单选题 Back in the .16th century, political plays were all about men. Not now. For some time, American female playwrights have followed the{{U}} (1) {{/U}}of Wendy Wasserstein, a 50-year-old Brooklyn-born dramatist, whose work has focused{{U}} (2) {{/U}}family drama and personal{{U}} (3) {{/U}}. Overtly political plays were considered{{U}} (4) {{/U}}and unfashionable. But this is no longer so often the{{U}} (5) {{/U}}. A new generation of female playwrights{{U}} (6) {{/U}}tackling such subjects{{U}} (7) {{/U}}racism, rape and apartheid. The quality of these plays has varied{{U}} (8) {{/U}}. The best{{U}} (9) {{/U}}their subjects with nuance and subtlety, while it is the more controversial pr6ductions{{U}} (10) {{/U}}fall flat. With topical issues now the stuff 0fshallow, made-for-television movies, audiences are looking to the theatre for something more{{U}} (11) {{/U}}. Rebecca Gilman's previous play, "Spinning into Butter", dealt with white racism in academia; her current drama, "Boy Gets Girl", gives a feminist take on male searching and objeetificati6n of women. Kia Corthron has three plays, including "Force Continuum",{{U}} (12) {{/U}}with racial issues{{U}} (13) {{/U}}or coming to the New York stage this year. But perhaps the most{{U}} (14) {{/U}}recent play on political themes to{{U}} (15) {{/U}}is "The Syringa Tree", a one-woman show about segregation in South Africa in the 1960s, written and{{U}} (16) {{/U}}by Pamela Glen.{{U}} (17) {{/U}}the play had trouble{{U}} (18) {{/U}}an audience when it{{U}} (19) {{/U}}in September last year, critical acclaim and persistent word-of-mouth followed, gradually{{U}} (20) {{/U}}to make "The Syringa Tree" one of the city's most popular offerings.

单选题For health insurance, the United States has taken the road less traveled. The United States is the only rich country without universal health insurance. People in the United States spend the most, rely heavily on the private sector, and obtain care from the world's most complicated delivery system. While some supporters have expressed satisfaction, if not pride, in these remarkable qualities, others contend that the United States faces unique limitations in reforming health care. In her exceptional book,Parting at the Crossroads, Antonia Maioni compares the formation of the U.S. and Canadian health-care systems for the years 1930—1960. The United States and Canada are often considered the most similar of Western democracies. They share a common border, are wealthy, and have federal government. Their trade unions are only moderately powerful, and their populations are diverse and young. Nevertheless, their heath-insurance systems are nearly opposite. The United States relies on a mix of government plans. Targeted to the elderly and indigent, and employment based plans, which the government indirectly supports, Canada offers public health insurance to all qualified resident, with the private sector providing supplementary services in some provinces. Labor organizations became strong advocates for health-insurance reform in both countries. Their impact partially depended on political institutions and how other actors, particularly organized medicine, wielded them. Canada's governmental and electoral systems allowed labor to cooperate with a social democratic party in the Saskatchewan province, which established a universal program. The Saskatchewan program demonstrated universal insurance feasibility, spurring the dominant Liberals to introduce a national universal program. In contrast, the U. S. electoral system effectively precluded third-party formation, forcing organized labor to dilute its health-insurance goals because it was one of many interests represented by the Democratic Party. Maioni suggests that economic vitality is important for the future of both countries' systems, but the prognosis is uncertain. Despite recent concerns about the Canadian government's budgetary health, Maioni contends that widespread support protects universal insurance. Conversely, Maioni seems pessimistic about options for U.S. universal health insurance. Despite economic buoyancy, dissension will likely prevent reforms. Although a devastating econmnic downturn would make health finance difficult in either country, the U.S. system seems especially vulnerable. Employment-based insurance and Medicare both rely on labor market attachment. High, chronic unemployment could result in coverage loss and financial difficulties for employer insurance and Medicare, swelling the uninsured pool. Such a crisis could provide an opening for universal health insurance. In any case, whether the United States relies on the public or private sector, escalating health expenditures figure into budget of government, corporations, and families, the U. S. health care system's future may depend on Americans" willingness to devote more of their national income to health care.

单选题There were two widely divergent influences on the early development of statistical methods. Statistics had a mother who was dedicated to keeping orderly records of governmental units (state and statistics come from the same Latin root, status) and a gentlemanly gambling father who relied on mathematics to increase his skill at playing the odds in games of chance. The influence of the mother on the offspring, statistics, is represented by counting, measuring, describing, tabulating, ordering, and the taking of censuses—all of which led to modem descriptive statistics. From the influence of the father came modem inferentical statistics, which is based squarely on theories of probability. Descriptive statistics involves tabulating, depicting, and describing collections of data. These data may be either quantitative, such as measures of height, intelligence, or grade level—variables that are characterized by an underlying continuum or the data may represent qualitative variable, such as sex, college major, or personality type. Large masses of data must generally undergo a process of summarization or reduction before they are comprehensible. Descriptive statistics is tool for describing or summarizing or reducing to comprehensible form the properties of an otherwise unwieldy mass of data. Inferential statistics is a formalized body of methods for solving another class of problems that present great difficulties for the unaided human mind. This general class of problems characteristically involves attempts to make predictions using a sample of observations. For example, a school superintendent wishes to determine the proportion of children in a large school system who come to school without breakfast, have been vaccinated for flu, or whatever. Having a little knowledge of statistics, the superintendent would know that it is unnecessary and inefficient to question each child; the proportion for the entire district could be estimated fairly accurately from a sample of as few as 100 children. Thus, the purpose of inferential statistics is to predict or estimate characteristics of a population from knowledge of the characteristics of only a sample of the population.

单选题In determining the value of special protective labor legislation for women, what does the author consider most helpful?

单选题It can be inferred in the last paragraph that

单选题Any discussion of co-education or segregated education is bound to question the aims of education. Stuffing children's heads full of knowledge is (1) being foremost among them. One of the chief aims of education is to (2) future citizens with all they require to take their place in adult society. Now adult society is made up of men and women, (3) how can a segregated school possibly offer the right sort of preparation for it? Anyone entering adult society after years of (4) can only be in for a shock. A co-educational school offers children nothing less than a true version of society in (5) . Boys and girls are given the (6) to get to know each other, to learn to live together from their earliest years. They are put in a position where they can compare themselves with each other in terms of (7) ability, athletic achievement and many of the extracurricular (8) which are part of school life. What a (9) advantage it is (to give just a small example) to be able to (10) a school play in which the male parts will be taken by boys and the female parts by girls! But perhaps the greatest (11) of co-education is the healthy attitude to life it encourages. Boys don't grow up believing that women are (12) creatures, fairy goddesses, more like book (13) to a fairy tale, than human beings. Girls don't grow up (14) that men are romantic heroes. Years of living together at school dispel (15) of this kind. There are no goddesses with pigtails, (16) voices and inky fingers. There are no romantic heroes with knobbly knees, dirty fingernails and (17) hair. The awkward stage of adolescence brings into sharp (18) some of the physical and emotional problems (19) in growing up. These can better be (20) in a co-educational environment.

单选题Egyptian wine has an extensive history within the history of Egyptian civilization. Grapes were not (1) to the landscape of Egypt, rather the vines themselves are (2) to have been imported from the Phoenicians, (3) the actual origins remain in (4) . What is known, is that (5) the third millennium BC, Egyptian kings of the first (6) had extensive wine cellars, and wine was used extensively in the temple ceremonies. The main (7) of wine in Egypt, took place between the king, nobles, and the priests in temple ceremonies, and is (8) by numerous painted relief's, and other (9) evidence. The vineyards of ancient Egypt, were quite different from the modern methods of wine making today. (10) viticulture ( or wine making) ,ceased to (11) an exclusively ceremonial purpose, the Egyptians began to experiment with simple structures for their vines to train on, (12) found a way to train their vines so they were easy low (13) bushes, and found ways for the soil to (14) more moisture for the vines. Egyptian wine making experiments included Re use of different wine presses, adding heat to the must ( the grape juice ready for fermentation) (15) make the wine sweet, and differences in vat types and materials. The (16) finished product of wine, was poured through a cloth falter, and then into earthenware jars, (17) they would be sealed with natural tar and left to (18) . The Egyptians kept accurate records of their vintages, and (19) of their wines, each jar of wine was clearly (20) with it' s own vintage, and quality.

单选题As colleges and universities send another wave of graduates out into the world this spring, thousands of other job seekers with liberal-arts degrees like Martin's find themselves in a similar bind. True enough, this is an era of record-breaking lows in unemployment. But technology companies, which are contributing the lion's share of new jobs, are simultaneously declaring a shortage of qualified workers. The emphasis is on the word qualified. It's no surprise that high-tech companies rarely hire liberal-arts graduates. "Our P.R. people, our marketers, even our attorneys have technical talent," says Tracy Koon, director of corporate affairs at Intel. The need for technical expertise is so pervasive that even retailers are demanding such skills. "Company-wide, we're looking for students with specific information-systems skills," says David McDearmon, director of field human resources at Dollar Tree Stores. "Typically we shy away from independent college students who don't have them." Fortunately for Martin, some invaluable help was at hand when he needed it. The Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, a network of 15 liberal-arts colleges in the state, has teamed up with local companies to bridge the learning gap faced by its members' graduates. VFIC invited 30 companies, including First Union and Electronic Data Systems, to link the needs of businesses with the skills being taught in college classrooms. With grants from corporate sponsors like AT&T, VFIC asked 20 information-technology managers to help its members create an exam, based on the work students will be expected to do in the real world, to test and certify their technological proficiency. The result, Tek-Xam, is an eight-part test that requires students to design a website, build and analyze spreadsheets, research problems on the Internet and demonstrate understanding of legal and ethical issues. Says Linda Dalch, president of VFIC: "If an art-history major wants a job at a bank, he needs to prove he has the skills. That's where this credential can help." This year 245 students at VFIC's member colleges have gone through the program. The long-term hope is that Tek-Xam will win the same kind of acceptance as the LSAT or CPA for law or accounting students. "To know a student has taken the initiative and passed could mean that less training is needed," explains John Rudin, chief information officer at Reynolds Metals, one of the corporations that helped create the test. All this begs an important question: Has the traditional liberal-arts curriculum become obsolete? College presidents naturally argue that the skills their schools provide are invaluable. A B.A. degree, says Mary Brown Bullock of Atlanta's Agnes Scott College, "gives graduates the ability to reinvent themselves time and time again...and the knowledge and thinking skills that transcend a particular discipline or time frame." Martin is finding that to be the truth. "It would be nice to have computer classes on my transcript," he says, but Tek-Xam has armed him with the power to learn those skills on his own—and a credential to show he has done so. He's now waiting to hear when his job as a network-support assistant for a large Boston firm will start.

单选题Medicine is considered the chief cause for ______.

单选题What basic problem are we told most trade unions face?

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. Space is a dangerous place, not only because of meteors (流星) but also{{U}} (1) {{/U}}rays from the sun and other stars. The atmosphere again{{U}} (2) {{/U}}as our protective blanket on earth. Lightgets through, and this is essential for plants to{{U}} (3) {{/U}}the food which we eat. Heat, too, makes our environment endurable. Various kinds of rays come through the air{{U}} (4) {{/U}}outer space, but enormous quantities of radiation from the sun are{{U}} (5) {{/U}}off. As soon as men leave the atmosphere they are{{U}} (6) {{/U}}to this radiation, but their space suits or the walls of their spacecraft, if they are inside,{{U}} (7) {{/U}}prevent a lot of radiation damage.{{U}} (8) {{/U}}is the greatest known danger to explorers in space. The unit of radiation is called "rem". Scientists have{{U}} (9) {{/U}}to think that a man can{{U}} (10) {{/U}}far more radiation than 0.1 ram without being damaged: the figure of 60 rems has been agreed on. The trouble is that it is extremely difficult to make{{U}} (11) {{/U}}about radiation damage—a person may feel perfectly well,{{U}} (12) {{/U}}the cells of his or her sex organs may be damaged, and this will{{U}} (13) {{/U}}be discovered until the birth of deformed children or even grandchildren. Missions of the Apollo flights have had to cross belts of high radiation and during the outward and return journeys, the Apollo crew{{U}} (14) {{/U}}a large amount of rems. So far; no{{U}} (15) {{/U}}amounts of radiation have been reported, but the Apollo missions have been quite short. We simply do not know yet how men are. going to{{U}} (16) {{/U}}when they spend weeks and months outside the{{U}} (17) {{/U}}of the atmosphere,{{U}} (18) {{/U}}in a space laboratory. Drugs might help to{{U}} (19) {{/U}}the damage done by radiation, but no really{{U}} (20) {{/U}}ones have been found so far.

单选题Why is the name Dean Barrow mentioned in this passage?

单选题No two economic crises are identical. But the same questions recur. How did we get into this mess? How can we get out ofit? How do we avoid another? Some answers repeat themselves too. You can be pretty sure that sooner or later someone, quite possibly an anguished economist, will declare that economics itself has gone astray. The wisdom of some past master, whether celebrated or neglected, has been forgotten, and the economy is paying the price. A new book, "Animal Spirits" follows this rule to the letter. The authors seek to answer the first of those three old questions and thus to provide some pointers about the other two. They do indeed believe that economics has lost its way. And their chosen economist is Keynes. So far, so familiar. But this book is rather more than the usual lament about the failings of economics. Its authors are two of the discipline"s leading lights. Mr. Akerlof won a Nobel prize in 2001, in part for a classic paper explaining how markets may fail. Mr. Shiller sounded a warning about the "Inational Exuberance" of the tech-boom stock market in a book of that name—and did the same for the housing market in a second edition. The lesson that Akerlof and Shiller draw from Keynes is not just the standard one, of the usefulness of deficit finance in recessions. They borrow their title from "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money". Most, probably, ofour decisions to do something positive, the full consequences of which will be drawn out over many days to come, can only be taken as a result of animal spirits—ofa spontaneous urge to action rather than inaction, and not as the outcome of the weighted average of quantitative benefits multiplied by quantitative probabilities. Too much economics, say Mr. Akerlof and Mr. Shiller, has been built on the premise that humans are rational calculators. That is not a new criticism, even from econonusts. Over the past couple of decades Homo Economicus has evolved into a being more like H. sapiens, as economics has drawn on psychology, biology and even neuroscience. "Behavioural" econonucs has shaped public policy—for instance, in encouraging people to save or in shaping the choice ofinvestments in their pension pots. Behavioural economists have eamed Nobel prizes. Mr. Akerlof and Mr. Shiller, however, complain that this evolution has been confined mainly to microeconomics. It is time for macroeconomics to catch up.

单选题It can be inferred from the passage that the author is ______.