单选题A very important world problem is the increasing number of people who actually inhabit this planet. The limited amount of land and land resources will soon be unable to support the huge population if it continues to grow at its present rate. So why is this huge increase in population taking place? It is really due to the spread of the knowledge and practice of what is becoming known as "Death Control". You have no doubt heard of the term "Birth Control". "Death Control" is something rather different. It recognizes the work of the doctors and scientists who now keep alive people who, not very long ago, would have died of a variety of then incurable diseases. Through a wide variety of technological innovations that include farming methods and the control of deadly diseases, we have found ways to reduce the rate at which we die. However, this success is the very cause of the greatest threat to mankind. If we examine the amount of land available for this ever-increasing population, we begin to see the problem. If everyone on the planet had an equal share of land, we would each have about 50, 000 square meters. This figure seems to be quite encouraging until we examine the amount of usable land we actually have. More than three-fifths of the world's land cannot produce food. Obviously, with so little land to support us, we should be taking great care not to reduce it further. But we are not! Instead, we are consuming its "capital" — its nonrenewable fossil fuels and other mineral deposits that took millions of years to form but which are now being destroyed in decades. We are also doing the same with other vital resources not usually thought of as being nonrenewable such as fertile soils, groundwater and the millions of other species that share the earth with us. It is a very common belief that the problems of the population explosion are caused mainly by poor people living in poor countries who do not know enough to limit their reproduction. This is not true. The actual number of people in an area is not as important as the effect they have on nature. Developing countries do have an effect on their environment, but it is the populations of richer countries that have a far greater impact on the earth as a whole.

单选题Passage 3 The biosphere is the name biologists give to the sort of skin on the surface of this planet that is inhabitable by living organisms. Most land creatures occupy only the interface between the atmosphere and the land; birds extend their range for a few hundred feet into the atmosphere; burrowing invertebrates (无脊椎动物) such as earthworms may reach a few yards into the soil but rarely penetrate farther unless, it has been recently disturbed by men. Fish cover a wider range, from just beneath the surface of the sea to those depths of greater than a mile inhabited by specialized creatures. Fungi (真菌) and bacteria are plentiful in the atmosphere to a height of about half a mile, blown there by winds from the lower air. Balloon exploration of the stratosphere (同温 层) as long ago as 1936 indicated that moulds and bacteria could be found at heights of several miles, recently the USA's National Aeronautics and Space Administration has detected them, in decreasing numbers, at heights up to eighteen miles. They are pretty sparse at such levels, about one for every two thousand cubic feet, compared with 50 to 100 per cubic foot at two to six miles (the usual altitude of jet aircraft), and they are almost certainly in an inactive state. Marine bacteria have been detected at the bottom of the deep Pacific trench, sometimes as deep as seven miles; they are certainly not inactive. Living microbes have also been obtained on land from cores of rock drilled (while prospecting for oil) at depths of as much as 1,200 feet. Thus we can say, disregarding the exploits of astronauts, that the biosphere has a maximum thickness of about twenty-five miles. Active living processes occur only within a compass of about seven miles, in the sea, on land and in the lower atmosphere, but the majority of living creatures live within a zone of a hundred feet or so. If this planet were sealed down to the size of an orange, the biosphere, at its extreme width, would occupy the thickness of the orange-colored skin, excluding the pith. In this tiny zone of our planet takes place the multitude of chemical and biological activities that we call life. The way in which living creatures interact with each other, depend on each other or compete with each other, has fascinated thinkers since the beginning of recorded history. Living things exist in a fine balance which is often taken for granted, from a practical point of view, things could not be otherwise. Yet it is a source of continual amazement to scientists because of its intricacy and delicacy. The balance of nature is obvious most often when it is disturbed. Yet even here it can seem remarkable how quickly it readjusts itself to a new balance after a disturbance. The science of ecology--the study of the interaction of organisms with their environment--has grown up to deal with the minutiae of the balance of nature.

单选题

单选题After failing his mid-term exams, Jeremy was ______ face his parents.

单选题Any business needs insurance ______ ordinary risks such as fire, flood and breakage. A. in B. against C. on D. of

单选题Theunderlinedsentenceinthe2ndparagraphdoesNOTmeanthat

单选题As we have seen, propaganda can appeal to us by arousing our emotions or ______our attention from the real issues at hand.(2004年中国社会科学院考博试题)

单选题The local authorities seemed to ______ for the accident taking place last week. A. share B. take C. criticize D. blame

单选题 Before the mid-nineteenth century, people in the United State eat most foods only in season. Drying, smoking, and salting could preserve meat for a short time, but the availability of fresh meat, like that of fresh milk, was very limited. There was no way to prevent spoilage. But in 1810, a French inventor named Nicolas Appert developed the cooking-and-sealing process of canning. And in the 1850's an American named Gail Borden developed a means of condensing and preserving milk. Canned goods and condensed milk became more common during the 1860's, but supplies remained low because cans had to be made by hand. By 1880, however, inventors had fashioned stamping and soldering machines that mass-produced cans from tinplate. Suddenly all kinds of food could be preserved and bought at all times of the year. Other trends and inventions had also helped make it possible for Americans to vary their daily diets. Growing urban populations created demand that encouraged fruit and vegetable farmers to raise more produce. Railroad refrigerator car enabled growers and meat packers to ship perishables great distance and to preserve them for longer periods. Thus, by the 1890's, northern city dwellers could enjoy southern and western strawberries, grapes and tomatoes, previously available for a month at most, for up to six month of the year. In addition, increased use of iceboxes enabled families to store perishables. An easy means of producing ice commercially had been invented in the 1870's, and by 1900 the nation had more than two thousand commercial ice plants, most of which made home deliveries. The icebox became a fixture in most homes and remained so until the mechanized refrigerator replaced it in the 1920's and 1930's. Almost every one now had a more diversified diet. Some people continued to eat mainly foods that were heavy in starches or carbohydrates, and not everyone could afford meat. Nevertheless, many families could take advantage of previously unavailable fruits, vegetables, and dairy products to achieve more varied fare.

单选题In the early 20th century, at the advent of the telephone, it was considered a superfluous instrument which would never be of practical use in the average household.(2003年中国社会科学院考博试题)

单选题Modern scientists hold that truth is not something that we first ______ and then explore in all its ramifications, but something found at the end of long investigations.

单选题They tossed your thoughts back and forth for over an hour, but still could not make ______ of them.

单选题He gave me his______that the job will be finished on time.(2006年中国矿业大学考博试题)

单选题The government is trying to ______ the people into thinking that a war is necessary. A. enlighten B. involve C. orient D. brainwash

单选题One of Nike's founders, Phillip Hampson Knight had been a top athlete when he was at the University of Oregon and he moved on to become a student at Stanford Business School, but Uretained/U his interest in sport.

单选题Wireless waste from cell phones, pocket PCs, and music players ______ special problems because they have toxic chemicals in batteries and other components.

单选题During the famine many people ______ eating grass and leaves. A. felt inclined to B. were confronted with C. got accustomed to D. were reduced to

单选题What is the main idea of this passage?

单选题Tattoos didn't spring up with the dawn of biker gangs and rock 'n' roll bands. They've been around for a long time and had many different meanings over the course of history. For years, scientists believed that Egyptians and Nubians were the first people to tattoo their bodies. Then, in 1991, a mummy was discovered, dating back to the Bronze Age of about 3300 B.C. "The Iceman," as the specimen was dubbed, had several markings on his body, including a cross on the inside of his knee and lines on his ankle and back. It is believed these tattoos were made in a curative effort. Being so advanced, the Egyptians reportedly spread the practice of tattooing throughout the world. The pyramid-building third and fourth dynasties of Egypt developed international nations with Crete, Greece, Persia and Arabia. The art tattooing stretched out all the way to Southeast Asia by 2000 B. C. Around the same time, the Japanese became interested in the art but only for its decorative attributes, as opposed to magical ones. The Japanese tattoo artists were the undisputed masters. Their use of colors, perspective, and imaginative designs gave the practice a whole new angle. During the first millennium A.D., Japan adopted Chinese culture in many aspects and confined tattooing to branding wrongdoers. In the Balkans, the Thracians had a different use for the craft. Aristocrats, according to Herodotus, used it to show the world their social status. Although early Europeans dabbled with tattooing, they truly rediscovered the art from when the world exploration of the post-Renaissance made them seek out new cultures. It was their meeting with Polynesian that introduced them to tattooing. The word, in fact is derived from the Polynesian word tattoo, which means "to mark". Most of the early uses of tattoos were ornamental. However, a number of civilizations had practical applications for this craft. The Goths, a tribe of Germanic barbarians famous for pillaging Roman settlements, used tattoos to mark their slaves. Romans did the same with slaves and criminals. In Tahiti, tattoos were a rite of passage and told the history of the person's life. Reaching adulthood, boys got one tattoo to commemorate the event. Men were marked with another style when they got married. Later, tattoos became the souvenir of choice for globetrotting sailors. Whenever they would reach an exotic locale, they would get a new tattoo to mark the occasion. A dragon was a famous style that meant the sailor had reached a "China station. " At first, sailors would spend their free time on the ship tattooing themselves and their mates. Soon after, tattoo parlors were set up in the area, surrounding ports worldwide. In the middle of the 19th century, police officials believed that half of the criminal underworld in New York City had tattoos. Port areas were renowned for being rough places full of sailors that were guilty of some crime or another. This is most likely how tattoos got such a bad reputation and became associated with rebels and delinquents.