单选题Dozens of scientific groups all over the world have been ______ the goal of a practical and economic way to use sunlight to split water molecules. A. pursuing B. chasing C. reaching D. winning

单选题Why does storytelling endure across time and cultures? Perhaps the answer lies in our evolutionary roots. A study of the way that people respond to Victorian literature hints that novels act as a social glue, reinforcing the types of behaviour that benefit society. Literature "could continually condition society so that we fight against base impulses and work in a cooperative way", says Jonathan Gottschall of Washington and Jefferson College, Pennsylvania. He and co-author Joseph Carroll at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, study how Darwin's theories of evolution apply to literature. Along with John Johnson, an evolutionary psychologist at Pennsylvania State University in DuBois, the researchers asked 500 people to fill in a questionnaire about 200 classic Victorian novels. The respondents were asked to define characters as protagonists or antagonists and then to describe their personality and motives, such as whether they were conscientious or power hungry. The team found that the characters fell into groups that mirrored the egalitarian dynamics of a society in which individual dominance is suppressed for the greater good (Evolutionary Psychology. vol 4, p 716). Protagonists, such as Elizabeth Bennett in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, for example, scored highly on conscientiousness and nurturing, while antagonists like Bram Stoker's Count Dracula scored highly on status-seeking and social dominance. In the novels, dominant behaviour is "powerfully stigmatized", says Gottschall "Bad guys and girls are just dominance machines; they are obsessed with getting ahead, they rarely have pro-social behaviours." While few in today's world live in hunter-gatherer societies, "the political dynamic at work in these novels, the basic opposition between communitarianism and dominance behaviour, is a universal theme", says Carroll. Christopher Boehm, a cultural anthropologist whose work Carroll acknowledges was an important influence on the study, agrees. "Modem democracies, with their formal checks and balances, are carrying forward an egalitarian ideal". A few characters were judged to be both good and bad, such as Heathcliff in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights or Austen's Mr.Darcy. "They reveal the pressure being exercised on maintaining the total social order," says Carroll. Boehm and Carroll believe novels have the same effect as the cautionary tales told in older societies. "Novels have a function that continues to contribute to the quality and structure of group life," says Boehm. "Maybe storytelling--from TV to folk tales- actually serves some specific evolutionary adaptation," says Gottschall. They're not just products of evolutionary adaptation.

单选题______ three times in a row, the boxer decided to give up fighting.

单选题In most developing societies women do not have______access to education. Nearly two thirds of the world's 800 million illiterates are women, and almost everywhere males are given preference in education and vocational training.

单选题The Internet has been around for an almost equal amount of time as most forms of media, but only recently______a popular way of retrieving information.

单选题The police let him go, because they didn't find him guilty ______ the murder. A. of B. in C. over D. on

单选题A ______ of soap and two brightly colored towels were left beside the bath, the women smiled politely at Nicole and withdrew carefully form the room.

单选题In 1900 the United States had only three cities with more than a million residents—New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. By 1930, it had ten giant metropolises. The newer ones experienced remarkable growth, which reflected basic changes in the economy. Line The population of Los Angeles (114,000 in 1900) rose spectacularly in the early decades of the twentieth century, increasing a dramatic 1,400 percent from 1900 to 1930. A number of circumstances contributed to the meteoric rise of Los Angeles. The agricultural potential of the area was enormous if water for irrigation could be found, and the city founders had the vision and dating to obtain it by constructing a 225-mile aqueduct, completed in 1913, to tap the water of the Owens River. The city had a superb natural harbor, as well as excellent rail connections. The climate made it possible to shoot motion pictures year-round; hence Hollywood. Hollywood not only supplied jobs; it disseminated an image of the good life in Southern California on screens all across the nation. The most important single industry powering the growth of Los Angeles, however, was directly linked to the automobile. The demand for petroleum to fuel gasoline engines led to the opening of the Southern California oil fields, and made Los Angeles North America"s greatest refining center. Los Angeles was a product of the auto age in another sense as well: its distinctive spatial organization depended on widespread private ownership of automobiles. Los Angeles was a decentralized metropolis, sprawling across the desert landscape over an area of 400 square miles. It was a city without a real center. The downtown business district did not grow apace with the city as a whole, and the rapid transit system designed to link the center with outlying areas withered away from disuse. Approximately 800,000 cars were registered in Los Angeles County in 1930, one per 2.7 residents. Some visitors from the east coast were dismayed at the endless urban sprawl and dismissed Los Angeles as a mere collection of suburbs in search of a city. But the freedom and mobility of a city built on wheels attracted floods of migrants to the city.

单选题The flashing red light served as a ______ of danger ahead.

单选题For fear of being scolded by the teacher, the boy gave a ______ excuse for his absence.

单选题Monkeys ale excellent climbers, and most are ______ tree dwellers. A. often B. primarily C. rarely D. savagely

单选题John was surprised to ______ Matthew at the football game. A. bump into B. drop in at C. come on D. see off

单选题______, the short is in some ways not really new. A. Like many another new things B. Like much other new things C. Like many other new things D. Like many another new thing

单选题The low interest rates on banks loans provided an Uimpetus/U for many to buy homes.

单选题Obviously, no teacher has______patience. Even Larry, who is always kind and tolerant, lost his temper on that particular occasion.(厦门大学2012年试题)

单选题The branches could hardly ______ the weight of the fruit.

单选题As the contest shows, a placebo is ______.

单选题The expression “speculated on” (line 4) means __________ .

单选题My father did not go to New York; the doctor suggested that he ______ there.