单选题When it comes to the slowing economy, Ellen Spero isn"t biting her nails just yet. But the 47-year-old manicurist isn"t cutting, filing or polishing as many nails as she"d like to, either. Most of her clients spend $12 to $ 50 weekly, but last month two longtime customers suddenly stopped showing up. Spero blames the softening economy. "I"m a good economic indicator," she says. "I provide a service that people can do without when they"re concerned about saving some dollars." So Spero is downscaling, shopping at middle-brow Dillard"s department store near her suburban Cleveland home, instead of Neiman Marcus. "I don"t know if other clients are going to abandon me, too," she says. Even before Alan Greenspan"s admission that America"s red-hot economy is cooling, lots of working folks had already seen signs of the slowdown themselves. From car dealerships to Gap outlets, sales have been lagging for months as shoppers temper their spending. For retailers, who last year took in 24 percent of their revenue between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the cautious approach is coming at a crucial time. Already, experts say, holiday sales are off 7 percent from last year"s pace. But don"t sound any alarms just yet. Consumers seem only mildly concerned, not panicked, and many say they remain optimistic about the economy"s long-term prospects even as they do some modest belt-tightening. Consumers say they"re not in despair because, despite the dreadful headlines, their own fortunes still feel pretty good. Home prices are holding steady in most regions. In Manhattan, "There"s a new gold rush happening in the $4 million to $10 million range, predominantly fed by Wall Street bonuses," says broker Barbara Corcoran. In San Francisco, prices are still rising even as frenzied overbidding quiets. "Instead of 20 to 30 offers, now maybe you only get two or three," says John Tealdi, a Bay Area real-estate broker. And most folks still feel pretty comfortable about their ability to find and keep a job. Many folks see silver linings to this slowdown. Potential home buyers would cheer for lower interest rates. Employers wouldn"t mind a little fewer bubbles in the job market. Many consumers seem to have been influenced by stock-market swings, which investors now view as a necessary ingredient to a sustained boom. Diners might see an upside, too. Getting a table at Manhattan"s hot new Alain Ducasse restaurant used to be impossible. Not anymore. For that, Greenspan & Co. may still be worth toasting.

单选题Oxford University would be excluded out of those universities that receive PhD grants from ESRC, because the completion rate of its PhD students' theses within four years is lower than ______.

单选题There are some people who will always______a cause merely because others are attacking or criticizing it.

单选题She was ______ by the lack of appreciation shown of her hard work.

单选题English is an important foreign language to master because it provides ready______to world scholarship and world trade.(2015年北京航空航天大学考博试题)

单选题(Despite) the President wrote a conciliatory letter (deploring) the incident, the press was (adamant) in continuing (its) condemnation.

单选题Legislation has been developed throughout the 20th century, attempting to protect employees from ______ dismissal by their employers. A. uhrecognizable B. undeniable C. unreachable D. unjustifiable

单选题Early exponents of science fiction such as Jules Verne and H. G. Wells explored with zest the future possibilities opened up to the optimistic imagination by modern technology.

单选题______any one should think it strange, let me assure you that it is quite true.(2006年清华大学考博试题)

单选题The company has capitalized ______ the error of judgment made by its business competitor.

单选题Few people have the time that is required to master a "full" knowledge of a foreign language and ______ still would be to make the much practical use of such a language. A. more B. less C. much D. fewer

单选题Whatever the causes, the English by the end of the year 2050 will have been more widely spoken and written than any other language ______.

单选题Benin Mayer Alcott based the principal characters of her book Little Women on her sisters and herself.

单选题Researchers disagree whether the "use it or lose it" philosophy holds for cognitive aging, but there is one evidence that keeping mentally active can slow age-related declines. At Pennsylvania State University, Sherry Willis and her husband, K. Warner Schaie, have studied 5000 people, some since 1956. People lucky enough to avoid chronic diseases may also fare better in intellectual function, they find, perhaps because chronic diseases can restrict lifestyle and reduce mental stimulation. Similarly, those lucky enough to be relatively affluent also fare better, perhaps because money can buy intellectually stimulating things like travel. Education helps, too, researchers say because of instills the conviction that you can always learn something new. The Schaie-Willis team also has some other observations. Being in a stable marriage with a stimulating spouse, they say, helps maintain intellectual vigor. Flexibility counts too. People who stay mentally vibrant are often those who do not insist that "they must do things today as they did before" Schaie says. In neuropsychological terms, the ability to see problems in new ways often yields higher scores on tests of-mental function. And people satisfied with life also stay more mentally fit, he says. If you find your mental skills sagging, consider working on specific deficits. When Willis gave 5-hour tutorials on inductive reasoning or spatial skills to about 200 people whose skills had declined in the previous 14 years, 40 percent regained lost abilities. That advantage held up seven years late when they were retested. Other ways to stay sharp, Schaie says, are doing jigsaw puzzles to hone visuo-spatial skills, working crossword puzzles for verbal skills, playing bridge for memory and simply matching wits at home with players on TV game shows. Finally, remember this. Even though you may lose some mental skills with normal aging, you also gain in one key area: wisdom. The growth of wisdom continues throughout the 40s, 50s and even 60s.

单选题The shuttle exploded in the air suddenly and broke into ______ at once.

单选题ThegovernmentsystemofQinDynastydiffersfromthefeudalsysteminthesensethat

单选题Mercury is the nearest planet to the sun and its period of ______is 88 days.

单选题Only two countries in the advanced world provide no guarantee for paid leave from work to care for a newborn child. Last spring one of the two, Australia, gave up that dubious distinction by establishing paid family leave starting in 2011. I wasn"t surprised when this didn"t make the news here in the United States—we"re now the only wealthy country without such a policy. The United States does have one explicit family policy, the Family and Medical Leave Act , passed in 1993. It entitles workers to as much as 12 weeks" unpaid leave for care of a newborn or dealing with a family medical problem. Despite the modesty of the benefit, the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups fought it bitterly, describing it as "government-run personnel management" and a "dangerous precedent". In fact, every step of the way, as (usually) Democratic, leaders have tried to introduce work-family balance measures into the law, business groups have been strongly opposed. As Yale law professor Anne Alston argues, justifying parental support depends on defining the family as a social good that, in some sense, society must pay for. In her book No Exit What Parents Owe Their Children and What Society Owes Parents , she argues that parents are burdened in many ways in their lives: there is "no exit" when it comes to children. "Society expects—and needs—parents to provide their children with continuity of care meaning the intensive, intimate care that human beings need to develop their intellectual, emotional, and moral capabilities. And society expects-and needs-parents to persist in their role for 18 years, or longer needed." While most parents do this out of love, there are public penalties for not providing care. What parents do, in other words, is of deep concern to the state, for the obvious reason that caring for children is not only morally urgent but essential for the future of society. The state recognizes this in the large body of family laws that govern children"s welfare, yet parents receive little help in meeting the life-changing obligations society imposes. To classify parenting as a personal choice for which there is no collective responsibility is not merely to ignore the social benefits of good parenting; really, it is to steal those benefits because they accrue to the whole of society as today"s children become tomorrow"s productive citizenry. In fact, by some estimates, the value of parental investments in children, investments of time and money (including lost wages), is equal to 20%—30% of gross domestic product. If these investments generate huge social benefits—as they clearly do—the benefits of providing more social support for the family should be that much clearer.

单选题The magician picked out several persons ______ from the audience and asked them to help him with the performance.