The square itself is five hundred yards wide, five times ______ the size of St. Peter's in Rome.[2008]
An insurance agent called me this morning. This particular agent wanted to discuss my automobile coverage, but the next agent to call might be interested in my life insurance program, my health insurance, or fire protection for my home and furniture. The American consumer often feels constantly disturbed by insurance agents. Many agents selling many different policies call us by phone and sometimes even come to our doors. These insurance agents are always friendly, well-dressed, and eager to be of help. Yet few Americans really enjoy visiting with these eager, helpful men and women. We are not happy when they call us; we are on guard when they visit our homes. They are never really our friends; at best, they are a necessary evil, and insurance, too. Three reasons why we are unwilling to discuss insurance can be suggested. First of all, insurance is expensive. A young father who purchases a fairly small life insurance policy agrees to pay a sum of $200 every year for 40 years—a total of $8, 000. Many college students pay $800 to $1, 000 per year for car insurance. In effect, they pay as much for the insurance as they do for the car itself. Health insurance that pays for modern medical miracles often costs Americans as much as $2, 000 every year. Adequate insurance is expensive; it is a major item for most families. Insurance also reminds us that we live in an unsafe world. We are human and we must face the possibilities of illness, injury, death and financial loss. Our rational minds recognize the many unfortunate events that can occur, but in our hearts we hope that we might be spared. Serious injury or death is not a pleasant subject to discuss or even consider. We are afraid; we would rather talk about football or the weather or what we had for lunch. Finally, insurance is a difficult, complex subject. No one understands it completely and only a few insurance professionals really feel comfortable in a discussion of automobile, life, and major medical coverage. We feel inadequate and try to hide our ignorance by avoiding discussions of insurance. Yet these three reasons for not discussing insurance provide three excellent reasons why we should learn more about it. Insurance is expensive. In a lifetime, many of us spend as much on insurance as we do on the purchase of a home. If we are to spend our money intelligently, we need information about the products and services available. We don't depend entirely on salespeople when we buy a car, a house, or a suit of clothes. Neither should we depend entirely on the agent when we buy insurance. We need a basic knowledge of insurance coverage if we are to be intelligent consumers. The intelligent consumer looks problems in the face. Although accident, illness, and death are not pleasant subjects, each of us knows we face these possibilities. It is better that we plan for these situations by finding means to deal with them than to just hope that they will somehow go away. Although insurance can be complex, its basic concepts are neither difficult nor impossible to learn. Quite the opposite. Insurance fundamentals can be understood by those willing to study them. Serious study provides knowledge. The study of insurance is an effective, proven method of dealing with the insurance ignorance faced by many American families.
______ I'm willing to help, I do not have too much time available.
I am surprised ______ the exam is pretty difficult.
A. diet B. regularly C. healthy D. commonly E. reduced F. samples G. contains H. participated I. drink J. measured K. avoiding L. provide M. menu N. advantages O. involves Sugarless yoghurt could help beat bad breath, tooth decay and gum disease, say scientists. Japanese researchers found eating the yoghurt【C1】______ levels of hydrogen sulphide(硫化物)— a major cause of bad breath—in 80% of volunteers. The keys are active bacteria in yoghurt. Details were presented at a meeting of the International Association for Dental Research. A total of 24 volunteers who【C2】______ in the study were given strict instructions on oral hygiene, diet and medication intake. They spent two weeks【C3】______ yoghurts and similar foods, like cheese. Researchers then【C4】______bacteria levels and odour-causing compounds, including hydrogen sulphide. The volunteers then ate 90 grams of yoghurt a day for six weeks. At the end of the study, researchers took【C5】______again. They found hydrogen sulphide levels decreased in 80% of participants. Dr. Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said: "The foundation has long been drawing people's attention to sugar-free yoghurts as a【C6】______ snack, so it is pleasing to hear that it may have oral health benefits we were previously unaware of. "Although this research is still in the early stages there is no doubt that sugar-free yoghurts 【C7】______ a much healthier alternative to sweets and chocolate, and we would encourage snackers to incorporate them into their【C8】______." However, Dr. Carter stressed that the best way to beat bad breath was by adopting a good oral health routine. This【C9】______brushing twice-a-day with fluoride(氟化物)toothpaste, cutting down on the frequency of sugary snacks and drinks and visiting a dentist【C10】______.
I ______ writing the paper as scheduled, but my mother's illness interfered. I hope you will excuse me.
She would have finished the last page of her play, but she ______ to stop to feed her crying baby.
The communications explosion is on the scale of the rail, automobile or telephone revolution. Very soon you'll be able to record your entire life electronically—anything a microphone or a camera can sense you'll be able to store. In particular, the number of images a person captures in a lifetime is set to rise exponentially. The thousand images a year I take of my children on a digital camera are all precious to me. In a generation's time, my children's children will have total image documentation of their entire lives—a visual log of tremendous personal value. By then we'll be wrestling with another question: how we control all the electronic devices connected to the Internet: trillions of PCs, laptops, palmpilots, cell phones and other gadgets. In Cambridge, we're already working on millimeter-square computing and sensing devices that can be linked to the Internet through the radio net work. This sort of connectivity will expand dramatically as microscopic communications devices become dirt-cheap and multiply. Just imagine what the paint on the wall could do if it had this sort of communications dust in it: change color, play music, show movies or even speak to you. Falling costs raise other possibilities too. Because launching space vehicles is about to become very much cheaper, the number of satellites is likely to go up exponentially. There's lots of space up there so we could have millions of them. And if you have millions of low-orbit satellites you can establish a global communications network that completely does away with towers and masts. If the satellites worked on the cellular principle so you got spatial reuse of frequencies, system capacity would be amazing. Speech is so flexible that I expect voice communication to become almost free eventually: you'll pay just a monthly fixed charge and be able to make as many calls as you want. By then people will also have fixed links with business contacts, friends and relatives. One day I anticipate being able to keep in touch with my family in Poland on a fibreoptic audio-video link; we'll be able to have a little ceremony at supper-time, open the curtains and sit down "together" to eat. Cars are an interesting IT-platform because they have big batteries and lots of so far unconnected digital devices. Soon each one will be an entity on the Internet so your children can play interactive games while you're traveling and your partner can deal with their email. And every lamppost could be on the Internet too—each one with sensors to monitor light, pollution, air quality and traffic flow.
The police had difficulty in______the fans from rushing on to the stage to take photos with the singer.(2010-73)
Many manufacturers were accused of concentrating too heavily on cost reduction, often at the _____ of the quality of their products.
Your ways to solve this problem, _______, seem pretty effective.
______ James wanted to go camping with his classmates at the weekend, he had to stay behind to help his mom do the housework.
I was to have made a speech if______.[1997]
______ for the fact that his father was in hospital, he might have gone abroad.
Mary hoped that this job would serve as a firm______for her chosen career.
Should young people continue to live with their parents after finding a job? This issue has been intensely discussed for years. The following are the supporters' and opponents' opinions. Read carefully the opinions from both sides and write your response in about 200 words, in which you should first summarize briefly the opinions from both sides and give your view on the issue. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks. YES It is widely acknowledged that living with parents contributes to relieving young adults' strains and stresses. They bear great pressure from their work and life, and it is not easy for them to adapt to an independent life. Parents, especially those who have retired, are always ready to provide help for their children, so that they can concentrate on their work. When it comes to interpersonal relationship and career development, young people can get great help and lots of guidance from their parents because they definitely have more experience. Young people are more likely to live a regular and healthy life with sufficient care from their parents. NO The family relationship might become even worse under the subtle influence of generation gap. Parents and children usually have different life concepts and habits. Young people are unaware that they might lose their independence and viability when living with their parents. Washing clothes, tidying up rooms and tackling crises by oneself are the basic life abilities one needs for his future life. Another drawback of living under the same roof with parents is that one might live a parasitic life and lose his motivation. In stark contrast, those who prefer to live on their own could develop their interpersonal relationship, money management skills, and adaptability.
______the two, Bob is______student. （1995年考试真题）
[此试题无题干]
Will the widening ______ between the rich and poor reverse?