单选题It can be seen from the passage that the Englishman' s. home has become his workshop NOT because ______.

单选题The statement "victory has many fathers and defeat is an orphan" (Para. 1) is used to introduce

单选题 The Catholic Church is changing in America at its most visible point: the parish church where believers pray, sing and clasp hands across pews to share the peace of God. Today there are fewer parishes and fewer priests than in 1990 and fewer of the nation's 65 million Catholics in those pews. And there's no sign of return. Some blame the explosive 2002 clergy sexual abuse scandal and its financial price tag. But a study of 176 Roman Catholic dioceses shows no statistically significant link between the decline in priests and parishes and the $ 772 million the church has spent to date on dealing with the scandal. Rather, the changes are driven by a constellation of factors: ·Catholics are moving from cities in the Northeast and Midwest to the suburbs, South and Southwest. ·For decades, so few men have become priests that one in five dioceses now can't put a priest in every parish. ·Mass attendance has fallen as each generation has become less religiously observant. ·Bishops--trained to bless, not to budget--lack the managerial skills to govern multimillion-dollar institutions. All these trends had begun years before the scandal piled on financial pressures to cover settlements, legal costs, care and counseling for victims and abusers. The Archdiocese of Boston, epicenter of the crisis, sold chancery property to cover $ 85 million in settlements last year, and this year will close 67 churches and recast 16 others as new parishes or worship sites without a full-time priest. Archbishop Sean O'Malley has said the crisis and the {{U}}reconfiguration plan{{/U}} are "in no way" related. He cites demographic shifts, the priest shortage and aging, crumbling buildings too costly to keep up. Fargo, N. D. , which spent $ 821,000 on the abuse crisis, will close 23 parishes, but it's because the diocese is short of more than 50 priests for its 158 parishes, some with fewer than a dozen families attending Mass. They know how this ~eels in Milwaukee. That archdiocese shuttered about one in five parishes from 1995 to 2003. The city consolidations "gave some people who had been driving back into the city from new homes in the suburbs a chance to say they had no loyalty to a new parish and begin going to one near their home,' says Noreen Welte, director of parish planning for the Milwaukee Archdiocese. "It gave some people who already were mad at the church for one reason or another an excuse to stop going altogether. "

单选题The second paragraph is used to

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. It is often observed that the aged spend much time thinking and talking about their past lives, rather than about the future. These reminiscences are not simply random or trivial memories,{{U}} (1) {{/U}}is their purpose merely to make conversation. The old person's recollections of the past help to{{U}} (2) {{/U}}an identity that is becoming increasingly fragile:{{U}} (3) {{/U}} any role that brings respect or any goal that might provide{{U}} (4) {{/U}}to the future, the individual mentions their{{U}} (5) {{/U}}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 old 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 be an 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. {{B}}Notes:{{/B}} reminiscence n. 回忆 fragile adj. 脆弱的。impending adj. 即将发生的。

单选题Adults’ motivational cognition may be stimulated by

单选题Advertising is a form of selling. For thousands of years there have been individuals who have tried to (1) others to buy the food they have produced or the goods they have made or the services they can (2) . But in the 19th century the mass production of goods (3) the Industrial Revolution made person-to-person selling inefficient. The mass distribution of goods that (4) the development of the highway made person-to-person selling (5) slow and expensive. At the same time, mass communication, first newspapers and magazines, (6) radio and television, made mass selling through (7) possible. The objective of any advertisement is to convince people that it is in their best (8) to take the action the advertiser is recommending. The action (9) be to purchase a product, use a service, vote for a political candidate, or (10) to join the Army. Advertising as a (11) developed first and most rapidly in the United States, the country that uses it to the greatest (12) . In 1980 advertising expenditure in the U.S. exceeded 55 billion dollars, or (13) 2 percent of the gross national product. Canada spent about 1.2 percent of its gross national product (14) advertising. (15) advertising brings the economies of mass selling to the manufacturer, it (16) benefits for the consumer (17) . Some of those economies are passed along to the purchaser so that the cost of a product sold primarily through advertising is usually far (18) than one sold through personal salespeople. Advertising (19) people immediate news about products that have just come on the market. Finally, advertising (20) for the programs on commercial television and radio and for about two thirds of the cost of publishing magazines and newspapers.

单选题These are tough times for Wal-Mart, America's biggest retailer. Long accused of (1) small-town America mad condemned for the selfishness of its pay, the company has lately come under (2) for its meanness over employees' health-care benefits. The charge is arguably (3) : the firm's health coverage, while (4) less extensive than the average for big companies, is on equal terms (5) other retailers'. But bad publicity, coupled with rising costs, has (6) the Bentonville giant to action. WalMart is making changes that should shift the ground in America's healthcare debate. One (7) is to reduce the prices of many generic, or out-of-patent, prescription drugs. Wal-Mart's critics dismiss the move as a publicity (8) . The list of drugs includes only 143 different medicines and excludes many popular group. True, but short-sighted. Wal-Mart has (9) retailing by using its size to squeeze suppliers and (10) the gains on to consumers. It could (11) the same with drugs. A "Wal-Mart effect" in drugs will not solve America's health-costs problem: group account for only a small share of drug costs, which in turn make (12) only 10% of overall health spending. But it would (13) . The firm's other initiative is more (14) . Wal-Mart is joining the small but fast-growing group of employers (15) are controlling costs by shifting to health insurance with high deductibles. Early evidence (16) these plans do help firms control the cost of health insurance. But critics say that the savings are (17) . They argue that the plans shift costs to sicker workers, discourage preventative care and will anyway do little to (18) overall health spending, (19) most of the $2 trillion that America (20) health care each year goes to people with multiple chronic diseases.

单选题This passage chiefly discusses ______.

单选题It was inevitable that any of President George W. Bush's fans had to be very disappointed by his decision to implement high tariffs on steel imported to the U.S. The president's defense was pathetic: He argued that the steel tariffs were somehow consistent with free trade, that the domestic industry was important and struggling, and that the relief was a temporary measure to allow time for restructuring. One reason that this argument is absurd is that U. S. integrated steel companies ("Big Steel") have received various forms of government protection and subsidy for more than 30 years. Instead of encouraging the industry to restructure, the long-term protection has sustained inefficient companies and cost U.S. consumers dearly. As Anne O. Krueger, now deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said in a report on Big Steel: "The American Big Steel industry has been the champion lobbyist and seeker of protection .... It provides a key and disillusioning example of the ability to lobby in Washington for measures which hurt the general public and help a very small group." Since 1950s, Big Steel has been reluctant to make the investments needed to match the new technologies introduced elsewhere. It agreed to high wages for its unionized labor force. Hence, the companies have difficulty in competing not only with more efficient producers in Asia and Europe but also with technologically advanced U. S. mini-mills, which rely on scrap metal as an input. Led by Nucor Cor. , these mills now capture about half of overall U. S. sales. The profitability of U. S. steel companies depends also on steel prices, which, despite attempts at protection by the U.S. and other governments, are determined primarily in world markets. These prices are relatively high as recently as early 2000 but have since declined with the world recession to reach the lowest dollar values of the last 20 years. Although these low prices are unfortunate for U.S. producers, they are beneficial for the overall U. S. economy. The low prices are also signal that the inefficient Big Steel companies should go out of business even faster than they have been. Instead of leaving or modernizing, the dying Big Steel industry complains that foreigners dump steels by selling at low prices. However, it is hard to see why it is bad for the overall U.S. economy if foreign producers wish to sell us their goods at low prices. After all, the extreme case of dumping is one where foreigners give us their steel for free and why would that be a bad thing?

单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness of the inadequacies of the judicial system in the United States. Costs are staggering both for the taxpayers and the litigants—and the litigants, or parties, have to wait sometimes many years before having their day in court. Many suggestions have been made concerning methods of ameliorating the situation, but as in most branches of government, changes come slowly. One suggestion that has been made in order to maximize the efficiency of the system is to allow districts that have an overabundance of pending cases to borrow judges from other districts that do not have such a backlog. Another suggestion is to use pretrial conferences, in which thejudge meets in his chambers with the litigants and their attorneys in order to narrow the issues, limit the witnesses, and provide for a more orderly trial. The theory behind pretrial conferences is that judges will spend leas time on each case and parties will more readily settle before trial when they realize the adequacy of their claims and their opponents' evidence. Unfortunately, at least one study has shown that pretrial conferences actually use more judicial time than they save, rarely result in pretrial settlements, and actually result in higher damage settlements. Many states have now established another method, small-claims courts, in which cases over small sums of money can be disposed of with considerable dispatch. Such proceedings cost the litigants almost nothing. In California, for example, the parties must appear before the judge without the assistance of counsel. The proceedings are quite informal and there is no pleading—the litigants need to make only a one-sentence statement of their claim. By going to this type of court, the plaintiff waives any right to a jury trial and the right to appeal the decision. In coming years, we can expect to see more and more innovations in the continuing effort to remedy a situation which must be remedied if the citizens who have valid claims are going to be able to have their day in court.

单选题Valentine's Day may come from the ancient Roman feast of Luperealia. (1) the fierce wolves roamed nearby, the old Romans called (2) the god Lupereus to help them. A festival in his (3) was held February 15th. On the eve of the festival the (4) of the girls were written on (5) paper and placed in jars. Each young man (6) a slip. The girl whose name was (7) was to be his sweetheart for the year. Legend (8) it that the holiday became Valentine's Day (9) a roman priest named Valentine. Emperor Claudius II (10) the Roman soldiers not to marry or become engaged. Claudius felt married soldiers would (11) stay home than fight. When Valentine (12) the Emperor and secretly married the young couples, he was put to death on February 14th, the (13) of Lupercalia. After his death, Valentine became a (14) . Christian priests moved the holiday from the 15th to the 14th---Valentine's Day. Now the holiday honors Valentine (15) of Lupercus. Valentine's Day has become a major (16) of love and romance in the modem world. The ancient god Cupid and his (17) into a lover's heart may still be used to (18) falling in love or being in love. But we also use cards and gifts, such as flowers Or jewelry, to do this. (19) to give flower to a wife or sweetheart on Valentine's Day can sometimes be as (20) as forgetting a birthday or a wedding anniversary.

单选题What does "First Nations" refer to?