What does Crooks say is good about Leannie and George?no

Crooks admires the close, protective relationship that is shared by Lennie and George.  He says that he has never seen two guys travel together and look out for each other in this way. Unlike his feelings about fulfilling his own dreams, he admits that Lennie and George have a shot at obtaining their dream of owning land and being independent because they have each other, and Lennie and George are empowered because of this strong friendship. He eventually asks to become part of this dream of owning land because he is confident these two can make things happen.

Why is Curley always running around looking for his wife?no

Curley is concerned that his wife is cheating on him with other men. He leaves her alone a lot while he is working. There are no other women for her to become friends with, and the only company she has is the other men. However, because Curley treats her as a possession rather than a person, he always wants to know where she is, what she's doing and who she's with. He would feel much less of a man if she was flirting with the other men on the ranch, who he sees as socially inferior.

Contrast Banquo's and Macbeth's reaction to the witches in Act 1.

Macbeth lets ambition corrupt him immediately upon learning that he has become the new Thane of Cawdor.  The fact that one of the witches' prophecies comes true makes him hungry for the rest.  His lines:

"Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor! The greatest is behind."

He then questions Banquo about those prophecies for his children.  Macbeth assumes that since he is excited about potentially becoming king, Banquo must be excited about his line becoming kings.  Banquo, however, is very distrusting of the witches' because they are evil beings.  He won't put much stock into what they have said just yet because he's concerned about the reprecussions.  His lines:

"And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,the instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray's in deepest consequence."

In "The Red-Headed League," how does Sherlock Holmes contrast with Peter Jones, the police agent from Scotland Yard?

Sherlock Holmes and Peter Jones respect each other for particular reasons, but they also find flaws with the way the other man does his investigative work. We learn of Jones' opinion first, when he vouches for Holmes to Mr. Merryweather.

 “'You may place considerable confidence in Mr. Holmes, sir,' said the police agent loftily. 'He has his own little methods, which are, if he won’t mind my saying so, just a little too theoretical and fantastic, but he has the makings of a detective in him. It is not too much to say that once or twice, as in that business of the Sholto murder and the Agra treasure, he has been more nearly correct than the official force.'”

Jones acknowledges that Holmes gets good results, but he won't go so far as to say his methods are in keeping with the "correct" way of solving crimes.

In Sherlock Holmes' opinion, Jones is the one who performs badly on the job. However, he acknowledges Jones' good character, bravery, and perseverance.

"'He is not a bad fellow, though an absolute imbecile in his profession. He has one positive virtue. He is as brave as a bulldog and as tenacious as a lobster if he gets his claws upon anyone. Here we are, and they are waiting for us.'"

This respect for character rather than competency is a common sentiment Holmes expresses throughout the stories, always setting them up as the bumbling idiots forever falling short when compared to the brilliance and success of Holmes.

As for your second question about Holmes' outlook on life, early in the story he says to Watson, "'You will remember that I remarked the other day...that for strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.'" One might take from this statement that Holmes understands much strangeness can be found outside of crimes, and in fact can be found in every day life, because life events can sometimes be crazier than what one might dream up in one's head. He continues this seeming respect for the less exciting events of life, saying, "'You have heard me remark that the strangest and most unique things are very often connected not with the larger but with the smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed, where there is room for doubt whether any positive crime has been committed.'" Apparently, Holmes does not even need a definite crime to solve in order to be intrigued by an occurrence.

At the end of the story, Holmes sings a very different tune. After Watson congratulates him for once again putting together the pieces of the mystery so brilliantly, this conversation takes place:

“'It saved me from ennui,” he answered, yawning. 'Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so.'"

Here, Holmes labels every day life as mundane, citing crime-solving as the only means of escaping such a boring prison. He needs crimes, because without them he could not put his brilliant mind to use and would be stuck in the drudgery of regular living. This view, of course, differs greatly with the one he seemed to take at the beginning of the story.

Having said this, I would like to note that the opinion of every day life Holmes expresses at the end is more in keeping with references to life in other Sherlock Holmes stories, so the apparent shift in perception is likely not influenced by anything that happens to him during this particular mystery.

One more difference between the beginning and the end of this story is what Holmes has to say about reputation. At the start, after he explains his methods to Mr. Wilson, Wilson says, "'I thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see that there was nothing in it, after all.'" In response, Holmes says, "'I begin to think, Watson...that I make a mistake in explaining. ‘Omne ignotum pro magnifico,’ you know, and my poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I am so candid.'" The latin phrase he uses means "everything unknown [is taken] as grand." Holmes will appear more brilliant if he keeps his clients in the dark about his methods. At the very end of the story, however, Holmes has another foreign phrase to deliver to Watson; L’homme c’est rien–l’oeuvre c’est tout. This translates to "the man is nothing- the work is everything, but with this logic Holmes should not care one bit about his reputation, because it is his work that should speak for him.

Why did Bando call Sam, "Thoreau" in in My Side of the Mountain.

The reason that Bando called Sam "Thoreau" is because
Bando was an English teacher and he knew a lot about literature from the old days.  The
name Thoreau refers to this guy called Henry David
Thoreau.

That Thoreau thought that people should life more
of simple lives.  He said that people were too obsessed with their material
possessions.  To prove the point, he went and lived in a cabin in the woods for a
while.  He wrote a book about it called
Walden.

So Bando calls Sam that
because Sam had more or less the same idea that Thoreau had.

What are the main economic problems due to overpopulation?

While the first answer is somewhat correct, a growing
population does not necessarily mean that demand will grow faster than
supply.

In some ways, there is no such thing as
overpopulation.  There can only be too much population compared to
economic capacity.

If there are too many
people compared to a country's economic capacity, the country will experience low GDP
per capita.  It will probably have poor human resources (lack of education, for example)
and will have low productivity.

Who do Johnny and Ponyboy look for after they kill Bob?

After Johnny and Pony accidentally kill Bob Sheldon, they
are completely freaked out and they think they need to run away so they do not get
arrested.  What they do then is they go and look for Dally.  So the answer to your
question is Dallas Winston.

They figure that Dally is the
member of the gang who has been in the most trouble and he would be the one who is most
likely to be able to help them escape.  Johnny is the first to think of it -- he says
Dally can help them.  Pony agrees, thinking that Dally can do
anything.