单选题Change—or the ability to adapt oneself to a changing environment—is essential to evolution. The farmer whose land is required for housing or industry must adapt himself: he can move to an-other place and master the problems peculiar to it; he can change his occupation, perhaps after a period of training; or he can starve to death. A nation which cannot adapt its trade or defense requirements to meet world conditions faces economic or military disaster. Nothing is fixed and permanently stable. There must be movement forward, which is progress of a sort, or movement backwards, which is decay and deterioration. In this context, tradition can be a force for good or for evil. As long as it offers a guide, it helps the ignorant and the uninformed to take a step forward and, thereby, to adapt themselves to changed circumstances. Tradition, or custom, can guide the hunter as effectively as it can influence the nervous hostess. But if we make an idol (偶像) of tradition, it ceases to become a guide and becomes an obstacle lying across the path of change and progress. If we insist on trying to plot the future by the past, we clearly handicap ourselves and invite failure. The better course is to accept the help which tradition can give, but realizing that it necessarily has its roots in the past, to be well aware of its limitations in a changing world.

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单选题How to evaluate the performance of students is still a problem that troubles many professors. A. examine and judge B. assist in C. enhance D. account for

单选题He may act tough, but ______ he is a kind person. A. from nature B. by nature C. through nature D. out nature

单选题—Has Mary finished writing her article? —No, and it______two days ago.

单选题Television keeps us informed about ______ events and the latest developments in science and politics.

单选题Steve Courtney wrote historical novels. Not, he was quick to explain, over colourful love stories of the kind that made so much money for so many women writers, but novels set and correctly set, in historical periods. Whatever difference he saw in his own books, his readers did not seem to notice it, and his readers were nearly all women. He had studied at university, but he had not been a particularly good student, and he had never afterwards let any academic knowledge he had gained interfere with his writing. Helen, his wife, who did not have a very high opinion of her husband's ability as a novelist, had been careful to say when she married him that she was not historically minded. Above all, Helen was doubtful whether her relationship with Steve would work at all in the village of Stretton, to which they had just moved. It was Steve who had wanted to move to the country, and she had been glad of the change, in principle, whatever doubts she was now having about Stretton as a choice. But she wondered whether Steve would not, before very long, want to live in London again, and what she would do if he did. The Stretton house was not a weekend cottage. They had moved into it and given up the London flat altogether, partly at least, she suspected, because that was Steve's idea of what a successful author ought to do. However, she thought he was not going to feel like a successful author half as much in Stretton as he had in London. On the other hand, she supposed he might just start dashing up to London for the day to see his agent or have lunch with his publisher, leaving her behind in Stretton, and she thought on the whole she would like that.

单选题She is very diligent. She often studies ______ into the night.A. deeplyB. deepC. fartherD. later

单选题To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains. But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against rain. Its first use was as a shade against the sun. Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese, way back in the eleventh century B.C. We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor and authority. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by royalty or by those in high office. In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in common use in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans. During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered a symbol of power and authority. By 1680, The umbrella appeared in France, and later on in England. By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe. Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made, in a whole variety of colors.

单选题Andrea had never seen an old lady hitchhiking(搭车) before. However, the weather and the coming dark ness made her feel sorry for the lady. The old lady had some difficulty climbing in through the car door, and pushed her big brown canvas shopping bag down onto the floor under her feet. She said to Andrea, in a voice that was almost a whisper. "Thank you dearie—I'm just going to Brockbourne." Something in the way the lady spoke, and the way she never turned her head made Andrea uneasy about this strange hitchhiker. She didn't know why, but she felt instinctively that there was something wrong, some thing odd, something.., dangerous. But how could an old lady be dangerous? It was absurd. Careful not to turn her head, Andrea looked sideways at her passenger. She studied the hat, the dirty collar of the dress, the shapeless body, the arms with the thick black hairs... Thick black hairs? Hairy arms? Andrea% blood froze. This wasn't a woman. It was a man. At first, she didn't know what to do. Then suddenly, an idea came into her racing, terrified brain. Swinging the wheel suddenly, she threw the car into a skid (刹车), and brought it to a halt. "My Cod!" she shouted, "A child! Did you see the child? I think I hit her!" The "old lady" was clearly shaken by the sudden skid, "I didn't see anything dearie, she said. "I don't think you hit anything." "I'm sure it was a child!" insisted Andrea. "Could you just get out and have a look? Just see if there's anything on the road?" She held her breath. Would her plan work? It did. The passenger slowly climbed out to investigate. As soon as she was out of the vehicle, Andrea gunned the engine and accelerated madly away, and soon she had put a good three miles between herself and the awful hitchhiker. It was only then that she thought about the bag lying on the floor in front of her. Maybe the bag would provide some information about the real identity about the man. Pulling into the side of the road, Andrea opened the heavy bag curiously. It contained only one item—a small hand axe, with a razor-sharp blade. The axe and the inside of the bag were covered with the dark red stains of dried blood. Andrea began to scream.

单选题After inventing dynamite, Swedish-born Alfred Nobel became a very rich man. However, he foresaw its universally destructive powers too late. Nobel preferred not to be remembered as the inventor of dynamite, so in 1895, just two weeks before his death, he created a fund to be used for awarding prizes to people who had made worthwhile contributions to mankind. Originally there were five awards: literature, physics, chemistry, medicine and peace. Economics was added in 1968, just sixty-seven years after the first awards ceremony. Nobel's original legacy of nine million dollars was invested, and the interest on this sum is used for the awards which vary from 30,000 to 125,000. Every year on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death, the awards(gold medal, illuminated diploma and money) are presented to the winners. Sometimes politics plays an important role in the judge's decisions. Americans have won numerous science awards, but relatively few literature prizes. No awards were presented from 1940 to 1942 at the beginning of World War Ⅱ. Some people have won two prizes, but this is rare; others have shared their prizes.

单选题{{B}}Directions:{{/B}} Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. March 11th marks the second anniversary of the tsunami that killed 18,500 people in Japan. Good news is scant. Almost 315,000 evacuees still {{U}} {{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}}in cramped temporary housing, and need new {{U}} {{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}}. A different kind of suffering weighs on about 20m people (a sixth of the {{U}} {{U}} 3 {{/U}} {{/U}}) at this time of year which, though less than anguish-filled, is not trivial. {{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}late February until May they {{U}} {{U}} 5 {{/U}} {{/U}}pollen allergies, mostly {{U}} {{U}} 6 {{/U}} {{/U}}by Japanese cedar, or sugi, trees. Usually the affliction, entailing sneezing, eye irritation and huge medical bills, is shrugged off—it can't be helped. {{U}} {{U}} 7 {{/U}} {{/U}}a way could be found to ease the allergies that could also {{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}rebuild homes. It would involve thinning out the sugi and other conifer plantations that {{U}} {{U}} 9 {{/U}} {{/U}}about 40% of Japan's forest, most of which are now {{U}} {{U}} 10 {{/U}} {{/U}}as uneconomic. The timber could be used to restore and beautify lost villages. The sugi were planted across Japan after the war as material to {{U}} {{U}} 11 {{/U}} {{/U}}destroyed cities and {{U}} {{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}. Sugi, straight and tall, are {{U}} {{U}} 13 {{/U}} {{/U}}for construction. But after taxes fell, imported wood put the sugi foresters out of business. The higher they grow, the more pollen the magnificent, abandoned trees emit. Officials say some owners, many now in their 70s, reject {{U}} {{U}} 14 {{/U}} {{/U}}to plant new ones that emit less pollen {{U}} {{U}} 15 {{/U}} {{/U}}the payback is too long. As a result, {{U}} {{U}} 16 {{/U}} {{/U}}Kevin Short, a columnist for the Daily Yomiuri, an English-language newspaper, "immense clouds of yellow-green sugi pollen dust {{U}} {{U}} 17 {{/U}} {{/U}}down onto the urban areas, like some amorphous monster out of a science-fiction movie." {{U}} {{U}} 18 {{/U}} {{/U}}Kiyohito Onuma of the Forestry Agency says his sneezing wife and children often ask him to do more to {{U}} {{U}} 19 {{/U}} {{/U}}the problem, the public pressure is muted. Partly this is because the sugi have always {{U}} {{U}} 20 {{/U}} {{/U}}near temples and shrines, and are part of national folklore.

单选题We were stuck by the extent ______ which teachers' decisions served the interests of the school rather than those of the students.

单选题(The population) of this small town has (more than) (doubled) it in the past (few decades).

单选题{{B}}Directions: There are five reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by tour questions. For each question there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose one best answer and write down the corresponding letter.{{/B}}{{B}}Passage One{{/B}} "Hi there. How's it going?" "Oh, fine. Fine. How about this weather, huh?" "Well, I guess we can always use the rain." 'What's that? This story? Oh, just a little look at small talk. You know, those seemingly meaningless conversations you have dozens of times a day. Maybe you're waiting for the elevator. Or in a line at the bank. It all seems pretty trivial. Idle chatter about traffic doesn't do much more than fill the air with empty words that are quickly forgotten. But you should know that small talk actually has a big place in our lives. Pat Oliver, assistant professor on arts, says that, "Left unchecked, small talk can be an invasion. It's so powerful. It does something to you." "Every morning after spending an hour and a half on the freeway I start the day with small talk with my secretary," Oliver says, "If I don't make small connection with another person, I can' t work." What causes it? As a rule, you're either trying to force something into your life, or you're using conversation as an invisible force field to keep them out. You can be wanting to connect with another person, and small talk is your introduction to more meaningful conversation. The way people use small talk is usually determined by where they happen to be at the time. Take the elevator, for instance. Now there's prime territory. Nobody knows anyone and there's no reason to start a conversation, but invariably, someone does. Making conversation in such peaceful social settings, according to Oliver, "can confirm your territory. It's a way of feeling liked and accepted." The topics of small talk don't matter. In fact, you don't want anything more taxing than the weather or the traffic. It's non-threatening talk in a threatening situation. However, the rules change quickly when you're with lots of people doing lots of talking. Let's say you're at a party. Now it' s time to use small talk as a way of making others feel more comfortable around you, so you don' t look silly standing by the food table alone all night.

单选题A new catastrophe faces Afghanistan. The American bombing campaign is conspiring with years of civil conflict and drought to create an environmental crisis. Humanitarian and political concerns are dominating the headlines. But they are also masking the disappearance of the country's once rich habitat and wildlife, which are quietly being crashed by war. The UN is dispatching a team of investigators to the region next month to evaluate the damage. "A healthy environment is a prerequisite for rehabitation," says Klaus Topfer, head of the UN Environment Programme. Much of south-east Afghanistan was once lush forest watered by monsoon rains. Forests now cover less than two per cent of the country. "The worst deforestation occurred during Taliban role, when its timber mafia denuded forests to sell to Pakistani markets," says Usman Qazi, an environmental consultant based in Quetta, Pakistan. And the intense bombing intended to flush out the last of the Taliban troops is destroying or burning much of what remains. The refugee crisis is also wrecking the environment, and much damage may be irreversible. Forests and vegetation are being cleared for much-needed fanning, but the gains are likely to be only short-term. "Eventually the land will be unfit for even the most basic form of agriculture," warns Hammad Naqi of the World Wide Fund for Nature in Pakistan. Refugees—around 4 million as the last count—are also cutting into forests for firewood. The hail of bombs falling on Afghanistan is making life particularly hard for the country's wildlife. Birds such as the pelican and endangered Siberian crone cross eastern Afghanistan as they follow one of the world's great migratory thoroughfares from Siberia to Pakistan and India. But the number of the birds flying across the region has dropped by a staggering 85 per cent. "Cranes are very sensitive and they do not use the route if they see any danger," says Ashiq Ahgmad, an environmental scientist for the WWF in Peshawar, Pakistan, who has tracked the collapse of the birds, migration this winter. The rugged mountains also usually provide a safe haven for mountain leopards, gazelles, bears and Marco Polo sheep—the world's largest species. "The same terrain that allows fighters to strike and disappear back into the hills has also historically enabled wildlife to survive," says Peter Zahler of the Wildlife Conservation society, based in New York. But he warns they are now under intense pressure from the bombing and invasions of refugees and fighters. For instance, some refugees are hunting rare snow leopards to buy a safe passage across the border. A single fur can fetch $2, 000 on the black market, says Zahlen Only 5,000 or so snow leopards are thought to survive in central Asia, and less than 100 in Afghanistan, their numbers already decimated by extensive hunting and smuggling into Pakistan before the conflict. Timber, falcons and medicinal plants are also being smuggled across the border. The Taliban once controlled much of this trade, but the recent power vacuum could exacerbate the problem. Bombing will also leave its mark beyond the obvious craters. Defence analysts says that while depleted uranium has been used less in Afghanistan that in the Kosovo conflict, conventional explosives will litter the country with pollutants. They contain toxic compounds such as cyclonite, a carcinogen, and rocket propellants contain perchlorates, which damage thyroid glands.

单选题Preliminary estimation puts the figure at around $110 billion, ______ file $160 billion the President is struggling to get through the Congress.

单选题Passage Two In the 1920s, the pioneers of artificial intelligence (AI) predicted that, by the end of this century, computers would be conversing with us at work and robots would be performing our housework. But as useful as computers are, they are nowhere close to achieving anything remotely resembling these early aspirations for humanlike behavior. Never mind something as complex as conversation: the most powerful computers struggle to reliably recognize the shape of an object, the most elementary of tasks for a ten-month-old kid. A growing group of AI researchers think they know where the field went wrong. The problem, the scientists say, is that AI has been trying to separate the highest, most abstract levels of thought, like language and mathematics, and to duplicate them with logical, step-by-step programs. A new movement in AI, on the other hand, takes a closer look at the more roundabout way in which nature came up with intelligence. Many of these researchers study evolution and natural adaptation instead of formal logic and conventional programs. Rather than digital computers and transistors, some want to work with brain cells and proteins. The results of these early efforts are as promising as they are peculiar, and the new nature-based AL movement is slowly but surely moving to the forefront of the field. Imitating the brain's neural network is a huge step in the right direction, says computer scientist and biophysicist Michael Conrad, but it still missed an important aspect of natural intelligence. "People tend to treat brain as if it were made up of color-coded transistors. " He explains, "But it's not simply a clever network of switches. There are lots of important things going on inside the brain cells themselves." Specifically, Conrad believes that many of the brains' capabilities stem from the pattern-recognition proficiency of the individual molecules that make up each brain cell. The best way to build an artificially intelligent device, he claims, would be to build around the same sort of molecular skills. Right now, the notion that conventional computers and software are fundamentally incapable of matching the processes that take place in the brain remains controversial. But if it proves true, then the efforts of Conrad and his fellow AI rebels could turn out to be the only game in town.

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