单选题Raising children, in the author's opinion, is______.

单选题The relationship between formal education and economic growth in poor countries is widely misunderstood by economists and politicians alike. Progress in both areas is undoubtedly necessary for the social, political and intellectual development of these and all other societies; however, the conventional view that education should be one of the very highest priorities for promoting rapid economic development in poor countries is wrong. We are fortunate that it is, because building new educational systems there and putting enough people through them to improve economic performance would require two or three generations. The findings of a research institution have consistently shown that workers in all countries can be trained on the job to achieve radically higher productivity and, as a result, radically higher standards of living. Ironically, the first evidence for this idea appeared in the United States. Not long ago, with the country entering a recession and Japan at its pre-bubble peak, the U.S. workforce was derided(嘲笑) as poorly educated and one of the primary cause of the poor U.S. economic performance. Japan was, and remains, the global leader in automotive-assembly productivity. Yet the research revealed that the U.S. factories of Honda, Nissan, and Toyota achieved about 95 percent of the productivity of their Japanese counterparts—a result of the training that U.S. workers received on the job. More recently, while examining housing construction, the researchers discovered that illiterate, non-English-speaking Mexican workers in Houston, Texas, consistently met best-practice labor productivity standards despite the complexity of the building industry's work. What is the real relationship between education and economic development? We have to suspect that continuing economic growth promotes the development of education even when governments don't force it. After all, that's how education got started. When our ancestors were hunters and gatherers 10000 years ago, they didn't have time to wonder much about anything besides finding food. Only when humanity began to get its food in a more productive way was there time for other things. As education improved, humanity's productivity potential increased as well. When the competitive environment pushed our ancestors to achieve that potential, they could in turn afford more education. This increasingly high level of education is probably a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for the complex political systems required by advanced economic performance. Thus poor countries might not be able to escape their poverty traps without political changes that may be possible only with broader formal education. A lack of formal education, however, doesn't constrain the ability of the developing world's workforce to substantially improve productivity for the foreseeable future. On the contrary, constraints on improving productivity explain why education isn't developing more quickly there than it is.

单选题A few common misconceptions. Beauty is only skin-deep. One's physical assets and liabilities don't count all that much in a managerial career. A woman should always try to look her best. Over the last 30 years, social scientists have conducted more than 1,000 studies of how we react to beautiful and not-so-beautiful people. The virtually unanimous conclusion: Looks do matter, more than most of us realize. The data suggest, for example, that physically attractive individuals are more likely to be treated well by their parents, sought out as friends, and pursued romantically. With the possible exception of women seeking managerial jobs, they are also more likely to be hired, paid well, and promoted. Un-American, you say, unfair and extremely unbelievable? Once again, the scientists have caught us mouthing pieties (虔诚) while acting just the contrary. Their typical experiment works something like this. They give each member of a group—college students, perhaps, or teachers or corporate personnel managers—a piece of paper relating an individual's accomplishments. Attached to the paper is a photograph. While the papers all say exactly the same thing the pictures are different. Some show a strikingly attractive person, some an average-looking character, and some an unusually unattractive human being. Group members are asked to rate the individual on certain attributes, anything from personal warmth to the likelihood that he or she will be promoted. Almost invariably, the better looking the person in the picture, the higher the person is rated. In the phrase, borrowed from Salppho, that the social scientists use to sum up the common perception, what is beautiful is good. In business, however, good looks cut both ways for women, and deeper than for men. A Utah State University professor, who is an authority on the subject, explains: In terms of their careers, the impact of physical attractiveness on males is only modest. But its potential impact on females can be tremendous, making it easier, for example, for the more attractive to get jobs where they are in the public eye. On another note, though, there is enough literature now for us to conclude that attractive women who aspire to managerial positions do not get on as well as women who may be less attractive.

单选题 About one million tourists go to Barcelona every year, just to visit the Gaudi's Church. This unusual church has a strange history. Gaudi was born in Spain in 1852. He had to work and study at the same time. He often missed classes because he had to work, but one day he designed a very unusual show-case for an exhibition in Paris. People began to give him work. He designed houses, offices and gardens. They were all very unusual. He was soon rich and famous. Then a rich bookseller said, "Will you build a church for the poor people of Barcelona? I will pay. I will build schools and workshops, too. They will help the people." "I will do it," said Guadi. He worked for forty years, but he could not finish the church. It was too big. He needed $10, 000, 000. He gave all his money to the church. He was poor again when he died in 1926, and only the front part of the church was finished. Now, architects, engineers and tourists from all over the world like to come and see the church, which is very strange, very modem and very revolutionary.

单选题The judge panel includes the following EXCEPT ______.

单选题We expected about 20 guests but there were ____________ people there.

单选题The above passage is most probably taken from ______.

单选题Research findings show we spend about two. hours dreaming every night, no matter what we ______during the day.

单选题All ______ was needed was one final push to close the deal.

单选题I'm disappointed with the new officers elected in our club, but there is no point ______ about it.

单选题Client: Could you please break the dollar into quarters? I need the coins for the telephone stand. Bank Clerk: ______ A. Here, you have them. B. Here, take them. C. Sure, in what. denomination? D. Sure, here you are.

单选题Modern medicine and new methods of food production allow adults to live longer and babies to ______ easier.

单选题 We can see how the product life cycle works by looking at the introduction of instant coffee. When it was introduced, most people did not like it as well as "regular" coffee and it took several years to gain general acceptance (introduction stage). At one point, though, Instant coffee grew rapidly in popularity and many brands were introduced (stage of rapid growth). After a while people became attached to one brand and sales leveled off (stage of maturity). Sales went into a slight decline (衰退)when freeze-dried coffees were introduced (stage of decline). The importance of the product life cycle to marketers is this: Different stages in the product life cycle call for different strategies. The goal is to extend product life so that sales and profits do not decline. One strategy is called market modification. It means that marketing managers look for new users and market sections. Did you know, for example, that the backpacks that so many students carry today were originally designed for the military? Market modification also means searching for increased usage among present customers or going for a different market, such as senior citizens. A marketer may re-position the product to appeal to new market sections. Another product extension Strategy is called product modification. It involves changing product quality, features, or style to attract new users or more usage from present users. American auto manufacturers are using quality improvement as one way to recapture world markets. Note, also, how auto manufacturers once changed styles dramatically from year to year to keep demand from falling.

单选题A: Good evening, Juliet, my love. How have you been? B: Fine, ______

单选题 Doctors at Stanford University are studying a medication they hope will alleviate the suffering of millions of American women. But their target isn't breast cancer, osteoporosis, or a similarly well-known affliction. Despite its alarming impact on its victims, the malady in question has received comparatively little medical scrutiny. It's a "hidden epidemic," according to the Stanford researchers: compulsive shopping disorder. That's fight. What was once merely a punch line in television sitcoms is now being taken seriously by many clinicians. According to the Stanford study's leader, Dr. Lorrin Koran, compulsive shopping is "motivated by' irresistible' impulses, characterized by spending that is excessive and inappropriate, has harmful consequences for the individual, and tends to be chronic and stereotyped. "Compulsive shoppers "binge buy"—most often clothes, shoes, makeup, and jewelry—and then suffer intense guilt. That, in mm, helps trigger another frenzied trip to the mall, and the cycle continues. Could compulsive shopping be a health hazard associated with America's unparalleled economic prosperity? "It seems to be a disease of affluence," says Dr. Jerrold Pollak, a clinical psychologist who's treated several shopaholics. "Advertisers…would like us to think that shopping is a reason to live," agrees Dr. Cheryl Carmin, another clinical psychologist. "If you do not have the time or inclination to go to the mall or grocery store, there are catalogs, delivery services, home shopping networks on TV, and endless items to buy via the Internet." Indeed, this year, U.S.advertisers will spend $233 billion—an amount equal to six federal education budgets—to persuade Americans to buy, buy, buy. Yet the possibility that U.S.advertisers may be driving certain women in our society to psychosis is only part of the story. It seems that the pharmaceutical companies' quest to cure the effects of excessive marketing may itself be little more than a cleverly-disguised marketing scheme. The Stanford study, like many of its kind, is being funded by a pharmaceutical company. The undisclosed drag is an FDA-approved antidepressant, specifically an SSRI--a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (The researchers are also studying behavioral therapies for compulsive shoppers). The researchers running the Stanford study refused to reveal their sponsor. However, only five SSRIs are currently on the U.S.market. Pfizer(makers of Zolofi), Eli Lilly(Prozac) and SmithKline Beecham(Paxil) all reported that they are neither conducting nor planning any studies of their drags for compulsive shopping. Solvay (Luvox) also seems an unlikely candidate. In 1997, researchers at the University of Iowa tried using Luvox to treat compulsive shoppers and found no measurable differences between the effects of the drag and those of a placebo. Perhaps the manufacturers of Luvox want to give their product another shot. More likely, however, the mysterious benefactor of the Stanford Study is Forest Pharmaceuticals(Celexa). Their PR department neither confirmed nor denied any involvement in Koran's study. Why would a pharmaceutical company anonymously spend money to license one of its top-selling drugs for a marginal disorder like compulsive shopping? A big part of the answer is profit. The mystery company presumably hopes to carve a unique slice out of the mental disorder pie in order to market it together with a ready-made treatment. This is not at all a new strategy for the world's mammoth pharmaceutical finns, as David Healy, a professor at the University of Wales College of Medicine, explains in his book "The Anti-Depressant I’m." Healy's book describes a process by which companies seek to "educate" both patients and clinicians about a new disorder, to sell the disorder in preparation for selling its cure. Funding clinical trials is a crucial part of that process.

单选题The purpose of the program for Jessica's students is to ______.

单选题More than forty thousand readers told us what they looked for in close friendships, what they expected (1) friends, what they were willing to give in (2) , and how satisfied they were (3) the quality of their friendships. The (4) give little comfort to social critics. Friendship (5) to be a unique form of (6) bonding. Unlike marriage or the ties that (7) parents and children, it is not defined or regulated by (8) . Unlike other social roles that we are expected to (9) —as citizens, employees, members of professional societies and (10) organizations—it has its own principle, which is to promote (11) of warmth, trust, love, and affection (12) two people. The survey on friendship appeared in the March (13) of Psychology Today. The findings (14) that issues of trust and betrayal are (15) to friendship. They also suggest that our readers do not (16) for friends only among those who are (17) . like them, but find many (18) differ in race, religion, and ethnic background. Arguably the most important (19) that emerges from the data, (20) , is not something that we found—but what we did not.

单选题{{B}}Questions 21-25 are based on the following passage:{{/B}} 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 tracked 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It is more important that she should be free ______ she should live a luxurious life. A. than what B. that C. more than D. than that

单选题{{B}}练习十四{{/B}} It might seem natural to gauge the amount of discrimination in labor markets by looking at the average wages of different groups. For instance, in recent years the wage of the average black worker in the U.S. has been about 20 percent less than the wage of the average white workers. The wage of the average female worker has been about 30 percent less than the wage of the average male worker. These wage differentials are sometimes presented in political debate as evidence that many employers discriminate against blacks and women. Yet there is an obvious problem with this approach. Even in a labor market free of discrimination, different people have different wages. People differ ill the amount of human capital they have and in the kinds of work they are able and walling to do. The wage differences we observe in the economy are, to a large extent, attributable to the determinants of equilibrium wages. Simply observing differences in wages among broad groups say little about the prevalence of discrimination. Consider, for example, the role of human capital. About 80 percent of white male workers have a high school diploma, and 25 percent have a college degree By contrast, only 67 percent of black male workers have a high school diploma, and only 12 percent have a college degree. Thus, at least some of the difference between the wages of whites and the wages of blacks can be traced to differences in educational attainment, Similarly, among white workers, 25 percent of men have a college degree, whereas only 19 percent of women have a college degree, indicating that some of the difference between the wages of men and women is attributable to educational attainment. In fact, human capital is probably even more important in explaining wage differentials than the foregoing numbers suggest. For many years, public schools in predominantly black areas have been of lower quality than public schools in predominantly white areas. Similarly, for many years, schools directed girls away from science and math courses, even though these subjects may have greater value in the marketplace than some of the alternatives. If we could measure the quality as well as the quality of education, the differences in human capital among these groups would seem even larger. Human capital acquired in the form of job experience can also help explain wage differences. In particular, women tend to have less job experience on average than men. One reason is that female labor-force participation has increased over the past seven decades. Because of this historic change, the average female worker today is younger than the average male worker. In addition, women are more likely to interrupt their careers to raise children. For both reasons, the experience of the average female worker is less than the experience of the average male worker. Yet another source of wage differences is compensating differentials. Some analysts have suggested that women take more pleasant jobs on average than men and this fact explains some of the earnings differential between men and women. For example, women are more likely to be secretaries, and men are more likely to be truck drivers. The relative wages of secretaries and truck drivers depend in part on the working conditions of each job. Because these nonmonetary aspects are hard to measure, it is difficult to gauge the practical importance of compensating differentials in explaining the wage difference that we observe. In the end, the study of wage differences among groups does not establish any clear conclusion about the prevalence of discrimination in U.S. labor markets. Most economists believe that some of the observed wage differentials are attributable to discrimination, but there is no consensus about how much. The only conclusion about which economists are in consensus is a negative one: Because the differences in average wages among groups in part reflect differences in human capital and job characteristics, they do not by themselves say anything about how much discrimination there is in the labor market. Of course, differences in human capital among groups of workers may themselves reflect discrimination. The inferior schools historically available to black students, for instance, may be traced to prejudice on the part of city councils and school boards. But this kind of discrimination occurs long before the worker enters the labor market. In this case, the disease is political, even if the symptom is economic.