单选题From the text we can infer that the NAB represents______.

单选题Advancing technology could possibly make us

单选题India has about a billion people and a dozen major languages of its own. One language, and only one, is understood-by the elite- across the country: that of the foreigners who ruled India for less than 200 years and left 52 years ago. Today, India. Tomorrow, unofficially, the world. That is well under way; at first, because the British not only built global empire but also it was settled by America, and now because the world (and notably America) has acquired its first truly global--and interactive--medium, the Internet. It is estimated that some 350 million people speak English as their first language. Maybe 250 - 350 million do or can use it as a second language; in excolonial countries, notably, or in English--majority ones, like 30 million recently immigrants to the United States, or Canada's 6 million francophone Quebeckers. And elsewhere.'? The guess is 100 million--1 billion depending how you define "can". Let us be hold: in all, 20 -25% of earth' s 6 billion people can use English; not the English of England, let alone of Dr. Johnson, but English. That number is soaring as each year brings new pupils to school and carries of monolingual oldies--and now as the Internet spreads. And the process is self-reinforcing. As business spreads across frontiers, the company that wants to move its executives around, and to promote the best of them, regardless of nationality, encourages the uses of English. So the executive who wants to be in the frame, or' to move to another employer, learns to use it. English has long dominated learned journals: German, Russian or French (depending on the field) may be useful to their expert readers, but English is essential. So, if you want your own work published--and widely read by your peers--then English is the language of choice. The growth of the cinema, and still more so of television, has spread the dominant language. Foreign movies or sitcoms may be dubbed into major languages, but for smaller audiences they are usually subtitled. Result: a Dutch or Danish or even Arab family has an audio-visual learning aid in its living-room, and usually the language spoken on-screen is English. The birth of the computer and its American operating systems gave English a nudge ahead: that of the Internet has given it a huge push. Any web-linked household today has a library of information available at the click of a mouse. And, unlike the books on its own shelves or in the public library, maybe four-fifths is written in English. That proportion may lessen, as more non-English sites spring up. But English will surely dominate.

单选题The Inland Revenue on Thursday accused the British film industry of abusing government aid, with every production of recent years deliberately over-claiming tax relief. Revenue officials called in about 20 members of the film industry and warned them of severe consequences if the "exploitation" of tax-relief schemes did not immediately stop. The move, which affects the including low to high-budget film-makers and financiers, is the latest in a series of attempts by the Revenue to clamp down on tax loopholes in an attempt to raise more money for the Exchequer, But the film industry responded on Thursday night, saying the Revenue could drive productions overseas and would confuse investors. A series of tax relief schemes, introduced in 1997, enables those involved in the financing of qualifying British-made films to claim the costs of production against future income. The schemes have Become popular with investors seeking a tax shelter, with an estimated ￡400m invested in the schemes in 1997 rising to about ￡2bn last year. But the Revenue said the industry was exploiting rules on tax relief by "double dipping", that is, by claiming relief more than once against a single piece of expenditure. While not illegal, the Revenue said, the industry was "not playing fair". It said double-dipping was "against the spirit" of legislation designed to encourage investment in the British film industry. The Revenue said the practice of double dipping was "virtually universal", with "every qualifying film it had seen financed on the basis of double dipping". It warned it would "take all steps to counter such abuse including, where necessary, advising ministers on introducing legislation to put matters beyond doubt". "Both the Revenue and the government are becoming increasingly exasperated at the extent to which some parts of the industry are exploiting the film reliefs," the Revenue said. "The government remains committed to encouraging film production in the UK through use of the reliefs in the way in which the legislation allows--but this does not extend to deliberate exploitation of those reliefs." Large film financiers said on Thursday night that the Revenue's action could undermine growth prospects for the British film industry. Peter James, managing director of Movision Entertainment, which has produced 16 British-made films in recent years, including the soon-to-be released "Merchant of Venice", said while the effect of the Revenue's clamp down would not Be "devastating", it could drive many independent film-makers overseas. Industry observers said on Thursday the Revenue's move was likely to confuse investors, who have been accustomed to the benefits of double-dipping.

单选题American suffers from an overdose of work. (1) who they are or what they do, they spend (2) time at work than at any time since World WarⅡ. In 1950, the US had fewer working hours than any other (3) country. Today, it (4) every country but Japan, where industrial employees log 2,155 hours a year compared (5) 1,951 in the US and 1,603 (6) West employees. Between 1969 and 1989, employed American (7) an average of 138 hours to their yearly work schedules. The work-week (8) at about 40 hours, but people are working more weeks each year. (9) , paid time off — holidays, vacations, sick leave — (10) 15 percent in the 1990s. As Corporations have (11) stiffer competition and slower growth in productivity, they would (12) employees to work longer. Cost-cutting layoffs in the 1980s (13) the professional and managerial ranks, leaving fewer people to get the job done. In lower-paid occupations, (14) wages have been reduced, workers have added hours (15) overtime or extra jobs to (16) their living standard. The Government estimates that more than seven million people hold a second job. For the first time, large (17) of people say they want to cut (18) on working hours, even if it means earning less money. But most employers are (19) to let them do so. The government which has stepped back from its traditional (20) as a regulator of work time, should take steps to make shorter hours possible.

单选题It's generally been said that history is written by the winners. This was never more true than on March 12, when the Texas board of education voted 10-5 in favour of curriculum standards that would promote conservative takes on controversial issues in the pages of the state's textbooks. The changes, expected to win final approval in May, include an increased emphasis on and sympathetic treatment of such Republican standards as the National Rifle Association and the Moral Majority. They also boast the advantage of capitalism and the role of Christianity in the nation's founding. Even Thomas Jefferson's profile will be reduced; some board members were less than fond of his ideas about the division of church and state. This is not Texas' first such skirmish. Since the 1970s, the state has tried to drop books that were seen as too liberal or anti-Christian, to omit passages on the gay-rights movement and to tone down global-warming arguments. But the nation's battle over textbooks stretches back almost half a century earlier. In 1925, Tennessee's Butler Act (which was abolished in 1967) made it illegal to teach " any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible. " The Scopes " monkey trial" famously followed. In 1974, a clash erupted in Kanawba County, West Virginia, over the controversial writings of such authors as George or well, Arthur Miller and Allen Ginsberg, Opposition was so heated that some schools were firebombed. As one of America's largest textbook buyers, the Longhorn State has a good deal of sway over what is sold to schools nationwide. And while Napoleon may have maintained that " history is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon, " getting Texans to come together on the past may prove to be their Waterloo.

单选题The purpose of holding a robot race is to

单选题 It is often observed that the aged spend much time thinking and talking about their past lives,{{U}} (1) {{/U}}about the future. These reminiscences are not simply random or trivial memories,{{U}} (2) {{/U}}is their purpose merely to make conversation. The old person’s recollections of the past help to{{U}} (3) {{/U}}an identity that is becoming increasingly fragile:{{U}} (4) {{/U}}any role that brings respect or any goal that might provide{{U}} (5) {{/U}}to the future, the individual mentions his past as a reminder to listeners, that here was a life{{U}} (6) {{/U}}living.{{U}} (7) {{/U}}, the memories form part of a continuing life{{U}} (8) {{/U}}, in which the person{{U}} (9) {{/U}}the events and experiences of the-years gone by and{{U}} (10) {{/U}}on the overall meaning of his or her own almost completed life. As the life cycle{{U}} (11) {{/U}}to its close, the aged must also learn to accept the reality of their own impending death.{{U}} (12) {{/U}}this task is made difficult by the fact that death is almost a{{U}} (13) {{/U}}subject in the United States. The mere discussion of death is often regarded as{{U}} (14) {{/U}}.As adults many of us find the topic frightening and are{{U}} (15) {{/U}}to think about it — and certainly not to talk about it{{U}} (16) {{/U}}the presence of someone who is dying. Death has achieved this taboo{{U}} (17) {{/U}}only in the modern industrial societies. There seems to bean important reason for our reluctance to{{U}} (18) {{/U}}the idea of death. It is the very fact that death remains{{U}} (19) {{/U}}our control; it is almost the only one of the natural processes{{U}} (20) {{/U}}is so.

单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} With a series of well-timed deals, private-equity firms are giving traditional mediamanagers cause to be envious, The Warner Music transaction, in which Edgar Bronfman junior and three private-equity firms paid Time Warner $ 2.6 billion for the unit in 2003, is already judged a financial triumph for the buyers. Their success is likely to draw still more private-equity into the industry. And the investments are likely to get bigger: individual privateequity funds are growing—a $10 billion fund is likely this year—so even the biggest media firms could come within range, especially ff private-equity investors club together, Some private-equity firms have long put money in media assets, but mostly reliable, relatively obscure businesses with stable cash flows. Now, some of them are placing big strategic bets on the more volatile bits, such as music and movies. And they are currently far more confident than the media old guard that the advertising cycle is about to turn sharply upwards. One reason why private-equity is making its presence felt in media is that it has a lot of money to invest. Other industries are feeling its weight too. But private-equity's buying spree (狂购乱买) reveals a lot about the media business in particular. Media conglomerates (联合公司) lack the confidence to make big acquisitions, after the last wave of deals went wrong. Executives at Time Warner, for instance, which disastrously merged with AOL in 2000, wanted to buy MGM, a movie studio, but the board (it is said) were too nervous. Instead, private-equity firms combined with Sony, a consumer-electronics giant, to buy MGM late last year. Private-equity's interest also reflects the fact that revenue growth in media businesses such as broadcast TV and radio is now hard to come by. The average annual growth rate for 12 categories of established American media businesses in 1998-2003, excluding the internet, was just 3.4% , says Veronis Suhler Stevenson, an investment bank. Private-equity puts a higher value on low-growth, high cashflow assets than the public stockmarket, says Jonathan Nelson, founder of Providence Equity Partners, a media-focused private-equity firm. What private-equity men now bring to the media business, they like to think, is financial discipline plus an enthusiastic attitude towards new technology. Old-style media managers, claim the newcomers, are still in denial about how technology is transforming their industry. Traditional media managers grudgingly agree that, so far, private-equity investors are doing very nicely indeed from their entertainment deals. The buyers of Warner Music have already got back most of their $ 2.6 billion from the farm by cutting costs, issuing debt and making special payouts to shareholders. This year, its investors are expected to launch an initial public offering, which could bring them hundreds of millions more.

单选题An attempt on the part of the author of this passage to give a more informal tone to his writing occurs in ______.