单选题 《红楼梦》(Dream of the Red Chamber)是中国四大名著之一，创作于18世纪中叶。全书共120回，前80回的作者是曹雪芹，后40回由高鹗完成。通过对贾氏封建大家族(feudal clan)生活的生动描述，《红楼梦》展示了清朝封建社会的兴衰。这本带有半自传体性质的小说也反映了曹雪芹家族的命运。《红楼梦》卓越的艺术成就在于生动的人物刻画(characterization)和细腻的心理描写。这是一部优秀的文学巨著，具有很高的文学价值，被认为是中国古典小说的巅峰(pinnacle)之作。

单选题 How many really suffer as a result of labor market problems? This is one of the most critical yet contentious social policy questions. In many ways, our social statistics exaggerate the degree of hardship. Unemployment does not have the same dire consequences today as it did in the 1930s, when most of the unemployed were primary bread winners, when income and earnings were usually much closer to the margin of subsistence, and when there were no countervailing social programs for those failing in the labor market. Increasing affluence, the rise of families with more than one wage earner, the growing predominance of secondary earners among the unemployed, and improved social welfare protection have unquestionably mitigated the consequences of joblessness. Earnings and income data also overstate the dimensions of hardship. Among the millions with hourly earnings at or below the minimum wage level, the over-whelming majority are from multiple-earner, relatively affluent families. Most of those counted by the poverty statistics are elderly or handicapped or have family responsibilities which keep them out of the labor force, so the poverty statistics are by no means an accurate indicator of labor market pathologies. Yet there are also many ways our social statistics underestimate the degree of labor-market-related hardship. The unemployment counts exclude the millions of fully employed workers whose wages are so low that their families remain in poverty. Low wages and repeated or prolonged unemployment frequently interact to undermine the capacity for self-support. Since the number experiencing joblessness at some time during the year is several times the number unemployed in any month, those who suffer as a result of forced idleness can equal or exceed average annual unemployment, even though only a minority of the jobless in any month really suffer. For every person counted in the monthly unemployment tallies, there is another working part-time because of the inability to find full-time work, or else outside the labor force but wanting a job. Finally, income transfers in our country have always focused on the elderly, disabled, and dependent, neglecting the needs of the working poor, so that the dramatic expansion of cash and inkind transfers does not necessarily mean that those failing in the labor market are adequately protected. As a result of such contradictory evidence, it is uncertain whether those suffering seriously as a result of thousands or the tens of millions, and, hence, whether high levels of joblessness can be tolerated or must be countered by job creation and economic stimulus. There is only one area of agreement in this debate—that the existing poverty, employment, and earnings statistics are inadequate for one their primary applications, measuring the consequences of labor market problems.

单选题 At the base of a mountain in Tanzania's Gregory Rift, Lake Natron burns bright red, surrounded by the remains of animals that were unfortunate enough to fall into the salty water. Bats, swallows and more are chemically preserved in the pose in which they perished, sealed in the deposits of sodium carbonate in the water. The lake's landscape is bizarre and deadly—and made even more so by the fact that it's the place where nearly 75 percent of the world's flamingos (火烈鸟) are born. The water is so corrosive that it can burn the skin and eyes of unadapted animals. Flamingos, however, are the only species that actually makes life in the midst of all that death. Once every three or four years, when conditions are right, the lake is covered with the pink birds as they stop flight to breed. Three-quarters of the world's flamingos fly over from other salt lakes in the Rift Valley and nest on salt-crystal islands that appear when the water is at a specific level—too high and the birds can't build their nests, too low and predators can move briskly across the lake bed and attack. When the water hits the fight level, the baby birds are kept safe from predators by a corrosive ditch. 'Flamingos have evolved very leathery skin on their legs so they can tolerate the salt water,' says David Harper, a professor at the University of Leicester. 'Humans cannot, and would die if their legs were exposed for any length of time.' So far this year, water levels have been too high for the flamingos to nest. Some fish, too, have had limited success vacationing at the lake as less salty lagoons (泻湖) form on the outer edges from hot springs flowing into Lake Natron. Three species of tilapia (罗非鱼) thrive there part-time. 'Fish have a refuge in the streams and can expand into the lagoons when the lake is low and the lagoons are separate,' Harper said. 'All the lagoons join when the lake is high and fish must retreat to their stream refuges or die.' Otherwise, no fish are able to survive in the naturally toxic lake. This unique ecosystem may soon be under pressure. The Tanzanian government has once again started mining the lake for soda ash, used for making chemicals, glass and detergents. Although the planned operation will be located more than 40miles away, drawing the soda ash in through pipelines, conservationists worry it could still upset the natural water cycle and breeding grounds. For now, though, life prevails—even in a lake that kills almost everything it touches.

单选题 Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay commenting on the remark 'The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves.' You can cite examples to illustrate your point. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

单选题 Exciting new research indicates that growing older might not necessarily mean growing mentally slower. New studies are providing breakthroughs in our understanding of how aging affects memory, language, and other cognitive functions. This information could provide tools for lessening or even averting some loss in brain functioning often associated with old age. If science can help older citizens retain their mental abilities longer, then the whole nation would benefit. That's why it is so important for research on the aging mind to flourish. The government should make studying neural health, the role of life experiences in shaping the brain, and the structure of the aging mind—key priorities in these years. And the National Institute on Aging should undertake major research initiatives in these areas to expand the scientific basis for understanding and promoting healthy mental aging. Revolutionary advances in neuron-science, behavioral science, and the science of learning have opened the door for the development of new techniques and technologies that can preserve mental sharpness in older people. These might be as novel as transplanting genetically engineered cells to replace disfunctional neurons or as familiar as engaging in stimulating intellectual and physical activities. As many jokes about losing brain cells illustrate, it has long been thought that age-related decline in cognitive abilities is a result of diminishing neurons and synapses. But scientists have discovered that as people grow old, a drop in certain mental abilities may have more to do with changes in the health of the nervous system. For example, the mild loss of memory that is often associated with growing old may be linked to biochemical shifts in neurons rather than to actual loss of brain cells. Research aiming at identifying the mechanisms that maintain or impair neural health is critical for advancing our knowledge of aging. In addition, exciting studies under way around the country are exploring the degree to which older people can benefit from certain kinds of mental practice. We are only beginning to understand the pliability of cognitive functioning in people who are already old, but the promise of finding ways to maintain abilities is very real. For example, studies indicate that our life experiences can bring about lasting changes in our brains that shape how we age. Aging people with college or postgraduate degrees, for instance, generally have better cognitive functioning, such as language and reasoning than those with less education. And better-educated people who reach their 80s—when much of the decline in brain functioning typically occurs—experience far fewer cognitive problems than their less-educated peers. Scientists believe that formal education and professional training lead to more dense and complex associations among neurons that maintain functions even when those associations weaken.

单选题 Questions24-26 are based on the recording you have just heard.

单选题 The planet's wild creatures face a new threat—from yuppies (雅皮士), empty nesters and one parent families. Biologists studying the pressure on the planet's dwindling biodiversity today report on a new reason for alarm. Although the rate of growth in the human population is decreasing, the number of individual households is exploding. Even where populations have actually dwindled in some regions of New Zealand, for instance—the numbers of individual households has increased, because of divorce, career choice, smaller families and longer lifespan. Jianguo Liu of Michigan State University and colleagues from Stanford University in California report in Nature, in a paper published online in advance, that a greater number of individual households, each containing on average fewer people, meant more pressure on natural resources. Towns and cities began to sprawl as new homes were built. Each household needed fuel to heat and light it; each household required its own plumbing, cooking and refrigeration. 'In larger households, the efficiency of resource consumption will be a lot higher, because more people share things,' Dr Liu said. He and his colleagues looked at the population patterns of life in 141 countries, including 76 'hotspot' regions unusually rich in a variety of local wildlife. These hotspots included Australia, New Zealand, the US, Brazil, China, India, Kenya, and Italy. They found that between 1985 and 2000 in the 'hotspot' parts of the globe, the annual 3.1% growth rate in the number of households was far higher than the population growth rate of 1.8%. 'Had the average household size remained at the 1985 level,' the scientists report, 'there would have been 155 million fewer households in hotspot countries in 2000. Dr Liu's work grew from the alarming discovery that the giant pandas living in China's Wolong reserve are more at risk now than they were when the reserve was first established. The local population had grown, but the total number of homes had increased more swiftly, to make greater inroads into the bamboo forests. Only around 1.75 million species on the planet have been named and described. Biologists estimate that there could be 7 million, or even 17 million, as yet to be identified. But human numbers have grown more than sixfold in the past 200 years, and humans and their livestock are now the greatest single consumer group on the planet. The world population will continue to soar, perhaps leveling off around 9 billion in the next century. Environmental campaigners have claimed that between a quarter and a half of all the species on earth could become extinct in the next century.

单选题 Zandra Johnson is a living proof that it is never too late to start your own business. After nearly 40 years of being a housewife, she launched her business at the age of 64. She designs made-to-order children's furniture which all come with an individual story book. The products are manufactured in Poland. She says she was not forced into self-employment financially—she simply wanted to unleash her creative side. 'I suppose it was all the ideas I had, they were so different and there were so many of them,' she said. 'I did a lot of market research and the response I got was, 'Yes that's great, we'd sell that.' So I progressed from there.' She launched Fairytale Furniture at the onset of the economic crisis and has survived the downturn. Now in its sixth year of trading, she hopes to finally turn a profit. Zandra is already exporting to South Africa, Dubai and Singapore and has her eye on cracking the US market. She buys in expertise, when needed, including a marketing expert and an export adviser. She loves the flexibility of being self-employed. 'I can work at midnight if I want to, I can take a longer lunch if I want to—especially when the weather is good—and I can make the time up later. I just love it, I love all of it. It's fun.' Self-employment is one of the biggest stories of the recovery. One in seven workers in the UK are now working for themselves. The latest jobs figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that there are now 4.54 million self-employed people. That is about 8% higher than a year ago. In fact, there are now 780,000 more people in employment than there were this time last year, and 40% of those are self-employed. Over the longer term, the biggest rise in self-employment has been seen in the number of older workers. According to the ONS, self-employment among the over-50s is up 36% on 10 years ago. The independent think tank the Resolution Foundation believes the main reason for this is the fact that self-employment seems to be growing as an alternative to retirement. Through analysis of data from the ONS, the Resolution Foundation also found that more than half of self-employed people aged 60 or over now work part-time, that is up from 46% in 2005. In other words, self-employment is increasingly an option that allows older people to keep earning but by working less.

单选题 This year, more than 43 million people are expected to visit Disney's theme park complexes in California, Florida, Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo. But visiting can require a huge commitment. A one-day admission to Anaheim, California's famed Disneyland in June, for instance, starts at $87 for those aged 10 and older. To get your money's worth, it pays to check out independent Disney trip-planning websites in advance. They have excellent track records for keeping their detailed trip-planning resources up to date, and are not affiliated with the Disney brand, enabling them to provide unbiased recommendations for saving money at the various parks. Some of the sites also dispense advice on how to avoid long queues, find lodging and otherwise make the most of your visit. Undercover Tourist is a website run since 2000 by an authorized Orlando broker where tickets to Florida's Walt Disney World are usually less expensive than tickets sold at the park gate; a recent five-day pass purchased through Undercover Tourist was 11% cheaper. The site anticipates that Walt Disney World will hike single-day admission prices this year—the park traditionally makes these announcements every June and has been averaging 6% hikes in recent years—but notes that tickets booked at current prices will remain valid, so you can buy tickets now, and use them after the price hike. The site also sells competitively-priced lodging and discount tickets to other Orlando-area attractions, such as SeaWorld or Universal Studios. As a bonus, the website's free apps for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry list real-time wait times at all the rides in the park. Mousesavers specializes in publishing deals and promotions offered by Disney and related companies, such as 15% discounts off park hotel stays. The 12-year-old site mainly publishes deals for Disney's US parks, though non-US residents can take advantage of most of the offers and the site does have trip-planning information for the non-US locations. Especially useful is Mousesavers' frequently asked questions sections for the California and Florida parks. For example, the site explains that some non-Disney affiliated hotels near Disneyland and Walt Disney World pay for the fight to advertise themselves as official Disney's 'Good Neighbor' hotels. But according to Mousesavers, these hotels aren't consistently better in quality, price or upkeep than other properties in the area and the label shouldn't be used as a factor when picking a place to stay. Theme Park Insider, founded in 1999, its coverage of global Disney parks is incredibly authoritative. In a May blog post, it pointed out that Disneyland is heavily patronized by locals—hundreds of thousands of whom hold annual passes. So the site recommends you visit on dates when those annual passes aren't valid, such as on Saturdays in June and July.

单选题 While the 1970s pop psychotherapy movement focused on the importance of letting anger out, more recent research suggests that there's a smarter, healthier way to react to life's slings and arrows; with forgiveness. In a recent study, it was found that when individuals were about to forgive, they experienced greater joy, a more profound sense of control over life and less depression Sound appealing. a) Why holding a grudge (怨恨) can be harmful? Your boyfriend blows you off for an important date. If you stay angry at him, you'll probably get fresh flowers on your doorstep and maybe a fancy meal or two. But grudge-holding only gives us the illusion of power. If you hold on to that anger on a chronic basis, then it has power over you, eating away at your peace of mind and perhaps even your immune system. A study by Kathleen Lawler, Ph. D., a psychology professor at the University of Tennessee, confirms that people who are unable to forgive report more stress in their lives, more illness and more visits to the doctor than do forgiving folk. b) Going from a grudge to forgiveness A few ways to develop your capacity to turn the other cheek—Try writing a daily 'forgiveness' reminder in your journal; it may sound corny (过时的), but it's a great way to help gain control over your emotional life.—Write a letter to your offender, detailing exactly what's bothering you. Then toss it. You'll feel better, even if your message never reaches its intended target.—What, exactly, makes your blood boll? Forgiveness isn't about swallowing anger or being a doormat (逆来顺受的人). It's not about forgetting, either. On the contrary, it's about acknowledging an offence with your eyes wide open—and then releasing the anger. That means conjuring unempathy (不执著) toward the person who hurt you, then focusing on the good parts of your life. c) An act of courage Still not convinced that it's worth it to put your energies toward forgiving? Besides the benefits to your psyche and physical health, true forgiveness is a sign of strength and soulfulness. 'It takes a lot of moral muscle to forgive,' says Dr. Witvleit of Hope College in Michigan. The bottom line: Forgiving ultimately benefits the forgiver more than the person who has done wrong. So start putting your own well-being first, and live life with as much interest and love as you can.

单选题 香港是仅次于纽约和伦敦的全球第三大金融中心。香港实行“一国两制(one country，two systems)”，以良好的治安、自由的经济体系及完善的法制闻名于世。作为一个多元文化中心，香港是全球最富裕、最繁荣、最安全及人均寿命最长的地区之一。香港也是世界上重要的经济中心和航运枢纽，有“东方之珠”的美誉。同时，香港还是全球最受欢迎的旅游胜地之一，旅游业是香港四大支柱产业之一，很多知名景点都深受旅客欢迎。