How many regions are involved in the international study?Does organic farming foster biodiversity? The answer is yes, however, the number of habitats on the land plays an important role alongside the type and intensity of farming practices. These are the findings of an international study that looked at ten regions in Europe and two in Africa. The results has been published in Nature Communications. The study shows that even organic farms have to actively support biodiversity by, for example, conserving different habitats on their holdings. An international team, including scientists from TUM, investigated the contribution of organic farming to supporting farmland biodiversity in the last two years. Researchers wanted to explore whether organic farms are home to more species than their conventional neighbors. The team used uniform methods across Europe to capture data and analyze it to establish the impact of farming methods and intensity and of landscape features on biodiversity. “Organic farming is beneficial to the richness of plant and bee species. However, observed benefits concentrate on arable fields,“ says a TUM’s professor. His Chair for Organic Agriculture and Agronomy analyzed 16 Bavarian dairy farms. The study investigated farms in twelve regions with different production systems. In each region, farms were selected randomly, half of them certified organic for at least five years. In Switzerland, grassland-based cattle farms were studied and in Austria the study looked at arable farms. In Italy and Spain, researchers focused on farms with permanent crops such as wine and olives, and on small-scale subsistence farms in Uganda. More species were found in organic arable fields than in non-organic fields. In contrast, there was little difference in grasslands or vineyards. Organic farming benefited the four taxonomic groups of plants, earthworms, spiders and bees - which were sampled as surrogates for the multitude of creatures living on farmland - in different ways. In general, more species of plants and bees were found on organic than on non-organic fields, but not more species of spiders and earthworms. 10. 8 12. 2.

Under what circumstance, would he be a best news reporter?Should he get rid of computer games, he would be a best news reporter. If he did not play computer games in office. If he did not play computer games with friends. If he abandoned computer games. If no new computer games came out.

Some couples hire a wedding planner while many organize their wedding themselves.June is considered the traditional start of the wedding season. Many couples organize their weddings themselves. But some hire a wedding planner to organize everything for them. Traditionally the bride’s parents pay for the wedding. Couples can have a religious ceremony. Or they can have a civil wedding before a judge or other public official. Or they can have both. The couple might also read special vows they have written for each other. Many ceremonies share common customs. For example, the bride may wear a long white dress and have a white veil over her face. The groom traditionally wears a tuxedo. America is known as a nation of immigrants. Each group brings its own wedding customs and traditions to the mix. But one tradition at most weddings is music. Many people hire D. J. s, disc jockeys, to play recorded dance music. A wedding might also have live music. Some couples want to get married in a famous place like Disneyland. Couples sometimes hold their wedding in a romantic place where they met. Or they choose a place that will not be too far for all the guests to travel. Or they hear about a beautiful place where many other people have gotten married. With a destination wedding, the celebration often lasts three days. The bride and groom invite a small group of guests to travel to some place special for the ceremony. Think of it as a wedding and honeymoon all in one. Thanks to the Internet, couples can make a lot of their wedding preparations online. The future newlyweds can go to stores and choose the gifts they would like to receive. Then their friends and relatives can choose what to buy according to a list on a wedding registry at each store. Some couples planning a wedding create their own Web sites so they can provide information to the people they invite. With all the planning that goes into some weddings, couples should remember one thing: their wedding is over quickly, but their feelings for each other have to last a lifetime. 正确错误

How is the poetry?This poetry is realistic. I don’t care for it very much. I like it very much. It’s fantastic. It’s not realistic. I don’t like it very much.

What played an important role in pushing cohabitation rates higher?Population experts at the Census Bureau say cohabitation rates jumped in just one year. Researchers say the Great Recession played a big part in pushing cohabitation rates higher. Increasingly a major difference between couples who get married and couples who do not is money. Last year the average couple spent almost twenty-seven thousand dollars on their wedding. For some couples, that price may be out of reach. Yet no one has to spend that much. Besides, many people also think about whether they can afford to take care of a family. Americans may agree that couples should be financially secure before they get married. Yet the weak economy has made financial security even harder to reach. The difficulty of finding and keeping a job may be one reason why some couples are choosing not to marry. It might also be a reason why more couples are deciding to live together. Researchers have also found that a college education increasingly influences decisions about marriage. Fifty years ago, about three-fourths of American adults were married, no matter how much education they had. Today, only slightly more than half of adults are married. And most of those married people have college degrees. This connection between education and marriage seems to be having several effects. The first is that Americans are waiting longer to get married. In other words, marriage now often gets delayed until people finish college, then maybe graduate school, then establish a career. A second effect of education relates again to money. Some people believe they do not have enough money to get married. Researchers found that married couples in thirty and forty-four without college degrees earned about twenty percent more than similar couples who only lived together. Couples in their thirties and early forties with college degrees earned more than twice as much as unmarried, less-educated adults of the same age. Combined, these factors have reshaped what an American family means. More adults are staying single or staying single longer. And marriage is becoming less common, at least among people who did not go to college. Money. Education. Social value. The Great Recession.

Which word can be used to describe economists’ attitude for Africa’s economic future?International economists say they are hopeful about Africa’s economy. They say economic growth on the continent will increase by as much as five or six percent over the next two years. That would be the continent’s highest growth rate since the worldwide economic recession in 2009. Economic experts say the growth is partly because governments have established inviting policies to foreign investors. They say increased trade among African nations is also growing the continent’s economy. And the experts say the growth is widespread. They made the observations in the African Economic Outlook 2014 report. Angela Lusigi is a U. N. Development Program economist and policy adviser for Africa. Lusigi said that when it comes to the growth in Africa, a lot of people think it is only driven by mineral wealth or oil-exporting countries, but we find now in the report that even countries that are not resource rich are still growing effectively. This is mainly because of their agricultural sector, also growth in services, including tourism. The report says Africa’s top foreign trade partner is Europe. About 40 percent of African trade is with European nations. 25 percent is with Asian countries and about 12 percent is with North America. And African countries traded $ 81 million worth of goods among themselves last year. Much of it is in the making of clothing, leather, building material, farm tools and wood products like furniture. Angela Lusigi says there’s strong demand in Africa for manufactured goods. These include television sets, telephones and other mobile technology. She says many of these products can be made in Africa. The report also says East and West Africa are leading the economic expansion. And low inflation especially in energy and food prices is helping economic growth in Africa. And it says African nations have put in place careful economic policies to cut spending and improve tax collection. However, the report notes that official development assistance remains an important support for poor countries that lack enough foreign direct investment. Total official development assistance is estimated to be $ 55 billion. Disappointed. Concerned. optimistic. Indifferent.

It has been argued that high rates of education are essential for countries to be able to achieve high levels of economic growth. Empirical analyses tend to support the theoretical 【L1】______ that poor countries should grow faster than rich countries because they can 【L2】______cutting edge technologies already 【L3】______ by rich countries. However, 【L4】______requires knowledgeable managers and engineers who are able to operate new machines or 【L5】______ borrowed from the leader in order to 【L6】______ through 【L7】______. Therefore, a country’s ability to learn from the leader is a function of its stock of “human capital“. Recent study of the determinants of aggregate 【L8】______ has stressed the importance of 【L9】______economic institutions and the role of 【L10】______. At the level of the individual, there is a large literature, generally related to the work of Jacob Mincer, on how earnings are related to the schooling and other human capital. This work has 【L11】______ a large number of studies, but is also 【L12】______. The chief controversies 【L13】______how to interpret 【L14】______. Some students who have 【L15】______a high potential for learning, by testing with a high intelligence quotient, may not achieve their full 【L16】______potential, due to 【L17】______. Economists Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis argued in 1976 that there was a【L18】______conflict in American schooling between the egalitarian goal of 【L19】______and the inequalities implied by the 【L20】______profitability of capitalist production on the other.It has been argued that high rates of education are essential for countries to be able to achieve high levels of economic growth. Empirical analyses tend to support the theoretical prediction that poor countries should grow faster than rich countries because they can adopt cutting edge technologies already tried and tested by rich countries. However, technology transfer requires knowledgeable managers and engineers who are able to operate new machines or production practices borrowed from the leader in order to close the gap through imitation. Therefore, a country’s ability to learn from the leader is a function of its stock of “human capital“. A recent study of the determinants of aggregate economic growth has stressed the importance of fundamental economic institutions and the role of cognitive skills. At the level of the individual, there is a large literature, generally related to the work of Jacob Mincer, on how earnings are related to the schooling and other human capital. This work has motivated a large number of studies, but is also controversial. The chief controversies revolve around how to interpret the impact of schooling. Some students who have indicated a high potential for learning, by testing with a high intelligence quotient, may not achieve their full academic potential, due to financial difficulties. Economists Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis argued in 1976 that there was a fundamental conflict in American schooling between the egalitarian goal of democratic participation and the inequalities implied by the continued profitability of capitalist production on the other.

For many fellow travelers, “ experiencing another culture“ means something far different from visiting museums, archeological ruins, and national monuments. While trying to visit the Pyramids and Colosseums of the world, these ancient icons do little in the way of illuminating the culture in another country. It is precisely everyday life — modern, messy, and adaptable — that often interests me most. I’ve heard other travelers say it as well: I want to experience other cultures. However, how does one go about doing so? After nearly a decade of living abroad as a traveler, I’ve come up with a few ideas about what makes me feel most immersed in different worlds. 1)Move Slowly: I recommend spending more time in one place rather than checking as many off the proverbial list as possible. Having nothing in particular to do often reveals much more about a place and culture than following an all-encompassing itinerary. 2)The Food Market: What people eat explains a great deal about a society, the landscape, the environment of a country, the aesthetics, the rituals, as well as the general outlook on life. A traditional dish at a restaurant sometimes hardly begins to explain how a grandma goes about compiling the ingredients to make it (unless grandma is the cook). 3)Public Transportation: It’s in the very name, “public transportation“. Traveling like the local public will without doubt provide more exposure than renting a car, traveling with tour agencies, or always taking a taxi. 4)Walk and Wander: Motorized transportation doesn’t always allow for the curious nip into an odd alleyway, the quick browse through a store with a quirky window display; these peeks are often where there is a whole different life to discover. Think about taking the subway in New York. First of all, getting out of the subway in each borough or even sections of boroughs offers up a different cuisine, style of architecture, and crowd wondering the streets. Like New York City, much of the world is pedestrian-friendly. In between subway stops, life bustles. I’ve discovered amazing markets, parks, ruins, beaches, and people simply due to being willing to get lost walking. 5)Listen to Locals: I put an emphasis on listening here because people often say they want to “talk to locals,“ and for a cultural immersion experience, it’s more relevant to listen, and to learn more about where you are. Speaking about your life “back in“ wherever you come from may create a distance from the people who are hosting you. 6)Festivals or Events: These even seem outright cultural. Usually, festivals are founded upon local religion, rituals, history, or agricultural cycles. People are out to enjoy themselves and embrace all traditions of a place. 7)Street Stalls: The best representation of local culture will be found at the street stalls and Hole-in-the-Walls. The street food rocked my world, pushcarts peddling fifty-cent samplers. I was standing in line every other block, and everything was so good. It’s an easy enough concept: Look for crowded places and long lines because, where people are willing to wait, something good and unique is sure to be available. Everywhere has its classic spots, usually a little well-worn but rarely licensed. Experiencing a culture, at least for me, is rarely about visiting museums or the tallest buildings in town. It’s about finding those moments when I’m completely at ease doing something, as if I’m at “home,“ while not even realizing how I got there. In general, that involves human interaction and just as often occurs around eating and drinking — both a ritual and a necessity wherever we’re from. Learning to share those moments, or at least see them from another perspective, makes me feel truly connected to my current location.

What did the scientists from TUM do in the last two years?

Which can be inferred from what the TUM’s professor said?

Why did the researches focus on small-scale subsistence farms in Uganda?

Why did the author of this passage said that organic farming benefited the four taxonomic groups of plants, earthworms, spiders and bees?