To whom it may concern,
I am writing this letter in regard to Sona Lee applying for an internship in your law firm. I have gotten to know her over the past year, as a student in my Contracts course. The assignments she completed were excellent, and demonstrated a thorough understanding of contract law. She also has remarkable energy and interpersonal skills. She represents her class on the law school’s student council and has taken on this responsibility with spirit, interacting with students effectively. I support her application wholeheartedly.
Sincerely yours,
Conan Stevenson

“5,000 dollars has been deposited? Thank you. I’ll check it out now.” Jerry Shaw hung up with a smile on his face. Humming, he headed to the bank to withdraw some cash. He stopped at the ATM, inserted the card and entered his PIN. The screen flashed the message, “Card not valid ―please see a teller.” What? My bonus was deposited just now! Entering the bank, Jerry told the teller what had happened. She studied the screen and frowned. “Mr. Shaw, your account was closed. All your funds were withdrawn when you closed it,” she said. “What do you mean? I never did! It must be identity theft!” yelled Jerry, his voice barely under control.

Anthropology has become relevant for addressing global issues. This is not to deny the vital role of ‘hard’ sciences in addressing these problems. However, if we are to solve global problems we need a new way of thinking based in humanities and social sciences. It is impossible to resolve global issues merely by looking at numbers and statistics. Anthropology thus becomes crucial, as a discipline and a profession enabling the collection and interpretation of ‘thick data’ ― in addition to ‘big data’ ― and helps us to understand the world we live in more comprehensively. Why is a brand new and expensive ‘smart’ building a disaster? What will happen in the future with passenger cars? In answering such questions, we should stop relying only on quantitative data analytics; instead, the most important decisions should also be informed by anthropological qualitative approaches which provide a more complete and nuanced picture of people’s lives.

Our brains light up when our predicted reality and actual reality match. Our brains love to be right. We also don’t like to be wrong, and we feel threatened when our stereotyped predictions don’t come true. Psychologist Wendy Mendes asked White and Asian college students to interact with Latino students who had been hired as actors by the researchers. Some of the Latino students portrayed themselves as socioeconomically “high status,” with lawyer fathers, professor mothers, and summers spent volunteering in Europe. Others portrayed themselves as “low status,” with unemployed parents and part-time summer jobs. The researchers found that when participants interacted with the Latino students who appeared to come from wealth and thus challenged American stereotypes, they responded physiologically as if to a threat: their blood vessels constricted and their heart activity changed. In these interactions, participants also saw the students who violated stereotypes as less likable. In this way, stereotypes that are descriptive can easily become prescriptive. The phenomenon, it turns out, may have a neuroscientific explanation: it’s an angry protest from the brain’s reward system.

We can imagine natural numbers as whole objects, things our hunter-gatherer brains can work with. On the other hand, partial numbers ― decimals, fractions, percentages, and ratios ― simply don’t register as real to our minds. We may be able to work with them for a given time when we’re in math mode, but if we’re asked questions at other times, we tend to have trouble grasping the concept. In other words, any time we give our audience figures that aren’t natural numbers, the message is unlikely to make sense to them. Not only are they prone to make errors remembering and calculating the numbers, but there’s a good chance they never even envision what we’re describing in the first place ― because the number attached isn’t solid. Use natural numbers whenever you can to make your message real. For numbers less than 1, you can use a strategy to make things start to show up as natural numbers. If you find that 0.2% of people have a certain trait, using “1 out of 500” makes this abstract percentage into a real thing.

Facing large-scale, long-term change can seem overwhelming. Problems like global contagion or economic inequality are so complex that it can be hard to believe any intervention might make a difference. Working through fears of what could be depends on connecting with the abstract. Linking issues like climate change, for example, with the realities of our own neighborhoods, jobs, and relationships, translates conceptual ideas into concrete emotions. Thinking of how the beaches we love might disappear, how more frequent floods might destroy our homes, or how we might have to move to flee mounting wildfire risk, evokes feelings like anger, sadness, or guilt ― feelings that inspire us to act. A recent study found that when people feel personally affected by potential climatic change, they are more likely to support carbon reduction efforts and push for proactive policies. Forming emotional connections to potential futures helps us move from denial and despair to action.

There was once a certain difficulty with the moons of Jupiter that is worth remarking on. These satellites were studied very carefully by Roemer, who noticed that the moons sometimes seemed to be ahead of schedule, and sometimes behind. They were ahead when Jupiter was particularly close to the earth and they were behind when Jupiter was farther from the earth. This would have been a very difficult thing to explain according to the law of gravitation. If a law does not work even in one place where it ought to, it is just wrong. But the reason for this discrepancy was very simple and beautiful: it takes a little while to see the moons of Jupiter because of the time it takes light to travel from Jupiter to the earth. When Jupiter is closer to the earth the time is a little less, and when it is farther from the earth, the time is more. This is why moons appear to be, on the average, a little ahead or a little behind, depending on whether they are closer to or farther from the earth.

* discrepancy: 불일치

The graph above shows the number of dementia patients per 1,000 inhabitants in six European countries in 2021 and in 2050 (The number in 2050 is estimated). ① By 2050, the number of dementia patients per 1,000 people is expected to increase by more than 10 in all given countries compared to 2021. ② In 2021, Italy recorded the highest proportion of dementia patients out of the six countries and it is expected to do so in 2050 as well. ③ The proportion of dementia patients in Spain was lower than that of Germany in 2021, but is expected to exceed that of Germany in 2050. ④ Switzerland and the Netherlands had the same proportion of dementia patients in 2021, and by 2050 those proportions are both projected to more than double. ⑤ Among the six countries, Belgium shows the smallest gap between the number of dementia patients per 1,000 inhabitants in 2021 and in 2050.

* dementia: 치매

Josef Frank, born in Austria of Jewish heritage, studied architecture at the Vienna University of Technology. He then taught at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts from 1919 to 1925. He founded an interior design firm together with some architect colleagues in 1925. He was one of early Vienna modernism’s most important figures, but already in the beginning of the 1920s he started to question modernism’s growing pragmatism. He had little appreciation for the French architect Le Corbusier’s belief that a house should be “a machine for living in.” He was against the standardized interior design trend of the time, fearing that it would make people all too uniform. He moved to Sweden with his Swedish wife in 1933 to escape growing Nazi discrimination and gained citizenship in 1939. He was the most prestigious designer at his Stockholm design company. In addition to his architectural work he created numerous designs for furniture, fabric, wallpaper and carpet.

* pragmatism: 실용주의

2023 Idea Sharing Contest
Do you have any ideas that we can practice in our daily lives for carbon neutrality? Join the contest and share your brilliant ideas for our environment!

Guidelines
- All participants must enter in teams of 2 to 5 members.
- Each team will submit a 7-minute video clip via email.
- The video must include ways to protect our environment.

Judging Criteria
-­ Creativity - Practicability - Technical quality

Details
-­ Deadline is April 13, 2023.
-­ Winning teams will be announced on April 21, 2023 via email.
-­ The three best videos will be posted on our website.

For more information, please email us at manager@ideasharing.org.

International Mask Festival
Would you like to appreciate masks from all over the world? Visit Maywood Hills Museum and enjoy their beauty!

When: Every Tuesday to Sunday in April
(10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.)

Admission Price: $10 per person

Event Information
-­ Booth A: Exhibition of masks from 25 countries
-­ Booth B: Mask making activity (reservation required)

Details
-­ Audio guides are available in Booth A and are included in the admission price.
-­ After making a mask in Booth B, you can take it home as a souvenir.

Any related inquiries are welcome via email (maskfestival@maywood.org) or phone call (234-567-7363).

Providing feedback to students is a critical task of teachers. General psychology has shown that knowledge of results is necessary for improving a skill. Advanced musicians are able to self-critique their performances, but developing music students ① rely on teachers to supply evaluative feedback. The most constructive feedback is that ② which expresses the discrepancies between a student’s performance of a piece of music and an optimal version. Expert teachers give more detailed feedback than general appraisals, and music educators generally recognize that more specific teacher feedback facilitates student performance improvement. Researchers also have explored ③ whether the feedback of effective teachers is more often positively or negatively expressed, that is, constituting praise or criticism. One might intuitively think that positive comments are more ④ motivated to students and, as a result, are more associated with effective teaching. The research, however, paints a slightly different picture. Although positive feedback is ⑤ likely more helpful with younger learners and in one-on-one instruction, more advanced music students seem to accept and benefit from greater levels of criticism in lessons.

How do hormones trigger reactions in the body? When a hormone is released from a gland, it travels in the bloodstream through the body in search of its ① target. Organs, tissues and other glands in the body have receptor sites that hormones must bind to in order to deliver their message and cause an effect. But because every hormone has its own unique shape, they are designed to act only on the parts of the body that have a receptor site with the ② corresponding shape. This mode of action can be likened to a lock and key mechanism ― if the key doesn’t fit the lock, then nothing will happen. When a hormone binds to its receptor, it sets off a chain of other signaling pathways to create a ③ change in the body. Once the desired effect has taken place and there is too much hormone circulating in the blood, this signal is fed back to the glands to ④ boost further hormone release. This is called a feedback loop and, when functioning correctly, it allows the endocrine system to ⑤ ensure the conditions in your body remain in balance.

* gland: (분비)선 ** endocrine system: 내분비계

Although a balance or harmony between partners clearly develops over time in a relationship, it is also a factor in initial attraction and interest in a partner. That is, to the extent that two people share similar verbal and nonverbal habits in a first meeting, they will be more comfortable with one another. For example, fast-paced individuals talk and move quickly and are more expressive, whereas slow-paced individuals have a different tempo and are less expressive. Initial interactions between people at opposite ends of such a continuum may be more difficult than those between similar types. In the case of contrasting styles, individuals may be less interested in pursuing a relationship than if they were similar in interaction styles. Individuals with similar styles, however, are more comfortable and find that they just seem to “click” with one another. Thus, ____________________ may provide a selection filter for the initiation of a relationship.

Animals arguably make art. The male bowerbirds of New
Guinea and Australia dedicate huge fractions of their time and
energy to creating elaborate structures from twigs, flowers,
berries, beetle wings, and even colorful trash. These are the
backdrops to their complex mating dances, which include
acrobatic moves and even imitations of other species. What’s
most amazing about the towers and “bowers” they construct is
that they aren’t stereotyped like a beehive or hummingbird
nest. Each one is different. Artistic skill, along with fine
craftsbirdship, is rewarded by the females. Many researchers
suggest these displays are used by the females to gauge the
cognitive abilities of her potential mates, but Darwin thought
that she was actually attracted to their beauty. In other words,
the bowers ____________________________________; they are
appreciated by the females for their own sake, much as we
appreciate a painting or a bouquet of spring flowers. A 2013
study looked at whether bowerbirds that did better on
cognitive tests were more successful at attracting mates. They
were not, suggesting whatever the females are looking for, it
isn’t a straightforward indicator of cognitive ability.

Running a business that sells goods and services to consumers requires getting to know the products they like. More than that, however, you want to ______________________________________________. In traditional or online sales, people are bound to favorably regard the vendor and product that they could easily inquire about and quickly acquire in good order. Using the product can increase or decrease their satisfaction, and they will remember to repurchase products that meet and exceed their expectations. Traditional stores make the shopping experience pleasant by their displays and personal service. Internet retailers lead buyers to products they want through speedy searches and clicks. A new online selling method that can generate millions of dollars in purchases within a few minutes is livestream selling. That’s when hosts streaming their shows live demonstrate a product and even interactively receive comments and answer questions from their viewers through the power of social media. If they like the product, they buy it immediately through an e-commerce feature on the platform. Buyers say that the experience is so convenient, it is like talking to a friend.

In Hegel’s philosophy, even though there is interaction and interrelation between the universal and the individual,  ______________________________________________. For Hegel, individuals are not distinguished in terms of Reason. In Philosophy of Right Hegel stresses particularity and universality as follows: “A man, who acts perversely, exhibits particularity. The rational is the highway on which everyone travels, and no one is specially marked.” Here, Hegel maintains that individuals can be differentiated from each other in terms of their acts but they are not differentiated with respect to reason. There are specific thoughts, but they are finally resolved into the universal. One might say that Hegel seems to focus on the individual like Aristotle but in reality, he subtly treats the universal as fundamental whereas Aristotle considers the individual as primary substance and universal as secondary substance; in so doing Aristotle emphasizes the universal to be subordinate to the individual incontrast to Hegel.

* perversely: 별나게

One of the branches of postmodernism examines the structure of language and how it is used. It challenges the assumption that language can be precisely used to represent reality. ① Meanings of words are ambiguous, as words are only signs or labels given to concepts (what is signified) and therefore there is no necessary correspondence between the word and the meaning, the signifier and the signified. ② The use of signs (words) and their meaning can vary depending on the flow of the text in which they are used, leading to the possibility of ‘deconstructing’ text to reveal its underlying inconsistencies. ③ Reality exists outside of our thoughts, and it is only through language that we are able to perceive the natural world as it really is. ④ This approach can be applied to all forms of representation ― pictures, films, etc. that gain added or alternative meanings by the overlaying of references to previous uses. ⑤ This can be seen particularly in the media, where it is difficult to distinguish the real from the unreal ― everything is representation, there is no reality.

The Earth formed from rocky and metallic fragments during the construction of the solar system ― debris that was swept up by an initial nucleus and attracted together into a single body by the force of gravity.

(A) This increasing gravity, combined with the timeless radioactive decay of elements like uranium and thorium, caused the new Earth to heat up. The internal temperature and pressure were high enough for many compounds to break down or melt, releasing their water and gases.

(B) The original materials were cold as outer space and dry as dust; whatever water and gases they contained were locked inside individual fragments as chemical compounds. As the fragments joined, the Earth’s gravity increased, attracting larger and larger objects to impact the Earth.

(C) Even solid material could begin to move and flow under such conditions. Separation by density began, and the Earth started to organize into its present layered structure. The heaviest metals sank to the center; the lightest materials migrated outward.

Representation is control. The power to represent the world is the power to represent us in it or it in us, for the final stage of representing merges the representor and the represented into one. Imperializing cultures produce great works of art (great representations) which can be put to work intellectually as armies and trading houses work militarily and economically.

(A) That is because unless we can control the world intellectually by maps we cannot control it militarily or economically. Mercator, Molière, Columbus and Captain Cook imperialized in different ways, but they all imperialized, and ultimately the effectiveness of one depended upon and supported the effectiveness of all the others.

(B) Similarly the US form of contemporary colonization, which involves occupying economies and political parties rather than physical territories, is accompanied by the power of both Hollywood and the satellite to represent the world to and for the US.

(C) Shakespeare, Jane Austen and maps were as important to English Imperial power as was the East India Company, the British army and the churches of England. It is no coincidence that modern Europe, the Europe of colonization, was also the Europe of “great art,” and no coincidence either that it was the Europe of great map makers.

Jacques Derrida argues that instead of one line between Man on the one side and Animal on the other, there is a multiple and heterogeneous border; beyond the edge of the “so-called human,” we find a heterogeneous plurality of the living.

Language, and the word “animal,” deceives us. The word “animal” categorizes all non-human animals and distances humans from other animals. ( ① ) Seeing all other animals as one group in contrast to humans reinforces anthropocentrism, which contributes to the legitimization of practices in which other animals are used for human benefit. ( ② ) To account for this multitude, using the word “animot” has been proposed. ( ③ ) In speech it refers to the plural, the multiplicity of animals, which is necessary because there is no one “animal.” ( ④ ) The “mot” in “animot” refers to the act of naming and the risks involved in drawing a distinction between human and animal by the human. ( ⑤ ) It reminds us of the fact that it is a word for animals, not a reference to an existing group of animals.

Indeed, in the Middle Ages in Europe, calculating by hand and eye was sometimes seen as producing a rather shabby sort of knowledge, inferior to that of abstract thought.

Babylonian astronomers created detailed records of celestial movements in the heavens, using the resulting tables to sieve out irregularities and, with them, the favour of the gods. ( ① ) This was the seed of what we now call the scientific method ―a demonstration that accurate observations of the world could be used to forecast its future. ( ② ) The importance of measurement in this sort of cosmic comprehension did not develop smoothly over the centuries. ( ③ ) The suspicion was due to the influence of ancient Greeks in the era’s scholasticism, particularly Plato and Aristotle, who stressed that the material world was one of unceasing change and instability. ( ④ ) They emphasized that reality was best understood by reference to immaterial qualities, be they Platonic forms or Aristotelian causes. ( ⑤ ) It would take the revelations of the scientific revolution to fully displace these instincts, with observations of the night sky once again proving decisive.

* celestial: 천체의 ** sieve: 거르다

Experiments suggest that animals, just like humans, tend to prefer exaggerated, supernormal stimuli, and that a preference can rapidly propel itself to extreme levels (peak shift effect). In one experiment, through food rewards rats were conditioned to prefer squares to other geometric forms. In the next step, a non-square rectangle was introduced and associated with an even larger reward than the square. As expected, the rats learned to reliably prefer the rectangle. Less predictable was the third part of the experiment. The rats were offered the opportunity to choose between the rectangle they already knew and associated with large rewards and another rectangle, the proportions of which were even more different from those of a square. Interestingly, rats picked this novel variant, without undergoing any reward-based conditioning in favor of it. A possible explanation is thus that they chose the larger difference from the original square (i.e., the exaggeration of non-squareness).

In an experiment, after first establishing an ____(A)____ to squares, and then to non-square rectangles, rats were seen to pursue ____(B)____ rectangularity even without any additional reward.

Although we humans are equipped with reflexive responses for survival, at birth we are (a) helpless. We spend about a year unable to walk, about two more before we can articulate full thoughts, and many more years unable to provide for ourselves. We are totally dependent on those around us for our survival. Now compare this to many other mammals. Dolphins, for instance, are born swimming; giraffes learn to stand within hours; a baby zebra can run within forty-five minutes of birth. Across the animal kingdom, our cousins are strikingly (b) independent soon after they’re born.
On the face of it, that seems like a great advantage for other species ― but in fact it signifies a limitation. Baby animals develop quickly because their brains are wiring up according to a largely preprogrammed routine. But that (c) preparedness trades off with flexibility. Imagine if some unfortunate rhinoceros found itself on the Arctic tundra, or on top of a mountain in the Himalayas, or in the middle of a metropolis. It would have no capacity to adapt (which is why we don’t find rhinos in those areas). This strategy of arriving with a pre-arranged brain works inside a particular niche in the ecosystem ― but put an animal outside of that niche, and its chances of thriving are (d) low.
In contrast, humans are able to thrive in many different environments, from the frozen tundra to the high mountains to crowded urban centers. This is possible because the human brain is born remarkably incomplete. Instead of arriving with everything wired up ― let’s call it “hardwired” ― a human brain (e) forbids itself to be shaped by the details of life experience. This leads to long periods of helplessness as the young brain slowly molds to its environment. It’s “livewired.”

* niche: 적합한 장소

Although we humans are equipped with reflexive responses for survival, at birth we are (a) helpless. We spend about a year unable to walk, about two more before we can articulate full thoughts, and many more years unable to provide for ourselves. We are totally dependent on those around us for our survival. Now compare this to many other mammals. Dolphins, for instance, are born swimming; giraffes learn to stand within hours; a baby zebra can run within forty-five minutes of birth. Across the animal kingdom, our cousins are strikingly (b) independent soon after they’re born.
On the face of it, that seems like a great advantage for other species ― but in fact it signifies a limitation. Baby animals develop quickly because their brains are wiring up according to a largely preprogrammed routine. But that (c) preparedness trades off with flexibility. Imagine if some unfortunate rhinoceros found itself on the Arctic tundra, or on top of a mountain in the Himalayas, or in the middle of a metropolis. It would have no capacity to adapt (which is why we don’t find rhinos in those areas). This strategy of arriving with a pre-arranged brain works inside a particular niche in the ecosystem ― but put an animal outside of that niche, and its chances of thriving are (d) low.
In contrast, humans are able to thrive in many different environments, from the frozen tundra to the high mountains to crowded urban centers. This is possible because the human brain is born remarkably incomplete. Instead of arriving with everything wired up ― let’s call it “hardwired” ― a human brain (e) forbids itself to be shaped by the details of life experience. This leads to long periods of helplessness as the young brain slowly molds to its environment. It’s “livewired.”

* niche: 적합한 장소

(A)
There were two neighbors living next to each other. One was a professor and the other was a merchant who had an unmotivated son. Both of them had planted the same kind of plant in each of their gardens. The professor gave a small amount of water to his plants and didn’t always give his full attention to them. Meanwhile, in the merchant’s garden, the merchant gave a lot of water to (a) his plants and looked after them well.

(B)
The merchant was surprised to see this because he thought he had given his plants better care than the professor. He went to his neighbor and said, “Only (b) my plants came out from the roots. How is that possible?” The professor smiled and said, “You gave your plants so much attention and water that they didn’t need to work for themselves.” “Is that really a problem?” said the merchant with a curious look on (c) his face.

(C)
The professor continued his explanation, “I gave my plants just an adequate amount of water and let their roots search for more. Their roots went deeper and grew stronger.” At that moment, the merchant recalled the image of (d) his son, still lazy and dependent on his parents. “Is that how you approach teaching?” asked the merchant. The professor said, “Yes. Students are like plants. Sometimes guiding is better than giving.” Nodding silently, the merchant began to rethink what education is.

(D)
The professor’s plants were simple but looked good, while the merchant’s plants were much fuller and greener. One night, there was a heavy storm. After the storm was over, both of the neighbors inspected the damage to their gardens. The merchant saw that his plants had come out from the roots and were totally destroyed by the storm. But, the plants of (e) his neighbor were not damaged at all and were standing firm.

(A)
There were two neighbors living next to each other. One was a professor and the other was a merchant who had an unmotivated son. Both of them had planted the same kind of plant in each of their gardens. The professor gave a small amount of water to his plants and didn’t always give his full attention to them. Meanwhile, in the merchant’s garden, the merchant gave a lot of water to (a) his plants and looked after them well.

(B)
The merchant was surprised to see this because he thought he had given his plants better care than the professor. He went to his neighbor and said, “Only (b) my plants came out from the roots. How is that possible?” The professor smiled and said, “You gave your plants so much attention and water that they didn’t need to work for themselves.” “Is that really a problem?” said the merchant with a curious look on (c) his face.

(C)
The professor continued his explanation, “I gave my plants just an adequate amount of water and let their roots search for more. Their roots went deeper and grew stronger.” At that moment, the merchant recalled the image of (d) his son, still lazy and dependent on his parents. “Is that how you approach teaching?” asked the merchant. The professor said, “Yes. Students are like plants. Sometimes guiding is better than giving.” Nodding silently, the merchant began to rethink what education is.

(D)
The professor’s plants were simple but looked good, while the merchant’s plants were much fuller and greener. One night, there was a heavy storm. After the storm was over, both of the neighbors inspected the damage to their gardens. The merchant saw that his plants had come out from the roots and were totally destroyed by the storm. But, the plants of (e) his neighbor were not damaged at all and were standing firm.

(A)
There were two neighbors living next to each other. One was a professor and the other was a merchant who had an unmotivated son. Both of them had planted the same kind of plant in each of their gardens. The professor gave a small amount of water to his plants and didn’t always give his full attention to them. Meanwhile, in the merchant’s garden, the merchant gave a lot of water to (a) his plants and looked after them well.

(B)
The merchant was surprised to see this because he thought he had given his plants better care than the professor. He went to his neighbor and said, “Only (b) my plants came out from the roots. How is that possible?” The professor smiled and said, “You gave your plants so much attention and water that they didn’t need to work for themselves.” “Is that really a problem?” said the merchant with a curious look on (c) his face.

(C)
The professor continued his explanation, “I gave my plants just an adequate amount of water and let their roots search for more. Their roots went deeper and grew stronger.” At that moment, the merchant recalled the image of (d) his son, still lazy and dependent on his parents. “Is that how you approach teaching?” asked the merchant. The professor said, “Yes. Students are like plants. Sometimes guiding is better than giving.” Nodding silently, the merchant began to rethink what education is.

(D)
The professor’s plants were simple but looked good, while the merchant’s plants were much fuller and greener. One night, there was a heavy storm. After the storm was over, both of the neighbors inspected the damage to their gardens. The merchant saw that his plants had come out from the roots and were totally destroyed by the storm. But, the plants of (e) his neighbor were not damaged at all and were standing firm.