问答题Time was when the solar system had two watery worlds. 46) Directly next door to the warm. wet, loamy Earth was the warm, wet, loamy Mars, both planets covered with oceans and running with rivers-and both possibly teeming with life. Billions of years ago, however, the low-gravity Mars had both its air and water leak away, causing the planet to become the dead, freeze-dried place it is today. That is what the prevailing thinking has been. Now, it appears that thinking may be wrong. 47) Recently, NASA released new images from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft that suggest water may be flowing up and streaming onto the Martian surface-dramatically increasing the likelihood that at least part of the planet is biologically alive. "If these results prove true," says Ed Weiler, associate administrator of NASA's Office of Space Science, "[they have] profound implications for the possibility of life." Finding liquid water on Mars' surface has never been easy-because it simply can't exist there. The modern-day Martian atmosphere has barely 1 percent the density of Earth's, and its average temperature hovers around-67 degrees Fahrenheit (-19 degrees Centigrade) . In an environment as harsh as this, water would either vaporize into space or simply flash-freeze in place. 48) Scientists studying Martian history have always looked for clues the planet's ancient water left behind-tracks where vanished rivers once flowed, basins where vanished seas once stood. 49) The approximately 65, 000 images the Surveyor orbiter has beamed home in the nearly three years it has been circling Mars are full of this kind of expected hydro-scarring. But some of the pictures took scientists by surprise. The older a formation is, the more likely it is to have been distorted over the eons-smoothed by periodic windstorms or gouged by the occasional incoming meteor. However, a few of the newly discovered water channels look fresh. That discovery has lead astonished researchers to conclude that these channels may have been recently formed. 50) planetologists have long assumed that if underground water was going to bubble up on Mars, it would have to be somewhere in the balmy equatorial zones: where temperatures at noon in midsummer may reach 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Centigrade). Almost all the new channels, however, were discovered at the planet's relative extremes-north of 30 degrees north latitude and south of 30 degrees south latitude-and all were carved on the cold, shaded sides of slopes.

问答题 Environmentalists claim the moral high ground: their interests are in preserving our precious planet, protecting defenseless animals, ensuring our children have clean water to drink and air to breathe. Yet environmentalists' policies have been a much more mixed bag in terms of their actual consequences. {{U}} {{U}} 21 {{/U}} {{/U}}{{U}}Indisputably, many regulations and initiatives have reduced pollution and improved air and water quality, to the benefit of everyone, but other environmental efforts have backfired, some with truly disastrous consequences.{{/U}} Consider what's happened with DDT (a chemical used to kill insects that harm crops). The pesticide came into use during World War II and helped eliminate malaria. However in 1962, an environmentalist wrote that the chemical was causing cancer and destroying wildlife. In 1972, DDT was banned in the U. S. and ultimately worldwide. As a result of the ban, malaria remained a plague in many poor countries. {{U}} {{U}} 22 {{/U}} {{/U}}{{U}}So during the decades in which DDT was not used, when the world bowed to undoubtedly well-intentioned environmental activists, about 50 million people-overwhelmingly African children-died, mostly unnecessarily.{{/U}} Ethanol provides another example. For years, biofuels were heralded as the promising alternative to fossil fuels, yet it turns out biofuel's environmental impact is much more complicated. In 2008, Time magazine wrote about ethanol's dubious environmental benefits. {{U}} {{U}} 23 {{/U}} {{/U}}{{U}}The article warned that forests, wetlands, and grasslands were being sacrificed in a rush to farm crops that could be turned into gasoline, so the once environmentally favored solution to our energy problems is now recognized as a potential environmental catastrophe{{/U}}. It's worth noting that, beyond biofuel's environmental effects, using food for fuel has a significant impact on the worldwide food supply. Prominent environmentalists promise that they are confident that man is causing the Earth to warm, and they don't want to contemplate alternative theories about how the sun might be responsible for warming, that the warming isn't unprecedented and therefore could be naturally occurring. {{U}} {{U}} 24 {{/U}} {{/U}}{{U}}They don't want to consider the costs of policies that they want to oppose in the name of combating global warming, or .just how ineffectual those policies might be{{/U}}. Yet the public should consider what a significant decline in worldwide wealth will mean, particularly for those who are already poor. {{U}} {{U}} 25 {{/U}} {{/U}}{{U}}Those who question global warming alarmists' claims and policy prescriptions have been compared to massacre deniers, yet what are we to call environmentalists whose policies have resulted in the deaths of millions and could aggravate poverty, and hunger?{{/U}} The movie title Not Evil, Just Wrong may be too charitable.

问答题Directions: 你得了感冒，仍在发烧，医生说你要卧床休息三天。你写一张假条向老师请假。 You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET 2. Do not sign your own name at the end of the note. Use "Li Ming" instead. You do not need to write the address.

问答题International investors seem incapable of ending their love affair with the dollar. America's economy has slowed sharply this year, yet its currency has risen to a 15 year high in trade weighted terms. (46) {{U}}Against the euro the dollar touched $ 0.88 — 8% higher than in early January and close to the level at which the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve jointly intervened to prop up the European currency last September.{{/U}} Why is the euro looking sickly? There are plenty of theories. One is that the markets do not trust the ECB: (47) {{U}}the euro area economies are not immune to America's downturn, yet the central bank still seems more concerned with fighting inflation than with supporting growth; another more plausible explanation is that, in an uncertain global economic climate, the dollar has resumed its traditional role as a safe-haven currency.{{/U}} Most economists reckon that the euro is undervalued and expect a rebound over the next year. One of the most optimistic is Goldman Sachs, which is predicting a rate of $1.22 in 12 months. But an analysis by David Owen, an economist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, gives pause for thought. (48) {{U}}He has found that, over the past decade, movements in the real exchange rate of the euro against the dollar have closely reflected the difference between productivity growth in the euro area and in America.{{/U}} When productivity growth in America has been faster than in Europe—as it was in most of the late 1990s—the euro falls, and vice versa. This is exactly what economic theory would predict: countries with faster productivity growth in the traded goods sector should see rising real exchange rates. Mr. Owen uses monthly data for productivity growth in manufacturing, a good proxy for the traded goods sector. Using annual productivity data for the whole economy (which are available over a longer period), the broad relationship between the exchange rate and relative productivity growth in America and Europe seems to have persisted for most of the past 30 years. Mr. Owen reckons that, in the short term, America's downturn will reduce the productivity gap between America and the euro area, and so boost the euro. (49) {{U}}But in the long term, he expects productivity growth to remain faster in America—in which case, a sustained rise in the euro is unlikely over the next few years. Only if the downturn completely kills the belief in America's new paradigm, and its productivity growth plummets, will the euro be able to rebound more permanently{{/U}}. The strength of the dollar this year does indeed seem to hinge on a belief among investors that America's slowdown will be brief, and that in the longer run America remains the best place in which to invest. (50) {{U}}But they may be underestimating the potential for productivity gains in Europe, as the single currency boosts competition and encourages firms to exploit economies of scale through mergers and acquisitions.{{/U}} The adoption of more flexible working practices in many countries should also help to improve productivity. Studies in America suggest that the bulk of its productivity gains from information technology come from the use of it rather than from its production. So the euro area, too, should start to enjoy productivity gains over the next decade, as it makes fuller use of it. If you believe that Europe really is starting to change, buy Euros. If not, stick with the darling dollar.

问答题Economics, as we know it, is the social science concerned with the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods and services. Economists focus on the way in which individuals, groups, business enterprises, and governments seek to achieve efficiently any economic objective they select. (46) Other fields of study also contribute to this knowledge: Psychology and ethics try to explain how objectives are formed, history records changes in human objectives, and sociology interprets human behavior in social contexts. Standard economics can be divided into two major fields. (47) The first, price theory or microeconomics, explains how the interplay of supply and demand in competitive markets creates a multitude of individual prices, wage rates, profit margins, and rental changes. Microeconomics assumes that people behave rationally. Consumers try to spend their income in ways that give them as much pleasure as possible. As economists say, they maximize utility. For their part, entrepreneurs seek as much profit as they can extract from their operations. The second field, macroeconomics, deals with modern explanations of national income and employment. Macroeconomics dates from the book, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (1935), by the British economist John Maynard Keynes. His explanation of prosperity and depression centers on the total or aggregate demand for goods and services by consumers, business investors, and governments. (48) Because, according to Keynes, inadequate total demand increases unemployment, the indicated cure is either more investment by businesses or more spending and consequently larger budget deficits by government. Economic issues have occupied people's minds throughout the ages. (49) Aristotle and Plato in ancient Greece wrote about problems of wealth, property, and trade, both of whom were prejudiced against commerce, feeling that to live by trade was undesirable. The Romans borrowed their economic ideas from the Greeks and showed the same contempt for trade. (50) During the Middle Ages the economic ideas of the Roman Catholic church were expressed in the law of the church, which condemned the taking of interest for money loaned and regarded commerce as inferior to agriculture. Economics as a subject of modern study, distinguishable from moral philosophy and politics, dates from the work, Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), by the Scottish philosopher and economist Adam Smith. Mercantilism and physiocracy were precursors of the classical economics of Smith and his 19th-century successors.

问答题Directions: Study the following table carefully and write an essay in which you should 1) describe the trend, and 2) give your comments. You should write 160-200 words neatly on ANSWER SHEET 2. Trend of Population in China Period Population aged 60 and above Propertion of total Population 1990 97.19 million 8.8% 2003 136 million 10.2% 2020 230 million 15.6% 2050 410 million 27.4%

问答题{{B}}Directions:{{/B}} You have learned that your former English teacher at middle school is ill these days. Write a letter to her. Your letter should include the following items: 1) express your concern; 2) ask after her health; 3) give your best wishes. You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET 2. Do not sign your own name at the end of the letter. Use "Chen Yang" instead. You do not need to write the address.

问答题Information channeling is undergoing remarkable progress in various sectors of society in industrial activities, public services and, more recently, in daily living. In the sector of industrial activities, automation is continuing with the aim of increasing productivity--introduction of computers for process control by the manufacturing industry, and introduction of numerically controlled machine tools, industrial robots, computer-aided design systems and, more recently, flexible manufacturing system by processing and assembling industries. (46) Meanwhile, in offices rapid office automation is presently in progress, stimulated by the popular acceptance of computerized systems, expansion of communications networks and the remarkable technological progress achieved in related equipment such as Japanese word processors. Rapid automation and efficiency improvement are also being achieved in the sector of commodity distribution through the introduction of advanced point of sales systems. Information channeling is being utilized actively in the field of public services. (47) For example, large capacity computers were introduced from an early stage for the control of railway trains and for extending seat reservation services, and more recently diagnostic systems utilizing computers have become commonplace in medical care. (48) To cope with the steady shift toward an aging society, research is in progress to develop technologies related to medical information systems with the aim of improving efficiency in medical services. Regarding education, computerized systems including the CAI (computer assisted instruction) system and CMI (computer managed instruction) system are presently being put to trial operation. In the sector of administration, efficiency of clerical work is being improved through the introduction of computers, and huge volumes of administrative data are more recently being stored in data base systems. (49) In the wake of these moves, computers have become indispensable for advancing large-scale R&D (research and development) projects as in connection with space development and atomic power development, and also in the field of basic research in life science. Daily living is also a sector in which information channeling is taking firm root. (50) To cope with civilian needs for more convenience in home living and in order to meet the needs raised by growing diversification of lifestyle, active research is presently in progress to develop and commercialize new media incorporating sophisticated data processing functions for use in addition to existing media involving the television, radio and telephone. In concert, research is being directed at developing technologies related 'to automation in the home.

问答题(46) Culture, in a broad sense, means the total way of life of a people, including the patterns of belief, customs, institutions, techniques, and language that characterize the life of the group. As culture is so inclusive, it permeates virtually every aspect of human life and influences predominantly people's behavior, including linguistic behavior. (47) When we learn a new word we tend to look for its meaning in the word itself; however, in addition to its dictionary meanings, the same word may stir up different associations in different people. Take the word dog for example. In the United States, the word dog in most instances conjures up an image of a furry, domesticated family pet. In some areas of the world, such as South Korea, however, dogs are considered to be a culinary amenity and often are eaten. Therefore, the word dog elicits a quite different meaning because of different cultural experiences. This example indicates that language is heavily tinted with its culture. (48) From the above, we can infer that a language not only expresses facts, ideas, or events which represent shared world knowledge of its people, but also reflects the people's attitudes beliefs, world outlooks etc. In a word, language expresses cultural reality. When a child acquires his mother tongue, he also acquires a language-specific culture and becomes socialized in certain ways. If he moves to another community or country, he may be recognized easily not as a member of the local community group but as a newcomer from the ways he uses his language. This implies that language embodies cultural identity. As language is tightly intertwined with culture, learning a language is inseparable from learning its culture. (49) When learning a foreign language, we should not only learn the mere imitation of the pronunciation, grammar, words and idioms but also learn to see the world as native speakers do, that is to say, learn the wags in which the foreign language reflects the ideas, customs, and behavior of that society, learn to understand their "language of the mind". We need to learn enough about the language's culture so that we can communicate in the target language properly to achieve not only the linguistic competence but also communicative competence. This is of great significance in learning a foreign language. (50) Otherwise the ignorance of cultural differences between mother tongue and target language will inevitable create barriers in learning the target language, thus causing some misunderstandings and confusions frequently.

问答题Directions:AStudythegraphsbelowCarefullyandwriteanessayofabout200words.BYouressaymustcoveralltheinformationprovidedandmeettherequirementsbelow:(1)interpretthepicture;(2)explaintherolesofthemigrantworkers;(3)yourcomments.ThePercentageofMigrantWorkersinaChineseCity

问答题The French are the masters of "grands projets". (46)They have the cruelnes, national pride and willingness to spend that are needed for great public works. (47)The British, on the other hand are usually dismissed as too mean, troubled by regulations and lacking in vision, to build anything worthwhile. But occasionally the bulldog triumphs. Take, for example, that grandest, of grands projets, the national library. The Bibliotheque Nationale de France. fast-tracked by President Mitterrand, was planned and built in less than a decade. With its four 80-metre-high glass towers, designed to resemble open books, the library was hailed as a wonder of design and construction when it opened in 1998. (48)Its 11 million books, protected by automatic climate control, were planned to be instantly accessible, with the help of computerised automatic loading trains running on miles of trains. All this, for FFr 8 billion (pounds 861 million), was hailed as evidence that the glory of France was alive and well. The British Library, which cost a third less, became a symbol of national incompetence. First conceived in 1962, it. ran into trouble from the start. (49) After three decades of bitter controversy, planning delays and money problems, the new red-brick library, designed by Colin St John Wilson finally opened for business in 1997. The reviews, given its troubled history, were predictably mixed. The Prince of Wales, who had unveiled the foundation stone, compared it to "an academy for secret police". Matters look different today. The British Library is widely acknowledged as one of London's best modem buildings, a triumph of design over adversity. Those who work there sing its praises. The Bibliotheque Nationale, by contrast, has become notorious for its poor design and even worse construction. Its high technology search system has. proved a nightmare. Its glass construction bakes books in summer. Its freezing winter temperatures have provoked its 3,000 staff to strike. (50) Conditions became so intolerable that soon after it opened several hundred frustrated students stormed a reading room trampling library staff under foot, Dismissed by three famous French professors as a "sinister fame", la grande bibliotheque proves that victory does not always go to the swiftest.