单选题There seems never to have been a civilization without toys, but when and how they developed is unknown. They probably came about just to give children something to do. In the ancient world, as is today, most boys played with some kinds of toys and most girls with another. In societies where social roles are rigidly determined, boys pattern their play after the activities of their fathers and girls after the tasks of their mothers. This is true because boys and girls are being prepared, even in play, to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world. What is remarkable about the history of toys is not how they changed over the centuries, but how they remained the same. The changes have been mostly in terms of craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology. It is the universality of toys with regard to their development in all parts of the world and their persistence to the present that is amazing. In Egypt, the Americas, China, Japan and among the Arctic (北极的) peoples, generally the same kinds of toys appeared. Variations depended on local customs and ways of life because toys imitate their surroundings. Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles. Because toys can be generally regarded as a kind of art form, they have not been subject to technological leaps that characterize inventions for adult use. The progress from the wheel to the oxcart to the automobile is a direct line of ascent (进步). The progress from a rattle (拨浪鼓) used by a baby in 3000 B. C. to one used by an infant today, however, is not characterized by inventiveness. Each rattle is the product of the artistic tastes of the times and subject to the limitations of available materials. (306 words)

单选题A: Do you mind my taking this seat? B:______.

单选题According to the passage, what causes potassium and water in the mimosa to shift from some cells to others?

单选题You ______ him so closely ; you should have kept your distance. A. shouldn't have been following B. mustn't follow C. couldn't have been following D. shouldn't follow

单选题I took the medicine 10 minutes ago, but the bitterness is still ______ in my mouth. A. scattering B. feeling C. maintaining D. lingering

单选题A : Do you mind my taking this seat? B:______ A. Yes, sit down please. B. No, of course not. C. Yes, take it please. D. No, you can't take it.

单选题(In order to) get married in this state, one (must present) a medical report (along with) (your) identification.A. In order toB. must presentC. along withD. your

单选题The girl will not become a nurse because she will faint at the ______ of blood.

单选题{{B}}16-20{{/B}} The development of rapid transit rail lines in cities should parallel local economic development and blind construction of such lines should be avoided, a State Council conference said yesterday. The meeting, chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, said the building of rapid-transit rail lines in cities should be carried out according to strict guidelines and management systems of such lines should be improved. It stressed that the amount of domestically made equipment used in such infrastructure projects needs to be increased. The meeting also deliberated on the draft amendments for laws governing the People's Bank of China and commercial banks. Also discussed were the draft law on the supervision and management of banking sector and draft regulations on the management of central food reserves. It was agreed at the meeting that the laws governing the People's Bank of China and commercial banks need to be amended so that the roles and responsibilities of the two are made clear.

单选题Ray: ______. Where was I? Brenda: You were talking about your trip to South Africa. A. Let's back up. B. What did I hear? C. Let's check in. D. What were you talking about?

单选题He showed great interest in my field of work. He asked me ______ fresh developments. A. informing him of B. to inform him C. to keep him informed of D. keeping him informed of

单选题At a party.Adam: This is a great apartment.Tammy: I think so, too.______?Adam: No, I'm Adam. I came with Carl. I don't really know anyone here. Carl's told me about most of his friends, but I can't match the names with the faces.

单选题During the past generation, the American middle-class family that once could count on hard work and fair play to keep itself financially secure had been transformed by economic risk and new realties. Now a pink slip, a bad diagnosis, or a disappearing spouse can reduce a family from solidly middle class to newly poor in a few months. In just one generation, millions of mothers have gone to work, transforming basic family economics. Scholars, policymakers, and critics of all stripes have debated the social implications of these changes, but few have looked at the side effect: family risk has risen as well. Today's families have budgeted to the limits of theirs new two-paycheck status. As a result, they have lost the parachuted they once had in times of financial setback—a back-up earner (usually Mom) who could go into the workforce if the primary earner got laid off or fell sick. This "added-worker effect" could support the safety net offered by unemployment insurance or disability insurance to help families weather bad times. But today, a disruption to family fortunes can no longer be made up with extra income from an otherwise-stay-at-home partner. During the same period, families have been asked to absorb much more risk in their retirement income. Steelworkers, airline employees, and now those in the auto industry are joining millions of families who must worry about interest rates, stock market fluctuation, and the harsh reality that they may outlive their retirement money. For much of the past year, President Bush campaigned to move Social Security to a saving-ac- count model, with retirees trading much or all of their guaranteed payments for payments depending on in- vestment returns. For younger families the picture is not any better. Both the absolute cost of healthcare and the share of it borne by families have risen—and newly fashionable health-saving plans are spreading from legislative halls to Wal-Mart workers, with much higher deductibles and a large new dose of investment risk for families' future healthcare. Even demographics are working against the middle class family, as the odds of having a weak elderly parent-and all the attendant need for physical and financial assistance—have jumped eightfold in just one generation. From the middle-class family perspective, much of this, understandably, looks far less like an opportunity to exercise more financial responsibility, and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration of the whole- sale shift of financial risk onto their already overburdened shoulders. The financial fallout has begun, and the political fallout may not be far behind.

单选题Send the note to ______ is in the office. A. whoever B. whomever C. no matter who D. whichever

单选题The percentage of immigrants (including those unlawfully present) in the United States has been creeping upward for years. At 12.6 percent, it is now higher than at any point since the mid-1920s. We are not about to go back to the days when Congress openly worried about inferior races polluting America's bloodstream. But once again we are wondering whether we have too many of the wrong sort of newcomers. Their loudest critics argue that the new wave of immigrants cannot, and indeed do not want to, fit in as previous generations did. We now know that these racist views were wrong. In time, Italians, Romanians and members of other so-called inferior races became exemplary Americans and contributed greatly, in ways too numerous to detail, to the building of this magnificent nation. There is no reason why these new immigrants should not have the same success. Although children of Mexican immigrants do better, in terms of educational and professional attainment, than their parents, UCLA sociologist Edward Telles has found that the gains don't continue. Indeed, the fourth generation is marginally worse off than the third. James Jackson, of the University of Michigan, has found a similar trend among black Caribbean immigrants, Telles fears that Mexican-Americans may be fated to follow in the footsteps of American blacks—that large parts of the community may become mired (陷入) in a seemingly permanent state of poverty and underachievement. Like African-Americans, Mexican-Americans are increasingly relegated to(降入) segregated(隔离), substandard schools, and their dropout rate is the highest for any ethnic group in the country. We have learned much about the foolish idea of excluding people on the presumption of the ethnic/racial inferiority. But what we have not yet learned is how to make the process of Americanization work for all. I am not talking about requiring people to learn English or to adopt American ways; those things happen pretty much on their own. But as arguments about immigration heat up the campaign trail, we also ought to ask some broader questions about assimilation (同化), about how to ensure that people, once outsiders, don't forever remain marginalized within these shores. That is a much larger question than what should happen with undocumented workers, or how best to secure the border, and it is one that affects not only newcomers but groups that have been here for generations. It will have more impact on our future than where we decide to set the admissions bar for the latest wave of would-be Americans. And it would be nice if we finally got the answer right.

单选题This article deals with the natural ______ which is most interesting to everyone. A. phenomenon B. phenomena C. phenomenons D. phenomenas

单选题This great project at the Three Gorges of the Yangtze is expected to______twenty years to complete.

单选题{{B}}练习五{{/B}} The American economic system is organized around a basically private-enterprise, market oriented economy in which consumers largely determine what shall be produced by spending their money in the marketplace for those goods and services that they want most. Private businessmen, striving to make their profits, produce these goods and services in competition with other businessmen: and the profit motive, operating under competitive pressures, largely determines how these goods and services are produced. Thus, in the American economic system it is the demand of individual consumers, coupled with the desire of businessmen to maximize profits and the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes, that together determine what shall be produced and how resources are used to produce it. An important factor in a market-oriented economy is the mechanism by which consumer demands can be expressed and responded to by producers. In the American economy, this mechanism is provided by a price system, a process in which prices rise and fall in response to relative demands of consumers and supplies offered by seller-producers. If the product is in short supply relative to the demand, the price will be a bit up and some consumers will be eliminated from the market. If, on the other hand, producing more of a commodity results in reducing its cost, this will tend to increase the supply offered by seller-producers, which in turn will lower the price and permit more consumers to buy the product. Thus, price is the regulating mechanism in the American economic system. The important factor in a private-oriented economy is that individuals are allowed to own productive resources (private property), and they are permitted to hire labor, gain control over natural resources, and produce goods and services for sale at a profit. In the American economy, the concept of private property embraces not only the ownership of productive resources but also certain rights, including the right to determine the price of a product or to make a free contract with another private individual.

单选题Watch out! Here comes London Mayor Boris Johnson riding a bicycle from his new bike hire plan. "What we've put in is a new form of public transport. These bikes are going to belong to everybody. " More than 12000 people have signed up for the plan. They each receive a key at a cost of three pounds, with costs at one pound for a 24-hour membership, five pounds for seven days, and 45 pounds for an annual membership. John Payne, a London teacher who cycles a lot, is among the first to use the system. "It's very comfortable. For people who don't cycle much I think it'll be very useful. But for people who cycle regularly, they are possibly a bit slow. But they're perfect for London streets, very strong. I think they'll be very widely used. " And Johnson says it's of good value. "I think it's extremely good value. The first half hour is free. If you cycle smart and you cycle around London--most journeys in London take less than half an hour, you can cycle the whole day free. " Some 5 000 bikes are currently available at over 300 docking stations (租车点) in central London. Johnson says the city will gradually expand the system, "Clearly one of our ambitions is to make sure that in 2012 when the world comes to London, they be able to use London hire bikes to go to the Olympic stadiums. /