单选题 西安作为十二朝古都，见证了历史的荣辱兴衰。历史在这里留下的文物景观和遗址不胜枚举，如兵马俑(Terracotta Warriors and Horses)、大雁塔(the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda)、华清池等都是人类文化艺术的瑰宝。大雁塔位于西安南郊，建于唐代，是唐朝太子李治为了追念他的母亲文德皇后而建立的，至今已经有1,000多年的历史。大雁塔塔身由青砖砌成，结构坚固，外观简单又不失庄严，最初建立的时候只有5层，后来又经过多次重修，现在的塔是7层，高达64米。

单选题 Questions10-13 are based on the passage you have just heard.

单选题 Why the Earth's surface temperature hasn't warmed as expected over the past decade continues to be a puzzle for scientists. One study out earlier this month theorized that the Earth's climate may be less sensitive to greenhouse gases than currently assumed. Another surprising factor could be the amount of water vapor way up in the stratosphere (平流层), according to a new study out Thursday in the journal Science. 'Water vapor, a powerful, natural greenhouse gas that absorbs sunlight and re-emits heat, is 'a wild card' of global warming,' says the paper's lead author, senior scientist Susan Solomon of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In the Science paper, Solomon and her colleagues found that a drop in the concentration of water vapor in the stratosphere 'very likely made substantial contributions to the flattening of the global warming trend since about 2000'. The decline in water vapor in the stratosphere slowed the rate of surface warming by about 25%, compared to that which would have occurred due to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, notes the study. Specifically, the planet should have warmed 0.25 degree F during the 2000s, but because of the influence of the water vapor, it rose just 0.18 degree F. Why did the water vapor decrease? 'We really don't know,' says Solomon, 'We don't have enough information yet.' 'The findings are 'surprising',' says Bill Randel, an atmospheric chemist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, who was not part of the study. He said it was surprising how big an effect such a very little change in stratospheric water vapor has had on the surface climate. These fluctuations in water vapor could be part of a feedback loop. Although it's known that water vapor in the troposphere (对流层) increases as the climate warms—and is a major climate feedback that is well simulated in global climate models—in sharp contrast, models do a poor job of simulating water vapor in the stratosphere, according to the paper. But Solomon points out this isn't an indication that predictions on global warming are overstated: 'This doesn't mean there isn't global warming,' notes Solomon. 'There's no significant debate that it is warmer now than it was 100 years ago, due to anthropogenic (人造的) greenhouse gases.' And how will this water vapor affect future global warming? 'We really don't know the answer to this,' says Solomon. 'If the water changes are due to the specific way the sea-surface temperature pattern looks right now, then it may well not be linked to the overall warming. It could just be a source of variability from one decade to another as the ocean pattern slowly changes. Or it could be linked to the overall warming of the tropics, in which case it could continue to 'put the brakes on'. Only time will tell, and more data.'

单选题 现在没有人知道中国的背包旅行现象(backpacker phenomenon)确切的渊源，不过成千上万的人已经加入到这种生态自助型的(eco-centric)新旅游活动中。而想要成为“驴友”(friend of donkey)，你不一定要年轻力强，也不一定要囊中富足。“驴友”们很多不过是口袋空空的(impoverished)学生，每一次旅途都需要精打细算，而另一些人则可能已到了中老年。有的人徒步到偏远的地方(remote places)泡上好几个月，有的在周末来一次远足，他们总是准备着探索旅程中新的道路，发现惊喜。

单选题According to a paper to be published in Psychological Science this has an interesting psychological effect. A group of researchers, led by Eugene Caruso of the University of Chicago, found that people judge the distance of events 27 , depending on whether they are in the past or future. The paper calls this the 'Temporal Doppler Effect'. In physics, the Doppler effect describes the way that waves change frequency depending on whether their 28 is traveling towards or away from you. Mr. Caruso argues that something similar happens with people's perception of time. Because future events are associated with diminishing distance, while those in the past are thought of as 29 , something happening in one month feels psychologically 30 than something that happened a month ago. This idea was tested in a series of experiments. In one, researchers asked 323 31 and divided them into two groups. A week before Valentine's day, members of the first were asked how they planned to celebrate it. A week after February 14th the second group reported how they had celebrated it. Both groups also had to describe how near the day felt on a 32 of one to seven. Those describing forthcoming plans were more likely to report it as feeling 'a short time from now', while those who had already 33 it tended to cluster at the 'a long time from now' end of the scale. To account for the risk that recalling actual events requires different cognitive functions than imagining ones that have not yet happened, they also asked participants to 34 the distance of hypothetical events a month in the past or future. The asymmetry (不对称) remained. Mr. Caruso speculates that his research has 35 for psychological well-being. He suspects that people who do not show this bias—those who feel the past as being closer—might be more 36 to rumination (沉思) or depression, because they are more likely to dwell on past events. A. advancing B. apparently C. available D. closer E. differently F. evaluate G. experienced H. implications I. prospect J. rate K. receding L. scale M. source N. subject O. volunteers

单选题 Now listen to the following recording and answer questions25-27.

单选题 Children with attention problems in early childhood were 40% less likely to graduate from high school, says a new study from Duke University. The study included 386 kindergarteners from schools in the Fast Track Project, a multi-site clinical trial in the U.S. that in 1991 began tracking how children developed across their lives. With this study, researchers examined early academic attention and socio-emotional skills and how each contributed to academic success into young adulthood. They found that early attention skills were the most consistent predictor of academic success, and that likability by peers also had a modest effect on academic performance. By fifth grade, children with early attention difficulties had lower grades and reading achievement scores than their peers. As fifth-graders, children with early attention problems obtained average reading scores at least 3% lower than their contemporaries' and grades at least 8% lower than those of their peers. This was after controlling for IQ, socio-economic status and academic skills at school entry. Although these may not seem like large effects, the impact of early attention problems continued throughout the children's academic careers. Lower reading achievement scores and grades in fifth grade contributed to reduced grades in middle school and thereby contributed to a 40% lower high school graduation rate. 'The children we identified as having attention difficulties were not diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (注意力缺乏多动症) (ADHD), although some may have had the disorder. Our findings suggest that even more modest attention difficulties can increase the risk of negative academic outcomes,' said David Rabiner, an associate dean of Duke's Trinity College of Arts Sciences, whose research has focused on ADHD and interventions to in, prove academic performance in children with attention difficulties. Social acceptance by peers in early childhood also predicted grades in fifth grade. Children not as liked by their first-grade peers had slightly lower grades in fifth grade, while those with higher social acceptance had higher grades. 'This study shows the importance of so-called 'non-cognitive' or soft skills in contributing to children's positive peer relationships, which, in turn, contribute to their academic success,' said Kenneth Dodge, director of the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy. The results highlight the need to develop effective early interventions to help those with attention problems stay on track academically and for educators to encourage positive peer relationships, the researchers said. 'We're learning that student success requires a more comprehensive approach, one that incorporates not only academic skills but also social, self-regulatory and attention skills,' Dodge said. 'If we neglect any of these areas, the child's development lags. If we attend to these areas, a child's success may reinforce itself with positive feedback loops.'

单选题Customs officers at a London airport yesterday found ￡ 5,000,000 worth of drugs which were being smuggled (走私)into Britain in boxes marked 'Urgent Medical Supplies'. The 23 might have suspected for some time 24 drugs were being brought into the country in this way. The 25 is believed to be the work of a 26 international group. Four men were arrested at the airport and held for questioning, 27 it is unlikely that they are organizers. In fact, they declared that they were 28 of what the boxes contained and had acted in good faith in bringing them into Britain. This is the third time in six months that attempts have been made to smuggle 29 goods through Customs by declaring them to be medical supplies. They are frequently 30 in special containers and a 31 is given that they may be 32 if they are not handled with care. They are determined to put a stop to this practice, said one of the Customs officers today. There is no way these people are going to get away with this any longer. We have the full co-operation of the International police who are anxious as we are to track down the main source of supply. A. authorities I. unaware B. that J. stay C. warning K. well-organized D. illegal L. damaged E. off M. hold F. step N. but G. movement O. for H. packed

单选题Bridging a gap in the market between fast-food joints and full-service restaurants, fast-casual chains are enjoying success across the world. The 25 sales of American fast-casual outlets rose by 10.5% last year, 26 with 6.1% for fast-food chains, according to Mintel, a market-research firm. There are three main reasons why these outlets have been winning customers. First, they promise 'fresh' food, meaning at the very least not 27 . Chipotle also says it uses, where possible, meat from animals raised without hormones or antibiotics (抗生素). Having once been controlled by McDonald's, Chipotle is now a threat to its 28 parent. Although still relatively small, it is enjoying 20% annual growth, quite a feat in the 29 restaurant market. Second, they offer diners a high level of customisation, such as choosing each 30 in a sandwich, or burger. This 31 to fussy eaters and those with allergies. Third, clever pricing helps these chains 32 their profits. They offer some dishes at around the same price as those at burger joints, but they seem to be better than McDonald's at persuading diners to buy pricier dishes and extras. Fast-casual chains 33 manage to squeeze 40% more out of each diner's wallet than fast-food joints do. For all their success so far, some of the fast-casual chains are finding that as they get bigger, they come under more scrutiny. Campaigners have recently criticised Chipotle and Panera Bread for using ingredients from genetically-modified crops and artificial additives (添加剂). Fast-casual restaurants are joining the 34 of big business and having to endure the attention that comes with it. A. appeals F. current K. optimize B. combined G. especially L. ranks C. compared H. former M. raw D. conforms I. frozen N. removes E. crowded J. ingredient O. typically

单选题 Questions6-9 are based on the conversation you have just beard.

单选题 Terry Cole may seem like an ordinary 40-year-old morn, but her neighbors know the truth: She's one of the 'Pod People'. At the supermarket she wanders the aisles in a self-contained bubble, thanks to her iPod digital music player. Through those little white ear buds, Cole listens to a playlist mixed by her favorite disc presenter—herself. At home, when the kids are tucked away, Cole often escapes to another solo media pod—but in this one, she's transmitting instead of just receiving. On her computer web log, or 'blog', she types an online journal chronicling daily news of her life, then shares it all with the Web. Cole—who also gets her daily news customized off the Internet and whose digital video recorder (DVR) scans through the television wasteland to find and record shows that suit her tastes—is part of a new breed of people who are filtering, shaping and even creating media for themselves. They are increasingly turning their backs on the established system of mass media that has provided news and entertainment for the past half-century. They've joined the exploding 'iMedia' revolution, putting the power of media in the hands of ordinary people. The tools of the movement consist of a bubbling stew of new technologies that include iPods, blogs, podcasts, DVRs, customized online newspapers, and satellite radio. Devotees of iMedia run the gamut (整个范围) from the 89-year-old New York grandmother, known as Bubby, who has taken up blogging to share her worldly advice, to 11-year-old Dylan Verdi of Texas, who has started broadcasting her own homemade TV show or 'vlog', for video web log. In between are countless iMedia enthusiasts like Rogier van Bakel, 44, of Maine, who blogs at night, reads a Web-customized news page in the morning, travels with his fully loaded iPod and comes home to watch whatever the DVR has chosen for him. If the old media model was broadcasting, this new phenomenon might be called ego-casting, says Christine Rosen, a fellow with the Ethics and Public Policy Centre. The term fits, she says, because the trend is all about me-me-media—'the idea is to get what you want, when and where you want it.' Rosen and others trace the beginnings of the iMedia revolution to the invention of the TV remote, which marked the first subtle shift of media control away from broadcasters and into the hands of the average couch potato. It enabled viewers to vote with their thumbs—making it easier to abandon dull programs and avoid commercials. With the proliferation (激增) of cable TV channels in the late 1980s followed by the mid-1990s arrival of the Internet, controlling media input wasn't just a luxury. 'Control has become a necessity,' says Bill Rose. 'Without it, there's no way to sort through all the options that are becoming available.'

单选题 Plastic Surgery A better credit card is the solution to ever larger hack attacks A. A thin magnetic stripe(magstripe)is all that stands between your credit-card information and the bad guys. And they've been working hard to break in. That's why 2014 is shaping up as a major showdown: banks, law enforcement and technology companies are all trying to stop a network of hackers who are succeeding in stealing account numbers, names, email addresses and other crucial data used in identity theft. More than 100 million accounts at Target, Neiman Marcus and Michaels stores were affected in some way during the most recent attacks, starting last November. B. Swipe(刷卡)is the operative word: cards are increasingly vulnerable to attacks when you make purchases in a store. In several recent incidents, hackers have been able to obtain massive information of credit-, debit-(借记)or prepaid-card numbers using malware, i.e. malicious soft-ware, inserted secretly into the retailers' point-of-sale system—the checkout registers. Hackers then sold the data to a second group of criminals operating in shadowy corners of the web. Not long after, the stolen data was showing up on fake cards and being used for online purchases. C. The solution could cost as little as $2 extra for every piece of plastic issued. The fix is a security technology used heavily outside the U. S. While American credit cards use the 40-year-old magstripe technology to process transactions, much of the rest of the world uses smarter cards with a technology called EMV(short for Europay, MasterCard, Visa)that employs a chip embedded in the card plus a customer PIN( personal identification number)to authenticate(验证)every transaction on the spot. If a purchaser fails to punch in the correct PIN at the checkout, the transaction gets rejected. (Online purchases can be made by setting up a separate transaction code.) D. Why haven't big banks adopted the more secure technology? When it comes to mailing out new credit cards, it's all about relative costs, says David Robertson, who runs the Nilson Report, an industry newsletter. 'The cost of the card, putting the sticker on it, coding the account number and expiration date, embossing(凸印)it, the small envelope—all put together, you're in the dollar range.' A chip-and-PIN card currently costs closer to $3, says Robertson, because of the price of chips. (Once large issuers convert together, the chip costs should drop.) E. Multiply $3 by the more than 5 billion magstripe credit and prepaid cards in circulation in the U. S. Then consider that there's an estimated $12.4 billion in card fraud on a global basis, says Robertson. With 44% of that in the U. S. American credit-card fraud amounts to about $5.5 billion annually. Card issuers have so far calculated that absorbing the liability for even big hacks like the Target one is still cheaper than replacing all that plastic. F. That leaves American retailers pretty much alone the world over in relying on magstripe technology to charge purchases—and leaves consumers vulnerable. Each magstripe has three tracks of information, explains payments security expert Jeremy Gumbley, the chief technology officer of CreditCall, an electronic-payments company. The first and third are used by the bank or card issuer. Your vital account information lives on the second track, which hackers try to capture. 'Malware is scanning through the memory in real time and looking for data,' he says. 'It creates a text file that gets stolen.' G. Chip-and-PIN cards, by contrast, make fake cards or skimming impossible because the information that gets scanned is encrypted (加密). The historical reason the U. S. has stuck with magstripe, ironically enough, is once superior technology. Our cheap, ultra-reliable wired net-works made credit-card authentication over the phone frictionless. In France, card companies created EMV in part because the telephone monopoly was so maddeningly inefficient and expensive. The EMV solution allowed transactions to be verified locally and securely. H. Some big banks, like Wells Fargo, are now offering to convert your magstripe card to a chip-and-PIN model. (It's actually a hybrid(混合体)that will still have a magstripe, since most U. S. merchants don't have EMV terminals.) Should you take them up on it? If you travel internationally, the answer is yes. I. Keep in mind, too, that credit cards typically have better liability protection than debit cards. If someone uses your credit card fraudulently(欺炸性地), it's the issuer or merchant, not you, that takes the hit. Debit cards have different liability limits depending on the bank and the events surrounding any fraud. 'If it's available, the logical thing is to get a chip-and-PIN card from your bank,' says Eric Adamowsky, a co-founder of CreditCardInsider. com. 'I would use credit cards over debit cards because of liability issues. 'Cash still works pretty well too. J. Retailers and banks stand to benefit from the lower fraud levels of chip-and-PIN cards but have been reluctant for years to invest in the new infrastructure(基础设施)needed for the technology, especially if consumers don't have access to it. It's a chicken-and-egg problem: no one wants to spend the money on upgraded point-of-sale systems that can read the chip cards if shoppers aren't car-tying them—yet there's little point in consumers' carrying the fancy plastic if stores aren't equipped to use them. (An earlier effort by Target to move to chip and PIN never gained progress.) According to Gumbley, there's a 'you-first mentality. The logjam(僵局)has to be broken.' K. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently expressed his willingness to do so, noting that banks and merchants have spent the past decade suing each other over interchange fees—the percentage of the transaction price they keep—rather than deal with the growing hacking problem. Chase offers a chip-enabled card under its own brand and several others for travel-related companies such as British Airways and Ritz-Carlton. L. The Target and Neiman hacks have also changed the cost calculation: although retailers have been reluctant to spend the $6.75 billion that Capgemini consultants estimate it will take to convert all their registers to be chip-and-PIN compatible, the potential liability they now face is dramatically greater. Target has been hit with class actions from hacked consumers. 'It's the ultimate nightmare,' a retail executive from a well-known chain admitted to TIME. M. The card-payment companies MasterCard and Visa are pushing hard for change. The two firms have warned all parties in the transaction chain—merchant, network, bank—that if they don't become EMV-compliant by October 2015, the party that is least compliant will bear the fraud risk. N. In the meantime, app-equipped smartphones and digital wallets—all of which can use EMV technology—are beginning to make inroads(侵袭)on cards and cash. PayPal, for instance, is testing an app that lets you use your mobile phone to pay on the fly at local merchants—without surrendering any card information to them. And further down the road is biometric authentication, which could be encrypted with, say, a fingerprint. O. Credit and debit cards, though, are going to be with us for the foreseeable future, and so are hackers, if we stick with magstripe technology. 'It seems crazy to me,' says Gumbley, who is English, 'that a cutting-edge-technology country is depending on a 40-year-old technology.' That's why it may be up to consumers to move the needle on chip and PIN. Robertson says 'When you get the consumer into a position of worry and inconvenience, that's where the rubber hits the road.'

单选题This is not a typical summer camp. But Michelle Pawlaw is glad she signed up for it. 'Getting to experience the fires hands-on is really cool and something that most people don't get to do,' she said. Michelle and eight other teenage girls are 28 in the three-day camp offered by the Arlington County Fire Department 29 just outside of Washington. Firefighter Clare Barley is in charge of the program. 'The purpose is to try to get young women interested in 30 the fire service as a career,' she said. The free of charge, overnight camp is designed to let the girls experience what 31 do in the line of duty to protect the community. That includes some rigorous activities such as moving a fire victim. They take classes and learn how to climb the ladder on a fire truck, 32 emergency tools and rescue. They also do their share of cleaning the 33 and the equipment for an injured person. Firefighting is still a male-dominated service, but Burley says with 22 women on its force of 320 the Arlington Fire Department is above the national 34 of 4.5 percent. Burley joined the department seven years ago. 'We do everything that the guys do to the same standard. We are tested to the same standard. We are 35 to operate at the same standard,' she said. 'We need to wash the lettuce and put it in a green big bowl,' said Lieutenant Robert Beer. The girls help the 36 on duty prepare for dinner. It is also part of the program. And, the girls say, by 37 three days together, they also made new friends and had a lot of fun. A. located B. average C. almost D. operate E. expected F. firehouse G. crew H. greenhouse I. considering J. firefighters K. nearly L. cost M. participating N. imagined O. spending

单选题For authors of self-help guides, no human problem is too great or too small. Want to become fitter, richer or happier in 2017? There are books for it— 34 upon shelves of them. Hoping for increased efficiency, decisiveness and creativity in the months ahead? There are titles for that, too. As we settle down to our New Year's 35 , well turn in droves to self-help books, hoping to find our own best selves in their pages. But a book needn't lecture to leave its imprint. The truth is that all good literature changes us, and a growing body of research suggests you might do better browsing through fiction for support in 36 life's challenges. Think of it less as self-help than 'shelf help'. Reading has been proven to sharpen 37 thinking, enabling us to better discern patterns—a handy tool when it comes to the often baffling behaviour of ourselves and others. But fiction in particular can make you more socially able. Last year, the Journal of Applied Social Psychology published a paper showing how reading Harry Potter made young people in the U. K. and Italy more 38 disposed towards stigmatised (使蒙上污名的) minorities such as 39 . And in 2013, psychologists at the New School for Social Research found that literary fiction enhanced peopled ability to 40 and read others, emotions. We think of novels as places in which to lose ourselves, but when we 41 , we take with us inspiration from our favourite characters. A 2012 study by researchers at Ohio State University found that this process could actually change a reader's behavior. In one experiment, participants strongly identifying with a 42 character who overcame obstacles to vote proved significantly more likely to vote in a real election. They may not promise transformation in seven easy steps, but gripping novels can inform and motivate, short stories can console and trigger self-reflection, and poetry has been shown to engage parts of the brain linked to memory. Sometimes an author helps by simply taking your mind off a problem, 43 you so fully in another's world and outlook that you transcend yourself, returning recharged and determined. A. accepting B. analytical C. battling D. books E. concretely F. critical G. emerge H. express I. fictional J. immersing K. positively L. refugees M. register N. resolutions O. shelves

单选题Until recently, the medical community believed that most hearing loss was caused by hear cells in the ear degrading as we age. But evidence is emerging that sound levels at sporting events, concerts, nightclubs and on personal devices can cause lasting damage to the connections between hear cells in the ear and the nerves that 27 sounds to the brain. Over 1.1 billion teenagers and young adults worldwide could be at risk of hearing loss as a result of 28 to unsafe levels of recreational noise, according to a recent World Health Organization report. To make matters worse, this kind of hearing loss doesn't show up on 29 tests. Researchers are calling it a hidden epidemic. 'We think this problem is 30 prevalent. but it's difficult to measure because the tools we have available today are not sensitive enough,' says Konstantina Stankovic, an auditory neuroseientist and surgeon at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, and Harvard Medical School, in Boston. Stankovic is now working with colleagues at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne to develop imaging 31 that would allow us to see this kind of neural damage in living brains. This could help with early diagnosis. Others are developing drugs that could help 32 the connections between the ear and the brain. To properly 33 our ears, loud noises should be banned in many public places just as smoking is now, says Stankovic. Some countries have laws in place to protect 34 in bars and clubs by monitoring noise levels. Last year, Minneapolis City Council made it 35 for bars and clubs to offer free ear buds to patrons. Stankovic thinks more will need to be done to change 36 accepted norms around recreational noise. 'I think it will require a public health effort similar to the efforts for limiting smoking, because of the peer pressure associated with loud music and noisy environments,' she says.? A. compulsory B. condense C. exposure D. incredibly E. independently F. protection G. restore H. safeguard I. socially J. standard K. techniques L. transmit M. treat N. uneasy O. workers