单选题The author raises the question "what about pain without gain?" because ______.

单选题"I'm a total geek all around," says Angela BYron, a 27-year-old computer prlogrammer who has just graduated from Nova Scotia Community College. And yet, like many other students, she "never had the confidence" to approach any of the various open-source software communities on the internet--distributed teams of volunteers who collaborate to build software that is then made freely available. But thanks to Google, the world's most popular search engine and one of the biggest proponents of open-source software, Ms Byron spent the summer contributing code to Drupal, an open-source project that automates the management of websites. "It's awesome," she says. Ms Byron is one of 419 students (out of 8 744 who applied) who were accepted for Google's "summer of code". While it sounds like a hyper-nerdy summer camp, the students neither went to Google's campus in Mountain View, California, nor to wherever their mentors at the 41 participating open-source projects happened to be located. Instead, Google acted as a matchmaker and sponsor. Each of the participating open-source projects received ＄500 for every student it took on; and each student received ＄4 500 (＄ 500 right away, and ＄4 000 on completion of their work). Oh, and a T-shirt. All of this is the idea of Chris DiBona, Google's open-source boss, who was brainstorming with Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google's founders, last year. They realised that a lot of programming talent goes to waste every summer because students take summer jobs flipping burgers to make money, and let their coding skills degrade. "We want to make it better for students in the summer," says Mr. DiBona, adding that it also helps the open- source community and thus, indirectly, Google, which uses lots of open source software behind the scenes. Plus, says Mr. DiBona, "it does become an opportunity for recruiting." Elliot Cohen, a student at Berkeley, spent his summer writing a "Bayesian network toolbox" for Python, an open-source programming language. "I'm a pretty big fan of Google," he says. He has an interview scheduled with Microsoft, but "Google is the only big company that I would work at," he says. And if that doesn't work out, he now knows people in the open-source community, "and it's a lot less intimidating./

单选题As______known to the world, Mark Twain is a great American writer.

单选题Poor as he was, he was ______ making profits at the expense of others.

单选题When our children are born, we study their every eyelash and marvel at the perfection of their toes, and in no time become experts in all that they do. But then the day comes when we are expected to hand them over to a stranger standing at the head of a room full of bright colors and small chairs. Well aware of the difference a great teacher can make—and the damage a bad teacher can do—parents turn over their kids and hope. Please handle with care. Please don"t let my children get lost. They"re breakable. And precious. Oh, but push them hard and don"t let up, and make sure they get into Harvard. But if parents are searching for the perfect teacher, teachers are looking for the ideal parent, a partner but not a pest, engaged but not obsessed, with a sense of perspective and patience. And somehow just at the moment when the experts all say the parent-teacher alliance is more important than ever, it is also becoming harder to manage. At a time when competition is rising and resources are strained, when battles over testing and accountability force schools to adjust their priorities, when cell phones and e-mail speed up the information flow and all kinds of private ghosts and public quarrels creep into the parent-teacher conference, it"s harder for both sides to step back and breathe deeply and look at the goals they share. Ask teachers about the best part of their job, and most will say how much they love working with kids. Ask them about the most demanding part, and they will say dealing with parents. In fact, a new study finds that of all the challenges they face, new teachers rank handling parents at the top. According to preliminary results from the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, parent management was a bigger struggle than finding enough funding or maintaining discipline or enduring the toils of testing. It"s one reason that 40% to 50% of new teachers leave the profession within five years. Even master teachers who love their work call this "the most treacherous part of their jobs." "Everyone says the parent-teacher conference should be pleasant, civilized, a kind of dialogue where parents and teachers build alliances," Lawrence-Lightfoot observes. "But what most teachers feel, and certainly what all parents feel, is anxiety, panic and vulnerability." While teachers worry most about the parents they never see, the ones who show up faithfully pose a whole different set of challenges. "I could summarize in one sentence what teachers hate about parents," says the head of a private school. "We hate it when parents undermine the education and growth of their children. That"s it, plain and simple."

单选题A few years ago an American campaigner wrote a book in which he set the main points of his fascinating crusade (改革运动)-to abolish television. His book Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television is an American cult (狂热崇拜的) bestseller, and after eight editions is still generating concern and savage debate(热烈的讨论) in the USA. Jerry Mander, a former advertising expert is convinced that for the sake of our freedom, and mental and physical health, we should learn to live without TV. Through his advertising background Mander is aware of how much of television is concerned with advertising. He sees the planting of values for profit as "a deep, profound and disturbing act by the few against the many, for a trivial purpose". And, even without commercials, he sees TV as disturbing because it crams people's heads with images, which alter the way they feel and behave. Pictures formed by 300, 000 tiny dancing dots altering 30 times per second, bombard (轰击) their eyes as people scan the images 10 times a second. The brain registers stores all 30 images, but the conscious mind registers far fewer. But, argues Mander, even if you reject or doubt what you see consciously, it is too late, the crucial (极其重要的) messages have gone home. He further argues that TV is deadening experience as it is restricted to just two senses—sight and sound. "Perception(感觉，感知) is dulled and flattened, "says Mander, "when you can't feel and smell and totally experience an event. "People are just sitting passively for up to four hours a night watching a flickering screen and listening to artificial sound. "No culture in history has spent such an enormous amount of time looking at artificial light," says Mander, " and another worrying fact is that prolonged exposure to artificial light alters human cells, which is why it is being used for certain medical treatment. " Researchers do not know if lifelong TV exposure is a physical risk or not, but as Mander Would argue, why run the risk ? It is important that people get up now and switch off before the harm is done—they might also become brainwashed, or, who knows, they might even be approaching death.

单选题-How do you to her unkindly behavior? -Only silence. Which of the following is wrong? A. react B. answer C. reply D. respond

单选题The bird flu virus is mutating and becoming more dangerous to mammals, according to researchers. The discovery reinforces fears that a human pandemic of the disease could yet occur. Avian flu hit the headlines in 1997 when a strain called H5N1 jumped from chickens to people, killing 6 people in Hong Kong. Within 3 days, the country's entire chicken population was slaughtered and the outbreak was controlled. Since then new strains of virus have emerged, killing a further 14 people. As yet, no strain has been able to jump routinely from person to person. But if a more virulent strain evolves, the fear is that it could trigger widespread outbreaks, potentially affecting millions of people. Now, genetic and animal studies show that the virus is becoming more menacing to mammals. Immediate action is needed to stem the virus's transmission, says Hualan Chen from Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, China, who was involved in the research. Chen and colleagues studied 21 H5N1 flu virus samples taken from apparently healthy ducks, which act as a natural reservoir for the disease, in southern China between 1999 and 2002. The researchers inoculated groups of chickens, mice and ducks with virus samples taken from different years and waited to see which animals became ill. Their results are presented this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As expected, ducks were immune to the virus's effects and the chickens fell sick. However, the mice also became ill, losing weight and the use of their limbs. Crucially, the severity of their illness was linked with the year from which the virus sample was taken. Viruses isolated in 2001 and 2002 made the animals more ill than those isolated earlier on. The findings hint that some time around 2001, the virus became adept at infecting mammals. Genetic analysis of the same samples reveals that the virus's DNA changed over that time, suggesting that accumulated mutations may have contributed to the increased virulence. Researchers are concerned that a virus that has acquired the ability to infect mice could also infect humans. "The disease could resurge at any time, " warns virologist Marion Koopmans from the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven, the Netherlands. The findings highlight the need for improved surveillance to ensure that any future outbreaks are curtailed, she says. Although domestic poultry are easily culled, wild animals are more difficult to contain. "It is impossible to eradicate the natural reservoir, " says Koopmans, "so we need to learn to live with it. " Birds may not be the only villains in this story, however. Chen believes that pigs may also play a part. In Asia, chickens and pigs are often kept in close proximity, so the virus may have shuffled back and forth between the 2 species, picking up mutations and becoming better at infecting mammalian hosts. Humans may then have caught the disease from swine.

单选题What ______ if I had been asked to join, I cannot tell. A. would I have done B. would I do C. I would do D. I would have done

单选题Text 4 Every product on the market has a variety of costs built into it before it is ever put up for sale to a customer. There are costs of production, transportation, storage, advertising, and more. Each of these costs must bring in some profit at each stage: truckers must profit from transporting products, or they would not be in business. Thus, costs also include several layers of profits. The selling price of a product must take all of these costs (and built in profits) into consideration. The selling price itself consists of a markup over the total of all costs, and it is normally based on a percentage of the total cost. The markup may be quite high, 90 percent of cost, or it may be low. Grocery items in a supermarket usually have a low markup, while mink coats have a very high one. High markups, however, do not in themselves guarantee big profits. Profits come from turnover. If an item has a 50 percent markup and does not sell, there is no profit. But if a cereal has an 8 percent markup and sells very well, there are reasonable profits. While most pricing is based on cost factors, there are some exceptions. Prestige pricing means setting prices artificially high in order to attract select clientele. Such pricing attempts to suggest that the quality or style of the product is exceptional or that the item cannot be found elsewhere. Stores can use prestige pricing to attract wealthy shoppers. Leader pricing and bait pricing are the opposites of prestige pricing. Leader pricing means setting low prices on certain items to get people to come into the stores. The products so priced are called loss leaders because little or no profit can be made on them. The profits are made from other products people buy while in the store. Bait pricing, now generally considered illegal, means setting artificially low prices to attract customers. The store, however, has no intention of selling goods at the bait prices. The point is to get people into the store and persuade them of the inferiority of the low priced item. Then a higher priced item is presented as a better alternative. A common retail tactic is odd priced products. For some products of $300, the store will set the price at $295 or $299,95 to give the appearance of a lower price. Automobiles and other high priced products are usually priced in this manner. For some reason $7995 has more appeal to a potential car customer than $8000. Bid pricing is a special kind of price setting. It is often used in the awarding of government contracts. Several companies are asked to submit bids on a job, and normally the lowest bidder wins. A school system may want to buy a large number of computers. Several companies are asked to submit prices, and the school district will decide on the best bid based as well on considerations of quality and service.

单选题While I was skiing，I ______ and broke my wrist．

单选题"I must have eaten something wrong. I feel like ______ We told you not to eat at a restaurant. You'd better ______ at home when you are not in the shape."

单选题The bat is a marvel of evolutionary adaptation. Most of them roost during the day, and are active at night or twilight for they can avoid objects in the dark. I have seen this phenomenon at work. In my youth, I used to explore old mining shafts in the Randsburg district. Sometimes my intrusion disturbed clans of bats that were hanging upside down in the dark caves. They would fly about to evident panic, but the panic was mine, not theirs. Some flew crazily out into the daylight but some merely returned to their perches. None ever touched me, much to my relief. They may exist but I have never seen a stuffed nylon bat. To children, bats may not be as lovable as koala bears. Perhaps manufacturers do not regard them as marketable. It is not so much their hideous faces and winged bodies that have caused us to get rid of bats, but rather the ancient myths in which dead humans, such as Count Dracula, leave their graves at night in the form of bats to suck blood from human victims, especially fragile young woman. As we know from some movies these vampires must return to their graves before daylight. Endangered young women can frustrate vampire by sleeping with a string of garlic around their necks. There are actually three species of bloodsucking bats. They are called vampire bats after the ancient legends, and their tactics are indeed frightful. Like Count Dracula, they feed at night. They make a small cut in their sleeping victim with sharp incisor teeth, usually not even awakening their prey. Then they suck the blood that sustains them. Should that discourage children from wanting them as pets? As Mitchell notes from the New Yorker ad, bats are clean and intelligent. Most of them are insect-eaters, and they serve nature by destroying crop-damaging insects. They also pollinate (传授花粉) flowers and spreading seed. Bat Conservation International claims that without bats a host of insects/pests would multiply unchecked and many of our planet's most valuable plants would go unpollinated. It is clear that the bar is our friend, and that, despite its appearance, it is here to serve humanity. I'd be the first to buy a stuffed nylon bat. Children's hearts are big, and bats need love, too.

单选题The latest study includes a comparison made between ______.

单选题As is known to all, a country gets a(an)______from taxes.

单选题In many cultures people insist______ that the importance of being punctual. A. in B. over C. to D. on

单选题{{B}}Part A{{/B}}{{B}}Directions:{{/B}} Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.{{B}}Text 1{{/B}} The increase in global trade means that international companies cannot afford to make costly advertising mistakes if they want to be competitive. Understanding the language and culture of target markets in foreign countries is one of the keys to successful international marketing. Too many companies, however, have jumped into foreign markets with embarrassing results. Translation mistakes are at the heart of many blunders in international advertising. General Motors, the US auto manufacturer, got a costly lesson when it introduced its Chevrolet Nova to the Puerto Rican market. "Nova" is Latin for "new (star)" and means "star" in many languages, but in spoken Spanish it can sound like "nova", meaning "it doesn't go". Few people wanted to buy a car with that cursed meaning. When GM changed the name to Caribe, sales "picked up" dramatically. Marketing blunders have also been made by food and beverage companies. One American food company's friendly "Jolly Green Giant" (for advertising vegetables) became something quite different when it was translated into Arabic as "Intimidating Green Ogre". When translated into German, Pepsi's popular slogan, "Come Alive with Pepsi" came out implying "Come Alive from the Grave". No wonder customers in Germany didn't rush out to buy Pepsi. Successful international marketing doesn't stop with good translations—other aspects of culture must be researched and understood if marketers are to avoid blunders. When marketers do not understand and appreciate the values, tastes, geography, climate, superstitions, religion, or economy of a culture, they fail to capture their target market. For example, an American designer tried to introduce a new perfume into the Latin American market but the product aroused little interest. The main reason was that the camellia used in it was traditionally used for funerals in many South American countries. Having awakened to the special nature of foreign advertising, companies are becoming much more conscientious in their translations and more sensitive to cultural distinctions. The best way to prevent errors is to hire professional translators who understand the target language and its idiomatic usage, or to use a technique called "back translation" to reduce the possibility of blunders. The process used one person to translate a message into the target language and another to translate it back. Effective translators aim to capture the overall message of an advertisement because a word-for-word duplication of the original rarely conveys the intended meaning and often causes misunderstandings. In designing advertisements for other countries, messages need to be short and simple. They should also avoid jokes, since what is considered funny in one part of the world may not be so humorous in another.

单选题The mail was_____for two days because of the snowstorm.

单选题The Japanese dollar-buying makes traders eager to ______dollars in fear of another government inter