We were most impressed by the fact that even those patients who were not told of their serious illness were quite aware of its potential outcome.

Canceling an Invitation Write a note of about 100 words based on the following situation: You have invited Laura to your birthday tea party. But there is some emergency and you have to cancel the party. Now write her a note to cancel the invitation and explain why. Do not sign your own name at the end of the note. Use "Li Ming" instead. Do not write the address.

The divorce rate in the United States rose steadily throughout the twentieth century. Prior to 1915, less than 10% of husbands and wives divorced. Between 1915 and 1940, the divorce climbed to almost 15%. By 1965, the divorce rate eclipsed 25%. In 1985, about 35% of all marriages ended in divorce. In the year 2000, half of all marriages ended in divorce. In 2004, almost 60% of marriages with children ended in divorce, and the rate for second marriages with children was even higher. With such a high divorce rate, is it any wonder that so many American children experience adjustment problems? Divorced couples point to various reasons for their marital breakup: money, sex, incompatibility, immaturity, lack of commitment, violence, unhappiness, jealousy, stress, infidelity—to name a few. These marital problems are not new, however; they affected relationships a century ago. Many experts believe the high divorce rate is a result of dramatic social and economic changes that have altered traditional family roles and relationships. They cite how increased industrialization, urban living and many other social forces have affected the makeup and lifestyle of the American family. Families are less likely to work, participate in activities or eat meals together. Husbands and wives may both work outside the home. As a result, many American children must develop self-dependence at an early age than their ancestors did. America"s children reflect the effects of what is happening to the American family. Never before have so many children faced so many problems; physical and sexual abuse, crime and delinquency, depression and suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, emotional and behavioral problems, learning difficulties, school problems, dropping out, poor grades, running away from home, pregnancy, abortion and venereal disease. Sometimes these problems result from unhealthy social or family relationships. They also may arise as a byproduct of an unhappy marriage or a damaging divorce. Divorce can be a very painful and disruptive experience for children, with long-term effects. Some children manage to survive their parents" unhappy marriage and painful divorce and grow past it; other children suffer from the effects for years. How children are affected by divorce largely depends on their personality, the circumstance surrounding the divorce and the parents" sensitivity to their children. It is toward a better understanding of how parents can be more sensitive to their children during the divorce process that this publication is dedicated. When parents put the needs of their children first, and are aware of how their own behavior can either harm or help their offspring during this time of turmoil, it is possible to reduce the negative effects of divorce on children.

Developing Economy or Protecting the Environment?

If it were only necessary to decide whether to teach elementary science to everyone on a mass basis or to find the gifted few and take them as far as they can go, our task would be fairly simple. The public school system, however, has no such 【B1】______, 【B2】______ the jobs must be carried 【B3】______ at the same time. Because we depend so 【B4】______ upon science and technology for our【B5】______, we must produce specialists in many fields.【B6】______we live in a 【B7】______ nation, whose citizens make the policies for the nation, large numbers of us must be educated to understand, to uphold, and 【B8】______ necessary, to judge the work of 【B9】______. The public school must educate both producers and【B10】______of scientific services. In education, there should be a good balance 【B11】______ the branches of【B12】______that contribute to effective thinking and【B13】______judgment. Such balance is defeated by【B14】______much emphasis on any one field. This【B15】______of balance involves not only the【B16】______of the natural sciences, the social sciences and the arts but also relative emphasis among the natural sciences themselves. 【B17】______, we must have a balance between current and【B18】______knowledge. The attention of the public is continually drawn to new【B19】______in scientific fields and the discovery of new knowledge; these should not be allowed to turn our attention away from the sound, established materials that form the basis of【B20】______for beginners.

【F1】 It is the world's fourth-most-important food crop, after maize, wheat and rice, which provides more calories, more quickly, using less land and in a wider range of climates than any other plant. It is, of course, the potato. The United Nations has declared 2008 the International Year of the Potato. It hopes that greater awareness of the merits of potatoes will contribute to the achievement of its Millennium Development Goals, by helping to alleviate poverty, improve food security and promote economic development. It is always the international year of this or month of that.【F2】 But the potato's unusual history means it is well worth celebrating by readers of The Economist because the potato is intertwined with economic development, trade liberalisation and globalisation. Unlikely though it seems, the potato promoted economic development by underpinning the industrial revolution in England in the 19th century. It provided a cheap source of calories and was easy to cultivate, so it liberated workers from the land. Potatoes became popular in the north of England, as people there specialised in livestock farming and domestic industry, while farmers in the south(where the soil was more suitable)concentrated on wheat production.【F3】 By a happy accident, this concentrated industrial activity in the regions where coal was readily available, and a potato-driven population boom provided ample workers for the new factories. Friedrich Engels even declared that the potato was the equal of iron for its "historically revolutionary role". The potato promoted free trade by contributing to the abolition of Britain's Corn Laws—the cause which prompted the founding of The Economist in 1843. The Corn Laws restricted imports of grain into the United Kingdom in order to protect domestic wheat producers.【F4】 Landowners supported the laws, since cheap imported grain would reduce their income, but industrialists opposed them because imports would drive down the cost of food, allowing people to spend more on manufactured goods. Ultimately it was not the eloquence of the arguments against the Corn Laws that led to their abolition—and more' s the pity. It was the tragedy of the Irish potato famine of 1845, in which 1 million Irish perished when the potato crop on which they subsisted succumbed to blight.【F5】 The need to import grain to relieve the situation in Ireland forced the government, which was dominated by landowners who backed the Corn Laws, to reverse its position. This paved the way for liberalisation in other areas, and free trade became British policy. As the Duke of Wellington complained at the time, "rotten potatoes have done it all."

Studythefollowingpicturecarefullyandwriteanessayentitled"CelebratingMother"sDay".Inyourarticle,youshouldcoverthefollowingpoints.1)describethedrawing,2)interpretitssymbolicmeaning,and3)giveyourcomment.Youshouldwrite160—200wordsneatly.

The next big workout craze is one even a couch potato could love. It starts with a warm-up: a trip to the supermarket. Then there"s a large dinner, followed by some leisurely hours spent doing crossword puzzles. Finally, there"s the cool-down, a long bubble bath. Keep this up, and you"ll be buff in no time. Mentally buff, at any rate. This is a workout for your brain—an example of "neurobics", a movement that"s gaining momentum among those looking to stay sharp as they age. Some psychologists claim that by adjusting your routine in small ways (like taking a different route to the grocery store or stimulating your senses with a new fragranced bath product), you can encourage neurons to build more connections to each other. Though scientists know little about the early stages of Alzheimer"s, clinical evidence is starting to show that mental "exercises" like these may ward it off. Neurobics got started with the 1999 book Keep Your Brain Alive by Duke University neurobiologist Larry Katz and writer Manning Rubin. Since then, the term has entered common usage (it"s defined in at least one slang dictionary) and inspired numerous imitators. Entrepreneurs now offer courses that teach neurobic exercises alongside more traditional seminars on handling stress and expressing emotions. Corporate trainers like Mind Gym run employees through 90 minute "workouts" designed to in crease productivity. There"s also the MyBrainTrainer.com site, a paid service that provides access to games like those used in psychological experiments to test cognitive ability. There"s no evidence that these games are any better for you than, say, scrabble. But MyBrainTrainer creator Bruce Friedman says he gets a "neural buzz" from them—and he"s taken each more than 1,600 times. Still, it"s a good bet that a simple change in routine will be just as effective. If that doesn"t seem mentally wearing, consider how you go about most neurobic activities in ordinary life. Most likely, you"re going through the motions—driving on roads you know by heart, swallowing down dinner with out savoring its taste or texture. Changing things will force you to pay attention to what you"re doing. Even those who are skeptical about neurobics" potential for preventing Alzheimer"s have to admit that isn"t a bad thing.

The European Union"s Barcelona summit, which ended on March 16th, was played out against the usual backdrop of noisy "anti-globalisation" demonstrations and massive security. If nothing else, the demonstrations illustrated that economic liberalization in Europe—the meeting"s main topic—presents genuine political difficulties. Influential sections of public opinion continue to oppose anything that they imagine threatens "social Europe", the ideal of a cradle-to-grave welfare state. In this climate of public opinion, it is not surprising that the outcome in Barcelona was modest. The totemic issue was opening up Europe"s energy markets. The French government has fought hard to preserve a protected market at home for its state-owned national champion, Electricite de France (EDF). At Barcelona it made a well-flagged tactical retreat. The summiteers concluded that from 2004 industrial users across Europe would be able to choose from competing energy suppliers, which should account for "at least" 600% of the market. Since Europe"s energy market is worth 350 billion ($309 Billion) a year and affects just about every business, this is a breakthrough. But even the energy deal has disappointing aspects. Confining competition to business users makes it harder to show that economic liberalization is the friend rather than the foe of the ordinary person. It also allows EDF to keep its monopoly in the most profitable chunk of the French market. In other areas, especially to do with Europe"s tough labor markets, the EU is actually going backwards. The summiteers declared that "disincentives against taking up jobs" should be removed; 20m jobs should be created within the EU by 2010. But only three days after a Barcelona jamboree, the European Commission endorsed a new law that would give all temporary-agency workers the same rights as full-timers within six weeks of getting their feet under the desk. Six out of 20 commissioners did, unusually, vote against the measure—a blatant piece of re-regulation—but the social affairs commissioner, Anna Diamantopoulou, was unrepentant, indeed triumphant. A dissatisfied liberaliser in the commission called the directive "an absolute disaster". The summit"s other achievements are still more fragile. Europe"s leaders promised to increase spending on "research and development" from its current figure of 1.9% of GDP a year to 3%. But how will European politicians compel businesses to invest more in research? Nobody seems to know. And the one big research project agreed on at Barcelona, the Galileo satellite-positioning system, which is supposed to cost 3.2 billion of public money, is of dubious commercial value, since the Europeans already enjoy free access to the Americans" GPA system. Edward Bannerman, head of economics at the Centre for European Reform, a Blairite think-tank, calls Galileo "the common agricultural policy in space."

BSection III Writing/B

ExcessiveCareWriteanessayof160-200wordsbasedonthedrawing.Inyouressay,youshould1)describethedrawingbriefly,2)explainitsintendedmeaning,and3)giveyourcomments.

男性从事“女性”职业 ——1988年英译汉及详解 Seated behind the front desk at a New York firm, the receptionist was efficient. Stylishly dressed, the firm"s newest employee had a pleasant telephone voice and a natural charm that put clients at ease. The company was pleased:【F1】 Clearly, this was a person who took considerable pride in personal appearance. David King, the receptionist, is unusual, but by no means unique.【F2】 Just as all truck drivers and construction workers are no longer necessarily men, all secretaries and receptionists are no longer automatically women. The number of men in women-dominated fields is still small and they haven"t attracted the attention that has often followed women advancing into male-dominated fields, but men are moving into more and more jobs that have traditionally been held by women. Strictly speaking, the phenomenon is not new. For the past several decades, men have been quietly entering fields such as nursing, social work and elementary education. But today no job seems off-limits. Men serve coffee in offices and meals on airplanes.【F3】 These changes are helping to influence some of the long-standing traditions about the types of work men and women can do—but they also produce some undeniable problems for the men who are entering those fields formerly dominated by women. What kinds of men venture into these so-called "women"s fields"? All kinds.【F4】 "I don"t know of any definite answers I"d be comfortable with," explains Joseph Pleck, Ph.D., of the Wellesley College Centre for Research on Women. Sam Ormont, for example, a thirty-year-old nurse at a Boston hospital, went into nursing because the army had trained him as a medical worker.【F5】 "I found that work very interesting." he recalled, "and when I got out of the service it just seemed natural for me to go into something medical. I wasn"t really interested in becoming a doctor." Thirty-five-year-old David King, an out-of-work actor, found a job as a receptionist because he was having trouble landing roles in Broadway plays and he needed to pay the rent. 【F6】 In other words, men enter "female" jobs out of the same consideration for personal interest and economic necessity that motivates anyone looking for work. But similarities often end there. Men in female-dominated jobs are conspicuous. As a group, their work histories differ in most respects from those of their female colleagues, and they are frequently treated differently by the people with whom they are in professional contact. The question naturally arises: Why are there still approximately ninety-nine female secretaries for every one male? There is also a more serious issue. Most men don"t want to be receptionists, nurses, secretaries or sewing workers. Put simply, these are not generally considered very masculine jobs.【F7】 To choose such a line of work is to invite ridicule. "There was kidding in the beginning," recalls Ormont. "Kids coming from school ask what I am, and when I say "A nurse," they laugh at me. I just smile and say, "You know, there are female doctors, too."" Still, there are encouraging signs. Years ago, male grade school teachers were as rare as male nurses. Today more than one elementary school teacher in six is male. 【F8】 Can we anticipate a day when secretaries will be an even mix of men and women—or when the mention of a male nurse will no longer raise eyebrows? It"s probably coming—but not very soon.

LookbeforeYouGivetheInstructionWriteanessayof160-200wordsbasedonthedrawing.Inyouressay,youshould1)describethedrawingbriefly,2)interpretitsintendedmeaning,and3)giveyourcomments.

The quest for wisdom is as old as Socrates, but it"s also an up-to-the-minute economic indicator.A contrarian one: when things are going well, you don"t have to go searching for wisdom. It streams nonstop over CNBC, its avatars sit atop the Forbes list of billionaires and each day it proves again the eternal truths of the free market. Then in due course things go to hell; the elites humbly confesstheir ignorance to Congress or a grand jury, and the search for new patterns begins. Tellingly, scholars date the modern scientific study of wisdom to the work of the American psychologist Vivian Clayton in the malaise-ridden 1970s. Clayton devised the first empirical tests for wisdom, which she defined as the ability to acquire knowledge and analyze it both logically and emotionally-picking up on the work begun by Socrates. So it"s no coincidence that several dozen researchers in fields ranging from neuroscience to art, music and law have just received wisdom-seeking grants under the auspices of the University of Chicago. The $2.7 million program, funded by the Templeton Foundation, is called Defining Wisdom, a name that implies the researchers will know what they were looking for once they find it. Wisdom, according to Robert J. Sternberg of Tufts University, the author of several books on the topic, is still an obscure field with minimal academic cachet. With so much at stake, the program"s directors, psychologists John Cacioppo and Howard Nusbaum, dismissed the traditional approach to wisdom research; rather they cast their nets wide and deep into the pools of academy. The 38 proposals they approved include ones aimed at finding wisdom in computer operations and in classical literature. Starting at the beginning, one scholar observes that "language is the medium by which wisdom-related knowledge is usually conveyed." That sounds self-evident, but another scientist proposes to "explore music as a form of wisdom." "We are trying to think out of the box," says Nusbaum. Cacioppo and Nusbaum dismiss arguments about the inherent circularity of searching for wisdom at the same time as defining it. But they have some preconceptions about what they expect to find. They see "wisdom" in part as a corrective to the "rational choice" pattern of decision making, the foundation of free-market economics. Rational choice holds that everyone"s happiness is best served when people maximize their short-term individual gains, even at the expense of the broad interests of society or the long-term future. That is precisely opposite the approach of, for example, ants, which are entirely indifferent to their individual fates and don"t, as a rule, over-expand out of reckless greed.

In recent years a new farming revolution has begun, one that involves the【B1】______of life at a fundamental level—the gene. The study of genetics has 【B2】______ a new industry called biotechnology. As the name suggest, it【B3】______biology and modem technology through such techniques as genetic engineering. Some of the new biotech companies specialize in agriculture and are working feverishly to 【B4】______ seeds that give a high yield, that 【B5】______ diseases, drought and frost, and that reduce the need for 【B6】______ chemicals. If such goals could be achieved, it would be most【B7】______. But some have raised concerns about genetically engineered crops. In nature, genetic diversity is created within certain 【B8】______. A rose can be crossed with a different kind of rose, but a rose will never cross with a potato. Genetic engineering, 【B9】______ usually involves taking genes from one species and inserting them into another【B10】______to transfer a desired characteristic. This could mean, for example, selecting a gene which leads to the production of a chemical with anti-freeze 【B11】______ from an artic fish, and inserting it into a potato or strawberry to make it frost-resistant.【B12】______, then, biotechnology allows humans to【B13】______the genetic walls that separate species. Like the green revolution,【B14】______some call the gene revolution contributes to the problem of genetic uniformity—some say even more so【B15】______geneticists can employ techniques such as cloning and 【B16】______ culture, processes that produce perfectly【B17】______copies. Concerns about the erosion of biodiversity, therefore, remain. Genetically altered plants, however, raise new【B18】______,such as the effects that they may have on us and the environment. "We are flying blindly into a new【B19】______of agricultural biotechnology with high hopes, few constraints, and little idea of the potential【B20】______," said science writer Jeremy Rifkin.

The situation is not necessarily so.

The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently. The court cannot【B1】______its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law【B2】______justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that【B3】______the court' s reputation for being independent and impartial. Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind of activity makes it less likely that the court's decisions will be【B4】______as impartial judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not【B5】______by an ethics code. At the very least, the court should make itself【B6】______to the code of conduct that【B7】______to the rest of the federal judiciary. This and other similar cases【B8】______the question of whether there is still a【B9】______between the court and politics. The framers of the Constitution envisioned law【B10】______having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions【B11】______they would be free to【B12】______those in power and have no need to【B13】______political support. Our legal system was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely【B14】______. Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social【B15】______like liberty and property. When the court deals with social policy decisions, the law it【B16】______is inescapably political—which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily【B17】______as unjust. The justices must【B18】______doubts about the court' s legitimacy by making themselves【B19】______to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and,【B20】______, convincing as law.

No company likes to be told it is contributing to the moral decline of a nation. Is this what you intended to accomplish with your careers? Senator Robert Dole asked Time Warner executives last week. You have sold your souls, but must you corrupt our nation and threaten our children as well? At Time Warner, however, such questions are simply the latest manifestation of the soul-searching that has involved the company ever since the company was born in 1990.【F1】 It's a self-examination that has, at various times, involved issues of responsibility, creative freedom and the corporate bottom line. At the core of this debate is chairman Gerald Levin, 56, who took over for the late Steve Ross in 1992.【F2】 On the financial front, Levin is under pressure to raise the stock price and reduce the company's mountainous debt, which will increase to $ 17.3 billion after two new cable deals close. He has promised to sell off some of the property and restructure the company, but investors are waiting impatiently. 【F3】 The flap over rap is not making life any easier for him, Levin has consistently defended the company's rap music on the grounds of expression. In 1992, when Time Warner was under fire for releasing Ice-T's violent rap song Cop Killer, Levin described rap as lawful expression of street culture, which deserves an outlet.【F4】 The test of any democratic society, he wrote in a Wall Street Journal column, lies not in how well it can control expression but in whether it gives freedom of thought and expression the widest possible latitude, however disputable or irritating the results may sometimes be. We won't retreat in the face of any threats. Levin would not comment on the debate last week, but there were signs that the chairman was backing off his hard-line stand, at least to some extent. During the discussion of rock singing verses at last month's stockholders'meeting. Levin asserted that music is not the cause of society's ills and even cited his son, a teacher in the Bronx, New York, who uses rap to communicate with students.【F5】 But he talked as well about the balanced struggle between creative freedom and social responsibility, and he announced that the company would launch a drive to develop standards for distribution and labeling of potentially objectionable music. The 15-member Time Warner board is generally supportive of Levin and his corporate strategy. But insiders say several of them have shown their concerns in this matter. "Some of us have known for many, many years that the freedoms under the First Amendment are not totally unlimited," says Luce. I think it is perhaps the case that some people associated with the company have only recently come to realize this.

Many teachers believe that the responsibilities for learning lie with the student. (1)_____ a long reading assignment is given, instructors expect students to be familiar with the (2)_____ in the reading even if they do not discuss it in class or take an examination. The (3)_____ student is considered to be (4)_____ who is motivated to learn for the sake of (5)_____, not the one interested only in getting high grades. Sometimes homework is returned (6)_____ brief written comments. but without a grade. Even if a grade is not given, the student is (7)_____ for learning the material assigned. When research is (8)_____, the professor expects the student to take it actively and to complete it with (9)_____ guidance. It is the (10)_____ responsibility to find books, magazines, and articles in the library. Professors do not have the time to explain (11)_____ a university library works; they expect students, (12)_____ graduate students, to be able to exhaust the reference (13)_____ in the library. Professor will help students who need it, but (14)_____ that their students should not be (15)_____ dependent on them. In the United States professors have many other duties (16)_____ teaching, such as administrative or research work. (17)_____, the time that a professor can spend with a student outside of class is (18)_____. If a student has problems with classroom work, the student should either (19)_____ a professor during office hours (20)_____ make an appointment.

Overfishing of one of the ocean"s top predators has triggered a lethal chain reaction that threatens to decimate populations of bay scallops, oysters, and clams, warns a new study. Plunging populations of 11 large shark species have caused a spike in the numbers of their prey, including smaller sharks, rays, and skates. These creatures in turn are wiping out other marine organisms and may be destroying sea grass habitat, which serves as a nursery for many species. Sharks have had a rough few decades. Demand for their fins and meat has resulted in increasing exploitation, and the creatures are often accidentally captured by swordfish and tuna fishers. As many as 73 million sharks are killed annually, and past studies have indicated many populations have been cut by half. Nonetheless, scientists have had difficulty gauging the decline in several shark species over the years because of a lack of data. The effect of this decline on ocean ecosystems has also proven hard to measure. To get a better grip on the problem, marine biologist Julia Baum of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, and colleagues trawled 35 years of marine surveys and fisheries data to document declines in large sharks off the eastern seaboard of the U. S. The numbers, reported today in Science, are stark: The blacktip shark population has plummeted 93% since 1972, with similar declines for tiger, bull, and smooth hammerhead sharks. Simultaneously, the abundance of 12 of the 14 species that these sharks prey on—including the little skate, the chain catshark, and the cownose ray—increased dramatically. The latter has seen its numbers swell ten fold. The jump in ray numbers is especially troubling, notes co author and marine biologist Charles Peterson of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, because the fish shred the sea grass that houses crabs and clams. In fact, he notes, by 2004 ray predation had shut down North Carolina"s century-old bay scallop fishery. The 11 other shark prey species whose populations rose over the 35-year period could be having similar impacts to that of the cownose ray, says Baum. "The result is profound" because the high diversity of fishes in the northwest Atlantic has been thought to minimize catastrophic changes in the food web, says marine scientist Kenneth Frank of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, Canada. Sharks are only part of the puzzle, however, Frank warns. People"s appetites for oysters, clams, and scallops are likely having a more direct impact on these populations, he says.