单选题 When it comes to the economy, pessimism is in and good old American optimism is out. From the headlines in the newspapers to the coffee shop chatter, it seems that there is little good to say about the economy. Bad enough that the news about Iraq, winter storms and the escalation of terror alerts continue to keep people on edge. Reports of state budget deficits and threats of major cutbacks in services such as education, health care and police also' make people nervous. The latest USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll reflects the new pessimism. Asked early this past week how they would rate economic conditions in the country today, just one in three--34%--said they consider it good. That's down 10 percentage points from December, when 44% rated the economy good and 20 points lower than September when 54% said they thought economic conditions were good. Moreover,' when asked to look ahead a year from now, those people willing to say things will get better are also dwindling in numbers. A thin majority of 55% said they expected economic conditions to be better by this time next year. Not bad on the surface. But looking back just two months to December, 65%--or two of three--believed that things would improve in a year. And going back six months to September, 71% expressed optimism for economic improvement. So the seeds of discontent are out there and they could set off a political firestorm for President Bush if economic conditions don't start getting better soon. Or more importantly, if the American people don't start feeling better soon. Regardless of what the statistics say about how good the economy might be getting, the American people have to feel it. And often, feelings lag behind numbers. Indeed, most people believe that the economy is in recession. Statistically it is not. Case in point: On Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the economy grew at a 1.4% rate in the final quarter of last year--twice as fast as the government first estimated. Major factors in the upward revision in the gross domestic product were stronger investment by businesses in building up stockpiles of unsold goods and a slight boost to consumer spending, the main force keeping the economy going. But while that report is interesting, and perhaps a source of hope that things aren't as bad as they seem, more tangible examples of economic improvement are needed--solid gains in the stock market, rehiring by plants that have been laying off workers, new business expansion. The USA TODAY poll further shows that nervousness about Iraq and a still-sluggish economy are taking a political toll on Bush: His job approval rating is 57%, his lowest since before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Surely, what happens with Iraq will be a major factor in the president's political fortunes next year, but if people continue to be pessimistic about the economy when Bush is in the midst of running for a second term, it will be difficult to be optimistic about his chances of winning.

单选题I'd rather have a room of my own, however small it is, than______a room with someoneelse. A. share B. to share C. sharing D. to have shared

单选题Unless we spend money to spot and prevent asteroids (小行星) now, one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it, say some scientists. Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids (流星)that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don't threaten us. But there are also thousands whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth. Buy $ 40 million worth of new telescopes right now. Then spend $10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say, we'll have a way to change its course. Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons. But the cost wouldn't be cheap. Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: 1) How likely the event is; and 2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 400,000 years. Sounds pretty rare-but if one did fall, it would be the end of the world. "If we don't take care of these big asteroids, they'll take care of us," says one scientist. "It's that simple." The cure, though, might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? "The world has less to fear from doomsday (毁灭性的) rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them, "said a New York Times article.

单选题It is necessary that one (met) with a judge (before signing) (the final papers) (for a divorce).A. metB. before signingC. the final papers D for a divorce

单选题Who doubts ______ it is true? A. if B. that C. what D. whether

单选题I have to get ______ about the subject before I write the paper. A. a bit information more B. a little more information C. a little information more D. a few more information

单选题Speaker A: Excuse me. Could you show me the way to the nearest subway station?Speaker B: ______.

单选题{{B}}Text 3{{/B}} Sport is heading for an indissoluble marriage with television and the passive spectator will enjoy a private paradise. All of this will be in the future of sport. The spectator (the television audience) will be the priority(优先) and professional clubs will have to readjust their structures to adapt to the new reality: sport as a business. The new technologies will mean that spectators will no longer have to wait for broadcasts by the conventional channels. They will be the ones who decide what to see. And they will have to pay for it. In the United States the system of the future has already started: pay-as-you-view. Everything will be offered by television and the spectator will only have to choose. The review Sports Illustrated recently published a full profile of the life of the supporter at home in the middle of the next century. It explained that the consumers would be able to select their view of the match on a gigantic, flat screen occupying the whole of one wall, with images of a clarity which cannot be foreseen at present; they could watch from the trainer's bench, from the stands just behind the batter in a game of baseball or from the helmet of the star player in an American football game. And at their disposal will be the same options the producer of the recorded programme has: to select replays, to choose which camera to use and to decide on the sound— whether to hear the public, the players, the trainer and so on. Many sports executives, largely too old and too conservative to feel at home with the new technologies, will believe that sport must control the expansion of television coverage in order to survive and ensure that spectators attend matches. They do not even accept the evidence which contradicts their view: while there is more basketball than ever on television, for example, it is also certain that basketball is more popular than ever. It is also the argument of these sports executives that television is harming the modest teams. This is true, but the future of those teams is also modest. They have reached their ceiling. It is the law of the market. The great events continually attract larger audiences. The world is being constructed on new technologies so that people can make the utmost use of their time and, in their home, have access to the greatest possible range of recreational activities. Sport will have to adapt itself to the new world. The most visionary executives go further. Their philosophy is：rather than see television take over sport, why not have sports taken over television?

单选题The ______ care of the body requires an understanding of its needs, allowing for variations resulting from climate, age or occupation.

单选题The problem of ______ to select as his successor was quickly disposed of. A. what B. whom C. which D. how

单选题Doctor: It's the flu. Drink plenty of water and have a good rest. Patient: Do I have to stay in bed? I have piles of work to do at office. Doctor: ______ A. Did you hear what I just said? B. You needn't go to the office. C. It's OK if you have to work overtime. D. I'm afraid you have to keep it off your mind for a week or so.

单选题As early as 1647, Ohio made a decision that free, tax-supported schools must be established in every town 50 households or more. A. having B. to have C. to have had D. having had

单选题In the darkness, it is difficult for us to ______ the tower from the other buildings around it. A. distinguish B. divide C. separate D. discover

单选题{{B}}21-25{{/B}} For centuries, explorers have risked their lives venturing into the unknown for reasons that were to varying degrees economic and nationalistic. Columbus went west to look for better trade routes to the Orient and to promote the greater glory of Spain. Lewis and Clark journeyed into the American wilderness to find out what the U.S. had acquired when it purchased Louisiana, and the Appolo astronauts rocketed to the moon in a dramatic show off technological muscle during the cold war. Although their missions blended commercial and political-military imperatives, the explorers involved all accomplished some significant science simply by going where no scientists had gone before. Today Mars looms (隐约出现) as humanity's next great terra incognita (未探明之地). And with doubtful prospects for a short-term financial return, with the cold war a rapidly fading memory and amid a growing emphasis on international cooperation in large space ventures, it is clear that imperatives other than profits or nationalism will have to compel human beings to leave their tracks on the planet's reddish surface. Could it be that science, which has long played a minor role in exploration, is at last destined to take a leading role? The question naturally invites a couple of others: are there experiments that only humans could do on Mars? Could those experiments provide insights profound enough to justify the expense of sending people across interplanetary space? With Mars the scientific stakes are arguably higher than they have ever been. The issue of whether life ever existed on the planet, and whether it persists to this day, has been highlighted by mounting evidence that the Red Planet once had abundant stable, liquid water and by the continuing controversy over suggestions that bacterial fossils rode to Earth on a meteorite (陨石) from Mars. A more conclusive answer about life on Mars, past or present, would give researchers invaluable data about the range of conditions under which a planet can generate the complex chemistry that leads to life. If it could be established that life arose independently on Mars and Earth, the finding would provide the first concrete clues in one of the deepest mysteries in all of science: the prevalence of life in the universe.

单选题The blues was born on the Mississippi River Delta in the early 1900s. After the Civil War, the slaves were free but life was still not easy. They had to find new work. In the South, work camps were formed. Black people from these camps worked on farms and on building up the Mississippi River banks. During the week the people worked long and hard. They often lived alone, without their families, far from home. On the weekends, the workers got together at picnics or drinking places. Traveling black musicians with guitars entertained them. The musicians sang songs about the difficult life of the Workers. These songs were called the blues. If you have the blues it means you feel very sad. But blues songs were not always sad. Some of them were happy and many of them were funny. Early blues singers often had very interesting names like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Howlin Wolf. Sometimes the blues singers had song contests. Each singer sang new words or a new style of the blues song. They made up the music as they played. In this way they created new music. This is called improvisation (即兴演奏). Later, improvization became a very important part of jazz music. Blues began in the country in the South. As blacks moved into the big cities to work, the blues went with them. There, they sang about life in the cities. W.C. Handy, a black band leader from Memphis made the blues popular all over America. In 1914 he wrote the most famous blues song of all, "The St. Louis Blues./

单选题 Because of its potential for cutting costs, the distribution step in the marketing process is receiving more attention. Distribution involves warehousing, transporting and keeping inventory of manufactured products. Take an everyday product like fabric softener. After it comes off the assembly line, it's packed in cartons and trucked to warehouses around the country. When orders come in from retailers, the fabric softener is delivered to supermarket shelves. This is distribution. Probably the most crucial area for controlling costs is inventory. Companies don't want to overproduce and have unsold stock of their product piled up in warehouses. Wholesale companies and large retail chains employ several techniques for inventory control. This is where the computer revolution really had an impact. Computerized information systems give precise and up-to-date accounts of inventory on hand. And the field of distribution offers good entry-level jobs for persons with training in computer programming or data processing. Overseeing the whole area of distribution is the distribution manager. This job is becoming increasingly important and can lead to an executive position.

单选题This material______well.

单选题 Passage 8 Excitement, fatigue, and anxiety can all be detected from someone's blinks, according to psychologist John Stern {{U}}(1) {{/U}} Washington University in St. Louis. Stern specialized in the study on these tiny twitches, using them as sensitive {{U}}(2) {{/U}} of how the brain works. "I use blinks as a psychological measure to make {{U}}(3) {{/U}} about thinking because I have very little {{U}}(4) {{/U}} in what you tell me about what you ,are thinking." He says. "If I ask you the question, 'what does the phrase a rolling stone gathers no moss mean?' you can't tell me {{U}}(5) {{/U}} you've started looking for the answer. But I can, by watching your eyes." Blinks also tell Stem when you have understood his question--often long before he's finished asking it--and when you've found an answer or part of {{U}}(6) {{/U}}. "We blink at times {{U}}(7) {{/U}} are psychologically important." He says. "You have listened to a question, you understand it, {{U}}(8) {{/U}} you can take time out for a blink. Blinks are {{U}}(9) {{/U}} marks. Their timing is tied to what is going on in your {{U}}(10) {{/U}}." Stem has found that {{U}}(11) {{/U}} suppress blinks when they are absorbing or anticipating {{U}}(12) {{/U}} but not when they're reciting it. People blink later, for example, {{U}}(13) {{/U}} they have to memorize six numbers instead of two. "You don't blink," he says, "until you have {{U}}(14) {{/U}} the information to some short-term memory store." And if subjects are cued {{U}}(15) {{/U}} the set of numbers is coming, say, five seconds, they'll curb their blinks until the task is {{U}}(16) {{/U}} Similarly, the more important the information that people are taking in, the more likely they are to put their blinks on hold for {{U}}(17) {{/U}}. Pilots blink less when they're {{U}}(18) {{/U}} for flying a plane than when they {{U}}(19) {{/U}} their eyes from the road to the rearview mirror. But if they see the flashing lights of a state trooper behind them, their {{U}}(20) {{/U}} will move fast unmoistened to the speedometer and back to the mirror.

单选题His government insisted that he ______ until he finished his degree.