单选题Spoilt for Choice Choice, we are given tol 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 irksome 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 repercussions. More complex decision-making is then either avoided, postponed, or put into the hands of the army of professionals, Iifestyle 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, 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 shareholders of the manufacturers are, nonetheless, satisfied. It is not just their availability that is the problem, hut 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 exampie is computers which are almost obsolete once they are bought. At first, there were only one or two available from a limited number of manufacturers, hut 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 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 huge swathes of 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. But what is different now is the speed at which migration is happening.

单选题He was resolute in his attempt to climb up to the top of the mountain.

单选题Atlas got the golden apples for Hercules because he wanted to be the king himself.

单选题Save Energy at Home On the average, Americans waste as much energy as two-thirds of the world's population consumes. That's (1) the result of driving inefficient cars, using inefficient appliances, and living and working in poorly insulated buildings. Then what can you do to improve the (2) ? Buy energy-efficient products.—Buy new appliances or electronics of the highest energy efficiency rating. New energy efficient models may cost more initially, but have a lower operating (3) over their lifetimes. The most energy-efficient models (4) the Energy Star label, which identifies products that use 20-40 per cent less energy than standard new products. According to the EPA, the typical American household can save about $-400 per year in (5) bills with products that carry the Energy Star. Switch to compact fluorescent bulbs. —Change the three bulbs you use (6) in your house to compact fluorescents. Each compact fluorescent bulb will keep half a ton of carbon dioxide out of the air over its lifetime. (7) , compact fluorescent bulbs last ten times as long and can save $-30 per year in electricity costs. Set heating and cooling temperatures correctly.—Check thermostats in your home to make sure they are (8) at a level that doesn't waste energy. Get an electronic thermostat that will allow your furnace to heat the house to a lower temperature when you're sleeping and retum it to a more (9) temperature before you wake up. Turn off the lights.— (10) lights and other electrical appliances such as televisions and radios when you're not using them. Install automatic timers for lights that people in your house frequently forget to turn them off when (11) a room. Choose renewable energy.—Many consumers can now choose their energy supplier. If you have a choice, choose an electric utility that uses renewable power (12) , such as solar, water or wind. Let the sun shine In.—The cheapest and most energy—efficient light and heat source is often right outside your windows. On (13) days, open blinds to let the sun light your home for free. Also remember that (14) entering a room equals passive solar heating. Even on cold winter days, sun streaming into a room can raise the temperature by several (15) . dioxide n. 二氧化物 insulate adj.隔热 thermostat n.温度自动调节 rating n.等级级别 timer n.定时器 fluorescent adj.荧光的 blind n.百叶

单选题Forester stared at his car, trembling with rage.A. shakingB. turningC. jumpingD. shouting

单选题Inflation Business and government leaders also consider the inflation rate to be an important general indicator. Inflation is a period of increased spending that causes rapid rises in prices. (51) your money buys fewer goods so that you get (52) for the same amount of money as before, inflation is the problem. There is a general rise (53) the price of goods and services. Your money buys less. Sometimes people describe inflation as a time when "a dollar is not worth a dollar anymore". Inflation is a problem for all consumers. People who live on a fixed income are hurt the (54) . Retired people, for instance, cannot count on an increase in income as prices rise. Elderly people who do not work face serious problems in stretching their incomes to (55) their needs in time of inflation. Retirement income (56) any fixed income usually does not rise as fast as prices. Many retired people must cut their spending to (57) rising prices. In many cases they must stop (58) some necessary items, such as food and clothing. Even (59) working people whose incomes are going up, inflation can be a problem. The (60) of living goes up, too. People who work must have even more money to keep up their standard of living. Just buying the things they need costs more. When incomes do not keep (61) with rising prices, the standard of living goes down. People may be earning the same amount of money, but they are not living as well because they are not able to buy as many goods and services. Government units gather information about prices in our economy and publish it as price indexes (62) the rate of change can be determined. A price index measures changes in prices using the price for a (63) year as the base. The base price is set at 100, and the other prices are reported as a (64) of the base price. A price index makes (65) possible to compare current prices of typical consumer goods, for example, with prices of the same goods in previous years.

单选题The U.S. government has planned to ____ updating public transport systems.

单选题Henry Manley's company was in deep trouble.

单选题World Crude Oil Production may Peak a Decade Earlier Than Some Predict In a finding that may speed efforts to conserve oil, scientists in Kuwait predict that world conventional crude oil production will peak in 2014. This prediction is almost a decade earlier than some other predictions. Their study is in ACS" Energy Fuels. Ibrahim Nashawi and colleagues point out that rapid growth in global oil consumption has sparked a growing interest in predicting "peak oil". "Peak oil" is the point where oil production reaches a maximum and then declines. Scientists have developed several models to forecast this point, and some put the date at 2020 or later. One of the most famous forecast models is called the Hubbert model. It assumes that global oil production will follow a bell shaped curve, a related concept is that of "Peak Oil". The term "Peak Oil" indicates the moment in which world wide production will peak, afterwards to start on irreversible decline. The Hubbert model accurately predicted that oil production would peak in the United States in 1970. The model has since gained in popularity and has been used to forecast oil production worldwide. However, recent studies show that the model is insufficient to account for more complex oil production cycles of some countries. Those cycles can be heavily influenced by technology changes, politics, and other factors, the scientists say. The new study describes development of a new version of the Hubbert model that provides a more realistic and accurate oil production forecast. Using the new model, the scientists evaluated the oil production trends of 47 major oil-producing countries, which supply most of the world"s conventional crude oil. They estimated that worldwide conventional crude oil production will peak in 2014, years earlier than anticipated. The scientists also showed that the world"s oil reserves are being reduced at a rate of 2.1 percent a year. The new model could help inform energy, which related decisions and public policy debate, they suggest.

单选题It will absorb a large amount of money to decorate the office.

单选题Every country represented in the Olympics has a National Olympic Committee that selects the athletes who compete in the games.A. choosesB. honorsC. supportsD. trains

单选题You should soon {{U}}regain{{/U}} your appetite. A. keep B. lose C. recover D. get

单选题Will Hillary Be the Next American President? Back in 1969, US President Richard Nixon confidently predicted: "In the next 50 years, we shall see a woman president, perhaps sooner than you think." Today, not too far off Nixon's deadline, America is looking at that possibility. Over the weekend, Hillary Rodham Clinton, wife of former president Bill Clinton, announced her run for 2008 presidency. US polls indicate that Americans feel comfortable with a female president. A New York Times survey found nearly all Americans saying they would vote for president if she were qualified. However, accepting the theoretical notion of a female leader is quite different from voting an actual woman. In fact, there is still widespread distrust of a woman in the top position. This is partly due to the biased thinking that women are weak on national security, though they might be strong on education and health care. This damages their prospects as a presidential contender. "There's still an inherent nervousness on the part of voters putting a woman in as the ultimate decision-maker. Control of the army and border security are sorts of traditionally male jobs," commented Amy Walter, an American campaign analyst. "That's where I think voters consciously or unconsciously have difficulties with women candidates." Women have held the top job in other major Western countries. In 1979, Britain elected Margaret Thatcher prime minister. Last year, Germany made Angela Merkel its first female chancellor. In the US, no woman has succeeded in being nominated as a presidential candidate. One woman did make the attempt: Elizabeth Dole. In 1999, she tried to get the Republican Party nomination. But Dole could only raise $5 million for her bid--compared with the $56 million George W. Bush raised. So Barriers lie ahead for Hillary if she wants to make history by becoming the first female US president. With the Iraqi war underway, she'll find it even harder. "I don't feel that our society is ready for a woman president. The enemy we face does not respect females the same way we have come to see them as equals. If we were not in this war, I would support a woman president," said Chris Dildy, a computer engineering student.

单选题Differences of Policemen Real policemen hardly recognize any resemblance between their lives and what they see on TV. The first difference is that a policeman's real life revolves round criminal law. He has to know exactly what actions are crimes and what evidence can be used to prove them in court. He has to know nearly as much law as a professional lawyer, and what is more, he has to apply it on his feet, in the dark and rain, running down a street after someone he wants to talk to. Little of his time is spent in chatting, he will spend most of his working life typing millions of words on thousands of forms about hundreds of sad, unimportant people who are guilty of stupid, petty crimes. Most television crime drama is about finding the criminal: as soon as he's arrested, the story is over. In real life, finding criminals is seldom much of a problem. Except in very serious cases like murders and terrorist attacks little effort is spent on searching. Having made an arrest, a detective really starts to work. He has to prove his case in court and to do that he often has to gather a lot of difference evidence. At third big difference between the drama detective and the real one is the unpleasant pressures: first, as members of a police force they always have to behave absolutely in accordance with the law; secondly, as expensive public servants they have to get results. They can hardly ever do both. Most of the time some of them have to break the rules in small ways. If the detective has to deceive the world, the world often deceives him. Hardly anyone he meets tells him the truth. And this separation the detective feels between himself and the rest of the world is deepened by the simple-mindedness—as he sees it—of citizens, social workers, doctors, law-makers, and judges, who, instead of eliminating crime punish the criminals less severely in the hope that this will make them reform. The result, detectives feel, is that ninetenths of their work is recatching people who should have stayed behind bars. This makes them rather cynical.

单选题This kind of animals are on the verge of extinction , because so many are being killed for their fur.______

单选题The dentist has decided to {{U}}extract{{/U}} her bad tooth. A. take out B. repair C. pull D. dig

单选题The world Islands are bigger than the Palm Jumeirah.

单选题An {{U}}authentic{{/U}} name is needed when you apply for a mailbox. A. real B. false C. free D. incredible

单选题Acknowledged as the main cause of hay fever the pollen of ragweed is very bothersome.

单选题American young people find the transition into adulthood easy to face.