单选题 Spiders are known for many things. Sociability is not one of them. Most spiders are more likely to try to eat their neighbours than befriend them. Given that there are at least 43,678 species of spiders, though, it is not too surprising that a few have overcome their natural bad-temper and teamed up to form societies. So far, about two dozen such social spiders have been identified. And among them, something really strange has just been found. For one type of spider society turns out to involve two different but closely related species. It is as though anthropologists (人类学家) had discovered villages populated both by human beings and chimpanzees. This was discovered by a team led by Lena Grinsted of Aarhus University in Denmark. They were studying a social species of spider called Chikunia nigra, living near Beratan Lake in Bali. Later, as they looked in more detail at their samples, they realised its genes showed that it was actually two species. It is not clear why the spiders being social. They do not hunt together. One explanation may be that the colony is acting like a huge kindergarten. Ms. Grinsted discovered this possibility by experiment. First, she identified 19 females who were looking after those who were recently born, and another 20 who had eggs. In each case she introduced a new comer, in the form of a spider from the same colony. Both mothers and mothers-to-be were surprisingly tolerant of what would, in most spider species, be a serious threat. Only 40% of the time did they attempt to chase the intruder away, or bite it. Ms. Grinsted then took another 40 spiders and replaced some of their little spiders. The result, she found, was that a female was as likely to look after and protect another's young spider as she was her own. Which is interesting, but not all that extraordinary in social groups which are composed of closely related individuals. Except that Ms. Grinsted now knows that this cannot always be the case for her spiders, since two different species are involved. The species in question are pretty similar, which would seem to exclude another common cause of co-action: different spiders doing different work in the group. Because Ms. Grinsted did not know at the time of her experiment that two species were involved, she cannot be sure how many of the newly-born spiders she interfered were cross-specific. The two species seem more or less equal in number, so chances are it was about half of them. If colony members are acting as foster mothers in the wild, something most odd is going on. Altruism(利他) is not a concept often associated with spiders. Xenophilic(种族间的) altruism is truly strange.

单选题Salt, shells or metals are still used as money in out-of-the-way parts of the world today. Salt may seem rather a strange 28 to use as money, but in countries where the food of the people is mainly vegetable, it is often a(n) 29 necessity. Cakes of salt, stamped to show their value, were used as money in some countries until recent 30 , and cakes of salt still buy goods in Borneo and parts of Africa. Sea shells had been used as money at some time 31 another over the greater part of the Old World. These were 32 mainly from the beaches of the Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean, and were traded to India and China. In Africa, shells were traded right across the continent from East to West. Metal, valued by weight, 33 coins in many parts of the world. Iron, in lumps, bars or rings, is still used in many countries instead of paper money. It can either be exchanged for goods, or made into tools, weapons, or ornaments. The early money of China, apart from shells, was of bronze, often in flat, round pieces with a hole in the middle, called 'cash'. The 34 of these are between three thousand and four thousand years old—older than the earliest coins of the eastern Mediterranean. Nowadays, coins and notes have replaced nearly all the more picturesque 35 of money, and although in one or two of the more remote countries people still keep it for future use on ceremonial 36 such as weddings and funerals, examples of 37 money will soon be found only in museums. A. preceded B. object C. produced D. or E. collected F. original G. substance H. forms I. times J. assembly K. advantageous L. primitive M. occasions N. absolute O. earliest

单选题 Opinion polls are now beginning to show a reluctant consensus that, whoever is to blame and whatever happens from now on, high unemployment is probably here to stay. This means we shall have to find ways of sharing the available employment more widely. But we need to go further. We must ask some fundamental questions about the future of work. Should we continue to treat employment as the norm? Should 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 offer 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 transport 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 places in which they lived. Meanwhile, employment put women at a disadvantage. In pre-industrial times, 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 the 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 utopian goal of creating jobs for all, to the urgent practical task of helping many people to manage without full-time jobs.

单选题 Questions2-5 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

单选题 苏州是中国著名的历史文化名城(historical and cultural city)。俗语有“上有天堂，下有苏杭”来形容苏州和杭州的美丽和繁荣。苏州地处长江三角洲，地理位置优越，气候湿润。旧时许多官员退休后来到苏州养老。苏州素以“园林城市”闻名于世。明清时期，苏州出现了一批园林艺术家。最盛时期，苏州的私家园林和庭院达到280余处，有很多至今保存完好并对外开放。如今，苏州园林不断推出特色旅游活动，每年吸引中外游客近千万人次。

单选题 Now listen to the following recording and answer questions15-17.

单选题It is important that scientists be seen as normal people asking and answering important questions. Good, sound science depends on 28 , experiments and reasoned methodologies. It requires a willingness to ask new questions and try new approaches. It requires one to take risks and experience failures. But good science also requires 29 understanding, clear explanation and concise presentation. Our country needs more scientists who are willing to step out in the public 30 and offer their opinions on important matters. We need more scientists who can explain what they are doing in language that is 31 and understandable to the public. Those of us who are not scientists should also be prepared to support public engagement by scientists, and to 32 scientific knowledge into our public communications. Too many people in this country, including some among our elected leadership, still do not understand how science works or why robust, long-range investments in research vitally matter. In the 1960s, the United States 33 nearly 17% of discretionary (可酌情支配的) spending to research and development, 34 decades of economic growth. By 2008, the figure had fallen into the single 35 . This occurs at a time when other nations have made significant gains in their own research capabilities. At the University of California (UC), we 36 ourselves not only on the quality of our research, but also on its contribution to improving our world. To 37 the development of science from the lab bench to the market place, UC is investing our own money in our own good ideas. A. arena B. contextual C. convincing D. devoted E. digits F. hasten G. hypotheses H. impairing I. incorporate J. indefinite K. indulge L. inertia M. pride N. reaping O. warrant

单选题 Questions2-5 are bused on the conversation you have just heard.

单选题 Questions13-15 are based on the passage you have just heard.

单选题 筷子(chopsticks)是中国传统的独具特色的进食工具(dining utensils)，至今已有数千年的历史。筷子在古代被称为“箸”，大约从明朝开始才有了“筷子”的称呼。筷子多为竹子制成，也有用木头、象牙(ivory)、金属或其他材料制作而成。它要么上方下圆，要么上下全圆而上粗下细。不管其形状如何，筷子必须是成对使用的，并且两只筷子的大小长短要相同。筷子是中国人日常生活的必备工具，它的发明充分反映了中国人民的智慧。

单选题 Now listen to the following recording and answer questions20-22.

单选题 话题：要勇于面对挑战We should face challenges bravely Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on facing challenges by referring to the saying 'You cannot change what you refuse to confront.' You can give examples to illustrate your point and then explain how you will react to challenges in your life. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

单选题 儿童肥胖问题 儿童肥胖已经成为困扰一些中国家庭的问题。它与遗传因素、饮食习惯和生活方式等有很大的关系。随着人们生活水平的提高，孩子们有更多的机会外出就餐，他们无法抵制美食的诱惑，结果不可避免地胖起来。在现代社会，孩子们的学业压力比较大，他们忙于学习，缺乏运动。卡路里摄入的增加和运动时间的减少导致了孩子的肥胖。总的来说，应该更加关注孩子的健康问题，改变他们不良的饮食习惯和生活方式。