单选题Experts Call for Local and Regional Control of Sites for Radioactive Waste The withdrawal of Nevada's Yucca Mountain as a potential nuclear waste repository has reopened the debate over how and where to dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste. In an article in the July 10 issue of Science, University of Michigan geologist Rodney Ewing and Princeton University nuclear physicist Frank yon Hippel argue that, although federal agencies should set standards and issue licenses for the approval of nuclear facilities, local communities and states should have the final approval on the siting of these facilities. The authors propose the development of multiple sites that would service the regions where nuclear reactors are located. "The main goal..., should be to provide the Unied States with multiple alternatives and substantial public involvement in an open siting and design process that requires acceptance by host communities and states," the authors write. Ewing and yon Hippel also analyze the reasons why Yucca Mountain, selected by Congress in 1987 as the only site to be investigated for long-term nuclear waste disposal, finally was shelved after more than three decades of often controversial debate. The reasons include the site's geological problems, management problems, important changes in the Environmental Protection Agency's standard, unreliable funding and the failure to involve local communities in the decision-making process. Going forward, efforts should be directed at locating storage facilities in the nation's northeastern, southeastern, mid-western and western regions, and states within a given region should be responsible for developing solutions that suit their particular circumstances. Transportation of nuclear waste over long distances, which was a concern with the Yucca Mountain site, would be less of a problem because temporary storage or geological disposal sites could be located closer to reactors. "This regional approach would be similar to the current approach in Europe, where spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste from about 150 reactors and reprocessing plants is to be moved to a number of geological repositories in a variety of rock types," said Rodney Ewing, who has written extensively about the impact of nuclear waste management on the environment and who has analyzed safety assessment criteria for the controversial Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

单选题Water The second most important constituent(构成成份)of the biosphere(生物圈)is liquid water. This can only exist in a very narrow range of temperatures, since water freezes at 0℃ and boils at 100℃. Life as we know it would only be possible on the surface of a planet which had temperatures somewhere within this narrow range. The earth's supply of water probably remains fairly constant in quantity. The total quantity of water is not known very accurately,but it is about enough to cover the surface of the globe to a depth of about two and three-quarter kilometers. Most of it is in the form of the salt water of the oceans -- about 97 percent. The rest is fresh,but three-quarters of this is in the form of ice at the Poles and on mountains, and cannot be used by living systems until melted. Of the remaining fraction, which is somewhat less than one percent of the whole,there is 10～20 times as much stored underground water as there is actually on the surface. There is also a tiny, but extremely important fraction of the water supply which is present as waer vapour in the atmosphere. Water vapour in the atmosphere is the channel through which the whole water circulation(循环)of the biosphere has to pass. Water evaporated(蒸发)from the surface of the oceans,from lakes and rivers and from moist(潮湿的)earth is added to it. From it the water comes out again as rain or snow,falling on either the sea or the land. There is,as might be expected,a more intensive evaporation per unit area over the sea and oceans than over the land, but there is more rainfall over the land than over the oceans and the balance is restored by the runoff from the land in the form of rivers.

单选题Retirement Brings Most a Big Health Boost The self-reported health of the newly retired improves so much that most feel eight years younger, a new European study suggests. This happy news was true of almost everyone except a small minority—only 2 percent who had experienced "ideal" conditions in their working life, anyway. "The results really say three things: that work puts an extra burden on the health of older workers, that the effects of this extra burden are largely relieved by retirement and, finally, that both the extra burden and the relief are larger when working conditions are poor," said Hugo Westerlund, lead author of a study published online Nov. 9 in the Lancet . "This indicates that there is a need to provide opportunities for older workers to decrease the demands in their work out of concern for their health and well-being." But of course, added Westerlund, who is head of epidemiology at the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University in Sweden, "not all older workers suffer from poor perceived health. Many are indeed remarkably healthy and fit for work. But sooner or later, everyone has to slow down because of old age catching up." Last week, the same group of researchers reported that workers slept better after retirement than before. "Sleep improves at retirement, which suggests that sleeping could be a mediator between work and perception of poor health," Westerlund said. This study looked at what the same 15,000 French workers, most of them men, had to say about their own health up to seven years pre-retirement and up to seven years post-retirement. As participants got closer to retirement age, their perception of their own health declined, but went up again during the first year of retirement. Those who reported are being in poorer health declined from 19.2 percent in the year prior to retirement to 14.3 percent by the end of the first year after retiring. According to the researchers, that means post-retirement levels of poor health fell to levels last seen eight years previously. The changes were seen in both men and women, across different occupations, and last-edthrough the first seven years of not punching the clock. Workers who felt worse before retirement and had lower working conditions reported greater improvements as soon as they retired, the team found.

单选题He has trouble understanding that other people judge him by his social skills and conduct .

单选题{{B}}第三篇{{/B}} {{B}} Technology Transfer in Germany{{/B}} When it comes to translating basic research into industrial success, few nations can match Germany. Since the 1940s, the nation's vast industrial base has been fed with a constant stream of new ideas and expertise from science. And though German prosperity (繁荣) has faltered (衰退) over the past decade because of the huge cost of unifying east and west as well as the global economic decline, it still has an enviable (令人羡慕的) record for turning ideas into profit. Much of the reason for that success is the Fraunhofer Society, a network of research institutes that exists solely to solve industrial problems and create sought-after technologies. But today the Fraunhofer institutes have competition. Universities are taking an ever larger role in technology transfer, and technology parks are springing up all over. These efforts are being complemented by the federal progremmes for pumping money into start-up companies. Such a strategy may sound like a recipe for economic success, but it is not without its critics. These people worry that favouring applied research will mean neglecting basic science, eventually starving industry of fresh ideas. If every scientist starts thinking like an entrepreneur (企业家), the argument goes, then the traditional principles of university research being curiosity-driven, free and widely available will suffer. Others claim that many of the programmes to promote technology transfer are a waste of money because half the small businesses that are' promoted are bound to go bankrupt within a few years. While this debate continues, new ideas flow at a steady rate from Germany's research networks, which bear famous names such as Helmholtz, Max Planck and Leibniz. Yet it is the fourth network, the Fraunhofer Society, that plays the greatest role in technology transfer. Founded in 1949, the Fraunhofer Society is now Europe's largest organisation for applied technology, and has 59 institutes employing 12, 000 people. It continues to grow. Last year, it swallowed up the Heinrich Hertz Institute for Communication Technology in Berlin. Today, there are even Fraunhofers in the US and Asia.

单选题Long Bus Rides Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard (广告牌) goes by outside the bus window. "Buy Super Clean Toothpaste." "Drink Good"n Wet Root Beer." "Fill up With Pacific Gas." Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, are you free from the unending cry of "You Need It! Buy It Now!" The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you"ve traveled that way before. Usually some things have changed—new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. The bus driver has a style of driving and it"s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless (鲁莽的)or daring, the ride can be as thrilling as a suspense (悬疑)story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left-hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides more interesting. But you"ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops. The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will soon be over and there"s a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The seat, of course, has become harder as the hours have passed. By now you"ve sat with your legs crossed, with your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes just at the right time. There are just no more ways to sit.

单选题My doctor said I should vary my diet more.A. prepareB. cookC. changeD. choose

单选题An epidemic of swine flu has recently developed in Mexico and the United States, says the CDC. Swine flu has killed many people, and the outbreak has features that suggest it could become a global pandemic. A pandemic is an epidemic that spreads around the whole world. Pandemics also often cause more severe disease than epidemics. Which of the following statements is true about a pandemic?A. It is the same as an epidemic.B. It always follows an epidemic.C. It is widespread and serious.D. It kills all people who are infecte

单选题China to Help Europe Develop GPS (全球定位系统) Rival China is to contribute to a new global satellite navigation system being developed by European nations. The Galileo satellite system (51) a more accurate civilian alternative to the Global Positioning System (GPS), operated by the US military. China will provide 230m Euros (USD 259m) in (52) and will cooperate with technical, manufacturing and market development." China will help Galileo to (53) the major world infrastructure (基础设施)for the growing market for location services," said Loyola de Palacio, EU transport commissioner. A new center that will coordinate co-operation was also announced (54) the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology not long (55) . The China-Europe Global Navigation Satellite System Technical Training and Cooperation Center will be (56) at Beijing University. China has a substantial satellite launch industry and could potentially help launch the Galileo satellites. The US has claimed that Galileo could interfere (57) the US ability to downgrade (降级) the GPS service during military conflicts. European officials say this is unfounded and counter that US opposition (58) the commercial challenge Galileo would present to GPS. Galileo will be precise to within a meter, while the civilian GPS service is accurate to around 10 meters. The Galileo satellite constellation (卫星群集) will (59) 27 operational and three reserve satellites orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 23,600 km. The satellites will be strung along three medium-Earth orbits at 56 degrees inclination to the equator and will provide global coverage. The system should be operational by 2008 and the entire project is expected to (60) around 3.2 billion Euros (USD 3.6 billion). The European Commission has said Galileo will primarily be used for transportation technology, scientific research, land management and disaster monitoring. Galileo will provide two signals; a standard civilian one and an encrypted (编码) , wide-band signal (61) the Public Regulated Service (PRS). This second signal is designed to withstand localized jamming(干扰)and will be used by police and military services in Europe. European Commission (62) have said China will not be given access to the PRS. The first Galileo satellite is scheduled to launch late in 2004. Clocks on board the (63) will be synchronized (使同步) through 20 ground sensors stations, two command centers and 15 uplink (向上传输) stations. Receivers on the ground will use time signals from the satellites to precisely calculate their (64) . A "search and rescue" function will also (65) distress signals be relayed through the constellation of satellites.

单选题下面的短文后列出了7个句子，请根据短文的内容对每个句子做出判断：如果该句提供的是正确信息，请选择A；如果该句提供的是错误信息，请选择B；如果该句的信息文中没有提及，请选择C。 Plants in Desert Only special plants can survive the terrible climate of a desert, for these are regions where the annual range of the soil temperature can be over 75℃. Furthermore, during the summer there are few clouds in the sky to protect plants from the sun's ray. Another problem is the fact that there are frequently strong winds which drive small, sharp particles of sand into the plants, tearing and damaging them. The most difficult problem for all forms of plant life, however, is the fact that the entire annual rainfall occurs during a few days or weeks in spring. Grasses and flowers in desert survive from one year to the next by existing through the long, hot, dry season in the form of seeds. These seeds remain inactive unless the right amount of rain falls. If no rain falls, or if insufficient rain falls, they wait until the next year, or even still the next. Another factor that helps these plants to survive is the fact that their life cycles are short. By the time that the water from the spring rains disappears—just a few weeks after it falls—such plants no longer need any. The perennials have special features which enable them to survive as plants for several years. Thus, nearly all desert perennials have extensive root systems below ground and a small shoot system above ground. The large root network enables the plant to absorb as much water as possible in a short time. The small shoot system, on the other hand, considerably limits water loss by evaporation. Another feature of many desert perennials is that after the rainy season they lose their leaves in preparation for the long, dry season, just as trees in wetter climates lose theirs in preparation for the winter. This reduces their water loss by evaporation during the dry season. Then, in next rainy season, they come fully alive once more, and grow new branches, leaves and flowers, just as the grasses and flowers in desert do.

单选题 Listening to Birdsong A male zebra finch chirps away to himself. Suddenly he notices a female bird nearby. He realizes he has an audience and immediately changes his song. Can the female tell the difference in his performance? According to a new study, the female zebra finch knows. And she prefers the special trills he creates when he sings to her. A male zebra finch changes his song when singing to a female in ways that people can barely detect. But the female finch can tell the difference. Scientists had noticed slight variations in the songs of male zebra finches based on whether they were singing alone or whether there was a female (and potential mate) nearby. With an audience, the males sped up the pace of their songs and controlled the notes they used. For this study, researchers Sarah C. Woolley and Allison Doupe at the University of California, San Francisco decided to focus attention on the listening females, which have not been well studied in the past. In the study, Woolley and Doupe set up a long cage with a sound speaker at each end. One broadcast the sound of a male zebra finch singing to himself, like someone singing in the shower. The other speaker broadcast a male performing for a female audience, as if he was giving a concert. Female birds were placed between the two speakers. Some of the birds had mates. Others didn't. The females shifted around a bit, and then most of them hopped over to sit beside just one speaker. All the birds that made a clear choice liked songs meant for a female audience, even if they'd never met the male. Mated females also had a chance to listen to two different performances songs, one from an unknown male, and one from their mate. They spent more time listening to the concert version of their mates' songs. This suggests that after a while, females learn to recognize—and prefer—the songs of their mates. Scientists then studied the brains of the females. They found certain areas of the brain perked up when the birds listened to the concert songs. These brains areas may be involved in recognizing and evaluating the songs, and storing the memories of them. This research deals with what's called directed communication, when the communicator or sender, focuses the message for a specific audience. One example is the way moms speak to their babies. Mothers around the world use the same sort of high-pitched sing-song chatter, and the babies respond best to those sounds. Songbirds are one of the only other species known to learn their communication, in this case their songs.

单选题 阅读下面的短文，文中有15处空白，每处空白给出了4个选项，请根据短文的内容从4个选项中选择1个最佳答案。 {{B}}International Trade{{/B}} Since the end of World War II, international trade has developed dramatically. All countries in the modern world join in worldwide trade, through which various sorts of merchandise and {{U}}(51) {{/U}} materials arc exported in {{U}}(52) {{/U}} for foreign currency, which means income wealth from {{U}}(53) {{/U}} and job opportunity at home, and in the meantime, foreign goods are imported to provide consumers with {{U}}(54) {{/U}} and welcome merchandise. Today, economic interdependence among countries is so {{U}}(55) {{/U}} that no country can close its doors to the outside world, and the more prosperous the national economy, the more developed the foreign trade. Economic globalization is now a {{U}}(56) {{/U}} in the world. But in the past when old and new colonialism ruled the world there was no free and fair trade at all. Powers, {{U}}(57) {{/U}} the British empire, the United States, Russia, Japan, divided the world into their spheres of influence—their colonies or dependencies, where their businessmen {{U}}(58) {{/U}} their merchandise at high prices and bought {{U}}(59) {{/U}} raw materials and labor at low prices. {{U}}(60) {{/U}} of wealth flowed to these powers which then grew prosperous, {{U}}(61) {{/U}} the colonies were driven into destitution (贫困). The national economy of colonies was innately defective. Their industries could not survive the overwhelming {{U}}(62) {{/U}} of imports from the powers. Their monotonous national economy {{U}}(63) {{/U}} in production of one or two agricultural crops or {{U}}(64) {{/U}} products or minerals, to be sold in international market, for example, orange and sugarcane in Cuba, banana and coffee in South-America, coal in Poland, all {{U}}(65) {{/U}} to supply-demand relation in world market under control of the powers. Even their customs were governed by officials from the powers, whose exported goods thus could enter the colonies nearly duty-free. It was after the collapse of colonialist system all over the world that free and fair international trade, at least theoretically, could be possible.

单选题The doctors did not {{U}}reveal{{/U}} the truth to him.

单选题The future will probably belong to those who possess and know how to make use of information.

单选题Jack consumes a pound of cheese a day. A. eats B. drinks C. buys D. produces

单选题The fuel tanks had a {{U}}capacity{{/U}} of 140 liters.

单选题A notably short man, he plays basketball with his staff several times a week. A．practically B．considerably C．remarkably D．completely

单选题阅读下面这篇短文，短文后列出7个句子，请根据短文的内容对每个句子做出判断。 Norwich Norwich, the capital of the part of Britain known as East Anglia, has been in existence for more than two thousand years. It began as a small village beside the River Wensum. At the time of the Norman invasion in 1066 it had grown to become one of the largest towns in England. With two cathedrals and a mosque(清真寺), Norwich has long been a popular centre for various religions. The first cathedral was built in 1095 and has recently celebrated its 900th anniversary, while Norwich itself had a year of celebration in 1994 to mark the 800th anniversary of the city receiving a Royal Charter. This allowed it to be called a city and to govern it-self independently. Today, in comparison with places like London or Manchester, Norwich is quite small, with a population of around 150,000, but in the 16th century Norwich was the second largest city of England. It continued to grow for the next 300 years and got richer and richer, becoming famous for having as many churches as there are weeks in the year and as many pubs as their are days in the year. Nowadays, there are far fewer churches and pubs, but in 1964 the University of East Anglia was built in Norwich. With its fast-growing student population and its success as a modern commercial centre (Norwich is the biggest centre for insurance services outside London), the city now has a side choice of entertainment: theatres, cinemas, nightclubs,busy cafes,exeellent restaurants, and a number of arts and leisure centres. There is also a football team, whose colours are green and yellow. The team is known as "The Canaries (金丝雀)",though nobody can be sure why. Now the city's attractions include another important development, a modern shopping centre called "The Castle Mall". The people of Norwich lived with a very large hold in the middle of their city for over two years, as builders dug up the main car park. Lorries moved nearly a million tons of earth so that the roof of the mall could become a city centre park, with attractive water pools and hundreds of trees, but the local people are really pleased that the old open market remains, right in the heart of the city and next to the new development. Both areas continue to do good business, proving that Norwich has managed to mix the best of the oId and the new.

单选题About one quarter of the workers in the country are employed in factories.

单选题China to Help Europe Develop GPS Rival China is to contribute to a new global satellite navigation system being developed by European nations. The Galileo satellite system (51) a more accurate civilian alternative to the Global Positioning System (GPS), operated by the US military, China will provide 230m Euros (USD 259m) in (52) and will cooperate with technical, manufacturing and market development. "China will help Galileo to (53) the major world infrastructure for the growing market for location services," said Loyola de Palacio, EU transport commissioner. A new center that will coordinate co-operation was also announced (54) the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology not long (55) . The China-Europe Global Navigation Satellite System Technical Training and Cooperation Center will be (56) at Beijing University. China has a substantial satellite launch industry and could potentially help launch the Galileo satellites. The US has claimed that Galileo could interfere (57) the US ability to downgrade the GPS service during military conflicts. European officials say this is unfounded and counter that US opposition (58) the commercial challenge Galileo would present to GPS. Galileo will be precise to within meter, while the civilian GPS service is accurate to around 10 meters. The Galileo satellite constellation will (59) 27 operational and three reserve satellites orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 23,600 km. The satellites will be strung along three medium-Earth orbits at 56 degrees inclination to the equator and will provide global coverage. The system should be operational by 2008 and the entire project is expected to (60) around 3.2 billion euros (USD 3.6 billion) the European Commission has said Galileo will primarily be used for transportation technology, scientific research, land management and disaster monitoring. Galileo will provide two signals: a standard civilian one and an encrypted, wide-band signal (61) the Public Regulated Service (PRS). This second signal is designed to withstand localized jamming and will be used by police and military services in Europe. European Commission (62) have said China will not be given access to the PRS. The first Galileo satellite is scheduled to launch late in 2004. Clocks on board (63) will be synchronized through 20 ground sensors stations, two command centers and 15 uplink stations. Receivers on the ground will use time signals from the satellites to precisely calculate their (64) . A "search and rescue" function will also (65) distress signals be relayed through the constellation of satellites.