单选题American universities like to think of themselves as engines of social justice, thronging with "diversity". But how much truth is there in this flattering self-image? Over the past few years Daniel Golden has written a series of stories in the Wall Street Journal about the admissions practices of America"s elite universities, suggesting that they are not so much engines of social justice as bastions of privilege. Golden shows that elite universities do everything in their power to admit the children of privilege. If they cannot get them in through the front door by relaxing their standards, then they smuggle them in through the back. No less than 60% of the places in elite universities are given to candidates who have some sort of extra "hook", from rich or alumni parents to "sporting prowess". The number of whites who benefit from this affirmative action is far greater than the number of blacks. The American establishment is extraordinarily good at getting its children into the best colleges. The former president George Bush and his rival in the election John Kerry were "C" students who would have had little chance of getting into Yale if they had not come from Yale families. A1 Gore and Bill Frist both got their sons into their alma maters (Harvard and Princeton respectively), despite their average academic performances. Universities bend over backwards to admit "legacies". Harvard admits 40% of legacy applicants compared with 11% of applicants overall. When it comes to the children of particularly rich donors, the bending-over-backwards reaches astonishing levels. Most people think of black football and basketball stars when they hear about "sports scholarships". But there are also sports scholarships for rich white students who play preppie sports such as fencing, squash, sailing, riding, golf and, of course, lacrosse. The University of Virginia even has scholarships for polo-players, relatively few of whom come from the inner cities. You might imagine that academics would be up in arms about this. Alas, they have too much skin in the game. Academics not only escape tuition fees if they can get their children into the universities where they teach. They get huge preferences as well. Boston University accepted 91% of "faculty brats" in 2003, at a cost of about $9m. Notre Dame accepts about 70% of the children of university employees, compared with 19% of "unhooked" applicants, despite markedly lower average SAT scores. Two groups of people overwhelmingly bear the burden of these policies—Asian-Americans and poor whites. Asian-Americans are the "new Jews", held to higher standards (they need to score at least 50 points higher than non-Asians even to be in the game) and frequently stigmatised for their "characters" (Harvard evaluators persistently rated Asian-Americans below whites on "personal qualities").

单选题When complaining in person, you should

单选题From the author's point of view, the Wi-Fi technology

单选题This fall the Pew Research Center, in association with TIME, conducted a nationwide poll exploring the contours of modern marriage and the new American family. And of all the transformations our family structures have undergone in the past 50 years, perhaps the most profound is the marriage differential that has opened between the rich and the poor. In 1960 the median household income of married adults was 12% higher than that of single adults, after adjusting for household size. By 2008 this gap had grown to 41%. In other words, the richer and more educated you are, the more likely you are to marry, or to be married — or, conversely, if you're married, you're more likely to be well off. To begin the question of why the wealth disparity between the married and the unmarried has grown so much, it might be useful to take a look at the brief but illustrative marriage of golfer Greg Norman and tennis star Chris Evert, who married in June 2008 and divorced 15 months later. From all reports, their union had many of the classic hallmarks of modern partnerships. The bride and groom had roughly equal success in their careers. Being wealthy, sporty and blond, they had similar interests. This is typical of the way many marriages start. Americans are increasingly marrying people who are on the same socioeconomic and educational level. Since more women than men have graduated from college for several decades, it's more likely than it used to be that a male college graduate will meet, fall in love with, wed and share the salary of a woman with a degree. Women's advances in education have roughly paralleled the growth of the knowledge economy, so the slice of the family bacon she brings home will be substantial. On the face of it, this might explain why fewer people are married. They want to finish college first. In 2010 the median age of men getting hitched for the first time is 28.2, and for women it's 26.1. It's gone up about a year every decade since the '60s. But here's the rub. In the past two decades, people with only a high school education started to get married even later than college graduates. In 1990 more high-school-educated couples than college graduates had made it to the altar by age 30. By 2007 it was the other way around. What has brought about the switch? It's not any disparity in desire. According to the Pew survey, 46% of college graduates want to get married, and 44% of the less educated do. Promising publicly to be someone's partner for life used to be something people did to lay the foundation of their independent life. It was the declaration of adulthood. Now it's more of a finishing touch, the last brick in the edifice, sociologists believe. Marriage is the capstone for both the college-educated and the less well educated, " says Johns Hopkins' Cherlin. "The college-educated wait until they're finished with their education and their careers are launched. The less educated wait until they feel comfortable financially. " But that comfort keeps getting more elusive. "The loss of decent-paying jobs that a high-school-educated man or woman could get makes it difficult for them to get and stay married, " says Cherlin. As the knowledge economy has overtaken the manufacturing economy, couples in which both partners' job opportunities are disappearing are doubly disadvantaged. So they wait to get married.

单选题Tim is Udubious/U about diet pills which advertise quick weight less.

单选题If he were you, he______take the task that you are unwilling to do.

单选题Why did the black religious music became more joyful after the Civil War?

单选题 As long as her parents can remember, 13-year-old Katie Hart has been talking about going to college. Her mother, Tally, a financial-aid officer at an Ohio university, knows all too well the daunting calculus of paying for a college education. Last year the average yearly tuition at a private, four-year school climbed 5.5 percent to more than $ 17, 000. The Harts have started saving, and figure they can afford a public university without a problem. But what if Katie applies to Princeton (she's threatening), where one year's tuition, room and board--almost $ 34, 000 in 2002--will cost more than some luxury cars? Even a number cruncher like Tally admits it's a little scary, especially since she'll retire and Katie will go to college at around the same time. Paying for college has always been a humbling endeavor. The good news: last year students collected $ 74 billion in financial aid, the most ever. Most families pay less than full freight. Sixty percent of public-university students and three quarters of those at private colleges receive some form of financial aid--mostly, these days, in the form of loans. But those numbers are not as encouraging as they appear for lower-income families, because schools are changing their formulas for distributing aid. Eager to boost their magazine rankings, which are based in part on the test scores of entering freshmen, they're throwing more aid at smarter kids--whether they need it or not. The best way to prepare is to start saving early. A new law passed last year makes that easier for some families. So-called 529 plans allow parents to sock away funds in federal-tax-free-investment, accounts, as long as the money is used for "qualified education expenses" like tuition, room and board. The plans aren't for everyone. For tax reasons, some lower and middle-income families may be better off choosing other investments. But saving is vital. Aid packages usually come in some combination of grants, loans and jobs. These days 60 percent of all aid comes in the form of low-interest loans. All students are eligible for "unsubsidized" federal Stafford loans, which let them defer interest payments until after graduation. Students who can demonstrate need can also qualify for federal Perkins loans or "subsidized" Staffords, where the government pays the interest during school. Traditional scholarships, academic or athletic, are still a part of many families' planning. Mack Reiter, a 17-year-old national wrestling champion, gets so many recruiting letters he throws most away. He'll almost certainly get a free ride. Without it, "we would really be in a bind," says his mother, Janet. For everyone else,it's worth the effort to pick through local and national scholarship offerings, which can be found on Web sites like {{I}}collegeboard, com.{{/I}}

单选题Our ______ with the President at the airport was exciting. A. arrival B. encounter C. endeavor D. refreshment

单选题Long after the 1998 World Cup was won, disappointed fans were still cursing the disputed refereeing decisions that denied victory to their team. A researcher was appointed to study the performance of some top referees. The researcher organized an experimental tournament involving four youth teams. Each match lasted an hour, divided into three periods of 20 minutes during which different referees were in charge. Observers noted down the referees" errors, of which there were 61 over the tournament. Converted to a standard match of 90 minutes, each referee made almost 23 mistakes, a remarkably high number The researcher then studied the videotapes to analyse the matches in detail. Surprisingly, he found that errors were more likely when the referees were close to the incident. When the officials got it right, they were, on average, 17 meters away from the action. The average distance in the case of errors was 12 meters. The research shows the optimum distance is about 20 meters. There also seemed to be an optimum speed. Correct decisions came when the referees were moving 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 at the 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 45 may be misguided. If keeping up with the action is not so important, their physical condition is less critical.

单选题This is the microscope ______ which we have had so much trouble. A) at B) from C) of D) with

单选题The extent of a nation's power over its coastal ecosystems and the natural resources in its coastal waters has been defined by two international law doctrines, freedom of the seas and adjacent state sovereignty. Until the mid-twentieth century, most nations favored application of broad open-seas freedoms and limited sovereign rights over coastal waters. A nation had the right to include within its territorial dominion only a very narrow band of coastal waters (generally extending three miles from the shoreline), within which it had the authority, but not the responsibility, to regulate all activities. But, because this area of territorial dominion was so limited, most nations did not establish rules for management or protection of their territorial waters. Regardless of whether or not nations enforced regulations in their territorial waters, large ocean areas remained free of controls or restrictions. The citizens of all nations had the right to use these unrestricted ocean areas for any innocent purpose, including navigation and fishing. Except for controls over its own citizens, no nation had the responsibility to control such activities in international waters. And, since there were few standards of conduct that applied on the "open seas," there were few jurisdictional conflicts between nations. The lack of standards is traceable to popular perceptions held before the middle of this century. By and large, marine pollution was not perceived as a significant problem, in part because the adverse effect of coastal activities on ocean ecosystems was not widely recognized, and pollution caused by human activities was generally believed to be limited to that caused by navigation. Moreover, the freedom to fish, or over-fish, was an essential element of the traditional legal doctrine of freedom of the seas that no maritime country wished to see limited. And finally, the technology that later allowed exploitation of other ocean resources, such as oil, did not yet exist. To date, controlling pollution and regulating ocean resources have still not been comprehensively addressed by law, but two recent developments may actually lead to future international rules providing for ecosystem management. First, the establishment of extensive fishery zones, extending territorial authority as far as 200 miles out from a country's coast, has provided the opportunity for nations individually to manage larger ecosystems. This opportunity, combined with national self-interest in maintaining fish populations, could lead nations to reevaluate policies for management of their fisheries and to address the problem of pollution in territorial waters. Second, the international community is beginning to understand the importance of preserving the resources and ecology of international waters and to show signs of accepting responsibility for doing so. Thus it will become more likely that international standards and policies for broader regulation of human activities that affect ocean ecosystems will be adopted and implemented.

单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} Clever, rich or both -- almost every country in the world has some sort of programme to attract desirable migrants. The only exceptions are "weird places like Bhutan" says Christian Kalin of Henley & Partners, which specializes in fixing visas and passports for globe-trotters. Competition is fierce and, as with most things, that lowers the price and increases choice. Britain has two programmes, one for the rich -- who have to invest ￡ 750,000 ($1.36m) in actively traded securities -- and one, much larger, for talented foreigners. Both have worked well. Unlike some other countries, Britain does not make applicants find a job first: with good qualifications, they can just turn up and look for work. That helps keep Britain's economy flexible and competitive. But now a bureaucratic snag is threatening the scheme. The problem comes with anyone wanting to convert his visa into "indefinite leave to remain" (Britain's equivalent of America's Green Card). This normally requires four years' continuous residence in Britain. After a further year, it normally leads to British citizenship. The law defines continuous residence sensibly. Business trips and holidays don't count, if the applicant's main home is in Britain. As a rule of thumb, an average of 90 days abroad was allowed each year. But unpublished guidelines seen by The Economist are tougher: they say that "none of the absences abroad should be of more than three months, and they must not amount to more than six months in all." Over the four years needed to quality, that averages only six weeks a year. For many jet-setters, this restriction is a career-buster. Six weeks abroad barely covers holidays, let alone business travel. Alexei Sidney, a Russian consultant, has to turn down important jobs because he cannot afford any more days abroad. If applicants travel "too much", their children risk losing the right to remain in Britain. The Home Office insists that the rules have not changed since 2001. That would confirm Mr. Gherson's suspicion that the new policy has come in by accident, probably as a result of zeal or carelessness by mid-ranking officials. Their attitude is at odds with the stance of the government, which has been trying for years to make the system more user-friendly for the world's elite. It even moved processing of business residency cases from a huge office in Croydon, notorious for its slowness and hostility to would-be immigrants, to a new outfit in Sheffield. But lawyers such as Mr Kalin are in no doubt of the risk Britain is running. America, he says, is already losing out in the global talent market because of its "painful and humiliating" immigration procedures. If Britain's rules stay tight, he says, foreigners will go elsewhere. Likely beneficiaries are Ireland and Austria, European Union countries whose residency visas and passports confer the same convenience as British ones, with less hassle.

单选题______ in India, the banana was brought to the America by the Portuguese who found it in Afric

单选题In the course of harsh training, the athletes are frequently told to Uhold out/U until they win the championship.

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单选题George Mason must rank with John Adams and James Madison as one of the three Founding Fathers who left their personal imprint (印记) on the fundamental law of the United States. He was the principal author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which, because of its early formation, greatly influenced other state constitutions framed during the Revolution and, through them, the Federal Bill of Rights of 1791. Yet Mason was essentially a private person with very little inclination for public office or the ordinary operation of politics beyond the country level. His appearances in the Virginia colonial and state legislatures were relatively brief, and not until 1787 did he consent to represent his state at a continental or national congress or convention. Politics was never more than a means for Masson. He was at all times a man of public spirit, hut politics was never a way of life, never for long his central concern. It took a revolution to pry him away from home and family at Gunston Hall, mobilize his skill and energy for constitutional constrnction, and transform him, in one brief moment of brilliant leadership, into a statesman whose work would endure to influence the lives and fortunes of those "millions yet unborn" of whom he and his generation of Americans spoke so frequently and thought so constantly.

单选题For health insurance, the United States has taken the road less traveled. The United States is the only rich country without universal health insurance. People in the United States spend the most, rely heavily on the private sector, and obtain care from the world's most complicated delivery system. While some supporters have expressed satisfaction, if not pride, in these remarkable qualities, others contend that the United States faces unique limitations in reforming health care. In her exceptional book, Parting at the Crossroads, Antonia Maioni compares the formation of the U.S. and Canadian health-care systems for the years 1930-60. The United States and Canada are often considered the most similar of Western democracies. They share a common border, are wealthy, and have federal government. Their trade unions are only moderately powerful, and their populations are diverse and young. Nevertheless, their health-insurance systems are nearly opposite. The United States relies on a mix of government plans, targeted to the elderly and indigent, and employment-based plans, which the government indirectly supports. Canada offers public health insurance to all qualified residents, with the private sector providing supplementary 'services in some provinces. Labor organizations became strong advocates for health-insurance reform in both countries. Their impact partially depended on political institutions and how other actors, particularly organized medicine, wielded them. Canada's governmental and electoral systems allowed labor to cooperate with a social democratic party in the Saskatchewan Province, which established a universal program. The Saskatchewan program demonstrated universal insurance feasibility, spurring the dominant Liberals to introduce a national universal program. In contrast, the U. S. electoral system effectively precluded third-party formation, forcing organized labor to dilute its health-insurance goals because it was one of many interests represented by the Democratic Party. Maioni suggested that economic vitality is important for the future of both countries' systems, but the prognosis is uncertain. Despite recent concerns about the Canadian government's budgetary health, Maioni contends that widespread support protects universal insurance. Conversely, Maioni seems pessimistic about options for U.S. universal health insurance. Despite economic buoyancy, dissension will likely prevent reforms. Although a devastating economic downturn would make health finance difficult in either country, the U.S. system seems especially vulnerable. Employment-based insurance and Medicare both rely on labor market attachment. High, chronic unemployment could result in coverage loss and financial difficulties for employer insurance and Medicare, swelling the uninsured pool. Such a crisis could provide an opening for universal health insurance. In any case, whether the United States relies on the public or private sector, escalating health expenditures figure into budget of government, corporations, and families. The U.S. health care system's future may depend on Americans' willingness to devote more of their national income to health care.

单选题Free will allows us to indulge our ______ passions; freedom leads us in the higher path to unlock life"s mystic secrets.