Last weekend Kyle MacDonald in Montreal threw a party to celebrate the fact that he got his new home in exchange for a red paper clip. Starting a year ago, MacDonald bartered the clip for increasingly valuable stuff, including a camp stove and free rent in a Phoenix flat. Having announced his aim (the house) in advance, MacDonald likely got a boost from techies eager to see the Internet pass this daring test of its networking power. “My whole motto (座右铭) was ‘Start small, think big, and have fun’,” says MacDonald, 26, “I really kept my effort on the creative side rather than the business side.”
    Yet as odd as MacDonald exchange was, barter is now big business on the Net. This year more than 400,000 companies worldwide will exchange some $10 billion worth of goods and services on a growing number of barter sites. These Websites allow companies to trade products for a virtual currency, which they can use to buy goods from other members. In Iceland, garment-maker Kapusalan sells a third of its output on the booming Vidskiptanetid exchange, earning virtual money that it uses to buy machinery and pay part of employee salaries. The Troc-Services exchange in France offers more than 4,600 services, from math lessons to ironing.
    This is not a primitive barter system. By creating currencies, the Internet removes a major barrier—what Bob Meyer, publisher of BarterNews, calls “the double coincidence of wants.” That is, two parties once not only had to find each other, but also an exchange of goods that both desired. Now, they can price the deal in virtual currency.
    Barter also helps firms make use of idle capacity. For example, advertising is “hugely bartered” because many media, particularly on the Web, can supply new ad space at little cost. Moreover, Internet ads don’t register industry-growth statistics, because many exchanges are arranged outside the formal exchanges.
    Like eBay, most barter sites allow members to “grade” trading partners for honesty, quality and so on. Barter exchanges can allow firms in countries with hyperinflation or nontradable currencies to enter global trades. Next year, a nonprofit exchange called Quick Lift Two (QL2) plans to open in Nairobi, offering barter deals to 38,000 Kenyan farmers in remote areas. Two small planes will deliver the goods. QL2 director Gacii Waciuma says the farmers are excited to be “liberated from corrupt middlemen.” For them, barter evokes a bright future, not a precapitalist past.

    The U.S. Department of Education is making efforts to ensure that all students have equal access to a quality education. Today it is (1) ______ the launch of the Excellent Educators for All Initiative. The initiative will help states and school districts support great educators for the students who need them most.
    "All children are (2) ______ to a high-quality education regardless of their race, zip code or family income. It is (3) ______ important that we provide teachers and principals the support they need to help students reach their full (4) ______," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. "Despite the excellent work and deep (5) ______ of our nation's teachers and principals, students in high-poverty, high- minority schools are unfairly treated across our country. We have to do better. Local leaders and educators will (6) ______ their own creative solutions, but we must work together to (7) ______ our focus on how to better recruit, support and (8) ______ effective teachers and principals for all students, especially the kids who need them most."
    Today's announcement is another important step forward in improving access to a quality education, a (9) ______ of President Obama's year of action. Later today, Secretary Duncan will lead a roundtable discussion with principals and school teachers from across the country about the (10) ______ of working in high-need schools and how to adopt promising practices for supporting great educators in these schools.

A. Announcing  B. beneficial  C. challenges  D. commitment  E. component F. contests  G. critically  H. develop  I. distributing  J. enhance K. entitled  L. potential  M. properly  N. qualified  O. retain

某模拟“人工树叶”电化学实验装置如图所示，该装置能将和转化为和燃料，下列说法正确的是 （  ）

    According to a recent survey on money and relationships, 36 percent of people are keeping a bank account from their partner. While this financial unfaithfulness may appear as distrust in a relationship, in truth it may just be a form of financial protection.
    With almost half of all marriages ending in divorce, men and women are realizing they need to be financially savvy, regardless of whether they are in a relationship.
    The financial hardship on individuals after a divorce can be extremely difficult, even more so when children are involved. The lack of permanency in relationships, jobs and family life may be the cause of a growing trend to keep a secret bank account hidden from a partner; in other words, an “escape fund”.
    Margaret’s story is far from unique. She is a representative of a growing number of women in long-term relationships who are becoming protective of their own earnings.
    Every month on pay day, she banks hundreds of dollars into a savings account she keeps from her husband. She has been doing this throughout their six-year marriage and has built a nest egg worth an incredible $100,000 on top of her pension.
    Margaret says if her husband found out about her secret savings he’d be hurt and would interpret this as a sign she wasn’t sure of the marriage.  “He’d think it was my escape fund so that financially I could afford to get out of the relationship if it went wrong. I know you should approach marriage as being forever and I hope ours is, but you can never be sure.”
    Like many of her fellow secret saver Margaret was stung in a former relationship and has since been very guarded about her own money. 
    Coming clean to your partner about being a secret saver may not be all that bad. Take Colleen for example, who had been saving secretly for a few years before she confessed to her partner. “I decided to open a savings account and start building a nest egg of my own. I wanted to prove to myself that could put money in the bank and leave it there for a rainy day.”
    “When John found out about my secret savings, he was a little suspicious of my motives. I reassured him that this was certainly not an escape fund that I feel very secure in our relationship. I have to admit that it does feel good to have my own money on reserve if ever there are rainy days in the future. It’s sensible to build and protect your personal financial security.”