单选题Passage Three When it comes to the economy, pessimism is in and good old American optimism is out. From the headlines in the newspapers to the coffee shop chatter, it seems that there is little good to say about the economy. Bad enough that the news about Iraq, winter storms and the escalation of terror alerts continue to keep people on edge. Reports of state budget deficits and threats of major cutbacks in services such as education, health care and police also make people nervous. The latest USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll reflects the new pessimism. Asked early this past week how they would rate economic conditions in the country today, just one in three- 34%- said they consider it good. That's down 10 percentage points from December, when 44% rated the economy good and 20 points lower than September when 54% said they thought economic conditions were good. Moreover, when asked to look ahead a year from now, those people willing to say things will get better are also dwindling in numbers. A thin majority of 55% said they expected economic conditions to be better by this time next year. Not bad on the surface. But looking back just two months to December, 65%— or two of three— believed that things would improve in a year. And going back six months to September, 71% expressed optimism for economic improvement. So the seeds of discontent are out there and they could set off a political firestorm for President Bush if economic conditions don't start getting better soon. Or more importantly, if the American people don't start feeling better soon. Regardless of what the statistics say about how good the economy might be getting, the American people have to feel it. And often, feelings lag behind numbers. Indeed, most people believe that the economy is in recession. Statistically it is not. Case in point: On Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the economy grew at a 1.4% rate in the final quarter of last year — twice as fast as the government first estimated. Major factors in the upward revision in the gross domestic product were stronger investment by businesses in building up stockpiles of unsold goods and a slight boost to consumer spending, the main force keeping the economy going. But while that report is interesting, and perhaps a source of hope that things aren't as bad as they seem, more tangible examples of economic improvement are needed — solid gains in the stock market, rehiring by plants that have been laying off workers, new business expansion. The USA TODAY poll further shows that nervousness about Iraq and a still-sluggish economy are taking a political toll on Bush: His job approval rating is 57%, his lowest since before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Surely, what happens with Iraq will be a major factor in the president's political fortunes next year, but if people continue to be pessimistic about the economy when Bush is in the midst of running for a second term, it will be difficult to be optimistic about his chances of winning.

单选题Four categories of Maxims in Grice's Cooperative Principle include all the following EX- CEPT ______. A. Manner B. Relation C. Qualification

单选题______ more time, he'll make a first-class tennis player.A. Having givenB. To giveC. GivingD. Given

单选题The police are trying to find out the ______ of the man killed in the accident.

单选题Had he studied hard, he ______ the exam.

单选题—Where did you two have your ______ examined? —At the______. A．stomaches; doctors B．stomachs; doctor C．stomachs; doctors D．stomaches; doctors

单选题Whatistheratioof?A.9B.3C.1D.1:3E.1:27

单选题To get the ship back into full working order would ______ spending huge amounts of money and effort.

单选题{{B}}Passage Two{{/B}} The vegetative forms of most bacteria are killed by drying in air, although the different species exhibit pronounced differences in their resistance. The tubercle bacillus is one of the more resistant, and vibrio cholera is one of the more sensitive to drying. In general, the encapsulated organisms are more resistant than the non-encapsulated forms. Spores are quite resistant to drying; the spores of the anthrax bacillus, for example, will germinate after remaining in a dry condition for ten years or more. The resistance of the pathogenic forms causing disease of the upper respiratory tract is of particular interest in connection with airborne infection, for the length of time that a droplet remains infective is a result, primarily, of the resistance of the particular microorganism to drying.

单选题We agree to accept ______ they thought was the best tourist guide. A. whatever B. whichever C. whomever D. whoever

单选题More boys than girls are born all over the world, but a new study has found that the closer people live to the equator(赤道), the smaller the difference becomes. No one knows why. The imbalanced sex ratio at birth has been known for more than a hundred years, and researchers have found a large variety of social, economic and biological factors that relate to the sex ratio at birth-war, economic stress, age, diet, selective abortion and more. But latitude(纬度)is a natural phenomenon, unaffected by cultural or economic factors. To look at the effect of latitude, Kristen J. Navara of the University of Georgia used the latitude of the capital city in 202 countries, as well as 10 years of data on sex ratio at birth and annual variations in day length and temperature. Dr. Navara performed a statistical analysis which showed that there was a significant relation between sex ratios in favor of boys and latitude. African countries produced the lowest sex ratios—50. 7 percent boys—and European and Asian countries had the highest with 51. 4 percent. There are some possible explanations, but none entirely satisfactory. It could be that there is some survival value in producing more girls in warmer regions, but it is unclear what this might be. There may be genetic or racial differences that could explain it, but the connection persists over so many varied populations that this seems unlikely. Mice also produce more male offspring during shorter days or colder weather, but the reasons in these animals are just as mysterious as they are in humans. " There's a possibility that humans might be responding to factors they were programmed to respond to a long time ago-not cultural or socioeconomic, but climate and things like latitude," Dr. Navara said. " What's interesting is that we may be seeing something that connects us with our animal ancestry. "

单选题Do help yourself to some fruit, ______you?

单选题The chairman signed the document ______ the company.

单选题You slip the key into the ignition and crank the engine to life. But before you put the ear into gear, you tap a key on the keyboard mounted by the steering wheel, and your newest e-mail flashes up on the windscreen. This seductive satyr is what you get when you cross a ear and a eomputer. Dubbed the "network vehiele", or net-mobile, it may soon come to a driveway near you ( probably the one belonging to your rich neighbor). In a net-mobile, a motorist could tap into a regional road system but also to map out a route around rush-hour traffic snags. Drivers and passengers will be able to send and receive e-mail, track the latest sports scores or stock quotes, surf the Web, and even play video games. Or so, at least, say a number of computer-industry firms such as Microsoft, Sun, IBM and Netseape. The modern car is already an electronic showcase on wheels. On-board microcomputers improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. They operate anti-lock brake systems, and on some ears even regulate the firmness of the shock absorbers. But much of the technology needed to add extra is available now. A prototype network vehicle, produced by a consortium of Netseape, Sun, IBM and Delco (an automotive electronics firm based in Michigan), was introduced at the recent annual computer industry show in Las Vegas. It not only offered such desktop-eomputer-like services as e-mail, but allowed a driver to use them without looking away from the road. It was operated by voice commands and projected its data on to the windscreen, using the same sort of head-up display system found in modern fighter jets. Members of the consortium think a real-world network vehicle could be in production in as little as four years. Car-makers have already begun rolling out some of the features found on these prototype net mobiles. If the driver of a General Motors car equipped with its On-Star system locks his key in the car, for example, an emergency centre can transmit a digital signal to unlock the doors. On-star also calls automatically for help if an accident triggers the airbags. Toyota and General Motors are among a growing list of firms offering such in-ear navigation systems. And in Europe, BMW and Mercedes-Benz recently introduced navigation hardware that can not only plot out a route, but alert a driver to traffic jams.

单选题 It may be summertime, but the living isn't easy-not for weary workers whose last vacation is a distant memory. According to one recent study, 1 in 4 employees in the United States doesn't get any paid vacation. Almost half don't take even a week off every year. Economists estimate that the average American works one more month per year today than in 1976. Small-business owners are taking this daily grind to a whole new level. The number of employers at companies with fewer than 100 workers who plan to take a summer vacation has continued to fall in the past four years. Two in three bosses worry about their businesses when they're out of the office. Fully 75 percent check in by phone or E-mail even when they're on "vacation," many of them several times a day. But is all this work good for business? As the last weeks of summer vacation days slip away-yet again, researchers are insisting these extreme jobs have a dark side. All work and no play really can make Jack a dull boy: Apart from health risks that come with overwork, people who don't get out of the office tend to be less creative, less productive, and, ultimately, less effective. If there is one thing small-business owners can do to improve their companies' performance, experts say, it is take some time off. There's a good chance the benefits of vacation will go straight to the bottom line. According to a study by American Express, more than a third of small-business people say their best ideas-the ones that lead to business growth-come not at work but during their downtime. "Having a life outside of work doesn't detract from work success" but enhances it, a study by the Families and Work Institute concluded in 2005. Happier people, no surprise, tend to be more productive than unhappy people. Two business professors, Sigal Barsade of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and Donald Gibson of Fairfield University, found in a recent study that employee moods have a measurable effect on just about everything anyone does at work-job performance, decision making, creativity, turnover, teamwork, and leadership. Overwork also comes with serious health risks. Researchers have found that people who work long hours can even become addicted to their own stress hormones. They feel sluggish when they're out of the office, so they head back for their fix, and the cycle repeats itself. Continuous stress also affects the performance of the part of the brain responsible for memory.

单选题If injured, the fireman will ______.

单选题Women have occupied the high moral ground for so long because