单选题This exquisite violin was with superb workmanship.(2004年秋季电子科技大学考博试题)

单选题As skies fill with millions of migrating birds, European scientists say the seasonal miracle appears to depend on a seeming______: The fatter the bird, the more efficiently it flies.(浙江大学2010年试题)

单选题The truly incompetent may never know the depths of their own incompetence, a pair of social psychologists said on Thursday. "We found again and again that people who perform poorly relative to their peers tended to think that they did rather well," Justin Kruger, co-author of a study on the subject, said in a telephone interview. Kruger and co-author David Dunning found that when it came to a variety of skills — logical reasoning, grammar, even sense of humor — people who essentially were inept never realized it, while those who had some ability were self-critical. "It had little to do with innate modesty," Kruger said, "but rather with a central paradox: Incompetents lack the basic skills to evaluate their performance realistically. Once they get those skills, they know where they stand, even if that is at the bottom." "Americans and Western Europeans especially had an unrealistically sunny assessment of their own capabilities," Dunning said by telephone in a separate interview, "while Japanese and Koreans tended to give a reasonable assessment of their performance. In certain areas, such as athletic performance, which can be easily quantified, there is less self-delusion, the researchers said. But even in some cases in which the failure should seem obvious, the perpetrator is blithely unaware of the problem." This was especially true in the areas of logical reasoning, where research subjects — students at Cornell University, where the two researchers were based—often rated themselves highly even when they flubbed all questions in a reasoning test. Later, when the students were instructed in logical reasoning, they scored better on a test but rate themselves lower, having learned what constituted competence in this area. Grammar was another area in which objective knowledge was helpful in determining competence, but the more subjective area of humor posed different challenges, the researchers said. Participants were asked to rate how funny certain jokes were, and compare their responses with what an expert panel of comedians thought. On average, participants overestimated their sense of humor by about 16 percentage points. This might be thought of as the "above-average effect", the notion that most Americans would rate themselves as above average, a statistical impossibility. The researchers also conducted pilot studies of doctors and gun enthusiasts. The doctors overestimated how well they had performed on a test of medical diagnoses and the gun fanciers thought they knew more than they actually did about gun safety. So who should be trusted: The person who admits incompetence or the one who shows confidence? Neither, according to Dunning. "You can't take them at their word. You've got to take a look at their performance," Dunning added.

单选题Affluenza For many people, economic growth and an increase in possessions are signs of progress, but for anti-consumer groups overconsumption and materialism are sicknesses. A recent Public Broadcasting Service corned the term affluenza, which describes consumption of material goods in a strongly negative way. Af-flu-en-za (noun) combines two words: affluence and fluenza. According to anti-consumer and environmental fights organizations, the high consumption life styles of affluence cause people to be less happy even though they are acquiring more "things". The major negative effect on the environment is that overconsumption is depleting the world's natural resources, anti-consumer groups argue. Furthermore, the groups observe that an artificial, ongoing and insatiable quest for things and the money to buy them has replaced the normal desire for an adequate supply of life's necessities, community life, a stable family, and healthy relationships. For example, today's families are replacing items much more frequently than in the past. Many Americans now treat clothing as "disposable", discarding clothes when fashion changes, and creating a boom in thrift stores, and yard sales. The U.S.A.'s largest export is now used clothes. About 2.5 million tons of unfashionable old clothes and rags are sold to Third World countries every year.

单选题If income is transferred from rich persons to poor persons the proportion in which different sorts of goods and services are provided will be changed. Expensive luxuries will give place to more necessary articles, rare wines to meat and bread, new machines and factories to clothes and improved small dwellings; and there will be other changes of a like sort. In view of this fact, it is inexact to speak of a change in the distribution of the dividend in favor of, or adverse to, the poor. There is not a single definitely constituted heap of things coming into being each year and distributed now in one way, now in another. In fact, there is no such thing as the dividend from the point of view of both of two years, and therefore, there can be no such thing as a change in its distribution. This, however, is a point of words rather than of substance. What I mean when I say that the distribution of the dividend has changed in favor of the poor is that, the general productive power of the community being given, poor people are getting more of the things they want at the expense of rich people get ting less of the things they want. It might be thought at first sight that the only way in which this could happen would be through a transference of purchasing power from the rich to the poor. That, however, is not so. It is possible for the poor to be advantaged and the rich damaged, even though the quantity of purchasing power, i.e. of command over productive resources, held by both groups remains unaltered. This might happen if the technical methods of producing something predominatingly consumed by the poor were improved and at the same time those of producing something predominatingly consumed by tile rich were worsened, and if the net result was to leave the size of the national dividend as defined in Chapter V. unchanged. It might also happen if, by a system of rationing or some other device, the rich were forced to transfer their demand away from things which are important to the poor and which are produced under such conditions that diminished demand leads to lowered prices. Per contra——and this point will be seen in Part Ⅳ. To be very important practically——the share, both proportionate and absolute of command over the country's productive resources held by the poor may be increased, and yet, if the process by which they acquire this greater share involves an increase in the cost of things that play a large part in their own consumption, they may not really gain. Thus a change in distribution favorable to the poor may be brought about otherwise than by a transference of purchasing power, or command over productive resources, to them, and it does not mean a transference of these things to them. None the less, this sort of transference is the most important, and may be regarded as the typical, means by which changes in distribution favorable to the poor come about.

单选题One reason people believe physician-assisted suicide should be available for those who request it, is that people fear the loss of their autonomy. One source stated that more patients fear loss of control than they do actually suffer from a terminal illness. The Oregon Health Department said that "The fact that 79% of persons who chose physician-assisted suicide did not wait until they were bedridden to take their lethal medication provides further evidence that controlling the manner and time of death were important issues to these patients." Another reason for people to be in favor of physician-assisted suicide is some fear becoming a burden to their family or friends, and this makes people more susceptible to choosing assisted suicide, rather than letting a family member take care of them. Terminally ill patients feel guilty about having to have another person take care of them, instead of being able to take care of themselves and do things for themselves. "75% of those who asked for assistance in suicide fear burdening spouses and families." In the cases of Dr. Kevorkian, most of the female patients were more worried about becoming a burden to friends and family, while the males were more likely to commit suicide due to the suffering. Another issue is for the family to keep the patient alive, even if they are in a state of vegetation, because they fear living with the guilt of killing a member of their own family. The family members felt that if they did help in the assistance of the suicide, that they were abandoning the patient rather than helping with their final wishes, even in the cases of the patient only wanting the family to put them out of their misery. Most people that believe physician-assisted suicide should become a legal option for anyone who requests it, use the idea that everyone has the freedom of choice. In the book, Lawful Exit : The Limits of Freedom, Derek Humphry quotes Archibald MacLeish by saying, "Freedom is the right to choose the right to create for yourself the alternatives of choice. Without the possibility of choice and the exercise of choice, a man is not a man but a member, an instrument, a thing. " Another source states that, "Since there is no absolute legal, medical, or moral answer to the question of what constitutes a good or correct death in the face of a terminal illness, the power to make the decision about how someone dies can rest with only one individual—the person living in that particular body". There are many arguments in favor of assisted suicide, and the reality argument simply states that, people are already being helped into death, so why not just continue with it. Some people have even come as far as believing that since the democratic view is free of religion, suicide should be viewed as a pro, because those who see it as a negative issue, are seen as imposing their moral beliefs on everyone else. The patient's Right to Self-determination gives the patient the power to decide not only when they die, but also how, because it is in fact their body, their pain, and their life, so what's the point in keeping someone alive if they don't see any reason themselves. In a newspaper article one source states, "Proponents of assisted suicide always insist that the practice will be carefully limited. It will be available, they claim, only for those who request it and only for those who are dying, anyway". People do have a constitutional right to commit suicide, if they are impaired with a terminal illness that cannot be cured and they are unlikely to improve, as mentioned earlier in the paper. Another big issue that comes up in the discussion of assisted suicide, is people wanting to die with dignity. Dr. Christian Barnard states, "With an open-door approach to technical progress, with the emergence of candor in discussions of death-related subjects, with landmark changes in ethical and legal constraints to medical practice, I feel that society is ready to take a giant step toward a better understanding of the dignity of death and the attainment of that dignity, if necessary, through euthanasia and suicide." Some people have even gone as far as believing that euthanasia is the only merciful thing to do when patients are suffering and cannot be helped. People also believe that since sending criminals to prison is viewed as a positive idea, it should be acceptable to help those with terminal illnesses end their lives when they have done nothing wrong, but only want to help themselves.

单选题My attention was engaged by the article's caption.

单选题Who is/are against the point that. pilots need to be armed?

单选题______ they must put aside their prejudices, ______ . we must be prepared to accept their good faith.

单选题Mark Moore, director of the Northwest Weather, warned skiers of the deadly avalanches that have ______ the mountains of Washington state, killing nine people. A. pummeled B. elaborated C. executed D. alleged

单选题He saw university as a community of scholars, where students were ______ by teachers into an appreciation of different philosophical approaches. A. extracted B. deducted C. inducted D. conducted

单选题Equipped with modern science and technology people of today feel many assertions which were once taken as ______ truth absurd.

单选题Traditional fairytales are being ditched by parents because they are too______for their young children, a study found.

单选题Do you think that all human beings have a "comfort 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 quite 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 mater 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 to 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 "comfort zone" for talking, they communicate a great deal with their hands — not only with gesture 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 put an arm in reassurance or stroke a child's head in affection; they readily take someone's arm to help him cross a street or direct him along an unfamiliar route. To many people — especially those from Asia or the Moslem 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Get ______ of the Yellow Pages, look up D for Dentists and pick one, any one, within half a mile of here.

单选题All that may come to my knowledge in the exercise of my profession or in daily commerce with men, which ought not to be spread abroad, I will keep secret and will never reveal.

单选题Bill Gates and Walt Disney are two people the magazine has______to be the Greatest American.(2014年厦门大学考博试题)

单选题Many theories concerning the causes of juvenile delinquency (crimes committed by young people) focus either on the individual or on society as the major contributing influence. Theories (21) on the individual suggest that children engage in criminal behavior (22) they were not sufficiently penalized for previous misdeeds or that they have learned criminal behavior through (23) with others. Theories focusing on the role of society suggest that children commit crimes in (24) to their failure to rise above their socioeconomic status, (25) as a rejection of middle-class values. Most theories of juvenile delinquency have focused on children from disadvantaged families, (26) the fact that children from wealthy homes also commit crimes. The latter may commit crimes (27) lack of adequate pa- rental control. All theories, however, are tentative and are (28) to criticism. Changes in the social structure may indirectly (29) juvenile crime rates. For example, changes in the economy that (30) to fewer job opportunities for youth and rising unemployment (31) make gainful employment increasingly difficult to obtain. The resulting discontent may in (32) lead more youths into criminal-behavior. Families have also (33) changes these years. More families consist of one-parent households or two working parents; (34) , children are likely to have less supervision at home (35) was common m the traditional family structure.

单选题{{B}}Passage Five{{/B}} In the absence of optimism, we are left with nothing but critics, naysayers, and prophets of doom. When a nation expects the worst from its people and institutions, and its experts focus exclusively on faults, hope dies. Too many people spend too much time looking down rather than up, finding fault with their country's political institutions, economic system, educational establishment, religious organizations, and--worst of all--with each other. Fault finding expends so much negative energy that nothing is left over for positive action. It takes courage and strength to solve the genuine problems that afflict every society. Sure, there will always be things that need fixing. But the question is, do you want to spend your time and energy tearing things down or building them up? The staging of a Broadway show could illustrate my point. Let's say a new production is about to open. A playwright has polished the script, investors have put up the money, and the theater has been rented. A director has been chosen, actors have been auditioned and selected, and the cast has been rehearsing for weeks. Set, lighting, and sound engineers have been hard at work. By the time opening night arrives, nearly a hundred people have labored tirelessly--all working long hours to make magic for their audience. On opening night, four or five critics sit in the audience. If they pan it, the play will probably close in a matter of days or weeks. If they praise it, the production could go on for a long and successful run. In the end, success or failure might hinge on the opinion of a single person--someone who might be in a bad mood on opening night! What's wrong with this scene? In one sense, nothing. Critics have a legitimate role. The problem arises when we make critics our heroes or put them in control of our fate. When we empower the critic more than the playwright, something is wrong. It is much easier to criticize than to create. When we revere the critics of society, we eventually become a society of critics, and when that happens, there is no room left for constructive optimism.