单选题{{B}}Passage 4{{/B}} When I was still an architecture student, a teacher told me, "We learn more from buildings that fall down than from buildings that stand up." What he meant was that construction is as much the result of experience as of theory. Although structural design follows established formulas, the actual performance of a building is complicated by the passage of time, the behavior of users, the natural elements--and unnatural events. All are difficult to simulate. Buildings, unlike cars, can't be crash-tested. The first important lesson of the World Trade Center collapse is that tall buildings can withstand the impact of a large jetliner. The twin towers were supported by 59 perimeter columns on each side. Although about 30 of these columns, extending from four to six floors, were destroyed in each building by the impact, initially both towers remained standing. Even so, the death toll (代价) was about-2 245 people lost their lives. I was once asked, how tall buildings should be designed given what we'd learned from the World Trade Center collapse. My answer was, "Lower." The question of when a tall building becomes unsafe is easy to answer. Common aerial fire-fighting ladders in use today are 100 feet high and can reach to about the 10th floor; So fires in buildings up to 10 stories high can be fought from the exterior (外部). Fighting fires and evacuating occupants above that height depend on fire stairs. The taller the building, the longer it will take for firefighters to climb to the scene of the fire. So the simple answer to the safety question is "Lower than 10 stories." Then why don't cities impose lower height limits? A 60-story office building does not have six times as much rentable space as a 10-story building. However, all things being equal, such a building will produce four times more revenue and four times more in property taxes. So cutting building heights would mean cutting city budgets. The most important lesson of the World Trade Center collapse is not that we should stop building tall buildings but that we have misjudged their cost. We did the same thing when we underestimated the cost of hurtling along a highway in a steel box at 70 miles per hour. It took many years before seat belts, air hags, radial tires, and antilock brakes became commonplace. At first, cars simply were too slow to warrant concern. Later, manufacturers resisted these expensive devices, arguing that consumers would not pay for safety. Now we do-- willingly.

单选题Today in Japan, democratic values

单选题The country’s highest medal was ____ upon him for heroism.

单选题Which statement best expresses the main idea of the passage?

单选题In a certain growth fund, 3/5 of the investment capital is invested in stocks, and of that portion, 1/3 is invested in preferred stocks. If the mutual fund has $846,000 invested in preferred stocks, what is the total amount of money invested in the fund? A. $1,974,000 B. $2,538,000 C. $3,264,000 D. $3,826,000 E. $4,230,000

单选题______, he could not cover the whole distance in fifteen minutes.

单选题A completely new situation will ______ when the examination system comes into existence. A. arise B. rise C. raise D. arouse

单选题The status given to waiters in a restaurant varies in different parts of the world. For example, in some places working as a waiter is seen as having low status, like being a servant. In other places, it is viewed as a useful and important role and people who do the job well are respected. Eddie Lam has been a waiter for four years and clearly thinks he has a good job. He is proud that he knows how to give good service to guests in the restaurant where he works. "I enjoy learning about people—their likes, dislikes and their moods. I make an effort to show them that I care," he explains. "It takes experience to understand how to make someone happy." Eddie knows that when he talks about his customers, it may sound like he is talking about his friends or his family. "There are actually many similarities in the relationship, although the relationship between waiter and customer may only last a short time," he laughs. Eddie believes that waiters have to be very observant. They need to notice quickly when a customer is bothered, for example, if they don't have a knife, or if they want a glass of water. It is also important for them to recognise when someone is in a hurry or when a couple want to be left undisturbed for a while. And all this should happen without the customers realizing; they just get what they want. He points out that when service is good, the customers are often not aware of it. However, if customers receive bad service in a restaurant, they usually react very quickly. "I suppose the tips left by customers are part of my financial reward," says Eddie, "but I also get a lot of satisfaction just from seeing customers relaxing and enjoying their meals."

单选题It is most desirable that he ______ hands with us in our common effort. A. join B. joined C. will join D. be joined

单选题Imagine fishermen walking down to the seashore, ready to carry out their early morning routine of preparing their boats and net. (1) they hope for a good catch of fish. But to their (2) , a horrible sight meets their still sleepy eyes. Thousands of fish have washed (3) dead. The cause of this mass destruction? A red tide! Red tides are a global (4) . They have been observed on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts of the United States and Canada. They have also (5) in many other places. Though relatively few people are (6) them, red tides are not new. In the Philippines, a red tide was first seen in the province of Bataan in 1908. Since then, red tides have been seen in many other (7) . A Philippines red tide expert told us that " (8) the fish kills, the Philippines has documented 1, 96 cases of dead shellfish poisoning caused by red tides." The term “red tide” (9) the discoloration of water that sometimes occurs in certain areas of the ocean or sea. Although the color is often red, it may also be (10) of brown or yellow. The World Book Encyclopedia reports that "the discolored areas may range from (11) a few square yards to more than 2,600 square kilometers." What causes such discoloration? Red tides are generally caused by several (12) of single-celled organisms. These tiny organisms have hair-like projections which they use to (13) themselves in water. There are about 2,000 varieties of these organisms, 10 of which carry poisonous (14) These minute organisms usually stay in warm waters with high content of salt. A red tide occurs when there is a sudden and rapid (15) of these organisms. The concentration of these organisms may (16) to 50,000,000 per quart of water! Although scientists do not fully understand why this happens, it is known that these organisms (17) when certain conditions simultaneously affect the water. These include abnormal weather, (18) temperatures, an oversupply of nutrients in the water, a generous (19) sunlight, and favorable water currents. When a heavy rainfall occurs, minerals and other nutrients are sometimes washed (20) the land into coastal waters. These nutrients can contribute to the breeding of the organisms. The result? Red tides!

单选题Today, we have the longest peacetime expansion in our history. After years and years of deficits, we now have budget surpluses for years ahead. More people have a chance to realize the American Dream than ever before. More children have a chance to realize their full potential than ever before. We've laid a foundation to preserve our prosperity for future generations. Now, as the budget deadline rapidly approaches this year, we face many of the same tough choices again. And once again, I think the answer is clear: To build a strong nation in the new century, we must continue to invest in our future. That means we must strengthen social security, secure and modernize medicare, and pay off the national debt in fifteen years, making America debt-free for the first time since 1835. And once again, it means we must invest in education, not sacrifice it. Months ago, I sent Congress a responsible budget to maintain our fiscal discipline and honor our commitment to our Children's education. So far the Republicans in Congress haven't put forth a budget of their own. In fact, they're so busy trying to figure Out how to pay for their irresponsible tax plan that they're in serious danger of not meeting their obligation to finish the budget by the end of the budget year. Even worse, they're preparing to pay for their own pet projects at the expense of our children's education. We know now that the Republicans' risky tax cut would force us to slash vital funding for education by as much as 50 percent over the next ten years. But what many people don't know is that next year alone, the Republican plan would cut the bill that funds education by nearly 20 percent. Now, ff carried out, this plan would lead to some of the worst cuts in education in our history. More than 5,000 teachers could be laid off. Fifty thousand students could be turned away from after-school and summer-school programs. More than 2 million of our poorest students in our poorest communities would have a smaller chance of success in school and in the workplaces of the future. These aren't just numbers on a balance sheet; they're vital investments in our children and our future. In a time when education is our top priority, Republicans in Congress are making it their lowest priority. So let me be clear: ff the Republicans send me a bill that doesn't live up to our national commitment to education, I won't hesitate to veto it. If it undermines our efforts to hire high-quality teachers to reduce class size in our public schools, I will veto it. If it fails to strengthen after-school, and summer-school programs, I'll veto it. If it underfunds college scholarship programs, I will veto it. If it sends me a bill that turns its back on our children and their future, I'll send them back to the drawing board. I won't let Congress push through a budget that's paid for at the expense of our children and our future prosperity.

单选题The word UN is formed in the way of______. (西安交大2008研)

单选题From the last paragraph we can infer that the writer is________.

单选题Our beliefs about time and money are often similar. Most people think there isn' t enough of______.

单选题I really appreciate______to help me, but I am sure that I will be able to manage by myself.

单选题Researchers say that like those literary romantics Romeo and Juliet, they may be blind to the consequences of their quests for an idealized mate who serves their every physical and emotional need. Nearly 19 in 20 never-married respondents to a national survey agree that "when you marry you want your spouse to be your soul mate, first and foremost. " according to the State of Our Unions ~ 2001 Study released Wednesday by Rutgers University. David Popenoe, a Rutgers sociologist and one of the study's authors, said that view might spell doom for marriages. "It really provides a very unrealistic view of what marriage really is," Popenoe said. "The standard becomes so high, it's not easy to bail out if you didn't find a soul mate. " The survey points to a fundamental dilemma in which younger people want more from the institution of marriage while they seemingly are unwilling to make the necessary commitments. The survey also suggests that some respondents expect too much from a spouse, including the kind of emotional support rendered by same-sex friends. The authors of the study also suggest that the generation that was polled may more quickly leave a marriage because of infidelity than past generations. Popenoe said the poll, conducted by the Gallup Organization, is the first of its kind to concentrate on people in their 20s. A total of 1,003 married and single young adults nationwide were interviewed by telephone between January and March. The margin of error was plus or minus four percentage points. Respondents said they eventually want to get married, realize it's a lot of work and think there are too many divorces. They believe there is one right person for them out there somewhere and think their own marriages won't end in divorce. Since the poll is the first of its kind, researchers say it is impossible to say if expectations about marriage are changing or static. But scholars say the search for soul mates has increased over the last generation—and the last century—as marriage has become an institution centering on romance rather than utility. "One hundred years ago, people married for financial reasons, for tying families together, they married for political reasons," said John Decameter, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin. "And most people had children. " Those conditions are no longer the case for young adults like David Asher, a 24-year-old waiter in a Trenton care who has been in a relationship far about two years. He wants to wait to make sure he's ready to exchange vows. "I know a lot of it has to do with financial reasons," he said. "Maybe if you're going to have children, marriage is the best bet. " But the main reason for matrimony- "If you're in love with someone, it's sort of like promising to them you are in love. " "That's all well and good," said Heather Helms-Erikson, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. "But passion—partly in endorphin-caused physiological phenomenon—has been known to diminish in time. /