单选题It is virtually impossible to persuade him to apply for the job.

单选题The index is the government's chief {{U}}gauge{{/U}} of future economic activity.

单选题Our statistics show that we consume all that we are capable of producing.

单选题Spoilt for Choice Choice, we are made to believe, is a right. In daily life, people have come to expect endless situations about which they are required to make decisions one way or another. In the main, these are just annoying moments at work which demand some extra energy or brainpower, or during lunch breaks like choosing which type of coffee to order or indeed which coffee shop to go to. But sometimes selecting one option as opposed to another can have serious or lifelong consequences. More complex decision making is then either avoided, postponed, or put into the hands of the army of professionals, lifestyle coaches, lawyers, advisors, and the like, waiting to lighten the emotional burden for a fee. But for a good many people in the world, in rich and poor countries, choice is a luxury, not a right. And for those who think they are exercising their right to make choices, the whole system is merely an illusion, created by companies and advertisers wanting to sell their wares. The main impact of endless choice in people's lives is anxiety. Buying something as basic as a coffee pot is not exactly simple. Easy access to a wide range of consumer goods induces a sense of powerlessness, even paralysis(瘫痪),in many people, ending in the shopper giving up and walking away, or just buying an unsuitable item that is not really wanted in order to solve the problem and reduce the unease. Recent surveys in the United Kingdom have shown that a sizeable proportion of electrical goods bought per household are not really needed. The advertisers and the manufacturers are, nonetheless, satisfied. It is not just their availability that is the problem, but the speed with which new versions of products come on the market. Advances in design and production mean that new items are almost ready by the time that goods hit the shelves. Products also need to have a short lifespan so that the public can be persuaded to replace them within a short time. The classic example is computers, which are almost out dated once they are bought. At first, there were only one or two available from a limited number of manufacturers, but now there are many companies all with not only their own products but different versions of the same machine. This makes selection a problem. Gone are the days when one could just walk with ease into a shop and buy one thing; no choice, no anxiety. The plethora(过剩)of choice is not limited to consumer items. With the greater mobility of people around the world, people have more choice about where they want to live and work—a fairly recent phenomenon. In the past. nations migrated across the earth in search of food, adventure, and more hospitable environments. Whole nations crossed continents and changed the face of history. So the mobility of people is nothing new. The creation of nation states and borders effectively slowed this process down.

单选题Nashville, Tennessee, boasts some of the finest country music performers in the United States.

单选题The two girls look alike.A. beautifulB. similarC. prettyD. attractive

单选题They had a far better yield than any other farm miles away around this year.

单选题Even with detailed knowledge about an area, geologists cannot easily locate stores of underground natural gas.

单选题Five minutes left, the outcome of the match was still in doubt.

单选题There is no need for a manager to find out the merits of his employees.

单选题The economy continued to exhibit signs of decline in September.

单选题The arrival of the traffic-free shopping street made many ____ lost their business.

单选题It took me exactly a week to complete the work.

单选题He is charming; nevertheless, I don't quite trust him. A. however B. therefore C. despite D. afterwards

单选题So far the project has been carried out smoothly .

单选题Winners and Losers Why are the biggest winners in the past decade of trade globalization mostly in South and East Asia, whereas the biggest losers are mostly in the former Soviet bloc (集团) and Sub-Saharan Africa? History is a partial guide: East Asia has a long trading tradition, lately reinvigorated (给以新的活力) by the Chinese adoption of market economics. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, was sheltered from free-market forces for more than 70 years. In Africa, some countries are disadvantaged because of inadequate infrastructure (基础结构); Many countries have little to trade but commodities, the prices of which have fallen in recent years. In some regions, certain countries have suffered by adopting misguided policies, often under pressure from International Monetary Fund. First among these is Russia, which in the early 1990s tried to embrace capitalism before first building the institutions that make capitalism work, such as an independent bank system, a system of business law, and all adequate method for collecting taxes. Encouraged by the IMF, the World Bank and the US Department of the Treasury, President Boris Yeltsin"s regime privatized the state- owned industrial sector, creating a class of oligarchs (寡头政治集团成员), who knowing how unstable conditions were at home, sent their money abroad instead of investing it at home. In contrast, China, the biggest winner from globalization, did not follow the IMF formula. Of the former states of the Soviet bloc, only a few, notably Poland and Hungary, managed to grow, which they did by ignoring IMF advice and adopting expansionary plans, including spending more than they collected in taxes. Botswana and Uganda are also success stories: despite their disadvantages, their countries achieved vigorous growth by creating stable civil societies, liberalizing trade and implementing reforms that ran counter to IMF prescriptions.

单选题{{B}}第二篇{{/B}} {{B}}Driven to Distraction{{/B}} Joe Coyne slides into the driver's seat, stars up the car and heads to town. The empty stretch of interstate gives way to urban congestion, and Coyne hits the brake as a pedestrian suddenly crosses the street in front of him. But even if he hadn't stopped in time, the woman would have been safe. She isn't real. Neither is the town. And Coyne isn't really driving. Coyne is demonstrating a computerized driving simulator that is helping researchers at Old Dominion University (ODU) examine how in-vehicle guidance systems affect the person behind the wheel. The researchers want to know if such systems, which give audible or written directions, are too distracting—or whether any distractions are offset by the benefits drivers get from having help finding their way in unfamiliar locations. "We're looking at the performance and mental workload of drivers," said Caryl Baldwin, the assistant psychology professor leading the research, which involves measuring drives' reaction time and brain activity as they respond to auditory and visual cues. The researchers just completed a study of the mental workload involved in driving through different kinds of environments and heavy vs. light traffic. Preliminary results show that as people "get into more challenging driving situations, they don't have any extra mental energy to respond to something else in the environment," Baldwin said. But the tradeoffs could be worth it, she said. The next step is to test different ways of giving drivers navigational information and how those methods change the drivers' mental workload. "Is it best if they see a picture '" that shows their position, a map kind of display?" Baldwin said. "Is it best if they hear it?" Navigational systems now on the market give point-by-point directions that follow a prescribed route. "They're very unforgiving," Baldwin said. "If you miss a tarn, they can almost seem to get angry." That style of directions also can be frustrating for people who prefer more general instructions. But such broad directions can confuse drivers who prefer route directions, Baldwin said. Perhaps manufacturers should allow drivers to choose the style of directions they want, or modify systems to present some information in a way that makes sense for people who prefer the survey style, she said. Interestingly, other research has shown that about 60 per cent of men prefer the survey style,while 60 per cent women prefer the route style, Baldwin said. This explains the classic little thing of why men don't like to stop and ask for directions and women do, Baldwin added.

单选题He is {{U}}but{{/U}} a child.

单选题The decoration of the palace amazes the visitors with its gorgeous furniture.

单选题Some adult dogs may weigh as much as 200 pounds, but most weigh between 20 and 50 pounds.A. matureB. femaleC. specialD. wild