单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} Atmospheric pressure can support a column of water up to 10 meters high. But plants can move water much higher: the sequoia tree can pump water to its very top, more than 100 meters above the ground. Until the end of the nineteenth century, the movement of water in trees and other tall plants was a mystery. Some botanists hypothesized that the living cells of plants acted as pumps. But many experiments demonstrated that the stem of plants in which all the cells are killed can still move water to appreciable heights. Other explanations for the movement of water in plants have been based on root pressure, a push on the water from the roots at the bottom of the plant. But root pressure is not nearly great enough to push water to the tops of tall trees. Furthermore, the conifers, which are among the tallest trees, have unusually low root pressures. If water is not pumped to the top of a tall tree, and if it is not pushed to the top of a tall tree, then we may ask: How does it get there? According to the currently accepted cohesion-tension theory, water is pulled there. The pull on a rising column of water in a plant results form the evaporation of water at the top of the plant. As water is lost form the surface of the leaves, a negative pressure, or tension, is created. The evaporated water is replaced by water moving from inside the plant in unbroken columns that extend from the top of a plant to its roots. The same forces that create surface tension in any sample of water are responsible for the maintenance of these unbroken columns of water. When water is confined in tubes of very small bore, the forces of cohesion (the attraction between water molecules) are so great that the strength of a column of water compares with the strength of a steel wire of the same diameter. This cohesive strength permits columns of water to be pulled to great heights without being broken.

单选题{{B}}Text 1{{/B}} One of the largest mental health problems in the United States is that of compulsive gambling. Although there are no scientific studies that have discovered the exact number, experts estimate that between five and ten million persons are compulsive gamblers. Like addicting to alcohol or narcotics, compulsive gambling crosses all social and economic lines. Compulsive gamblers can be found in any profession and at any level of society. And the addiction affects both men and women. The gambling compulsion usually starts in the early teens. The more often the young gambler indulges in the compulsion, the more obsessive it becomes. By his early twenties, the average compulsive gambler has moved from small bets on such things as football games, horse races, and card games to more adult, more expensive, gambling forms. For the compulsive gamblers, life becomes continuous gambling. The compulsion consumes the gambling addict to such a point that nothing else matters not even health, children, or family. Studies by psychiatrists seem to show that compulsive gamblers bet to lose. Compulsive gamblers never stop when they are ahead. Instead they try to win more. One important characteristic to the compulsive gambler is his optimism. Like most human beings he does not like to admit defeat. Consequently, he hides his real motivations for gambling with large amounts of enthusiastic optimism. The more deeply he is committed to betting—and losing— the more fanatical his conviction that the next bet will make him wealthy. Compulsive gamblers will use almost any means to get money' to "feed their addiction". Borrowing or stealing from friends or family is the first method gamblers usually employ to get cash. Other common ways to get money are embezzlement, robbery or writing false checks. In recent years psychiatrists have discovered some of the basic reasons for compulsive gambling. First, compulsive gamblers almost always come from homes lacking in love. As a result the child grows up still looking for the warmth of family love and parental approval. Another aspect of the nature of the gambling addict is that unconsciously he wants to lose. Psychiatrists believe that compulsive gamblers consciously may expect to win; however, there is a strong element of self-destruction in their inclination to continue betting until all is lost. One New York psychiatrist believes that basically the compulsive gambler is seeking an answer to the question: "Do you love me?" By winning he receives a "yes" answer. However, the gambler cannot accept the "yes" he sometimes receives because it is contrary to the reality of his (or her) unhappy childhood—one lacking in family love. The gambler is compelled to continue betting, thus expressing again and again his need for love and acceptance. When gambling addicts do win some money, they rarely spend any of it on their families. Money is like a sacred thing to the addict. It is reserved for one thing: placing a bet. Fortunately, there is hope and help today for gambling addicts. Psychiatric treatment is one possibility. Group therapy seems to help in some cases. The most readily available—and least expensive—help comes from an organization called Gamblers Anonymous (GA). Patterned after Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) it has more than ninety chapters in the United States with about 3 000 gamblers seeking a cure. One basic rule of GA is that gamblers must pay back all their debts, even if it takes many years to do so. Thousands of members credit GA with saving them from their addiction and helping them to build new lives free from the gambling sickness. Happily, today with more public interest in helping the gambling addict overcome his problem and with such organization as the GA, the gambler who wants help to break his addiction now has some place or someone to turn to.

单选题{{I}} Questions 11 to 13 are based on the following talk on different superstitions and customs. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 11 to 13.{{/I}}

单选题Questions 10--12 Complete the following sentences with NO MORE THAN three words for each blank.

单选题Those who do not see a good prospect of the drinking reform

单选题 {{I}} Questions 14 to 17 are based on a report on the history of beauty contest. You now have 20 seconds to read Questions 14 to 17.{{/I}}

单选题WhatdothefamousgoldenOscar'statuettesrepresent?A.Thesurprisewinner.B.Thehottestfavorite.C.Thegreatesthonor.D.Thought-provokingfilms.

单选题The word "be deterred by" (in paragraph 1) means______.

单选题The author implies that attempts to treat human relations scientifically have thus far been relatively______.

单选题Questions 17 to 20 are based on the following interview between Mr. Pollard and Mrs. Partridge about the housing situation in Britain.

单选题Until men invented ways of staying underwater for more than a few minutes, the wonders of the world below the surface of the sea were almost unknown. The main problem, of course, lies in air. How could air be supplied to swimmers below the surface of the sea? Pictures made about 2,900 years ago in Asia show men swimming under the surface with air bags tied to their bodies. A pipe from the bag carried air into the swimmer"s mouth. But little progress was achieved in the invention of diving devices until about 1490, when the famous Italian painter, Leonardo da Vinci, designed a complete diving suit. In 1680, an Italian professor invented a large air bag. with a glass window to be worn over the diver"s head. To "clean" the air a breathing pipe went from the air bag, through another bag to remove moisture, and then again to the large air bag. The plan did not work, but it gave later inventors the idea of moving air around in diving devices. In 1819, a German, Augustus Siebe, developed a way of forcing air into the head-covering by a machine operated above the water. Finally, in 1837, he invented the "hard-hat suit" which was to be used for nearly a century. It had a metal covering for the head and an air pipe attached to a machine above the water. It also had small openings to remove unwanted air. But there were two dangers to the diver inside the "hard-hat suit". One was the sudden rise to the surface, caused by a too great supply of air. The other was the crushing of the body, caused by a sudden diving into deep water. The sudden rise to the surface could kill the diver; a sudden dive could force his body up into the helmet, which could also result in death. Gradually the "hard-hat suit" was improved so that the diver could be given a constant supply of air. The diver could then move around under the ocean without worrying about the air supply. During the 1940s diving underwater without a special suit became popular. Instead, divers used a breathing device and a small covering made of rubber and glass over parts of the face. To improve the swimmer"s speed another new invention was used: a piece of rubber shaped like a giant foot, which was attached to each of the diver"s own feet. The manufacture of rubber breathing pipes made it possible for divers to float on the surface of the water, observing the marine life underneath them. A special rubber suit enabled them to stay in cold water for long periods, collecting specimens of animal and vegetable life that had never been obtained in the past. The most important advance, however, was the invention of a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, which is called a "scuba". Invented by two Frenchmen, Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan, the scuba consists of a mouthpiece joined to one or two tanks of compressed air which are attached to the diver"s back. The scuba makes it possible for a diver-scientist to work 200 feet underwater or even deeper for several hours. As a result, scientists can now move around freely at great depths, learning about the wonders of the sea.

单选题{{B}}Part C{{/B}} The following passage is divided into three sections. You are asked to find out in which sections the 10 statements are discussed or implied. Note: Answer each question by choosing A, B or C and mark it on ANSWER SHEET 1. A =Section A B =Section B C =Section C The author holds that engineering and humanities have the least in common. 71．_______ Science and humantities are both theoretical subjects. 72．_______ The author's thought processes are different when he studies literature and author used it. 73．_______ The other students didn't understand the language of mathematics when the author used it. 74．_______ The author changed his minors. 75．_______ The author wanted to combine engineering with humanities. 76．_______ The author chose the college he attended because he wanted a broad education that would develop flexibility and values. 77．_______ The author's secondary school ambition was to major in electrical engineering. 78．_______ Many engineering students don't take their core courses seriously. 79．_______ The author found that his two fields of study did not mix well and he could not apply them easily. 80．_______ Section A Engineering students are supposed to be practically and rationally personified, but when it comes to my college education I am an idealist and a fool. In high school I wanted to be an electrical engineer and, of course, any sensible student with my aims would have chosen a college with a large engineering department, prestigious reputation and lots of fancy labs and research equipment. But that's not what I did. I chose to study engineering at a small liberal-arts university that doesn't even offer a major in electrical engineering. Obviously, this was not a practical choice; I came here for more noble reasons. I wanted a broad education that would provide me with flexibility and a value system to guide me in my career. I wanted to open my eyes and expand my vision by interacting with people who weren't studying science or engineering. My parents, teachers and other adults commended me for such a prudent choice. They told me I was wise and mature beyond my 18 years, and I believed them. I headed off to college being sure I was going to have an advantage over these students who went to the big engineering "factories" where they didn't care if you had values or were flexible. I was going to be a complete engineer: technical genius and sensitive humanist all in one. Now I'm not so sure. Somewhere along the line my lofty ideals smacked into reality, as all naive visions eventually do. After three years of struggling to balance math, physics and engineering courses with the humanities courses of my core, I have learned there are reasons why few engineering students try to combine engineering with a broad liberal curriculum in college. Section B The reality that has blocked my breezy path to stereotype smasher is that engineering and the liberal arts simply don't mix as easily as I assumed in high school. Individually they shape a person in very different ways; together they threaten to confuse. The struggle to reconcile the two disciplines is difficult. Students who pursue more traditional liberal arts degrees don't experience the dichotomy between major and core studies that I do. English or psychology majors find related subjects in almost any of their core courses. They can apply much of what they learn in "Chaucer and His Age" or "Personality Theories" to questions raised in "American Foreign Policy" or "Religions of the World". But I rarely find that my ability to analyze circuits by LaPlace transforms is applicable to the discussions held in my religion or history courses. What I contribute is almost always something learned in another core class, not in the science building. On the rare occasions when I do speak from my knowledge of engineering, there is a language barrier. I can't talk mathematics to the people in my core classes because most don't understand it. They force me to deliver a diluted and popularized version of my point that often fails to convey the impact I think it should. It's like telling a joke to someone who doesn't get it. You say the punch line and he looks dumbly at you, waiting for more. It's frustrating. Not only do engineering and humanities subjects not overlap, but each discipline demands that I think in separate modes. When I walk into a core classroom I am expected to look at many different aspects of existence from a single point of view, such as ethical theory or Romantic poetry. When I enter an electronics laboratory I am expected to examine one thing, such as the characteristics of the ideal transformer, from several different angles, such as the laws of magnetic induction or the perspective of practical design. It feels different in the classroom than in the lab. The differences follow me out of the classroom. When I sit back in the recliner in my room to read a novel for "British Literature", I open my mind to allow associations between new knowledge and old. But when it is time to work through a few problems for "Electromagnetic Theory", I sit down at my desk on a hard wooden chair and shut out all of my thoughts except those that will help me find the answers. Section C The Two Cultures. The essential approach of each discipline can be captured in a metaphor. Imagine how each would use a spotlight to explore a theatrical stage. The humanities would use one colored filter and point the light all over the stage. Engineering would focus a tight beam on one particular actor and use the entire spectrum of colored filters. The gap between the two cultures of science and humanities is a common theme. But the engineer has even less in common with the humanities than the scientist does. The scientist at least shares the humanist's ideal of knowledge for its own sake: the unimpeachable position of pure theory. Engineers are denied even this because they are explicitly concerned with using knowledge to fulfill our needs and purposes, both glorious and mundane. There is no pure theory in engineering. There is only what works. Many engineering students avoid the conflict between their major and their core by placing less emphasis on courses outside their major. They train their thinking to be most effective at solving well-defined problems and muddle through the foggy issues in their core courses as best they can. I am stubborn enough to believe I can learn to think more freely and still be an effective engineer, and that I can be technically honed and still be a human being. But I know I can't smash all the stereotypes; I have acquired some of the prejudices they are based on. My writing professor urges me to be less rational. My religion professor reminds me that technology cannot solve all our problems, as much as I would like it to. As I was preparing last spring to register for classes this fall, I saw that I could be spending more time in the lab than ever during my senior year. Suddenly I wanted out. I swapped my minors in electrical engineering and computer science for a degree in physics, the most I could do without postponing my graduation. I was reluctant to switch, and someday I may return to engineering. But for now I need to stay closer to the humanities of my core so that I do not abandon part of myself before I know who I really am.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} Hotels were among the earliest facilities that {{U}}bound{{/U}} the United States together. They were both creatures and creators of communities, as well as symptoms of the frenetic quest for community. Even in the first part of the nineteenth century, Americans were already forming the habit of gathering from all comers of the nation for both public and private, business and pleasure purposes. Conventions were the new occasions, and hotels were distinctively American facilities making conventions possible. The first national convention of a major party to choose a candidate for President (that of the National Republican Party, which met on December 12, 1831, and nominated Henry Clay for President) was held in Baltimore, at a hotel that was then reputed to be the best in the country. The presence in Baltimore of Barnum's City Hotel, a six-story building with two hundred apartments, helps explain why many other early national political conventions were held there. In the longer run, too. American hotels made other national conventions not only possible but pleasant and convivial. The growing custom of regularly {{U}}assembling{{/U}} from afar the representatives of all kinds of groups-not only for political conventions, but also for commercial, professional, learned, and avocational ones-in turn supported the multiplying hotels. By mid-twentieth century, conventions accounted for over a third of the yearly room occupancy of all hotels in the nation; about eighteen thousand different conventions were held annually with a total attendance of about ten million persons. Nineteenth-century American hotelkeepers, who were no longer the genial, deferential "hosts" of the eighteenth-century European inn, became leading citizens. Holding a large stake in the community, they exercised power to make it prosper. As owners or managers of the local "palace of the public", they were makers and shapers of a principal community attraction. Travelers from abroad were mildly shocked by this high social position.

单选题{{I}} Questions 14 to 17 are based on an introduction to early movie making. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 14 to 17.{{/I}}

单选题Opinion polls are now beginning to show that, whoever is to blame and whatever happens from now on, high unemployment is probably hero to stay. This means we shall have to make ways of sharing the available employment more widely. But we need to go further. We must ask some primary questions about the future of work. Would we continue to treat employment as the norm? Would 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 coaling 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 provide 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 transportation 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 place in which they lived. Meanwhile, employment put women at a disadvantage. In pre-industrial time, 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 be paid employment, leaving the unpaid work of the home and 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 idealist goal of creating jobs for all, to the urgent practical task of helping many people to manage without full time jobs.

单选题David Landes, author of The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor, credits the world's economics and social progress over the last thousand years to "Western civilization and its dissemination." The reason, he believes, is that Europeans invented systematic economic development. Landes adds that two unique aspects of Europeans culture were crucial ingredient in EUrope's economic growth. First, Landes espouses a generalized form of Max Weber's thesis that the values of work, initiative, and investment made the difference for Europe. Despite his emphasis on science, Landes does not stress the notion of rationality as such. In his view, "what counts is work, thrift, honesty, patience, tenacity." The only route to economic success for individuals or states is working hard, spending less than you earn, and investing the rest in productive capacity. This is the fundamental explanation of the problem posed by his book's subtitle: "Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor." For historical reasons—an emphasis on private property, an experience of political pluralism, a temperate climate, an urban style—Europeans have, on balance, followed those practices and therefore have prospered. Second, and perhaps most important, Europeans were learners. They "learned rather greedily," as Joel Mokyr put it in a review of Landes's book. Even if Europeans possessed indigenous technologies that gave them an advantage (spectacles, for example), as Landes believes they did, their most vital asset was the ability to assimilate knowledge from around the world and put it to use—as in borrowing the concept of zero and rediscovering Aristotle's Logic from the Arabs and taking paper and gunpowder from the Chinese via the Muslim world. Landes argues that a systematic resistance to learning from other cultures had become the greatest handicap of the Chinese by the eighteenth century and remains the greatest handicap of Arab countries today. Although his analysis of Europeans expansion is almost nonexistent, Landes does not argue that Europeans were beneficent bearers of civilization to a benighted world. Rather, he relies on his own commonsense law: "When one group is strong enough to push another around and stands to gain by it, it will do so." In contrast to the new school of world historians, Landes believes that specific cultural values enabled technological advances that in turn made some Europeans strong enough to dominate people in other parts of the world. Europeans therefore proceeded to do so with great viciousness and cruelty. By focusing on their victimization in this process, Landes holds, some postcolonial states have wasted energy that could have been put into productive work and investment. If one could sum up Landes's advice to these states in one sentence, it might be "Stop whining and get to work." This is particularly important, indeed hopeful, advice, he would argue, because success is not permanent. Advantages are not fixed, gains from trade are unequal, and different societies react differently to market signals. Therefore, not only is there hope for undeveloped countries, but developed countries have little cause to be complacent, because the current situation "will press hard" on them. The thrust of studies like Landes's is to identify those distinctive features of European civilization that lie behind Europe's rise to power and the creation of modernity more generally. Other historians have placed a greater emphasis on such features as liberty, individualism, and Christianity. In a review essay, the art historian Craig Clunas listed some of the less well known linkages that have been proposed between Western culture and modernity, including the propensities to think quantitatively, enjoy pornography, and consume sugar. All such proposals assume the fundamental aptness of the question: What elements of Europeans civilization led to European success? It is a short leap from this assumption to outright triumphalism. The paradigmatic book of this school is, of course, The End of History and the Last Man, in which Francis Fukuyama argues that after the collapse of Nazism in the twentieth century, the only remaining model for human organization in the industrial and communications ages is a combination of market economics and limited, pluralist, democratic government.

单选题According to Paragraph 3, one significant difference between the father's and mother's role in child-rearing is

单选题The word "scuba" is ______.

单选题Questions 9--12 Complete the following sentences with NO MORE THAN four words for each blank.

单选题Wherecantheexpression"lameduck"beheard?A.Onlyamonghunters.B.Amongprimaryschoolpupils.C.Amongbeautifulladies.D.Amongpeoplewhoarediscussingpolitics.