单选题{{B}}Part A{{/B}} Read the following texts answer the questions accompany them by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.{{B}}Text 1{{/B}} While it's true that just about every cell in the body has the instructions to make a complete human, most of those instructions are inactivated, and with good reason. The last thing you want is for your brain cells to start producing stomach acid or your nose to turn into a kidney. The only time cells truly have the potential to turn into any and all body parts is very early in a pregnancy, when so-called stem cells haven't begun to specialize. Yet this untapped potential could be a terrific boon to medicine. Most diseases involve the death of healthy cells-brain cells in Alzheimer's, cardiac cells in heart disease, pancreatic cells in diabetes, to name a few. If doctors could isolate stem cells, then direct their growth, they might be able to furnish patients with healthy replacement tissue. It was incredibly difficult, but last fall scientists at the University of Wisconsin managed to isolate stem cells and get them to grow into neural, muscle and bone cells. The process still can't be controlled, and may have unforeseen limitations. But if efforts to understand and master stem-cell development prove successful, doctors will have a therapeutic tool of incredible power. The same applies to cloning, which is really just the other side of the coin. True cloning, as first shown with Dolly the sheep two years ago, involves taking a developed cell and reactivating the genome within, resetting its developmental instructions to a pristine state. Once that happens, the rejuvenated cell can develop into a full-fledged animal, genetically identical to its parent. For agriculture, in which purely physical characteristics like milk production in a cow or low fat in a hog have real market value, biological carbon copies could become routine within a few years. This past year scientists have done for mice and cows what Ian Wilmut did for Dolly, and other creatures are bound to join the cloned menagerie in the coming year. Human cloning, on the other hand, may be technically feasible but legally and emotionally more difficult. Still, one day it will happen. The ability to reset body cells to a pristine, undeveloped state could give doctors exactly the same advantages they would get from stem cells: the potential to make healthy body tissues of all sorts, and thus to cure disease. That could prove to be a tree "miracle cure".

单选题Questions 4～6 are based on the following talk; listen and choose the best answer.

单选题The molecules of carbon dioxide in the Earth"s atmosphere affect the heat balance of the Earth by acting as a one-way screen. Although these molecules allow radiation at visible wavelengths, where most of the energy of sunlight is concentrated, to pass through, they absorb some of the longer-wavelength, infrared emissions radiated from the Earth"s surface, radiation that would otherwise be transmitted back into space. For the Earth to maintain a constant average temperature, such emissions from the planet must balance incoming solar radiation. If there were no carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, heat would escape from the Earth much more easily. The surface temperature would be so much lower that the oceans might be a solid mass of ice. Today, however, the potential problem is too much carbon dioxide. The burning of fossil fuels and the cleaning of forests have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide by about 15 percent in the last hundred years and we continue to add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Could the increase in carbon dioxide cause a global rise in average temperature, and could such a rise have serious consequences for human society? Mathematical models that allow us to calculate the rise in temperature as a function of the increase indicate that the answer is probably "yes". Under present conditions a temperature of -8℃ can be observed at an altitude of 5 to 6 kilometers above the Earth. Below this altitude (called the radiating level), the temperature increases by about 6℃ per kilometer approaching the Earth"s surface, where the average temperature is about 15℃. An increase in the amount of carbon dioxide means that there are more molecules of carbon dioxide to absorb infrared radiation. As the capacity of the atmosphere to absorb infrared radiation increase, the radiating level and the temperature of the surface must rise. One mathematical model predicts that doubling the atmosphere carbon dioxide would raise the global mean surface temperature by 2.5℃. This model assumes that the atmosphere"s relative humidity remains constant and the temperature decreases with altitude at a rate of 6.5℃ per kilometer. The assumption of constant relative humidity is important, because water vapor in the atmosphere is another efficient absorber of radiation at infrared wavelengths. Because warm air can hold more moisture than cool air, the relative humidity will be constant only if the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere increases as the temperature rises. Therefore, more infrared radiation would be absorbed and reradiated back to the Earth"s surface. The resultant warming at the surface could be expected to melt snow and ice, reducing the Earth"s reflectivity. More solar radiation would then be absorbed, leading to a further increase in temperature.

单选题How many new materials are mentioned in this passage?

单选题Farming emerged as a survival strategy because man had been obliged ______.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} Paul Straussmann, retired vice president of Xerox, indicates in his book Information Pay-off that "almost half of the U. S. information workers are in executive, managerial, administrative and professional positions." He further states that "managers and professionals spend more than half of their time in communicating with each other." In other words, people are a corporation's most expensive resource. For a typical office, over 90 percent of the operating budget is for salaries, benefits and over head. With this investment, is it any wonder that managers are focusing more and more attention on employee productivity? They realize that the paper jungle cannot be tamed simply by hiring more people. To receive a return on their investment, wise corporate executive officers are realizing what industrialists and agriculturists learned long ago—efficient tools are essential for increased productivity. A direct relationship exists between efficient flow of information and the quality and speed of the output of the end product. For those companies using technology, the per document cost of information processing is only a fraction of what it was a few years ago. The decreasing cost of computers and peripherals (equipment tied to the computer) will continue to make technology a cost-effective tool in the future. An example of this type of savings is illustrated in the case of the Western Division of General Telephone and Electronics Company (GTE). By making a one-time investment of $10 million to automate its facilities, management estimates an annual saving of $8.5 million for the company. This savings is gained mainly through the elimination of support people once needed for proposal projects. Through a telecommunications network that supports 150 computer terminals with good graphics capabilities, the engineers who conceptualize the projects are now direct participants. They use the graphics capacities of the computer rather than rely on drafters to prepare drawings, they enter their own text rather than employ typists, and they use the network to track project progress rather than conducting meetings.

单选题Scholars and students have always been travelers. The official case for "academic mobility" is now often stated in impressive terms as a fundamental necessity for economic and social progress in the world, and debated in the corridors of Europe, but it is certainly nothing new. Serious students were always ready to go abroad in search of the most stimulating teachers and the most famous academies; in search of the purest philosophy, the most effective medicine, the likeliest road to gold. Mobility of this kind meant also mobility of ideas, their transference across frontiers, their simultaneous impact upon many groups of people. The point of learning is to share it, either with students or with colleagues. One presumes that only eccentrics have no interest in being credited with a startling discovery, or a new technique. It must also have been reassuring to know that other people in other parts of the world were about to make the same discovery or were thinking along the same lines, and that one was not quite alone, confronted by inquisition, ridicule or neglect. In the 20th century, and particularly in the last 20 years, the old footpaths of the wandering scholars have become vast highways. The vehicle which has made this possible has of course been the airplane, making contact between scholars even in the most distant places immediately feasible, and providing for the very rapid transmission of knowledge. Apart from the vehicle itself, it is fairly easy to identify the main factors which have brought about the recent explosion in academic movement. Some of these are purely quantitative and require no further mention; there are far more centers of learning, and a far greater number of scholars and students. In addition, one must recognize the very considerable multiplication of disciplines, particularly in the sciences, which by widening the total area of advanced studies has produced an enormous number of specialists whose particular interests are precisely defined. These people would work in some isolation if they were not able to keep in touch with similar isolated groups in other countries.

单选题 {{I}}Questions 14～16 are based on the following talk. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 14～16.{{/I}}

单选题For years, Europeans have been using "smart cards" to pay their way through the day. They use them in shops and restaurants, plug them into pubic into telephones as and parking meters. In France smart cards cover anything from a bistro bill to a swimming -pool entry fee. In American, smart cards are not nearly so common -- only about 43,000 are now circulating in the US and Canada -- but Forrester Research of Cambridge, Mass. , predicts that number will balloon to 4.7 million by the year 2002. What is a smart card, exactly, and how does it work? Also called a chip card because of the tiny mixcroprocessor embedded in it, a smart card looks like the other plastic in your wallet. To make things more confusing, some smart cards pull double duty as regular ATM bank cards. The difference is that when you swipe your ATM ( or debit) card at the grocery - store checkout, you're draining cash from your bank account. Smart cards, on the other hand, are worthless unless they are "loaded with cash value", pulled directly from your bank account or traded for currency. The chip keeps track of the amounts stored and spent. The advantage, in theory, is convenience: consumers bother less with pocket change and are able to use plastic even at traditionally cash -only vendors. The electronic transaction doesn't require a signature, a PIN number or bank approval. Downside: lose the card, lose the money. Most people are probably more familiar with stored -value cards equipped only with a magnetic strip, such as fare card issued to riders on the Washington metro or the New York City subway. The newer chip - enhanced versions, armed with more memory and processing power, have popped up in various places in the past years or so, from college campuses to military bases to sports stadiums. Other experiments are under way. A health -care claims processor in Indianapolis, Ind. , hopes smart cards will streamline medical - bill payments. In Ohio, food - stamp recipients receive a smart card rather paper vouchers. Smart cards issued for general commerce are rarer, unless you happen to live in a place designated for a test run, such as Manhattan's Upper West Side. But big bank and plastic - purveying kings Visa and MasterCard are hot for the idea, promising more extensive trials and more elaborate, multipurpose cards capable of rendering everything else you carry -- plastic, paper or coin-- superfluous. Today's smart cards may not be revolutionizing the way we buy the morning paper yet, but they could turn out to be right tool spur Internet commerce and banking. For the time being, though, smart cards are just another way to buy stuff. And it could be a while before even that catches on. Remember: some people still don't trust ATMs either.

单选题{{B}}Text2{{/B}}PaulStraussmann,retiredvicepresidentofXerox,indicatesinhisbook{{I}}informationPayoff{{/I}}that"almosthalfoftheU.S.informationworkersareinexecutive,managerial,administrativeandprofessionalpositions."Hefurtherstatesthat"managersandprofessionalsspendmorethanhalfoftheirtimeincommunicatingwitheachother."Inotherwords,peopleareacorporation'smostexpensiveresource.Foratypicaloffice,over90percentoftheoperatingbudgetisforsalaries,benefitsandoverhead.Withthisinvestment,isitanywonderthatmanagersarefocusingmoreandmoreattentiononemployeeproductivity?Theyrealizethatthepaperjunglecannotbetamedsimplybyhiringmorepeople.Toreceiveareturnontheirinvestment,wisecorporateexecutiveofficersarerealizingwhatindustrialistsandagriculturistslearnedlongago—efficienttoolsareessentialforincreasedproductivity.Adirectrelationshipexistsbetweenefficientflowofinformationandthequalityandspeedoftheoutputoftheendproduct.Forthosecompaniesusingtechnology,theperdocumentcostofinformationprocessingonlyafractionofwhatitwasafewyearsago.Thedecreasingcostofcomputersandperipherals(equipmenttiedtothecomputer)willcontinuetomaketechnologyacost-effectivetoolinthefuture.AnexampleofthistypeofsavingsisillustratedinthecaseoftheWesternDivisionofGeneralTelephoneandElectronicsCompany(GTE).Bymakingaonetimeinvestmentof10milliontoautomateitsfacilities,managementestimatesanannualsavingof8.5millionforthecompany.Thissavingsisgainedmainlythroughtheeliminationofsupportpeopleonceneededforproposalprojects.Throughatelecommunicationsnetworkthatsupports150computerterminalswithgoodgraphicscapabilities,theengineerswhoconceptualizetheprojectsarenowdirectparticipants.Theyusethegraphicscapacitiesofthecomputerratherthanrelyondrafterstopreparedrawings,theyentertheirowntextratherthanemploytypists,andtheyusethenetworktotrackprojectprogressratherthanconductingmeetings.

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单选题Which of the following is NOT true of the new Ericsson mobile phone?

单选题Which of the following was the Masterpiece of John Steinbeck? [A] Tortilla Flat [B] Of Mice and Men [C] In Dubious Battle [D] The Grapes of Wrath

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单选题Earthquake survivors trapped in rubble could one day be saved by an unlikely rescuer: A robotic caterpillar that burrows its way through debris. Just a few centimeters wide, the robot relies on magnetic fields to propel it through the kind of tiny crevices that would foil the wheeled or tracked search robots currently used to locate people trapped in collapsed buildings The caterpillar's inventor, Norihiko Saga of Akita Prefectural University in Japan, will demonstrate his new method of locomotion at a conference on magnetic materials in Seattle. In addition to lights and cameras, a search caterpillar could be equipped with an array of sensors to measure other factors—such as radioactivity or oxygen levels—that could tell human rescuers if an area is safe to enter. The magnetic caterpillar is amazingly simple. It moves by a process similar to peristalsis, the rhythmic contraction that moves food down your intestine. Saga made the caterpillar from a series of rubber capsules filled with a magnetic fluid consisting of iron particles, water, and a detergent-like surfactant, which reduces the surface tension of the fluid. Each capsule is linked to the next by a pair of rubber rods. The caterpillar's guts are wrapped in a clear, flexible polymer tube that protects it from the environment. To make the caterpillar move forwards, Saga moves a magnetic field backwards along the caterpillar. Inside the caterpillar's "head" capsule, magnetic fluid surges towards the attractive magnetic field, causing the capsule to bulge out to the sides and draw its front and rear portions up. As the magnetic field passes to the next capsule, the first breaks free and springs forward and the next capsule bunches up. In this way, the caterpillar can reach speeds of 4 centimeters per second as it crawls along. Moving the magnetic field faster can make it traverse the caterpillar before all the capsules have sprung back to their original shapes. The segments then all spring back, almost but not quite simultaneously. Saga plans to automate the movement of the caterpillar by placing electromagnets at regular intervals along the inside of its polymer tube. By phasing the current flow to the electromagnets, he' 11 be able to control it wirelessly via remote control. He also needs to find a new type of rubber for the magnetic capsules, because the one he's using at the minute eventually begins to leak. But crawling is not the most efficient form of locomotion for robots, says Robert Full of the University of California at Berkeley, an expert in animal motion who occasionally advises robotics designers. "If you look at the energetic cost of crawling, compared to walking, swimming or flying, crawling is very expensive," he says. Walking, on the other every step, energy is conserved in the foot and then released to help the foot spring up. Saga acknowledges this inefficiency but says his caterpillar is far more stable than one that walks, rolls on wheels or flies. It has no moving parts save for a few fluid-filled rubber capsules. Biped robots and wheeled robots require a smooth surface and are difficult to miniaturize, and flying robots have too many moving parts. "My peristaltic crawling robot is simple and it works, " he says.

单选题{{B}}Part A{{/B}} Read the following texts and answer the questions which accompany them by choosing A，B，C or D．Mark your answers on {{B}}ANSWER SHEET 1．{{/B}} {{B}}Text 1{{/B}} Opinion polls are now beginning to show that，whoever is to blame and whatever happens from now on，high unemployment is probably here to stay．This means we shall have to make ways of sharing the available employment more widely． But we need to go further．We must ask some primary questions about the future of work．Would we continue to treat employment as the norm? Would we not rather encourage many other ways for self-respecting people to work? Should we not create conditions in which many of us can work for ourselves，rather than for an employer? Should we not aim to revive the household and the neighborhood，as well as the factory and the office，as centers of production and work? The industrial age has been the only period of human history in which most people's work has taken the form of jobs．The industrial age may now be coming to an end，and some of the changes in work patterns which it brought may have to be reversed．This seems a daunting thought．But，in fact，it could provide the prospect of a better future for work．Universal employment，as its history shows，has not meant economic freedom． Employment became widespread when the enclosures of the 17th and 18th centuries made many people dependent on paid work by depriving them of the use of the land，and thus of the means to provide a living for themselves．Then the factory system destroyed the cottage industries and removed work from people's homes．Later，as transportation improved，first by rail and then by road，people commuted longer distances to their places of employment until，eventually，many people's work lost all connection with their home lives and the place in which they lived． Meanwhile，employment put women at a disadvantage．In pre-industrial time，men and women had shared the productive work of the household and village community．Now it became customary for the husband to go out to paid employment，leaving the unpaid work of the home and family to his wife．Tax and benefit regulations still assume this norm today and restrict more flexible sharing of work roles between the sexes． It was not only women whose work status suffered．As employment became the dominant form of work，young people and old people were excluded—a problem now，as more teenagers become frustrated at school and more retired people want to live active lives． All this may now have to change．The time has certainly come to switch some effort and resources away from the idealist goal of creating jobs for all，to the urgent practical task of helping many people to manage without full time jobs．

单选题WhatdayisMother'sDay?A．ThesecondSaturdayinMay.B．ThesecondSundayinMay.C．ThefirstSundayinMay.D．ThefirstSaturdayinMay.

单选题In the 3rd sentence of the first paragraph the word "pressing" is closest in meaning to

单选题 Questions 17 to 20 are based on the following news broadcast between a newscaster (the woman) and a reporter (the man). You now have 20 seconds to read Questions 17 to 20.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} While there is no blueprint for transforming a largely government-controlled economy into a free one, the experience of the United Kingdom since 1979 clearly shows one approach that works: privatization, in which state-owned industries are sold to private companies. By 1979, the total borrowings and losses of state-owned industries were running at about ￡ 3 billion a year. By selling many of these industries, the government has decreased these borrowings and losses, gained over ￡ 34 billion from the sales, and now receives tax revenues from the newly privatized companies. Along with a dramatically improved overall economy, the government has been able to repay 12.5 percent of the net national debt over a two-year period. In fact, privatization has not only rescued individual industries and a whole economy headed for disaster, but has also raised the level of performance in every area. At British Airways and British Gas, for example, productivity per employee has, risen by 20 percent. At associated British Ports, labor disruptions common in the 1970's and early 1980's have now virtually disappeared. At British Telecom, there is no longer a waiting list—as there always was before privatization—to have a telephone installed. Part of this improved productivity has come about because the employees of privatized industries were given the opportunity to buy shares in their own companies. They responded enthusiastically to the offer of shares; at British Aerospace. They responded enthusiastically to the offer of shares; at British Aerospace, 89 percent of the eligible work force bought shares; at Associated British Ports, 90 percent; and at British Telecom, 92 percent. When people have a personal stake in something, they think about it, the new employee-owners grew so concerned about their company's profits that during wage negotiations they actually pressed their union to lower its wage demands. Some economists have suggested that giving away free shares would provide a needed acceleration of the privatization process. Yet they miss Thomas Paine's point that "what we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly. " In order for the far-ranging benefits of individual ownership to be achieved by owners, companies, and countries, employees and other individuals must make their own decisions to buy, and they must commit some of their own resources to the choice.