单选题House-price falls are gathering momentum and are spreading across the UK, according to a monthly poll of surveyors which on Monday delivered its gloomiest reading for nearly 12 years. Fifty-six per cent of surveyors contacted by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported price falls in the three months to October. Only 3 per cent saw prices rise in their area, compared with 58 per cent as recently as May. There was further evidence of slowing activity in the property market as the number of sales per surveyor dived to a nine-year low. Unsold stock on agents' books has increased 10 per cent since the summer. Ian Perry, Rics' national housing spokesman, said it was now very clear that buyers were unsettled by higher interest rates. The Bank of England raised rates five times to 4. 75 per cent over the last year to cool the property boom. But he also blamed comments by Mervyn King, the Bank's governor, and misleading media headlines for "injecting additional uncertainty into the market by continued speculation over more serious price declines". "Mervyn King presumably felt that he had to be more explicit in the summer when people were still buying. His warnings of a drop in property prices then have had the desired effect. "But our concern now is that the pendulum is swinging too far," be said. Last week, the Bank's monetary policy committee predicted for the first time that "house prices may fall modestly for a period" in its November inflation report. The Nationwide and Halifax mortgage lenders both showed a modest monthly decline in house prices in their latest loan approval data. Although the majority of surveyors expect prices to fall further in the next three months, Mr. Perry stressed there were signs of stabilizing demand from buyers in London. "London tends to be ahead of the rest of the market. And agents are telling us that more people are looking to buy. It is much better than it was," Mr. Perry said. However, falling prices continued to spread from the South of England as surveyors reported the first clear decline in prices in Yorkshire and the Humber, the north and the north west. Scotland remained the only region with rising prices.

单选题Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end—with commercials thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window. "Buy Super Clean Toothpaste. " "Drink Root Beer. "" Fill up with Pacific Gas. " Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television off, are you spared the unending cry of "You Need It! Buy It Now!" The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you' ve traveled that way before. Usually some things have change—new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. The bus driver has a style of driving and it' s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless or daring, the ride can be as thrilling as a suspense story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left-hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides more interesting. But you' ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops. The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will soon be over and there' s a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The seat, of course, has become harder as the hours have passed. By now you' ve sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the armrests—even with your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes just at theright time. There are just no more ways to sit.

单选题Please be advised that Nairobi like any other large city has a security and crime problem. However, if you observe the following simple guidelines you will stay and have a trouble-free seminar (研讨会): 1. Do not wear a money belt. This makes you an instant target. 2. Cameras of all kinds are a favorite with snatchers. Feel free to use them within the Starehe Campus and the hotel grounds but not in the streets. 3. Ladies handbags are also a regular snatch. Avoid carrying one, and if you must, be alert and hold on to it tightly. 4. Jewellery and even glasses with valuable frames are also often targeted. Bear this in mind. 5. When in a vehicle keep the doors always locked, and the windows only slightly open --especially at traffic lights, junctions and in slow moving traffic. 6. Beware of street children, their begging often quickly transforms into something more unpleasant. 7. Stay with the main party all the time, and avoid wandering off on your own. 8. Finally, the best defence is to be alert at all times and conscious of your environment. Should you have any problem, query or need help at any hour of the day or night call any of the following and they will do their best for you: OFFICE FIXED HOME FIXED Mobile Phone 1 KENNEDY HONGO 763856/761221 763182 0733 761294 2 FRED OKONO 761221 764988 0733 604490 3 EDWIN OTIENO 761221 761642/763011 072 701279

单选题A: What is all this glass doing on the floor? B: ______

单选题People who lack______core values rely on such external factors as their looks or status in order to feel good about themselves. (2011年南京师范大学考博试题)

单选题Questions 26-30 are based on the following advertisement: Software Systems Specialist Work Schedule: Full Time Salary: $62,500-$92,000 * Location: Washington, DC metropolitan area *Employees within the organization have opportunities for additional salary advancement to the Expert level. Software Systems Specialists are responsible for the planning, implementation and optimization of a wide variety of leading-edge systems software on Unix and Linux-based enterprise class servers used to meet critical intelligence needs. Team members are actively involved in the deployment of new Unix and Linux operating systems; introduction of new web, portal and JAVA application services, database administration and backup/recovery services, as well as the introduction of new systems. They also engage in server performance analysis and tuning, high capacity planning and assessments of new computing technologies to ensure 24×7×365 availability of these enterprise-class servers to customers across the Agency. Senior team members support to the most Complex server systems and are a resource to other team members on technical issues. They work closely with software engineering and network peers providing leadership in the deployment of new systems and the introduction of new technology into the operational environment. Minimum qualifications include the following: a BS or MS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Information Systems and/or a closely related degree. A GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is also required.

单选题(2007) The washing machine needs______before it can be used.

单选题He wasn"t ______ for what had happened.

单选题According to McWhorter, the decline of formal English ______.

单选题Researchers have recently found a connection between disease and stressful situations. To test this theory, psychologists are trying to find a link between the brain and the immune system. The immune system in our bodies fights the bacteria and viruses which cause disease. Therefore, whether or not we are likely to get various diseases depends on how well our immune system works. Biologists used to think that the immune system was a separate, independent part of our bodies. Recently, however, they have found that our brain can affect our immune system. This discovery indicates that there may be a connection between emotional factors, such as stress or depression, and illness. Although many doctors in the past suspected a connection between emotional factor and disease, they had no proof. Scientists have only recently discovered how the brain and the immune system function. Before this, no one could see a link between them. As a result, medical science never seriously considered the idea that psychological factors could cause disease. Several recent studies showed a connection between stress and illness, for example, researchers went to an American military school to study the students. They found that the sick students there had a lot of academic pressure and wanted to achieve, but they were not very good students. In a similar study, researchers studied a group of student nurses and found that the nurses who developed cold sores were the ones who described themselves as generally unhappy people. In addition to these results, which support their theory, researchers are also looking for proof that stress can damage the immune system. Researchers studied recently bereaved people, i.e. , people whose loved ones have just died, because they are more likely to become ill or die. By examining the immune system of recently bereaved people, the researchers made an important discovery. They examined some white blood cells which are an important part of the immune system. They were not functioning properly. The fact that they were not working correctly indicates that severe psychological stress, such as a loved one"s death, may damage an important part of our immune system. There is still no positive proof of a connection between the immune system and psychological factors. Researchers also say that the results of the studies on bereaved people could have a different explanation. For example, bereaved people often sleep and eat less than normal, or may drink alcohol or take medication. These factors can also affect the immune system. More research is needed to clearly establish the connection between the immune system and psychological factors.

单选题The mother rejected my suggestion that she ______ her daughter the next week. A. would meet B. shall meet C. meet D. met

单选题In many places water is becoming scarcer. Treating it as a right makes the scarcity worse. Ideally, efficient water use would be encouraged by charging for it, but attempts to do so have mostly proved politically impossible. A more practicable alternative is a system of tradable waterusage rights. As our explains, many water problems have global causes: population growth, climate change, urbanization and, especially, changing diets. It takes 2,000 liters of water to grow a kilo of vegetables but 15,000 liters to produce a kilo of beef—and people are eating more meat. The problems also have global implications. Without a new green revolution, farmers will need 60% more water to feed the 2 billion extra people who will be born between now and 2025. Yet there is, globally, no shortage of water. Unlike other natural resources (such as oil), water cannot be used up. It is recycled endlessly, as rain, snow or evaporation. On average, people are extracting for their own uses less than a tenth of what falls as rain and snow each year. The central problem is that so much water is wasted, mainly by farmers. Agri-culture uses three-quarters of the world's water. Because water is usually free, thirsty crops like alfalfa (苜蓿) are grown in arid California. Wheat in India and Brazil uses twice as much water as wheat in America. Dry countries like Pakistan export textiles though a 1 kg bolt of cloth requires 11,000 liters of water. Any economist knows what to do: price water to reflect its value. But decades of trying to do that for agriculture have run into powerful resistance from farmers. They reject scarcity pricing for the reason that water falls from the skies. No government owns it, so no government should charge for it. There is a way out. Australian farmers have the right to use a certain amount of water free. They can sell that right to others. But if they want more water themselves, they must buy it from a neighbor. The result of this trading is a market that has done what markets do: allocate resources to more productive use. Australia has endured its worst drought in modern history in the past ten years. Water supplies in some farming areas have fallen by half. Yet farmers have responded to the new market signals by switching to less thirsty crops and kept the value of farm output stable. Water productivity has doubled. Australia's system overcomes the usual objections because it confirms farmers' rights to water and lets them have much of it for nothing.

单选题What do gentlemen now do when a lady gets on a crowded bus or train?

单选题If Alaska ______ to the United States, perhaps Russian ______ there now. A. were not to be sold; is spoken B. were not sold; is spoken C. had not been sold; would be spoken D. had not been sold; was spoken

单选题The ______ over there is an Australian. [A] standing man [B] man stood [C] man standing

单选题What message does the author try to convey in this passage?