单选题 A John Gray Free markets erode some aspects of character while enhancing others. Whether the result is good, on balance, depends on how one envisions a good life. Much also depends on whether one believes other economic systems can do better. The question can only be answered by comparing realistic alternatives and by understanding how different systems promote divergent types of human character. In real time, free markets rarely work according to the models constructed by economists. There are booms and bubbles, busts and crashes. It is only in economics textbooks that markets are self-regulating. Against this background, the relation between economics and ethics can be seen more clearly. The traits of character most rewarded by free markets are entrepreneurial boldness, the willingness to speculate and gamble, and the ability to seize or create new opportunities. It is worth noting that these are not the traits most praised by conservative moralists. Prudence, thrift, and the ability to press on patiently in a familiar pattern of life may be admirable qualities, but they do not usually lead to success in the free market. B Ayaan Hirsi There is little consensus on what is moral, let alone on what erodes morality. A man of faith measures moral character by one's ability to abide by the demands of his God. A socialist might measure moral strength by one's dedication to the redistribution of wealth. A liberal—by which I mean a classical. Adam Smith or Milton Friedman liberal, not a liberal in its American meaning of "pro-big government"—might be religious, and he might see the merits of income equality, but he will always put freedom first. This is the moral framework to which I subscribe. According to this school of thought, freedom of the individual is the highest aim, and the ultimate test of a person's character is his ability to pursue his own chosen goals in life without infringing upon the freedom of others to pursue their own goals. From this perspective, free economic activity among individuals, corporations, and nations boosts such desirable qualities as trust, honesty, and hard work. Producers are compelled to continually improve their goods and services. The free market establishes a meritocracy and creates opportunities for better jobs for those students who work hard at school. The same mechanism pushes parents to invest more time and money in the education of their children. Producers invest in research and innovation to beat their competitors in the marketplace. C Qinglian lie Over the past several centuries, the world has seen the many ways in which an active free market spurs material and social progress while at the same time strengthening moral character. By contrast, people who have lived under the free market's primary modem rival, the ideologically-driven planned economy of state socialism, have suffered as economic performance stagnated, civil society withered, and morality was eroded. In recent decades, as planned economies collapsed under their own contradictions, this utopian experiment has proved to be a systematic failure. Citizens who had endured long years of economic, moral, and political disaster were eager to get rid of them. Of course, the market economy is not a perfect system. But the market's flaws stem from the actions and motivations of its human participants rather than from its design. Experience has taught us that a free market is closely associated with a free society. And in free societies, people are better able to act in concert to improve their lives. Free societies afford people the opportunity to make theft own political and social systems more just. In general, these activities support rather than erode morality. D Michael Walzer Competition in the market puts people under great pressure to break the ordinary rules of decent conduct and then to produce good reasons for doing so. It is these rationalizations—the endless self-deception necessary to meet the bottom line and still feel okay about it—that erode moral character. But this isn't in itself an argument against the free market. Think about the ways that democratic politics also erodes moral character. Competition for political power puts people under great pressure-to make promises they can't keep, to take money from shady characters, to compromise principles that shouldn't be compromised. All this has to be defended somehow, and moral character doesn't survive the defense—at least, it doesn't survive intact. But these obvious flaws don't constitute an argument against democracy. To be sure, economic and political competition also produce cooperative projects of many different sorts—partnerships, companies, parties, unions. Within these projects, empathy, mutual respect, friendship, and solidarity are developed and reinforced. People learn the give-and-take of collective deliberation. They stake out positions, take risks, and forge alliances. All these processes build character. But because the stakes are so high, participants in these activities also learn to watch and distrust one another, to conceal their plans, to betray their friends. They become "characters" in familiar stories of corporate corruption, political scandal, defrauded stockholders, and deceived voters.

单选题It takes only a tiny magnetic field to see clear through a person"s head, a new study shows. A method called ultra-low field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has captured its first, blurry shots of a human brain, revealing activity as well as structure. MRI scanners image the human body by detecting how hydrogen atoms respond to magnetic fields. They typically require fields of a few tesla—about 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than the Earth"s magnetic field. The powerful magnets necessary make scanners pricey and also dangerous for people with metal implants. The new device hits a sample with a 30 millitesla magnetic field, about 100 times weaker than is normally used in MRI. The device then uses a 46 microtesla magnetic field—about the same as the Earth"s magnetic field—to capture images of the sample. The first target for the device was the head of lead researcher Vadim Zotev of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, US. "The cost of MRI can be reduced dramatically," Zotev says. The new set-up uses several ultra-sensitive sensors called superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), which have to be kept at very low temperatures. "The most expensive part of our system is the liquid helium cryostat, which costs about $20,000," Zotev adds. Ultra-low field MRI scanning was first performed with a single SQUID in 2004 by a group led by John Clarke at University of California, Berkeley, US, but this only allowed objects about the size of an apple to be scanned. The new device uses seven SQUIDs and can scan much larger objects. MRI machines in the clinic today require a patient to be slotted into a long, cylindrical tube. Ultra-low field MRI machines can be much more open. "Microtesla MRI is more suitable for surgical environment than high-field MRI," Zotev says. "Some medical equipment can be conveniently placed inside [the scanner]," including surgical robots, Zotev says. Today"s MRI machines can also be problematic for people with metal implants, since intense magnetic fields can move or heat them causing damage to surrounding tissue. Experiments show that ultra-low field MRI can image materials even when metal is placed near the magnets. However, ultra-low field MRI hasn"t been tested on animals or people with metal implants yet. "It would be wrong to claim that it is absolutely safe," Zotev says. Since the new device also doubles as magnetoencephalography (MEG) machine, by picking up the feeble magnetic fields from electrical activity in the brain, it could perhaps let surgeons more easily identify areas of the brain with abnormal activity, such as in epilepsy. "This is the main advantage of the new set-up," Clarke says. "It"s a nice step forward."

单选题Questions 17 to 20 are based on the following talk on the legal system in Great Britain. You now have 20 seconds to read Questions 17to 20.

单选题 {{B}} Questions 11 to 13 are based on an interview with chief executive of Fairtrade Foundation Phil Wells about his role in giving Third Worm traders a better deal.{{/B}}

单选题 Questions 17 to 20 are based on a lecture about four categories of music. You now have 20 seconds to read Questions 17 to 20.

单选题The majority of back-formed words are [A] nouns. [B] adjectives. [C] verbs. [D] adverbs.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} The molecules of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere affect the heat balance of the Earth by acting as a one-way screen. Although these molecules allow radiation at visible wavelengths, where most of the energy of sunlight is concentrated, to pass through, they absorb some of the longer-wavelength, infrared emissions radiated from the Earth's surface, radiation that would otherwise be transmitted back into space. For the Earth to maintain a constant average temperature, such emissions from the planet must balance incoming solar radiation. If there were no carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, heat would escape from the Earth much more easily. The surface temperature would be so much lower that the oceans might be a solid mass of ice. Today, however, the potential problem is too much carbon dioxide. The burning of fossil fuels and the cleaning of forests have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide by about 15 percent in the last hundred years and we continue to add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Could the increase in carbon dioxide cause a global rise in average temperature, and could such a rise have serious consequences for human society? Mathematical models that allow us to calculate the rise in temperature as a function of the increase indicate that the answer is probably "yes". Under present conditions a temperature of -8℃ can be observed at an altitude of 5 to 6 kilometers above the Earth. Below this altitude (called the radiating level), the temperature increases by about 6℃ per kilometer approaching the Earth's surface, where the average temperature is about 15℃. An increase in the amount of carbon dioxide means that there are more molecules of carbon dioxide to absorb infrared radiation. As the capacity of the atmosphere to absorb infrared radiation increase, the radiating level and the temperature of the surface must rise. One mathematical model predicts that doubling the atmosphere carbon dioxide would raise the global mean surface temperature by 2.5℃. This model assumes that the atmosphere's relative humidity remains constant and the temperature decreases with altitude at a rate of 6.5℃ per kilometer. The assumption of constant relative humidity is important, because water vapor in the atmosphere is another efficient absorber of radiation at infrared wavelengths. Because warm air can hold more moisture than cool air, the relative humidity will be constant only if the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere increases as the temperature rises. Therefore, more infrared radiation would be absorbed and reradiated back to the Earth's surface. The resultant warming at the surface could be expected to melt snow and ice, reducing the Earth's reflectivity. More solar radiation would then be absorbed, leading to a further increase in temperature.

单选题 Questions 17 to 20 are based on a conversation between Professor Lambert and a visitor, Dale Kohler. You now have 20 seconds to read Questions 17 to 20.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} Have you heard about the book which {{U}}pushes{{/U}} blood types as determining whether somebody should be vegetarian or not? The idea of choosing foods based on your blood type was popularized by Peter J. D'Adamo, ND, in his book, Eat Right For Your Type (CT. P. Putnam's Sons, 1996). D'Admno, a naturopath, proposes that those who have blood type A should be vegetarian, while those with blood type O must eat meat and eliminate wheat and some other grains. He says that following the correct diet for your blood type will help you maintain optimal health and weight, avoid many infections, and fight back against life-threatening illnesses. Is there any truth to his claims? While D'Adamo spends more than 350 pages explaining the minute details of the foods, supplements, medications, and exercise regimens which should be followed by people with each blood type, he fails to scientifically document the effectiveness of his recommendations. Many of the claims which he makes are not backed up by published research. For example, depending on your blood type, you are presented with detailed lists of foods which are highly beneficial, neutral, or to be avoided. How were these lists generated? Has any research been published showing adverse heath effects from use of foods which should be avoided? No studies are presented which support what appear to be the author's speculations. Numerous studies have shown that vegetarians live longer than non-vegetarians and have a lower risk of a number of chronic diseases. These studies are likely to be based on people from all blood type groups. It certainly seems that a vegetarian diet has benefits for those studied, regardless of their blood type. Similarly, studies like those of Dean Ornish appear to demonstrate the beneficial effect of a vegetarian diet and other lifestyle changes on a number of individuals, and not just those of certain blood type. Eat Right For Your Type should not be used as the basis for dietary change. Statements like "I could never be a vegetarian, I'm type O" are not based on scientific evidence and may even lead people to avoid making dietary changes which could benefit both their health and the health of our planet. Our advice? Stick with a varied, whole foods-based vegetarian diet regardless of your blood type.

单选题The Village Green in New Milford, Connecticut, is a snapshot of New England charm :a carefully manicured lawn flanded by scrupulously maintained colonial homes. Babysitters dandle kids in the wooden gazebo, waiting for commuter parents to return from New York. On a lazy afternoon last week Caroline Nicholas, 16, had nothing more pressing to do than pinken in the early-summer sunshine and discuss the recent events in town." I don't think a lot of older people knew there were unhappy kids in New Milford, "she said, "I could see it coming." In a five-day period in early June eight girls were brought to New Milford Hospital after what hospital officials call suicidal gestures. The girls, all between 12 and 17, tried a variety of measures, including heavy doses of alcohol, over-the-counter medicines and cuts or scratches to their wrists. None was successful, and most didn't require hospitalization; but at least two attempts, according to the hospital, could have been vital. Their reasons seemed as mundane as the other happen-stances of sub- urban life. "I was just sick of it all, "one told a reporter. "Everything. Life. "Most alarming, emergency-room doctor Frederick Lohse told a local reporter that several girls said they were part of a suicide pact. The hospital later backed away from this remark . But coming in the wake of at least six- teen suicide attempts over the previous few months, this sudden cluster--along with the influx of media--has set this well-groomed suburb of 23,000 on edge. At a town meeting last Wednesday night, Dr Simon Sobo, chief of psychiatry at the hospital, told more than 200 parents and kids, "We're talking about a crisis that has really gotten out of hand. "Later he added. "There have been more suicide attempts this spring than I have seen in the 13 years I have been here." Sobo said that the girls he treated didn't have serious problems at home or school. "Many of these were popular kids, "he said. "They got plenty of love, but beneath the reassuring signs, a swath of teens here are not making it. Some say that drugs, both pot and ' real drugs' , are commonplace. Kids have shown up with LIFE SUCKS and LONG LIVE DEATH penned on their arms. A few girls casually display scars on their arms where they cut themselves. " " You'd be surprised how many kids try suicide, "said one girl, 17. "You don't want to put pain on other people; you put it on yourself." She said she used to cut herself "just to release the pain". Emily, 15, a friend of three of the girls treated in June, said one was having family problems, one was "upset that day "and the third was "just upset with everything else going on". She said they weren't really trying to kill themselves--they just needed concern. As Sobo noted," What's going on in New Milford is not unique to New Milford. "The same underlying culture of despair could be found in any town. But teen suicide, he added, can be a "contagion". Right now New Milford has the bug-- and has it bad.

单选题 {{B}} Questions 14 to 16 are based on the following talk on the colleges for the deaf in the US. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 14 to 16.{{/B}}

单选题Questions 4～6 are based on the following passage; listen and choose the best answer.

单选题The past few decades in Birmingham have proved that slum clearance ______.

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单选题There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that our brain processes information in at least two major systems. The image system appears to be associated with the right hemisphere of the brain. This hemisphere seems to be specialized to process visual and auditory imagery, spatial representation, pure melodic thought, fantasy, and the emotional components of consciousness. Imagery allows us to continue to process information when we are not actively looking at or listening to new stimuli, It reproduces the sounds or sights of the past, enriching our thoughts, dreams, or fantasies with a sense of "actuality" or context. As a coding system, imagery operates by what is called "parallel" processing, e. g., we imagine the face of a friend in one instantaneous configuration. The lexical system is largely coordinated through the left hemisphere of the brain, and its chief functions include language and grammatical organization, abstract conceptualization and reasoning. This verbal or linguistic system functions sequentially; it takes time for a sentence to run its course so it can be understood. The lexical dimension is especially efficient for integrating diverse phenomena under one label or formula that allows extremely rapid retrieval of stored information (memories) later. Both imagery and lexical systems seem essential for the highest levels of thought. It is possible, however, that the immediacy of television precludes our more active integration of images and words. We need time to replay mentally material just witnessed and also to link pictures and sounds to word labels that make for the most efficient kind of storage and retrieval. So rapidly does television material come at us that it defies the capacities of our brain to store much of it unless we actively turn our attention from the set and engage in some kind of mental rehearsal. Only in the instant "replay" of sports programming does the medium itself consciously abet the human requirement for reduplication. Contrast this with the situation of reading. You are in control of the pace. You can reread a sentence, turn back to an earlier page and take the time to piece together combinations of images and words. As you read you are also likely on occasion to drift away into more extended private images and thoughts about the material. In effect, you are engaging in a more creative act of imagination and perhaps also in the forming of new combinations of words and images. Reading seems, therefore, harder work than watching television but ultimately more rewarding because it enhances your own imaginative capacities. We're not so naive as to believe that television can be eliminated from the household, as some suggest. Rather, we see the necessity for encouraging producers to free themselves from the assumption that the rapid paced, quick-cut format, whether directed at children or adults, is a necessity.

单选题The writer mentions the sunny, clear skies of the Mediterranean to show us that______.

单选题In sixteenth-century Italy and eighteenth-century France, waning prosperity and increasing social unrest led the ruling families to try to preserve their superiority by withdrawing from the lower and middle classes behind barriers of etiquette. In a prosperous community, on the other hand, polite society soon adsorbs the newly rich, and in England there has never been any shortage of books on etiquette for teaching them the manners appropriate to their new way of life. Every code of etiquette has contained three elements: basic moral duties; practical rules which promote efficiency; and artificial, optional graces such as formal compliments to, say, women on their beauty or superiors on their generosity and importance. In the first category are considerations for the weak and respect for age. Among the ancient Egyptians the young always stood in the presence of older people. Among the Mponguwe of Tanzaia, the young men bow as they pass the huts of the elders. In England, until about a century ago, young children did not sit in their parents' presence without asking permission. Practical rules are helpful in such ordinary occurrences of social life as making proper introductions at parties or other functions so that people can be brought to know each other. Before the invention of the fork, etiquette directed that the fingers should be kept as clean as possible; before the handkerchief came into common use, etiquette suggested that after spitting, a person should rub the spit inconspicuously underfoot. Extremely refined behavior, however, cultivated as an art of gracious living, has been characteristic only of societies with wealth and leisure, which admitted women as the social equals of men. After the fall of Rome, the first European society to regulate behavior in private life in accordance with a complicated code of etiquette was twelfth-century Province, in France. Provinces had become wealthy. The lords had returned to their castle from the crusades, and there the ideals of chivalry grew up, which emphasized the virtue and gentleness of women and demanded that a knight should profess a pure and dedicated love to a lady who would be his inspiration, and to whom he would dedicate his valiant deeds, though he would never come physically close to her. This was the introduction of the concept of romantic love, which was to influence literature for many hundreds of years and which still lives on in a debased form in simple popular songs and cheap novels today. In Renaissance Italy too, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, a wealthy and leisured society developed an extremely complex code of manners, but the rules of behavior of fashionable society had little influence on the daily life of the lower classes. Indeed many of the rules, such as how to enter a banquet room, or how to use a sword or handkerchief for ceremonial purposes, were irrelevant to the way of life of the average working man, who spent most of his life outdoors or in his own poor hut and most probably did not have a handkerchief, certainly not a sword, to his name. Yet the essential basis of all good manners does not vary. Consideration for the old and weak and the avoidance of banning or giving unnecessary offence to others is a feature of all societies everywhere and at all levels from the highest to the lowest.

单选题When preparing for forthcoming natural disasters, humans lose the battle when

单选题The word"Motel"comes from"motor+hotel". This is an example of______in morphology. [A] back formation [B] conversion [C] blending [D] acronym