单选题The company is on the verge of bankruptcy, and thousands of jobs are at ______.

单选题Brown, Smith and Robinson are

单选题 At the Museum of Sex in New York City, artificial-intelligence researcher David Levy projected a mock image on a screen of a smiling bride in a wedding dress holding hands with a short robot groom. "Why not marry a robot? Look at this happy couple," he said to a laughing crowd. When Levy was then asked whether anyone who would want to marry a robot was deceived, his face grew serious. "If the alternative is that you are lonely and sad and miserable, is it not better to find a robot that claims to love you and acts like it loves you?" Levy responded. "Does it really matter, if you're a happier person?" In his 2007 book, Love and Sex with Robots, Levy contends that sex, love and even marriage between humans and robots are coming soon and, perhaps, are even desirable. "I know some people think the idea is totally peculiar," he says. "But I am totally convinced it's inevitable." The 62-year-old London native has not reached this conclusion on a whim. Levy's academic love affair with computing began in his last year of university, during the vacuum-tube era. That is when he broadened his horizons beyond his passion for chess. "Back then people wrote chess programs to simulate human thought processes," he recalls. He later became engrossed in writing programs to carry on intelligent conversations with people, and then he explored the way humans interact with computers, a topic for which he earned his doctorate last year from the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. Over the decades, Levy notes, interactions between humans and robots have become increasingly personal. Whereas robots initially found work, say, building cars in a factory, they have now moved into the home in the form of Roomba the robotic vacuum cleaner and digital pets such as Tamagotchis and the Sony Aibo. Science-fiction fans have witnessed plenty of action between humans and characters portraying artificial life-forms, such as with Data from the Star Trek franchise or the Cylons from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. And Levy is betting that a lot of people will fall in love with such devices. Programmers can tailor the machines to match a person's interests or render them some what disagreeable to create a desirable level of friction in a relationship. "It's not that people will fall in love with an algorithm but that people will fall in love with a convincing simulation of a human being, and convincing simulations can have a remarkable effect on people," he says.

单选题话剧《四川好人》是( )的作品。

单选题The indirect theory to meaning proposed by Ogden and Richards holds that the relation between a word and a thing is mediated by______.

单选题Most green vegetables, ______ for too long, will lose nutrition. A. if to be cooked B. if cooked C. if cooking D. if being cooked

单选题— There were already 5 people in the car, but they managed to take me as well. — It ______ a comfortable journey.A. can't beB. shouldn't beC. couldn't have beenD. mustn't have been

单选题A. ghost B. daughter C. taught D. through

单选题MAC stands for ______. A．Micro Application Control B．Message Acquired Center C．Medium Access Control D．Media Access Center

单选题He told a story about his sister who was in a sad ______ when she was iii and had no money.

单选题Can animals have a sense of humor? Sally Blanchard, publisher of a newsletter called the Pet Bird Report, thinks a pet parrot may have pulled her leg. That's one explanation for the time her African gray parrot, named Bongo Marie, seemed to feign distress at the possible death of an Amazon parrot named Paco. It happened one day when Blanchard was making Cornish game hen for dinner. As Blanchard lifted her knife, the African gray threw back its head and said, "Oh, no! Paco!" Trying not to laugh, Blanchard said, "That's not Paco," and showed Bongo Marie that the Amazon was alive and well. Mimicking a disappointed tone, Bongo Marie said, "Oh, no," and launched into a hoarse laugh. Was the parrot joking when it seemed to believe the other bird was a goner? Did Bongo Marie comprehend Blanchard's response? Studies of African grays have shown that they can understand the meaning of words--for example, that red refers to a color, not just a particular red object. Parrots also enjoy getting a reaction out of humans, and so, whether or not Bongo Marie's crocodile tears were intentional, the episode was thoroughly satisfying from the parrot's point of view.

单选题For some time scientists have believed that cholesterol plays a major role in heart disease because people with familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic defect, have six to eight times the normal level of cholesterol in their blood and they invariably develop heart disease. These people lack cell-surface receptors for low-density lipoproteins (LDL"s), which are the fundamental carriers of blood cholesterol to the body cells that use cholesterol. Without an adequate number of cell-surface receptors to remove LDL"s from the blood, the cholesterol-carrying LDL"s remain in the blood, increasing blood cholesterol levels. Scientists also noticed that people with familial hypercholesterolemia appear to produce more LDL"s than normal individuals. How, scientists wondered, could a genetic mutation that causes a slowdown in the removal of LDL"s from the blood also result in an increase in the synthesis of this cholesterol-carrying protein? Since scientists could not experiment on human body tissue, their knowledge of familial hypercholesterolemia was severely limited. However, a breakthrough came in the laboratories of Yoshio Watanabe of Kobe University in Japan in 1980. Watanabe noticed that a male rabbit in his colony had ten times the normal concentration of cholesterol in its blood. By appropriate breeding, Watanabe obtained a strain of rabbits that had very high cholesterol levels. These rabbits spontaneously developed heart disease. To his surprise, Watanabe further found that the rabbits, like humans with familial hypercholesterolemia, lacked LDL receptors. Thus, scientists could study these Watanabe rabbits to gain a better understanding of familial hypercholesterolemia in humans. Prior to the breakthrough at Kobe University, it was known that LDL"s are secreted from the liver in the form of a precursor, called very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL"s), which carry triglycerides as well as relatively small amounts of cholesterol. The triglycerides are removed from the VLDL"s by fatty and other tissues. What remains is a remnant particle that must be removed from the blood. What scientists learned by studying the Watanabe rabbits is that the removal of the VLDL remnant requires the LDL receptor. Normally, the majority of the VLDL remnants go to the liver where they bind to LDL receptors and are degraded. In the Watanabe rabbit, due to a lack of LDL receptors on liver cells, the VLDL remnants remain in the blood and are eventually converted to LDL"s. The LDL receptors thus have a dual effect in controlling LDL levels. They are necessary to prevent oversynthesis of LDL"s from VLDL remnants and they are necessary for the normal removal of LDL"s from the blood. With this knowledge, scientists are now well on the way toward developing drugs that dramatically lower cholesterol levels in people afflicted with certain forms of familial hypercholesterolemia.

单选题Despite Denmark's manifest virtues, Danes never talk about how proud they are to be Danes. This would sound weird in Danish. When Danes talk to foreigners about Denmark, they always begin by commenting on its tininess, its unimportance, the difficulty of its language, the general small-mindedness and self-indulgence of their countrymen and the high taxes. No Dane would look you in the eye and say, "Denmark is a great country. " You're supposed to figure this out for yourself. It is the land of the silk safety net, where almost half the national budget goes toward smoothing out life's inequalities, and there is plenty of money for schools, day care, retraining programs, job seminars--Danes love seminars: Three days at a study center hearing about waste management is almost as good as a ski trip. It is a culture bombarded by English, in advertising, pop music, the Internet, and despite all the English that Danish absorbs--there is no Danish Academy to defend against it--old dialects persist in Jutland that can barely be understood by Copenhageners. It is the land where, as the saying goes, "Few have too much and fewer have too little," and a foreigner is struck by the sweet egalitarianism that prevails, where the lowliest clerk gives you a level gaze, where Sir and Madame have disappeared from common usage, even Mr. and Mrs. It's a nation of recyelers--about 55% of Danish garbage gets made into something new--and no nuclear power plants. It's a nation of tireless planners. Trains run on time. Things operate well in general. Such a nation of overaehievers--a brochure from the Ministry of Business and Industry says, "Denmark is one of the world's cleanest and most organized countries, with virtually no pollution, crime, or poverty. Denmark is the most corruption-flee society in the Northern hemisphere. " So, of course, one's heart lifts at any sighting of Danish sleazy. skinhead graffiti on buildings ("Foreigners Out of Denmark!"), broken beer bottles in the gutters, drunken teenagers slumped in the park. Nonetheless, it is an orderly land. You drive through a Danish town, it comes to an end at a stone wall, and on the other side is a field of barley, a nice clean line: town here, country there. It is not a nation of jaywalkers. People stand on the curb and wait for the red light to change, even if it's 2 a. m. and there's not a car in sight. However, Danes don't think of themselves as a waiting-at-2-a, m. -for-the-green-light people-that's how they see Swedes and Germans. Danes see themselves as jazzy people, improvisers, more free spirited than Swedes, but the truth is (though one should not say it) that Danes are very much like Germans and Swedes. Orderliness is a main selling point. Denmark has few natural resources, limited manufacturing capability; its future in Europe will be as a broker, banker, and distributor of goods. You send your goods by container ship to Copenhagen, and these bright, young, English-speaking, utterly honest, highly disciplined people will get your goods around to Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and Russia. Airports, seaports, highways, and rail lines are ultramodern and well-maintained. The orderliness of the society doesn't mean that Danish lives are less messy or lonely than yours or mine, and no Dane would tell you so. You can hear plenty about bitter family feuds and the sorrows of alcoholism and about perfectly sensible people who went off one day and killed themselves. An orderly society cannot exempt its members from the hazards of life. But there is a sense of entitlement and security that Danes grow up with. Certain things are yours by virtue of citizenship, and you shouldn't feel bad for taking what you're entitled to, you're as good as anyone else. The rules of the welfare system are clear to everyone, the benefits you get if you lose your job, the steps you take to get a new one; and the orderliness of the system makes it possible for the country to weather high unemployment and social unrest without a sense of crisis.

单选题I will ______ him about it as soon as he comes back.

单选题Mr. Morgan can be very sad ______, though in public he is extremely cheerful. A) by himself B) in person C) in private D) as individual

单选题What is the tire of the collection of recordings?

单选题 Passage 4 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, was 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 offices. 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 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 against 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______ that we all went out, playing in the sun. A．So fine was the weather B．So was the fine weather C．The weather so fine was D．So the weather was fine

单选题{{B}}Part B{{/B}} Are you a compulsive spender, or do you hold on to your money as long as possible? Are you a bargain hunter? Would you rather use charge accounts than pay cash7 Your answers to these questions will reflect your personality. According to paychologists, our individual money habits not only show our beliefs and values, but can also stem from past problems. Experts in psychology believe that for many people, money is an important symbol of strength and influence. Husbands who complain about their wives' spending habits may be afraid that they are losing power in their marriage. Wives, on the other hand, may waste huge amounts of money because they are angry with their husbands. In addition, many people consider money a symbol of love. They spend it on their family and friends to express love, or they buy themselves expensive presents because they need love. People can be addicted to different things--for example, alcohol, drugs, certain foods, or even television. People who have such an addiction are compulsive; that is they have a very powerful psychological need that they feel they must satisfy. According to psychologists, many people are compulsive spenders: they feel that they must spend money. This compulsion, like most others, is irrational--impossible to explain reasonably. For compulsive spenders who buy on credit, charge accounts are even more exciting than money. In other words, compulsive spenders feel that with credit, they can do anything. Their pleasure in spending enormous amounts is actually greater than the pleasure that they get from the things they buy. There is even a special psychology of bargain hunter. To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prices, and discounts. Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things that they don't need just because they are cheap. They want to believe that they are helping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game: when they can buy something for less than other people, they feel that they are winning. Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior: a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason. It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, but also business people. Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business: they consider people's needs for love, power, or influence, their basic values, their beliefs and opinions, and so on in their advertising and sales methods. Psychologists often use a method called "behavior therapy" to help individuals solve their personality problems. In the same way, they can help people who feel that they have problems with money: they give them "assignments". If a person buys something in every store that he enters, for instance, a therapist might teach him self- discipline in this way: on the first day of his therapy, he must go into a store, stay five minutes, and then leave. On the second day, he should stay for ten minutes and try something on. On the third day, he stays for fifteen minutes, asks the salesclerk a question, but does not buy anything, and he can solve the problem of his compulsive buying.Directions : {{I}}The passage below summarizes the main points of the passage. Read the summary and then select the best word or phrase from the box below according to the pas-sage. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.{{/I}}A. two kinds K. express loveB. therapy L. former C. psychological problems M. strength and influence D. money N. symbolE. store O. reflectsF. take pleasure P. bargain huntersG. compulsive spenders Q. on endH. cheap R. all rightI. beliefs S. explainJ. psychologists T. longer than According to{{U}} (1) {{/U}}, the way we spend our money{{U}} (2) {{/U}}our personality,{{U}} (3) {{/U}}and love. For many people, money is an important{{U}} (4) {{/U}}of{{U}} (5) {{/U}}. Some people spend money to{{U}} (6) {{/U}}. Others waste huge amounts of money because they have some{{U}} (7) {{/U}}. There are{{U}} (8) {{/U}}of problem spenders:{{U}} (9) {{/U}}and compulsive{{U}} (10) {{/U}}. The{{U}} (11) {{/U}}are those who feel that they must spend money, but cannot{{U}} (12) {{/U}}why they do so. These people{{U}} (13) {{/U}}in spending enormous amounts of money. Compulsive bargain hunters are those who often buy things not because they need them but because they are{{U}} (14) {{/U}}. If anyone has problems with{{U}} (15) {{/U}}, he can get help from psychologists. The{{U}} (16) {{/U}}. goes like this: the person is required to go into a{{U}} (17) {{/U}}once a day, for three days{{U}} (18) {{/U}}, and each time he stays{{U}} (19) {{/U}}the day before, but he doesn't buy any- thing. Soon he will learn that it is{{U}} (20) {{/U}}if he doesn't spend any money there.

单选题The road to the other side is shorter now ______ the tunnel through the mountain.