单选题Fifty dollars ______ a big sum of money for a child.

单选题As our van pulled up to the ranch (牧场) to start a three-month program for troubled boys, we passed a cowboy on his horse. Bill was the owner of the ranch. We made eye contact through the dusty window and he winked (挤眼睛) at me and touched the brim of his cowboy hat in welcome. All summer long Bill and his ranch-hands taught us to ride horses, chop wood, and round up cattle. We started to understand the value of working with our hands. Knowing how important it was for boys like me to know that someone believed in them, he trusted us to do the job and do it right. We never let him down. The last day at the ranch, Bill pulled me aside and praised me for the work I had done—not only on the ranch, but also on myself. He told me if I ever needed anything I could count on him. Four years later, I took him up on that offer. I called him up and asked for a job. I told him how his confidence in me had given me the courage to change my life. He offered me a job on the spot. I"m proud to say that each summer I"m the one in the ranch to open the gate for a van full of young men who need someone to believe in them, so they can learn to believe in themselves.

单选题You would be ______ a risk to let your child go to school by himself. A. omitting B. attaching C. affording D. running

单选题I appreciated ______ to the United States to study five years ago.

单选题UCorruption/U in government was exposed through the agency of the press.

单选题If you are smiling, your voice on the phone will automatically be friendly.

单选题A recent survey suggested that if money were not an issue, most mothers ______not to work at all.

单选题Concrete is probably used more widely than any other substance except water, yet it remains largely unappreciated. “Some people view the 20th century as the atomic age, the space age, the computer age — but an argument can be made that it was the concrete age,” says cement specialist Hendrik Van Oss. “It’s a miracle material.” Indeed, more than a ton of concrete is produced each year for every man, woman and child on Earth. Yet concrete is generally ignored outside the engineering world, a victim of its own ubiquity and the industry’s conservative pace of development. Now, thanks to environmental pressures and entrepreneurial innovation, a new generation of concretes is emerging. This high-tech assortment of concrete confections promises to be stronger, lighter, and more environmentally friendly than ever before. Concrete is also a climate-change villain. It is made by mixing water with an aggregate, such as sand or gravel, and cement. Cement is usually made by heating limestone and clay to over 2,500 degrees F. The resulting chemical reaction, along with fuel burned to heat the kiln, produces between 7% and 10% of global carbon-dioxide emissions. “When we have to repeatedly regenerate these materials because they’re not durable, we release more emissions,” says Victor Li who has created a concrete suffused by synthetic fibers that make it stronger, more durable, and able to bend like a metal. Li’s creation does not require reinforcement, a property shared by other concretes that use chemical additives. Using less water makes concrete stronger, but until the development of plasticizers, it also made concrete sticky, dry, and hard to handle, says Christian Meyer, a civil engineering professor at Columbia University. Making stronger concretes, says Li, allows less to be used, reducing waste and giving architects more freedom. “You can have such futuristic designs if you don’t have to put rebar in there, or structural beams,” says Van Oss. A more directly “green” c6nerete has been developed by the Australian company TecEeo. They add magnesium to their cement, forming a porous concrete that actually scrubs carbon dioxide from the air. While experts agree that these new concrete will someday be widely used, the timetable is uncertain. Concrete companies are responsive to environmental concerns and are always looking to stretch the utility of their product, but the construction industry is slow to change. “When you start monkeying around with materials, the governing bodies, the building departments, are very cautious before they let you use an unproven material,” Meyer says. In the next few decades, says Van Oss, building codes will change, opening the way for innovative materials. But while new concretes may be stronger and more durable, they are also more expensive — and whether the tendency of developers and the public to focus on short-term rather than long-term costs will also change is another matter.

单选题______ my neighbor's kid with his coming exam, I spend an hour working with him every day. A. To help B. Helping C. Helped D. Having helped

单选题A: What about having a drink? B: ______ A. Good idea. B. Help yourself. C. Go ahead, please. D. Me, too.

单选题The new Beijing Library is larger than ______ library in China. A. any B. any other C. other D. the other

单选题The president of the college, together with the deans, ______ a conference for the purpose of laying down certain regulations. A. is planning B. are planning C. are to plan D. have planned

单选题He told us a lot of jokes and had us ______ all through the meal. A. laughing B. laugh C. laughed D. to laugh

单选题Travel around Japan today, and one sees foreign residents holding a wide ______ of jobs. A. range B. field C. scale D. area

单选题The newcomers found it impossible to ______ themselves to the climate sufficiently to make permanent homes in the new country. A. suit B. adapt C. regulate D. coordinate

单选题They were expected to be models of virtue, honoured as ______ for their character as for their learning. A. much B. more C. great D. many

单选题{{B}}练习十八{{/B}} Marriage guidance counsellors never stop hearing it. "He (or she) never listens," warring couples complain, again and again, as if they were chanting a mantra(吟颂祷文) . And it is the same at work. Bosses say it of executives they are displeased with, and the executives return the compliment with interest when complaining about their bosses. Customers say it about suppliers who have cocked up, and suppliers—having patiently explained why on this occasion they cannot provide exactly what is wanted—say the same about their customers. Like married couples, we all shout the accusation at others, pretending that we ourselves are faultless. Yet in our hearts we know many of the mistakes we make come about because we haven't listened sufficiently carefully. We get things wrong because we haven't quite understood what was wanted, or haven't sussed out(推断出) the implications of what we were told. Anyone who has ever written the minutes of a long meeting will know how hard it is to remember—even with the benefit of notes—exactly what everyone said and, more importantly, exactly what everyone meant. But success depends on getting things right and that means listening; listening, listening, listening. Hearing is not listening. Listening is not a passive activity. It is hard work. It demands attention and concentration. It may mean probing the speaker for additional information. If you allow your mind to wander, even for a few minutes, you'll naturally miss what the speaker is saying—probably at the very moment when the speaker is saying something crucial. But not having heard, you won't know you've missed. Until too late. The most common bad habit we all have is to start thinking of what we are going to say long before the other speaker has finished. Then we stop listening. Worse still, this often adds rudeness to inattentiveness, as once you have determined what you intend to say there is a fair chance you will rudely butt in on the other person to say it. The American wit Letitia Baldridge quipped: "Good listeners don't interrupt ever—unless the building's on fire." It's a good rule of thumb. One of the key ways to improve your listening ability is by learning to keep a wary eye on the speakers' body language. The ways people move and position themselves while they are speaking can reveal a great deal about what they are saying. Being a good listener involves being a good watcher: eyes and ears must go hand in hand. For example, people who cover up their mouths with their hands while they are speaking are usually betraying insecurity, and may well be lying. When people rub their noses, it generally indicates they are puzzled; when they shrug their shoulders they are indifferent; when they hug themselves they are feeling threatened. If they are smiling as they speak they want you to feel the message is friendly, even if its content sounds hostile. On the other hand, if they are clenching their fists and drumming their fingers they may be restraining their anger, and may be much more furious than their words suggest. The American psychologist Robert C. Beck, who has specialized in research into how people can teach themselves to be better listeners, offers the following half-dozen rules for self-improvement. Be patient—accept that many people are not very good communicators, encourage them to make things crystal clear, and don't interrupt impatiently or jump to conclusions. Be empathetic—put yourself in the other person's shoes, both intellectually and emotionally; it will help you understand what they are getting at. Don't be too clever—faced with a know-all, many people become silent, either because they don't want to look foolish .or because they see no point in bothering to continue. Use self-disclosure—admitting to your own problems and difficulties, and to your own mistakes, will encourage people to speak openly and honestly about theirs. Ask for explanations—get people to explain points or words you have not fully understood; it is always better to ask than to press on regardless—and then get things wrong. Ask "opening up" questions—these are gentle, unthreatening and open-ended; they cannot be answered with a mere "yes" or "no" and should provide no clues as to the answer the questioner might want to hear. Finally, it is almost always worth summing up the gist of what you have just been told, as quickly and briefly as you can, before the discussion ends. Nobody is ever offended by having what they have just said repeated to them. It ensures you have listened accurately and grasped the correct messages. If things go pear-shaped thereafter, at least the pears can't be dumped on your doorstep.

单选题On ______ of the school, I'd like to welcome you all. A. behalf B. dairy C. decade D. delight