单选题Revolutionary innovation is now occurring in all scientific and technological fields. This wave of unprecedented change is driven primarily by advances in information technology, but it is much larger in scope. We are not dealing simply with an Information Revolution but with a Technology Revolution. To anticipate developments in this field, the George Washington University Forecast of Emerging Technologies was launched at the start of the 1990s. We have now completed four rounds of our Delphi survey — in 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996 — giving us a wealth of data and experience. We now can offer a reasonably clear picture of what can be expected to happen in technology over the next three decades. Time horizons play a crucial role in forecasting technology. Forecasts of the next five to ten years are often so predictable that they fall into the realm of market research, while those more than 30 or 40 years away are mostly speculation. This leaves a 10- to 20-year window in which to make useful forecasts. It is this time frame that our Forecast addresses. The Forecast uses diverse methods, including environmental scanning, trend analysis, Delphi surveys, and model building. Environmental scanning is used to identify emerging technologies. Trend analysis guides the selection of the most important technologies for further study, and a modified Delphi survey is used to obtain forecasts. Instead of using the traditional Delphi method of providing respondents with immediate feed- back and requesting additional estimates in order to arrive at a consensus, we conduct another survey after an additional time period of about two years. Finally, the results are portrayed in time periods to build models of unfolding technological change. By using multiple methods instead of relying on a single approach, the Forecast can produce more reliable, useful estimates. For our latest survey conducted in 1996, we selected 85 emerging technologies representing the most crucial advances that can be foreseen. We then submitted the list of technologies to our panel of futurists for their judgments as to when (or if) each technological development would enter the mainstream, the probability that it would happen, and the estimated size of the economic market for it. In short, we sought a forecast as to when each emerging technology will have actually "emerged".

单选题What docs the word "precursor" in the context in Par

单选题Broadly speaking, the Englishman is a quiet, shy, reserved person who is fully (21) only among people he knows well. In the presence of strangers or foreigners he often seems inhibited, (22) embarrassed. You have only to (23) a commuter train any morning or evening to see the truth of this. Serious-looking businessmen and women sit reading their newspapers or dozing in a corner; no one speaks. In fact, to do so would seem most unusual. (24) ,there is here an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which, (25) broken, makes the person immediately the object of (26) It is a well-known fact that the English have a (27) for the discussion of their weather and that, given half a chance, they will talk about it (28) Some people argue that it is because English weather (29) forecast and hence is a source of interest and (30) to everyone. This may be so. (31) Englishmen cannot have much (32) in the weathermen, who, after promising fine, sunny weather for the following day, are often proved wrong (33) a cloud over the Atlantic brings rainy weather to all districts! The man in the street seems to be as accurate — or as inaccurate—as the weathermen in his (34) The overseas visitors may be excused for showing surprise at the number of references (35) weather that the English make to each other in the course of a single day. Very often conversational greetings are (36) by comments on the weather. "Nice day, isn't it? Beautiful!" may well be heard instead of "Good morning, how are you?" (37) the foreigner may consider this exaggerated and comic, it is worthwhile pointing out that it could be used to his advantage. (38) he wants to start a conversation with an Englishman but is (39) to know where to begin, he could do well to mention the state of the weather. It is a safe subject which will (40) an answer from even the most reserved of Englishmen.

单选题 They are{{U}} {{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}}along the major roads throughout the Northeast. Form the parking lots, they look like railroad or trolley cars, but the cheery curtains in the windows, the flower boxes on the window sills, and the "Come on in, we're open"{{U}} {{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}}on the doors{{U}} {{U}} 3 {{/U}} {{/U}}something different. These are the diners, where eating is a{{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}restaurant experience. The first diners appeared almost one hundred years ago.{{U}} {{U}} 5 {{/U}} {{/U}}they were horse-drawn wagons filled with sandwiches, hot dogs, desserts, and coffee for people who wanted to eat{{U}} {{U}} 6 {{/U}} {{/U}}after 8:00 p. m. Many restaurants were already closed{{U}} {{U}} 7 {{/U}} {{/U}}that hour, but the diner stayed open.{{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}earning the nickname, "night owl" It was not until 1897,{{U}} {{U}} 9 {{/U}} {{/U}}, that the trolley design of the diner became popular. When Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City{{U}} {{U}} 10 {{/U}} {{/U}}their horse-drawn trolleys with modern electric cars, the abandoned models were bought by{{U}} {{U}} 11 {{/U}} {{/U}}merchants for 15 or 20 dollars and{{U}} {{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}into diners. It was also during this period, however, that the diners suffered a{{U}} {{U}} 13 {{/U}} {{/U}}of respectability. The dilapidated cars tended to drive{{U}} {{U}} 14 {{/U}} {{/U}}respectable customers while{{U}} {{U}} 15 {{/U}} {{/U}}a less desirable clientele. At one point in their history, diners were even{{U}} {{U}} 16 {{/U}} {{/U}}by city order in Atlantic City, New Jersey and Buffalo, New York. {{U}} {{U}} 17 {{/U}} {{/U}}the diners were saved from possible extinction by a man named Patrick (Pop) Tierny, who, in the early 1900s ,created a more elegant version of the old trolley diner.{{U}} {{U}} 18 {{/U}} {{/U}}by the railroad dining car, "Pop" added booths, small windows, and a barrel roof to his diners. During this same period, automobiles were growing{{U}} {{U}} 19 {{/U}} {{/U}}popularity-and long distance travel was becoming more common. Diners along the roadside provided both pleasant and convenient{{U}} {{U}} 20 {{/U}} {{/U}}places for hungry travelers.

单选题{{B}}Passage 2{{/B}} Education is primarily the responsibility of the states. State constitutions set up certain standards and rules for the establishment of school. State laws require children to go to school until they reach a certain age. The actual control of the schools, however, is usually a local matter. The control of the schools does not usually come directly from the local government. In each of the three types of city government, public schools are generally quite separate and independent. They cooperate with local officials but are not dominated by the municipal government. Most Americans believe that schools should be free of political pressures. They believe that the separate control of the school systems preserves such freedom. Public schools are usually maintained by school districts. The state often sets the district boundaries. Sometimes the school district has the same boundaries as the city. Sometimes it is larger than the city. In the South, county boards of education members are elected. In some places they are appointed by the mayor or city council. The state legislature decides which method should be used. Most district boards of education try to give all pupils a chance to get a good education. A good education prepares a person to live a better life. It helps him to become a better citizen. Nearly all states give financial aid to local school districts. State departments of education offer other kinds of aid. States offer help with such things as program planning and the school districts. The federal government also helps. The National Defense Education Act allows school districts to get financial aid for certain purposes. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 added many other kinds of financial help. But neither the state nor the federal government dictates school policy. This is determined by local school boards.

单选题Questions 11—13 are based on the following passage. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 11—13.

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单选题 With human footprints on the moon, radio telescopes listening for messages from alien creatures (who may or may not exist), technicians looking for celestial and planetary sources of energy to support our civilization, orbiting telescopes' data hinting at planetary systems around other stars, and political groups trying to figure out how to save humanity from nuclear warfare that would damage life and eliminate on a planet-wide scale, an astronomy book published today enters a world different from the one that greeted books a generation ago. Astronomy has broadened to involve our basic circumstances and our mysterious future in the universe. With eclipses and space missions broadcast live, and with NASA, Europe, and the USSR planning and building permanent space stations, astronomy offers adventure for all people, an outward exploratory thrust that may one day be seen as an alternative to mindless consumerism, ideological bickering, and wars to control dwindling resources on a closed, finite Earth. Today's astronomy students not only seek an up-to-date summary of astronomical facts: they ask, as people have asked for ages, about our basic relations to the rest of the universe. They may study astronomy partly to seek points of contact between science and other human endeavors: philosophy, history, politics, environmental action, even the arts and religion. Science fiction writers and special effect artists on recent films help today's students realize that unseen worlds of space are real places—not abstract concepts. Today's students are citizens of a more real, more vast cosmos than conceptualized by students of a decade ago. In designing this edition, the Wadsworh editors and I have tried to respond to {{U}}these developments.{{/U}} Rather than jumping at the start into murky waters of cosmology, I have begun with the viewpoint of ancient people on Earth and worked outward across the universe. This method of organization automatically (if loosely) reflects the order of humanity's discoveries about astronomy and provides a unifying theme of increasing distance and scale.

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单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} William Shakespeare described old age as" second childishness"--no teeth, no eyes, no taste. In the case of taste he may, musically speaking, have been- more perceptive than he realised. A paper in Neurology by Giovanni Frisoni and his colleagues at the National Centre for Research and Care of Alzheimers's Disease in Italy, shows that frontotemporal dementia can affect musical desires in ways that suggest a regression, if not to infancy, then at least to a patient's teens. Frontotemporal dementia, a disease usually found with old people, is caused, as its name suggests, by damage to the front and sides of the brain. These regions are concerned with speech, and with such" higher" functions as abstract thinking and judgment. Two of such patients intrigued Dr Frisoni. One was a 68-year-old lawyer, the other a 73-year- old housewife. Both had undamaged memories, but displayed the sorts of defect associated with frontotemporal dementia--a diagnosis that was confirmed by brain scanning. About two years after he was first diagnosed, the lawyer, once a classical music lover who referred to pop music as" mere noise", started listening to the Italian pop band "883". As his command of language and his emotional attachments to friends and family deteriorated, he continued to listen to the band at full volume for many hours a day. The housewife had not even had the lawyer's love of classical music, having never enjoyed music of any sort in the past. But about a year after her diagnosis she became very interested in the songs that her 11-year-old granddaughter was listening to. This kind of change in musical taste was not seen in any of the Alzheimer's patients, and thus appears to be specific to those with frontotemporal dementia. And other studies have remarked on how frontotemporal-dementia patients sometimes gain new talents. Five sufferers who developed artistic abilities are known. And in another case, one woman with the disease suddenly started composing and singing country and western songs. Dr Frisoni speculates that the illness is causing people to develop a new attitude towards novel experiences, Previous studies of novelty-seeking behaviour suggest that it is managed by the brain's right frontal lobe. A predominance of the right over the left frontal lobe, caused by damage to the latter, might thus lead to a quest for new experience. Alternatively, the damage may have affected some specific nervous system that is needed to appreciate certain kinds of music. Whether that is a gain or a loss is a different matter. As Dr Frisoni puts it in his article, there is no accounting for taste.

单选题In what Way is the computer superior to the human brain?

单选题Slavery has played a significant role in the history of the U.S. It existed in all the English mainland colonies and most of the Founding Fathers also had slaves, as did eight of the first 12 presidents. Dutch traders brought 20 Africans to Jamestown, Virginia, as early as 1619, however, throughout the 17th century the number of Africans in the English mainland colonies grew very slowly. At that time, colonists used two other sources of unfree labor: Native American slaves and European indentured servants. During those years, every colony had some Native American slaves, but their number was limited. Indian men avoided performing agricultural labor, because they viewed it as women"s work, and colonists complained that they were too "haughty". The more important was that the settlers found it more convenient to sell Native Americans captured in war to planters in the Caribbean than to turn them into slaves, because they often resisted and it was not hard for the slaves to escape. Later, the policy of killing Indians or driving them away from white settlements was proposed and it contradicted with their widespread employment as slaves. The other form of labor was the white indentured servitude. Most indentured servants consisted of poor Europeans. Desiring to escape tough conditions in Europe and take advantage of fabled opportunities in America, they traded three to seven years of their labor in exchange for the transatlantic passage. At first, it was mainly English who were the white indentured servitude but later increasingly Irish, Welsh, and German joined. They were essentially temporary slaves and most of them served as agricultural workers although some, especially in the North, were taught skilled trades. During the 17th century, they performed most of heavy labor in the Southern colonies and also consisted of the bulk of immigrants to those colonies. At the end of the 17th century, in order to meet the labor need, landowners in America turned to African slaves. During the late 17th and 18th centuries, thanks to the dominant position of England in terms of naval superiority, English traders (some of whom lived in English America) transported millions of Africans across the Atlantic. And the transatlantic slave trade produced one of the largest forced migrations in history, blacks (the great majority of whom were slaves) increasing from about 7 percent of the American population in 1680 to more than 40 percent by the middle of the 18th century.

单选题We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows _________.A. have monopolized the talk show circuit C. appear at different times of the dayB. exploit the weaknesses in human nature D. are targeted at different audiences

单选题In 1997 ,people will ______.

单选题Most people are familiar with comic books and comic strips. The comic strip is usually found in daily newspapers. It is made up of three or four picture panels telling a story with one or more characters. Some comic strips tell a different incident every day. In other comic strips the story continues from day to day until it is finished, and then a new story begins with the same main characters. Comic books are extensions of comic strips into magazines. Each magazine is about one set of characters, and the pictures tell a complete story. Generally comic books are printed in color. The words are prined in balloons over a speaker's head to indicate the person speaking. A few sentences may be used to bridge a gap in a story, but most of the plot is carried by direct conversation and by action in the pictures. Comic book covers are made of glossy paper, and there are generally the same number of pages- usually 32 - in each book in a particular series. More than one story is included in each issue, and there is usually some advertising. Comic books are published regularly, that is to say, every month, every 2 months, or once a year. Because of their regular publication, they are often called comic magazines. Approximately 200 different titles are published. The exact number varies from month to month. Some people estimate that close to 500,000,000 copies of comic books are sold each year. Comic strips are not all-humorous stories. The Comics Magazine Association of American lists these types of comic books: adventure, animal, biography, detective, fantasy, mystery, history, humor, military, religion, romance, satire, science-fiction, teenage, "kiddie", and western. Some types, such as adventure and humor, sell better, so there are more of them. However, the popularity of comic books has led many kinds of groups to use them to tell a story. There are comic strips in some Sunday school papers, the army uses the comic-strip technique in training soldiers, and many companies use comic books to tell their story behind a product or the history of their company. Comic strips began in newspapers as early as the 1870's. Comic books similar to those published today first appeared in the 1930's and were collections of comic strips previously printed. The next step in comic book history was the writing of stories for comic book use alone, using a single set of characters in two or three plots. The development of animated cartoon movies led to comic books about the same characters, such as Mickey Mouse. Sometimes a comic book retells a plot from a movie or a popular old book, in at least one case-Superman-the comic strip and comic book character led to television and movie versions. Television shows that are popular with young people are often made the subject of comic books because the publishers know they will quickly find buyers. The comic-book form is sometimes used to teach as well as entertain. Comic books are used to help explain complicated subjects. They are also useful tools to civil organizations in public information campaigns. A reference list of free and inexpensive materials will include many comic books such as those published by General Electric, Goodrich Company, or Swift and Company. Such material often contains valuable information. However, it is wise to keep in mind the source of the material if it is to be used in arguments. For instance, material from the American Railway Association will not tell about similar services performed by the national trucking industry. Telling a story through pictures will probably continue to be popular for some time to come. However, comic books have changed a great deal since they first began. Other changes will very likely come in the future.