单选题Educational development is {{U}}bound up with{{/U}} economic progress.

单选题Mr. Smith ______ be in New York because I saw him in town only a few minutes ago.

单选题Man: Do you want to see if I can get tickets to the football game next week? Woman: I"m not sure, but you can try anyway. Question: What does the woman mean?

单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} People, like most animals, are naturally lazy. So the ascent of mankind is something of a mystery. Humans who make their livings hunting and gathering in the traditional way do not have to put much effort into it. Farmers who rely on rain to water their crops work significantly harder, and lead unhealthier lives. But the real back-breaking is that carried out by farmers who use irrigation. Yet it was the invention of irrigation, at first sight so harmful to its practitioners that actually produced a sufficient surplus to feed the priests, scholars, artists and so on whose activities are collectively thought of as "civilization". In the past 10,000 years, the world's climate has become temporarily colder and drier on several occasions. The first of these, known as the Younger Dryas, after a tundra-loving plant that thrived during it, occurred at the same time as the beginning of agriculture in northern Mesopotamia. It is widely believed that this was not a coincidence. The drying and cooling of the Younger Dryas adversely affected the food supply of hunter-gatherers. That would have created an incentive for agriculture to spread once some bright spark invented it. Why farmers then moved on to irrigation is, however, far from clear. But Harvey Weiss, of Yale University, thinks he knows. Dr. Weiss observes that the development of irrigation coincides with a second cool, dry period, some 8,200 years ago. His analysis of rainfall patterns in the area suggests that rainfall in agriculture's upper-Mesopotamian heartland would, at this time, have fallen below the level needed to sustain farming reliably. Farmers would thus have been forced out of the area in search of other opportunities. Once again, an innovative spark was required. But it clearly occurred to some of these displaced farmers that the slow-moving waters of the lower Tigris and Euphrates, near sea level, could be diverted using canals and used to water crops. And the rest, as the cliche has it, is history. So climate change helped to intensify agriculture, and thus start civilization. But an equally intriguing idea is that the spread of agriculture caused climate change. In this case, the presumed criminal is forest clearance. Most of the land cultivated by early farmers in the Middle East would have been forested. When the trees that grew there were cleared, the carbon they contained ended up in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Moreover, one form of farming—the cultivation of rice in waterlogged fields—generates methane, in large quantities. William Ruddiman, of the University of Virginia, explained that, in combination, these two phenomena had warmed the atmosphere prior to the start of the industrial era. As environmentalists are wont to observe, mankind is part of nature. These studies show just how intimate the relationship is.

单选题Millions of people are using cell phones today. In many places it is actually considered unusual not to use one. In many countries, cell phones are very popular with young people. They find that the phones are more than a means of communication—having a mobile phone shows that they are cool and connected. The explosions around the world in mobile phone use make some health professionals worried. Some doctors are concerned that in the future many people may suffer health problems from the use of mobile phones. In England, there has been a serious debate about this issue. Mobile phone companies are worried about the negative publicity of such ideas. They say that there is no proof that mobile phones are bad for your health. On the other hand, why do some medical studies show changes in the brain cells of some people who use mobile phones? Signs of change in the tissues of the brain and head can be detected with modem scanning (扫描) equipment. In one case, a traveling salesman had to retire at a young age because of serious memory loss. He couldn"t remember even simple tasks. He would often forget the name of his own son. This man used to talk on his mobile phone for about six hours a day, every day of his working week, for a couple of years. His family doctor blamed his mobile phone use, but his employer"s doctor didn"t agree. What is it that makes mobile phones potentially harmful? The answer is radiation. High-tech machines can detect very small amounts of radiation from mobile phones. Mobile phone companies agree that there is some radiation, but they say the amount is too small to worry about. As the discussion about their safety continues, it appears that it"s best to use mobile phones less often. Use your regular phone if you want to talk for a long time. Use your mobile phone only when you really need it. Mobile phones can be very useful and convenient, especially in emergencies. In the future, mobile phones may have a warning label that says they are bad for your health. So for now, it"s wise not to use your mobile phone too often.

单选题 Long after the 1998 World Cup was won, disappointed fans were still cursing the disputedrefereeing (裁判) decisions that denied victory to their team. A researcher was appointed to studythe performance of some top referees. The researcher organized an experimental tournament (锦标赛) involving four youth teams.Each mateh lasted an hour, divided into three periods of 20 mimates during which different refer-ees were in charge. Observers noted down the referees'errors, of which there were 61 over the tournament. Con-verted to a standard match of 90 minutes, each referee made almost 23 mistakes, a remarkablyhigh number. The researcher then studied the videotapes to analyse the matches in detail. Surprisingly, hefound that errors were more likely when the referees were close to the incident. When the officialsgot it right, they were, on average, 17 meters away from the action. The average distance in thecase of errors was 12 meters. The research shows the optimum (最佳的) distance is about 20meters. There also seemed to be an optimum speed. Correct decisions came when the referees were mov-ing at a speed of about 2 meters per second. The average speed for errors was 4 meters per second. If FIFA, football' s international ruling body, wants to improve the standard of refereeing atthe next World Cup, it should encourage referees to keep their eyes on the action from a distance,rather than rushing to keep up with the ball, the researcher argues. He also says that FIFA' s insistence that referees should retire at age 35 may be misguided. Ifkeeping up with the action is not so important, their physical condition is less critical.

单选题The ancient city of Pompeii lay ______ in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius for more than 1,700 years under a deep layer of volcanic

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} One meaning of the Greek word "dran" is to accomplish, and in this meaning lies a further key to the structure of drama. A play concerns a human agent attempting to accomplish some purpose. In tragedy his attempt is, in personal terms at least, unsuccessful; in comedy it is successful; in the problem play final accomplishment is often either ambiguous or doubtful. This action, from the beginning to the end of a movement toward a purposed goal, must also have a middle; it must proceed through a number of steps, the succession of incidents which make up the plot. Because the dramatist is concerned with the meaning and logic of events rather than with their casual relationship in time, he will probably select his material and order it on a basis of the operation, in human affairs, of laws of cause and effect. It is in this causal relationship of incidents that the element of conflict, present in virtually all plays, appears. The central figure of the play--the protagonist---encounters difficulties; his purpose or purposes conflict with events or circumstances, with purposes of other characters in the play, or with cross-purposes which exist within his own thoughts and desires. These difficulties threaten the protagonist's accomplishment; in other words, they present complications, and his success or failure in dealing with these complications determines the outcome. Normally, complications build through the play in order of increasing difficulty; one complication may be added to another, or one may grow out of the solution of a preceding one. At some point in this chain of complication and solution, achieved or attempted, the protagonist performs an act or makes a decision which irrevocably commits him to a further course, points toward certain general consequences. This point is usually called the crisis; the complications and solutions which follow work out the logical steps from crisis to find resolution, or denouement.

单选题On her next anniversary she ______ married for 25 years. A. will be B. will have been C. has been D. is being

单选题{{B}}Passage Three{{/B}} In The Birth Order Book Why You Are the Way You Are (2004), Dr. Kevin Leman notes that 21 of the first 23 Americans in space were first-born males or only children. More than half of United States presidents have been first-borns or first-born boys. It's a pretty significant finding historically, because families used to be bigger than they are today. In addition to being high achievers, older children also generally have higher IQs (智商) than younger ones. Researchers have noted that the more kids a family has, the lower each child's individual IQ tends to be. They give a few reasons for this. Parents only have so much time, attention, and money. The more kids they have, the more these things are divided. First-borns initially get the entire parental-time pie. What's more, the ratio of grown-ups to kids decreases with each new baby. {{U}}So the younger ones are surrounded by more children's language on average than the older kids{{/U}}. Some researchers think parental attention is the key to personality birth-order differences. In his book Born to Rebel, psychologist Frank Sulloway says competition for Mom and Dad's attention is the thing that really shapes our personalities and, in fact has shaped history. He argues that we adapt our personalities as part of our strategy to seek favor from Mom and Dad. Younger siblings (兄弟姐妹) tend to become rebels. Sulloway studied political activists and found that later-born activists were more radical than their first-born peers. The conclusion of his book is that sibling competition for parental attention can affect society as a whole in times of revolution. Thomas Jefferson, Karl Marx, and Fidel Castro were all younger siblings, for example. As compelling as this all is, it's also something we should probably take with caution, there are other things that happen to us in life besides the addition of siblings to our families. A parent can die; a hurricane can leave us homeless; we can catch a life-threatening disease. Any one of these things will probably have more of an effect on our personalities than the presence of siblings. A 2002 study bore this out. After interviewing 535 undergraduates, researchers concluded that personality differences related to birth order were "folklore", although IQ and achievement differences were widely supported by research.

单选题Man: How well are you prepared for your presentation? Your turn comes next Wednesday. Woman: I spent a whole week searching on the net, but came up with nothing valuable. Question: What did the woman say about her presentation? A. It has nothing to do with the Internet. B. She needs another week to get it ready. C. It contains some valuable ideas. D. It's far from being ready yet.

单选题His desire to ______ other people has caused trouble in his family. A. please B. dominate C. force D. urge

单选题During the summer session there will be a revised schedule of services for the university community. Specific changes for intercampus bus services, summer hours for the cafeteria, the infirmary (校医院) and recreational and athletic facilities will be posted on the bulletin board outside of the cafeteria. Weekly movie and concert schedules which are in the process of being arranged will be posted each Wednesday outside of the cafeteria. Intercampus buses will leave the main hall every hour on the half hour and make all of the regular stops on their route around campus. The cafeteria will serve breakfast, lunch, and early dinner from 7 a. m. to 7 p. m. during the week and from noon to 7 p.m. on weekends. The library will maintain regular hours during the week, but shorter hours on Saturdays and Sundays. The weekend hours are from noon to 7 p. m. All students who want to use the library borrowing services and recreational athletic, and entertainment facilities must have a valid summer identification card. This announcement will also appear in the next issue of the student newspaper.

单选题Your explanation is clear and ______ under discussion.

单选题According to the author, studying the elites also sheds light on poverty research because ______.

单选题Many problems have______as a result of the change over to a new type of fuel.

单选题Usually Susan spends ______ time doing her given job than other girls do in her office. A. less B. little C. few D. fewer

单选题Early (experiences) are (too) powerful that they can (completely) change the way a person (turns) out.A. experiencesB. tooC. completelyD. turns

单选题If Sustainable competitive advantage depends on work force skills, American firms have a problem. Human management is not traditionally seen as a central to the competitive survival of the firm in the United States. Skill Acquisition is considered as individual responsibility. Labor is simply another force of production to be hired/rented at the lowest possible cost, which is a must as one buys raw material or equipment. The lack of importance attached to human resource management can be seen in the corporate pecking order. In an American firm the chief financial officer is almost always second in command. The post of head of human resource management is usually a specialized job, off at the edge of the corporate hierarchy. The executive who holds it is never consulted on major strategic decisions and has no chance to move up to Chief Executive Officer. By way of contrast, in Japan the head of human resource management is central-usually the second most important executive, after the CEO, in the firm's hierarchy. While American firms often talk about the vast amounts spent on training their work force, in fact, they invest less in the skills of their employees than do either Japanese or German firms. The money they do invest is also more highly concentrated on professional or managerial employees. And the limited investments that made in training workers are also much more narrowly focused on the specific skills necessary to do the next job rather than on the basic background skills that make it possible to absorb new technologies. As a result, problems emerge when new breakthrough technologies arrive. If American workers, for example take much longer to learn how to operate new flexible manufacturing stations than workers in Germany (as they do), the effective cost of those stations is lower in Germany than it is in the United States. More time is required before equipment is up and running at the speed with which new equipment is up and running at capacity, and the need for extensive retraining generates costs and creates bottlenecks that limit the speed with which new equipment can be employed. The result is a slower pace of technological change. And in the end the skills of the bottom half of the population affect the wages of the top half. If the bottom half can't effectively staff the processes that have to be operated, the management and professional jobs that go with these processes will disappear.