单选题 Optimation Ltd. , a polymer packaging and converting specialist, is one small company that is suffering. Its highly specialised engineering work is in great demand but a lack of qualified staff has hindered growth. "We have a number of potential clients awaiting a visit to discuss new projects, but we are tied up on existing orders because we are short of the necessary skills on the shop floor," Helen Mitchell, the company's founder, says. And according to Alice Teague, the education and training officer at the Federation of Small Businesses, Ms. Mitchell's experience is not unique. Many small businesses suffer skill shortages--particularly those at the technical craft level such as engineering and construction companies. "Small companies tend to be more vulnerable to skill shortages because they are unable to offer the same pay or benefits as larger companies so they struggle in the recruitment market." This is borne out by the experiences of Optimation. "Last year, we lost one of our best engineers to a rival company who offered him a better package. Being able to afford the salaries such skills demand is difficult for us," Ms. Mitchell says. The government-funded Learning and Skills Council (LSC) says that apprenticeships offer a solution to the skill shortage problem. "By addressing skills gaps directly apprenticeships can make businesses, small or large, more productive and competitive," Stephen Gardner, the LSC's director of worked based learning, says. "Apprenticeships allow businesses to develop the specialist skills they need for the latest technology and working practices in their sector." There are 160 different apprenticeships available across 80 different industry sectors. They are open to businesses of all sizes and offer work-based training programmes for 16 to 24-year-olds. The training is run in conjunction with the Sector Skills Council to ensure industry specific skills are taught. Businesses are responsible for the wages of apprentices but the LSC contributes between ￡1,500 and ￡10,000 towards the cost of the training, depending on the industry sector. Slack ＆ Parr Ltd. , a manufacturer of precision equipment for the aerospace industry, is one small company that has benefited from the scheme. More than 50 percent of the Kegworth-based company's employees started as apprentices. "We opened an on-site training centre to ensure apprentices benefited from the highest quality of training," Richard Hallsworth, the managing director, says. "Sixteen of our former apprentices are now in management positions. The scheme works for us because it helps keep costly external recruitment to a minimum." But Ms. Teague of the FSB warns that apprenticeships might not suit all small businesses. The apprenticeship scheme offers valuable vocational training but often small companies don't have sufficient time or resources to devote to the apprentice. In the past there has also been a problem of poor quality candidates and low completion rates. "But some of these problems are being addressed. I know the Learning and Skills Council is looking at how small businesses might be able to share apprentices and so lessen the risk. Completion rates also seem to be improving so the scheme is certainly worth investigating. "

单选题The unique function of up-to-date technological devices lies in its

单选题An official report, addressing concerns about the many implications of genetic testing, outlined policy guidelines and legislative recommendations intended to avoid involuntary and/or ineffective testing, and to protect confidentiality. The report identified urgent concerns, such as quality control measures (including federal oversight for testing laboratories) and better genetics training for medical practitioners. It recommended voluntary screening, urged couples in high-risk populations to consider carrier screening, and advised caution in using and interpreting pre-symptomatic or predictive tests, because certain information could easily be misused or misinterpreted. About three in every 100 children are born with a severe disorder presumed to be genetic or partially genetic in origin. Genes, often in concert with environmental factors, are being linked to the causes of many common adult diseases such as heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), various cancers, Alzheimer"s disease, etc. Tests to determine predisposition to a variety of conditions are under study, and some are beginning to be applied. The report recommended that all screening, including screening of newborns, he voluntary. Citing the results of two different voluntary newborn screening programs, the report said these programs can achieve compliance rates equal to or better than those of obligatory programs. State health departments could eventually require the offering of tests for diagnosing treatable conditions in newborns, however, careful pilot studies for conditions diagnosable at birth need to be done first. Although the report asserted that it would prefer that all screening be voluntary, it did note that if a state requires newborn screening for a particular condition, the state should do so only if there is strong evidence that a newborn would benefit from effective treatment at the earliest possible age. Newborn screening is the most common type of genetic screening today. More than four million newborns are tested annually so that effective treatment can be started in a few hundred infants. Prenatal (preceding birth) testing can pose the most difficult issues. The ability to diagnose genetic disorders in the fetus (胎儿) far exceeds any ability to treat or cure them. Parents must be fully informed about risks and benefits of testing procedures, the nature and variability of the disorders they would disclose, and the options available if test results are positive. Obtaining informed consent—a process that would include educating participants, not just processing documents—would enhance voluntary participation. When offered testing, parents should receive comprehensive counseling, which should be nondirective. Relevant medical advice, however, is recommended for treatable or preventable conditions. Genetics also can predict whether certain diseases might develop later in life. For single-gene diseases, population screening should only be considered for treatable or preventable conditions of relatively high frequency. Children should be tested only for disorders for which effective treatments or preventive measures could be applied early in life.

单选题The title of the biography The American Civil War Fighting for the Lady could hardly be more provocative. Thomas Keneally, an Australian writer, is unapologetic. In labeling a hero of the American civil war a notorious scoundrel be switches the spotlight from the brave actions of Dan Sickles at the battle of Gettysburg to his earlier premeditated murder, of the lover of his young and pretty Italian-American wife, Teresa. It is not the murder itself that disgusts Mr Keneally but Sickles's treatment of his wife afterwards, and how his behavior mirrored the hypocritical misogyny of 19th-century America. The murder victim, Philip Barton Key, Teresa Sickles's lover, came from a famous old southern family. He was the nephew of the then chief justice of the American Supreme Court and the son of the writer of the country's national anthem. Sickles, a Tammany Hall politician in New York turned Democratic congressman in Washington, shot Key dead in 1859 at a corner of Lafayette Square, within shouting distance of the White House. But the murder trial was melodramatic, even by the standards of the day. With the help of eight lawyers, Sickles was found not guilty after using the novel plea of "temporary insanity". The country at large was just as forgiving, viewing Key's murder as a gallant crime of passion. Within three years, Sickles was a general on the Unionist side in the American civil War and, as a new friend of Abraham and Mary Lincoln, a frequent sleepover guest at the White House. Mrs Sickles was less fortunate. She was shunned by friends she had made as the wife of a rising politician. Her husband, a serial adulterer whose many mistresses included Queen Isabella Ⅱ of Spain and the madam of an industrialized New York whorehouse, refused to be seen in her company. Laura, the Sickles's daughter, was an innocent victim of her father's vindictiveness and eventually died of drink in the Bowery district of New York. Sickles's bold actions at Gettysburg are, in their own way, just as controversial. Argument continues to rage among scholars, as to whether he helped the Union to victory or nearly caused its defeat when he moved his forces out of line to occupy what he thought was better ground. James Longstreet, the Confederate general who led the attack against the new position, was in no doubt about the brilliance of the move. Mr Keneally is better known as a novelist. Here he shows himself just as adept at biography, and achieves both his main aims. He restores the reputation of Teresa Sickles, "this beautiful, pleasant and intelligent girl", and breathes full and controversial life into a famous military engagement.

单选题Since the 1930s, the idea that creatures might advertise their " fitness " as mates through symmetry has been around. It rests on the notion that factors ranging from bad genes to coming off worse in too many fights will lead to asymmetries others can see. And over the past few years, experiments with animals and humans seemed to support the idea that symmetry in features such as plumage and facial characteristics influences mate selection. But no one had actually checked that the animals in these experiments can actually see the subtle differences in symmetry, typically of between 1 and 2 percent. Now the first such experiment has been carried out. The results are worrying for advocates of symmetry detection as a powerful factor in mate selection. John Swaddle, an ethnologist at the University of Bristol, performed the experiment using wild starlings, which have excellent eyesight. He trained them to hit keys marked with bar patterns with varying levels of asymmetry in order to receive food rewards. This showed the starlings could easily detect asymmetries of between 5 and 10 percent. But at between 1 and 2 percent, their performance plummeted to no better than random guessing. " This suggests that the levels of asymmetry that birds encounter in nature will often be just too small to be detected, " says Swaddle. He says experiments that linked small asymmetries to fitness may have produced misleading correlations, and says the only direct evidence that birds use asymmetry as a cue to mate fitness involves levels of asymmetry of at least 10 percent. " I think signaling by asymmetry will probably only occur when species show such very large asymmetries—and this doesn't occur that often. " This raises questions about research suggesting that humans are influenced by visual asymmetry in their choice of partner. Michael Butt of the Perception Laboratory at the University of St. Andrews, who has carried out such experiments, concedes that no one has ever checked if humans have a threshold to asymmetry detection. He thinks a conclusive test of this would probably involve manipulating complex three-dimensional images: " It would be a very difficult experiment to do " Burt adds that the abilities of animals to detect asymmetry in bar patterns may not reflect their talent for spotting asymmetries in body shape. " The visibility of an asymmetry may well depend on its type, " he says. Swaddle agrees, and is planning further experiments. " But I suspect that asymmetry is used as a visual cue less often than most people appear to presume, " he warns.

单选题Which of the following best expresses the function of the first paragraph in relation to the passage as a whole?

单选题Shopping has always been something of an impulse activity, in which objects that catch our fancy while strolling are immediately bought on a whim. Advertisers and sellers have taken advantage of this fact, carefully positioning inexpensive but attractive items on paths that we are most likely to cross, hoping that our human nature will lead to a greater profit for them. With the dawn of the Internet and its exploding use across the world, the same tactics apply. Advertisers now place "banners", links to commercial web sites decorated with attractive pictures designed to catch our eyes while browsing the webs, on key web sites with heavy traffic. They pay top dollar for the right, thus creating profits for the hosting web site as well. These actions are performed in the hopes that during the course of our casual and leisurely web surfing, we'll click on that banner that sparks our interest and thus, in theory, buy the products advertised. Initial results have been positive. Web sites report a huge inflow of cash, both from the advertisers who tempt customers in with the banners and the hosting web sites, which are paid for allowing the banners to be put in place. As trust and confidence in Internet buying increases and information security is heightened with new technology, the volume of buying is increasing, leading to even greater profits. The current situation, however, is not quite as optimistic. Just as magazine readers tend to unconsciously ignore advertisements in their favorite periodicals, web browsers are beginning to allow banners to slip their notice as well. Internet users respond to the flood of banners by viewing them as annoyances, a negative image that is hurting sales, since users are now less reluctant to click on those banners, preferring not to support the system that puts them in place. If Internet advertising is to continue to be a viable and profitable business practice, new methods will need to be considered to reinvigorate the industry. With the recent depression in the technology sector and slowing economy, even new practices may not do the trick. As consumers are saving more and frequenting traditional real estate businesses over their Internet counterparts, the fate of Internet business is called into question. The coming years will be the only reliable indication of whether shopping on the world wide web is the wave of the future or simply an impulse activity whose whim has passed.

单选题New claims for unemployment insurance dipped last week, suggesting that companies are laying off fewer workers as the budding economic recovery unfolds. The Labor Department reported on Thursday that for the work week ending April 27, new claims for jobless benefits went down by a seasonally adjusted 10,000 to 418,000, the lowest level since March 23．In another report, orders to U. S. factories rose for the fourth straight month, a solid 0.4 percent rise in March. The figure was largely boosted by stronger demand for unendurable goods, such as food, clothes, paper products and chemicals. Total unendurable goods were up 1.6 percent in March, the biggest increase in two years. Orders also rose for some manufactured goods, including metals, construction machinery, household appliances and defense equipment. The report reinforces the view that the nation's manufacturers-which sharply cut production and saw hundreds of thousands of jobs evaporate during the recession-are on the comeback trail. Stocks were rising again on Thursday. In the first half-four of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 43 points and the Nasdaq index was up 14 points. In the jobless-claims report, even with the decline, a government analyst said, the level was inflated as a result of a technical fluke. The distortion is coming from a requirement that laid-off workers seeking to take advantage of a federal extension for benefits must summit new claims. Congress recently passed legislation signed into law by President Bush that provided a 13-week extension of jobless benefits. The fluck has clouded the layoffs picture for several weeks. But the government analyst said the refilling requirement is having much less of an effect on the claims numbers than in previous weeks. The more stable four-week moving average of new claims, which smoothes out weekly fluctuation, also fell last week to 435750, the lowest level since the beginning of April. But the number of workers continuing to receive unemployment benefits rose to 3.8 million for the work week ending April 20, evidence that people who are out of work are having trouble finding new jobs. Economists predict that job growth won't be strong enough in the coming months to prevent the nation's unemployment rate-now at 5.7 percent-from rising. Many economists are forecasting a rise in April's jobless rate to 5.8 percent and estimating that businesses added around 55,000 jobs during the month. The government will release the April employment report on Friday. Even as the economy bounces back from recession, some economists expect the jobless rate will peak to just over 6 percent by June. That is because companies will be reluctant to quickly hire back laid-off workers until they are assured the recovery is here to stay. Given the fledging rebound, many economists expect the Federal Reserve to leave short-term interest rates-now at 40-year lows-unchanged when it meets on May 7．The Fed adjusted interest rates 11 times in a row last year to rescue the economy from recession, which began in May 2001.

单选题Crying is hardly an activity encouraged by society. Tears, whether they are of sorrow, anger, or joy, typically make Americans feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. The shedder of tears is likely to apologize, even when a devastating tragedy was the provocation. The observer of tears is likely to do everything possible to put an end to the emotional outpouring. But judging from recent studies of crying behavior, links between illness and crying and the chemical composition of tears, both those responses to tears are often inappropriate and may even be counterproductive . Humans are the only animals definitely known to shed emotiomal tears. Since evolution has given rise to few, if any, purposeless physiological responses, it is logical to assume that crying has one or more functions that enhance survival. Although some observers have suggested that crying is a way to elicit assistance from others (as a crying baby might from its mother), the shedding of tears is hardly necessary to get help. Vocal cries would have been quite enough, more likely than tears to gain attention. So, it appears, there must be something special about tears themselves. Indeed, the new studies suggest that emotional tears may play a direct role in alleviating stress. University of Minnesota researchers who are studying the chemical composition of tears have recently isolated two important chemicals from emotional tears. Both chemicals are found only in tears that are shed in response to emotion. Tears shed because of exposure to cut onion would contain no such substance. Researchers at several other institutions are investigating the usefulness of tears as a means of diagnosing human ills and monitoring drugs. At Tulane University"s Tear Analysis Laboratory Dr. Peter Kastl and his colleagues report that they can use tears to detect drug abuse and exposure to medication, to determine whether a contact lens fits properly of why it may be uncomfortable, to study the causes of "dry eye" syndrome and the effects of eye surgery, and perhaps even to measure exposure to environmental pollutants. At Columbia University Dt. Liasy Faris and colleagues are studying tears for clues to the diagnosis of diseases away from the eyes. Tears can be obtained painlessly without invading the body and only tiny amounts are needed to perform highly refined analyses.

单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} The majority of successful senior managers do not closely follow the classical rational model of first clarifying goals, assessing the problem, formulating options, estimating likelihood of success, making a decision, and only then taking action to implement the decision. Rather, in their day-by-day tactical activities, these senior executives rely on what is vaguely termed "intuition" to manage a network of interrelated problems that require them to deal with ambiguity, inconsistency, novelty, and surprise; and to integrate action into the process of thinking. Generations of writers on management have recognized that some practicing managers rely heavily on intuition. In general, however, such writers display a poor grasp of what intuition is. Some see it as the opposite of rationality; others view it as an excuse of capriciousness. Isenberg's recent research on the cognitive processes of senior managers reveals that managers' intuition is neither of these. Rather, senior managers use intuition in at least five distinct ways. First, they intuitively sense when a problem exists. Second, managers rely on intuition to perform well-learned behavior patterns rapidly. This intuition is not arbitrary or irrational, but is based on years of painstaking practice and personal experience that build skills. A third function of intuition is to synthesize isolated bits of data and practice into an integrated picture, often in an "Aha!" experience. Fourth, some managers use intuition as a check on the results of more rational analysis. Most senior executives are familiar with the formal decision analysis models and tools, and those who use such systematic methods for reaching decisions are occasionally suspicious of solutions suggested by these methods which run counter to their sense of the correct course of action. Finally, managers can use intuition to bypass in-depth analysis and move rapidly to find out a plausible solution. Used in this way, intuition is an almost instantaneous cognitive process in which a manager recognizes familiar patterns. One of the implications of the intuitive style of executive management is that "thinking" is inseparable from acting. Since managers often "know" what is right before they can analyze and explain it, they frequently act first and explain later. Analysis is invariably tied to action in thinking/acting cycles, in which managers develop thoughts about their companies and organizations not by analyzing a problematic situation and then acting, but by acting and analyzing in close concert. Given the great uncertainty of many of the management issues that they face, senior managers often initiate a course of action simply to learn more about an issue. They then use the results of the action to develop a more complete understanding of the issue. One implication of thinking/acting cycles is that action is often part of defining the problem, not just of implementing the solution. (454 words){{B}}Notes:{{/B}} capriciousness 多变，反复无常。run counter to 与……背道而驰；违反。bypass 绕过。in close concert一齐，一致。given prep.考虑到，由于。

单选题Why has President Bush's ban on lie detector evidence in military courts in 1991 been overturned?______

单选题{{B}}Text 3{{/B}} Opinion polls are now beginning to show an unwilling general agreement that, whoever is to blame and whatever happens from now on, high unemployment is probably here to stay. This means we shall have to find ways of sharing the available employment more widely. But we need to go further. We must ask some fundamental questions about the future of work. Should we continue to treat employment as the norm? Should we not create conditions in which many of us can work for ourselves, rather than for an employer? Should we not aim to revive the household and the neighbourhood, as well as the factory and the office, as centres of production and work? The industrial age has been the only period of human history in which most people' s work has taken the form of jobs. The industrial age may now be coming to an end, and some of the changes in work patterns which it brought about may have to be reversed. This seems a discouraging thought. But, in fact, it could offer the prospect of a better future for work. Universal employment, as its history shows, has not meant economic freedom. Employment became widespread when the enclosures of the 17th and 18th centuries made many people dependent on paid work by depriving them of the use of the land, and thus of the means to provide a living for themselves. Then the factory system destroyed the cottage industries and removed work from people's homes, Later, as transport improved, first by rail and then by road, people travelled longer distances to their places of employment until, eventually, many people's work lost all connection with their home lives and places in which they lived. Meanwhile, employment put women at a disadvantage. It became customary for the husband to go out paid employment, leaving the unpaid work of the home and family to his wife. All this may now have to change. The time has certainly come to switch some effort and resources away from the impractical goal of creating jobs for all, to the urgent practical task of helping many people to manage without full-time jobs.

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. The world religion is derived from the Latin noun religion, which denotes both{{U}} (1) {{/U}} observance of ritual obligations and an inward spirit of reverence. In modern usage, religion covers a wide spectrum of{{U}} (2) {{/U}}that reflects the enormous variety of ways the term can be {{U}}(3) {{/U}}. At one extreme, many committed believers{{U}} (4) {{/U}}only their own tradition as a religion, understanding expressions such as worship and prayer to refer{{U}} (5) {{/U}}to the practices of their tradition. They may{{U}} (6) {{/U}}use vague or idealizing terms in defining religion,{{U}} (7) {{/U}}, true love of God, or the path of enlightenment. At the other extreme, religion may be equated with{{U}} (8) {{/U}}, fanaticism, or wishful thinking. By defining religion as a sacred engagement with what is taken to be a spiritual reality, it is possible to consider the importance of religion in human life without making{{U}} (9) {{/U}}about what is really is or ought to be. Religion is not an object with a single, fixed meaning, or {{U}}(10) {{/U}}a zone with clear boundaries. It is an aspect of human{{U}} (11) {{/U}}that may intersect, incorporate, or transcend other aspects of life and society. Such a definition avoid the drawbacks of{{U}} (12) {{/U}}the investigation of religion to Western or biblical categories{{U}} (13) {{/U}} monotheism or church structure, which are not{{U}} (14) {{/U}}. Religion in this understanding includes a complex of activities that cannot be{{U}} (15) {{/U}}to any single aspect of human experience. It is a part of individual life but also of{{U}} (16) {{/U}} dynamics. Religion includes not only patterns of language and thought. It is sometimes an {{U}}(17) {{/U}}part of a culture. Religious experience may be expressed{{U}} (18) {{/U}}visual symbols, dance and performance, elaborate philosophical systems, legendary and imaginative stories, formal {{U}}(19) {{/U}}, and detailed rules of some ways. There are as many forms of religious expression as there are human cultural{{U}} (20) {{/U}}.

单选题All the following tasks involve visual spatial skills EXCEPT ______.

单选题According to the text a well-established brand can serve as