There is no need to dwell on how the other bourgeois character in "The Merchant of Venice, " Shylock, is characterized.

WSJ: Cultural Conversation: The New Theories of Moral Sentiments

Researchers at the U.K.'s University of East Anglia now are working on a scale they call the "dwell time index" to calculate how much time a planet has orbited in a habitable zone, compared with the time it took life to evolve on Earth.

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In response, regional satellite broadcasters with an aim to reach a national audience in recent years have turned to reality shows that sometimes pit family members against each other, or dating shows that sometimes dwell on how wealthy the suitors are a potentially provocative issue in a country with a vast gap between the wealthy and the poor.

WSJ: China Broadcasters Winnow Out Some Television Shows