单选题The Spanish Government is so worried about the number of young adults still living with their parents that it has decided to help them leave the nest. Around 55 percent of people aged 18—34 in Spain still sleep in their parents" homes, says the latest report from the country"s state-run Institute of Youth. To coax (劝诱) young people from their homes, the institute started a "Youth Emancipation (解放)" programme this month. The programme offers guidance in finding rooms and jobs. Economists blame young people"s family dependence on the precarious (不稳定的) labour market and increasing housing prices. Housing prices have risen 17 percent a year since 2000. Cultural reasons also contribute to the problem, say sociologists. Family ties in south Europe——Italy, Portugal and Greece——are stronger than those in middle and north Europe, said Spanish sociologist Almudena Moreno Minguez in her report "The Late Emancipation of Spanish Youth: Keys for Understanding". "In general, young people in Spain firmly believe in the family as the main body around which their private life is organized," said Minguez. In Spain——especially in the countryside, it is not uncommon to find entire groups of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews (外甥/侄子) all living on the same street. They regularly get together for Sunday dinner. Parents" tolerance (宽容) is another factor. Spanish parents accept late-night partying and are wary of setting bedtime rules. "A child can arrive home at whatever time he wants. If parents complain he"ll put up a big fight and call the father a Fascist," said Jose Antonio Gomez Yanez, a sociologist at Carlos III University in Madrid. Mothers" willingness to do children"s household chores worsens the problem. Dionisio Masso, a 60-year-old in Madrid, has three children in their 20s. The eldest, 28, has a girlfriend and a job. But life with mum is good. "His mum does the wash and cooks for him; in the end, he lives well," Masso said.

单选题 Before 1933 , and particularly during the period 1929--1933, bank failures were not uncommon. {{U}} {{U}} 16 {{/U}} {{/U}}a bank overextended itself in creating credit or if several of its important loans could not be {{U}} {{U}} 17 {{/U}} {{/U}}, depositors in the bank would frequently become panicky and begin to make large withdrawals. {{U}} {{U}} 18 {{/U}} {{/U}}the bank had only a small number of its deposits backed by currency, the bank would soon be unable to meet withdrawals, and most depositors {{U}} {{U}} 19 {{/U}} {{/U}}their money. Most frequently a bank merely needed time to improve its cash position by {{U}} {{U}} 20 {{/U}} {{/U}}some of its loans and not making additional ones. In 1933, the number of bank failures {{U}} {{U}} 21 {{/U}} {{/U}}a peak, forcing the federal government to intervene and {{U}} {{U}} 22 {{/U}} {{/U}}the banks temporarily. To help restore the public's confidence {{U}} {{U}} 23 {{/U}} {{/U}}banks and strengthen the banking community, Congress passed legislation setting up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. {{U}} {{U}} 24 {{/U}} {{/U}}corporation, an agency of the federal government, now insures over 90 percent of all mutual savings and commercial bank deposits for {{U}} {{U}} 25 {{/U}} {{/U}}$100, 000 per deposit. The FDIC has {{U}} {{U}} 26 {{/U}} {{/U}}its insurance found by charging member institutions one-twelfth of I percent of their total deposits. As a result of the protection provided by the FDIC and through other kinds of supervision, bank failures have been {{U}} {{U}} 27 {{/U}} {{/U}}to a few isolated instances. When deposits are federally insured, people {{U}} {{U}} 28 {{/U}} {{/U}}rush to withdraw their money if they {{U}} {{U}} 29 {{/U}} {{/U}}the financial condition of their bank. The delay gives the banks the necessary time to adjust their cash credit balance, and this action helps to reduce the {{U}} {{U}} 30 {{/U}} {{/U}}of bankruptcy.

单选题The boys eyes were red and ________ from crying too long

单选题If sustainable competitive advantage depends on work-force skills.American firms have a problem．Human-resource management is not traditionally seen as central to the competitive survival of thefirm in the United States．Skill acquisition is considered an individual responsibility．Labor issimply another factor of production to be hired-rented at the lowest possible cost-much as onebuys raw materials or equipment．The lack of importance attached to human-resource management can be seen in the corporatehierarchy．In an American firm the chief financial officer is almost always second in comman@D@Thepost of head of human-resource management is usually a specialized job，off at the edge of thecorporate hierarchy．The executive who holds it is never consulted on major strategic decisions andhas no chance to move up to Chief Executive Officer(CEO)．By way of contrast，in Japan the head ofhuman-resource management is central-usually the second most important executive，after theCEO，in the firm’s hierarchy．While American firms often talk about the vast amounts spent on training their work forces，infact they invest less in the skills of their employees than do either Japanese or German firms．Themoney they do invest is also more highly concentrated on professional and managerial employees．And the limited investments that are made in training workers are also much more narrowly focusedon the specific skills necessary to do the next job rather than on the basic background skills thatmake it possible to absorb new technologies．As a result，problems emerge when new breakthrough technologies arrive．If Americanworkers，for example，take much longer to learn how to operate new flexible manufacturing stationsthan workers in Germany(as they do)，the effective cost of those stations is lower in Germany thanit is in the United States．More time is required before equipment is up and running at capacity，and the need for extensive retraining generates costs and creates bottlenecks that limit the speedwith which new equipment can be employe@D@The result is a slower pace of technological change．And in the end the skills of the population affect the wages of the top half．If the bottom half can’teffectively staff the processes that have to be operated，the management and professional jobs thatgo with these processes will disappear．

单选题They have {{U}}given up{{/U}} the hope to save their friend from drowning. A. built B. ended C. strengthen D. abandoned

单选题The majority of those who attended the meeting remained ______ throughout the entirety of the exciting presentation. A. captivating B. captivation C. captivated D. captivates

单选题From the health point of view we are living in a marvelous age. We are immunized from birth against many of the most dangerous diseases. A large number of once fatal illnesses can now be cured by modern drugs and surgery. It is almost certain that one day remedies will be found for the most stubborn remaining diseases. The expectation of life has increased enormously. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the incredible slaughter of men, women and children on the roads. Man versus the motor car! It is a never-ending battle which man is losing. Thousands of people over the world are killed or horribly killed each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen. It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering wheel, his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motor car often brings out a man's very worst qualities. People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a steering-wheel. They swear, they are ill-mannered and aggressive, willful as two-year-olds and utterly selfish. All their hidden frustrations, disappointments and jealousies seem to be brought to the surface by the act of driving. The surprising thing is that society smiles so benignly on the motorist and seems to condone his behaviour. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities are allowed to become almost uninhabitable because of heavy traffic; towns are made ugly by huge car parks; the countryside is desecrated by road networks; and the mass annual slaughter becomes nothing more than a statistic, to be conveniently forgotten. It is high time a world code were created to reduce this senseless waste of human life. With regard to driving, the laws of some countries are notoriously lax and even the strictest are not strict enough. A code which was universally accepted could only have a dramatically beneficial effect on the accident rate. Here are a few examples of some of the things that might be done. The driving test should be standardized and made far more difficult than it is; all the drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so; the age at which young people are allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21; all vehicles should be put through stringent annual tests for safety. Even the smallest amount of alcohol in the blood can impair a person's driving ability. Present drinking and driving laws (where they exist) should be made much stricter. Maximum and minimum speed limits should be imposed on all roads. Governments should lay down safety specifications for manufacturers, as has been done in the USA. All advertising stressing power and performance should be banned. These measures may sound inordinately harsh. But surely nothing should be considered as severe if it results in reducing the annual toll of human life. After all, the world is for human beings, not motor cars.

单选题The Norwegian Government is doing its best to keep the oil industry under control. A new law limits exploration to an area south of the southern end of the long coastline; production limits have been laid down (though these have already been raised); and oil companies have not been allowed to employ more than a limited number of foreign workers. But the oil industry has a way of getting over such problems, and few people believe that the Government will be able to hold things back for long. As an Norwegian politician said last week: "We will soon be changed beyond all recognition." Ever since the war, the Government has been carrying out a program of development in the area north of the Arctic Circle. During the past few years this program has had a great deal of success: Tromso has been built up into a local capital with a university, a large hospital and a healthy industry. But the oil industry has already started to draw people south, and within a few years the whole northern policy could be in ruins. The effects of the oil industry would not be limited to the north, however. With nearly 100 percent employment, everyone can see a situation developing in which the service industries and the tourist industry will lose more of their workers to the oil industry. Some smaller industries might even disappear altogether when it becomes cheaper to buy goods from abroad. The real argument over oil is its threat to the Norwegian way of life. Farmers and fishermen do not make up most of the population, but they are an important part of it, because Norwegians see in them many of the qualities that they regard with pride as essentially Norwegian. And it is the farmers and the fishermen who are most critical of the oil industry because of the damage that it might cause to the countryside and to the sea.

单选题第3篇 Shaming Punishments Last month, James Connolly, a junior at the University of Massachusetts, stood in front of a local police station wearing a toga (长袍) as punishment. His crime? He was charged with underage drinking, illegal possession of alcohol and excessive noise while holding a party. This shaming punishment has increased in the US in recent years, mostly imposed by local judges for less serious crimes, such as drunk driving and theft. They believe shame is the best petty crime deterrent(威慑). For example, in Tennessee, Judge James McKenzie has made shoplifters (商店货物扒手) stand outside Wal-Mart with signs that read, "I am a thief put here by order of Judge McKenzie" , "Alternative punishments like community service and fines don't convey moral condemnation (谴责) of the criminal. "said Dan Kahan, a University of Chicago Law School professor, in an article published on the university's website. "They aren't shameful enough. " Shaming punishments are sometimes called Scarlet (红色的) Letter punishments. The name comes from US author Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter. In this novel, a woman is forced to wear a scarlet "A" on her clothes as punishment for her adultery (通奸). However, University of Iowa law professor Andrew Hosmanek said there is an important difference between the shaming punishments of colonial America and those assigned in states like Tennessee. "Early societies often had are acceptance ceremony to welcome the offender back into main society. " says Hosmanek. "Contemporary punishments in America lack this. " Supporters of shaming punishment argue that public shaming is a good way of expressing community values. Some judges say shamed offenders seldom repeat their crimes. Others aren't so sure. "There is little evidence to suggest that shaming punishments are successful in preventing people from committing specific crimes. And a shamed criminal may face a hard battle to regain credibility in society. "said Hosmanek. "So, a shaming punishment may force the offender into more crimes to support himself. " Experts also debate shaming punishment's damage to human dignity. "Since the point is to shame, it's of course degrading(侮辱人格的). " said Linda Malone, director of the Human Rights and National Security Law Programme at William and Mary Law School. "US law only prohibits punishment that is 'cruel and unusual'--not 'inhuman and degrading'. It's very difficult for a thief to prove that holding a sign in front of Wal-Mart is 'cruel and unusual'. "

单选题March 26, 2006 Mr. Samuel Brown Truestar Corporation Finance Department Manager Re: Account # 2958A Dear Mr. Brown, I want to thank you for the conversation that we had earlier today and for agreeing to a reduction in payment for my outstanding account. As discussed, I will implement a bi-weekly payment of $250, effective Friday, March 31. I will ensure that payment is in my bank account for your automatic withdrawal by 10:00 a.m. every Friday payment period until my account is paid in full. I very much appreciate your understanding my current financial situation, and will contact you should things improve. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Best regards, Jason Chalmers September 3, 2006 Jason Chalmers 21 Reelster Boulevard Vancouver. BC Dear Jason, I am writing to update you on your account status (#2958A) with Truestar Corporation. As a result of our consolidated efforts to restructure your repayment plan in March of this year, it is with great satisfaction that I let you know that your account has now been cleared and paid in full. With diligence and cooperation, we have successfully worked through this financial situation. We would be pleased to offer our services should you need them again in the future. Please contact us with your request. Best wishes, and we look forward to working with you again soon. Samuel Brown Truestar Corporation Finance Department Manager

单选题When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called "Brownie". My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games, Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them, we always felt better when she was around. One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up one of Dad's shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, "Bad girl," she looked down at the ground and then went and hide. I saw a tear in her eyes. Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet, she went everywhere with us. People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she' d let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we'd be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair. She never barked or tried to get away. Funny thing is she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loved everyone. Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss days when she was with us.

单选题When you think of the tremendous technological progress we have made, it's amazing how little we have developed in other respects. We may speak contemptuously of the poor old Romans because they relished the orgies of slaughter that went on in their arenas. We may despise them because they mistook these goings-on for entertainment. We may forgive them condescendingly because they lived 2000 years ago and obviously knew no better. But are our feelings of superiority really justified.? Are we any less bloodthirsty? Why do boxing matches, for instance, attract such universal interest? Don't the spectators who attend them hope they will see some violence? Human beings remain as bloodthirsty as ever they were. The only difference between ourselves and the Romans is that while they were honest enough to admit that they enjoyed watching hungry lions tearing people apart and eating them alive, we find all sorts of sophisticated arguments to defend sports which should have been banned long ago; sports which are quite as barbarous as, say, public hangings or bearbaiting. It is really incredible that in this day and age we should still allow hunting or bull-fighting, that we should be prepared to sit back and watch two men batter each other to pulp in a boxing ring, that we should be relatively unmoved by the sight of one or a number of racing cars crashing and bursting into flames. Let us not deceive ourselves. Any talk of "the sporting spirit" is sheer hypocrisy. People take part in violent sports because of the high rewards they bring. Spectators are willing to pay vast sums of money to see violence. A world heavy-weight championship match, for instance, is front-page news. Millions of people are disappointed if a big fight is over in two rounds instead of fifteen. They feel disappointment because they have been deprived of the exquisite pleasure of witnessing prolonged torture and violence. Why should we ban violent sports if people enjoy them so much? You may well ask. The answer is simple, they are uncivilized. For centuries man has been trying to improve himself spiritually and emotionally—admittedly with little success. But at least we no longer tolerate the sight of madmen being cooped up in cages, or public floggings of any of the countless other barbaric practices which were common in the past. Prisons are no longer the grim forbidding places they used to be. Social welfare systems are in operation in many parts of the world. Big efforts are being made to distribute wealth fairly. These changes have come about not because human beings have suddenly and unaccountably improved, but because positive steps were taken to change the law. The law is the biggest instrument of social change that we have and it may exert great civilizing influence. If we banned dangerous and violent sports, we would be moving one step further to improving mankind. We would recognize that violence is degrading and unworthy of human beings.

单选题The leaders of Detroit's struggling Big Three automakers are appearing before the Senate today, where prospects of ￥25 billion in emergency loans to the industry appear to be stalling. Amid GOP cries of "corporate welfare," Senate Majority Leader Reid introduced a bill yesterday to let the automakers and component suppliers tap into some of the money Congress allotted in the ￥700 billion financial bailout. Reid, launching a lame-duck session, warned of a "potential meltdown" in the industry with devastating consequences. He said 355,000 people are employed by the industry and 4.5 million more work in related industries. An additional 1 million people, retirees and their relatives, are covered by retirement and medical plants within the industry, he said. The Big Three-General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler-have been whipsawed by the faltering economy and credit crunch. But the odds do not look good for Detroit. At the heart of the debate is whether automakers are deserving -as a linchpin of the U.S. economy -or are, in the words of one high-profile critic, Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, an innovation-averse "dinosaur". Shelby, appearing Sunday on Meet the Press, said "Get rid of the management. Get rid of the boards-the people who brought them to where they are today. This is a dead end. It's a road to nowhere, and it's a big burden on the American taxpayer." Republicans attacked the measure on several fronts. Some questioned the rush to judgment, others warned that other industries would soon line up for help. And some charged that the firms brought on their troubles by agreeing to union contracts with wages and benefits costing an average of ￥73 an hour, compared with ￥28 an hour for the average private firm. GOP Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said the ￥700 billion rescue was the No. 1 issued when he toured the state recently. "Candidly, the temperature of my constituents was boiling, 212 degrees Fahrenheit, and the thermometer was broken," he said. Some opponents prefer that the automakers pursue Chapter 11 reorganizations instead of hitting up Uncle Sam. Democrats argue that the ￥25 billion is only 4 percent of the bigger bailout. Reid's spokesman, Jim Manley, said the bill has robust language on corporate oversight, taxpayer protections, and executive compensation limits. A compromise could be struck if Democrats bowed to GOP pressure and, instead of new loans, rewrote the rules for ￥25 billion in loans granted to automakers to help them retool factories to build fuel-efficient vehicles. "It's mind boggling," one Republican said of Democrats' intransigence. "If I were them, I'd want to get this off my plate before Obama becomes president." The automotive executives, Alan Mulatly, Ford's president and CEO, Robert Nardelli, Chrysler' s chairman and CEO, and Rick Wagoner, GM' s chairman and CEO, are to appear before the Senate Banking Committee. Shelby is the top Republican on the panel. The post-election lame-duck session is the last chance to sign off on the measure during this Congress. The bill probably can pass the House, but prospects are iffy in the Senate, where Democrats need 60 votes to block an expected filibuster. If nothing passes, it could be taken up in January by the next Congress, which will have a broader Democratic majority.

单选题This notice concerns all employees who use the conference rooms. Starting immediately, you will need to officially reserve any conference room you wish to use. Any reservations of longer than three consecutive hours will require the written approval of your department manager. Reservation forms are available in the employee lounge. You must submit each form to your department secretary at least three business days in advance. If you need to cancel a meeting, please be sure to inform the secretary so that your reservation may be canceled as well. Any employees using the conference rooms without proper authorization will be asked to leave. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter. Joseph Mohammad Assistant Director of Operations From: Holly Graham To: Joseph Mohammad Subject: About the reservation of conference room Dear Joseph, I' m writing in response to your notice on reserving conference rooms. As a company sales manager, I have to say that my salespeople are not too happy with this sudden change in procedure. Please keep in mind that they are often away on business trips or working on other assignments that keep them out of the office for long periods of time. They simply don' t have the time to check the schedule and make reservation like on-site employees. If one of our clients shows up unexpectedly, it will be embarrassing for everyone if we don't have a conference room available. I' d like you to consider making an amendment to the rule, allowing our sales force to reserve conference rooms at short notice. Thanks. Holly Graham

单选题【2015中国银行】Nothing would induce me to vote for him again．

单选题Cross-cultural Communication in Business Negotiations Business Weekly by Dr. Rod Steiner November 2006 The importance of effective cross-cultural communication during business conferences or negotiations is often unappreciated. And yet it is not just the immediate outcome of the negotiation which is at stake but also the possibility of a positive, ongoing business relationship. Here's a simple example: "don't mix business and pleasure," we say, thinking ourselves to be efficient and "virtuous". But trying to negotiate with that attitude in some other cultures may well cause consternation in your host. This in turn will result in cross-cultural irritation and may well put future relationships under a cloud. So, the first rule should be to study the culture of the people with who whom you are going to negotiate. Dr. Rod Steiner, assistant lecturer, Department of Business Studies, South Australian Institute of Technology. South Australian Institute of Technology Department of Business Studies 44 Berwick St. Adelaide, Australia 5066 November 24, 2006 Dear Dr. Steiner, I read your article "Cross-cultural Communication in Business Negotiations" with a great deal of interest. I am a postgraduate language/business student at the University of Adelaide, and I have also had some experience living and studying in Japan. You are absolutely right when you highlight possible "cross-cultural irritation". In our culture, we would never associate business transactions of any type with drinking alcohol and going to nightclubs. However, that's more or less the normal way of doing things in Japan. I hope to specialize in this area of study — I mean, in cross-cultural communication — and that's why I have chosen also to study some foreign languages. If you have any suggestions for further reading, could you please let me know? Thanks for your attention. Julie Luddon

单选题From: Abdul Mueed TasabTo: Elaine RiachSubject: Survey DataElaine, I've finally received the results of the customer survey from Public Relations. Most of the findings match our【K4】______, but there were a few surprises. For example, customer satisfaction with the new warranty offer was far lower than we thought. Apparently, most people feel that the length of the warranty period is too short. The effect that this will have on future sales remains【K5】______. On the other hand, the company' s new product received a higher score than we predicted. I think we should meet to discuss the survey data sometime this week. Please get back to me with a time that would best fit your schedule. I should be able to【K6】______you. Thanks.

单选题In 2012, the cartoon was among the list of the world's most valuable cartoons, ______ $3. 8 billion a year in sales world wide.

单选题Experience suggests that small, integrated organizations can operate ______ in critical situations than large firms can. A. efficiently B. more efficient C. efficiency D. more efficiently

单选题Governor Ogden's new economic policies will focus on ______ more jobs in Paxton County. A. create B. creation C. creating D. creative