单选题In Britain and many other countries
appraisal
is now a tool of management.
单选题
{{B}}Abolishing the estate-tax{{/B}}
Recently, about 120 wealthy Americans had signed an appeal to oppose
abolishing the estate-tax. President Bush has included abolishing estate-tax in
his $1.6 trillion taxcut proposal. Normally when "dozens" of Americans join in a
political activity, it is not particularly noteworthy, but in this case the
dozens include: George Soros, a billionaire financier; Warren Buffett, an
investor listed as America's fourth-richest person; the philanthropist David
Rockefeller Jr.; and William Gates Sr., a Seattle lawyer and father of America's
richest man, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates. It was really
refreshing to see Buffett and George Soros and a number of other extremely
wealthy celebrities stand up in opposition to President Bush's proposed
abolishment of estate tax. While the policy has some emotional attractions—it
would protect the inheritors of some small businesses from having to sell the
companies to pay taxes, and it is true that most people have been taxed on their
savings once already—in practice the tax abolishment would mainly be an extra
for a very small number of very, very rich people. Buffett and
his company cite these factors in their appeal calling for opposition to the
estate-tax abolishment. They also discuss something that's equally emotional and
far more complex; the principle of meritocracy. The idea that everyone in
America has an equal chance, that our fates are not determined by accidents of
birth, is one of our core values. And nowhere is this principle more respected
than in the technology economy; entrepreneurship almost by definition expresses
the principle of meritocracy. The applicants argue that
abolishing the tax, in the long run, will result in either increased taxes or
cuts to Medicare, Social Security, environmental protection and other government
programs. Abolishing the estate-tax "would enrich the heirs of
America's millionaires and billionaires, while hurting families who struggle to
make ends meet," the appeal says. An old commercial says: "He
made his money in the old-fashioned way: He earned it." There was a perfect
parody of the ad in which the line read: "He made his money in the old-fashioned
way: He inherited it." In 20 or 50 or 100 years. Which of these lines will be
right? Buffet and Soros and their friends, to their credit, want to help make
the first one real. Let's hope this is only one step in that process.
单选题It proved that the old woman she had been taking care of was indeed her own mother. A. turned over B. turned in C. turned down D. turned out
单选题There is enough space for me to put my new furniture in the room.A. placeB. windowC. roomD. area
单选题Racing the clock every day is such an exhausting effort that when I
actually have a few free moments, I tend to {{U}}collapse{{/U}}.
A. fall down
B. fall ill
C. fall out
D. fall behind
单选题She felt hurt by my words, but it wasn't really out of my intention.A. purposeB. indicationC. implicationD. invasion
单选题Marcarty’s generosity indicates clearly that__________ .
单选题It took us a long time to
mend
the old church.
单选题He rolled up his trouser leg to Uexhibit/U his wounded knee.
单选题
My First Job I was six
when I joined my father and two eider brothers at sunrise in the hayfields of
Eufaula, Oklahoma. By the time I was eight I was helping Dad fix up low-income
rental properties. He gave me a penny for every nail I pulled out of old
boards. I got my first real job, at JM's Restaurant in town,
when I was 12. My main responsibilities were clearing tables and washing dishes,
but sometimes I helped cook. Every day after school I would
head to JM's and work until ten. Saturdays I worked from two until eleven. At
that age it was unlucky going to work and watching my friends run off to swim or
play. I didn't necessarily like work, but I loved what working allowed me to
have. Because of my job I was always the one buying when my friends and I went
to the local bar Tastee Freez. This made me proud. Word that I
was honest and hardworking got around town. A local clothing store extended
credit to me although I was only in the seventh grade. I immediately charged a
$68 sports coat and a $22 pair of trousers. I was making only 65 cents an hour,
and I was already $90 in debt! So I learned early the danger of easy credit. I
paid it off as soon as I could. My first job taught me
discipline, responsibility and brought me a level of personal satisfaction few
of my friends had experienced. As my father, who worked three jobs, once told
me, "If you understand sacrifice and commitment, there are not many things in
life you can't have." How right he was!
单选题You should have blended the butter with the sugar thoroughly. A. spread B. mixed C. beaten D. covered
单选题
Seeing the World Centuries
Ago If you enjoy looking through travel books by
such familiar authors as Arthur Former or Eugene Fodor, it will not surprise you
to lean that travel writing has a long and venerable history. Almost from the
earliest annals of recorded time individuals have found ready audiences for
their accounts of journeys to strange and exotic locales. One
of the earliest travel writers, a Greek geographer and historian named Strabo,
lived around the time of Christ. Though Strabo is known to have traveled from
east of the Black Sea west to Italy and as far south as Ethiopia, he also used
details gleaned from other writers to extend and enliven his accounts. His
multivolumed work Geography provides the only surviving account of the
cities, peoples, customs, and geographical peculiarities of the whole known
world of his time. Two other classic travel writers, the
Italian Marco Polo and the Moroccan Ibn Battutah, lived in roughly the same time
period. Marco Polo traveled to China with his father and uncle in about A.D.
1275 and remained there 16 or 17 years, visiting several other countries during
his travels. When Marco returned to Italy he dictated his memoirs, including
stories he had heard from others, to a scribe, with the resulting book The
million being an instant success. Though difficult to
attest to the accuracy of all he says, Marco's book impelled
Europeans to begin their great voyages of exploration. Ibn
Battutah's interest in travel began on his required Muslim journey to Mecca in
1325, and during his lifetime he journeyed through all the countries where Islam
held sway. His travel book the Rihlah is a personalized account of
desert journeys, court intrigues, and even the effect of the Black Death in the
various lands he visited. In almost 30 years of traveling it is estimated that
Ibn Battutah covered more than 75,000 miles.
单选题These are our
motives
for doing it.
单选题The town is famous for its magnificent church towers.
单选题Mary finally
accepted
Bruce as her life-long companion.
单选题Peter is experiencing a difficult time in his life.A. going intoB. going out ofC. going overD. going through
单选题DNA testing
DNA testing reveals the genes of each individual person. Since the early twentieth century scientists have known that all human characteristics are contained in a person"s genes and are passed from parents to children. Genes work as a chemical instruction manual for each part and each function of the body. Their basic chemical element is called DNA, a copy of which can be found in every cell. The existence of genes and the chemical structure of DNA were understood by the mid-1900s, but scientists have only recently been able to identify a person from just a drop of blood or a single hair.
One of the most important uses of DNA testing is in criminal investigation. The very first use of DNA testing in a criminal case was in 1985 in Great Britain, when a man confessed to killing a young woman in the English countryside. Because police had found samples of the killer"s DNA at the scene of the crime, a biologist suggested that it might be possible to compare that DNA to some from the confessor"s blood. To everyone"s surprise, the tests showed that he was not the killer. Nor was he guilty of a similar murder that had happened some time earlier. At that point he admitted that he had confessed to the crimes out of fear and police pressure. The police then asked 5, 000 local men for samples of their blood, and DNA testing revealed that one of them was the real murderer, so the first man was set free.
In 1992, two law professors, Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck, decided to use DNA evidence to help set free such mistakenly convicted prisoners. With the help of their students, they created a not-for-profit organization called the Innocence Project. Most of their clients are poor men, many from racial and ethnic minorities. In fact, studies have shown that U.S. judges and juries are often influenced by racial and ethnic background, and that people from minority groups are more likely to be convicted. Some of these men had been sentenced to death, a form of punishment used in thirty eight states out of fifty (as of 2006). For most of these prisoners, their only hope was another trial in which DNA testing could be used to prove their innocence.
Between 1992 and 2006, the Innocence Project helped free 100 men. Some of these prisoners had been in jail for ten, twenty years or more for crimes they did not commit. However, the goal of the Innocence Project is not simply to set free those who are wrongfully in jail. They also hope to bring about real changes in the criminal justice system.
Illinois in the late 1990s, a group of journalism students at Northwestern University were able to bring about such a change in that state. They began investigating some Illinois prisoners who claimed to be innocent. Through DNA testing, the students were able to prove that in fact the prisoners were not guilty of the crimes they had been accused of. Thirteen of these men were set flee, and in 2000, Governor Ryan of Illinois decided to stop carrying out death sentences until further study could be made of the prisoners" cases.
The use of DNA in criminal cases is still being debated around the world. Some fear that governments will one day keep records of everyone"s DNA, which could put limits on the privacy and freedom of citizens. Other people mistrust the science of DNA testing and think that lawyers use it to get their clients free whether or not they are guilty. But for those whose innocence has been proven and who are now free men, DNA testing has meant nothing less than a return to life. And with the careful use of DNA testing, no innocent person should ever be convicted again.
单选题We will
abide by
their decision.
单选题The writer cites the Duomo in the last paragraph as an example to illustrate that
单选题The outlook from the top of the mountain is breathtaking. A. view B. sight C. look D. point