单选题on 9 December, James Joyce experienced one of those coincidences which affected him ______ at the time and which later became material for his books.

单选题{{B}}Passage Three{{/B}} What do consumers really want? That's a question market researchers would love to answer. But since people don't always say what they think, marketers would need direct access to consumers' thoughts to get the truth. Now, in a way, that is possible. At the "Mind of the Market" laboratory at Harvard Business School, researchers are looking inside shoppers' skulls to develop more effective advertisements and marketing pitches. Using imaging techniques that measure blood flow to various parts of the brain, the Harvard team hopes to predict how consumers will react to particular products and to discover the most effective ways to present information. Stephen Kosslyn, a professor of psychology at Harvard, and business school professor Gerald Zaltman, oversee the lab. "The goal is not to manipulate people's preferences," says Kosslyn, "just to speak to their actual desires." The group's findings, though still preliminary, could radically change how firms develop and market new products. The Harvard group use position emission tomography (PET) scans to monitor the brain activity. These PET scans, along with other non-invasive imaging techniques, enable researchers to see which parts of the brain are active during specific tasks (such as remembering a word). Correlations have been found between blood flow to specific areas and future behavior. Because of this, Harvard researchers believe the scans can also predict future purchasing patterns. According to an unpublished paper the group produced, "It is possible to use these techniques to predict not only whether people will remember and have specific emotional reactions to certain materials, but also whether they will be inclined to want those materials months later." The Harvard group is now moving into the next stage of experiments. They will explore how people remember advertisements as part of an effort to predict how they will react to a product after having seen an ad. The researchers believe that once key areas of the brain are identified, scans on about two dozen volunteers will be enough to draw conclusions about the reactions of specific segments of the population. Large corporations including Coca Cola, Eastman Kodak, General Motors, and Hallmark - have already signed up to fund further investigations. For their financial support, these firms gain access to the experiments but cannot control them. If Kosslyn and Zaltman and their team really can read the mind of the market, then consumers may find it even harder to get those advertising jingles-out of their heads.

单选题For nearly 50 years, Spock has been a ______ author writing 13 books including an autobiography and numerous magazine articles.

单选题The new aircraft will be______to a test of temperatures of -65℃ and 120℃.

单选题Many studies indicate that those who have more education tend to be less prejudiced. However, the variables of income, social status, and intelligence that usually accompany higher education tend to cloud the______of education alone in reducing prejudice.

单选题Heavy rains were causing {{U}}inundation{{/U}} and much damage throughout the country.

单选题{{B}}Passage Four{{/B}} It is not forbidden to dream of building a better world, which is by and large what the social sciences try to help us to do. How to make cities more harmonious, reduce crime rates, improve welfare, overcome racism, increase our wealth—this is the stuff of social sciences. The trouble is that the findings of social sciences are often dismissed as being too theoretical, too ambitious or too unpalatable. The methods of research are also often attacked for their lack of rigor, and critics are quick to point out that the people who make the important decisions pay little attention to what social scientists have to say anyway. This would change if the social sciences made themselves more relevant and ready for the society of the 21st century. Social sciences began to take shape in the 19th century, but came into their own at the beginning of the 20th century, when a number of well-established disciplines, including economics, sociology, political science, history and anthropology really made their mark. Geography and psychology could be added to that list. However, only sociology, political science and economics have succeeded in consolidating their position in the social sciences mainstream. The others were virtually all marginalised. Moreover, powerful institutional barriers now separate the various disciplines. Hardly the right atmosphere in which to grow and deal with the harsh criticism which the social sciences have come in for from many quarters, including governments and international commissions. Radical measures are now being suggested to turn things round, from how to award university chairs, to setting syllabi and raising funds. The need for decompartmentalising and striking a new order in the relationship between the disciplines concerns all of the social sciences, though perhaps economics most of all, Only it has acquired a dominant position in management and public affairs. Some would My it has fallen under the sway of "unitary thinking", with little room for debate, for example, on the question of debt reduction or monetary tightness. Moreover, many people do not believe that economic science forms part of social sciences at all. This is a somewhat problematic position to uphold, particularly as economic developments are largely determined by political, social and cultural factors. Yet, economists often have difficulty understanding or taking such factors into account. This has left economics exposed to attack, for example, over its prescriptions for development and its analysis of events, such as the causes of the Asian crisis. To many, economics relies too heavily on hypothetical and sometimes unrealistic assumptions. Can social sciences bounce back and assert themselves in the 21st century? We will probably not be able to tell for a few decades, since the ways in which societies analyse themselves develop very slowly. After all, the social sciences are rarely given to sudden discoveries and headline breakthroughs like some other sciences. What is more, social sciences may continue to face the stout resistance of established institutions defending their own territory and opposing innovation and change. Could it be that society, which by definition seeks stability, has an in- built resistance towards indulging in any form of self-analysis? Few people have an appetite for hard truth. But perhaps in the information age and in the dematerialised economy of the knowledge world, all that could change. Perhaps society will discover a pressing need to know itself much better, if only to survive. Social sciences will then have a different status.

单选题It is not often realized that women held a high place in southern European societies in the 10th and 11th centuries. As a wife, the woman was protected by the setting up of a dowry or decorum. Admittedly, the purpose of this was to protect her against the risk of desertion, but in reality its function in the social and family life of the time was much more important. The decorum was the wife's right to receive a tenth of all her husband's property. The wife had the right to withhold consent, in all transactions the husband would make. And more than just a right: the documents show that she enjoyed a real power of decision, equal to that of her husband: In no case do the documents indicate any degree of difference in the legal status of husband and wife. The wife shared in the management of her husband's personal property, but the opposite was not always tree. Women seemed perfectly prepared to defend their own inheritance against husbands who tried to exceed their rights, and on occasion they showed a fine fighting spirit. A ease in point is that of Mafia Vivas, a Catalan-woman of Barcelona. Having agreed with her husband Miro to sell a field she had inherited, for the needs of the household, she insisted on compensation. None being offered, she succeeded in dragging her husband to the scribe to have a contract duly drawn up assigning her a piece of land from Miro's personal inheritance. The unfortunate husband was obliged to agree, as the contract says, "for the sake of peace." Either through the dowry or through being hot-tempered, the Catalan wife knew how to win herself, within the context of the family, a powerful economic position.

单选题The Export-Import Bank extends long-term ______ at favorable rate to foreign buyers, thus financing the purchase of U. S. goods and services.

单选题However important we may regard school life to be, there is no gain saying the fact that children spend more time at home than in the classroom. Therefore, the great influence of parents cannot be ignored or discounted by the teacher. They can become strong allies of tile school personnel or they can consciously or unconsciously hinder and thwart curricular objectives. Administrators have been aware of the need to keep parents apprised of the newer methods used in schools. Many principals have conducted workshops explaining such matters as the reading readiness program, manuscript writing and developmental mathematics. Moreover, the classroom teacher, with the permission of the supervisors, can also play an important role in enlightening parents. The informal tea and the many interviews carried on during the year, as well as new ways of reporting pupils' progress, can significantly aid in achieving a harmonious interplay between school and home. To illustrate, suppose that a father has been drilling Junior in arithmetic processes night after night. In a friendly interview, the teacher can help the parent sublimate his natural paternal interest into productive channels. He might be persuaded to let Junior participate in discussing the family budget, buying the food, using a yardstick or measuring cup at home, setting the clock, calculating mileage on a trip and engaging in scores of other activities that have a mathematical basis. If the father follows the advice, it is reasonable to assume that he will soon realize his son is making satisfactory progress in mathematics, and at the same time, enjoying the work. Too often, however, teachers' conferences with parents are devoted to petty accounts of children's misdemeanors, complaints about laziness and poor work habits, and suggestion for penalties and rewards at home. What is needed is a more creative approach in which the teacher, as a professional adviser, plants ideas in parents' minds for the best utilization of the many hours that the child spends out of the classroom.

单选题The latest research seems to______that emotional maturity and self-knowledge is the key elements for success.

单选题It is a pity that spiteful remarks are ______ with great speed.

单选题"Better late than never" is a ______ that is very familiar to most English speakers.

单选题A large shop is divided into______.

单选题Tony is very disappointed______the results of the exam. A. with B. for C. toward D. on

单选题She ______ because she found the journal interesting.

单选题Love was in the air in a Tokyo park as normally staid Japanese husbands gathered to scream out their feelings for their wives, promising ______ and extra tight hugs.

单选题If the investment tax credit is______as a part of tax reform plan, the capital-intensive businesses such as steel-makers and airliners will face a hard time.