单选题There seems never to have been a civilization without toys, but when and how they developed is unknown. They probably came about just to find children something to do. In the ancient world, as is today, most boys played with some kinds of toys and most girls with another. In societies where social roles are rigidly determined, boys pattern their play after the activities of their fathers and girls after the tasks of their mothers. This is true because boys and girls are being prepared, even in play, to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world. What is remarkable about the history of toys is not so much how they changed over the centuries but how much they have remained the same. The changes have been mostly in terms of craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology. It is the universality of toys with regard to their development in all part of the world and their persistence to the present that is amazing. In Egypt, the Americas, China, Japan and among the Arctic (北极的) peoples, generally the same kinds of toys appeared. Variations depended on local customs and ways of life because toys imitate their surroundings. Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles. Because toys can be generally regarded as a kind of art form, they have not been subject to technological leaps that characterize inventions for adult use. The progress from the wheel to the oxcart to the automobile is a direct line of ascent (进步). The progress from a rattle (拨浪鼓) used by a baby in 3000 BC to one used by an infant today, however, is not characterized by inventiveness. Each rattle is the product of the artistic tastes of the times and subject to the limitations of available materials.

单选题There was no light on the way and for a second she hesitated, unable to ______ the dim figure awaiting her.

单选题Pollutants introduced into a lake can rapidly {{U}}accelerate{{/U}} its natural aging process.

单选题Excerpt 1: Facebook is facing a backlash from users after replacing email addresses listed in members" contacts with those provided by its @facebook.com system. The company said it had acted to make details "consistent" across its site. If Facebook"s email system takes off it could drive more traffic (流量) to the firm"s pages helping boost advertising sales. But some users have branded the move "annoying" and "lame" (差劲的，蹩脚的) and publicized instructions on how to display original addresses instead of the Facebook ones. Excerpt 2: Facebook is trying to force its 900 million users to switch to its own email service. It is removing the personal email address displayed on an individual user"s profile pages and replacing it with a @facebook.com address even if the member never uses it. Excerpt 3: Facebook has promised to address complaints it was responsible for wiping email contacts in some users" mobile phone address books, replacing them with @facebook.com listings. The social network blamed the deletion of users contacts on a software bug. Excerpt 4: When Facebook first floated on the stock exchange earlier this year, it started out at an extreme high, valued at over $100bn (65bn). Since then, rockier times. From an initial share price of $38, Facebook"s stock dipped to below $29 in May. Excerpt 5: Facebook shares fell 11% in after-hours trade after it reported its first results since its flotation in May. The results were slightly ahead of analysts" expectations. The loss was due to having to make payments to early investors, including chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. Excerpt 6: Facebook is to allow app developers to advertise their products on its members" mobile-device news feeds. The network will charge a fee for every time users click on the ads to download the software from elsewhere. Facebook had previously warned its financial health would suffer if it could not find ways to make money out of its mobile users. Excerpt 7: Facebook has announced it is to buy Instagram—the popular photo-sharing smart-phone app. Facebook is paying $1bn (629m) in cash and stock for the takeover. The easy sharing of pictures made it stand out against early rivals. Today, the social network is the world"s largest photo-sharing website.

单选题{{B}}Passage Three{{/B}} Friction between America's military and its civilian overseers is nothing new. America's 220-year experiment in civilian control of the military is a recipe for friction. The nation's history has seen a series of shifts in decision-making power among the White House, the civilian secretaries and the uniformed elite (精英). However, what may seem on the outside an unstable and special system of power sharing has, without a doubt, been a key to two centuries of military success. In the infighting dates to the revolution, George Washington waged a continual struggle not just for money, but to control the actual battle plan. The framers of the Constitution sought to clarify things by making the president the "commander in chief." Not since Washington wore his uniform and led the troops across the Alleghenies to quell(镇压)the Whiskey Rebellion has a sitting president taken command in the field. Yet the absolute authority of the president ensures his direct command. The president was boss, and everyone in uniform knew it. In the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln dealt directly with his generals, and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton handled administrative details. Lincoln, inexperienced in military matters, initially deferred (顺从)to his generals. But when their caution proved disastrous, he issued his General War Order No.1—explicitly commanding a general advance of all Union forces. Some generals, George B. McClellan in particular, bridled at his hands-on direction. But in constitutional terms, Lincoln was in the right. His most important decision was to put Ulysses S. Grant in charge of the Union Army in 1864. Left to its own timetable, the military establishment would never have touched Grant. The relationship between the president and his general provides a textbook lesson in civilian control and power sharing. Grant was a general who would take the fight to the enemy, and not second-guess the president's political decisions. Unlike McClellan, for example, Grant cooperated wholeheartedly in recruiting black soldiers. For his part, Lincoln did not meddle in operations and did not visit the headquarters in the field unless invited. The balance set up by Grant and Lincoln stayed more or less in place through World War Ⅰ Not until World War Ⅱ did the pendulum finally swing back toward the White House. Franklin Roosevelt, who had been assistant Navy secretary during World War I, was as well prepared to be commander in chief as any wartime president since George Washington.

单选题Woman: Kate always stays in her own world and lives in a dream.Man: I don't think she can find a peaceful mind this way. She'll have to face the reality sooner or later.Question: What's wrong with Kate?

单选题Teachers of elementary schools are giving more weight to Unurturing/U a student's talent in China.

单选题A: Do you like to go hiking with us to the West Mountain this afternoon? B: ______

单选题Dialogue and cooperation between the North and the South on the urgent economic problems in the world should be ______ and strengthened at all levels.

单选题What can be learned about the relationship between the author and his daughter?

单选题In job sharing the partners should ______.

单选题The rapid rise in college costs has caught the attention of Congress, which is taking steps to at least give the public reason to hope for a break on tuition bills. New legislation, expected to clear the House and Senate after press time on July 31, includes provisions designed to put pressure on colleges, universities, and states to rein in the escalating price of a college education. The best potential for doing so, some experts say, lies in the searchable college data that the US Department of Education will post online to bring transparency (透明度) to tuition rates and the "net price" students pay after receiving aid. One set of lists would spotlight the 5 percent of institutions with the largest percentage tuition increase over the past three years—in categories such as public, private, four-year, and two-year. They would have to report to the Ed Department the reasons for the tuition hikes . "There are lists that no college or university wants to be on. They don"t want to be on The Princeton Review"s Top 10 party school list...and they"re not going to or want to be on the list...saying they have raised their tuition faster than others," says Terry Hartle, a senior vice president at the American Council on Education, a higher education advocacy and research group in Washington. But it"s difficult to predict the level of impact such supervision will have, given the variety of factors that affect college pricing, he adds. Within a year of the bill"s passage, students and parents should be able to use online calculators to estimate what any given college would cost based on their income level and family situation. Since most students receive financial aid, it"s important for families to see this net price, experts say, rather than simply compare based on the full-charge "sticker price." There"s little agreement about how effective these new requirements of the Higher Education Opportunity Act will be, but many experts say they can"t hurt.

单选题Man: One good thing about it is the higher salary. It's perfect for me. Woman: I'm sure you'll be better off. But I guess you might have to work for longer hours. Question: What does the woman mean?

单选题This legislation is {{U}}critical to{{/U}} sustaining the business upturn.

单选题UBy and by/U he discovered that the black night had changed to gray, bringing new hope to him.

单选题Friction between America's military and its civilian overseers is nothing new. America's 220-year experiment in civilian control of the military is a recipe for friction. The nation's history has seen a series of shifts in decision-making power among the White House, the civilian secretaries and the uniformed elite (精英). However, what may seem on the outside an unstable and special system of power sharing has, without a doubt, been a key to two centuries of military success. In the infighting dates to the revolution, George Washington waged a continual struggle not just for money, but to control the actual battle plan. The framers of the Constitution sought to clarify things by making the president the "commander in chief." Not since Washington wore his uniform and led the troops across the Alleghenies to quell(镇压)the Whiskey Rebellion has a sitting president taken command in the field. Yet the absolute authority of the president ensures his direct command. The president was boss, and everyone in uniform knew it. In the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln dealt directly with his generals, and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton handled administrative details. Lincoln, inexperienced in military matters, initially deferred (顺从)to his generals. But when their caution proved disastrous, he issued his General War Order No.1—explicitly commanding a general advance of all Union forces. Some generals, George B. McClellan in particular, bridled at his hands-on direction. But in constitutional terms, Lincoln was in the right. His most important decision was to put Ulysses S. Grant in charge of the Union Army in 1864. Left to its own timetable, the military establishment would never have touched Grant. The relationship between the president and his general provides a textbook lesson in civilian control and power sharing. Grant was a general who would take the fight to the enemy, and not second-guess the president's political decisions. Unlike McClellan, for example, Grant cooperated wholeheartedly in recruiting black soldiers. For his part, Lincoln did not meddle in operations and did not visit the headquarters in the field unless invited. The balance set up by Grant and Lincoln stayed more or less in place through World War Ⅰ Not until World War Ⅱ did the pendulum finally swing back toward the White House. Franklin Roosevelt, who had been assistant Navy secretary during World War I, was as well prepared to be commander in chief as any wartime president since George Washington.

单选题Meg did not say this ______, and when she had finished, she turned to Ethel with a smile.

单选题The manager gave one of the salesgirls an accusing look for her {{U}}hostile {{/U}} attitude toward customers.

单选题Man: Would you like to go with me to the airport to pick up Frank?Woman: I'd like to, but I have class till 2:00. And I know Frank's decided to take the early flight.Question: What does the woman imply?