1. Macon is a city in the middle part of Georgia, U.S.A. Please visit http://www.maconchamber.org/ for general information about Macon and its surrounding areas. You can also visit http://www.merrill.org/cc/macon/index.html for some information about Macon.
2. Robins Resident Center: It is a service/training center for the U.S. Air Force, which is located in Macon State College. For specific information about he Center, you can check out the web page at http://www.maconstate.edu/about/rrc-map.asp and http://www.robins.af.mil/fsc/FSCWeb-Page/RAP/Resident-Center.htm. You can also visit the web site http://www.maconstate.edu for some information about Macon State College.
3. Humanities: In the context of the reading passage, humanities refers to a broad academic discipline concerned with how people throughout history have expressed, confronted, and understood the complexities of the human condition. It includes such areas of study as Philosophy, Literature, Religion, Art, etc. A brief definition and an official essay on humanities studies can be found at http://charon.sfsu.edu/COURSEWORK/722FOLDER/HUMANITIES/Humideas.html if you are interested in these subjects. Humanities programs at U.S. universities are most often housed in the College of Liberal Arts.
4. Associate degree is awarded to a student after he or she finishes a 2-year study at a junior college in the U.S.
5. Education in the United States is usually divided into 4 levels. In general, these are
kindergarten or pre-school, elementary, secondary, and higher education. The first level is early childhood education. Its purpose is to prepare children for school. The second level is elementary education. Education at this level is divided into 6 or 8 grades. And students can attend all kinds of courses. The third level is secondary education. It is for junior or senior high school students. Some students prepare themselves to go to college, while others take vocational or technical courses to prepare for jobs after graduation. There are many institutions of higher education in the U.S. Students at technical institutes can receive an associate degree after they finish a 2-year program. Then they can continue their study at a 4-year college. For comprehensive information about education and the educational system in the U.S., check out the website at http://www.ed.gov/NLE/USNEI/ if you want to learn more.
6. Social Security is the U.S. government system of benefit payments, especially to retired and disabled people and survivors. The web page at http://www.howstuffworks.com/social-security-number.htm explains how the system works in the U.S. For detailed official information about Social Security in the U.S., you can check out the documents at http://www.ssa.gov/history/history.html. In particular, the page at http://www.ssa.gov/history/termorigin.html provides information on the origin of the term “Social Security”. The official web site for the Social Security Administration in the U.S. is located at http://www.ssa.gov.
7. Richard Wagner (1813-1883) is a famous German composer and writer. As a composer, he is well-known for his 13 operas http://users.utu.fi/hansalmi/opera.html and numerous other compositions http://users.utu.fi/hansalmi/other.html. Besides his activity in composition, Wagner wrote an astonishing number of books and articles http://users.utu.fi/hansalmi/appen.html. The literary spectrum ranges from theories of opera to political programs. Richard Wagner is undoubtedly one of the leading figures of the 19th century. He inspired not only musicians and composers but also leaders in many fields.
8. Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), the son of an eminent Dublin surgeon, was among the outstanding Victorian dramatists. He is renowned for a brilliant series of domestic comedies — Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), and An Ideal Husband (1894). To learn more about Oscar Wilde, check out the web site at http://65.107.211.206/victorian/decadence/wilde/wildeov.html. Additional annotated links to websites about Wilde can be found at http://www.showgate.com/tots/gross/wildeweb.html.
