阅读理解Graduation Ceremonies Spring 2015 Health Related Field: Thursday, April 30, 2015 - 3:00pm Non-Health Related CTE Programs: Friday, May 1,2015 - 3:00pm Liberal Arts and Sciences: Friday, May 1, 2015 - 7:00pm Graduation Information Day Thursday, March 12, 2015 - 10:00am - 1:00pm Location: R-01 Graduation Application Deadlines Graduation Last Day to Grades Post Program Deadline Apply Online Degrees Awarded February 27, 2015 April 30, 2015 May 5, 2015 Graduation Tickets! To

阅读理解Most animals seek shade when temperatures in the Sahara Desert soar to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. But for the Saharan silver ant,【C1】________from their underground nests into the sun’s brutal rays to【C2】________for food, this is the perfect time to seek lunch. In 2015 these ants were joined in the desert by scientists from two Belgian universities, who spent a month in the【C3】________heat tracking the ants and digging out their nests. The goal was simple, to discover how the 【C4】________adapted to the kind of heat that can【C5】________melt the bottom of shoes. Back in Belgium, the scientists looked at the ants under an electronic microscope and found that their【C6】________, triangular hair reflects light like a prism (棱镜), giving them a metallic reflection and protecting them from the sun’s awful heat. When Ph. D. student Quentin Willot【C7】________the hair from an ant with a【C8】________knife and put it under a heat lamp, its temperature jumped. The ants’ method of staying cool is【C9】________among animals. Could this reflective type of hair protect people? Willot says companies are interested in【C10】________these ants’ method of heat protection for human use, including everything from helping to protect the lives of firefighters to keeping homes cool in summer.A) adapting I) remoteB) consciously J) removedC) crawling K) speciesD) crowded L) specimensE) extreme M) thickF) hunt N) tinyG) literally O) uniqueH) moderate

阅读理解【C1】 Actually, the revolt of the young people was a logical outcome of conditions in the age

阅读理解Text 1 Of all the components of a good nights sleep, dreams seem to be least within our control

阅读理解That experiences influence subsequent behaviour is evidence of an obvious but nevertheless remarkable activity called remembering. Learning could not occur without the function popularly named memory. Constant practice has such an effect on memory as to lead to skilful performance on the piano, to recitation of a poem, and even to reading and understanding these words. So-called intelligent behaviour demands memory, remembering being a primary requirement for reasoning. The ability to solve any problem or even to recognize that a problem exists depends on memory. Typically, the decision to cross a street is based on remembering many earlier experiences. 　　Practice (or review) tends to build and maintain memory for a task or for any learned material. Over a period of no practice what has been learned tends to be forgotten; and the adaptive consequences may not seem obvious. Yet, dramatic instances of sudden forgetting can be seen to be adaptive. In this sense, the ability to forget can be interpreted to have survived through a process of natural selection in animals. Indeed, when one''s memory of an emotionally painful experience leads to serious anxiety, forgetting may produce relief. Nevertheless, an evolutionary interpretation might make it difficult to understand how the commonly gradual process of forgetting survived natural selection. 　　In thinking about the evolution of memory together with all its possible aspects, it is helpful to consider what would happen if memories failed to fade. Forgetting clearly aids orientation in time, since old memories weaken and the new tend to stand out, providing clues for inferring duration. Without forgetting, adaptive ability would suffer; for example, learned behaviour that might have been correct a decade ago may no longer be. Cases are recorded of people who (by ordinary standards) forgot so little that their everyday activities were full of confusion. Thus forgetting seems to serve the survival of the individual and the species. 　　Another line of thought assumes a memory storage system of limited capacity that provides adaptive flexibility specifically through forgetting. In this view, continual adjustments are made between learning or memory storage (input) and forgetting (output). Indeed, there is evidence that the rate at which individuals forget is directly related to how much they have learned. Such data offer gross support of contemporary models of memory that assume an input-output balance.

阅读理解Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage

阅读理解 Grade inflation—the gradual increase in average GPAs (grade-point averages) over the past few decades—is often considered a product of a consumer era in higher education, in which students are treated like customers to be pleased. But another, related force—a policy often buried deep in course catalogs called 'grade forgiveness'—is helping raise GPAs. Grade forgiveness allows students to retake a course in which they received a low grade, and the most recent grade or the highest grade is the only one that counts in calculating a student's overall GPA. The use of this little-known practice has accelerated in recent years, as colleges continue to do their utmost to keep students in school (and paying tuition) and improve their graduation rates. When this practice first started decades ago, it was usually limited to freshmen, to give them a second chance to take a class in their first year if they struggled in their transition to college-level courses. But now most colleges, save for many selective campuses, allow all undergraduates, and even graduate students, to get their low grades forgiven. College officials tend to emphasize that the goal of grade forgiveness is less about the grade it-self and more about encouraging students to retake courses critical to their degree program and graduation without incurring a big penalty. 'Ultimately,' said Jack Miner, Ohio State University's registrar, 'we see students achieve more success because they retake a course and do better in subsequent courses or master the content that allows them to graduate on time.' That said, there is a way in which grade forgiveness satisfies colleges' own needs as well. For public institutions, state funds are sometimes tied partly to their success on metrics such as graduation rates and student retention—so better grades can, by boosting figures like those, mean more money. And anything that raises GPAs will likely make students—who, at the end of the day, are paying the bill—feel they've gotten a better value for their tuition dollars, which is another big concern for colleges. Indeed, grade forgiveness is just another way that universities are responding to consumers' expectations for higher education. Since students and parents expect a college degree to lead to a job, it is in the best interest of a school to turn out graduates who are as qualified as possible—or at least appear to be. On this, students' and colleges' incentives seem to be aligned.

阅读理解Bribery may lead to murder. A month ago reporters rushed to the (1) of a crime. At the spot the detective seemed even hardly aware of their (2) as he did his work. He carefully searched for (3) over every inch of the house. After a while, he bent over to pick up a small torn (4) of fabric. Nothing could (5) from his search. The detective (6) that this piece of fabric was (7) from the murderers clothing during a struggle. The (8) had been the finance director of a very large computer hardware manufacturer. His wife, a timid woman, (9) everything she knew with the detective, including a hot (10) her husband had with some of the companys top executives at a banquet. There had been a scandal (11) bribery at his company. He was (12) the business of many of the top executives. He had (13) that some people were giving special favors to government officials to get (14) . He often questioned their moral (15) and told them that he would accuse them if they were doing something they shouldnt, (16) caused problems for him. His questioning and accusing often left him at (17) with many of the executives. This time it had led to a (18) blow on his head. The detective caught (19) of a crucial clue, a brass button in the corner. It was from a jacket of one of the top executives. Later this executive and the companys president was (20) . Of course this is not the end of the story.

阅读理解Financial engineers don''t wear white lab coats. They don''t experiment on rats or perform gas chromatography(气相层析). Their raw material-money-isn''t as showy as what biologists and physicists investigate. But the innovations they produce will contribute just as much to economic growth. 　　Maybe more, in fact, because without the science of finance, all other sciences are just a bunch of neat concepts. Ideas begin to tribute to human betterment when they''re financed-by venture capital, stock offerings, loans, or buyouts. A smoothly operating financial system showers money on good ideas. Equally important, it cuts off funding to tired ideas and tired companies, so their assets can be employed more efficiently elsewhere. 　　In the 21st century economy, innovation in finance will increase in concert with the increase in competition. Partly because of deregulation and globalization, competition should get tougher, and margins thinner. As products such as home mortgage loans become commoditized, financial- service companies will be forced to get more creative. 　　Financial technology will keep feeding off information technology. The secret to success will be a strong software platform, which will lower the cost of general services while making it possible to create high-margin variations as well. A few companies that get it right can spin away from the rest and become stronger and stronger. 　　In the new world of finance, size counts. Big companies enjoy economies of scale and name recognition, and they can be safer because their bets are spread across more regions and market segments. The value of U. S. bank mergers in the first half of 1998 was greater than that of the three previous years combined. The mergers are occurring across industries as well. 　　At the other extreme will be specialists that survive by doing one thing either very cheaply or exceptionally well. By offering lower prices or better service, specialists will discipline the financial supermarkets; the big guys know their customers can walk away if they get a raw deal. "There is no way we are going to maximize a short-term transactional benefit at the risk of destroying a long-term relationship," says Chase Manhattan Corp. Vice-Chairman Joseph G. Sponholz. 　　Predictably, the biggest winners from financial innovation will be companies, and families that have complex finances. Banks already show signs of losing interest in people who want just plain checking accounts. 　　But as incomes and wealth rise, more people will find themselves thrust into the role of asset managers. Businesses, too, will have to become more sophisticated-if only to keep pace with financially innovative rivals.

阅读理解 When the Federal Communications Commission proposed giving low-power radio stations licenses on the FM dial, they knew they'd get flak from big broadcasting. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), after all, spends millions of dollars every year lobbying to keep everybody else off the radio spectrum-even locally managed, noncommercial stations that broadcast only within a four-mile radius. Sure enough, when the FCC proposed its new regulations, the NAB began screaming about all the terrible things those tiny radio transmitters could do to the big ones, whose signals are 500 times as strong and whose reach is nearly 20 times as far. It was a pretty thin argument. So thin, in fact, that for a while it appeared the proposed regulations might survive the lobbying onslaught. And then the FCC and its allies ran into a most unlikely opponent, one with the moral authority to do real damage to their cause: National Public Radio. One might easily assume that NPR would look out for the public interest. After all, NPR was born from the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which called for it to 'encourage the development of programming that involves creative risks and that addresses the needs of unserved and underserved audiences' while creating 'programs of high quality, diversity, creativity, excellence, and innovation which are obtained from diverse sources.' The charter, in other words, describes exactly the kind of programming low-power radio might provide, particularly in rural or heavily immigrant communities where locally oriented programming could be more useful than nationally syndicated shows. But the well-meaning lefties at NPR didn't see low-power radio as a potential ally or kindred spirit. They saw it just as the big broadcasters did—as a threat—and tried to squash it in much the same way. They may have succeeded. NPR's lobbying supported a last-minute rider in December's Senate appropriations bill (which eventually became law). This amendment severely handicaps the low-power radio initiative. Specifically, it limits the licensing of low-power radio to just nine test markets, enforcing restrictions that effectively keep it out of urban areas and other major markets. It also mandates testing to determine the economic impact on established broadcasters. And, though John McCain has vowed to continue the fight for low power, for now at least NPR has won the day. The primary motivation behind opening the airwaves to low-power radio was to undo the damage wrought by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. That law was supposed to increase competition on the airwaves. Instead, it consolidated control of radio stations in the hands of a few large, national companies that syndicate programs (or even whole broadcasts) to their affiliates, thus squeezing out local programming. By allowing small, noncommercial stations, to break into the spectrum, the FCC hoped to reintroduce local material in places where it has all but vanished. In its application process, the FCC privileged local content and community involvement—for example, assigning spectrum space to stations in primarily Latino areas that broadcast family-planning information in Spanish. Part of the application asked aspiring broadcasters how their stations would serve their neighborhoods.

阅读理解Not so long ago almost any student who successfully completed a university degree could find a good career quite easily. Companies toured the academic institutions, competing with each other to select graduates. However, those days are gone, even in Hong Kong, and nowadays graduates often face strong competition in the search for jobs. Most careers organizations highlight three stages for graduates to follow in the process of securing a suitable career: recognizing abilities, matching these to available jobs and presenting them well to possible employers. Job seekers have to make a careful assessment of their own abilities. One area of assessment should be of their academic qualifications, which would include special skills within their subject area. Graduates should also consider their own personal values and attitudes. An honest assessment of personal interests and abilities such as creative skills, or skills acquired from work experience, should also be given careful thought. The second stage is to study the opportunities available for employment and to think about how the general employment situation is likely to develop in the future. To do this, graduates can study job and position information in newspapers, or they can visit a careers office, write to possible employers for information or contact friends or relatives who may already be involved in a particular profession. After studying all the various options, they should be in a position to make informed comparisons between various careers. Good personal presentation is essential in the search for a good career. Job application forms and letters should, of course, be filled in carefully and correctly, without grammar or spelling errors. Where additional information is asked for, job seekers should describe their abilities and work experience in more depth, with examples if possible. They should try to balance their own abilities with the employer''s needs, explain why they are interested in a career with the particular company and try to show that they already know something about the company and its activities. When graduates go to an interview, they should prepare properly by finding out all they can about the possible employer. Dressing suitably and arriving for the interview on time are also important. Interviewees should try to give positive and helpful answers and should not be afraid to ask questions about anything they are unsure about. This is much better than pretending to understand a question and giving an unsuitable answer.

阅读理解Passage TwoOn average, American kids ages 3 to 12 spent 29 hours a week in school, eight hours more than they did in 1901. They also did more household work and participated in more of such organized activities as soccer and ballet （芭蕾舞）. Involvement in sports, in particular, rose almost 50% from 1981 to 1997: boys now spend an average of four hours a week playing sports; girls log half that time. All in all, however, childrens leisure time dropped from 40% of the day in 1981 to 25%.Children are affected by the same time crunch （危机）that affects their parents,vsays Sandra Hofferth, who headed the recent study of childrens timetable. A chief reason, she says, is that more mothers are working outside the home. （Nevertheless, children in both double-income and “male breadwinner households spent comparable amounts of time interacting with their parents, 19 hours and 22 hours respectively. In contrast, children spent only 9 hours with their single mothers）.All work and no play could make for some very messed-up kids. Play is the most pow^ful way a child explores the world and learns about himself, says T. Berry BrazeIton, professor at Harvard Medical School. Unstructured play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to negotiate their, relationships with their peers, but kids ages 3 to 12 spent only 12 hours a week engaged in it.The children sampled spent a quarter of their rapidly decreasing “free time” watching television. But that, believe it or not, was one of the findings parents might regard as good news. If they,re spending less time in front of the TV set, however, kids arent replacing it with reading. Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, the children spent just over an hour a week reading. Lcfs face it, whos got the time?

阅读理解If this letter won’t work, what is the Western Company going to do?The company will settle the matter through __________ 

阅读理解According to the passage, what does Continental Breakfast include?

阅读理解 A good-looking robot is seriously hard to find. Robots can be pretty, some even handsome, but as soon as they get too realistic they start to creep us out. A new system for helping robots to generate more realistic expressions might go some way to help. Many years ago, roboticists realised that as you morph an abstract robot into a human you generate a peak of unease—the 'uncanny valley principle'—that makes people feel uncomfortable when a robot looks realistic but not realistic enough. Some say it's because they remind us of a corpse. However, research has shown that if you manipulate the robotic images so that they are more attractive, you can bypass this feeling of unease. To create a robot we are more likely to accept, life-like expressions are vital. That's why Nicole Lazzeri at the University of Pisa, Italy, and her colleagues have designed a 'Hybrid Engine for Facial Expressions Synthesis' (HEFES)—a facial animation engine that gives realistic expressions to a humanoid robot called FACE. To mimic the myriad expressions that facial muscles are capable of achieving, the team placed 32 motors around FACE's skull and upper torso that manipulate its polymer skin in the same way that real muscles do. To create expressions they used a combination of motor movements based on the Facial Action Coding System (FACS)—a system created over 30 years ago which codes facial expressions in terms of organic muscle movements. HEFES is used to control FACE's expressions. It is essentially a mathematical programme that creates an 'emotional space' which a person can use to choose an expression for FACE that exists anywhere between one or more basic emotions, including anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. The algorithm then works out which motors need to be moved to create that expression or transition between two or more. The team evaluated the accuracy of their expressions by asking five autistic and 15 non-autistic children to identify a set of expressions performed first by FACE and then by a psychologist. Both groups were able to identify happiness, anger and sadness but less able to identify fear, disgust and surprise. So is it more attractive? I'm not convinced. But FACE's ability to smoothly transition between one emotion and another is pretty remarkable. And not too creepy.

阅读理解We can infer from the passage that _________ 

阅读理解What does the author want to imply in this passage?

阅读理解Passage3 Using the public telephone may well be one of the minor irritations of life, demanding patience, determination and strong possibility of failure, together on occasion with considerable unpopularity

阅读理解Passage A In large part as a consequence of the feminist movement, historians have focused a great deal of attention in recent years on determining more accurately the status of women in various periods

阅读理解 For years, researchers have struggled to understand why so many women leave careers inscience and engineering. Theories run the gamut (整个范围), from family-unfriendly work schedules to natural differences between the genders. A new paper by McGill University economist Jennifer Hunt offers another explanation: women leave such jobs when they feel disappointed about pay and the chance of promotion. Her first finding was that women actually don't leave jobs in science at an above average rate. The difference, Hunt found, comes from the engineering sector. That's not simply because women are exiting the workforce to raise families. About 21% of all graduates surveyed were working in a field unrelated to their highest college degree. That proportion held steady for both men and women. Yet in engineering, there was a gap. About 10% of male engineers were working in an unrelated field, while some 13% of female engineers were. Women who became engineers disproportionately left for other sectors. The survey suggests options such as working conditions, pay, promotion-opportunities, job location and family-related reasons. As it turned out, more than 60% of the women leaving engineering did so because of dissatisfaction with pay and promotion opportunities. More women than men left engineering for family-related reasons, but that gender gap was no different than what Hunt found in nonengineering professions. 'It doesn't have anything to do with the nature of the work,' says Hunt. The question then becomes why women engineers feel so stifled (窒息) when it comes to pay and promotion. Women also left fields such as financial management and economics at higher than expected rates. The commonality, like engineering, those sectors are male-dominated. Some 74% of financial-management degree holders in the survey sample were male. Men made up 73% of economics graduates. And to take one example from engineering, some 83% of mechanical-engineer grads were male. Jennifer Hunt concludes that focusing on making engineering jobs more family-friendly alone—by offering flexible work schedules, say—misses an important part of the mark. If we desire to keep women working as engineers, whether for their sakes or society's, then a better focus may be creating work environments where women feel more able to climb the career ladder.