单选题Why do so many people own fax machines today?

单选题Birds that are literally half-asleep—with one brain hemisphere alert and the other sleeping—control which side of the brain remains awake, according to a new study of sleeping ducks. Earlier studies have documented half-brain sleep in a wide range of birds. The brain hemispheres take turns sinking into the sleep stage characterized by slow brain waves. The eye controlled by the sleeping hemisphere keeps shut, while the wakeful hemisphere's eye stays open and alert. Birds also can sleep with both hemispheres resting at once. Decades of studies of bird flocks led researchers to predict extra alertness in the more vulnerable, end-of-the-row sleepers. Sure enough, the end birds tended to watch carefully on the side away from their companions. Ducks in the inner spots showed no preference for gaze direction. Also, birds dozing at the end of the line resorted to single-hemisphere sleep, rather than total relaxation, more often than inner ducks did. Rotating 16 birds through the positions in a four-duck row, the researchers found outer birds half-asleep during some 32% of dozing time versus about 12% for birds in internal spots. "We believe this is the first evidence for an animal behaviorally controlling sleep and wakefulness simultaneously in different regions of the brain," the researchers say. The results provide the best evidence for a long-standing supposition that single-hemisphere sleep evolved as creatures scanned for enemies. The preference for opening an eye on the lookout side could be widespread, he predicts. He's seen it in a pair of birds dozing side-by-side in the zoo and in a single pet bird sleeping by a mirror. The mirror-side eye closed as if the reflection were a companion and the other eye stayed open. Useful as half-sleeping might be, it's only been found in birds and such water mammals as dolphins, whales, and seals. Perhaps keeping one side of the brain awake allows a sleeping animal to surface occasionally to avoid drowning. Studies of birds may offer unique insights into sleep. Jerome M. Siegel of the UCLA says he wonders if birds' half-brain sleep "is just the tip of the iceberg". He speculates that more examples may turn up when we take a closer look at other species.

单选题Which of the following is not a character of acquisition? A. use textbook. B. conducted with no careful schedules C. learn language subconsciously D. concentrate on meaning

单选题 Car makers have long used sex to sell their products. Recently, however, both BMW and Renault have based their latest European marketing campaigns around the icon of modern biology. BMW's campaign, which launches its new 3-series sports saloon in Britain and Ireland, shows the new creation and four of its earlier versions zigzagging around a landscape made up of giant DNA sequences, with a brief explanation that DNA is the molecule responsible for the inheritance of such features as strength, power and intelligence. The Renault offering, which promotes its existing Laguna model, employs evolutionary theory even more explicitly. The company's television commercials intersperse clips of the car with scenes from a lecture by Steve Jones, a professor of genetics at University College London. BMW's campaign is intended to convey the idea of development allied to heritage. The latest product, in other words, should be viewed as the new and improved scion of a long line of good cars. Renault's message is more subtle. It is that evolution works by gradual improvements rather than sudden leaps (in this, Renault is aligning itself with biological orthodoxy). So, although the new car in the advertisement may look like the old one, the external form conceals a number of significant changes to the engine. While these alterations are almost invisible to the average driver, Renault hopes they will improve the car's performance, and ultimately its survival in the marketplace. Whether they actually do so will depend, in part, on whether marketeers have read the public mood correctly. For, even if genetics really does offer a useful metaphor for automobiles, employing it in advertising is not without its dangers. That is because DNA's public image is ambiguous. In one context, people may see it as the cornerstone of modern medical progress. In another, it will bring to mind such controversial issues as abortion, genetically modified foodstuffs, and the sinister subject of eugenics. Car makers are probably standing on safer ground than biologists. But even they can make mistakes. Though it would not be obvious to the casual observer, some of the DNA which features in BMW's ads for its nice, new car once belonged to a woolly mammoth--a beast that has been extinct for 10, 000 years. Not, presumably, quite the message that the marketing department was trying to convey.

单选题Questions 14—16 are based on the following passage.

单选题Conventional wisdom about conflict seems pretty much cut and dried. Too little conflict breeds apahty and stagnation. Too much conflict leads to divisiveness and hostility. Moderate levels of conflict, however, can spark creativity and motivate people in a healthy and competitive way. Recent research by Professor Charles R. Schwenk, however, suggests that the optimal level of conflict may be more complex to determine than these simple generalizations. He studied perceptions of conflict among a sample of executives. Some of the executives worked for profit seeking organizations and other for not-for-profit organizations. Somewhat surprisingly, Schwenk found that opinions about conflict varied systematically as a function of the type of organization. Specifically, managers in not-for-profit organizations strongly believed that conflict was beneficial to their organizations and that it promoted higher quality decision-making than might be achieved in the absence of conflict. Managers of for-profit organizations saw a different picture. They believed that conflict generally was damaging and usually led to poor-quality decision-making in their organizations. Schwenk interpreted these results in terms of the criteria for effective decision-making suggested by the executives. In the profit-seeking organizations, decision-making effectiveness was most often assessed in financial terms. The executives believed that consensus rather than conflict enhanced financial indicators. In the not-for-profit organizations, decision-making effectiveness was defined from the perspective of satisfying constituents. Given the complexities and ambiguities associated with satisfying many diverse constituents, the executives perceived that conflict led to more considered and acceptable decisions.

单选题Questions 14 to 16 are based on a talk about robots. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 14 to 16.

单选题Why are the minutes of meetings important foe a company?

单选题It seems that the passage implies ______.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} "The issue of online privacy in the Interact age found new urgency following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, sparking debate over striking the correct balance between protecting civil liberties and attempting to prevent another tragic terrorist act. While preventing terrorism certainly is of paramount importance, privacy rights should not be deemed irrelevant. In response to the attacks, Congress quickly passed legislation that included provisions expanding fights of investigators to intercept wire, oral and electronic communications of alleged hackers and terrorists. Civil liberties groups expressed concerns over the provisions and urged caution in ensuring that efforts to protect our nation do not result in broad government authority to erode privacy rights of U. S. citizens. Nevertheless, causing further concern to civil liberties groups, the Department of Justice proposed exceptions to the attorney-client privilege. On Oct. 30, Attorney General John Ashcroft approved an interim agency rule that would permit federal prison authorities to monitor wire and electronic communications between lawyers and their clients in federal custody, including those who have been detained but not charged with any crime, whenever surveillance is deemed necessary to prevent violence or terrorism. In light of this broadening effort to reach into communications that were previously believed to be "off-limits", the issue of online privacy is now an even more pressing concern. Congress has taken some legislative steps toward ensuring online privacy, including the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, and provided privacy protections for certain sectors through legislation such as the Financial Services Modernization Act. The legislation passed to date does not, however, provide a statutory scheme for protecting general online consumer privacy. Lacking definitive federal law, some states passed their own measures. But much of this legislation is incomplete or not enforced. Moreover, it becomes unworkable when states create different privacy standards; the Internet does not know geographic boundaries, and companies and individuals cannot be expected to comply with differing, and at times conflicting, privacy roles. An analysis earlier this year of 751 U.S. and international Web sites conducted by Consumers International found that most sites collect personal information but fall to tell consumers how that data will be used, how security is maintained and what rights consumers have over their own information. At a minimum, Congress should pass legislation requiring Web sites to display privacy policies prominently, inform consumers of the methods employed to collect client data, allow customers to opt out of such data collection, and provide customer access to their own data that has already been collected. Although various Internet privacy bills were introduced in the 107th Congress, the focus shifted to expanding government surveillance in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Plainly, government efforts to prevent terrorism are appropriate. Exactly how these exigent circumstances change the nature of the online privacy debate is still to be seen.

单选题{{B}}TEXT 3{{/B}} Divorce doesn't necessarily make adults happy. But toughing it out in an unhappy marriage until it turns around just might, a new study says. The research identified happy and unhappy spouses, culled from a national database. Of the unhappy partners who divorced, about half were happy five years later. But unhappy spouses who stuck it out often did better. About two-thirds were happy five years later. Study results contradict what seems to be common sense, says David Blankenhorn of the Institute for American Values, a think-tank on the family. The institute helped sponsor the research team based at the University of Chicago. Findings will be presented in Arlington, Va. , at the "Smart Marriage" conference, sponsored by the Coalition for Marriage, Families, and Couples Education. "In popular discussion, in scholarly literature, the assumption has always been that if a marriage is unhappy, if you get a divorce, it is likely you will be happier than you stayed married," Blankenhorn says, "This is the first time this has been tested empirically and there is no evidence to support this assumption." About 19% of the divorced had happily remarried within five years. The most troubled marriages reported the biggest turn-arounds. Of the most discontented, about 80% were happy five years later, says Linda Waite, a University of Chicago sociologist who headed the research team. The study looked at data on 5, 232 married adults form the National Survey of Families and Households. It included 645 who were unhappy. The adults in the national sample were analyzed through 13 measures of psychological well-being. Within the five years, 167 of the unhappy were divorced or separated and 478 stayed married. Divorce didn't reduce symptoms of depression, raise self-esteem or increase a sense of mastery compared with those who stayed married, the report says. Results were controlled for factors including race, age, gender and income. Staying married did not tend to trap unhappy spouses in violent relationships. What helped the unhappy marrieds turn things around? To supplement the formal study data, the research team asked professional firms to recruit focus groups totaling 55 adults who were "marriage survivors". All had moved from unhappy to happy marriages. These 55 once-discontented marrieds felt their unions got better via one of three routes, the report says: Marital endurance. "With time, job situation improved, children got older or better, or chronic ongoing problems got put into new perspective." Partners did not work on their marriage, Marital work. Spouses actively worked to "solve problems, change behavior or improve communication." Personal change. Partners found "alternative ways to improve their own happiness and build a good and happy life despite a mediocre marriage." In effect, the unhappy partner changed. Those who worked on their marriages rarely turned to counselors. When they did, they went to faith-based ones committed to marriage, Waite says. Men, particularly, were "very suspicious of anyone who wanted money to solve personal problems." Those who stayed married also generally disapproved of divorce, Wake says. They cited concerns about children, religious beliefs and a fear that divorce would bring its own set of problems.

单选题Scientists believe that human evolution ______.

单选题The biggest problem facing Chile as it promotes itself as a tourist destination to be reckoned with, is that it is at the end of the earth. It is too far south to be a convenient stop on the way to anywhere else and is much farther than a relatively cheap half-day flight away from the big tourist markets, unlike Mexico, for example. Chile, therefore, is having to fight hard to attract tourists, to convince travelers that it is worth coming halfway round the world to visit. But it is succeeding; not only in existing markets like the USA and Western Europe but in new territories, in particular the Far East. Markets closer to home, however, are not being forgotten. More than 50% of visitors to Chile still come form its nearest neighbor, Argentina, where the cost of living is much higher. Like all South American countries, Chile sees tourism as a valuable earner of foreign currency, although it has been far more serious than most in promoting its image abroad. Relatively stable politically within the region, it has benefited from the problems suffered in other areas. In Peru, guerrilla warfare in recent years has dealt a heavy blow to the tourist industry and fear of street crime in Brazil has reduced the attraction of Rio de Janeior as a dream destination for foreigners. More than 150, 000 people are directly involoved in Chile's tourist sector, an industry which earn the country more than US ＄ 950 million each year. The state-run National Tourism Service, in partnership with a number of private companies, is currently running a worldwide campaign, taking part in trade fairs and international events to attract visitors to Chile. Chile's great strength as a tourist destination is its geographical diversity. From the parched Atacama Desert in the north to the Antarctic snowfields of the south, it is more than 5,000 kms long. With the Pacific on one side and the Andean mountains on the other, Chile boasts natural attractions. Its beaches are not up to Caribbean standards but resorts such as Vine del Mar is generally clean and unspoiled and has a high standard of services. But the trump card is the Andes mountain range. There are a number of excellent ski resorts within hour's drive of the capital, Santiago, and the national parks in the south are home to rare animal and plant species. The parks already attract specialist visitors, including mountaineers, who come to climb the technically difficult peaks, and fishermen, lured by the salmon and trout in the region's rivers. However, infrastructural development in these areas is limited. The ski resorts do not have as many lifts and pistes as their European counterparts and the poor quality of roads in the south means that only the most determined travelers see the best of the national parks. Air links between Chile and the rest of the world are, at present, relatively poor. While Chile's two largest airlines have extensive networks within South America, they operate only a small number of routes to the United States and Europe, while services to Asia are almost nonexistent. Internal transport links are being improved and luxury hotels are being built in one of its national parks. Nor is development being restricted to the Andes. Easter Island and Chile's Antarctic Territory are also on the list of areas where the Government believes it can create tourist markets. But the rush to open hitherto inaccessible areas to mass tourism is not being welcomed by everyone. Indigenous and environmental groups, including Greenpeace, say that many parts of the Andes will suffer if they become over-developed. There is a genuine fear that areas of Chile will suffer the cultural destruction witnessed in Mexico and European resort. The policy of opening up Antarctica to tourism is also politically sensitive. Chile already has permanent settlements on the ice and many people see the decision to allow tourists there as a political move, enhancing Santiago's territorial claim over part of Antarctica. The Chilean Government has promised to respect the environment as it seeks to bring tourism to these areas. But there are immense commercial pressures to exploit the country's tourism potential. The Government will have to monitor developments closely if it is genuinely concern in creating a balanced, controlled industry and if the price of an increasingly lucrative tourist market is not going to mean the loss of many of Chile's natural riches.

单选题In New York

单选题 Male lions are rather reticent about expending their energy in hunting--more than three-quarters of kills are made by lionesses. Setting off at dusk on a hunt, the lionesses are in front, tensely scanning ahead, the cubs lag playfully behind, and the males bring up the rear, walking slowly, their heads nodding with each step as if they are bored with the whole matter. But slothfulness may have survival value. With lionesses busy hunting, the males function as guards for the cubs, protecting them particularly from hyenas. Hunting lionesses have learnt to take advantage of their environment. Darkness provides them with cover, and at dusk they often wait near animals they want to kill until their outlines blend into the surroundings. Small prey, such as gazelle, present lions with no problem. They are simply grabbed with the paws, or slapped down and finished off with a bite in the neck. A different technique is used with large animals, such as wild beast. Usually a lioness pulls her prey down after running up behind it, and then seizes it by the throat, strangling it. Or she may place her mouth over the muzzle of a downed animal, and suffocate it. Lions practice remarkably sophisticated cooperative hunting techniques. Sighting prey, lionesses usually fan out and stalk closer until one is within striking distance. The startled herd may scatter or blot to one side right into a hidden lioness. Sometimes lionesses surround their quarry. While perhaps three crouch and wait, a fourth may backtrack and then circle far around and approach from the opposite side, a technique not unknown in human warfare. No obvious signals pass between the lions, other than that they watch one another. A tactic may also be adapted to a particular situation. One pride of lions often pursued prey at the end of narrow strip of land between two streams. Several lionesses would sit and wait until gazelle wandered into this natural dead-end. Then they would spread out and advance quite in the open, having learnt that the gazelle would not try to escape by running into the bush beside the river, but would run back the way they had come. A lioness has no trouble pulling down an animal of twice her weight. But a buffalo, which may scale a ton, presents problems. One lioness and a young bull battled for an hour and a half, the buffalo whirling around to face the cat with lowered horns whenever she came close. Finally she gave up and allowed him to walk away. But on another occasion, five males came across an old bull. He stood in a swamp, belly-deep in mud and water, safely facing his tormentors on the shore. Suddenly, inexplicably, he plodded towards them, intent it seemed on committing suicide. One lion grabbed his rump, another placed his paws on the bull's back and bit into the flesh. Slowly, without trying to defend himself, the buffalo sank to his knees and, with one lion holding his throat and another his muzzle, died of suffocation.

单选题Nouns, verbs and adjectives can be classified as [A] functuional words. [B] structural words. [C] open class words. [D] closed class words.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} Throughout history there have been many unusual taxes levied on such things as hats, beds, baths, marriages, and funerals. At one time England levied a tax on sunlight by collection from every household with six or more windows. And according to legend, there was a Turkish ruler who collected a tax each time he dined with one of his subjects. Why? To pay for the wear and tear on his teeth! Different kinds of taxes help to spread the tax burden. Anyone who pays a tax is said to "bear the burden" of the tax. The burden of a tax may fall more heavily on some persons than on others. That is why the three levels of government in this country use several kinds of taxes, lifts spreads the burden of taxes among more people. From the standpoint of their use, the most important taxes are income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, and estate, inheritance, and gift taxes. Some are used by only one level of government; others by or even all three levels. Together these different taxes make up what is called our tax system. Income taxes are the main source of federal revenues. The federal government gets mere than three-fourths of its revenue from income taxes. As its name indicated, an income tax is a tax on earnings. Both individuals and business corporations pay a federal income tax. The oldest tax in the United States today is the property tax. It provides most of the income for local governments. It provides at least a part of the income for all but a few states. It is not used by the federal government. A sales tax is a tax levied on purchases. Most people living in the United States know about sales taxes since they are used in all but four states. Actually there are several kinds of sales taxes, but only three of them are important. They are general sales taxes, excise taxes, and import taxes. Other three closely related taxes are estate, inheritance, and gift taxes. Everything a person owns, including both real and personal property, makes up his or her estate. When someone dies, ownership of his or her property or estate passes on to one or more individuals or organizations. Before the property is transferred, however, it is subject to an estate tax if its value exceeds a certain amount.

单选题{{B}}TEXT 2{{/B}} An awkward looking character such as Cyrano de Gergerac might sniff at the suggestion, but recent scientific research shows beauty, brains and brawn may in fact all be allied, writes Dr Raj Persaud. Psychologists have concluded that we may be drawn to the stereotypically attractive because of what their faces reveal about their intelligence and success in later life. In America, research led by Professor Leslie Zebrowitz, of Brandeis University, has shown an association between facial attractiveness and IQ. Strangers briefly exposed to a target's face were able to correctly judge intelligence at levels significantly better than chance. The same team also researched how a person's attractiveness might affect their intelligence. They found that good-looking people did better in IQ tests as they aged. Their research sought to prove that how a person perceived himself and was perceived by others predicted how intelligent he apparently became more accurately than his past intelligence. Perhaps because the more attractive people were treated as more intelligent, they ended up having more stimulating and, therefore, intelligence-enhancing lives. Does this mean that your face really could be your destiny? Sociologists Dr Ulrich Mueller and Dr Allan Mazur, of the University of Marburg in Germany, recently analysed the final-year photographs of the 1950 graduates of West Point in the United States. Dominant facial appearances (strong jaws, broad cheekbones) turned out to be a consistent predictor of later-rank attainment. Again, they believed there could be a self-fulfilling effect. Because some men looked more authoritative, they naturally drew respect and obedience from others which, in turn, assisted their rise through the ranks. A team at the Royal College of Surgeon in Dublin has been investigating the sensitive subject of links between physical and mental abnormalities. Led by Doctors Robin Hennessy and John Waddington, the team used a new laser surface-scanning technique to make a 3-D analysis of how facial shape might vary with brain structure. Their findings showed that in early foetal life, brain and face development are intimately connected. From this they concluded that abnormalities in brain elaboration probably also affect face development. This, according to them, explains the striking facial features of someone with Down's syndrome. Using similar techniques, the team also demonstrated how other disorders linked to brain aberrations could be associated with facial alterations. For example, they showed how those suffering from schizophrenia were more likely to have among other facial differences an overall narrowing and elongation of the mid and lower front of the face, with reduced mouth width. Meanwhile, in New York, psychologists Dr Caroline Keating and Dr James Doyle have offered the latest research on what we actually find attractive. They found that the most attractive faces are not those with particularly striking features, but ones that contain a mixture of features signaling warmth, power and dominance, with no one characteristic eclipsing the others. So the very latest scientific research suggests that nobody should try to look too obviously different from average.

单选题{{B}}Part B{{/B}} In the following article some paragraphs have been removed. For Questions 66 ～ 70, choose the most suitable paragraph from the list A - F to fit into each of the numbered gaps. There is one paragraph which does not fit in any of the gaps. Mark your answers on {{B}}ANSWER SHEET 1{{/B}}. It was a cold day. I sat in my room writing letters. I glanced out of the window. In the window directly opposite me stood Herr Stroh, gazing blatantly upon me. I was annoyed at his interest. I pulled down the blind and switched on the light to continue my writing. But the drawn blind and the artificial light irritated me, and suddenly I didn't see why I should't write my let- tees by daylight without being stared at. I switched off the light and released the blind. Herr Stroh had gone. I concluded that he had taken my action as a signal of disapproval, and I settled back to write.66. ______ I left my room and went down to complain to Frau Lublonitsch. "She's gone to the market," Gertha said. "She's 11 be back in half an hour."67. ______ "I shah tell Fran Chef, "she said. Something in her manner made me ask, "Has this ever happened before?" "Once or twice this year, "she said." I'll speak to Frau Chef. "And she added, with her music-hall grimace, "He was probably counting your eyelashes."68. ______ For nearly an hour I sat patiently at the window. Herr Sroh rested his arm now and again, but he did not leave his seat. I could see him clearly, although I think I imagined the grin on his face as, from time to time, he raised the glasses to his eyes. There was no doubt that he could see, as if it were within an inch of his face, the fury on mine. It was too late now for one of us to give in, and I kept glancing down at the entrances to the hotel Stroh, expecting to see Fran Lublonitsch or perhaps one of her sons or the yard hands going across to deliver a protest. But no one from our de approached the Stroh premises. I continue to stare, and Herr continued to goggle through his glasses. Then he dropped them. It was as if they had been jerked out of his hands by an invisible nudge. He approached close to the window and gazed, but now he was gazing at a point above and slightly to the left of my room. After about two minutes, he turned and disappeared.69. ______ "Did she telephone to his house?" "No, Frau Chef doesn't use the phone; it mixes her up." "Who protested, then.'?" "Fran Chef." "But she hasn't been across to see him. I've been watching the house." "No, Frau Chef doesn't visit with him. But don't worry, he known all right that he mustn't annoy our guests. ' When I looked out of the window again, I saw that the blind of Herr Stroh's room had been pulled down, and so it remainded for the rest of my stay. Meantime, I went out to post my letters in the box opposite our hotel, across the path. The sun had come out more strongly, and Herr Stroh stood in his doorway blinking up at the roof of the Guesthouse Lublonitsch. He was engrossed, he did not notice me at all.70. ______ Like most of the roofs in that province, the Lublonitsch roof had a railed ledge running several inches above the eaves, for the purpose of preventing the snow from falling in heavy thumps during the winter. On this ledge, just below an attic window, stood the gold-and-rose ormolu clock that I had seen in Frau Lublonitsch's splendid bedroom. I turned the corner just as Herr Stroh gave up his gazing; he went indoors, sullen and bent. Two ear-loads of people who had moved into the hotel that morning were now moving out, shifting their baggage with speed and the signs of a glad departure. I know that his house was nearly empty. A. I didn't want to draw his attention by following the line of his gaze but I was curious as to what held him staring so trance-like up at our roof. On my way back from the post- box I saw what it was. B. I caught sight of a tiled stove contructed of mosaic files that were not a local type. I also noticed, standing upon the cabinet, a large ornamental clock; each curve and twirl in the case of this clock was overlaid with that gilded-bronze alloy which is known as ormolu. The clock twinkled in the sunlight which slanted between the window hangings. C. I looked up a few moments later, and this time Herr Stroh was seated on a chair a little way back from the window. He was facing me squarely and holding to his eyes a pair of field-glasses. D. I returned to my room. Herr Stroh still sat in position, the field-glasses in his hands resting on his knees. As soon as I came within view, he raised the glasses to his eyes, I decided to stare him out until such time as Frau Lublonitsch should return and take the matter in hand. E. Just then Gertha knocked at my door. "Frau Chef has protested, and you won't have any more trouble, "she said. F. So I lodged my complaint with Gertha.