单选题What is considered to be bad news for Gulf War veterans?______

单选题The phrase "Hubbert's Peak" (Line 9, Paragraph 1) here refers to

单选题Naturalism believes that

单选题{{B}}Part A{{/B}}Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D． {{B}}Text 1{{/B}} No doll outshines Barbie's celebrity. If all the Barbies and her family members-Skipper, Francie and the rest-sold since 1959 were placed head to toe, they would circle the Earth more than seven times. And sales are sure to boom in 2009, when the fashion doll celebrates her 50th birthday on March 9th. Barbie will star at an array of global events honouring her milestone, possibly including a glitzy affair at New York's Fashion Week in February (most of the world's top fashion designers, from Givenchy to Alexander McQueen, have designed haute couture for her). On her birthday, Mattel, the company that makes her, will launch a souvenir doll honouring the original Barbie in her black-and-white striped swimsuit and perfect ponytail. It will be available for purchase only that one day. Another Golden Anniversary doll targets collectors. Barbie fans have planned hundreds of events, including the National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention in Washington, DC, which is already sold out. When Ruth Handler created Barbie in 1959, a post-war culture and economy thrived but girls still played with baby dolls. These toys limited the imagination; so Handler introduced Barbie the Teen-Age Fashion Model, named after her daughter, Barbara. Jackie Kennedy soon sashayed onto the world stage and Barbie already had a wardrobe fit for a first lady. Barbie bestowed on girls the opportunity to dream beyond suburbia, even if Ken at times tagged along. Barbie entranced Europe in 1961 and now sells in 150 countries. Every second three Barbies are sold around the world. Her careers are myriad-model, astronaut, Olympic swimmer, palaeontologist and rock star, along with 100 others, including president. Like any political candidate, controversy hit Barbie in 1992 when Teen Talk Barbie said "Math class is tough" and girls' education became a national issue. She has been banned (in Saudi Arabia), tortured (by pre-teen girls, according to researchers at the University of Bath's School of Management) and fattened (in 1997). Feminists continue to bash Barbie, claiming that her beauty and curves treat women as objects. But others see her as a pioneer trendsetter, crashing the glass ceiling long before Hillary Clinton cracked it. High-tech entertainment now attracts girls and Barbie also faces fierce competition from various copycats including the edgier, but less glare, Bratz dolls. The Bratz suffered a setback in 2008．Mattel sued MGA Entertainment, Bratz's producer, for copyright infringement. A judge awarded Mattel $100 million in damages. Mattel has smartly ensured that Barbie products reflect current trends. Through two Barbie websites, girls can design clothes, network and play games. The pink Barbie brand is licensed for products from DVDs and MP3 players to bicycles and even 24-carat gold and crystal jewellery. Barbie collectors fuel an entire global industry on eBay and at conventions. To entice collectors, Mattel regularly releases pricey limited-edition dolls based on characters in films and popular culture. Industry analysts believe Barbie will remain a bestselling and lasting icon regardless of competition. "Barbie's been out in the world and had fun, and she's ready for her second career," says Rachel Weingarten, a pop culture expert. "I don't see her adopting five children from five different countries, but I could see Barbie with a conscience, activist Barbie. " At 50 Barbie will also be a marvel of plastic surgery and eternal youth. And she still knows how to party.

单选题Africa's elephants are divided between the savannahs of eastern and southern Africa and the forests of central Africa. Some biologists reckon the forest ones-smaller, with shorter, straighter tusks-may even constitute a distinct species. But not for long, at the latest rate of poaching. The high price of ivory is increasing the incentive to kill elephants everywhere in Africa, and especially in places where there is virtually no law. The latest reports suggest that the forest elephant population is collapsing on the back of rising Chinese demand for ivory. Some conservationists argue that a recent decision by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to auction 108 tonnes of stockpiled ivory from southern Africa may be prompting more poaching in central and eastern Africa, as criminals seek to mix illicit ivory in with the legitimate kind. But some economists maintain that the legitimate sale of ivory lowers prices, thus decreasing the incentive to poach. A study of a previous sale of ivory suggested it did not lead to more intensive poaching. Either way, the Congo basin is " hemorrhaging elephants ", says TRAFFIC, which monitors trade in wildlife. The head of the 790,000-hectare (1,952,000-acre) Virunga National Park in eastern Congo, Emmanuel de Merode, reports that 24 elephants have been poached in his park so far this year. The situation is dire: 2,900 elephants roamed Virunga when Congo became independent in 1964,400 in 2006, and fewer than 200 today. Most have been poached by militias, particularly Hutu rebels from Rwanda who hack off the ivory and sell it to middlemen in Kinshasa, Congo's capital, who then smuggle it to China. Once ivory has left its country of origin, and if it is not seized by customs officials, it can be hard to identify its source and those responsible for acquiring it. But forensic help may be at hand. Scientists from the University of Washington are using genetic markers in elephant dung to identify exactly where ivory has been poached. This should help governments in countries such as Tanzania and Zambia, which are capable of catching poachers, but not in anarchic eastern Congo, where 120-odd rangers have been killed in Virunga in recent years trying to protect elephants and gorillas. With an influx of businessmen and other officials from China engaged in infrastructure projects such as road building and logging, the slaughter is expected to accelerate. Forest elephants may survive in large numbers only in remote protected pockets of the Congo basin, such as the Odzala-Koukoua National Park in Congo-Brazzaville and Minkebe National Park in northeast Gabon.

单选题{{B}}Directions:{{/B}}Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. Your eye is a window on the nerves and blood vessels, revealing vital information about your entire body. An{{U}} (1) {{/U}}exam starts from the outside and works in. First the ophthalmologist (眼科医生) gauges{{U}} (2) {{/U}}with the familiar wall chart and checks visual field by moving objects in and out of{{U}} (3) {{/U}}. A limited visual field could be the{{U}} (4) {{/U}}of the high inner eye pressure of glaucoma(青光眼)or{{U}} (5) {{/U}}a tumor pressing on nerves leading from the eye. The physician also checks for infection around the lashes and notes how fast the lids follow the eyes downward. Lid lag sometimes{{U}} (6) {{/U}}thyroid disease (甲状腺疾病). If one pupil contracts{{U}} (7) {{/U}}the other doesn't, the physician is{{U}} (8) {{/U}}to the fact that{{U}} (9) {{/U}}a tumor or stroke, perhaps, has damaged the nerves between the eye and brain. A tumor as far away{{U}} (10) {{/U}}the lung can cause capillary problems by hitting a nerve that loops through the neck. The white of the eye, tear ducts, lens and retina (视网膜) are checked for{{U}} (11) {{/U}}of trouble. Too many white blood cells{{U}} (12) {{/U}}inflammation, blood means tissue has tom or a vessel has burst, and deposits of{{U}} (13) {{/U}}material can mean eye disease. The orange-red retina holds many more{{U}} (14) {{/U}}for disease detection. High blood pressure may announce its{{U}} (15) {{/U}}by pushing the vessels off track at their intersections.{{U}} (16) {{/U}}vessel growth is a sign of diabetic retinopathy (糖尿病性视网膜病). Narrowed vessels may indicate{{U}} (17) {{/U}}of the arteries, and damage to tiny capillaries could be a sign of early diabetes. The doctor even examines the pin-head-size hole in the back of the optic nerve on their way to the brain.{{U}} (18) {{/U}}the appearance of these nerve fibers is abnormal, nerve tissue may have been damaged because of intraocular pressure, indicating glaucoma or the presence of a tumor. When a physician needs quick,{{U}} (19) {{/U}}information about the body, the eyes have{{U}} (20) {{/U}}.

单选题{{B}}Directions:{{/B}} Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C, and D on ANSWER SHEET 1. War may be a natural expression of biological instincts and drives toward aggression in the human species. Natural{{U}} (1) {{/U}}of anger, hostility, and territoriality are expressed{{U}} (2) {{/U}}acts of violence. These are all qualities that humans{{U}} (3) {{/U}}with animals. Aggression is a kind of{{U}} (4) {{/U}}survival mechanism, an instinct for self-preservation that{{U}} (5) {{/U}}animals to defend themselves from threats to their existence. But, on the other hand, human violent{{U}} (6) {{/U}}evidence of being a learned behavior. In the case of human aggression violence can not be {{U}} (7) {{/U}}reduced to an instinct. The many expressions of human violence are always conditioned by social conventions that give{{U}} (8) {{/U}}to aggressive behavior. In human societies violence has a social{{U}} (9) {{/U}}: It is a strategy for{{U}} (10) {{/U}}the powers of violence. We will look at the ritual and ethical patterns within which human violence has been{{U}} (11) {{/U}}. The violence within society is controlled through{{U}} (12) {{/U}}of law. The more developed a{{U}} (13) {{/U}}system becomes, the more society takes responsibility for the discovery, control, and punishment of violence acts. In most tribal societies the only{{U}} (14) {{/U}}to deal with an act of violence is revenge. Each family group may have the responsibility of personally carrying out judgment and punishment{{U}} (15) {{/U}}the person who committed the offense. But in legal systems, the responsibility for revenge becomes depersonalized and{{U}} (16) {{/U}}.The society assumes the responsibility for{{U}} (17) {{/U}}individuals from violence. In cases where they cannot be protected, the society is responsible for{{U}} (18) {{/U}}punishment. In a state controlled legal system, individuals are removed from the cycle of revenge{{U}} (19) {{/U}}by acts of violence, and the state assumes responsibility of their protection. The other side of a state legal apparatus is a state military apparatus.{{U}} (20) {{/U}}the one protects the individual form violence, the other sacrifices the individual to violence in the interests of the state.

单选题The first technological revolution in modern biology started when James Watson and Francis Crick described the structure of DNA half a century ago. That established the fields of molecular and cell biology, the basis of the biotechnology industry. The sequencing of the human genome nearly a decade ago set off a second revolution which has started to illuminate the origins of diseases. Now the industry is convinced that a third revolution is under way: the convergence of biology and engineering. A recent report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says that physical sciences have already been transformed by their adoption of information technology, advanced materials, imaging, nanotechnolugy and sophisticated modelling and simulation. Phillip Sharp, a Nobel prize-winner at that university, believes that those tools are about to be brought to bear on biology too. But the chances are that this will take time, and turn out to be more of a reformation than a revolution. The conventional health-care systems of the rich world may resist new technologies even as poor countries leapfrog ahead. There is already a backlash against genomics, which has been oversold to consumers as a deterministic science. And given soaring health-care costs, insurers and health systems may not want to adopt new technologies unless inventors can show conclusively that they will produce better outcomes and offer value for money. If these obstacles can be overcome, then the biggest winner will be the patient. In the past medicine has taken a paternalistic stance, with the all-knowing physician dispensing wisdom from on high, but that is becoming increasingly untenable. Digitisation promises to connect doctors not only to everything they need to know about their patients but also to other doctors who have treated similar disorders. That essential reform will enable many other big technological changes to be introduced. Just as important, it can make that information available to the patients too, empowering them to play a bigger part in managing their own health affairs. This is controversial, and with good reason. Many doctors, and some patients, reckon they lack the knowledge to make informed decisions. But patients actually know a great deal about many diseases, especially chronic ones like diabetes and heart problems with which they often live for many years. The best way to deal with those is for individuals to take more responsibility for their own health and prevent problems before they require costly hospital visits. That means putting electronic health records directly into patients’ hands.

单选题It"s not that we thought things were free. It"s just that this year there were no fixes to the messes we made—no underwater oil-well caps, no AIG bailouts, no reuniting the island castaways in a church and sending them to heaven. We had to idly watch things completely fall apart, making us feel so pathetic that planking seemed like a cool thing to do. This was the year of the meltdown. If a meltdown could happen at a nuclear reactor in Japan—a country so obsessed with keeping up to date that its citizens annually get new cell phones and a new Prime Minister—we should have known we were all doomed. Meltdowns happened to the most unlikely victims. Everyone was so vulnerable to meltdowns that even Canadians rioted, though they did it only so the rest of the world wouldn"t feel bad about their riots. It didn"t take a tsunami; anything could trigger a meltdown. Greece, a country so economically insignificant that its biggest global financial contribution to this century was that Nia Vardalos movie, sent the entire European economy into a meltdown. A meltdown of both the U.S. credit rating and Congress"s approval rating was unleashed over raising the debt ceiling, something so routine and boring. Sometimes, it didn"t take an actual sexual affair to ruin your promising political career. Sometimes, crises sprang out of tiny mistakes that usually have no consequences whatsoever, like that day in college when you went to a protest, charged a couple more things on your nearly maxed-out credit card and drunkenly told the pizza guy with all the dumb ideas that he should totally run for President. Well, when the entire country does that at once, you get a meltdown. There was even a meltdown of the once powerful American middle class. A year ago ours was still a country that pretended there was no class system, where rich people all called themselves "upper-middle class". Now we are full-on feudal, with an angry 99% and a 1% who actually understand the things which the 99% are inarticulately complaining about. The meltdown itself melted down when Occupy Wall Street protesters and police couldn"t agree on lawn care. It"s too late to cool the rods. We are either going to abandon the old structures altogether—nuclear power, the euro, Arab secular rule, unregulated capitalism—or wait a really long time for things to get better. We are finally going to have to choose between our modem love of constant drama and our modem laziness. I know which I"m betting on. Laziness has a really high melting point.

单选题According to the passage, newspaper is losing profits in job ads because

单选题The author's attitude toward "gossip" can be best described as______.

单选题 Energy will be one of the defining issues of this century. One thing is clear: the era of{{U}} (1) {{/U}}Oil is over. What we all do next will determine how well we meet the energy needs of the entire world in this century and{{U}} (2) {{/U}}.Demand is soaring like{{U}} (3) {{/U}}before. As populations grow and economies{{U}} (4) {{/U}}, millions in the developing world are enjoying the benefits of a lifestyle that{{U}} (5) {{/U}}increasing amounts of energy. In fact, some say that in 20 years the world will{{U}} (6) {{/U}}40% more oil than it does today. At the same time, many of the world's oil and gas fields are{{U}} (7) {{/U}}. And new energy discoveries are mainly occurring in places where resources are difficult to{{U}} (8) {{/U}}, physically, economically and even politically. When growing demand meets{{U}} (9) {{/U}}supplies, the result is more{{U}} (10) {{/U}}for the same resources. We can wait until a crisis forces us to do something.{{U}} (11) {{/U}}we can{{U}} (12) {{/U}}to working together, and start by asking the{{U}} (13) {{/U}}questions: How do we meet the energy needs of the developing world and those of industrialized nations? What role will renewables and{{U}} (14) {{/U}}energies play? What is the best way to protect our environment? How do we accelerate our conservation efforts? {{U}}(15) {{/U}}actions we take, we must look not just to next year,{{U}} (16) {{/U}}to the next 50 years. At Chevron, we believe that innovation, collaboration and conservation are the{{U}} (17) {{/U}}on which to build this new world. We cannot do this alone. Corporations, governments and every citizen of this planet must be part of the solution as{{U}} (18) {{/U}}as they are part of the problem. We{{U}} (19) {{/U}}scientists and educators, politicians and policy-makers, environmentalists, leaders of industry and each one of you to be part of{{U}} (20) {{/U}}the next era of energy.

单选题How many really suffer as a result of labor market problems? This is one of the most critical yet contentious social policy questions. In many ways, our social statistics exaggerate the degree of hardship. Unemployment does not have the same dire consequences today as it did in the 1930's when most of the unemployed were primary breadwinners, when income and earnings were usually much closer to the margin of subsistence, and when there were no countervailing social programs for those failing in the labor market. Increasing affluence, the rise of families with more than one wage earner, the growing predominance of secondary earners among the unemployed, and improved social welfare protection have unquestionably mitigated the consequences of joblessness. Earnings and income data also overstate the dimensions of hardship. Among the millions with hourly earnings at or below the minimum wage level, the over-whelming majority are from multiple earners, relatively affluent families. Most of those counted by the poverty statistics are elderly or handicapped or have family responsibilities which keep them out of the labor force, so the poverty statistics are by no means an accurate indicator of labor market pathologies. Yet there are also many ways our social statistics underestimate the degree of labor-market-related hardship. The unemployment counts exclude the millions of fully employed workers whose wages are so low that their families remain in poverty. Low wages and repeated or prolonged unemployment frequently interact to undermine the capacity for self-support. Since the number experiencing joblessness at some time during the year is several times the number unemployed in any month, those who suffer as a result of forced idleness can equal or exceed average annual unemployment, even though only a minority of the jobless in any month really suffer. For every person counted in the monthly unemployment tallies, there is another working part-time because of the inability to find fulltime work, or else outside the labor force but wanting a job. Finally, income transfers in our country have always focused on the elderly, disabled, and dependent, neglecting the needs of the working poor, so that the dramatic expansion of cash and in kind transfers does not necessarily mean that those failing in the labor market are adequately protected. As a result of such contradictory evidence, it is uncertain whether those suffering seriously as a result of thousands or the tens of millions, and, hence, whether high levels of joblessness can be tolerated or must be countered by job creation and economic stimulus. There is only one area of agreement in this debate—that the existing poverty, employment, and earnings statistics are inadequate for one of their primary applications, measuring the consequences of labor market problems.

单选题Psychologists______

单选题Ever since this government's term began, the attitude to teachers has been overshadowed by the mantra that good teachers cannot be rewarded if it means bad teachers are rewarded, too. That's why, despite the obvious need for them, big pay rises have not been awarded to teachers across the board. The latest pay rise was 3.6 percent--mad in the present situation. That's why, as well, the long battle over performance-related pay was fought as teacher numbers slid. The idea is that some kind of year zero can eventually be achieved whereby all the bad teachers are gone and only the good teachers remain. That is why the Government's attempts to relieve the teacher shortage have been so focused on offering incentives to get a new generation of teachers into training. The assumption is that so many of the teachers we have already are bad, that only by starting again can standards be raised. But the teacher shortage is not caused only because of a lack of new teachers coming into the profession. It is also because teaching has a retention problem, with many leaving the profession. These people have their reasons for doing so, which cannot be purely about wanting irresponsibly to "abandon" pupils more permanently. Such an exodus suggests that even beyond the hated union grandstanding, teachers are not happy. Unions and government appear to be in broad agreement that the shortage of teachers is a parlous state of affairs. Oddly, though, they don't seem entirely to agree that the reasons for this may lie in features of the profession itself and the way it is run. Instead, the Government is so suspicious of the idea that teachers may be able to represent themselves, that they have set up the General Teaching Council, a body that will represent teachers whether they want it to or not, and to which they have to pay ￡25 a year whether they want to or not. The attitudes of both sides promise to exacerbate rather than solve the problem. Teachers are certainly exacerbating the problem by stressing just how bad things are. Quite a few potential teachers must be put off. And while the Government has made quite a success of convincing the public that bad education is almost exclusively linked to bad teachers represented by destructive unions, it also seems appalling that in a survey last year, working hours for primary teachers averaged 53 hours per week, while secondary teachers clocked up 51 hours. At their spring conferences, the four major teaching unions intend to ballot their members on demanding from government an independent inquiry into working conditions. This follows the McCrone report in Scotland, which produced an agreement to limit hours to 35 per week, with a maximum class contact-time of 22 and a half hours. That sounds most attractive.