单选题The National Trust The National Trust in Britain plays an increasingly important part in the preservation for public enjoyment of the best that is left unspoiled of the British countryside. Although the Trust has received practical and moral support from the Government, it is not a rich Government department. It is a voluntary association of people who care for the unspoiled countryside and historic buildings of Britain. It is charity which depends for its existence on voluntary support from members of the public. Its primary duty is to protect places of great natural beauty and places of historical interest. The attention of the public was first drawn to the dangers threatening the great old houses and castles of Britain by the death of Lord Lothian, who left his great seventeenth-century house to the Trust together with the 4,500-acre park and estate surrounding it. This gift attracted wide publicity and started the Trust"s "Country House Scheme". Under this scheme, with the help of the Government and the general public, the Trust has been able to save and make accessible to the public about one hundred and fifty of these old houses. Last year about one and three quarters of a million people paid to visit these historic houses, usually at a very small charge. In addition to country houses and open spaces the Trust now owns some examples of ancient wind and water mills, nature reserves, five hundred and forty farms and nearly two thousand five hundred cottages or small village houses, as well as some complete villages. In these villages no one is allowed to build, develop or disturb the old village environment in any way and all the houses are maintained in their original sixteenth-century style. Over four hundred thousand acres of coastline, woodland, and hill country are protected by the Trust and no development or disturbances of any kind are permitted. The public has free access to these areas and is only asked to respect the peace, beauty and wildlife. So it is that over the past eighty years the Trust has become a big and important organization and an essential and respected part of national life, preserving all that is of great natural beauty and of historical significance not only for future generations of Britons but also for the millions of tourists who each year invade Britain in search of a great historic and cultural heritage.

单选题Has she altered her mind?A. gave upB. made upC. alternatedD. changed

单选题{{B}}第二篇{{/B}} {{B}}Importance of Services{{/B}} The United States has moved beyond the industrial economy stage to the point where it has become the world's first service economy. Almost three fourths of the non-farm labor force is employed in service industries, and over two-thirds of the nation's gross national product is accounted for by services. Also, service jobs typically hold up better during a recession than do jobs in industries producing tangible goods. During the 20-year period of 1966 to 1986, about 36 million new jobs were created in the United States — far more than in Japan and Western Europe combined. About 90 per cent of these jobs were in service industries. During this same time span, some 22 million women joined the labor force — and 97 per cent of these women went to work in the service sector. These employment trends are expected to continue at least until the year 2000. For the period 1986—2000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that over 21 million new jobs will be created and 93 per cent of them will be in service industries. Moreover, most of this explosive growth in services employment is not in low — paying jobs, contrary to the beliefs of many economists, business and labor leaders, and politicians. These people argue that manufacturing jobs, which have been the economic foundation of America's middle class, are vanishing. They claim that factory workers are being replaced with a host of low-wage earners. It is true that manufacturing jobs have declined, with many of them going to foreign countries. It is also true that there has been growth in some low-paying service jobs. Yet cooks and counter people still represent only 1 per cent of the US labor force today. Furthermore, for many years the fastest-growing occupational category has been "professional, technical, and related work." These jobs pay well above the average, and most are in service industries. About one-half of consumer expenditures are for the purchase of services. Projections to the year 2000 indicate that services will attract all even larger share of consumer spending. A drawback of the service economy boom is that the prices of most services have been going up at a considerably faster rate than the prices of most tangible products. You are undoubtedly aware of this if you have had your car or TV set repaired, had your shoes half-soled, or paid a medical bill in recent years. When we say that services account for close to one-half of consumer expenditures, we still grossly understate the economic importance of services. These figures do not include the vast amounts spent for business services. By all indications, spending for business services has increased even more rapidly than spending for consumer services. gross national product 国民生产总值, 略作 GNP tangible goods 有形商品 drawback n. 缺点; 不利条件

单选题The last car model embodies many new improvements.

单选题This kind of material can {{U}}resist{{/U}} heat and moisture. A. delete B. compel C. constrain D. repel

单选题The microscope enables scientists to distinguish an incredible number and variety of bacteria.

单选题Maria Chapman, abolitionist and close associate of William Lloyed Garrison, wrote many brochures condemning slavery.

单选题Food for Learning In Eritrea, a small country in northeast Africa, approximately 80 percent of the population is illiterate. That percentage is even higher in woman. As in many developing countries, many Eritreans have traditional ideas about the role of women. They believe that women should stay home and take care of the family and should not get an education or look for a job. These beliefs are one of the factors that prevent Eritriea and other developing countries from improving their economic situation. Experience in many developing countries has shown that educated women have fewer children and have more opportunities for improving their lives and the lives of their families. In Eritrea, in fact, there is great need for improvement. It is one of the poorest countries in the world. For many Eritrean families, getting enough food is a daily problem. To deal with these problems, the Eritrean government together with the World Food Program, has a new program that offers food as a reward for learning. In primary schools, all the children receive food packages to take home to their families. However, with the new program, the girls receive more food than the boys. This way, parents are encouraged to send their daughter to school rather than keeping them at home. Another government program that aims to educate women is Food for Training. Managed by the National Union of Eritrean Women, this program offer food rewards (also from World Food Organization) to women and elder girls who are willing to join the program. Because of the-war with Ethiopia, many women are bringing up their families on their own. They often live in refugee camps, with no land of their own and no way to earn money. Most of these women are illiterate and have no skills to find a job. They spend most of their day looking for food and preparing it for their families. The Food for Training program helps the teenagers and women change their lives. If they agree to join the program, they receive a large package of food each month. In return, the women are required to attend free literate classes for two hours every day. When Food for Training classes were open in two regions of Eritrea, 5000 girls and women joined in the first two months. It is especially popular with teenage girls, aged fourteen to sixteen, who have never had a chance to go to school before. The organizers of Food for Training also plans to offer other kinds of courses for women, using the same system of food rewards. In these courses, they will teach women job skills and crafts such as basket weaving. These women will not only learn to read and write. They will become aware of what is going on in their country.

单选题Norwich has always been one of the smallest English cities.

单选题Road Trip Vacation It's summer. In the United States, it's the season of swimming pools, barbeques (户外烤肉), camping and road trips. Road trip vacations where the car Journey is part of the fun are especially with college students, who like to explore the country on wheels. These budget trips are ideal for students who often have plenty of free time but little money. "Ever since I went to college, I've been traveling around a lot, exploring the country." said Austin Hawkins, a 19-year-old college student from New York. This summer, Hawkins and his friends have spent weekends traveling in New England. The best part about car trips, said Hawkins, is that you can be spontaneous. "On a road trip, if you get interested in things you see along the way you can stop and explore." Matt Roberts, a 20-year-old student from Ohio Who drove to Montreal, Canada, agrees. "With road trips you don't have to plan in advance, you can just get into a car and drive." Even with high gas prices, driving with friends is cheaper than flying. Roberts paid about 40 dollars for gas, but a round trip plane ticket would have cost nearly 400 dollars. Driving trips first became popular in the 1920s. Newly paved roads and improved cars made it possible to travel longer distances. Motels (洗车旅馆) started, apppearing outside cities. By the 1950s, car ownership became the norm. Construction of the US interstate (州) highway system began in 1956 and motel and restaurant chains popped up (突然出现) everywhere making long distance trips easier. Today, the US has the highest car ownership rate in the world. Only 8 percent of American homes have no ear, according to the most recent US census. Though many college students don't own a car, most have access to one. On many of Hawkins' trips, they used a borrowed van. Hawkins' most memorable road trip took place over spring break. He and two friends drove from New York to New Orleans to volunteer, helping rebuild the city after Hurricane (风暴) Katrina hit it last July. They crossed the country in two days and slept in their car in church parking lots. Roberts' road trip to Canada last winter was even more eventful. Upon arriving in Montreal, they were lost in a blizzard and shivering in the—25°cold. To find their hotel, they turned on a laptop (笔记本电脑) and drove around in circles until they found a spot with wireless Internet coverage. "I know we should have planned better, but we're young. Now, when I see those guys I always say, 'Remember when we were lost in the snow storm! 'I'll never forget that./

单选题In the latter case the outcome can be serious indeed. ______

单选题Up to a point, his narrative builds upon the previous scholarship of economists Milton Friedman, Anna Schwartz, Charles Kindleberger, Barry Eichengreen and Peter Temin. But where Ahamed excels is in evoking the political, social and personal forces that led to disastrous economic decisions. His title refers to the four men who heavily engineered the era's arbitrary policies : Montagu Norman, governor of the Bank of England; Benjamin Strong, head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank ; Emile Moreau, head of the Banque de France; and Hjalmar Schacht, head of Germany's Reichsbank. Determined to restore the gold standard—seen as a precondition of global prosperity—they cooperated and quarreled. But" all the thought and work and good intentions," as Norman wrote years later. "achieved absolutely nothing. "Just the opposite: they set the world on the path to ruin. What did the four men referrde to in Ahamed's book have in common?A. They were determined to bring the world out of the Depression.B. They made all the economic decisions for their countries.C. They all contributed a lot to the restoration of the economy.D. They all believed in the good function of the gold standar

单选题Our English teacher is sick .

单选题 Breakfast Studies show that children who eat breakfast do better in school. It doesn't take much further thought to believe that adults will feel better and perform better at work as well. Whether you work at home, on the farm, at the office, at school, or on the road, it is not a good idea to skip (故意略去) breakfast. If we don't eat breakfast, we are likely to become tired when our brains and bodies run low on fuel. By mid-morning, a lot of us grab a cup of coffee, or wolf down a sugary candy bar to wake up again. This might work for a few minutes, but by lunchtime we are hungry, bad-tempered, and perhaps our mood might make us a little more likely to make unhealthy choices at lunch. Eating a good breakfast sets the tone for the rest of the day. People who eat breakfast are generally more likely to maintain a healthy weight. Many people believe that they will lose weight if they skip meals, but that isn't a good idea. The body expects to be refueled a few times a day, so start with a healthy breakfast. A healthy breakfast should contain some protein (蛋白质) and some fiber (纤维). Protein can come from meat, eggs, beans, or soy (大豆). Fiber can be found in whole cereals (谷物), grains or in fruits. A good example of a healthy breakfast might be something simple like a hard boiled egg, an orange, and a bowl of whole grain cereal with soy milk.

单选题He Uinspired/U many young people to take up the sport.

单选题They have been living under the most {{U}}appalling{{/U}} conditions for two years. A. dreadful B. bad C. unpleasant D. poor

单选题 Something Men Do Not Like to Do Eric Brown hates shopping. "It's just not enjoyable to me," said the 28-year-old Chicago man who was carrying several shopping bags along the city's main street, Michigan Avenue. "When I'm out {{U}} {{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}}, I basically know what I want to get. I rush in. I buy it. I {{U}} {{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}}." Common wisdom says that guys hate to shop. You can ask generations of men. But people who study shopping say that a number of social, cultural and economic factors are now {{U}} {{U}} 3 {{/U}} {{/U}}this "men-hate-to-shop" notion. "{{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}social class, ethnicity, age-men say they hate to shop," says Sharon Zukin, a City University of New York sociology professor. "Yet when you ask them deeper questions, it turns out that they {{U}} {{U}} 5 {{/U}} {{/U}}to shop. Men generally like to shop for {{U}} {{U}} 6 {{/U}} {{/U}}, music and hardware. But if you ask them about the shopping they do for books or music, they'll say that's not shopping. That's {{U}} {{U}} 7 {{/U}} {{/U}}." In other words, what men and women call "buying things" and how they approach that task are {{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}. Women will {{U}} {{U}} 9 {{/U}} {{/U}}through several 1,000-square-metre stores in search of the perfect party dress. Men will wander through 100 Internet sites in search of the {{U}} {{U}} 10 {{/U}} {{/U}}digital camcorder. Women see shopping as a social event. Men see it as a mission or a {{U}} {{U}} 11 {{/U}} {{/U}}to be won. "Men are frequently shopping to win," says Mary Ann McGrath, a marketing professor at Loyola University of Chicago. "They want to get the best deal. They want to get the best one, the last one and if they do that it {{U}} {{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}them happy." When women shop, "they're doing it in a way where they want {{U}} {{U}} 13 {{/U}} {{/U}}to be very happy," says McGrath. "They're kind of shopping for love." In fact, it is in clothing where we see a male-female {{U}} {{U}} 14 {{/U}} {{/U}}most clearly. Why, grumble some men, are all male clothes navy, grey, black or brown? But would they wear light green and pink? These days, many guys wear a sort of "uniform" says Paco Underhill, author of Why We Bye. "It's been hard for them to understand what it means to be fashion. Conscious in a business way. It becomes much easier if you {{U}} {{U}} 15 {{/U}} {{/U}}your range of choices."

单选题Beavers have the {{U}}aptitude{{/U}} to build dams.

单选题{{B}}第三篇{{/B}} {{B}}Single-parent Kids Do Best{{/B}} Single mums are better at raising their kids than two parents - at least in the bird world. Mother zebra finches have to work harder and raise fewer chicks on their own, but they also produce more attractive sons who are more likely to get a mate. The finding shows that family conflict is as important an evolutionary driving force as ecological factors such as hunting and food supply. With two parents around, there's always a conflict of interests, which can have a detrimental effect on the quality of the offspring. In evolutionary terms, the best strategy for any parent in the animal world is to find someone else to care for their offspring, so they can concentrate on breeding again. So it's normal for parents to try to pass the buck to each other. But Ian Hartley from the University of Lancaster and his team wondered how families solve this conflict, and how the conflict itself affects the offspring. To find out, they measured how much effort zebra finch parents put into raising their babies. They compared single females with pairs, by monitoring the amount of food each parent collected, and removing or adding chicks so that each pair of birds was raising four chicks, and each single mum had two - supposedly the same amount of work. But single mums, they found, put in about 25 per cent more effort than females rearing with their mate. To avoid being exploited, mothers with a partner hold back from working too hard if the father is being lazy, and it's the chicks that pay the price. "The offspring suffer some of the cost of this conflict," says Hartley. The cost does not show in any obvious decrease in size or weight, but in how attractive they are to the opposite sex. When the chicks were mature, the researchers tested the "fitness" of the male offspring by offering females their choice of partner. Those males reared by single mums were chosen more often than those from two-parent families. Sexual conflict has long been thought to affect the quality of care given to offspring, says zoologist Rebecca Kilner at Cambridge University, who works on conflict of parents in birds. "But the experimental evidence is not great. The breakthrough here is showing it empirically." More surprising, says Kilner, is Hartley's statement that conflict may be a strong influence on the evolution of behaviour, clutch size and even appearance. "People have not really made that link," says Hartley. A female's reproductive strategy is usually thought to be affected by hunting and food supply. Kilner says conflict of parents should now be taken into account as well.

单选题A health expert devised a new method to check our health conditions.A. taughtB. foundC. learnedD. invented