单选题Even sensible men do ______ things sometimes. A. abrupt B. absurd C. acute D. apt

单选题The animal dissection requirement of biology classes has been getting under the skin of students for generations, and there have always been some who asked to be excused from the requirement. Now, a growing number of technological alternatives are making it possible for students to swap that scalpel for a computer mouse. There are laws in nearly a dozen states — including California, Florida, New York — protecting a student's choice to learn about animal anatomy sans scalpel. Some students choosing to opt out feel we should be kinder to our web-footed friends. Others are just queasy at the thought of rubbery frog bodies and the smell of formaldehyde. Dissection is icy. There's a yuck factor. " admits Brian Shmaersky, a boared member with the National Association of Biology Teachers. " And a teacher has to weigh the benefits with the cost of students being offended to the point that it interferes with learning. " Virtual blades. So for cases in which a real dissection would be too slimy, it's time to try some toad tech. While the first computer-based alternatives to dissection emerged in the 1980s, modern frog dissection software can be found at different websites. These software programs use creative clicking, high-powered zoom functions, and video clips to teach anatomy. Froguts software, for example, lets students trace incision lines with a computer mouse and snip through skin with a virtual blade. There are even sound effects like a "slish" for slicing frog flesh, or a "shwoosh" for pinning down skin flaps.(Schools currently pay about $ 300 for a one-year software license, though some organizations will lend programs out free of charge.) Earlier this year, a graduate student from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver designed the first-ever haptic(the Greek word for "touch")frog dissection program, which uses a penlike tool to create a sensation similar to cutting into real flesh. The hand-held device connects to a computer, and students move the device through the air while watching the results of their actions on a computer screen. With Digital Frog — a popular program that's had approximately 1, 500 frog demo downloads since January and is currently in use in 2, 000 schools — students can add or subtract those amphibious organs with a mere mouse click. They can then assess their learning with sporadic frog anatomy quizzes. "Repetition is helpful. The fact that a student can review sections of a program over and over again is important," says Martin Stephens, vice president for animal research issues at the Humane Society of the United States. "In dissections, the animal's organs are all shriveled and discolored. You look for things and can't find them because body parts have changed drastically since the animal was killed. But on a computer screen, layers can be digitally peeled away. " Other experts think the dissection technology has its limits. Gerry Wheeler, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association, says that artificial simulations don't give as enriching an experience as the real thing. Still others worry the programs are depriving kids of experiential learning.

单选题 Every year more than 1,000 patients in Britain die on transplant waiting lists, prompting scientists to consider other ways to produce organs.

单选题I find it difficult to______with him when he complains so much.

单选题The military aspect of the United States Civil War has always attracted the most attention from scholars. The roar of gunfire, the massed movements of uniformed men, the shrill of bugles, and the drama of hand-to-hand combat have fascinated students of warfare for a century. Behind the lines, however, life was less spectacular. It was the story of back-breaking labor to provide the fighting men with food and arms, of nerve-tingling uncertainty about the course of national events, of heartbreak over sons or brothers or husbands lost in battle. If the men on the firing line won the victories, the means to those victories were forged on the home front. Never in the nation's history hid Americans worked harder for victory than in the Civil War. Northerners and Southerners alike threw themselves into the task of supplying their respective armies. Both governments made tremendous demands upon civilians and, in general, received willing cooperation. By 1863 the Northern war economy was rumbling along in high gear. Everything from steamboats to shovels was needed and produced. Denied Southern cotton, textile mills turned to wool for blankets and uniforms. Hides by the hundreds of thousands were turned into wool for blankets and uniforms. Hides by the hundreds of thousands were turned into shoes and harness and daddies; ironworks manufactured locomotives, ordnance, armor plate. While private enterprise lagged, the government set up its own factories or arsenals. Agriculture boomed, with machinery doing the job of farm workers drawn into the army. In short, everything that a nation needed to fight a modern war was produced in uncounted numbers. Inevitably there were profiteers with gold-headed canes and flamboyant diamond stickpins, but for every crooked tycoon there were thousands of ordinary citizens living on fixed incomes who did their best to cope with rising prices and still made a contribution to the war effort. Those who could bought war bonds; others knitted, sewed, nursed, or lent any other assistance in their power.

单选题As many as 100 species of fish, some ______ to these waters, may have been affected by the pollution. A. unusual B. particular C. typical D. unique

单选题In the wake of 11 September, Visionics, a leading manufacturer, issued a fact sheet explaining how its technology could enhance airport security. They called it "protecting civilization from the faces of terror". The company's share price skyrocketed, as did the stocks of other face-recognition companies, and airports across the globe began installing the software and running trials. As the results start to come in, however, the gloss (光滑表面) is wearing off. No matter what you might have heard about face-recognition software, Big Brother it ain't. The concern was based largely on an independent assessment of face-recognition systems carried out in 2000 in the U. S. by the Department of Defense. These tests found that to catch 90 per cent of suspects at an airport, face-recognition software would have to raise a huge number of false alarms. One in three people would end up being dragged out of the line and that's assuming everyone looks straight at the camera and makes no effort to disguise himself. Results from the recent airport trials would seem to justify that concern. Most face-recognition systems use some kind of geometric technique to translate a picture of a face into a set of numbers that capture its characteristics. Once it has identified these boundaries, the software calculates their relative sizes and positions and converts this geometry into what Visionics calls a "faceprint". Feed the software a series of mug-shots (通缉犯), and it'll calculate their faceprints. Then it can monitor live CCTV images for the faces of known suspects. When it finds a match, it raises an alarm. Even if the system does manage to capture a face, the problems aren't over. The trouble is that a suspect's faceprint taken from live CCTV is unlikely to match the one in the database in every detail. To give themselves the best chance of picking up suspects, operators can set the software so that it doesn't have to make an exact match before it raises the alarm. But there's a price to pay: the more potential suspects you pick up, the more false alarms you get. You have to get the balance just right. Despite the disappointing tests, some people insist that face-recognition technology is good enough to put terrorists off. After all the claims and counter-claims, with no one able to discern (洞察) the truth, the industry may soon have to face up to reality.

单选题She chewed each delicious mouthful as slowly as she could, ______ the pleasure. A. delaying B. prolonging C. insisting D. indulging

单选题 Despite ongoing negotiations with its unions, United Airlines has told the bankruptcy court that the "likely result" will be a decision to terminate all of its pension plans. That would precipitate the biggest pension default in history, more than twice the size of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation default in 2002. The move is expected to destabilize the already struggling airline industry, prompting other old-line carriers like Delta to eventually follow suit to maintain competitiveness. It would also put additional pressure on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the federal agency that insures traditional pensions in case companies go belly up. It's already facing more than a $9 billion shortfall. A default by United would saddle it with an additional $ 8.4 billion in unfunded obligations. If other airlines follow, the PBGC may have to go to Congress and plead for a bailout that some experts say would be bigger than the Savings and Loan debacle of the 1980s. More broadly, what all this means is that retirement for US workers just isn't what it used to be. Forget the gold watch and reliable pension check after 30 years of service. The impact of globalization and competition from low-wage companies that don't provide benefits has shifted the onus of retirement security from larger firms onto individuals. Twenty years ago, 40 percent of American workers were covered by traditional pensions known as defined-benefit plans. Today that number's dropped to 20 percent. As the Bethlehem Steel and United examples show, even that 20 percent may not be able to count on what they've been promised. Currently, about 75 percent of those corporate plazas are underfunded. "There are numerous threats to retirement in the future," says Brad Belt, executive director of the PBGC. "So it's incumbent on individuals to be well informed, prudent about their investments, and to save accordingly." To get a sense of the impact of the pension crisis on individuals, look at what United employees can expect. Pilots, who by law must retire at 60, could see their retirement income cut by 75 percent. Betty, who asked that her name not be used, has been flying for United for 26 years. She was expecting to retire with ＄140,000 a year. After the recent round of give-backs, that was cut to ＄90,000. But if United defaults as expected, she'd receive only ＄28,000 from the PBGC. If she waits until 65 to start collecting, she could be eligible for as much ＄44,500 a year. Either way, once pilots are forced to leave the cockpit at 60, most will probably look for another job rather than lounge on the golf course. Betty has already started a mediation business on the side. "All of the benefits that I' d been promised during those 26 years have been erased by corporate American greed," she says. "And yet I can see the big picture. I've said for three years that our pensions are history. No matter how many promises, they make us, if the money isn't there, it isn't there." For the pilots union, which negotiated the pension benefits over the years, often giving up wage increases for better retirement packages, the current situation is infuriating. They see pensions as benefits that are earned, like employee paychecks, not a bonus to be given as long as a company can afford it. "It seems immoral that just because they happen to be in a legal situation, they can walk away from those obligations, "says Steve Derebey, spokesman for Air Line Pilots Association." Why this isn't a burning, blazing campaign issue is beyond me."

单选题His evident______to his wife despite her indiscretion proved him to be a man of integrity.

单选题______ popularity of subject matter and frequency of use, the books on the two middle shelves will be the most helpful to you.

单选题The goals and desires ______ widely between men and women, between the rich and the poor.

单选题They are considering ______ the house before the prices go down.

单选题Although there are more female students at the college than male students, the women seem to have a ______ influence on the student government.

单选题I am ______ lowbrow, admire the highbrow all the more for his patronizing type.

单选题The senator's attempt to convince the public that he is not interested in running for a second term is ______given the extremely public fund-raising activities of his campaign committee.

单选题What does "well ahead of the pack" mean in respect of the U. S. and Britain?

单选题The world is going through the biggest wave of mergers and acquisitions never witnessed. The process sweeps from hyperactive America to Europe and reaches the emerging countries with unsurpassed might. Many in these countries are looking at this process and worrying: "Won't the wave of business concentration turn into an uncontrollable anti-competitive force?" There's no question that the big are getting bigger and more powerful. Multinational corporations accounted for less than 20% of international trade in 1982. Today the figure is more than 25% and growing rapidly. International affiliates account for a fast-growing segment of production in economies that open up and welcome foreign investment. In Argentina, for instance, after the reforms of the early 1990s, multinationals went from 43% to almost 70% of the industrial production of the 200 largest firms. This phenomenon has created serious concerns over the role of smaller economic firms, of national businessmen and over the ultimate stability of the world economy. I believe that the most important forces behind the massive M&A wave are the same that underlie the globalization process: falling transportation and communication costs, lower trade and investment barriers and enlarged markets that require enlarged operations capable of meeting customer's demands. All these are beneficial, not detrimental, to consumers. As productivity grows, the world's wealth increases. Examples of benefits or costs of the current concentration wave are scanty. Yet it is hard to imagine that the merger of a few oil firms today could recreate the same threats to competition that were feared nearly a century ago in the U.S., when the Standard Oil trust was broken up. The mergers of telecom companies, such as WorldCom, hardly seem to bring higher prices for consumers or a reduction in the pace of technical progress. On the contrary, the price of communications is coming down fast. In cars, too, concentration is increasing — witness Daimler and Chrysler, Renault and Nissan — but it does not appear that consumers are being hurt. Yet the fact remains that the merger movement must be watched a few weeks ago, Alan Greenspan warned against the megamergers in the banking industry. Who is going to supervise, regulate and operate as lender of last resort with the gigantic banks that are being created? Won't multinationals shift production from one place to another when a nation gets too strict about infringements to fair competition? And should one country take upon itself the role of "defending competition" on issues that affect many other nations, as in the U.S. vs. Microsoft case?

单选题The American Revolution had no medieval legal institutions to ______ or to root out, apart from monarchy.

单选题Is the Canadian dollar Uequivalent/U to the U. S. dollar?