so the ① paler your clothes are, the cooler you’ll be. But it’s not quite that simple. In many hot countries, locals often wear ② dark colors.Peasants in China and old ladies in southern Europe, for instance, traditionally wear black, and the Tuareg, the nomadic people of the Sahara, favor indigo blue. These clothes are ③ effective because there are two thermal processes happening at once. Heat is coming downwards from the sun but it is also going outwards from the body. Though light clothes are better at ④ reflecting the sun’s heat, dark clothes are better at radiating the body’s heat. Given that no one born in a hot climate willingly stands in direct sunlight, the dark clothing has the ⑤ defect because it keeps you cooler when you’re in the shade.

*thermal: 열의, 온도의

What does curiosity mean, and why is it so important? We think of curiosity as exploration: being inquisitive, seeking to learn and understand. Some associate curiosity with being nosy. After all, aren’t we being nosy if we are curious about another person, asking personal questions? We believe there is a difference between the two. Nosy people ask questions and proceed to weigh the answers provided. Their intention is not to learn about the other person, but to compare, perhaps wanting to determine who is better or worse. In contrast, true curiosity __________________. It is about exploring and learning with the goal of greater understanding, which is free from setting values. When curious people ask a question, their only intention is to better understand, whether it is another person, an idea, a place, an origin, or anything that creates an interest in further exploration.

We tend not to notice how many creative tasks benefit from constraints because they are built　in and have become invisible. For example, almost all popular music is in 4/4 time, four beats in the bar, with the emphasis usually landing on the first beat. Tracks are normally three or four minutes in length, contain a chorus, and so on. These are just a few constraints of many that popular music follows, and yet look at the variation that can be achieved. Many songs break these rules, but they often achieve their effects because there is a rule to break in the first place. Painters, writers, artists, and so on are all influenced by previous styles to various degrees and it’s these previous styles that provide constraints. The very limitations we impose on ourselves can be                                                     　  ____________________________________.

While we like to think that our habits follow our intentions, it’s possible for intention and habit to be completely reversed. How the habit started in the first place could be a complete accident, but we can then work out our intentions from our behavior, as long as there’s no strong reason for that behavior. Say I take a walk around the park every afternoon and each time I follow a particular route which takes me past a duck pond. When asked why I take this route, I might reply that I like to watch people feeding the ducks. In reality, I just walked that way the first time, completely at random, and saw no reason not to do the same the next day. Now, after the habit is established, I try to come up with a reason and the ducks spring to mind. I end up ____________________________________.

From a broad range of early cultures, extending back to about a million years, natural objects began to be used as tools and implements to supplement or enhance the capacities of the hand. ______(A)______, the hand is capable of clawing soil to dig out an edible root, but a digging stick or clam shell is also capable of being grasped to do the job more easily, in a sustainable manner, reducing damage to fingers and nails. The task is made easier still if a shell is tied with fiber at a right angle to the end of a stick, to make a simple hoe. It can then be used more effectively in wider circles from an erect working position. ______(B)______, the hand can be cupped in order to drink water, but a deep shell forms the same shape permanently and more effectively to function without leakage as a dipper.

*hoe: (자루가 긴) 괭이

Enough sunlight falls on Earth to meet our energy needs ten thousand times over. However, it’s highly dispersed. ① Various technologies already exist to concentrate the sunlight using curved mirrors and focus it on tanks of liquid―usually water or oil. ② If you’re lucky enough to live in a sunny part of the country, solar heating panels like these are an excellent way to heat water for individual homes. ③ They sit on the roof rather like a satellite dish and provide baths and showers that are satisfyingly hot and guilt-free. ④ However, Earth is not the only planet that receives solar radiation. ⑤ Solar heating can also be used on a much larger scale, by making the hot liquid drive an engine to generate electricity.

Food is neither good nor bad in the absolute, though we have been taught to recognize it as such. The organ of taste is not the tongue, but the brain, a culturally (and therefore historically) determined organ through which the criteria for evaluations are transmitted and learned. ① Therefore, these criteria vary in space and in time. ② What in one era is judged positively, in another can change meaning; what in one locale is considered tasty, in another can be rejected as disgusting. ③ Very often times, the failure to detect spoiled or toxic food can lead to serious health problems. ④ Definitions of taste belong to the cultural heritage of human society. ⑤ As there are differing tastes and preferences among different peoples and regions of the world, so do tastes and preferences evolve over the course of centuries.

As science moved toward experimentation to prove its theories, tools of measurement became vital.

(A) People in the Middle Ages tried to measure the minutes and hours of the day with a mechanical clock that used gears, wheels, and weights, but these clocks were unreliable. Galileo discovered that a pendulum always takes the same amount of time to swing whether the swing is narrow or wide.

(B) The measurement of time was probably the most important of all, but in Galileo’s time, scientists had not yet invented a dependable timepiece. Ancient humans could measure years, months, and days with the movements of Earth, the Moon, and the Sun.

(C) Sixteen years after Galileo’s death, the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens attached a pendulum to the gears of a mechanical clock, and the grandfather clock was born. Humans finally knew what time it was, and science had a new important tool.

*pendulum: (시계의)추

Permission marketing is a term coined by Seth Godin, meaning that the customer has given his or her consent to receive marketing messages from an organization.

(A) It is no coincidence that they are commonly referred to in the negative terms ‘junk mail’ and ‘spam,’ because they are unwelcome. All too often the final result is a frustrated customer with no intention of buying and a marketer who has wasted his budget―‘lose-lose.’

(B) As such, the customer is more receptive to the organization because the messages are anticipated, personal, and relevant. The opposite of permission marketing is interruption marketing, which Godin claims, can lead to a ‘lose-lose’ situation.

(C) Interruption marketing occurs when the customer receives unrequested direct marketing messages, such as direct mail, telephone calls, e-mails, and text messages. Godin argues that these things often end up wasting the customer’s time and therefore lead to frustration.

One explanation for this is that the first words in each list created a first impression that respondents used to interpret the remaining adjectives.

There is evidence that when we form impressions of others, we pay more attention to our first impressions. This tendency is called the ‘primacy effect.’ The primacy effect was documented in a famous study conducted by social psychologist Solomon Asch. ( ① ) Individuals were asked to evaluate two people based on two lists of adjectives. ( ② ) The list for the first person had the following adjectives: intelligent, industrious, impulsive, critical, stubborn, and envious. ( ③ ) The list for the other person had the same adjectives, but in reverse order. ( ④ ) Although the content was identical, respondents gave the first person a more positive evaluation than the second. ( ⑤ ) In a similar manner, the first impressions we form about someone often affect our impression of subsequent perceptions of that person.

In a recent article, psychology professor Patricia Greenfield of UCLA discussed some of the problems caused when a test designed for one culture is used to test members of a different culture. This situation often causes inaccurate test results. For instance, she wrote, “When children of Latino immigrant parents go to school, their emphasis on understanding rather than speaking, on respecting the teacher’s authority rather than expressing one’s own opinions leads to negative academic assessment.” She described a study of parent-teacher conferences in which a teacher complained that the children did not speak up and equated it to a bad attitude. “Hence a valued mode of communication in one culture―respectful listening―becomes the basis for a rather negative evaluation in the school setting where self-assertive speaking is the valued mode of communication.”



Test results can be ___(A)___ when the culture of the test-maker and the culture of the test-taker are ___(B)___.

  

  
(A)
  
(B)

About 20 years ago, a delicate seaweed named Caulerpa taxifolia was brought from its native habitat in the Pacific Ocean to a zoo in Germany, where it was used to decorate saltwater aquarium exhibits, a seemingly harmless action. The seaweed was such a success that samples were sent to other institutions, including the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco. Within about five years of its introduction there, an unfortunate accident took place. The seaweed was accidentally flushed into the Mediterranean when exhibit tanks were cleaned. This might seem harmless, but considering it so would ignore the tremendous power of the species to act as ___________________. Once freed in the Mediterranean, Caulerpa quickly changed its growth pattern and adapted to its new habitat. This may have occurred through a mutation or through hybridization with native seaweeds. Whatever the exact genetic explanation, today Caulerpa grows about six times larger in the Mediterranean than it does in its native Pacific Ocean. Over the past two or three years, Caulerpa has spread to the Adriatic, and it now appears to threaten the entire Mediterranean with its ability to choke out competing seaweeds. It grows on rocks, sand, and mud. It grows so widely and quickly that it blankets competing native seaweeds, excluding them and it appears to be toxic to local animals that feed on seaweeds.

*hybridization: (이종)교배

About 20 years ago, a delicate seaweed named Caulerpa taxifolia was brought from its native habitat in the Pacific Ocean to a zoo in Germany, where it was used to decorate saltwater aquarium exhibits, a seemingly harmless action. The seaweed was such a success that samples were sent to other institutions, including the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco. Within about five years of its introduction there, an unfortunate accident took place. The seaweed was accidentally flushed into the Mediterranean when exhibit tanks were cleaned. This might seem harmless, but considering it so would ignore the tremendous power of the species to act as ___________________. Once freed in the Mediterranean, Caulerpa quickly changed its growth pattern and adapted to its new habitat. This may have occurred through a mutation or through hybridization with native seaweeds. Whatever the exact genetic explanation, today Caulerpa grows about six times larger in the Mediterranean than it does in its native Pacific Ocean. Over the past two or three years, Caulerpa has spread to the Adriatic, and it now appears to threaten the entire Mediterranean with its ability to choke out competing seaweeds. It grows on rocks, sand, and mud. It grows so widely and quickly that it blankets competing native seaweeds, excluding them and it appears to be toxic to local animals that feed on seaweeds.

*hybridization: (이종)교배

(A)
At the age of fourteen, Steven Courage fell from the back of a wagon during a blizzard. It took so long to find him that he became severely frostbitten. His father took him to the hospital. The doctor told him that his son’s body was permanently damaged. When Steven realized his situation, (a) he was very depressed and hopeless.

(B)
On one occasion, Steven spoke to a large group of soldiers who had severe injuries similar to his. Upon entering the hall, (b) he began to tell them to stop feeling sorry for themselves, which made the soldiers upset. In fact, they began to boo him. Firmly, Steven walked toward them and told them to get up, fire up, and again be productive.

(C)
In time, Steven got over his despair and he wanted to do something with his life. He went to the town mayor and asked for financial support for an education. It was never done at the time, but convinced by his courage and determination, (c) he promised to fulfill the request. Over the years Steven successfully overcame many obstacles in his life, becoming president of one of the largest banks in the country. Because of this, (d) he was often asked to give speeches.

(D)
This enraged the soldiers. They yelled louder at Steven and even began to throw things. To the soldiers’ surprise, he sat down and started to take off his disability aids to show them his permanent injuries. The booing stopped and (e) he had their attention. Steven then spoke to them about his injuries and how he overcame them. He emphasized taking personal responsibility for success through setting goals and being persistent; turning lemons into lemonade.

(A)
At the age of fourteen, Steven Courage fell from the back of a wagon during a blizzard. It took so long to find him that he became severely frostbitten. His father took him to the hospital. The doctor told him that his son’s body was permanently damaged. When Steven realized his situation, (a) he was very depressed and hopeless.

(B)
On one occasion, Steven spoke to a large group of soldiers who had severe injuries similar to his. Upon entering the hall, (b) he began to tell them to stop feeling sorry for themselves, which made the soldiers upset. In fact, they began to boo him. Firmly, Steven walked toward them and told them to get up, fire up, and again be productive.

(C)
In time, Steven got over his despair and he wanted to do something with his life. He went to the town mayor and asked for financial support for an education. It was never done at the time, but convinced by his courage and determination, (c) he promised to fulfill the request. Over the years Steven successfully overcame many obstacles in his life, becoming president of one of the largest banks in the country. Because of this, (d) he was often asked to give speeches.

(D)
This enraged the soldiers. They yelled louder at Steven and even began to throw things. To the soldiers’ surprise, he sat down and started to take off his disability aids to show them his permanent injuries. The booing stopped and (e) he had their attention. Steven then spoke to them about his injuries and how he overcame them. He emphasized taking personal responsibility for success through setting goals and being persistent; turning lemons into lemonade.

(A)
At the age of fourteen, Steven Courage fell from the back of a wagon during a blizzard. It took so long to find him that he became severely frostbitten. His father took him to the hospital. The doctor told him that his son’s body was permanently damaged. When Steven realized his situation, (a) he was very depressed and hopeless.

(B)
On one occasion, Steven spoke to a large group of soldiers who had severe injuries similar to his. Upon entering the hall, (b) he began to tell them to stop feeling sorry for themselves, which made the soldiers upset. In fact, they began to boo him. Firmly, Steven walked toward them and told them to get up, fire up, and again be productive.

(C)
In time, Steven got over his despair and he wanted to do something with his life. He went to the town mayor and asked for financial support for an education. It was never done at the time, but convinced by his courage and determination, (c) he promised to fulfill the request. Over the years Steven successfully overcame many obstacles in his life, becoming president of one of the largest banks in the country. Because of this, (d) he was often asked to give speeches.

(D)
This enraged the soldiers. They yelled louder at Steven and even began to throw things. To the soldiers’ surprise, he sat down and started to take off his disability aids to show them his permanent injuries. The booing stopped and (e) he had their attention. Steven then spoke to them about his injuries and how he overcame them. He emphasized taking personal responsibility for success through setting goals and being persistent; turning lemons into lemonade.