单选题Student: Hello, this is Bill Aston. I'd like to speak to Professor Mailer, please.Assistant: ______.
单选题Movies, sports and music are forms of______. They help us relax.
单选题The membership card entitled him ______ certain privileges in the club.
A. on
B. in
C. at
D. to
单选题I like ______ the clouds at sunset because it seems relaxing.
单选题 Vernon Bowman, a 75-year-old farmer from rural Indiana, did something that got him sued. He planted soybeans (大豆) sold as cattle feed. But Monsanto, the agricultural giant, insists it has a patent on the kind of genetically modified seeds Bowman used—and that the patent continues to all of the progeny (后代) of those seeds. Have we really gotten to the point that planting a seed can lead to a high-stakes Supreme Court patent lawsuit? We have, and that case is Bowman vs. Monsanto, which is being argued on Tuesday. Monsanto's critics have attacked the company for its 'merciless legal battles against small farmers,' and they are hoping this will be the case that puts it in its place. They are also hoping the court's ruling will rein in patent law, which is increasingly being used to claim new life forms as private property. Monsanto and its supporters, not surprisingly, see the case very differently. They argue that when a company like Monsanto goes to great expense to create a valuable new genetically modified seed, it must be able to protect its property interests. If farmers like Bowman are able to use these seeds without paying the designated fee, it will remove the incentives for companies like Monsanto to innovate. Monsanto accused Bowman of patent infringement and won an $ 84 456 damage award. Rather than pay up or work out a settlement, Bowman decided to appeal—all the way to the Supreme Court. He said 'Monsanto should not be able, just because they've got billions of dollars to spend on legal fees, to try to terrify farmers into obeying their agreements by massive force and threats.' The central issue in the case is whether patent rights to living things extend to the progeny of those things. Monsanto argues that its patents extend to later generations. But Bowman's supporters argue that Monsanto is trying to expand the scope of patents in ways that would enrich big corporations and hurt small farmers. They say that if Monsanto wins, the impact will extend far beyond agriculture—locking up property rights in an array of important areas. Knowledge Ecology International contends that the Supreme Court's ruling could have 'profound effects' on other biotech industries. If this were a Hollywood movie, the courageous old Indiana farmer would beat the profit-minded corporation before the credits rolled. But this is a real-life argument before a Supreme Court that has a well-earned reputation for looking out for the interests of large corporations. This case gives the court an opportunity to rein in the growing use of patents to protect genetically engineered crops and other life forms—but the court may well use it to give this trend a powerful new endorsement.
单选题We were most flattered to find that we had a wonderfully audience for last night's performance.
单选题Our new house is very ______ for me as I can get to the office in five minutes. A. adaptable B. comfortable C. convenient D. available
单选题 SECTION A MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS In this section there are several passages followed by ten multiple-choice questions. For each question, there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer and mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET TWO. PASSAGE ONE The majority of successful senior managers do not closely follow the classical rational model of first clarifying goals, assessing the problem, formulating options, estimating likelihoods of success, making a decision, and only then taking action to implement the decision. Rather, in their day-by-day tactical maneuvers, these senior executives rely on what is vaguely termed 'intuition' to manage a network of interrelated problems that require them to deal with ambiguity, inconsistency, novelty, and surprise; and to integrate action into the process of thinking. Generations of writers on management have recognized that some practicing managers rely heavily on intuition. In general, however, such writers display a poor grasp of what intuition is. Some see it as the opposite of rationality; others view it as an excuse for capriciousness. Isenberg's recent research on the cognitive processes of senior managers reveals that managers' intuition is neither of these. Rather, senior managers use intuition in at least five distinct ways. First, they intuitively sense when a problem exists. Second, managers rely on intuition to perform well-learned behavior patterns rapidly. This intuition is not arbitrary or irrational, but is based on years of painstaking practice and hands-on experience that build skills. A third function of intuition is to synthesize isolated bits of data and practice into an integrated picture, often in an 'Aha!' experience. Fourth, some managers use intuition as a check on the results of more rational analysis. Most senior executives are familiar with the formal decision analysis models and tools, and those who use such systematic methods for reaching decisions are occasionally leery of solutions suggested by these methods which run counter to their sense of the correct course of action. Finally, managers can use intuition to bypass in-depth analysis and move rapidly to engender a plausible solution. Used in this way, intuition is an almost instantaneous cognitive process in which a manager recognizes patterns. One of the implications of the intuitive style of executive management is that 'thinking' is inseparable from acting. Since managers often 'know' what is right before they can analyze and explain it, they frequently act first and explain later. Analysis is inextricably tied to action in thinking/acting cycles, in which managers develop thoughts about their companies and organizations not by analyzing a problematic situation and then acting, but by acting and analyzing in close concert. PASSAGE TWO Remember the Stone Age days of research back in elementary school and middle school? We would spend countless hours digesting the information we could find on index cards. Do you recall using those ancient computers that ran with the Gopher program or some generic database whose name connoted a marmot that could take halt' an hour to find Moby Dick? Well, all I have to say can be summed up in five words: Thank God For The Internet! Screw going to the library! I have access to dozens of databases, journals, and collections of literature right at my fingertips. I can complete all of my research at home and no longer must run amok in the library, stressing out while trying to find Shakespeare's The Tempest or some other book, all the while trying to block out the noisy study groups who have forgotten what the 'silence policy of libraries' means. If you recall the flood epidemic that hit Colorado State University just a couple summers ago, that natural disaster wreaked havoc all over campus. A large portion of journals and texts were located in our libraries' basement which completely filled up with about 10 feet of rain water in a matter of hours. The Lory Student Center's basement was also flooded and that was where the university bookstore was located. This forced almost every professor to order new textbooks and that really put a dent in our wallets. Many students here, myself included, still have to face the disappointment of searching for a particular book or journal for a last minute paper, only to find out that the certain item was a casualty of the flood. Thanks to the Internet, the university implemented the Inter-Library Loan system. Several universities around Colorado have generously aided us in our research endeavors by loaning any resource we need for at least two to three weeks. All we have to do is type in a request and five other university libraries automatically search for that information. Without this program, I may have failed several papers and projects. I would have had to spend my nights running from public library to public library around the state just to find a certain article or novel. The World Wide Web has also given us the capability to order any textbook at a ranch lower price than the university bookstores charge. Hey, we're all college students and we're usually broke, so anytime we can find a deal or discount that will save us a few bucks, we will gladly take it. And last but not least, for those of us who are constantly homesick, have a special someone far away or still want to keep in touch with pals, we have e-mail. Like most of you, I moved away from home to go to school and my high school friends spread out across the globe. Instead of wasting money on stationery and envelopes and stamps (which seem to increase in price about every year), I can chat with everyone through the Internet. Plus, scanning has allowed us to send pictures to our sweethearts, friends, and family who have forgotten what we look like. So, I'm asking everyone to get on their hands and knees and to pay homage to the tele-communications god, the Internet. PASSAGE THREE Until the end of the 18th century, it was men who lavished attention on their feet. Louis XIV wore high heeled mules to show off his shapely legs; his courtiers adorned their figures and feet with feathers, pink silk, lace, and jewels; even in colonial American, men fussed with their wigs and the bows and buttons on their shoes. The end of that foppery, called 'the great renunciation' by historians, coincided with an epochal shift in politics and society, toward democracy, industry, and reason, away from the aristocracy with its affectations that spoke of rank, parasitism and, to the modern eyes, effeminacy. Women's fashion is now, some believe, at the turning point of similar magnitude, coinciding with the equally dramatic social transformation of the past several decades. The change has been slow: a century long move away from the padding, corseting, and decoration that made a woman into a kind of ornate bauble (小摆设) and displayed her family's wealth, and toward the clean, sleek modern lines first introduced with the suffrage movement. But the shift has accelerated in recent years, thanks to changes in the technology and business of fashion. The use by top designers of 'weird, fabulous, unrecognizable synthetics,' says Hollander 'has ruined the status of certain fabrics, like linen, which has had a leveling effect for the sexes and for the classes.' And the emergence of chains like Club Monaco means that 'forward looking style is disseminated very fast and very cheaply,' according to Valerie Steele, a historian and curator of 'Shoes: A Lexicon of Style,' an exhibition now on view at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology. Such stores have succeeded, she believes, because 'there's substantial group of people with a sophisticated eye for design' who are eager for an affordable version of what was once thought to be 'dog-whistle fashion,' pitched so high that only a few would get it. Against that background, the shoes at FIT look like fashion's last gasp. The exhibit begins with the most symbolically loaded of women's shoes: high heels, which Steele calls 'a prime symbol of women's sexual power over men.' That same defiance of feminine expectations is visible throughout the FIT show: in the boot, for instance, with its connotations of machismo and military power, or the androgynous oxford, made girlish with a big chunky heel. The show ends, fittingly, with the sneaker. No longer simply a downscale kid wear item, the big, brilliantly colored, high-tech sneaker has become one of the today's most dramatic fashion statements, asserting street hip and futuristic velocity. Maybe shoes aren't so indifferent to the changes in modern lives, after all. PASSAGE FOUR President will make his case for his $1.6 trillion tax cut plan, delivering a speech at a community center in St. Louis. The proposal would slash federal tax rates across all levels of income, eliminate the so-called marriage penalty and phase out estate taxes. Democrats complain that the plan—which would cut the top rate from 39 to 33 percent—would disproportionately benefit the wealthy and unnecessarily squander expected budget surpluses. Some of the richest Americans are urging Congress not to repeal the estate tax, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, Feb. 14. About 120 wealthy Americans had signed or supported a petition to oppose phasing out the tax. President Bush has included the repeal of the tax in his $1.6 trillion tax cut proposal. Normally when 'dozens' of Americans join in a political cause, it is not particularly noteworthy, but in this case the dozens include: George Soros, a billionaire financier; Warren Buffett, an investor listed as America's fourth-richest person; the philanthropist David Rockefeller Jr.; and William Gates Sr., a Seattle lawyer and father of America's richest man, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates. It was refreshing to see Buffett and George Soros and a number of other extremely wealthy luminaries stand up in opposition to President Bush's proposed repeal of the estate tax. While the policy has some emotional attractions—it would protect the inheritors of some small businesses from having to sell the companies to pay taxes, and it is true that most people have been taxed on their savings once already—in practice the tax repeal would mainly be a windfall for a very small number of very, very rich people. Buffett and company cite these factors in their petition calling for opposition to the estate-tax repeal. They also discuss something that's equally emotional and far more complex: the principle of meritocracy. The idea that everyone in America has an equal chance, that our fates are not determined by accidents of birth, is one of our core values. And nowhere is this principle more revered than in the technology economy; entrepreneurship is almost by definition an expression of meritocracy. The petitioners argue that repealing the tax will cost the Treasury billions of dollars in lost revenues and will result in either increased taxes in the long run or cuts to Medicare, Social Security, environmental protection and other government programs. Repealing the levy 'would enrich the heirs of America's millionaires and billionaires, while hurting families who struggle to make ends meet,' the petition says. Buffett told the Times that repealing the estate tax would be a 'terrible mistake' and the equivalent of 'choosing the 2020 Olympic team by picking the eldest sons of the gold-medal winners in the 2000 Olympics.' An old brokerage commercial says: 'He made his money the old-fashioned way: He earned it.' There was a perfect parody of the ad in which the line read: 'He made his money the old-fashioned way: He inherited it.' In 20 or 50 or 100 years, which of these lines will be right? Buffett and Soros and friends, to their credit, want to help make the first one real. Let's hope this is only one step in that process.
单选题It was while she was sleeping in her bedroom______a thief broke into the house.
单选题The program on education is _______ watching.
单选题According to the passage, the problems of college education partly arise from the fact that______
单选题It can be inferred from the passage that Bellevue was a ______.
单选题He must have had an accident, or he ______ then.
单选题In the second paragraph "if we take two unrelated people at random from the population ..." means "if we ______."
单选题It is of no use ______ about it, because he will never change his mind.
单选题Sometimes children have trouble ______ fact from fiction and may believe that such things actually exist. A. to separate B. separating C. for separating D. of separating
单选题Speaker A: I beard Joe say something terrible to you yesterday.Speaker B:______
单选题The Department is the lead provider of essential______, with responsibility for transport, ports and marine, freight, information and communication technology, major development, energy and security.
单选题 You ______ go far ______ stumbling upon a picturesque lake and the area abounds with small regional museums.
单选题She is over 70 but she ______ of the company.
