单选题 The number of postgraduate students travelling from non-EU countries to study at UK universities has fallen for the first time in 16 years, fuelling fears that the government's immigration crackdown is discouraging thousands of the brightest students from continuing their studies in Britain. JoBeall, British Council director of education and society, said the fall would cause alarm among UK vice-chancellors (大学行政主管理). 'The sector was expecting a decline in growth, but the actual reduction in postgraduate numbers is of real concern as international students make up the majority of numbers in many postgraduate courses and research teams in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.' 'Attracting the brightest and most ambitious postgraduate and research students is critical if the UK is to maintain its quality reputation for research,' Beall said. Universities get a third of their tuition (学费) fee revenue from non-EU students. There is growing fear among vice-chancellors that this revenue-as well as the cultural, academic and economic benefit international students bring-is being put at risk. Tim Westlake, director for the student experience at Manchester University, said students whose families relied on them working in the UK after their studies to gain experience and repay the fees were starting to look elsewhere. Last month the home secretary, Theresa May, announced that embassy staff would interview more than 100 000 applicants in an attempt to prevent bogus (假冒的) ones entering the country. She also said immigrants were responsible for pushing up UK house prices. The comments followed the introduction of new limitations on students' right to work during and after their studies. Beall said: 'Government statistics for the first time provide real evidence that the changes to UK visa regulations may have discouraged many students from applying to the UK. and in particular postgraduate students who are so important to the UK's research output. The UK enjoys an excellent reputation around the world for the high quality of our education system, so the government needs to ensure that institutions have all the support they need to attract international students who make a tremendous academic, cultural and economic contribution to the UK.'

单选题The popular notion that older people need less sleep than younger adults is a myth, scientists said yesterday. While elderly people 25 to sleep for fewer hours than they did when they were younger, this has a(n) 26 effect on their brain's performance and they would benefit from getting more, according to research. Scan Drummond, a psychiatrist (生理医生) at the University of California, San Diego, said that older people are more likely to suffer from broken sleep, while younger people are better at sleeping 27 straight through the night. More sleep in old age, however, is 28 with better health, and most older people would feel better and more 29 if they slept for longer periods, he said. 'The ability to sleep in one chunk (整块时间) overnight goes down as we age but the amount of sleep we need to 30 well does not change, ' Dr Drummond told the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in San Diego. 'It's 31 a myth that older people need less sleep. The more healthy an older adult is, the more they sleep like they did when they were 32 . Our data suggests that older adults would benefit from 33 to get as much sleep as they did in their 30s. That's 34 from person to person, but the amount of sleep we had at 35 is probably the same amount as we need at 75.' A. alert B. associated C. attracting D. cling E. continuing F. definitely G. different H. efficiently I. formally J. function K. mixed L. negative M. sufficient N. tend O. younger

单选题 Google researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) to teach robots how to move like real animals (in this case, dogs). They describe their experiment in a blog released this week. 'First, we describe how robots can learn to move like a real animal by imitating their motions, producing fast and fluent movements like running slowly and hopping. Then, we discuss a system for automating the training of moving skills in the real world, which allows robots to learn to walk on their own, with minimal human assistance,' shared in the blog Xue Bin (Jason) Peng, Student Researcher and Sehoon Ha, Research Scientist, Robotics at Google. They achieved this impressive feat by using something called reinforcement learning (RL). They began by taking a reference video recorded from an animal and using RL to get the robot to imitate an animal's movement. 'By providing the system with different reference motions, we are able to train an animal-shaped robot to perform a diverse set of agile behaviors, ranging from fast walking to dynamic hops and turns. The policies are trained primarily in simulation(模拟，模仿), and then transferred to the real world using a space adaptation technique that can efficiently adapt a policy using only a few minutes of data from the real robot,' wrote the researchers in their blog. However, it is a well-known fact that simulators provide a poor approximation of the real world, meaning that simulations don't perform well in reality. This is where the researchers decided to use a sample-efficient space adaptation technique. They did so by introducing an element of randomness to the physical parameters(参数) used in the simulation by varying physical quantities, such as the robot's mass and friction. This resulted in a machine learning model that could account for all kinds of small changes and the complications they create. The end result is a robot that moves like a real dog. This kind of work is crucial as it can open opportunities to use robots to do sophisticated tasks in the real world.

单选题 An industrial society, especially one as centralized and concentrated as that of Britain, is heavily dependent on certain essential services: for instance, electricity supply, water, rail and road transport, the harbors. The area of dependency has widened to include removing rubbish, hospital and ambulance services, and, as the economy develops, central computer and information services as well. If any of these services ceases to operate, the whole economic system is in danger. It is this economic interdependency of the economic system which makes the power of trade unions (工会)such an important issue. Single trade unions have the ability to cut off many countries' economic blood supply. This can happen more easily in Britain than in some other countries, in part because the labor force is highly organized. About 55 percent of British workers belong to unions, compared to under a quarter in the United States. For historical reasons, Britain's unions have tended to develop along trade (行业) and occupational lines, rather than on an industry-by-industry basis, which makes a wages policy, democracy in industry and the improvement of procedures for fixing wage levels difficult to achieve. There are considerable strains and tensions in the trade union movement, some of them arising from their outdated and inefficient structure. Some unions have lost many members because of their industrial changes. Others are involved in arguments about who should represent workers in new trades. Unions for skilled trades are separate from general unions, which means that different levels of wages for certain jobs are often a source of bad feelings between unions. In traditional trades which are being pushed out of existence by advancing technologies, unions can fight for their members' disappointing jobs to the point where the jobs of other union members are threatened or destroyed. The printing of newspapers both in the United States and in Britain has frequently been halted by the efforts of printers to hold on to their traditional highly-paid jobs. Trade unions have problems of internal communication just as managers in companies do, problems which multiply in very large unions or in those which bring workers in very different industries together into a single general union. Some trade union officials have to be re-elected regularly; others are elected, or even appointed, for life. Trade union officials have to work with a system of 'shop stewards' (工厂工人代表) in many unions, 'shop stewards' being workers elected by other workers as their representatives at factory or work level.

单选题Looking back on my childhood, I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made. Although we were all brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon 27 their pressed flowers and insects. Unlike them, I had no ear for music and languages. I was not an 28 reader and I could not do mental arithmetic. Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary. I have only the 29 memory of the house we lived in and of my room and my toys. But I do have a crystal-clear memory of the dogs, the farm animals, the local birds, and above all, the insects. I am a naturalist, not a scientist. I have a strong love of the natural world and my 30 had led me into varied investigations. I love discussing my 31 topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil while reading about other people's observations and 32 Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious mind. Suddenly you fancy you see the answer to the riddle, because it all seems to fit 33 together. This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books, which some might 34 with the title of scientific research. But curiosity, a keen eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist. A scientist requires not only 35 but hard training, determination and a goal. A scientist, up to a point, can be made. A naturalist is born. If you can 36 the two, you get the best of both worlds. A. combine B. connect C. serf-discipline D. enthusiasm E. regulations F. discoveries G. dim H. eventually I. abandoned J. honor K. disposed L. modest M. favorite N. early O. perfectly

单选题Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessay.YoushouldstartyouressaywithabriefdescriptionofthepictureandthenexpressyourviewsontheChineseculture.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsbutnomorethan180words.WriteyouressayonAnswerSheet1.外国人过春节

单选题 Direction: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the topic Skipping Classes in Colleges. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words. Outlines are given below in Chinese: 1.大学生逃课现象严重； 2.剖析一下该现象背后的原因； 3.现状能否改善，如何去做?