单选题How Deafness Makes It Easier to Hear Most people think of Beethoven"s hearing loss as an obstacle to composing music. However, he produced his most powerful works in the last decade of his life when he was completely 1 . This is one of the most glorious eases of the triumph of will over adversity, but his biographer, Maynard Solomon, takes a different 2 . Solomon argues that Beethoven"s deafness "heightened" his achievement as a composer. In his deaf world Beethoven could experiment, free from the sounds of the outside world, free to 3 new forms and harmonies. Hearing loss does not seem to affect the musical ability of musicians 4 become deaf. They continue to "hear" music with as much, or greater, accuracy than if they were actually hearing it being 5 . Michael Eagar, who died in 2003, became deaf 6 the age of 21. He described a fascinating phenomenon that happened within three months: "My former musical experiences began to play 7 to me. I couldn"t differentiate between what I heard and real hearing. After many years, it is still rewarding to listen to these playbacks, to "hear" music which is new to me and to find many quiet accompaniments for all of my moods." How is it that the world we see, touch, hear, and 8 is both "out there" and at the same time within us? There is no better example of this connection between external stimulus and internal perception than the cochlear implant. No man-made 9 could replace the ability to hear. However, it might be possible to use the brain"s remarkable power to make sense of the electrical signals the implant produces. When Michael Eagar first "switched on" his cochlear implant, the sounds he heard were not at all 10 . Gradually, with much hard work, he began to identify everyday 11 . For example, "The insistent ringing of the telephone became clear almost at once." The primary purpose of the implant is to allow communication with 12 . When people spoke to Eagar, he heard their voices "coming through like a long-distance telephone call on a poor connection". But when it 13 to his beloved music, the implant was of no help. When he wanted to appreciate music, Eagar played the piano. He said, "I play the piano as I used to and hear it in my head at the same time. The movement of my fingers and the feel of the keys give added "clarity" to 14 in my head." Cochlear implants allow the deaf to hear again in a way that is not perfect, but which can change their lives. Still, as Michael, Eagar discovered, when it comes to musical harmonies, hearing is irrelevant. Even the most amazing cochlear implants 15 have been useless to Beethoven as he composed his Ninth Symphony at the end of his life.

单选题Gun Rights in the US Immediately after the shooting at Virginia Tech University, Americans gathered to mourn the dead. The president and the state governor both hurried there to share the (51) . But the majority of Americans still cling to their right to (52) weapons. Strictly speaking, the US is not the only country (53) gun violence has destroyed lives, families and communities in everyday circumstance. But the US is one of the (54) countries that seems unwilling and politically incapable of doing anything serious to stop it. In countries like Britain and Canada. The government adopted stricter (55) control soon after serious gun violence incidents. US leaders, however, are held (56) by the gun lobby and the electoral system. The powerful National Rifle Association, the major supporter of gun (57) in the US, is too strong for any party to take on. Most Republicans oppose gun controls anyway. (58) the years, the Democrats have found that they can either campaign for gun control or win power, not (59) ; they prefer power. According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, firearm incidents accounted (60) nine percent of the 4.7 million violent crimes in 2005. So, although opinion polls show most Americans want stricter gun laws, many don't want to give up their arms they (61) to protect themselves. Dave Hancock, a Virginia gun lover, is one example. In an interview he said. "If one professor in Virginia incident had been carrying a legal weapon they might have been able to (62) all this." In his opinion, the massacre is an argument for more people to carry, weapons, not fewer. But at the root of Americans' clinging to the right to bear arms is not just a fear of crime, but a mistrust of (63) , commented UK's Guardian newspaper. One Virginia resident, who had a permit to carry; a concealed firearm, told the Guardian thin it was (64) American's responsibility to have a gun. "Each person," he said, "should not rely solely (65) the government for protection./

单选题My father always takes a stroll for a while after supper.

单选题Smoking Since 1939, numerous studies have been conducted to determine whether smoking is a health hazard. The trend of the evidence has been consistent and indicates that there is a serious health risk. Research teams have conducted studies that show beyond all reasonable doubt that tobacco smoking is associated with a shortened life expectancy. Cigarette smoking is believed by most research workers in this field to be an important actor in the development of cancer of the lungs and cancer of the throat and is believed to be related to cancer of some other organs of the body. Male cigarette smokers have a higher death rate from heart disease than non-smoking males. Female smokers are thought to be less affected because they do not breathe in the smoke so deeply. Apart from statistics, it might be helpful to look at what tobacco does to the human body. Smoke is a mixture of gases, vaporized chemicals, minute particles of ash and other solids. There is also nicotine, which is powerful poison, and black tar. One point of concentration is where the air tube and bronchus divides. Most lung cancer begins at this point. Filters and low tar tobacco are claimed to make smoking to some extent safer, but they can only slightly reduce, not eliminate the hazards.

单选题The study also notes a steady decline in the number of college students taking science courses. A. relative B. general C. continuous D. sharp

单选题Japanese Language Today If you want proof that the Japanese language is in decline, just watch a few parliamentary debates and press conferences on Japanese TV. You won"t see politicians talking about what can be done to improve language skills among the country"s youth. Rather, you"ll see government officials misusing their own language. Recently Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (小泉纯一朗)called himself a person lacking vocabulay. It seems he"s governing a nation of such people. Last May a group of university deans announced the results of a survey showing that a majority of Japanese college students have difficulty expressing themselves fully and clearly in their own language. Throughout Japan, linguistic skills have been in a downward spiral for at least a decade. Young people who read less and watch more TV than ever before regularly stumble over old proverbs, miss the subtleties of polite expressions and even mistake one written character for another. Japanese is considered one of the world"s most difficult languages. Grammar is complicated, and the meanings of words are multifarious (多种多样的). There are also different kinds of written characters—ancient Chinese characters known as kanji (日文中的汉子), Japanese letters called hiragana and the characters used for foreign words. Many young people struggle with kanji, which are often used to express more ideas. Young people also lack familiarity with Western classics well known to their educated elders. Many teachers blame video games and television for language problems. Others say that word processors are at fault. To use them, Japanese have to type in Roman letters, then select from a menu of written Japanese and Chinese characters. Since users aren"t actually writing the words themselves, experts say it"s easy to forget them. But technology is only part of the problem. Some say the real issue is an isolated generation. Young people nowadays don"t seem to have conversion with elders who understand the language better. While Japanese educators haven"t yet come up with a solution to the language problem, the public does seem ready to take action.

单选题Mary’s daughter showed ingenuity in making a dress for her doll.

单选题A plastic wheel can be as tough as a metal one.

单选题I have to apologize for my {{U}}abrupt{{/U}} departure yesterday.

单选题We derive information mainly from the Internet.

单选题The title of the passage implies that

单选题Henry cannot resist the lure of drugs.

单选题How Two Great Conflicts Helped to Change Europe Ninety years ago on a sunny morning in Northern France, something happened that changed Britain and Europe for ever. At half past seven on the morning of July 1,1916, whistles(哨子) blew and thousands of British soldiers left their positions to attack their German enemies. By the end of the day, 20,000 of them were dead, and another 30,000 wounded or missing. The Battle of the Somme, 1 it is called, lasted for six months. When it ended, 125,000 British soldiers were dead. They had gained five kilometers of ground. This was one of a series of great battles during WWI. The attack on the Somme was staged to relieve 2 on the French, who were engaged in a great battle of their own at a place called Verdun. By the time the battle ended, over a million French and German troops had been killed. About 17 million people were killed in WWI. There have been wars with greater numbers of dead. But there has never been one in 3 most of the dead were concentrated in such a small area. On the Somme battlefield, two men died for every meter of space. Local farmers working in the land still 4 the bodies of those who died in that battle. The dead of all nations were buried in a series of giant graveyards along the line of the border 5 France and Belgium. Relatives and descendants (子孙) of those who died still visit these graveyards today. What the French call the "tourism of death" 6 an important contribution to the local economy. It took a second great conflict before Europe was to turn 7 war itself. Twenty-eight years after the Somme battle, a liberating army of British, American and Canadian troops took back 8 from another German invasion. More than 500,000 people were killed. New 9 were built. Two great conflicts across two generations helped to change the European mind about war. Germany, once the most warlike country in Europe, is now probably more in 10 of peace than any other. One major cause of war in Europe was rivalry(竞争)between France and Germany. The European Union was specifically formed to end that 11 . According to US commentator William Pfaff, "Europeans are interested in a slow development of civilized and tolerant international relations, 12 on problems while avoiding catastrophes(灾难) along the way. They have themselves only recently 13 from the catastrophes of WWI and WWII, when tens of millions of people were destroyed. They don"t want 14 ." The last British veteran of the Somme battle died in 2005, aged 108. And WWI is passing out of memory and into history. But for anyone who wants to understand how Europeans 15 , it is still important to know a little about the terrible events of July 1, 1916.

单选题All the pupils seem to be very cheerful.

单选题Thirst for Oil Worldwide every day, we devour the energy equivalent of about 200 million barrels of oil. Most of the energy on Earth comes from the Sun. In fact enough energy from the Sun hits the planet"s surface each minute to cover our needs for an entire year, we just need to find an efficient way to use it. So far the energy in oil has been cheaper and easier to get. But as supplies dwindle, this will change, and we will need to cure our addiction to oil. Burning wood satisfied most energy needs until the steam-driven industrial revolution, when energy-dense coal became the fuel of choice. Coal is still used, mostly in power stations, to cover one quarter of our energy needs, but its use has been declining since we started pumping up oil. Coal is the least efficient, unhealthiest and most environmentally damaging fossil fuel, but could make a comeback, as supplies are still plentiful; its reserves are five times larger than oil"s. Today petroleum, a mineral oil obtained from below the surface of the Earth and used to produce petrol, diesel oil and various other chemical substances, provides around 40% of the world"s energy needs, mostly fuelling automobiles. The U.S. consumes a quarter of all oil, and generates a similar proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. The majority of oil comes from the Middle East, which has half of known reserves. But other significant sources include Russia, North America, Norway, Venezuela and the North Sea. Alaska"s Arctic National Wildlife Refugel could be a major new U.S. source, to reduce reliance on foreign imports. Most experts predict we will exhaust easily accessible reserves within 50 years, though opinions and estimates vary. We could fast reach an energy crisis in the next few decades, when demand exceeds supply. As conventional reserves become more difficult to access, others such as oil shales and tar sands may be used instead. Petrol could also be obtained from coal. Since we started using fossil fuels, we have released 400 billion tonnes of carbon, and burning the entire reserves could eventually raise world temperatures by 13℃. Among other horrors, this would result in the destruction of all rainforests and the melting of all Arctic ice.

单选题Only those who worked here for more than five years are {{U}}eligible{{/U}} for the special payment. A. encouraged B. enforced C. expected D. entitled

单选题The next morning she told us that the last question didn't Udepart/U till well after midnight.

单选题The dentist has decided to take out the girl"s bad tooth.

单选题Iron Deficiencies Sports medicine experts have observed for years that endurance athletes, particularly females, frequently have iron deficiencies. Now a new study by a team of Purdue University researchers suggests that even moderate exercise may lead to reduced iron in the blood of women. "We found that women who were normally inactive and then started a program of moderate exercise showed evidence of iron loss," says Roseanne M. Lyle, associate professor at Purdue. Her study of 62 formerly inactive women who began exercising three times a week for six months was published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise . "Women who consumed additional meat or took iron supplements were able to bounce back," she notes. "But the new exercisers who followed their normal diet showed a significant decrease in iron levels." Iron deficiency is very common among women in general, affecting one in four female teenagers and one in five women aged 18 to 45, respectively. But the ratio is even greater among active women, affecting up to 80 percent of female endurance athletes. This means, Lyle says, that "too many women ignore the amount of iron they take in". Women of childbearing age are at greatest risk, since their monthly bleeding is a major source of iron loss. Plus, many health-conscious women increase their risk by rejecting red meat, which contains the most easily absorbed form of iron. And because women often restrict their diet in an effort to control weight, they may not consume enough iron-rich food, and are liable to experience a deficiency. "The average woman takes in only two thirds of the recommended daily allowance for iron," notes another expert. "For a woman who already has a poor iron status, any additional iron loss from exercise may be enough to tip her over the edge into a more serious deficiency," notes the expert. Exercise can result in iron loss through a variety of mechanisms. Some iron is lost in sweat, and, for unknown reasons, intense endurance exercise is sometimes associated with bleeding of the digestive system. The best sources of iron, and the only sources of the form of iron most readily absorbed by the body, are meat, chicken, and fish. Good sources of other forms of iron include dates, beans, and some leafy green vegetables.

单选题If headaches only occur at night, lack of fresh air is often the cause.