an atmosphere favourable to expansion
21environment — environmental, adj. environmentally, adv. /en vuy reuhn meuhnt, vuy euhrn /, n. 1. the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences; surroundings; milieu. 2. Ecol. the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors… …
22performing arts — arts or skills that require public performance, as acting, singing, or dancing. [1945 50] * * * ▪ 2009 Introduction Music Classical. The last vestiges of the Cold War seemed to thaw for a moment on Feb. 26, 2008, when the unfamiliar strains …
23Business and Industry Review — ▪ 1999 Introduction Overview Annual Average Rates of Growth of Manufacturing Output, 1980 97, Table Pattern of Output, 1994 97, Table Index Numbers of Production, Employment, and Productivity in Manufacturing Industries, Table (For Annual… …
24thunderstorm — /thun deuhr stawrm /, n. a transient storm of lightning and thunder, usually with rain and gusty winds, sometimes with hail or snow, produced by cumulonimbus clouds. Also called electrical storm. [1645 55; THUNDER + STORM] * * * Violent, short… …
25Eastern Orthodoxy — the faith, practice, membership, and government of the Eastern Orthodox Church. * * * officially Orthodox Catholic Church One of the three major branches of Christianity. Its adherents live mostly in Greece, Russia, the Balkans, Ukraine, and the… …
26Italy — /it l ee/, n. a republic in S Europe, comprising a peninsula S of the Alps, and Sicily, Sardinia, Elba, and other smaller islands: a kingdom 1870 1946. 57,534,088; 116,294 sq. mi. (301,200 sq. km). Cap.: Rome. Italian, Italia. * * * Italy… …
27respiration — respirational, adj. /res peuh ray sheuhn/, n. 1. the act of respiring; inhalation and exhalation of air; breathing. 2. Biol. a. the sum total of the physical and chemical processes in an organism by which oxygen is conveyed to tissues and cells,… …
28Social Protection — ▪ 2006 Introduction With medical costs skyrocketing and government programs scaled back, citizens bore more responsibility for their health care costs; irregular migration, human trafficking, and migrant smuggling posed challenges for… …
29global warming — an increase in the earth s average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect. [1975 80] * * * Potential increase in global average surface temperatures resulting from… …
30japan — japanner, n. /jeuh pan /, n., adj., v., japanned, japanning. n. 1. any of various hard, durable, black varnishes, originally from Japan, for coating wood, metal, or other surfaces. 2. work varnished and figured in the Japanese manner. 3. Japans,… …
