Telecommuting—substituting the computer for the trip to the job—has been hailed as a solution to all kinds of problems related to office work. For workers it promises freedom from the office, less time wasted in traffic, and help with child-care conflicts. For management, telecommuting helps keep high performers on board, minimizes lateness and absenteeism by eliminating commuters, allows periods of solitude for high-concentration tasks, and provides scheduling flexibility. In some areas, such as Southern California, Seattle, and Washington, local governments are encouraging companies to start telecommuting programs in order to reduce rush-hour traffic and improve air quality. But these benefits do not come easily. Making a telecommuting program work requires careful planning and an understanding of the differences between telecommuting realities and popular images. Many workers are seduced by rosy illusions of life as a telecommuter. A computer programmer from New York City moves to the quiet Adirondack Mountains and stays in contact with her office via computer. A manager comes into his office three days a week and works at home the other two. An accountant stays home to care for her sick child: she hooks up her telephone modern connections and does office work between calls to the doctor. These are powerful images, but they are a limited reflection of reality. Telecommuting workers soon learn that it is almost impossible to concentrate on work and care for a young child at the same time. Before a certain age, young children cannot recognize, much less respect, the necessary boundaries between work and family. Additional child support is necessary if the parent is to get any work done. Management, too, must separate the myth from the reality. Although the media has paid a great deal of attention to telecommuting, in most cases it is the employee's situation, not the availability of technology, that precipitates a telecommuting arrangement. That is partly why, despite the widespread press coverage, the number of companies with work-at-home programs of policy guidelines remains small.

To conserve energy, estate developers are encouraged to build houses that can retain heat in winter.

Looming over the debate about human interference in the world's boreal forests is an as yet unanswerable question: Will the effects of global warming eventually dwarf man's impact?

The joys of travel, having long______the disabled, are opening up to virtually anyone who has the means.

A. we can make exceptions for Chinese companies.B. I will introduce you the details.C. Where do I send the registration form and the money?A: Hello. I am calling because I saw an ad in the newspaper about your trade show. B: Yes.【D1】______It's in New York on April the 10th and 11th. It costs $2,000 for a 7 by 8 booth.A: Excuse me, but when is the deadline for registration? B: The deadline is today. However,【D2】______A: Well, I am very interested.【D3】______B: To the address that appears on the bottom of the form. Please send it as soon as possible to reserve a space.

There are poor teachers, to be sure, and I'm convinced the teaching profession in this country must police itself more vigorously. I thought sometimes that an incompetent teacher is worse than an incompetent surgeon, since a surgeon can cut up only one person at a time. However, it is also true that no profession is made healthy by focusing only on what's bad, and we must begin to see teachers as part of the solution, not the problem. Perhaps we can learn something from Japanese here. Teachers in that country are heroes of the culture. If we do so, we may come closer to identifying the reason for the differences in school performance in our two countries.

When Liam McGee departed as president of Bank of America in August, his explanation was surprisingly straight up. Rather than cloaking his exit in the usual vague excuses, he came right out and said he was leaving "to pursue my goal of running a company". Broadcasting his ambition was "very much my decision," McGee says. Within two weeks, he was talking for the first time with the board of Hartford Financial Services Group, which named him CEO. McGee says leaving without a position lined up gave him time to reflect on what kind of company he wanted to run. It sent a clear message to the outside world about his aspirations. In recent weeks the No. 2 executives at Avon and American Express quit with the explanation that they were looking for a CEO post. As boards scrutinize succession plans in response to shareholder pressure, executives who don't get the nod also may wish to move on. A turbulent business environment also has senior managers cautious of letting vague pronouncements cloud their reputations. As the first signs of recovery begin to take hold, deputy chiefs may be more willing to make the jump without a net. In the third quarter, CEO turnover was down 23% from a year ago as nervous boards stuck with the leaders they had, according to Liberum Research. As the economy picks up, opportunities will abound for aspiring leaders. The decision to quit a senior position to look for a better one is unconventional. For years executives and headhunters have adhered to the rule that the most attractive CEO candidates are the ones who must be poached. Says Ferry senior partner Dennis Carey: "I can't think of a single search I've done where a board has not instructed me to look at sitting CEOs first." Those who jumped without a job haven't always landed in top positions quickly. Ellen Marram quit as chief of Tropicana a decade age, saying she wanted to be a CEO. It was a year before she became head of a tiny Internet-based commodities exchange. Robert Willumstad left Citigroup in 2005 with ambitions to be a CEO. He finally took that post at a major financial institution three years later. Many recruiters say the old disgrace is fading for top performers. The financial crisis has made it more acceptable to be between jobs or to leave a bad one. "The traditional rule was it's safer to stay where you are, but that's been fundamentally inverted," says one headhunter. When McGee announced his departure, his manner can best be described as being ______.

Providing first-class service is one of the tactics the airline adopts to attract passengers.

A. it's not youB. I'm calling about the one bedroom in Lincoln ParkC. prices have really gone up the past couple of years A: I need to find a new place to live in.B: Yeah? Why? Don't you like living with me?A: Oh,【D4】______I just want my own place.B: Well, check the newspaper.A: Jeez...I didn't realize a single-bedroom apartment went for so much these days.B: Yeah,【D5】______A: Oh, here's one. It looks like it's in this neighborhood, $600 a month. That's not too bad.B: Yes, it's pretty good. Why not give the landlord a call?A: Hello.【D6】______Could I take a look at it? Yes. Tonight at six is fine. Thanks.

A. Or they could read Mr. Kirby's report: "The substantial buying power of such an agency would strengthen the public prescription—drug insurance plans to negotiate the lowest possible purchase prices from drug companies. "B. What does "national" mean? Roy Romanow and Senator Michael Kirby recommended federal provincial body much like the recently created National Health Council.C. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, prescription drug costs have risen since 1997 at twice the rate of overall health-care spending. Part of the increase comes from drugs being used to replace other kinds of treatment. Part of it arises from new drugs costing more than older kinds. Part of it is higher prices.D. So, if the provinces want to run the health-care show, they should prove they can run it, start-ing with an interprovincial health list that would end duplication, save administrative costs, prevent one province from being played off against another, and bargain for better drug prices. E. Of course, the pharmaceutical companies will scream. They like divided buyers: they can lobby better that way. They can use the threat of removing jobs from one province to another. They can hope that, if one province includes a drug on its list, the pressure will cause others to include it on theirs. They wouldn't like a national agency, but self-interest would lead them to deal with it. Canada's premiers(the leaders of provincial government), if they have any breath left after complaining about Ottawa at their late July annual meeting, might spare a moment to do something, to reduce health-care costs. They're all groaning about soaring health budgets, the fastest-growing components of which are pharmaceutical costs.【R1】______ What to do? Both the Romanow commission and the Kirby committee on health care—to say nothing of reports from other experts—recommended the creation of a national drug agency. Instead of each province having its own list of approved drugs, bureaucracy, procedures and limited bargaining power, all would pool resources, work with Ottawa, and create a national institution.【R2】______ But "national" doesn't have to mean that, "National" could mean interprovincial—provinces combining efforts to create one body. Either way, one benefit of a "national" organization would be to negotiate better prices if possible , with drug manufacturers. Instead of having one province—or a series of hospitals within a province—negotiate a price for a given drug on the provincial list, the national agency would negotiate on behalf of all provinces. Rather than, say, Quebec, negotiating on behalf of seven million people, the national agency would negotiate on behalf of 31 million people. Basic economics suggests the greater the potential consumers, the higher the likelihood of a better price.【R3】______ A small step has been taken in the direction of a national agency with the creation of the Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment, funded by Ottawa and the provinces. Under it, a Common Drug Review recommends to provincial lists which new drugs should be included. Predictably, and regrettably, Quebec refused to join. A few premiers are suspicious of any federal-provincial deal-making. They(particularly Quebec and Alberta)just want Ottawa to fork over additional billions with few, if any, strings attached. That's one reason why the idea of a national list hasn't gone anywhere, while drug costs keep rising fast.【R4】______ Premiers love to quote Mr. Romanow's report selectively, especially the parts about more federal money. Perhaps they should read what he had to say about drugs: "A national drug agency would provide governments more influence on pharmaceutical companies in order to try to constrain the ever-increasing cost of drugs. "【R5】______ So when the premiers gather in Niagara Falls to assemble their usual complaint list, they should also get cracking about something in their jurisdiction that would help their budgets and patients.

The purpose of a______is to cut down imports in order to protect domestic industry and workers from foreign competition.

A. the next half centuryB. reducing death ratesC. developing worldD. infectious diseasesPhrases: A. could potentially become the toughest problem of【T13】 1B. provides the tools and methods for lengthening life spans and【T14】 2C. with virtually all the new growth occurring in the【T15】 3D.【T16】 4are much less frequent due largely to public health measures It is the application of technology to physical resources that provides for human life and eventually sets the limits on the number of people who can be fed, but technology also【T17】 5As a result, high birth rates are no longer closely matched by high death rates as they were until modern times:【T18】 6: and physical vitality has been increased by improved nutrition. These changes have brought about what is today familiarly called the "population explosion" which, unless checked,【T19】 7If the current rate of population growth continues in some parts of the world, the world population is expected to reach 9. 1 billion by 2050,【T20】 8while the total population of richer countries is expected to remain largely unchanged at 1. 2 billion. 【T13】

A. By the door, on the wallB. I'm shaking all overC. Why do you need a shovel Liz: Geez! Your room is like an ice-box!Terri: No, it's not! It's just comfortable.Liz: Yeah, if you're a polar bear. Just look at me!【D1】______!Terri: But you don't have to stay here. I think you're exaggerating!Liz: No, I'm not! Where's the temperature control?Terri:【D2】______Liz: No wonder I'm cold! This thing is set at 17℃!Terri: Like I said—perfect!Liz: If you live in Alaska. By the way, where's the shovel?Terri:【D3】______?Liz: So I can dig us out when it starts snowing here.

The central government has been working hard to keep China's economy______.

A. Let it go.B. I was so angry that I wanted to slap him!C. You weren't very kind when you were talking with Ted. Clara: What happened just now, Mark?【D4】______What do you have against him? Mark: I just don't like him at all.Clara: Why? Is there something in particular?Mark: Well, he was mean! I went to his office to ask him for some help, and he simply turned up his nose at me!【D5】______He wasn't like that before he got the job. Now he's such a snob!Clara: You want my advice?【D6】______Mark: Of course, logically I know you're right, but somehow I just can't bring myself to forget it. Even the mention of his name starts me fuming.

A. until B. ground C. asPhrases: A. weren't discovered【T7】 1the 1930sB. A Swiss writer wrote that the Nazca lines were designed【T8】 2a landing place for UFOs.C. Seen from the【T9】 3, it looks like lines scratched into the earth. In the desert of Peru, 300 kilometers from Lima, one of the most unusual artworks in the world has mystified(迷惑)people for decades.【T10】 4But from high above, these marks are huge images of birds, fish, seashells, all beautifully carved into the earth. The Nazca lines are so difficult to see from the ground that they【T11】 5, when pilots spotted them while flying over the area. In all, there are about 70 different human and animal figures on the plain, along with 900 triangles, circles, and lines. Researchers have figured out that the lines are at least 1,500 years old, but their purpose is still a mystery.【T12】 6However, it would probably be very tricky to find a spaceship in the middle of pictures of dogs and monkeys. 【T7】

Mr. Johnson evidently regarded this as a great joke.

Andre Watts gave a dazzling interpretation of Beethoven's "Emperor" concerto.

They reported the loss and gave all the necessary______to police.

For this part, you are allowed thirty minutes to write a composition on the topic: Getting to Know the World Outside the Campus. You should write 150 words and you should base your composition on the outline(given in Chinese)below.1．大学生了解社会的必要性。2．了解社会的途径(大众媒介、社会服务等)。3．我打算怎么做。