Xerox

Just a couple of vague bits of background for a thing I'm doing - it's occurred to me that I know shockingly little about the education system in the US.

I'll inevitably end up doing more in-depth research myself, but if someone could help with a couple of questions, that'd be much appreciated.

First: I'm right in thinking that, generally, you get Kindergarten, Elementary, and then High schools, yeah? Are there any instances where all three, or at least Elementary and High schools, are built on the same site?

Secondly: what are the basic set of compulsory classes in high school?

Thirdly: How are classes divided in terms of ability, presumably it's similar to the UK, where the brightest kids in one subject go into the top set, or tier, and then there are a number of other sets for students who don't do so well in a given subject?

Fourth: What is the examination system like - when are exams taken, and what are the big ones? In the UK you have SATS (for a little while longer, at least), GCSEs, A/S and A2 levels - what are the US equivalents?

Fifth: Presumably, in the later years, students are allowed to pick and choose some subjects, and drop others. Could anyone give me an idea as to which subjects remain compulsory, which can be dropped, and what sort of subjects can be chosen?

Aaaaaand finally: ...any other useful, related information you'd care to give?

I appreciate there's quite a lot here, so I'm not expecting anyone to take the time to answer every single question in amazing detail (though it would be nice) - any help, on any of these, would be much appreciated.

Oh, and I realise there are probably variations between different States - if it's necessary to specify... go with Colorado. Otherwise, generalisations are fine.

Thanks in advance.

For a short piece I'm writing:

What is the Russian word for phantom? Specifically; how do you pronounce the Russian word for phantom?

Also, am I right in thinking that the word 'ghost' would be pronounced (something along the lines of...) Prizrak?

I'm trying to translate the name of a piece of music. I could go through finding the meaning of each word on Google - and I might do anyway, after posting this - but I thought I'd seek some help here.

The piece is titled: "Kanata, Furu Hoshi no Gotoku"

Help would be appreciated :)

Just installed a new Homehub from BT. There are three other laptops in the house that are experiencing no difficulties, and a fourth that is unable to connect to the internet, despite being able to connect to the router.

It works perfectly when plugged into the router via an ethernet cable, but will not identify the network wirelessly.

Anyone got an idiot-friendly solution to this problem?

I was asked if X owns a copy of Home Alone. When I asked why it mattered, i was told that it was a 'police profile question' - but i wasn't told what the question was aimed towards finding out.

Incidentally, the asker has an...interesting...sense of humour. Very much an acquired taste. It's very possible (i would say probable) that this was a dig at X.

Can anyone explain to me exactly what the asker meant, in order for me to formulate an appropriate response?

Yeah. I need one.

Any ideas? A short description (perhaps metaphorical) would do, if there isn't one.

I apologise in advance; this is going to seem like something of a vague question, but...

Anyone got any good tips for writing dialogue? I'm told I'm good at painting the picture and describing the scene, the thoughts, the emotions; but that my dialogue is somewhat clunky.

Personally I've not really noticed, which is why I'm asking (since I can't seem to tell with my own dialogue anywhere near as easily as with other peoples'). Any good tips/general advice when it comes to writing dialogue?

Thanks in advance.

Right, ok, well, I'm writing a book, and need names (surnames, specifically) for a couple of characters. Problem is: I'm crap with names. Crap as in indecisive. It took some considerable time and research, and consultation with patient friends, to settle on the first names for the two main characters.

Anyway without further ado:

I need surnames for characters with the following names.

1) Naota. Japanese in origin (unless I was lied to) and means honesty. Naturally then, a Japanese surname would be ideal.

2) Zachariah. Biblical in origin, and means 'God Remembers' or words to that effect. A Biblical surname would be most appropriate.

So...yeah. Names and their meanings would be much appreciated :)

Doesn't just have to be surnames - I need as big a list of potential names as I can get for other characters.

Thanks in advance.

Just wondering if anyone could provide me with any images of what the world is predicted to look like, should the ice melt.

Preempting those clever people who'll simply direct me to Google images - i've already had a quick look, but it's hardly the most reliable place to go in terms of results.

So if anyone could direct me to any good sources, i'd be most grateful.

When turned on, the screen remains black with a (apologies for impending ignorance of technical terms...) flashing white underscore in the top left corner.

Ordinarily i would expect it to progress from this screen to begin the usual startup process, however this no longer happens.

as a point of interest, the computer turns off instantly when i press the power button. Normally i would have to hold the button for a number of seconds to achieve this - of course, i don't make a habit of turning it off in this manner.

is there any (preferably short and simple) fix for this problem, or am i going to have to take it in for repairs?

any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

First, sorry for the spelling - i'm on my phone. Anyway...

Religion as moral/ethical guidelines i can understand. The belief in a religion i can understand and respect, but when it comes to using religion to make points in arguments, quoting scripture, campaigning for Sharia law - that i can't agree with.

You can ask this question of your average religious believer and often the answer is "well the other ones are wrong" and yet there is no more proof for one than the other. There is no clear majority for ant religion in terms ofthe numbers of people who follow them, and people of cults with 5 members can believe in the doctrines of thei belief just as strongly as a Christian, Hindu or Muslim.

I don't Rule out the possibility that there may be some higher power in (or out) of the universe, and i respect those who believe in one just as much as i respect those who don't, but what i can't understand is why people try and push their beliefs on other people, why they try and use their scripture to make some point about the physical wotld, why they attack people who bekieve differently. Surely the focus should be on living a good life, and no matter how/who you choose to worship, or not, good comes from it, and that good is representative of the God(s) you believe in.

It's just arrogant really, to assume that a text written pretty receny in human history, the origin of which cannot be proved, somehow has to suddenly be the big thing. Christianity, for example, is built largely on Pagan traditions. the fact that pieces of it were altered in order to seem more acceptable during its introduction suggests that the literary contents are not facts at all.

The reason there isn't the equivalent of the Bible from religions that existed hundreds, even thousands of years before Christianity? Written lierature didn't exist.

I'm not trying to have a dig at any particular religion, or even religion in general. It's some of the people who follow it that bug me.

So yeah, any thoughts?

wouldn't Borris Johnson be a better prime minister than David Cameron?

imo he's probably got more policy ideas, a better sense of national pride, honesty, personality, charisma - just my opinion, but if the conservatives are going to win the next election, i'd rather see Borris in number 10 than Cameron. At the very least it'd be a good laugh.

Why is it so common for people from Yahoo answers to come on here and start bitching about the political parties as though they were supporting their local football team? and so much of it comes with no basis in fact. it gives the impression that your average American actually knows nothing about the politics involved, and are just kept content by soundbytes that sound good but say nothing.

did that really stupid, amateurish thing where i clicked open rather than save.

i've worked on this document for hours, it's due in tomorrow (or today, since it's 00:33) and clicked save several times...and then remembered i'd not saved it to my documents.

i've run an advanced search of my system, including all hidden files - nothing. it's not in my temporary internet files either from what i can see, but i refuse to believe it's completely gone - to me, that's not logical.

is there anywhere else i can look?

seriously i feel sorry for Obama. we'll never be able to tell whether or not he's any good as a politician and a leader because he's president of a country that's so stuck to its traditions, views and unfounded beliefs that any attempt to suggest something new gets shot down from the left, right and center.

what is it in the American mindset that makes them think that any attempt by anyone to attempt to create a fairer/more equal society, to help the poor, to bail out the businesses that provide the jobs that pay peoples wages etc. etc. must be an EVIL GENIOUS PLAN BY THE SOCIALIST BASTARDS TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD?

why is socialism so inherently evil? so long as it is mild in nature, and does not attempt to take over the world. we've had years of unrestrained, right wing capitalism in the US - the world's leading free market economy...and where are we now? the biggest recession since before the war. there HAS to be a change, and a permanent change, in the way we conduct our affairs. every man for himself does not work, it is a flawed philosophy, and yet those people who have money, and by extension of that power, don't seem to understand that their selfish approach is what landed us in this mess in the first place. they're also incapable of even attempting to see things from the point of view of the 'losers' - those who do not have money, who do not have power.

it's been shown in the healthcare debate, it's been shown in response to the financial mess we're in at the moment - it's been shown by republicans who support their ideology like they support their sports team (blind faith) - there are too many selfish and ignorant people in the world.

America wants change, apparently, and yet when change comes it is fought to the bitter end.

why is socialism regarded as being so evil?

why can't people see that selfishness is not the way forward?

why is it (and no offense meant to those who do not fit in this bracket) that the most ignorant people of all seem to come from the American populace?

me n a friend are attempting to go through all 30+ years of Gundam. we've just finished watching 0079, and now i'm looking for somewhere to find the sequel - and having difficulty.

if anyone could tell me where i can watch the english 'dubbed' Zeta Gundam, either online or via torrent, it'd be much appreciated.

ok, so free will is one of the basic fundamentals of God's supposed relationship with humans. he gave us free will, and as a result, we had the fall and sin came into the world and blah blah blah.

My question is this.

If God (assuming he exists here) actually answered prayers, would this not contradict free will? particularly those prayers that ask for something. what benefits one person will almost inevitably put somebody else out. so unless God is prepared to abandon this principle for the sake of taking sides, can God actually answer our prayers?

apologies if the question is a bit vague, apparently the length of my last one offended someone.

ok, so i've been browsing around the R&S section for a few days now, and i have to say that it's quite interesting just how many people professing to be Christians don't seem to understand the true basics of their faith. don't get me wrong, this is not one of those petty questions asked to try and provoke angry responses from the other side - i'm just talking about the simple, good-will and friendship side of Christianity that seems to be lacking amongst many 'contributers' here.

my actual question is directed at anyone with an objective opinion on the matter - the conflict within Christianity.

it seems as though every third question on this site is from an Atheist trying to piss of a Christian or vice versa, however, i've also noticed several from members of one Christian denomination attacking members of the other.

now, in the western world, i see religion as a declining influence. whether you agree with me or not is another matter, however generally the Christians i've seen on this site are not particularly happy with the continuing/growing presence of non-believers - for various reasons and expressed in different ways.

since i'm coming at this from the point of view of an agnostic, i try my best to keep an open mind regarding the arguments presented by both sides, however, it seems to me that the oft-levelled accusation of 'contradictions' in the Christian faith, levelled at the faith by Atheists, have a significant basis in fact.

Catholics against Protestants, conservative Christians against liberal Christians, Creationists, Baptists, Methodists - everybody (including Christians) in the world against Jehova's Witnesses, apparently.

so, is it not understandable that a monotheistic religion divided into God (assuming he exists) knows how many different factions/denominations can cause confusion and even resentment amongst others? personally, it's one of the things that puts me off Christianity - they profess to believe in the one true God (and they all do) but that's just about where the similarities end. Each denomination argues that their belief is the right belief, and all those who do not believe it are wrong (admittedly in some cases it's phrased more carefully than that) and and will go to hell or have to repent for their sin etc. etc. etc. but this stance is surely detrimental to the faiths that label themselves as Christian?

it's basically the conflict between Christianity and Islam mirrored within Christianity itself, and from my understanding, Islam has something of a similar problem. both Christians and Islamists believe in what is essentially the same God (God = Allah Allah = God) but the differences in practise and detail have caused some of the bloodiest conflicts in the history of the human race.

i suppose i'm really asking several questions here.

1) do you acknowledge that the divides within the Christian faith present a critical problem when it comes to people turning their backs on (the) faith

2)with the current attitude (i'm right, you're wrong, you should believe in my faith because you will be saved whereas believing yours will send you to hell blah blah blah) is there any end in sight to the problems caused by conflicting beliefs within Christianity

3) just how important are the details? from the reactions of people throughout history i'd say that they were very important, but in the end of the day Christians all believe in the same God. surely how they go about worshipping him is their own business, and they should not come under attack from members of other denominations who claim they're the only ones with a direct path to heaven - funny how God has supposedly guaranteed this to members of each of the conflicting denominations, no?

4) the end to this problem as i see it is to be found with that brilliant and yet often ignored virtue proclaimed by members of Christianity to be a characteristic of a good Christian - tolerance. everybody believes what they want to believe, and everyone else respects that, regardless of how they feel about the issue. at the end of the day it is for God to judge, after all, not for big-headed Christians to try and force other Christians to turn to their definition of the light. Is this right?

5) is it ever likely to happen? i'd say not even in the distant future but optimists may think differently

so that's pretty much it i suppose - sorry for the long ramble. the way i see it is that everyone, regardless of faith, is worshipping the same higher being (we'll call it God but it's not specific to any religion) in their own way. Christians worship him, Muslims worship him, Hindu's worship him (all of their God's could represent this one higher being - it's easier to understand something huge when it's split up into smaller portions after all) - any religious faith/person who believes in any form of higher power is worshipping in this one higher being, just in a different form. it is the details that cause conf

random question, but i find life and limits unbelievably boring. yes we have the most advanced minds on the planet...but there's not exactly much competition for that is there (and i'd rate the intelligence of a spider monkey above that of some of people i know)

books and films provide fantastic adventures, superpowers, magic and the like - why oh why oh why does fiction have to be so bloody fictional?

and is it just me, or is the fact that we've somehow ended up with the imagination to dream up these things something of a piss take? hahaha look how awesome this is! you can't have it though...

i've only just seen the advert for the first time, so i'm guessing it's a new one.

the one about the child who feels invisible...tbh i didn't think it made quite as much of an impact as past adverts but for the purposes of this question that's beside the point.

the music itself is played on Piano (at least what i heard of it was) and i think it's also been used at the end of a few episodes of the BBC drama Spooks