单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} Ours is a society that tries to keep the world sharply divided into masculine and feminine, not because that is the way the world is, but because that is the way we believe it should be. It takes unwavering belief and considerable effort to keep this division. It also leads us to make some fairly foolish judgments, particularly about language. Because we think that language also should be divided into masculine and. feminine we have become very skilled at ignoring anything that will not fit our preconceptions. We would rather change what we hear than change our ideas about the gender division of the world. We will call assertive girls unfeminine, and supportive boys effeminate, and try to ehan4ge them while still retaining our stereotypes of masculine and feminine talk. This is why some research on sex differences and language has been so interesting. It is an illustration of how wrong we can be. Of the many investigators who set out to find the stereotyped sex differences in language, few have had any positive results. It seems that our images of serious taciturn (沉黙的) male speakers and gossipy garrulous (饶舌的)female speakers are just that: images. Many myths associated with masculine and feminine talk have had to be discarded as more research has been undertaken. If females do use more trivial words than males, stop talking in mid-sentence, or talk about the same things over and over again, they do not do it when investigators are around. None of these characteristics of female speech have been found. And even when sex differences have been found, the question arises as to whether the differences is in the eye or ear of the beholder, rather than in the language. If males do not speak in high-pitched voices, it is not usually because they are unable to do so. The reason is more likely to be that there are penalties. Males with high-pitched voices are often the object of ridicule. But pitch is not an absolute, for what is considered the right pitch for males varies from country to country.

单选题The family is the center of most traditional Asians' lives. Many people worry about their families welfare, reputation, and honor. Asian families are often (1) , including several generations related by (2) or marriage living in the same home. An Asian person's misdeeds are not blamed just on the individual but also on the family—including the dead (3) . Traditional Chinese, among many other Asians, respect their elders and feel a deep sense of duty (4) them. Children repay their parents' (5) by being successful and supporting them in old age. This is accepted as a (6) part of life in China. (7) , taking care of the aged parents is often viewed as a tremendous (8) in the United States, where aging and family support are not (9) highly. (10) , in the youth-oriented United States, growing old is seen as a bad thing, and many old people do not receive respect. Filipinos, the most Americanized of the Asians, are (11) extremely family-oriented. They are (12) to helping their children and will sacrifice greatly for their children to get an education. (13) , the children are devoted to their parents, who often live nearby. Grown children who leave the country for economic reasons (14) send large parts of their income home to their parents. The Vietnamese family (15) people currently (16) as well as the spirits of the dead and of the as-yet unborn. Any (17) or actions are done fi'om family considerations, not individual desires. People's behavior is judged (18) whether it brings shame or pride to the family. The Vietnamese do not particularly believe in self-reliance; in this way, they are the (19) of people in the United States. Many Vietnamese think that their actions in this life will influence their (20) in the next life.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} Opportunities for water companies are flowing around the world because of looming shortages and decades of underinvestment. Saudi Arabia and Algeria, where water shortages have become acute, are placing billions of dollars of contracts out to bid to improve water supplies for their growing populations. The trend is expected to grow, as 40% of the world's population will suffer water shortages by 2050, according to the United Nations Development Program. Global warming is expected to exacerbate the problem. Saudi Arabia began privatizing water services after shortages sparked riots last November in Jeddah. Loay Ahmed Musallam, the deputy water minister, said the first contract to manage water supplies for Riyadh would be awarded this year. By 2010, private companies will provide water for half the population, he added. Saudi Arabia plans to invest $ 37 billion over five years to improve water pipelines. Leaks cost 1 million cubic meters of water a day--the output of seven desalination plants--the minister said. Even after putting contracts out to bid, governments still face politically sensitive decisions. In Saudi Arabia, for example, water tariffs are among the lowest in the world. Musallam said Saudis consumed twice as much water as Britons in spite of living in one of the driest parts of the globe. The government is introducing measures to encourage water conservation. Even in the US, the shortfall between actual investment and the industry's real needs is estimated to be $122 billion for waste water treatment and $100 billion for drinking water over the next 12 years, said Michael Dean of the Environmental Protection Agency. "People take for granted clean, safe, inexpensive water, but the old ways of paying for water in the US no longer meet our needs," Dean said. Water services in the US are mainly owned by municipalities, which fiercely resist privatization. Gasson says decades of underinvestment are catching up with the water industry. "Either tariffs or subsidies will have to rise. We are at an inflection point. Investment now is unavoidable," he said. David Lloyd Owen, a British consultant, estimated the investment shortfall for the global water industry at $1.2 trillion over the next 20 years. "The question is how to overcome political resistance to the involvement of the private sector," he said. "The water industry is one of the most conservative in the world. By and large, it is still run by bureaucrats and engineers," Owen said. "There is also a passionate and well-organized lobby against privatization." He sees more room for the private sector as technology for desalination and recycling come to play an increasing role in the industry. Banks are also becoming more creative in matching the financing of capital outlays in the industry with the long lives of water treatment facilities.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} It is widely believed that our never-ending quest for material goods is part of the basic character of human beings. According to the popular belief, we may not like it, but there's little we can do about it. Despite its popularity, this view of human nature is wrong. While human beings may have a basic desire to strive towards something, there is nothing inevitable about material goods. There are numerous examples of societies in which things have played a highly restricted rule. In medieval Europe, the acquisition of goods was relatively unimportant. The common people, whose lives were surely poor by modern standards, showed strong preferences for leisure rather than money. In the nineteenth-and early twentieth-century United States, there is also considerable evidence that many working people also exhibited a restricted appetite for material goods. Materialism is not a basic trait of human nature, but a specific product of capitalism. With the development of the market system, materialism "spilled over", for the first time, beyond the circles of the rich. The growth of the middle class created a large group of potential buyers and the possibility that mass culture could be oriented around material goods. This process can be seen not only in historical experiences but is now going on in some parts of the developing world, where the growth of a large middle class has contributed to extensive materialism and the breakdown of traditional values. In the United States, the turning point was the 1920s—the point at which the "psychology of shortage" gave way to the "psychology of abundance". This was a crucial period for the development of modern materialism. Economy and discipline were out; waste and excess were in. Materialism flourished—both as a social ideology and in terms of high rates of real spending. In the midst of all this buying, we can detect the origins of modern consumer discontent. This was the decade during which the American dream, or what was then called "the American standard of living", captured the nation's imagination. But it was always something of an illusion. Americans complained about items they could not afford—despite the fact that in the 1920s most families had telephones, virtually all had purchased life insurance, two-thirds owned their own homes and took vacations, and over half had motor cars. The discontent expressed by many Americans was promoted—and to a certain extent even created—by manufacturers. The explosion of consumer credit made the task easier, as automobiles, radios, electric refrigerators, washing machines—even jewelry and foreign travel—could be paid for in installments. By the end of the 1920s, 60 percent of cars, radios, and furniture were being purchased this way. The ability to buy without actually having money helped encourage a climate of instant satisfaction, expanding expectations, and ultimately, materialism.

单选题The term "echelons" (Line 7, Paragraph 2) most probably means

单选题 The horse and carriage is a thing of the past, but love and the marriage are still with us and still closely interrelated. Most American marriages, particularly first marriages {{U}}(1) {{/U}} young couples, are the result of {{U}}(2) {{/U}} attraction and affection {{U}}(3) {{/U}} than practical considerations. In the United States, parents do not arrange marriages for their children. Teenagers begin {{U}}(4) {{/U}} in high school and usually find mates through their own academic and social {{U}}(5) {{/U}}. Though young people feel {{U}}(6) {{/U}} to choose their friends from {{U}}(7) {{/U}} groups, most choose a mate of similar background. This is {{U}}(8) {{/U}} in part to parental guidance. Parents cannot select spouses for their children, but they can usually {{U}}(9) {{/U}} choices by {{U}}(10) {{/U}} disapproval of someone they consider unsuitable. {{U}} (11) {{/U}}, marriages between members of different groups(interclass, interfaith, and interracial marriages) are increasing, probably because of the greater {{U}}(12) {{/U}} of today's youth and the fact that they are restricted by {{U}}(13) {{/U}} prejudices than their parents. Many young people leave their hometowns to attend college, {{U}}(14) {{/U}} in the armed forces {{U}}(15) {{/U}} pursue a career in a bigger city. Once away from home and family, they are more {{U}}(16) {{/U}} to date and marry outside their own social group. In mobile American society, interclass marriages are neither {{U}}(17) {{/U}} nor shocking. Interfaith marriages are {{U}}(18) {{/U}} the rise particularly between Protestants and Catholics. On the other hand, interracial marriage is still very uncommon. It can be difficult for interracial couples to find a place to live, maintain friendships, and {{U}}(19) {{/U}} a family. Marriages between people of different national {{U}}(20) {{/U}} (but the same race and religion) have been commonplace since colonial times.

单选题There will eventually come a day when The New York Times ceases to publish stories on newsprint. Exactly when that day will be is a matter of debate. "Sometime in the future," the paper"s publisher said back in 2010. Nostalgia for ink on paper and the rustle of pages aside, there"s plenty of incentive to ditch print. The infrastructure required to make a physical newspaper—printing presses, delivery trucks—isn"t just expen sive; it"s excessive at a time when online-only competitors don"t have the same set of financial constraints. Readers are migrating away from print anyway. And though print ad sales still dwarf their online and mobile counterparts, revenue from print is still declining. Overhead may be high and circulation lower, but rushing to eliminate its print edition would be a mis take, says BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Peretti says the Times shouldn"t waste time getting out of the print business, but only if they go about doing it the right way. "Figuring out a way to accelerate that transition would make sense for them," he said, "but if you discontinue it, you"re going to have your most loyal customers really upset with you." Sometimes that"s worth making a change anyway. Peretti gives the example of Netflix discontinuing its DVD-mailing service to focus on streaming. "It was seen as a blunder," he said. The move turned out to be foresighted. And if Peretti were in charge at the Times? "I wouldn"t pick a year to end print," he said. "I would raise prices and make it into more of a legacy product." The most loyal customers would still get the product they favor, the idea goes, and they"d feel like they were helping sustain the quality of something they believe in. "So if you"re overpaying for print, you could feel like you were helping," Peretti said. "Then increase it at a higher rate each year and essentially try to generate additional revenue." In other words, if you"re going to print product, make it for the people who are already obsessed with it. Which may be what the Times is doing already. Getting the print edition seven days a week costs nearly $500 a year—more than twice as much as a digital-only subscription. "It"s a really hard thing to do and it"s a tremendous luxury that BuzzFeed doesn"t have a legacy business," Peretti remarked. "But we"re going to have questions like that where we have things we"re doing that don"t make sense when the market changes and the world changes. In those situations, it"s better to be more aggressive than less aggressive."

单选题{{B}}Part A{{/B}}{{B}}Directions:{{/B}}Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.{{B}}Text 1{{/B}} "It is an evil influence on the youth of our country." A politician condemning video gaming? Actually, a clergyman denouncing rock and roll 50 years ago. But the sentiment could just as easily have been voiced by Hillary Clinton in the past few weeks, as she blamed video games for "a silent epidemic of media desensitisation" and "stealing the innocence of our children". The gaming furore centers on "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas", a popular and notoriously violent cops and robbers game that turned out to contain hidden sex scenes that could be unlocked using a patch downloaded from the Internet. The resulting outcry (mostly from Democratic politicians playing to the centre) caused the game' s rating in America to be changed from "mature", which means you have to be 17 to buy it, to "adults only", which means you have to be 18, but also means that big retailers such as Wal-Mart will not stock it. As a result the game has been banned in Australia; and, this autumn, America's Federal Trade Commission will investigate the complaints. That will give gaming's opponents an opportunity to vent their wrath on the industry. Skepticism of new media is a tradition with deep roots, going back at least as far as Socrates objections to written texts, outlined in Plato's Phaedrus. Socrates worried that relying on written texts, rather than the oral tradition, would "create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves." ( He also objected that a written version of a speech was no substitute for the ability to interrogate the speaker, since, when questioned, the text "always gives one unvarying answer". His objection, in short, wasthat books were not interactive. Perhaps Socrates would have thought more highly of video games. ) Novels were once considered too low-brow for university literature courses, but eventually the disapproving professors retired. Waltz music and dancing were condemned in the 19th century; all that twirling was thought to be "intoxicating" and "depraved", and the music was outlawed in some places. Today it is hard to imagine what the fuss was about. And rock and roll was thought to encourage violence, promiscuity and satanism but today even grannies buy Coldplay albums.

单选题Germany's chimney sweeps—hallowed as bringers of good luck, with their black top hats and coiled-wire brushes— are under attack. Last week the European Commission's directorate for the internal market revived proceedings against an antiquated German law that protects sweeps against competition. The country's chimney sweeps enjoy a near-perfect monopoly. Germany is divided into around 8000 districts, each ruled by its own master sweep who usually employs two more sweeps. Although this is a private enterprise, the maintenance and inspection service provided is compulsory and prices are set by the local authority: sweeps cannot stray outside their district, nor can householders change their sweep even if they loathe him. This rule cuts both ways. "There are some customers I can't stand either," says one Frankfurt sweep. The rationale is simple: chimney-sweeping and related gas and heating maintenance in Germany are treated as a matter of public safety. Annual or semi-annual visits are prescribed, keeping the sweeps busy all year round. For centuries, chimney-sweeps in Europe were a wandering breed. But in 1937 the chimney-sweep law was revised by Heinrich Himmler, then the acting interior minister. His roles tied chimney sweeps to their districts and decreed that they should be German, to enable him to use sweeps as local spies. The law was updated in 1969, leaving the local monopolies in place but opening up the profession, in theory at least, to non-Germ, ans. But in practice few apply. Four years ago a brave Pole qualified as a master in Kaiserslautern, according to a fellow student, and this year an Italian did so in the Rhineland Palatinate. But he, like most newly qualified German masters, will spend years on a waiting list before he gets his own district. The European Commission would like to see a competitive market in which people can choose their own sweeps, just as they choose builders or plumbers. It first opened infringement proceedings in 2003, and the German government of the time promised to change the law but failed to do so. And despite the huffing and puffing from Brussels, tile government is still reluctant to dismantle its antiquated system on safety grounds. The number of deaths from carbon-monoxide poisoning in Germany is around one-tenth that in France or Belgium, claims the Frankfurt sweep. So Germans are likely to be stock with their neighbourhood Schornsteinfegers—whether they can stand each other or not—for some time to come.

单选题According to paragraphs 6 and 7,which is most fundamental in producing hydroelectric power? ______.

单选题The author' s attitude toward the various kinds of compulsion employed by social institutions is best described as ______.

单选题On the eve of global warming negotiations, scientists from several Western nations are clamoring for a crash program to develop clean energy that would rival the Manhattan Project and the Apollo mission to the moon. Writing in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, scientists from North America and Europe predicted that global warming will soon become the environmental equivalent of the Cold War as the world's increasing reliance on fossil fuels releases more carbon dioxide and other heattrapping pollutants into the atmosphere. The 11 scientists urged negotiators at environmental talks scheduled to begin Nov. 2 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to push for a mobilization of scientific resources to develop alternative forms of energy, such as solar, wind and nuclear power. "Developing and commercializing carbon-flee power technologies by the mid-21st century could require efforts, perhaps international, pursued with the urgency of the Manhattan Project or the Apollo space program," said Martin Hoffert, a physicist at New York University. Only 20% or less of today's energy use comes from carbon-free sources. The Nature paper is unusual because it contains broad policy recommendations. Normally, the journal publishes straightforward scientific studies. Last year, governments meeting in Kyoto, Japan, agreed to emission reductions by the United States, Japan, the 15-nation European Union and 21 other industrial nations. The nations are to cut their output of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to 5% below their 1990 levels by 2012. This year, negotiators for 166 nations are meeting to determine how each country will achieve the reductions. To some, rising annual average temperatures in the 1990s amount to early proof that global warming has arrived and that the current treaty won't protect nations from climatic upheaval during the 21st century. Some scientists said global warming is inevitable and no amount of effort—not even a crash program—will prevent it. "We will experience a substantial amount of further climate change even if we make huge cuts in emissions," said Martin Parry of University College in London. Others said there are many ways of reducing global warming without mobilizing scientists worldwide. Energy conservation and efficiency, such as greater use of cleaner-burning natural gas and nuclear power, might be a cheaper solution, they say. Smokestack and tailpipe controls, as well as planting trees, can reduce pollution, too. Countries can also provide utilities with financial incentives to invest in experimental technologies. Even optimists at the meeting agreed that demand for crude oil will outstrip production by 2020 and that worldwide reserves will be exhausted by 2100. Oil shortages and higher prices will make the world a more dangerous place, they warned.

单选题The attitude of most employers toward DDA amendments is