The purpose of education is to make the student
an expert in his subject. This must be clearly understood, and mere mudding
through lessons and lectures and books and passing examinations are relegated
to secondary importance as means to the end-which is excellence in the field
chosen.
But there are so many fields, and no man can
become an expert in all the fields it is necessary to decide which fields are
important ones that a man should know well.
It is clear that one’s own work is the most
important. This has been realized and modern civilization has accordingly
provided vocational education. It is now possible to acquire high professional
skill in the various fields, medicine, engineering production, commerce and so
on-but with good and bad mixed together, and no standard for guidance.
What, according to the writer, is the end?
The year 2006 was the golden
anniversary, or the 50th birthday, of the Dwight D. Eisenhower
National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. This system, usually
referred to as The Interstate Highway System, is a system of freeways named
after the U.S. President who supported it. The system is the largest highway
system in the world, consisting of 46,876 miles (75,440 km) of freeways. The
construction of the interstate highway system is an important part of American
history. It has played a major role in preserving and maintaining the America way of life.
The interstate highway system has
several major functions. One of its major functions is to facilitate the distribution of US good. Because the
intestate passes through many downtown areas, it plays an important role in the
distribution of almost all goods in the United States.
Nearly all products travel at least part of the way to their destination on the
Interstate System. Another major function of the interstate is to facilitate
military troop movement to and from airports, seaports, rail terminals and
other military destinations. The Interstate highways are connected to route in
the Strategic Highway Network, which is a system of highways that are vital to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Today, most of the Interstate system
consists of newly constructed highways. The longest section of the Interstate
system runs from Boston, Massachusetts to Seattle, Washington. It covers
3,020.54 miles. The shortest two-digit interstate is from Emery, North Caroline
to Greensboro, North Caroline. It covers only 12.27 miles. All state capitals
except five are served by the system. The five that are not directly served are
Juneau, AK, Dover, DE, Jefferson City, MO, Carson City, NV, and Pierre, SD. The
Interstate Highway System serves almost all major U.S. cities.
EACH Interstate highway is marked
with a red, white, and blue shield with the word “Interstate,” the name of the
state, and the route number. Interstate highways are named with one or
two-digit numbers. North-south highways are designated with odd numbers; east-west highways are
named with even numbers. The north-south Interstate highways begin in the west
with the lowest odd number; the east-west highways begin in the south with the
lowest even numbers. There all mile markers at each mile of the interstate
system, starting at the westernmost or southernmost point on the highway. Every
Interstate highway begins with the number “0”. Interchanges are numbered
according to their location on the highway in relation to mileage; an exit
between milepost 7 and milepost 8 would be designated “Exit 7.” This system
allows drivers estimate the distance to a desired exit, which a road is leading
off the highway. Despite the common acceptance of the numbering system on the
Interstate highways, some states have adopted different numbering systems. For
example, a portion of the Interstate 19 in Arizona is measured in kilometers
instead of miles since the highway goes south to Mexico.
Since the Interstate highways are
freeways-highways that do not have signs and cross streets – they have the
highest speed limits in the nation. Most interstate highways have speed limits
between 65 – 75 miles per hour (105 – 120 kilometers per hour), but some areas
in Texas and Utah have an 80 mile-per-hour (130 kilometer-per-hour) speed
limit.
The federal government primarily
funds interstate highways. However, they are owned and operated by the
individual states or toll authorities in the states. The federal government
generally funds up to 90% of the cost of an Interstate highway, while the
states pay the remainder of the cost.
If something is designated, it is
Recent advances in science and technology have made it
possible for geneticists to find out abnormalities in the unborn foetus and
take remedial action to rectify some defects which would otherwise prove to be
fatal to the child. Though genetic engineering is still at its infancy,
scientists can now predict with greater accuracy a genetic disorder. It is not
yet an exact science since they are not in a position to predict when exactly a
genetic disorder will set in. While they have not yet been able to change the
genetic order of the gene in germs, they are optimistic and are holding out
that in the near future they might be successful in achieving this feat. They
have, however, acquired the ability in manipulating tissue cells. However,
genetic mis-information can sometimes be damaging for it may adversely affect
people psychologically. Genetic information may lead to a tendency to brand
some people as inferiors. Genetic information can therefore be abused and its
application in deciding the sex of the foetus and its subsequent abortion is
now hotly debated on ethical lines. But on this issue geneticists cannot be
squarely blamed though this charge has often been leveled at them. It is mainly
a societal problem. At present genetic engineering is a costly process of
detecting disorders but scientists hope to reduce the costs when technology
becomes more advanced. This is why much progress in this area has been possible
in scientifically advanced and rich countries like the U.S.A., U.K. and Japan.
It remains to be seen if in the future this science will lead to the
development of a race of supermen or will be able to obliterate disease from
this world.
Which of the following is the same in meaning as the word ‘feat’
as used in the passage?
Each nation has its own peculiar character
which distinguishes it from others. But the people of the world have more
points in which they are all like each other than points in which they are
different. One type of person that is common in every country is the one who
always tried to do as little as he possibly can and to get as much in return as
he can. His opposite, the man who is in the habit of doing more than is
strictly necessary and is ready to accept what is offered in return, is rare
everywhere.
Both these types are usually unconscious of
their character. The man who avoids effort is always talking about his ‘rights’;
he appears to think that society owes him a pleasant easy life. The man who is
always doing more than his sheer talks of ‘duties’ feels that the individual is
in debt to society, and not society to the individual. As a result of their
view, neither of these men thinks that he behaves at all strangely.
The man who talks about his ‘rights’: