单选题— Shall we go to the movie tonight? — No, I"d rather ______ at home with our baby. You"d better not leave it to the babysitter at night.

单选题 Last weekend Kyle MacDonald in Montreal threw a party to celebrate the fact that he got his new home in exchange for a red paper clip. Starting a year ago, MacDonald bartered the clip for increasingly valuable stuff, including a camp stove and free rent in a Phoenix flat. Having announced his aim (the house) in advance, MacDonald likely got a boost from techies eager to see the Internet pass this daring test of its networking power. "My whole motto (座右铭) was 'Start small, think big, and have fun', "says MacDonald, 26, "I really kept my effort on the creative side rather than the business side." Yet as odd as the MacDonald exchange was, barter is now big business on the Net. This year more than 400000 companies worldwide will exchange some $10 billion worth of goods and services on a growing number of barter sites. These Web sites allow companies to trade products for a virtual currency, which they can use to buy goods from other members. In Iceland, garment- maker Kapusalan sells a third of its output on the booming Vidskiptanetid exchange, earning virtual money that it uses to buy machinery and pay part of employee salaries. The Troc-Services exchange in France offers more than 4600 services, from math lessons to ironing. This is not a primitive barter system. By creating currencies, the Internet removes a major barrier—what Bob Meyer, publisher of BarterNews, calls "the double coincidence of wants." That is, two parties once not only had to find each other, but also an exchange of goods that both desired. Now, they can price the deal in virtual currency. Barter also helps firms make use of idle capacity. For example, advertising is "hugely bartered" because many media, particularly on the Web, can supply new ad space at little cost. Moreover, Internet ads don't register in industry-growth statistics, because many exchanges are arranged outside the formal exchanges. Like eBay, most barter sites allow members to "grade" trading partners for honesty, quality and so on. Barter exchanges can allow firms in countries with hyperinflation or nontradable currencies to enter global trades. Next year, a nonprofit exchange called Quick Lift Two (QL2) plans to open in Nairobi, offering barter deals to 38000 Kenyan farmers in remote areas. Two small planes will deliver the goods. QL2 director Gacii Waciuma says the farmers are excited to be "liberated from corrupt middlemen." For them, barter evokes a bright future, not a precapitalist past.

单选题It ______ 12 rabbits to test a sample of vaccine, now it takes only 6. A. used to taking B. used to take C. is used to take D. was used to taking

单选题They'd like to see her daughter ______, get married and have kids.A. settle onB. settle upC. settle forD. settle down

单选题When the engine did not start, the mechanic inspected all the parts to find what was at ______.

单选题Imagine a world in which there was suddenly no emotion—a world in which human beings could feel no love happiness, no terror or hate. Try to imagine the consequences of such a transformation. People might not be able to stay alive: knowing neither joy nor pleasure, neither anxiety nor fear, they would be as likely to repeat acts that hurt them as acts that were beneficial. They could not learn. They could not benefit from experience because this emotionless world would lack rewards and punishments. Society would soon disappear: People would be as likely to harm one another as to provide help and support. Human relationships would not exist: In a world without friends or enemies, there could be no marriage, affection among companions, or bonds among members or groups. Society"s economic underpinnings would be destroyed: since there would be no incentives of any kind. For as we will see, incentives imply a capacity to enjoy them. In such a world, the chances that the human species would survive are next to zero, because emotions are the basic instrument of our survival and adaptation. Emotions structure the world for us in important ways. As individuals, we categorize objects on the basis of our emotions. True, we consider the length, shape, size, or texture, but an object"s physical aspects are less important than what it has done or can do to us—hurt us, surprise us, anger us or make us joyful. We also use categorizations colored by emotions in our families, communities, and overall society. Out of our emotional experiences with objects and events comes a social feeling of agreement that certain things and actions are "good" and others are "bad", and we apply these categories to every aspect of our social life—from what foods we eat and what clothes we wear to how we keep promises and which people our group will accept. In fact, society explains our emotional reactions and attitudes, such as loyalty, morality, pride, shame, guilt, fear and greed, in order to maintain itself. It gives high rewards to individuals who perform important tasks such as surgery, makes heroes out of individuals for unusual or dangerous achievements such as flying fighter planes in a war, and uses the legal and penal system to make people afraid to engage in antisocial acts.

单选题 In the wake of 11 September, Visionics, a leading manufacturer, issued a fact sheet explaining how its technology could enhance airport security. They called it "protecting civilization from the faces of terror". The company's share price skyrocketed, as did the stocks of other face-recognition companies, and airports across the globe began installing the software and running trials. As the results start to come in, however, the gloss (光滑表面) is wearing off. No matter what you might have heard about face-recognition software, Big Brother is not so good as expected. The concern was based largely on an independent assessment of face-recognition systems carried out in 2000 in the U. S. by the Department of Defense. These tests found that to catch 90 percent of suspects at an airport, face-recognition software would have to raise a huge number of false alarms. one in three people would end up being dragged out of the line and that's assuming everyone looks straight at the camera and makes no effort to disguise himself. Results from the recent airport trials would seem to justify that concern. Most face-recognition systems use some kind of geometric technique to translate a picture of a face into a set of numbers that capture its characteristics. once it has identified these boundaries, the software calculates their relative sizes and positions and converts this geometry into what Visionics calls a "faceprint". Feed the software a series of mugshots, and it'll calculate their faceprints. Then it can monitor live CCTV images for the faces of known suspects. When it finds a match, it raises an alarm. Even if the system does manage to capture a face, the problems aren't over. The trouble is that a suspect's faceprint taken from live CCTV is unlikely to match the one in the database in every detail. To give themselves the best chance of picking up suspects, operators can set the software so that it doesn't have to make an exact match before it raises the alarm. But there's a price to pay: the more potential suspects you pick up, the more false alarms you get. You have to get the balance just right. Despite the disappointing tests, some people insist that face-recognition technology is good enough to put terrorists off. After all the claims and counter-claims, with no one able to discern(洞察) the truth, the industry may soon have to face up to reality.

单选题She ______ be ill because I saw her playing basketball just now.

单选题We are going on the ______ that the work will be finished tomorrow. A. scheme B. assumption C. orbit D. procedure

单选题The seller shall, at his own ______, carry out at the place of manufacture all such inspections of the equipment as are specified in the contract.

单选题W: Boy, how quickly technology changes! So many people have a computer in their home nowadays.M:______A. Computers? There are so many computers in the office.B. Yes, I know. I feel so behind the time.C. But I know a lot of computers.D. Yes, I know. Without computer, there would be no Internet.

单选题In the sentence "Money is often said to be the root of all evil", "root" is used in its conceptual meaning. (北二外2007研)

单选题Osteoporosis used to be called "the silent disease" because its victims didn"t know they had it until it was too late and they suffered a bone fracture. Today, doctors can identify osteoporosis early. Improved understanding of the disease has also led to new treatments and strategies for preventing the disease altogether. For post-menopausal women, the most common medical response to osteoporosis is hormone replacement therapy. Boosting estrogen levels strengthens the entire skeleton and reduces the risk of hip fracture. Unfortunately, it sometimes causes uterine bleeding and may increase the risk of breast cancer. To bypass such side effects, researchers have developed several alternative treatments. Synthetic estrogens called Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs) emulate estrogen with slight modifications. Another drug, alendronate, reduces spine, hip and wrist fractures by 50 percent. Researchers have even developed a nasal spray called calcitonin. Each of these alternatives has trade-offs, however. Patients must talk with their doctors to decide which therapy is best for them. The ideal way to address osteoporosis is by adopting a healthy lifestyle. And the best time to do this is in childhood, when most bone mass is accumulated. Because bodies continue building bone until about age thirty, some experts believe that women in their twenties can still increase their bone strength by as much as 20 percent. Calcium, which is available in low-fat dairy foods and dark green vegetables, is essential for preventing osteoporosis. So is vitamin D, which aides calcium absorption. Vitamin D comes from sunlight, but dietary supplements may be helpful in northern climates and among those who don"t get outside. The final component is regular moderate exercise because bone responds to the needs that the body puts on it. These are the simple steps that can help make "the silent disease" truly silent.

单选题Villagers and those newly arrived from Europe, Ufed up with/U terms of employment and tenancy in the rural areas, took advantage of cheap modern transportation to move into the cities.

单选题Recent years have brought minority-owned businesses in the United States unprecedented opportunities—as well as new and significant risks. Civil rights activists have long argued that one of the principal reasons why Blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups have difficulty establishing themselves in business is that they lack access to the sizable orders and subcontracts that are generated by large companies. Now Congress, in apparent agreement, has required by law that businesses awarded federal contracts of more than $500,000 do their best to find minority subcontractors and record their efforts to do so on forms filed with the government. Indeed, some federal and local agencies have gone so far as to set specific percentage goals for apportioning parts of public works contracts to minority enterprises. Corporate response appears to have been substantial. According to figures collected in 1977, the total of corporate contracts with minority businesses rose from $77 million in 1972 to $1.1 billion in 1977. The projected total of corporate contracts with minority businesses for the early 1980"s is estimated to be over 53 billion per year with no letup anticipated in the next decade. Promising as it is for minority businesses, this increased patronage poses dangers for them, too. First, minority firms risk expanding too fast and overextending themselves financially, since most are small concerns and, unlike large businesses, they often need to make substantial investments in new plants, staff, equipment, and the like in order to perform work subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed expenses. The world of corporate purchasing can be frustrating for small entrepreneurs who get requests for elaborate formal estimates and bids. Both consume valuable time and resources, and a small company"s efforts must soon result in orders, or both the morale and the financial health of the business will suffer. A second risk is that White-owned companies may seek to cash in on the increasing apportionments through formation of joint ventures with minority-owned concerns. Of course, in many instances there are legitimate reasons for joint ventures; clearly, White and minority enterprises can team up to acquire business that neither could acquire alone. But civil rights groups and minority business owners have complained to Congress about minorities being set up as "fronts a person, group, or thing used to mask the identity or true character or activity of the actual controlling agent" with White backing, rather than being accepted as full partners in legitimate joint ventures. Third, a minority enterprise that secures the business of one large corporate customer often runs the danger of becoming and remaining dependent. Even in the best of circumstances, fierce competition from larger, more established companies makes it difficult for small concerns to broaden their customer bases: when such firms have nearly guaranteed orders from a single corporate benefactor, they may truly have to struggle against complacency arising from their current success.

单选题In various parts of the world, the Udevout/U participate enthusiastically in public procession during the major events of the liturgical year.

单选题He sat there, doing nothing else ______. A. but to laugh B. than laughing C. than laugh D. but laughed