单选题Internet-based Instruction By almost any measure, there is a boom in Internet-based instruction. In just a few years, 34 percent of American universities have begun offering some form of distance learning (DL), and among the larger schools, it"s closer to 90 percent. If you doubt the popularity of the trend, you probably haven"t heard of the University of Phoenix. It grants degrees entirely on the basis of online instruction. It enrolls 90,000 students, a statistic used to support its claim to be the largest private university in the country. While the kinds of instruction offered in these programs will differ, DL usually signifies a course in which the instructors post syllabi (课程大纲), reading assignments, and schedules on Websites, and students send in their assignments by e-mail. Generally speaking, face-to-face communication with an instructor is minimized or eliminated altogether. The attraction for students might at first seem obvious. Primarily, there"s the convenience promised by courses on the Net: you can do the work, as they say, in your pajamas (睡衣). But figures indicate that the reduced effort results in a reduced commitment to the course. While drop-out rates for all freshmen at American universities is around 20 percent, the rate for online students is 35 percent. Students themselves seem to understand the weaknesses inherent in the setup. In a survey conducted for eCornell, the DL division of Cornell University, less than a third of the respondents expected the quality of the online course to be as good as the classroom course. Clearly, from the schools" perspective, there"s a lot of money to be saved. Although some of the more ambitious programs require new investments in servers and networks to support collaborative software, most DL courses can run on existing or minimally upgraded (升级) systems. The more students who enroll in a course but don"t come to campus, the more the school saves on keeping the lights on in the classrooms, paying doorkeepers, and maintaining parking lots. And, while there"s evidence that instructors must work harder to run a DL course for a variety of reasons, they won"t be paid any more, and might well be paid less.

单选题Spoilt for Choice Choice, we are given 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 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, 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, 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, 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 obsolete 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 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.

单选题Dancing in the Streets If there is one thing certain to get Brazilians on their feet, it is the Rio Carnival (狂欢节). Held in Rio de Janeiro, the country"s biggest city, the carnival began on February 20 when the mayor gave key of the city to Rei Momo—the Lord of Misrule (无序之皇). On his orders, each year people turn the city into a paradise of dance and music. The following six days are so full of parades, street dancing, fantastic clothes and partying (聚会) that many people forget about eating and sleeping. "It was the passion of the carnival that attracted me to Brazil and made me settle down in Rio," said Bob Nadkarni, a British man who has lived in the city for several years. For many Brazilians, the centrepiece of the carnival is samba (桑巴舞), a typical Brazilian dance. Every year, tens of thousands of visitors and locals show off their passion and energy in the streets, following the beat (节拍) of the Latin music. The climax to this street party is the float (彩车) parade, in which floats decorated with tons of fresh flowers by various samba schools and local communities move through the city. On the top of each float stands the candidate for the Drum Queen, who is chosen at the end of the party. While most people are free to enjoy the celebrations, Rio"s police officers have to keep a clear head. Following the murder of three officers in a gunfight early last week, the Brazilian Government has tightened security in Rio. The street fighting, robbery and sex crimes that accompany the carnival are very difficult to police. Carnivals began in ancient Rome as a celebration at which people fed wild wolves, in honour of the city"s founder who was said to have been raised by a she-wolf. Brazil gave new life to this tradition and so, despite the troubles, the carnival will remain a symbol of the country"s culture.

单选题He kept in constant contact with his family while he was in Australia.

单选题The house had many drawbacks, most notably its price.______

单选题I rarely play cards.A. naturallyB. seldomC. oftenD. usually

单选题The last few weeks have been enjoyable.

单选题The republication of the poet's most recent works will certainly {{U}}heighten{{/U}} his national reputation. A. magnify B. strengthen C. enlarge D. enhance

单选题Eleven states, including the {{U}}adjoining{{/U}} states of North and South Carolina, seceded from the United States in the 1860's and formed a southern confederacy.

单选题She seemed to have detected some anger in his voice.

单选题He will consolidate his power.

单选题His claims seem credible to many people.

单选题She is an artist whose work will undoubtedly withstand the test of time.

单选题{{B}}第三篇{{/B}} {{B}} Who Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?{{/B}} I just mailed the chicken and the egg, each in its own separate packaging, and kept careful track of when each shipment was sent from a post office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and when it later arrived at its intended destination in New York City. in mailing the chicken, I was careful to adhere to the restrictions described in the American Postal Service's Domestic Mail Manual 57, as updated on April 3, 2003, This, the most recent version of the Manual states that: "Adult chickens must be sent by Express Mail. The containers used must pass the standards in International Safe Transit Association Test Procedure IA; be strong enough to endure normal handling; and ensure enough air for the chickens in transit... The number of birds must not be more than the container's limit." I mailed the chicken in a wooden box got from a colleague who does research with birds. Then, I mailed the egg in standard packaging obtained through an industrial supplier. It's quite simple. I posted both the chicken and the egg at 9:40 am, on a Monday morning, from the Harvard Square post office, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The staff there told me that this was the first chicken anyone had mailed from there in recent memory, and perhaps ever. They handled both the chicken and the egg skillfully and politely. The intended destination for both packages was the James A. Farley General Post Office, which is located in Manhattan right next to the Penn Station train terminal. I took the subway from the Harvard Square to the Boston train station, and from there boarded a train to New York City, a distance of about 320 kilometers, arriving that afternoon at Penn Station. I immediately went to the post office, to await the arrivals of the chicken and the egg. The James A. Farley General Post Office is open 24 hours a day, so I was able to wait there until both items arrived. I inquired once per hour for both the chicken and the egg. That day, Monday, neither the chicken nor the egg arrived. The next day, Tuesday, neither the chicken nor the egg arrived. The chicken arrived at 10:31 am, Wednesday. The staff at the post office told me that this was the first chicken anyone had mailed to the post office in recent memory, and perhaps ever. The egg arrived that same day, at 9:37prn, 11 hours after the chicken. Based on experiment data, it's' now quite clear that the chicken came first, the egg second.

单选题Sulphur has occasionally been found in the earth in an almost pure state.

单选题He is said to be very prominent in the field of medicine.

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

单选题The Barbie Dolls In the mid 1940"s, the young ambitious duo (一对艺人) Ruth and Elliot Handler, owned a company that made wooden picture frames. It was in 1945 that Ruth and Elliot Handler joined with their close friend Harold Mattson to form a company that would be known for the most famous and successful doll ever created. This company would be named Mattel, MATT for Mattson, and EL for Elliot. In the mid 1950"s, while visiting Switzerland, Ruth Handler purchased a German Lilli doll. Lilli was a shapely, pretty fashion doll first made in 1955. She was originally fashioned after a famous cartoon character in The West German Newsletter , Build. Lilli is the doll that would inspire Ruth Handler to design the Barbie doll. With the help of her technicians and engineers at Mattel, Barbie was born. Ruth then hired Charlotte Johnson, a fashion designer, to create Barbie"s wardrobe. It was in 1958 that the patent for Barbie was obtained. This would be a fashion doll unlike any of her time. She would be long limbed, shapely, beautiful, and only 11.5 inches tall. Ruth and Elliot would name their new fashion doll after their own daughter, Barbie. In 1959, the Barbie doll would make her way to the New York Toy Show and receive a cool reception from the toy buyers. Barbie has undergone a lot of changes over the years and has managed to keep up with current trends in hairstyles, makeup and clothing. She is a reflection of the history of fashion since her introduction to the toy market. Barbie has a universal appeal and collectors both young and old enjoy time spent and memories made with their dolls.

单选题His words activated my spirit.

单选题Genetics is the study of the biological factors that influence heredity and determine variation in living things.A. duplicateB. affectC. clarifyD. improve