单选题When did NASA start working on a successor to the shuttle?

单选题{{B}}Passage Two{{/B}} The "standard of living" of any country means the average person's share of the goods and services which the country produces. A country's standard of living, therefore, depends first and foremost on its capacity to produce wealth. "Wealth" in this sense is not money, for we do not live on money but on things that money can buy: "goods" such as food and clothing, and "services" such as transport and entertainment. A country's capacity to produce wealth depends upon many factors, most of which have an effect on one another. Wealth depends to a great extent upon a country's natural resources, such as coal, gold, and other minerals, water supply and so on. Some regions of the world are well supplied with coal and minerals, and have a fertile soil and a favourable climate; other regions possess none of them. Next to natural resources comes the ability to turn them to use. Some countries are perhaps well off in natural resources, but suffered for many years from civil and external wars, and for this and other reasons have been unable to develop their resources. Sound and stable political conditions, and freedom from foreign invasion, enable a country to develop its natural resources peacefully and steadily, and to produce more wealth than another country equally well served by nature but less well ordered. Another important factor is the technical efficiency of a country's people. Industrialized countries that have trained numerous skilled workers and technicians are better placed to produce wealth than countries whose workers are largely unskilled. A country's standard of living does not only depend upon the wealth that is produced and consumed within its own borders, but also upon what is indirectly produced through international trade. For example, Britain's wealth in foodstuffs and other agricultural products would be much less if she had to depend only on those grown at home. Trade makes it possible for her surplus manufactured goods to be traded abroad for the agricultural products that would otherwise be lacking. A country's wealth is, therefore, much influenced by its manufacturing capacity, provided that other countries can be found ready to accept its manufactures.

单选题Early settlers usually moved their {{U}}belongings{{/U}} west in wagon trains.

单选题Woman: I'm looking for a lightweight jacket,navy blue,medium… Man: Let's see. Have you checked the sales rack in the back? There were still a few there yesterday. Question: What does the man mean?

单选题Woman: I'm afraid that John will expect me to help him with his late paper. Man: You should just tell him that you're not going to. Question: What does the man mean?

单选题Despite not being terribly smart as individuals, wasp (黄蜂) colonies build and maintain a complex nest that lasts many generations. Just how these social wasps coordinate this task has always been a mystery. But now a mathematical model suggests that one key factor drives their behavior: the amount of water in the nest. Social wasps cannot learn from one another—unlike bees, which use a complex dance to tell nest mates where sources of nectar (花蜜) are. Nor do they use pheromones (信息素) the way ants do to lead other ants to food. Robert Jeanne of the University of Wisconsin-Madison proposed that wasps set up a demand-driven chain of information. At the end of the chain, builder wasps monitor the nest and when necessary, request pulp from pulp forager wasps. They in turn demand water from water foragers in order to make the pulp. But biologist Istvan Karsai of East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, and his team found that social wasps in Panama don't actually work that way. They removed either builders or pulp foragers from a colony of a species called Metapolybia aztecoides. Although that should break up the so-called information chain, it did not significantly alter the amount of water being brought into the nest. They also found that the wasps could change roles, something that Jeanne didn't expert. For instance, when the researchers sprayed a surplus of water onto the nest, water foragers quickly became builders, and nest building increased. Based on their observations, Karsai's team developed a mathematical model that shows that wasps achieve their complex behaviour simply by monitoring the level of water in the nest—what he calls the"common stomach" of the colony. He believes wasps infer what the level is when they exchange fluids on meeting each other, a behaviour called trophallaxis that is common in many social insects. To test the model, Karsai simulated changes in the model colony, for example by removing pulp foragers or builders. "What's interesting is that in every case the model responds like the actual colony in Panama, "says Karsai.

单选题She has decided to ______ some money every month to help three peasant girls in poverty-stricken areas.

单选题Man: I knew Laurie played the piano, but I didn't know she played the guitar. Woman: Neither did I. It seems she just picked it up on her own, over the summer. Q: What does the woman mean?

单选题{{B}}Passage One{{/B}} Anthropology is a science dealing with man and his origins. I redefine anthropology here as "being interested, without judgment, in the way other people choose to live and behave," in order to turn it into a strategy which is geared toward developing your compassion as well as a way of becoming more patient. When someone acts in a way that seems strange to you, rather than reacting in your usual way, such as, "I can't believe they would do that." Instead, say something to yourself like "I see, that must be the way she sees things in her world. Very interesting." In order for this strategy to help you, you have to be genuine. There's a line between being "interested" and being arrogant, as if secretly you believe that your way is better. Recently I was at a local shopping mall with my six-year old daughter. A group of punks walked by with orange spiked(成锥形的) hair and tattoos(文身) covering much of their bodies. My daughter immediately asked me, "Daddy, why are they dressed up like that? Are they in costumes?" Years ago I would have felt very judgmental and frustrated about these young people—as if their way was wrong and my more conservative way was right. I would have blurted out some judgmental explanations to my daughter and passed along to her my judgmental views. Pretending to be an anthropologist, however, has changed my perspective a great deal; it's made me softer. I said to my daughter, "I'm not really sure, but it's interesting how different we all are, isn't it?" She said, "Yeah, but I like my own hair." Rather than focusing on the behavior and continuing to give it energy, we both dropped it and continued to enjoy our time together. When you are interested in other perspectives, it doesn't imply, even slightly, that you're advocating it. I certainly wouldn't choose a punk rock lifestyle or suggest it to anyone else. At the same time, however, it's really not my place to judge it either. One of the basic rules of joyful living is that judging others takes a great deal of energy and, without exception, pulls you away from where you want to be.

单选题China is currently enjoying social ______ and fine international reputation.

单选题Studies have proved that it is not wise to try to lose weight by ______ breakfast.

单选题Man: Peter looks very upset recently.Woman: Yes. I think that he has a hard enough job to make ends meet.Question: What does the woman mean?

单选题Differences in positions adopted by oxygen and hydrogen atoms Uaccount for/U variations in the structure of different forms of ice.

单选题Man: I've been working out at the gym since January so… I'd been wanting to get in better shape. Woman: You look terrific! Seems like all your hard work has paid off. Question: What does the woman mean?

单选题Man: The problem is that I don't get paid until tomorrow, but I must register for Dr.Martin's class. Could you hold a place for me until then?Woman: You know that without full payment we are not allowed to reserve spaces in a class.Question: What does the woman mean?

单选题Do you know that all human beings have a "comfortable zone" regulating the distance they stand from someone when they talk? This distance varies in interesting ways among people of different cultures. Greeks, others of the Eastern Mediterranean, and many of those from South America normally stand close together when they talk, often moving their faces even closer as they warm up in a conversation. North Americans find this awkward and often back away a few inches. Studies have found that they tend to feel most comfortable at about 21 inches apart. In much of Asia and Africa, there is even more space between two speakers in conversation. This greater space subtly lends an air of dignity and respect. This matter of space is nearly always unconscious, but it is interesting to observe. This difference applies also to the closeness with which people sit together, the extent which they lean over one another in conversation, how they move as they argue, or make an emphatic point. In the United States, for example, people try to keep their bodies apart even in a crowded elevator; in Paris they take it as it comes! Although North Americans have a relatively wide "comfortable zone" for talking, they communicate, a great deal with their hands--not only with gestures but also with touch. They put a sympathetic hand on a person's shoulder to demonstrate warmth of feeling or an arm around him in sympathy~ they nudge a man in the ribs to emphasize a funny story; they pat an arm in reassurance or stroke a child's head in affection, they readily take someone's arm to help him across a street or direct him along an unfamiliar route. To many people—especially those from Asia or the Muslim countries—such bodily contact is unwelcome, especially if inadvertently done with the left-hand. (The left hand carries no special significance in the U. S. Many Americans are simply left-handed and use that hand more. )

单选题It is reported that alcohol abuse on college campuses is on the rise. But alcohol abuse is only one symptom of a larger campus crisis. There is a growth in racism, sexism, assault, attempted suicide, theft, property damage and most disappointing of all, cheating on exams. A generation has come to college quite fragile, not very secure about who it is, fearful of its lack of identity and without confidence in its future. Many students are ashamed of themselves and afraid of relationships. It is happening because the generation now entering college has experienced few authentic connections with adults in its lifetime. I call this the "Culture of Neglect", and we—parents, teachers, professors and administrators—are the primary architects. It begins at home, where social and economic factors result in less family time for adults. Most children and teenagers are being reared without mothers' being around, with television as their only supervisor, and there is little expectation that they learn personal responsibility. Immersed in themselves, they are left to their peers. We have failed to model a culture of responsibility. We have created a culture characterized by marriage failures, mass schooling that demands only minimal effort and media idols subliminally (下意识的)teaching disrespect for authority and wisdom. When the children do wrong, it is not their fault. On the contrary, it's our fault. It seems that the children are always owned something by the busy parents and by the overworked teachers. The children take it for granted that we should take responsibility for their acts. How could college students reared in the culture of neglect have any notion of obligation and responsibility? A nation of individuals who can't read or write well, with no sense of major human questions, who can't think critically or show interest in learning and who are unable to act responsibility will be ill equipped to compete in any new world order. A generation of neglect will shape our future. Let's wait and see.

单选题A: How about the food I ordered? I've been waiting for twenty minutes already. B: ______.

单选题In the 1960's, medical researchers Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed a checklist of stressful events. They appreciated the tricky point that any major change can be stressful. Negative events like "serious illness of a family member" were high on the list, but so were some positive life-changing events, like marriage. When you take the HolmesRake test you must remember that the score does not reflect how you deal with stress—it only shows how much you have to deal with. And we now know that the way you handle these events dramatically affects your chances of staying healthy. By the early 1970's, hundreds of similar studies had followed Holmes and Rahe. And millions of Americans who work and live under stress worried over the reports. Somehow, the research got boiled down to a memorable message. Women's magazines ran headlines like "Stress causes illness. " If you want to stay physically and mentally healthy, the articles said, avoid stressful events. But such simplistic advice is impossible to follow. Even if stressful events are dangerous, many—like the death of a loved one—are impossible to avoid. Moreover, any warning to avoid all stressful events is a prescription (处方) for staying away from opportunities as well as trouble. Since any change can be stressful, a person who wanted to be completely free of stress would never marry, have a child, take a new job or move. The notion that all stress makes you sick also ignores a lot of what we know about people. It assumes we're all vulnerable (脆弱的) and passive in the face of adversity (逆境). But what about human initiative and creativity? Many come through periods of stress with more physical and mental vigor than they had before. We also know that a long time without change or challenge can lead to boredom, and physical and mental strain.

单选题A: I like that blue tie, but I can't believe the price on it. I really can't afford to spend that much money on a tie. B: ______.