What did Mr. Dimmesdale tell the people of New England before he died?

Before he dies, Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl in front of the townspeople. When he does this, he reveals that it was he who committed the sin of adultery with Hester and that he is the father of Pearl. Additionally, he opens up his shirt to reveal a red letter on his chest. Dimmesdale then dies.

How does the Place of the Gods become a dead place in "By the Waters of Bablyon"?

The Dead Place is New York after some type of cataclysmic event.  Maybe a bombing, since this was written close to WWII.

The young would-be priest gazes over the ruins—with their broken bridges and tumbling towers—and envisions the city at the moment that it died: huge, restless, destroyed by fire from the skies from weapons of unimagined horror, followed by a poisonous mist that left the ground burning for aeons. When he sees a “dead god” sitting by a window looking out on the ruined city, he realizes that the “god” is only a man and that despite its wonders, this city, New York, was once a city of men like himself. He longs for the knowledge they possessed and is sure of his ability to use that knowledge more wisely than they. As a new priest he will help his people make a new beginning, recapturing lost knowledge from the broken city in order to build again.

Who is the author in "The Nightingale and the Rose," and what is the story's setting?

"The Nightingale and the Rose" was written by Oscar Wilde, an Irish author of the 19th century. In the story, the young man is identified only as a student. He is a good student, being very well read. He seems to have a very romantic nature, but proves to be an extremely shallow and self-centered person. The work is a fable rather than a realistic story. As such, the setting is non-specific: a garden, a natural landscape, and the student's professor's house.

How does Malcolm describe himself to Macduff in Act IV of "Macbeth", and what is Macduff's response?ACT 4 SCENE

In Act 4, sc. 3, which takes place in England, Malcolm wants to test Macduff's loyalty.  Malcolm wants to overthrow Macbeth and Macduff says he wants the same.  Malcolm, however, wants to be sure that Macduff is not tricking him and is not simply being a sycophant.  Malcolm figures that if he tells Macduff that he would be a worse person than Macbeth and a worse king than Macbeth and Macduff says that it is OK if Malcolm is like that, then Macduff doesn't really care about Scotland.  On the other hand, if Macduff is upset and no longer wants Malcolm to be king, then Malcolm will know that Macduff's loyalty is with the country.  In Malcolm's "test" he tells Macduff that he'd have every character flaw and vile trait possible; he'd be lustful, greedy, selfish, dishonest, cowardly, etc.  Macduff's response is that not only does Malcolm not deserve to be king, he does not deserve to live having such horrible faults.  With those words, Malcolm confesses his "trick" to Macduff and tells him that the only lie he's ever told is the one he just told to Macduff about having terrible faults.  He says that now he is sure where Macduff's loyalty rests and he is pleased and contented.

What do you think John is really seeing when he describes each of the items below?The great burning, ou-dis-sub, the statue of a man ,ASHING

Well, it helps if you know ahead of time that the Great Dead Place, where John goes on his journey, is actually what's left of post-war New York City.  This can be inferred from some of the things you've mentioned.  The first clue is ou-dis-on.  This is actually a distorted version of Hudson, as in the Hudson River, which runs through the heart of NYC.

The Great Burning likely refers to an explosion caused by some sort of bomb during a great war in the past.  Additionally, ASHING is likely part of the name Washington, which John sees when looking at a statue of the famous first president. 

It's really a fun story when you know what you're looking for.  Best of luck with the rest of it.  Just remember that even though John and his family seem very primative, they're actually in the future, far down the road from our present time.

what is the range of temperatures that exists within the asthenosphere?

On the Earth Science Reference Table if you look at Inferred Properties of Earth's Interior on page 10, you will see that the temperature of the Asthenosphere or Plastic Mantle as it is also known ranges from 1000 degrees Celsius to 2500 degrees Celsius--see link below. The Asthenosphere lies below the Lithosphere and it has a very high temperature. It is believed that the rigid Lithosphere floats above the slowly moving Asthenosphere causing thetectonic plates to move on Earth.

Why can't Claudius just have Hamlet locked up or executed for killing Polonius?

As Claudius explains to Laertes, there are two main reasons he can't really punish Hamlet. The first is that Hamlet's mother dotes on her son so much that it would kill her if something happened to him. The second reason is that the people love Hamlet and might revolt against Claudius if Hamlet was imprisoned. In addition, Hamlet is the heir to the throne, a choice Claudius himself made at the beginning of the play. Locking up the heir that he named would make both Claudius and Hamlet lose face. In addition, Hamlet does have royal blood and Polonius was simply an advisor to the king. In an age of the divine right of kings, this would seem an insult to the office of the king himself, because Hamlet completely outranked Polonius. Finally, Polonius was hiding behind the curtain in Hamlet's mother's bedroom when he was killed so it would be easy for Hamlet to mount a defense that he was simply protecting the Queen.