单选题 When studying human talent, the temptation is usually to concentrate on the upper reaches. Understandably so. We all admire the Einsteins and Mozarts of this world and 28 to imitate them. In comparison, studying the opposite end of the spectrum might seem pointless, patronizing (摆出高人一等的派头) or downright tasteless. Lack of intelligence is shameful enough without treating people like lab rats. Yet it often takes a different viewpoint to find new insights into an old problem. Stupidity is too important and interesting to ignore. The science of stupidity is producing results that 29 our concepts of intelligence and that should be humbling for many of the smart people who run the world. It turns out that a tendency for entertaining 30 , foolish or illogical ideas is not necessarily the result of a low IQ. This measure of intelligence is largely 31 of rationality. Just because you score on the high end of one scale doesn't mean that you won't fall at the bottom of the other, Importantly, no one is 32 to the biases that lead to stupid decisions. Yet our respect for IQ and education means that it is easy to rest on the laurels (荣誉) of our qualifications and assume that we are, by definition, not stupid. That can be 33 on a personal level: Regardless of IQ, people who score badly on rationality tests are more likely to have unplanned pregnancies or fall into serious debt. Large scale stupidity is even more damaging. Business cultures that 34 encourage it, for example, may have contributed to the economic crisis. Indeed, the effects may have been so damaging precisely because banks assumed that intelligent people act logically while at the same time rewarding rash behavior based on intuition rather than 35 . As one researcher puts it. 'The more intelligent someone is, the more disastrous the results of their stupidity.' The same surely applies to politicians: The tenth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq serves as a 36 that clever people can do monumentally stupid things. If we want to avoid making similar mistakes in the future, everybody—especially the most intelligent and powerful—would do well to humbly 37 their own weaknesses. To quote Oscar Wilde: 'There is no sin except stupidity.' A. acknowledge B. aspire C. challenge D. commemorate E. damaging F. deliberation G. immune H. inadvertently I. independent J. negligible K. nomination L. perpetually M. rash N. recipient O. reminder

单选题 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition entitled A Few Remarks on Competition. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

单选题 Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on The Growth of Fast Food in China. You should write at least 150 words, and base your composition on the outline (given in Chinese) below. Write your essay on Answer Sheet 1. 1)对快餐在中国的简单回顾； 2)说明快餐的三大优点； 3)指出快餐今后的发展趋势。

单选题 Many current discussions of immigration issues talk about immigrants in general, as if they were abstract people in an abstract world. But the concrete differences between immigrants from different countries affect whether their coming here is good or bad for the American people. The very thought of formulating immigration laws from the standpoint of what is best for the American people seems to have been forgotten by many who focus on how to solve the problems of illegal immigration. It is hard to look for 'the ideal outcome' on immigration in the abstract. Economics professor Milton Friedman once said, 'The best is the enemy of the good, ' which to me meant that attempts to achieve an unattainable ideal can prevent us from reaching good outcomes that are possible in practice. Too much of our current immigration controversy is conducted in terms of abstract ideals, such as 'We are a nation of immigrants.' Of course we are a nation of immigrants. But we are also a nation of people who wear shoes. Does it follow that we should admit anybody who wears shoes? The immigrants of today are very different from those who arrived here a hundred years ago. Moreover, the society in which they arrive is different. To me, it is better to build a wall around the welfare state than the country. But the welfare state is already here—and, far from having a wall built around it, the welfare state is expanding in all directions. We do not have a choice between the welfare state and open borders. Anything we try to do as regards immigration laws has to be done in the context of a huge welfare state that is already a major, inescapable fact of life. Among other facts of life utterly ignored by many advocates of de facto amnesty (事实上的大赦)is that the free international movement of people is different from free international trade in goods. Buying cars or cameras from other countries is not the same as admitting people from those countries or any other countries. Unlike inanimate objects, people have cultures and not all cultures are compatible with the culture in this country that has produced such benefits for the American people for so long. Not only the United States, but the Western world in general, has been discovering the hard Way that admitting people with incompatible cultures is an irreversible decision with incalculable consequences. If we do not see that after recent terrorist attacks on the streets of Boston and London, when will we see it? 'Comprehensive immigration reform' means doing everything all together in a rush, without time to look before we leap, and basing ourselves on abstract notions about abstract people.

单选题 How we look and how we appear to others probably worries us more when we are in our teens or early twenties than at any other time in our life. Few of us are content to accept ourselves as we are, and few are brave enough to ignore the trends of fashion. Most fashion magazines or TV advertisements try to persuade us that we should dress in a certain way or behave in a certain manner. If we do, they tell us, we will be able to meet new people with con- fidence and deal with every situation confidently and without embarrassment. Changing fashion, of course, does not apply just to dress. A barber today does not cut a boy's hair in the same way as he used to, and girls do not make up in the same way as their mothers and grandmothers did. The advertisers show us the latest fashionable styles and we are constantly under pressure to follow the fashion in case our friends think we are odd or dull. What causes fashion to change? Sometimes convenience or practical necessity or just the fancy of an influential person can establish a fashion. Take hats for example. In cold climate, early buildings were cold inside, so people wore hats indoors as well as outside. In recent times, the late President Kennedy caused a depression in the American hat industry by not wearing hats. More American men have followed his example. There is also a cyclical pattern in fashion. In the 1920s in Europe and America, short skirts became fashionable. After World War Two, they dropped to ankle length. Then they got shorter and shorter until the miniskirt was in fashion. After a few more years, skirts became longer again. Today, society is much freer and easier than it used to be. It is no longer necessary to dress like ev- eryone else. Within reason, you can dress as you like or do your hair the way you like instead of the way you should because it is the fashion. The popularity of jeans and the 'untidy' look seems to be a reaction against the increasingly expensive fashions of the top fashion houses. At the same time, appearance is still important in certain circumstances and then we must choose our clothes carefully. It would be foolish to go to an interview for a job in a law firm wearing jeans and a sweater, and it would be discourteous to visit some distinguished scholar looking as if we were going to the beach or a nightclub. However, you need never feel depressed if you don't look like the latest fashion photo. Look around you and you'll see that no one else does either.

单选题 Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay entitled On Gratitude by commenting on the saying 'Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.' You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

单选题 Questions10-12 are based on the passage you have just heard.

单选题 Questions13-16 are based on the passage you have just heard.

单选题 丽江古城 丽江古城(the Old Town of Lijiang)位于中国云南省丽江市，始建于南宋末年，至今已有八百多年的历史。丽江古城地处战略要地，古时候商旅活动频繁，是茶马古道(the Ancient Tea Horse Road)上的重镇。丽江古城没有城墙，古城内的建筑融合了多种文化元素，展现了汉族、白族、藏族以及纳西族的建筑特点。古城拥有古老的供水系统，至今仍有效地发挥着作用。水系(waterway)上有三百多座桥，均建于明清时期。现在，纳西族的传统文化东巴(Dongba)文化，如文字、绘画、舞蹈和音乐成为丽江古城旅游的焦点。

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

单选题 秧歌舞(Yangko dance)是中国汉族的一种传统民间舞蹈，通常在北方省份表演。秧歌舞者通常穿上明亮多彩的表演服装，他们的表演动作迅速有力。在农历春节、元宵节等节日期间，人们一旦听到锣鼓声，不管外面天气有多冷，他们都会蜂拥到街上观看秧歌舞表演。近年来，中国东北某些城市的老年人自发组织了秧歌队，队员常年通过跳舞来保持健康，同时他们也乐在其中。

单选题 Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay commenting on the saying 'A good beginning makes a good end.' You can cite examples to illustrate your point. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.