单选题It can be inferred that the author mentions"Linens and stockings" in line 12 to show thatthey were items that

单选题The dancer and choreographer Twyla Tharp grew up in Los Angeles, California, and hers childhood included comprehensive training in music and dance

单选题The city of Memphis, Tennessee, was(A) important Confederate (military center) during the American Civil War and (served as) the (temporary) state capital in 1862.

单选题Gaia Hypothesis In 1979, James Lovelock, a British atmospheric chemist, published a book that proposes that the Earth is a single living entity. This is known as the Gala Hypothesis and it suggests that Gaia, or Mother Earth, is alive. Lovelock developed this hypothesis in the 1960s, and it gained enormous interest due to space flights, when astronauts brought back with them pictures that allowed us to view Earth for the first time from outer space. Practically glowing blue and white, the Earth really did look alive compared to other planets such as its dark and lifeless looking neighbor, Mars. According to his hypothesis, the various components that make up the planet, such as the atmosphere or the seas are in balance. This is much like the homeostatic condition within the human body where a constant temperature and blood PH are maintained through various processes controlled by the liver, kidneys and other organs. The idea of the Earth being alive has brought new awareness to the impact that man has on global processes. Everything that happens on the planet, from deforestation and the increase of carbon dioxide emissions to the removal of croplands has an effect on our environment. We can no longer think of pollution in one part of the planet as being distinct from another part. It is all related. No longer can governments sit back and happily state that their pollution levels are lower than other countries because what goes on in say India, the United States or even Timbuktu will affect what goes on anywhere else on the planet. Lovelock stated that the planet regulates itself just like the human body. If our body temperature rises above a desirable level, then the body sweats to cool itself down. Lovelock suggested that this can be compared to the fact that the heat of the sun has increased a lot since life began on Earth but the planet has maintained the same temperature. So how does it do this? A good example is the carbon dioxide cycle. Volcanoes constantly produce massive quantities of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and so naturally warms the Earth. If we do not sweat to cool ourselves down, then our temperatures will continue to increase with a disastrous effect. Just like our bodies, if the Earth"s temperature is not regulated, then soon enough it would not be able to support life. While plants and animals absorb and release carbon dioxide through life processes such as photosynthesis, respiration and decay, these processes do not have any effect upon the total amount of emission gas. Therefore, there must be another mechanism. Rock weathering is a process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere. Rainwater and carbon dioxide combine with rocks and form carbonates, which are washed away into the ocean, where microscopic algae make tiny shells by using them. When the algae are dead, their shells sink to the bottom of the ocean and form limestone sediments. Limestone has comparatively great physical weight, so it gradually sinks underneath the Earth"s mantle. The carbon dioxide within the limestone will be in turn returned to the atmosphere through a bout of volcanic activity. Since soil bacteria are more active in high temperatures, the removal of carbon dioxide acts faster when the planet is hot. This has the effect of cooling the planet and completing the cycle. However, if it is true, as Lovelock suggests, that the Earth self regulates, we can assume that it does not respond to environmental stresses in a simple way. The amount of solar energy the Earth has received over thousands of years has fluctuated, and these fluctuations have produced complex climatic changes between cold Ice Age episodes and warmer interglacial periods during the last 2 million years. Since the Industrial Revolution in the 19th Century, man has released huge amounts of pollutants into the atmosphere in a relatively short period of time. Evidence from carbon dioxide in air bubbles trapped in ice shows that the amount of CO2 in the air has increased by about a quarter since 1850. As the Earth experiences more and more stresses in the form of increased pollution from natural and man-driven activities, just how the Earth will react could yield abrupt and dramatic climatic changes. What took thousands of year"s to bring about the Ice Age could take a far lesser time today. There is no proof yet, however, to support Lovelock"s Gaia hypothesis, and, while it has attracted a lot of interest, it has also received a lot of criticism. But, despite this fact, Lovelock"s hypothesis has changed the way we view our planet. Through his theories, we are far more aware of the damage we are doing to the Earth and we now see the Earth as a living entity. Glossary entity: something that exists separately from other things PH: the degree of a solution that indicates if it is an acid or an alkaline photosynthesis: the way that green plants make their food using sunlight respiration: breathing

单选题Electricity is the phenomenon (associated) with positively and negatively (particles charged) of matter (at rest) and in motion, either (individually) or in great numbers.

单选题The phrase "attests to" in line 21 is closest in meaning to

单选题Because of their (rapidly) changing (economically) fortunes, many frontier towns of the American West (underwent) spectacular fluctuations in (population) in the nineteenth century.

单选题The word "bound" in line 9 is closest in meaning to

单选题1 A subculture is a cultural group within the larger society that provides social support to people who differ from the majority in terms of status, race, ethnic background, religion, or other factors. Whenever these differences lead to exclusion or discrimination, subcultures develop as a shield to protect members from the negative attitudes of others. Subcultures unify the group and provide it with values, norms, and a history. 2 Some subcultures do not experience discrimination yet differ from the mainstream enough to generate a "we" feeling among members and a sense of separateness. Examples include military officers, college students, information technology specialists, social workers, jazz musicians, or any subgroup with its own special language and customs. Subcultures usually have values that are variations on those of the dominant culture. These variations are close enough for the subgroup to remain under the societal umbrella but different enough to reflect the unique experience of subgroup members. In North America today, teenagers are a distinct subculture with a special way of talking and dressing so that insiders can recognize one another while keeping outsiders out.

单选题Metonymy is literary device involving the substitution of the name of one thing A B with that of other thing with which it is closely associated. C D

单选题Many scientists believe ________ as a result of a collision between the newly formed Earth and a large asteroid.

单选题(Most) female lizards lay eggs, but the females (of a number) of (lizard species) bear (her) young alive.

单选题All of the following are mentioned as examples of Farmers' meeting the expectations of agrarian philosophers EXCEPT (a) obtaining information from farm newspapers (b) accumulating personal wealth (c) planting new crops (d) becoming more scientific

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单选题Which of the following terms is defined ill the passage?

单选题According to the passage, fairs in Philadelphiawere held

单选题Cultural Shock "Culture shock" might be called an occupational disease of people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad. Like most ailments, it has its own symptoms and cure. Culture shock is {{U}}precipitated{{/U}} by the anxiety that results from losing all our signs and symbols of social intercourse. Those signs or cues include the thousand and one ways in which we orient ourselves to the situation of daily life; when to shake hands and what to say when we meet people, when and how to give tips, how to make purchases, when to accept and when to refuse invitations, when to take statements seriously and when not. Now when an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of these familiar cues are removed. He or she is like a fish out of water. No matter how broad-minded or full of goodwill you may be, a series of props has been knocked out from under you, followed by a feeling of frustration and anxiety. People react to the frustration in much the same way. First they reject the environment which causes the discomfort. "The ways of the host country are bad because they make us feel bad." When foreigners in a strange land get together to {{U}}grouse{{/U}} about the host country and its people, you can be sure they are suffering from culture shock. Another phase of culture shock is regression. The home environment suddenly assumes a tremendous importance. To the foreigner everything becomes irrationally glorified. All the difficulties and problems are forgotten and only the good things back home are remembered. It usually takes a trip home to bring one back to reality. Individuals differ greatly in the degree in which culture shock affects them. A. [■] Although not common, there are individuals who cannot live in foreign countries. B. [■] During the first few weeks most individuals are fascinated by the new. C. [■] They stay in hotels and associate with nationals who speak their language and are polite and gracious to foreigners. D. [■] This honeymoon stage may last from a few days or weeks to six months, depending on circumstances. If one is very important, he or she will be brought to visit the show places, will be pampered and petted, and in a press interview will speak glowingly about goodwill and international friendship. But this mentality does not normally last if the foreign visitor remains abroad and needs to seriously cope with real conditions of life. It is then that the second stage begins, characterized by a hostile and aggressive attitude toward the host country. This hostility evidently grows out of the genuine difficulty which the visitor experiences in the process of adjustment. There are house troubles, transportation troubles, shopping troubles, and the fact that people in the host country are largely indifferent to all these troubles. They help, but they don't understand your great concern over these difficulties. Therefore, they must be insensitive and unsympathetic to you and your worries. The result, "I just don't like them." You become aggressive, you band together with others from your country and criticize the host country, its ways, and its people. But this criticism is not an objective appraisal. You take refuge in the colony of others from your country which often becomes the fountainhead of emotionally charged labels known as stereotypes. This is a peculiar kind of offensive shorthand which {{U}}caricatures{{/U}} the host country and its people in a negative manner. The "dollar grasping American" and the "indolent Latin American" are samples of mild forms of stereotypes. The second stage of culture shock is, in a sense, a crisis in the disease. If you come out of it, you leave before you reach the stage of a nervous breakdown. If visitors succeed in acquiring some knowledge of the language and begin to get around by themselves, they are beginning to open the way into the new cultural environment. Visitors still have difficulties but they take a "this is my problem and I have to bear it" attitude. Usually in this stage visitors take a superior attitude to people of the host country. Their sense of humor begins to exert itself. Instead of criticizing, they joke about the people and even crack jokes about their own difficulties. They are now on the way to recovery.

单选题(Virtually) no disease exists today (for which) there is no drug that can be given, (neither)to cure the disease or to alleviate (its) symptoms.