单选题Not until recent years ______ a popular means of communication. A. e-mail became B. e-mail has become C. did e-mail become D. will e-mail become

单选题He would have finished his university study but he ______ to quit and find a job to support his family. A. had had B. has C. had D. would have

单选题Vitamins do not provide energy, nor do they construct or build any part of the body. They are needed for ______ foods into energy and body maintenance. A. transforming B. transferring C. altering D. shifting

单选题______ I admit there are problems, I don't think that they cannot be solved. A. Unless B. Until C. As D. While

单选题 By 2010 the European Commission predicts transcontinental freight traffic will have risen 50 percent as a result of European expansion, and much of that will have to cross the enormous obstacle of the Alps. Right now the only practical way for most heavy traffic to get through is by truck and tunnel. And while that could change if safer and cleaner rail lines were opened, the chances are that won't happen anytime soon. Several private trucking companies have adapted quickly and creatively to the demands of European unification. Some of the bigger truckers trace cargoes with the Global Positioning System and sophisticated computers. And if trucks also bring more road hazards and pollution, at present there is no alternative. Right now only 8 percent of European merchandise moves by rail, compared with more than 40 percent in the United States. Delays are so common that the average speed for freight is about 18kin an hour. The railways have had trouble outgrowing a heritage of national rivalries and open warfare between Europe's countries. The result is what another European Commission report calls "a mosaic of badly interconnected national systems." Language barriers remain a problem, requiring crew changes at some borders. Switching systems and signals differ. And efficiency is more of a dream than a goal. Europe's railroads still have to deal with "phantom trains" that run so late that they combine with others and disappear from the railroad's records. In an era when many companies depend on a "just-in-time" inventories to make a profit, railroads are rarely on time at all. Yet there is little official enthusiasm for changing the system. The reality is that governments have helped create the imbalance between road and rail in Europe—and government action will likely be needed to fix it. The French emphasis on using rail to move people instead of goods, for instance, has helped cripple freight service. "All the investments went to passenger traffic," says Denis Douté, director of freight services for the French rail company SNCF. Freight trains have had to find "windows" to run in between passenger trains, unlike those in the United States, which often travel on separate tracks. The further development of the freight network requires massive investments to modernize existing infrastructure and open new ones. However, the political will to fund that kind of investment is lacking, which means the citizens will have to hold their noses for a while longer.

单选题A membership card authorizes ______ the club's facilities for a period of 12 months. A. the holder using B. the holder's use C. the holder to use D. the holder uses

单选题It looks like a terrible tiger but actually, ______ of pressed paper, it softens when damp and is washed away in a heavy rain.

单选题Man: I hear you drive a long way to work everyday. Woman: Oh, yes. It's about sixty miles. But it doesn't seem that far, the road is not bad, and there's not much traffic. Qestion: How does the woman feel about driving to work? A. She is tired of driving in heavy traffic. B. She doesn't mind it as the road conditions are good. C. She is unhappy to have to drive such a long way every day. D. She enjoys it because she's good at driving.

单选题People today spend a ______ portion of their time conferring on the proper way to bring up children. A. considerable B. significant C. substantial D. surplus

单选题Man: I hear you drive a long way to work everyday. Woman: Oh, yes. It"s about sixty miles. But it doesn"t seem that far, the road is not bad, and there"s not much traffic. Question: How does the woman feel about driving to work?

单选题The policeman stopped him when he was driving home and ______ him of speeding. A. charged B. accused C. blamed D. warned

单选题Speaker A: Hey, why don't we go out and do something tonight? I feel kind of bored. Speaker B: ______ A. You shouldn't feel bored with so many assignments to finish. B. Would you like to go dancing with me? C. Sometimes I also feel bored staying at home all day. D. I wish I could. But I really have to stay in and write to my parents.

单选题It has been revealed that some government leaders ______ their power to get illegal profits for themselves. A. apply B. abuse C. ignore D. utilize

单选题At some time in your life you may have a strong desire to do something strange or terrible. However, chances are that you don"t act on your impulse, but let it pass instead. You know that to commit the action is wrong in some way and that other people will not accept your behavior. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the phenomenon of the behavior is how it can change over the years within the same society, how certain behavior and attitudes once considered taboo can become perfectly acceptable and natural at another point in time. Topics such as death, for example, were once considered so upsetting and unpleasant that it was a taboo to even talk about them. Now with the publication of important books such as "On Death and Dying" and "Learning to Say Goodbye", people have become more aware of the importance of expressing feelings about death and, as a result, are more willing to talk about this taboo subject. One of the newest taboos in American society is the topic of fat. Unlike many other taboos, fat is a topic that Americans talk about constantly. It"s not taboo to talk about fat; it"s taboo to be fat. The "thin" look is thin, not fat. In the work world, most companies prefer youthful-looking, trim executives to sell their image as well as their products to the public. The thin look is associated with youth, vigor and success. The fat person, on the other hand, is thought of as lazy and lacking in energy, self- respect. After all, people think, how can people who care about themselves, and therefore the way they look, permit themselves to become fat? In an image-conscious society like the U.S., thin is "in", fat is "out".

单选题Woman: Excuse me, but could you tell me where I can change American dollars into British pounds? Man: There's a bank around the corner. But I am afraid it's already past its closing time. Why don't you try the one near the railway station? Question: What does the man mean? A. The woman should try her luck in the bank nearby. B. The bank around the corner is not open today. C. The woman should use dollars instead of pounds. D. The bank near the railway station closes late.

单选题The tremendous heat at a star's core, ______ tremendous gravity, joins the nuclei of hydrogen atoms. A. combined with B. having combined with C. combining with D. being combined to

单选题Woman: My headache is killing me. I thought it was going away, but now it is getting worse and worse. Man: I told you yesterday to make an appointment. Question: What does the man mean? A. The woman has been complaining too much. B. The woman's headache will go away by itself. C. The woman should have seen the doctor earlier. D. The woman should confirm her appointment with the doctor.

单选题Large companies need a way to reach the savings of the public at large. The same problem, on a smaller scale, faces practically every company trying to develop new products and create new jobs. There can be little prospect of raising the sort of sum needed from friends and people we know, and while banks may agree to provide short-term finance, they are generally unwilling to provide money on a permanent basis for long-term projects. So companies turn to the public, inviting people to lend them money, or take a share in the business in exchange for a share in future profits. This they do by issuing stocks and shares in the business through the Stock Exchange. By doing so they can put into circulation the savings of individuals and institution, both at home and overseas. When the saver needs his money back, he does not have to go to the company with which he originally placed it. Instead, he sells his shares through a stockbroker (证券经纪人) to some other saver who is seeking to invest his money. Many of the services need both by industry and by each of us are provided by the Government or by local authorities. Hospitals, roads, electricity, telephones, equipment and new development, if they are to serve us properly, require more money than is raised through taxes alone. The government, local authorities, and nationalized industries therefore frequently need to borrow money to finance major capital spending, and they, too, come to the Stock Exchange. There is hardly a man or woman in this country whose job or whose standard of living does not depend on the ability of his or her employers to raise money to finance new development. In one way or another this new money must come from the savings of the country. The Stock Exchange exists to provide a channel through which these savings can reach those who need finance.

单选题Scientists generally agree that the Earth's climate will warm up over the next 50 to 100 years ______ it has warmed in the 20,000 years since the Ice Age. A. as long as B. as much as C. as soon as D. as well as

单选题The concerts can attract so many people mainly because_____.