The initial fund of general scientific knowledge is an invaluable asset(财产), but the young research worker should have no illusion(错觉) about how little it is compared with what he or she should acquire during succeeding years. As to the precise value of this initial fund of knowledge, this depends to a great degree on how it has been acquired and on who has been imparting(传授) it. (46) Young scientists cannot realize too soon that existing scientific knowledge is not nearly so complete, certain and unalterable as many textbooks seem to imply. The original papers of great scientists describing their discoveries and explaining their theories are never as rigid and self-confident as the resumes(摘要说明) of these discoveries and theories in textbooks by other men often suggest. Young scientists consulting these original works will find in them "it appears that", "it probably means", "it seems likely that", more than once, as expressions of elements of doubt which great men felt and honestly put on record. (47) Many statements which have appeared in textbooks as universal and absolute truths have, in their original form, been put for word as only approximately true, or true only in certain circumstances. Immediately upon starting on the first serious piece of research, a young scientist must therefore do two things. (48) The first of these should be a careful reading of original papers or books relating to the problem, written by investigators whose technique and judgment he can trust. While reading these publications in a most attentive and receptive manner, the young scientist must not fall into the error of placing in them a greater confidence than their author would wish him to do. (49) No great scientist ever wants his pupils to be mere gramophone records, faithfully reproducing his remarks, never questioning anything, never wanting to add to or subtract from what he has given them. The second thing a young scientist must do, almost but not quite simultaneously with the first, is to proceed with observations and experiments. (50) The initial observations and experiments will be failures, but they will help the development of appropriate experimental technique, and they will give a greater understanding of the literature the young scientist is studying.

Studythefollowingpicturecarefullyandwriteanessayto1)describethepicture,2)interpretitsmeaning,and3)giveexamplestosupportyourview.Youshouldwriteabout150—200wordsneatly.

An awkward-looking character such as Cyrano de Bergerac might sniff at the suggestion, but recent scientific research shows beauty, brains and brawn may in fact all be allied, writes Dr. Raj Persaud. (46) Psychologists have concluded that we may be drawn to the stereotypically attractive because of what their faces reveal about their intelligence and success in later life. In American, research led by Professor Leslie Zebrowitz, of Brandeis University, has shown an association between facial attractive and IQ. Strangers briefly exposed to a target"s face were able to correctly judge intelligence at levels significantly better than chance. The same team also researched how a person"s attractiveness might bear relation to their intelligence. They found that good-looking people did better in IQ tests as they aged. (47) Their research sought to prove that how a person perceived himself and was perceived by others predicted how intelligent he apparently became more accurately than his past intelligence. (48) Perhaps because the more attractive people were treated as more intelligent, they ended up having more stimulating and, therefore, intelligence-enhancing lives. Does this mean that your face really could be your destiny? Sociologists Dr Ulrich Mueller and Dr. Allan Mazur, of the University of Marburg in Germany, recently analyzed the final-year photographs of the 1950 graduates of West Point in the United States. Dominant facial appearances turned out to be a consistent predictor of later-rank attainment. Again, they believed there could be a self-fulfilling effect. (49) Because some men looked more authoritative, they naturally drew respect and obedience from others which, in turn, assisted their rise through the ranks. A team at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin has been investigating the sensitive subject of links between physical and mental abnormalities. Led by Doctors Robin Hennessy and John Waddington, the team used a new laser surface-scanning technique to make a 3-D analysis of how facial shape might vary with brain structure. Their findings showed that in early fetal life, brain and face development are intimately connected. From this they concluded that abnormalities in brain elaboration probably also affect face development. This, according to them, explains the striking facial features of some one with Down"s syndrome. (50) Using similar techniques, the team also demonstrated how other disorders linked to brain aberrations could be associated with facial alterations. So the very latest scientific research suggests that nobody should try to look too obviously different from average.

BSection I Use of EnglishDirections: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D./B

CrowdedRoadsWriteanessayof160-200wordsbasedonthedrawing.Inyouressay,youshould1)describethedrawingbriefly,2)explainitsintendedmeaning,and3)giveyourcomments.

BSection II Reading Comprehension/B

A person"s home is as much a reflection of his personality as the clothes he wears, the food he eats and the friends with whom he spends his time. Depending on personality, most have in mind a(n)"【C1】______home". But in general, and especially for the student or new wage earners, there are practical【C2】______of cash and location on achieving that idea Cash【C3】______, in fact, often means that the only way of【C4】______when you leave school is to stay at home for a while until things【C5】______financially. There are obvious【C6】______of living at home—personal laundry is usually【C7】______done along with the family wash; meals are provided and there will be a well-established circle of friends to【C8】______. And there is【C9】______the responsibility for paying bills, rates, etc. On the other hand,【C10】______depends on how a family gets on. Do your parents like your friends? You may love your family—【C11】______do you like them? Are you prepared to be【C12】______when your parents ask where you are going in the evening and what time you expect to be back? If you find that you cannot manage a(n) 【C13】______, and that you finally have the money to leave, how do you【C14】______finding somewhere else to live? If you plan to stay in your home area, the possibilities are【C15】______well-known to you already. Friends and the local paper are always a good【C16】______of information. If you are going to work in a【C17】______area, again there are the papers—and the accommodation agencies,【C18】______these should be approached with caution. Agencies are allowed to【C19】______a fee, usually the【C20】______of the first week"s rent, if you take accommodation they have found for you.

Studythefollowingdrawingcarefullyandwriteanessayin"whichyoushould1)describethedrawing,2)analyzethepurposeofthepainter,and3)stateyourposition.Youshouldwriteabout160-200wordsneatlyonANSWERSHEET2.(20points)

Our ape-men forefathers had no obvious natural weapons in the struggle for【1】in the open. They had neither the powerful teeth nor the strong claws of the big cats. They could not【2】with the bear, whose strength, speed and claws【3】an impressive " small fire" weaponry. They could not even defend themselves【4】running swiftly like the horses, zebras or small animals. If the ape-men had attempted to compete on those terms in the open, they would have been【5】to failure and extinction. But they were【6】with enormous concealed advantages of a kind not possessed by any of their competitors. In the search【7】the pickings of the forest, the ape-men had【8】efficient stereoscopic vision and a sense of color that the animals of the grasslands did not【9】. The ability to see clearly at close range permitted the ape-men to study practical problems in a way that lay far【10】the reach of the original inhabitants of the grassland. Good long-distance sight was【11】another matter. Lack of long-distance vision had not been a problem for forest-dwelling apes and monkeys because the【12】the viewpoint, the greater the range of sight-so【13】they had had to do was climb a tree. Out in the open, however, this simple solution was not【14】. Climbing a hill would have helped, but in many places the ground was flat. The ape-men【15】the only possible solution. They reared up as high as possible on their hind limbs and began to walk【16】. This vital change of physical position brought about considerable disadvantages. It was extremely unstable and it meant that the already slow ape-men became【17】still.【18】, they persevered and their bone structure gradually became【19】to the new, unstable position that【20】them the name Homo erectus, upright man.

How many really suffer as a result of labor market problems? This is one of the most critical yet contentious social policy questions. In many ways, our social statistics exaggerate the degree of hardship. Unemployment does not have the same dire consequences today as it did in the 1930"s when most of the unemployed were primary breadwinners, when income and earnings were usually much closer to the margin of subsistence, and when there were no countervailing social programs for those failing in the labor market. Increasing affluence, the rise of families with more than one wage earner, the growing predominance of secondary earners among the unemployed, and improved social welfare protection have unquestionably mitigated the consequences of joblessness. Earnings and income data also overstate the dimensions of hardship. Among the millions with hourly earnings at or below the minimum wage level, the over-whelming majority are from multiple earner, relatively affluent families. Most of those counted by the poverty statistics are elderly or handicapped or have family responsibilities which keep them out of the labor force, so the poverty statistics are by no means an accurate indicator of labor market pathologies. Yet there are also many ways our social statistics underestimate the degree of labor-market-related hardship. The unemployment counts exclude the millions of fully employed workers whose wages are so low that their families remain in poverty. Low wages and repeated or prolonged unemployment frequently interact to undermine the capacity for self-support. Since the number experiencing joblessness at some time during the year is several times the number unemployed in any month, those who suffer as a result of forced idleness can equal or exceed average annual unemployment, even though only a minority of the jobless in any month really suffer. For every person counted in the monthly unemployment tallies, there is another working part-time because of the inability to find fulltime work, or else outside the labor force but wanting a job. Finally, income transfers in our country have always focused on the elderly, disabled, and dependent, neglecting the needs of the working poor, so that the dramatic expansion of cash and in kind transfers does not necessarily mean that those failing in the labor market are adequately protected. As a result of such contradictory evidence, it is uncertain whether those suffering seriously as a result of thousands or the tens of millions, and, hence, whether high levels of joblessness can be tolerated or must be countered by job creation and economic stimulus. There is only one area of agreement in this debate—that the existing poverty, employment, and earnings statistics are inadequate for one of their primary applications, measuring the consequences of labor market problems.

The clock tower looks out over a 38-hectare campus graced by an ornamental lake and a pillared central hall. Add a little ivy and it could be almost any respected seat of learning in the West. Only the hemisphere is wrong. This is Ningbo campus of Nottingham University in China"s Zhejiang province, half a world away from its British home. Teaching is in English, the first language of the staff. Last year the college, a joint venture with a Chinese enterprise, opened its doors to 900 local students looking for an international education without leaving home. Within five years their numbers are forecast to reach 4,000. Say Nottingham University provost Ina Gow: "Why go all the way to Britain when you can study in China at half the price?" Good question. International education is now a global industry worth $30 billion a year, with some 2 million students studying abroad, a figure that"s forecast to treble by 2020. In particular, the surging economies of India and China are producing far more would-be graduates than their own colleges can accommodate. But preferences are changing fast as thrifty students give up their traditional favorites in the West and choose to stay closer to home. That means a change in strategy for recruit-hungry colleges and governments. Says Andreas Schleicher, an education expert at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, "The real international dimension is that we no longer move students around the world; we move the providers and contents instead." It doesn"t take a Ph. D to spot the trends. The United States still attracts more than a quarter of all overseas students, but its market share is slipping. Britain, in the second slot, saw the number of applicants from China dip by 20 percent last year. Factors include expense and tighter entry regulation. The United States last year relaxed some of its controls but not before losing some of the rich student business from the Middle East. British universities are complaining loudly at the government"s decision to double the price of a student visa. The big beneficiaries are back in the East, close to home for Indian and Chinese students. With generous state help, Australian colleges now attract 9 percent of overseas students, after a decade of double-digit increases. Australians" goal: 560, 000 foreign students—almost three times today"s figure—by 2025, with Asians accounting for some 70 percent of the total. What"s good for the colleges is also good for the national accounts. International education now ranks as Australia"s fourth largest source of export dollars after coal, tourism and iron ore.

You are going to read a text about The Economist"s annual Innovation Awards, followed by a list of concrete information. Choose the suitable information from the list A-F for each numbered subheading (41-45). There is one extra choice you do not need to use. The Economist recognises these talented people through its annual Innovation Awards, presented in six fields: bioscience, computing and communications, energy and environment, business-process innovation, consumer products and a flexible "no boundaries" category. The awards were presented at a ceremony in London on November 9th by John Micklethwait, The Economist"s editor-in-chief. And the winners were: Bioscience: Marvin Caruthers, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Colorado at Boulder, for the development of automated DNA synthesis—the ability to "print out" arbitrary strands of genetic material. (41) Computing and communications: a creative individual who dreams up new ideas of computing and communications and turn them into reality. (42) Energy and environment: a creative individual who dreams up new ideas of energy and environment and turn them into reality. (43) No boundaries: a creative individual who dream up new ideas of internet and turn them into reality. (44) Business-process innovation: a creative individual who dreams up new ideas of business-process and turn them into reality. (45) Consumer products: a creative individual who dreams up new ideas of consumer products and turn them into reality. We extend our congratulations to the winners, and our thanks to the judges.A. Nicolas Hayek, chairman of Swatch, for revitalising the Swiss watch industry. During the 1980s Switzerland"s legendary watch industry fell into decline, with exports falling by half within a decade as a result of Japanese competition. Mr. Hayek"s response was to consolidate the industry to create the Swatch Group. It went on to beat the Japanese at their own game, creating the bestselling watch brand in history and becoming the largest watchmaker in the world, with a quarter of the market.B. Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom of Skype, for the development of internet file-sharing and telephony using peer-to-peer technology, which allows millions of computers to link up over the internet without central co-ordination. In 2000 Messrs Friis and Zennstrom launched KaZaA, which became the dominant means of sharing music and video files, despite attempts by the entertainment industry to shut it down. Skype, launched in 2003, lets users make free phone calls over the internet, forcing traditional telecoms operators to slash their prices.C. Sam Pitroda, chief executive of WorldTel, for pioneering India"s communications revolution. In 1987 Mr. Pitroda was asked by Rajiv Gandhi, the Indian prime minister, to help democratise access to telecommunications. His response was to deploy instantly recognizable yellow telephone kiosks in every town and village. This helped to release India"s telecoms industry from state control and opened it up to private firms, paving the way for a technology boom. He now promotes similar policies in other countries.D. Pierre Omidyar, founder and chairman of eBay, for the development of electronic marketplace technology and his promotion of access to markets as a tool for social change. Mr. Omidyar set up eBay in 1995 with the aim of creating a marketplace accessible to any internet user. The business was profitable by 1996. People all over the world buy and sell items in 45,000 categories; some even make a living trading on eBay.E. Hernando De Soto, founder and president of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy. Mr. De Soto argues that bureaucracy and the lack of formal property rights are major causes of poverty in developing countries. Red tape and the lack of legal title to property, preventing its use as collateral, make it hard for the poor to establish or expand businesses. While serving as economic adviser to the Peruvian government, Mr. de Soto initiated a property-titling scheme which helped 1.2m families. Similar reforms have been implemented in El Salvador, Haiti, Tanzania and Egypt. Mr. de Soto has also championed the use of league tables to shame governments into cutting red tape.F. Johannes Poulsen, former chief executive, Vestas Wind Systems, for the commercialisation of wind energy. In 1987 Mr. Poulsen took the helm at Vestas, then a small Danish firm with 60 employees. By the time he retired in 2002, Vestas had 5,000 employees and a quarter of the world market for wind turbines. Under Mr. Poulsen, Vestas greatly improved the efficiency of wind turbines, reducing costs and making wind power more competitive.

Writeanessayof160—200wordsbasedonthefollowingdrawing.Inyouressay,youshould1)describethepicturebriefly,2)explainitsintendedmeaning,andthen3)supportyourviewwithanexample/examples.Youshouldwriteneatly.

For months the Japanese searched fitfully for the right word to describe what was happening. At the Bank of Japan, the nation"s central bank, officials spoke of "an adjustment phase." Prime Minister admitted only to "a difficult situation". The Economic Planning Agency, the government"s record keeper, referred delicately to a "retreat". Then two weeks ago, for the first time since 1997, the agency dropped its boilerplate reference to the "expansion" from its closely watched Monthly Economic Report, and the word game was over. Japan"s economy, the world"s second largest, conceded the experts, was in recession. That admission confirmed the bad news businessmen had been reading in their spreadsheets for several months. "In 2001 one market after another turned bad", says Yoshihiko Wakamoto, senior vice president of Toshiba Corp., which now admits that its pretax profits for fiscal 2001, ending March 31, may be down a whopping 42%. In April, when many Japanese companies announce their results for 2001 fiscal year, most will report declining profits. Blue chips like Sony, NEC and Matsushita have all experienced drops of over 40% in pretax profits. Japan"s security houses, hit by declining commissions from a falling stock market, will announce even more dramatic drops. Nomura Securities, once Japan"s most profitable company, is talking about an 80% decline in profits. Auto manufacturers, banks, airlines, steel companies, department stores—all are in a slump. Technically, what is happening to the Japanese economy does not meet American criteria for a recession, normally defined as at least two consecutive quarters of negative growth. While economic growth has slowed in Japan, it has not ceased. Government economists are predicting a 3.5% increase in GNP for 2002. Outside experts are not so optimistic. But nearly everyone agrees that GNP growth in Japan is unlikely to slip into negative numbers, as it did last year in the U.S. and Britain. "There"s no question that we are in a recession", pronounces Kunio Miyamoto, chief economist of the Sumitomo-Life Research Institute. "But it is a recession, Japanese-style". During the last half of the 1990s, Japanese companies based much of their expansion around the world on the wildly inflated values of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Japan"s frenzied real estate market. Now both those markets have collapsed. And with long-term interest rates up from 5% to 7%, Japanese companies are less able to sell vast quantities of high-quality goods at razor-thin profit margins. Added to this are pressures from shareholders for a greater return on investments, from Japan"s trading partners for restraints on its aggressive trade practices, and from its own citizens for a reduction in their working hours so they can enjoy the fruits of 40 years of relentless toil.

The nation"s 47 million uninsured are not the only reason that health care has become a big issue in the presidential campaigns.【F1】______Even back in 2005, the health expenditures for each U.S. citizen exceeded the entire per capita incomes of Chile or Venezuela. The soaring spending is rooted in the nation"s technophilia: medical technology accounts for asmuch as half the growth in health care spending.【F2】______Our love affair with next-generation imagingmachines, implantable devices and the like has blinded us to the reality that little evidence often exists for whether something novel works any better than existing equipment, procedures or chemicals. The recently published book Overtreated by New America Foundation Fellow Shannon Brownlee documents how surgical operations to relieve back pain, elective angioplasties that enlarge partially blocked coronary arteries and superfluous computed tomography contribute to the $400 billion to $700 billion in medical care that does not better our health In 2005 the state of Ohio had more magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners than did all of Canada, leading physicians in Toledo to joke about why cars passing by city hospitals don"t swerve out of control because of strong magnetic fields.【F3】______ Brownlee"s book does not even touch on some ultra-high tech, such as the University of Texas M.D.Anderson Cancer Center"s $125-million proton-beam faculty, filled with a physics-grade particleaccelerator, that kills tumor cells.【F4】______One solution, advocated by Brownlee and some other healthpolicy analysts, is a renewal of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)—or the creation of an organization like it—that would compare different treatments. It would be entrusted with comparing the benefits and risks of drugs, procedures and medical devices, while assessing any benefits against costs. The same Newt Gingrich—led Congress that eliminated the office of Technology Assessment in 1995 almost did away with the AHRQ, which barely survived with diminished funding and powers. 【F5】______For a revitalized AHRQ or a clone thereof to work as it should will require that a newpresident follow through with adequate funding, an assurance that Medicare will consider seriously its findings and, perhaps most important, a Federal Reserve—like independence from the momentary whims ofthe political establishment. Awatchdog thathelpsto ensure we pay only forwhat works, notwithstanding the entreaties of drug companies and equipment manufacturers to do the opposite, will provide a powerful brake on the growing costs already choking our medical system. A.Questions remain, however, about whether proton beams are more effective than another form of radiotherapy that M. D.Anderson already offers. B.Besides leaving many uncovered, the U.S. also has trouble controlling the spending habits of a health care giant that is on track to consume 20 cents of every dollar by 2015, a tripling from 1970 levels. C.It now serves only as an information clearinghouse, not an organization that makes recommendations on Medicare reimbursement decisions. D.Although this trend has benefited everyone—witness the near halving of heart attack deaths from 1980 to 2000—not all those added dollars have been as well spent as drug and device manufacturers would have us believe. E.Yet studies have shown that imaging techniques such as MRI have not improved diagnosis as much as doctors and patients think they have. F.Several Democratic candidates, including Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, have expressed their approval to the need for institutes that would lay the foundation for "evidence-based" medicine.

One reason human beings can thrive in all kinds of climates is that they can control the qualities of the air in the enclosed spaces in which they live. Air conditioning is the use of mechanical systems to【C1】______that control in such places【C2】______homes, offices, theaters, institutions, factories, airplanes, and automobiles. The most familiar type of air conditioning is summertime cooling. Although important, this is【C3】______one of several aspects of air conditioning. Other applications【C4】______the control of the humidity (or air moisture), cleanliness, circulation of the air, and heating. Tests have【C5】______that people generally feel best【C6】______certain temperature, humidity, and air velocity conditions. Temperatures can【C7】______from 21.5°C with 70 percent relative humidity to 28 °C with 30 percent relative humidity. Relative humidity is the【C8】______of moisture in the air【C9】______a specific temperature compared 【C10】______the amount it could hold at that temperature.【C11】______air velocities range from 4.5 to 10.5 meters per minute. It is also desirable that an air conditioner【C12】______dust, pollen, smoke, and odors from the air. In many industrial environments, air conditioning is essential. Most print shops, for example,【C13】______constant humidity in order to control paper shrinkage and【C14】______the【C15】______operation in some processes. Libraries, especially ones with rare books, require air control to【C16】______the physical quality of their collections. Bakeries and the tobacco and cotton industries require high humidity【C17】______their products, and perishables such as fruits must be stored in cool, dry rooms. Some electronic components, drugs, and chemicals must be manufactured【C18】______the air is as free as possible【C19】______dust and other particles. Air conditioning is【C20】______in hospitals, especially in operating rooms.

Study the following drawing carefully and write an essay in which you should 1) describe the drawing ,2) analyze the aim of the painter of the drawing , and3) suggest counter-measures.You should write about 160 — 200 words neatly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (20 points)

Nobody, it seems, wants to be left out of Argentina"s current boom in television reality shows. After the success of local versions of "Big Brother" and "Survivor", a camera is now to be (1)_____ in the presidential palace, the Casa Rosada, to film everything (well, almost) (2)_____ President Fernando de la Rua gets (3)_____ to. The results will be edited and (4)_____ several times a day, (5)_____ the state channel, Canal 7; thus dispell, it is (6)_____, the notion that the president spends his time twiddling his thumbs to his economy minister, Domingo Cavallo, runs the country. This is a dangerous strategy. Mr. de la Rua"s predecessor, Carlos Menem, was famous for his love of show business, even closing his 1995 presidential campaign (7)_____ an appearance on the hit show "Videomatch". In deliberate (8)_____, before his election victory two years (9)_____. Mr. de la Rua (10)_____ in television commercials that he was a very boring man. Audiences agree: his appearances last year on several leading talk (11)_____ made their ratings fall. Worse, when he decided to make his own appearance on "Videomatch" last December, a member of the audience blamed him and left him (12)_____ embarrassed. With a congressional election (13)_____ in October, opinion (14)_____ suggest that over three-quarters of Argentines (15)_____ dissatisfied with Mr. de la Rua. That, says his circle, is at least partly due to his (16)_____ portrayal by Freddy Villarreal, an impressionist on "Videomatch", and by leading newspaper cartoonists, such as Nik in La Naeion. Mr. de la Rua"s team is apparently pressing the (17)_____ to be nicer. But it is unclear whether blanket (18)_____ will help the president win (19)_____ viewers, or whether they will vote that Fernando should (20)_____ the house in 2003.

A possible conflict in Iraq; deteriorating economies in South Americas famine in sub-Saharan Africa; turmoil in Indonesia; political instability in the Balkans. And in many developing countries, persistent crime, lousy education and a lack of opportunities for energetic people to prosper without graft and political connections. No wonder so many people want the chance of a better life in the stable, meritocratic economies of the rich world. No wonder they risk their life savings, or even their lives, to buy the hope of higher earnings, fairer treatment and better opportunities for their families. This movement of humanity brings undoubted gains, and not just to the immigrants. The gap between earnings in the poor and rich worlds is vastly greater than the gap in the prices of traded goods. As our survey argues, the potential economic benefits to the world of liberalizing migration dwarf those from removing trade barriers. Where populations are aging and economies are sluggish, the benefits are especially great. Immigrants, unlike natives, move readily to areas where labour is in short supply, so easing bottlenecks. They bring a just-in-time supply of skills, too, which is why hospitals want to hire foreign doctors and nurses; farmers, spare hands to pick fruit and vegetables; and wealthy couples, nannies for their children. In many cases, immigrants also pay more in taxes than they cost in public spending. But voters in rich countries often don"t see things this way. Like other forces of globalization, immigration is disruptive, and at the most intimate level. It changes the neighbourhood. People in the street speak odd languages; the neighbours" cooking smells strange. So immigration often meets passionate resistance. Even in countries built on immigration, like the United States, politicians hesitate to press for easier entry. America has refused to strike a deal with Mexico to let in more legal migrants. In Europe, hostility is deeper and can be more dangerous. In the past year, the far right has gained in elections in France, Denmark, Austria and Netherlands. The hostility may well increase. Immigration has boomed in the past decade partly because rich countries have created lots of jobs. If the economic slowdown persists, unemployment is sure to breed greater resentment. Another terrorist attack along the lines of September 11th, 2001 would, rightly or wrongly, increase fears that immigrants threaten security. And, as HIV spreads in the poor world, rich countries will fret about the threat to their health services and the risk of AIDS. How then to square the conflicting pressures of politics and economics? The first essential is to accept that the voters right to a say about who and how many can enter must take precedence over the rights of those unlucky enough to be born in poorer parts of the world. The task of politicians—and of employers is to persuade voters that immigration is not only inevitable but also in their long-term interests.

Space enthusiasts look to the day when ordinary people, as well as professional astronauts and members of Congress, can leave Earth behind and head for a space station resort, or maybe a base on the moon or Mars. The Space Transportation Association, an industry lobbying group, recently created a division devoted to promoting space tourism, which it sees as a viable way to spur economic development beyond Earth. The great stumbling block in this road to stars, however, is the sheer difficulty of getting anywhere in space. Merely achieving orbit is an expensive and risky proposition. Current space propulsion technologies make it a stretch to send probes to distant destinations within the solar system. Spacecraft have to follow multi-laver, indirect trajectories that loop around several planes in order to gain velocity from gravity assists. Then the craft lack the energy to come back. Sending spacecraft to other solar systems would take many centuries. Fortunately, engineers have no shortage of inventive plans for new propulsion systems that might someday expand human presence, literally or figuratively, beyond this planet. Some are radical refinements of current rockets or jet technologies. Others harness nuclear energies or would ride on powerful laser beams. Even the equivalents of "space elevators" for hoisting cargoes into orbit are on the drawing board. "Reach low orbit and you are halfway to anywhere in the Solar System", science-fiction author Robert A. Heinlein memorably wrote, and virtually all analysts agree that inexpensive access to low Earth orbit is a vital first step, because most scenarios for expanding humankind"s reach depend on the orbital assembly of massive spacecraft or other equipment, involving multiple hunches. The need for better launch systems is already immediate, driven by private and public sector demand. Most commercial payloads are destined either for the now crowed geo-stationary orbit, where satellites jostle for elbow room 36,000 kilometers above the equator, or for low-Earth or bit, just a few hundred kilometers up. Low-Earth orbit is rapidly becoming a space enterprise zone, because satellites that close can transmit signals to desktop or even handheld receivers. Scientific payloads are also taking off in a big way. More than 50 major observatories and explorations to other solar systems" bodies will lift off within the next decade. The pressing demand for launches has even prompted Boeing"s commercial space division to team up with RSC—Energia in Moscow and Kvaerner Maritime in Oslo to refurbish an oil rig and create a 34,000—ton displacement semi-submersible launch platform that will be towed to orbitally favorable launch sites.