单选题A scorching sun, an endless sea of sand and a waterless, forbiddingly lonely land—that is the image most people have of deserts. But how true is this picture? Deserts are dry lands where rainfall is low. This is not to say rain never falls in deserts: it may fall once or twice a year in a fierce torrent that fades almost as soon as it has begun, or which evaporates in the hot air long before it has got anywhere near the earth. It may fall in a sudden sweeping flood that carries everything in its path. Rains may only come once in five or six years or not fall for a decade or more. The Mojave desert in the United States remained dry for twenty-five years. Without water no living thing can survive, and one feature of the true desert land-scape is the absence of vegetation. With little rain and hardly any vegetation the land suffers under the sun. There are virtually no clouds or trees to protect the earth"s surface and it can be burning hot. Under the sun, soils break up and crack. Wind and torrential rain sweep away and erode the surface further. Eight million square kilometers of the world"s land surface is desert. Throughout history deserts have been expanding and retreating again. Cave paintings show that parts of the Sahara Desert were green and fertile about 10,000 years ago, and even animals like elephants and giraffes roamed the land. Fossil and dunes found in fertile and damp parts of the world show that these areas were once deserts. But now the creation of new desert areas is happening on a colossal scale. Twenty million square kilometers, an area twice the size of Canada, is at a high to very high risk of becoming desert. With a further 1.25 million square kilometers under moderate risk, an area covering 30% of the earth"s land surface is desert, becoming desert, or in danger of becoming desert. The rate of growth of deserts is alarming. The world"s dry lands which are under threat include some of the most important stock-rearing and wheat-growing areas and are the homes of 600～700 million people. These regions are becoming deserts at the rate of more than 58,000 square kilometers a year or 44 hectares a minute. In North Africa at least 100,000 hectares of cropland are lost each year. At this rate there is a high risk that we will be confined to living on only 50% of this planet"s land surface within one more century unless we are able to do something about it.

单选题If sustainable competitive advantage depends on work force skills, American firms have a problem. Human management is not traditionally seen as central to the competitive survival of the firm in the United States. Skill acquisition is considered as individual responsibility. Labor is simply another force of production to be hired/rented at the lowest possible cost, which is a must as one buys raw material or equipment. The lack of importance attached to human resource management can be seen in the corporate pecking order. In an American firm the chief financial officer is almost always second in command. The post of head of human resource management is usually a specialized job, off at the edge of the corporate hierarchy. The executive who holds it is never consulted on major strategic decisions and has no chance to move up to Chief Executive Officer. By way of contrast, in Japan the head of human resource management is central—usually the second most important executive, after the CEO, in the firm"s hierarchy. While American firms often talk about the vast amounts spent on training their work force, in fact, they invest less in the skills of their employees than do either Japanese or German firms. The money they do invest is also more highly concentrated on professional or managerial employees. And the limited investments that are made in training workers are also much more narrowly focused on the specific skills necessary to do the next job rather than on the basic background skills that make it possible to absorb new technologies. As a result, problems emerge when new breakthrough technologies arrive. If American workers, for example, take much longer to learn how to operate new flexible manufacturing stations than workers in Germany (as they do), the effective cost of those stations is lower in Germany than it is in the United States. More time is required before equipment is up and running at the speed with which new equipment is up and running at capacity, and the need for extensive retraining generates costs and creates bottlenecks that limit the speed with which new equipment can be employed. The result is a slower pace of technological change. And in the end the skills of the bottom half of the population affect the wages of the top half. If the bottom half can"t effectively staff the processes that have to be operated, the management and professional jobs that go with these processes will disappear.

单选题This exquisite violin was with superb workmanship.

单选题I was most favorably struck by the assurance with which the boy answered all my questions.

单选题"I never imagined," he chuckled, "that I would some day struggle so mightily, and so futilely , to explain music to a robot".

单选题Man: Shall I call you to let you know about our rehearsal? Woman: By all means. Question: What do we learn from the woman"s response?

单选题Woman: Mark, you shouldn"t have been too neglectful and thoughtless about drugs. Man: I know what you mean. But I equally know what I am doing and where I am going. Question: What is the man"s reaction to what the woman said?

单选题Man: It seems that your father takes you under his wing. Woman: I have the same feeling. But I don"t like the way he treats my sister. Question: What can we learn from the conversation.9

单选题The human brain contains 10 thousand million cells and each of these may have a thousand connections. Such enormous numbers used to discourage us and cause us to dismiss the possibility of making a machine with humanlike ability, but now that we have grown used to moving forward at such a pace we can be less sure. Quite soon, in only 10 or 20 years perhaps, we will be able to assemble a machine as complex as the human brain, and if we can we will. It may then take us a long time to render it intelligent by loading in the right software (软件) or by altering the architecture but that too will happen. I think it certain that in decades, not centuries, machines of silicon (硅) will arise first to rival and then exceed their human ancestors. Once they exceed us they will be capable of their own design. In a real sense they will be able to reproduce themselves. Silicon will have ended carbon"s long control. And we will no longer be able to claim ourselves to be the finest intelligence in the known universe. As the intelligence of robots increases to match that of humans and as their cost declines through economies of scale we may use them to expand our frontiers, first on earth through their ability to withstand environments, harmful to ourselves. Thus, deserts may bloom and the ocean beds be mined. Further ahead, by a combination of the great wealth this new age will bring and the technology it will provide, the construction of a vast, mancreated world in space, home to thousands or millions of people, will be within our power.

单选题A: I heard you"ve had your book published. Congratulations! B: ______

单选题Just a few years ago, a graduate from Brown University medical school had just an inkling about how to care for the elderly. Now, Brown and other U. S. medical schools are plugging geriatric (老年) courses into their curricula. The U.S. Census Bureau projects the number of elderly Americans will nearly double to 71 million by 2030. The first members of the Baby Boomer generation, so named for the explosion in births in the years after World War Two, turn 65 in three years. In addition, people are living longer than ever. "The first ripples of the silver tsunami are lapping at the shores of our country, but there is not a coordinated or strategic response taking place in America," said Richard Besdine, who is direetor of the geriatrics division at Brown University medical school in Providence. Geriatries has never been a field of choice for young doctors. Elderly care doctors are paid less than most other physicians and surgeons and the aged can be hard to treat. They have complicated medical histories and their ailments, even such routine illnesses as pneumonia (肺炎), can be more difficult to diagnose because they may be masked by other conditions. Also, drugs can affect them differently than middle-aged adults." It"s a hard job; it"s not paid very well; it"s complicated; and there"s very little status within the hierarchy of medical specialties to being a geriatric physician," said Gavin Hougham, senior program officer and manager of medicine programs at the John A. Hartford Foundation. Out of 800 000 doctors in the United States, roughly 7 000 are geriatricians, Hougham said. The country needs another 13 000 to adequately care for today"s older population, according to the American Geriatrics Society. The shortfall could reach 36 000 by 2030. To help counter that, private groups are bankrolling medical schools" emphasis on aging. The Hartford Foundation has given more than $40 million to 27 schools to train faculty in elderly care, and the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation has given more than $100 million to 30 schools to include more geriatrics content. "If they don"t learn it, they still have to deal with it," Hougham said. "It"s not that not learning geriatrics will cause these older people to go away. They"re coming whether we"re ready or not. "

单选题"Years ago, a friend of mine observed that 80 percent of the people in this country have too much self-esteem and 20 percent have much too little. That struck me as pretty accurate, but psychologists will tell you that self-esteem is not a constant. People"s appraisal of their own worth varies.... I have the impression that more people have unstable self-esteem than before. I say this because some of the traditional standards people used to measure their own worth have eroded (middle class respectability), whereas more people now seem to measure themselves against celebrities and superstars. It would be interesting to know if anybody has studied changes in the criteria we use to measure self-worth." Comment 1: You bring up an interesting point because I do believe values and beliefs have changed. It would be very interesting to see the criteria used for self-worth. I find it hard to believe that only 20% of people have low self-esteem. I"ve been following Brene Brown"s thoughts on the subject of self-worth, and low self-worth (on some level) seems much more common. Comment 2: If the quality of one"s self-esteem is going to be judged by comparisons with those who are celebrities and superstars, then the entire exercise is really pointless. Comment 3: Self-esteem solution: A happy marriage. Comment 4: Ego (self-worth) is proportionate to wealth. The more wealth, the more self-worth. Comment 5: Benjamin Franklin said it best, and it applies to all facets of life., "Contentment will make a poor man rich just as discontent will make a rich man poor." It does not mean not try to do your best, or be the richest. It simply means once you"ve done your best be content with yourself, just as if you don"t give your best effort discontent is sure to follow. Comment 6: I"ve "retired" from 30 years of expensive, if interesting, "personal growth" and "self-improvement." much probably motivated by trying to "fix" myself. Hanging out with friends at a local cafe is way more satisfying. Comment 7: A related concept you may be interested in is the "sociometer theory" of self-esteem, pioneered by Mark Leary (Wake Forest). Basically it states that our self-esteem is determined by the amount of perceived social acceptance/rejection, and that determination is full of cognitive biases and errors. Awesome stuff.

单选题A: I"m much grateful to you for everything you"ve done for me. B: ______

单选题In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child"s acquisition (学会) of each new skill—the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing. It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child. This might happen at any stage. A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads. On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for himself. Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children. Some may be especially strict in money matters. Others are severe over times of coming home at night or punctuality for meals. In general, the controls imposed represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community as much as the child"s own happiness. As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very important in parental teaching. To forbid a thing one day and exeuse it the next is no foundation for morality (道德). Also, parents should realize that "example is better than precept". If they are not sincere and do not practise what they preach (说教), their children may grow confused, and emotionally insecure when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled. A sudden awareness of a marked difference between their parents principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment.

单选题A: Can I get you something to drink? B: ______

单选题He______himself bitterly for his miserable behavior that evening.

单选题Man: I"m really exhausted. But I don"t want to miss the film that comes on at 11. Woman: If I were you, I"d skip it. We both have to get up early tomorrow. And anyway, I"ve heard it isn"t that exciting. Question: What does the woman mean?

单选题Almost half of UK Internet users are going online via mobile phone data connections, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). 45% of people surveyed said they 1 use of the net while out and about, compared with 31% in 2010. The most rapid growth was 2 younger people, where 71% of internet-connected 16 to 24-year-olds used mobiles. Domestic internet use also rose. According to the ONS, 77% of households now have 3 to a net connection. That figure was 4 4% from the previous year, representing the slowest rate of 5 since the ONS survey began in 2006. The figure for domestic connections contrasted sharply with the rapid growth in uptake of mobile services. 6 , the popularity of 3G broadband did not necessarily mean that more people were going online overall. Many of those using mobile phones are 7 to already have home broadband connections. Older users, who the government is particularly keen to get 8 , appeared to 9 relatively untouched by the phenomenon. While 71% of 16 to 24-year-old who went 10 said they used mobile broadband, just 8% of internet users aged over 65 made use of the newer technology.

单选题We"re happy to report that business is booming this year.

单选题Americans are proud of their variety and individuality, yet they love and respect few things more than a uniform, whether it is the uniform of an elevator operator or the uniform of a five-star general. Why are uniforms so popular in the United States? Among the arguments for uniforms, one of the first is that in the eyes of most people they look more professional than civilian (百姓的) clothes. People have become conditioned to expect superior quality from a man who wears a uniform. The television repairman who wears a uniform tends to inspire more trust than one who appears in civilian clothes. Faith in the skill of a garage mechanic is increased by a uniform. What easier way is there for a nurse, a policeman, a barber, or a waiter to lose professional identity (身份) than to step out of uniform? Uniforms also have many practical benefits. They save on other clothes. They save on laundry bills. They are tax-deductible (可减税的). They are often more comfortable and more durable than civilian clothes. Primary among the arguments against uniforms is their lack of variety and the consequent loss of individuality experienced by people who must wear them. Though there are many types of uniforms, the wearer of any particular type is generally stuck with it, without change, until retirement. When people look alike, they tend to think, speak, and act similarly, on the job at least. Uniforms also give rise to some practical problems. Though they are long-lasting, often their initial expense is greater than the cost of civilian clothes. Some uniforms are also expensive to maintain, requiring professional dry cleaning rather than the home laundering possible with many types of civilian clothes.