单选题A: Could you lend me $240? B: ______

单选题Man: Hey, Mary. I was invited to be a judge for the Miss America Beauty Contest. Woman: Oh, really? Come on, you"re pulling my leg. Question: What does the woman mean?

单选题 What would happen if consumers decided to simplify their lives and spend less on material goods and services? This question is taking on a certain urgency as rates of economic growth continue to decelerate through the industrialized world, and as millions of consumers appear to be opting for more frugal lifestyles. The Stanford Research Institute, which has done some of the most extensive work on the frugality phenomenon, estimates that nearly five million American adults are pursuing lives of "voluntary simplicity", and double that number "adhere to and act on some but not all" of its basic tenets. The frugality phenomenon first achieved prominence as a middle-class rejection of high-consumption lifestyle in the-industrialized world during the 1950s and 1960s. In The Silent Revolution, Ronald Inglehart of the University of Michigan's Institute of Social Research examined this experience in the United States and 10 Western European nations. He concluded that a change has taken place "from an overwhelming emphasis on material well-being and physical security toward greater emphasis on the quality of life," that is, "a shift from materialism to post-materialism." Inglehart calls the 1960s the "fat years". Among their more visible trappings were the ragged blue jeans favored by the affluent young. Most of the retreat from materialism, however, was less visible. Comfortably fixed Americans were going without change, making things last longer, sharing things with others, learning to do things for themselves and so on. But while economically significant, it was hardly discernible in a US Gross National Product climbing vigorously toward the $ 2 thousand billion mark. Yet as the frugality phenomenon matured—growing out of the soaring 1980s and into the sober 1990s—it seemed to undergo a fundamental transformation. American consumers continued to lose faith in materialism and were being joined by new converts who were embracing frugality because of the darkening economic skies they saw ahead. Resource scarcities, soaring energy prices, persistent inflation, high-level unemployment, balance-of-trade deficits, the declining value of the US dollar on foreign exchange markets forced consumers to look to their own resources. The one device which seemed most promising, the one over which they had the most control, was frugality—learning to live with less in a world where a penny saved was still a penny earned.

单选题Speaker A. Do you want to come over on Saturday? I'm having a little party.Speaker B: ______

单选题The most noticeable trend among today's media companies is vertical integration—an attempt to control several related aspects of the media business at once, each part helping the other. Besides publishing magazines and books, Time Warner, for example, owns Home Box Office (HBO), Warner movie studios, various cable TV systems throughout the United States and CNN as well. The Japanese company Matsushita owns MCA Records and Universal Studios and manufactures broadcast production equipment. To describe the financial status of today's media is also to talk about acquisitions (并购). The media are buying and selling each other in unprecedented numbers and forming media groups to position themselves in the marketplace to maintain and increase their profits. In 1986, the first time a broadcast network had been sold, two networks were sold that year—ABC and NBC. Media acquisitions have skyrocketed (剧情) since 1980 for two reasons. The first is that most big corporations today are publicly traded companies, which means that their stock is traded on one of the nation's stock exchanges. This makes acquisitions relatively easy. A media company that wants to buy a publicly owned company can buy that company's stock when the stock becomes available. The open availability of stock in these companies means that anybody with enough money can invest in the American media industries, which is exactly how Rupert Murdoch joined the media business. The second reason for the increase in media alliances is that beginning in 1980, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gradually deregulated (解除管制) the broadcast media. Before 1980, for example, the FCC allowed one company to own only five TV stations, five AM radio stations, and five FM radio stations; companies also were required to hold onto a station fur three years before the station could be sold. The post-1980 FCC eliminated the three-year rule and raised the number of broadcast holdings allowed for one owner. This trend of media acquisitions is continuing throughout the 1990s, as changing technology expands the market for media products. The issue of media ownership is important. If only a few corporations direct the media industries in this country, the outlets for differing political viewpoints and innovative ideas could be limited.

单选题Speaker A: Mr. Jacob, you are a great help. How can I pay you back? Speaker B: OK, you buy me a coffee, ______.

单选题Since we can't hear you at the back of the hall, you'll have to ______ your voice. A. lift B. increase C. speak up D. raise

单选题Speaker A: I think studying math at school is a waste of time. Who needs it?Speaker B: ______

单选题Speaker A: Hello, John. Fancy meeting you here! Speaker B: ______ A. How do you do? B. Hi, Jane. Where are you going? C. Hello, Jane. Haven't seen you since Christmas. D. How are you? Have you had your meal?

单选题Jane takes an ______ interest in clothes and is very particular about what she wears.

单选题Man: I had to go to the hospital yesterday to see a doctor since the infirmary was closed. Woman: Oh, so it was closed for the holiday. Question: What had the woman assumed? A. The infirmary was open. B. The man wasn't really ill. C. Yesterday wasn't a holiday. D. The hospital was closed.

单选题She is only ______ satisfied to copy notes of others without the pain of thought for herself. A. very B. much C. so D. too

单选题The man to whom we handed the forms pointed out that they had not been ______ filled in.

单选题Ships traveling in the North Atlantic during the winter must be constantly watchful to avoid icebergs, large masses of ice ______ only one-ninth is visible above water. A. so that B. in that C. which D. of which

单选题We hadn't realized that there would be a power cut so we were astonished when the whole house was ______ into darkness. A. dropped B. dived C. drowned D. plunged

单选题Nowadays, it"s considered acceptable for a couple to ______ the marriage if it can"t bring them happiness.

单选题A: That"s the worst looking painting I"ve ever seen. B: ______

单选题Woman: You often complain a lot about your boss. But today you are different.Man: We had a heart-to-heart talk and I saw him with new eyes.Question: What does the man mean?

单选题A: Could you get me Extension 6459, please? B: ______

单选题Man: How can you finish that long English novel only in one week? Woman: I found it very interesting. But I spent some time on consulting new words in a dictionary. Question: What does the woman mean?