单选题 Some of the world's most significant problems never hit headlines. One example comes from agriculture. Food riots and hunger make news. But the trend lying behind these matters is rarely talked about. This is the decline in the growth in yields of some of the world's major crops. A new study by the University of Minnesota and McGill University in Montreal looks at where, and how far, this decline is occurring. The authors take a vast number of data points for the four most important crops: rice, wheat, corn and soyabeans(大豆). They find that on between 24% and 39% of all harvested areas, the improvement in yields that took place before the 1980s slowed down in the 1990s and 2000s. There are two worrying features of the slowdown. One is that it has been particularly sharp in the world's most populous(人口多的) countries, India and China. Their ability to feed themselves has been an important source of relative stability both within the countries and on world food markets. That self-sufficiency cannot be taken for granted if yields continue to slow down or reverse. Second, yield growth has been lower in wheat and rice than in corn and soyabeans. This is problematic because wheat and rice are more important as foods, accounting for around haft of all calories consumed. Corn and soyabeans are more important as feed grains. The authors note that 'we have preferentially focused our crop improvement efforts on feeding animals and cars rather than on crops that feed people and are the basis of food security in much of the world'. The report qualifies the more optimistic findings of another neus paper which suggests that the world will not have to dig up a lot more land for farming in order to feed 9 billion people in 2050, as the Food and Agriculture Organisation has argued. Instead, it says, thanks to slowing population growth, land currently ploughed up for crops might be able to revert (回返) to forest or wilderness. This could happen. The trouble is that the forecast assumes continued improvements in yields, which may not actually happen.

单选题Is technology changing our brains? A new study adds to a growing body of research that says it is. According to the study, a 27 shift in how we gather information and communicate with one another has touched off an era of rapid evolution that may 28 change the human brain as we know it. The impact of technology on our brain should not come as a 29 . Professional musicians have more gray matter in brain regions 30 for planning finger movements. And athletes' brains are bulkier in areas that 31 hand-eye coordination. That's because the more time you devote to a specific activity, the stronger the neural (神经系统的) pathways responsible for executing that activity become. So it makes 32 that people who process a constant stream of digital information would have more neurons dedicated to filtering (过滤) that information. To see how the Internet might be rewiring us, the brains of 24 adults were 33 as they performed a simulated Web search, and again as they read a page of text. During the Web search, those who reported using the Internet 34 in their everyday lives showed twice as much signaling in brain regions responsible for decision-making and complex reasoning, compared with those who had 35 Internet exposure. The findings suggest that Internet use enhances the brain's 36 to be stimulated, and that Internet reading activates more brain regions than printed words. A. abundant F. limited K. scarcely B. capacity G. monitored L. sense C. control H. regularly M. stability D. dramatic I. responsible N. surprise E. immediately J. restrain O. ultimately

单选题 Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the importance of taking advantage of group brainstorming to solve problems. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.

单选题Who doesn't love being in love? A true love listens to you talk about work, lets you have that last 28 of pie, and usually remembers to take out the trash. He is ready to forget all kinds of 29 . And he always thinks you're beautiful, even without 30 . Scientists have long been keen to prove that love gives us health 31 too. Researchers can't say for sure that a lover is more important than a loving family or warm friendship when it comes to wellness. But they are learning more about how a romantic partner makes us 32 , with health gains that 33 from faster healing and better control over illnesses to living longer. The benefits of love are 34 and measurable. A study last year from the University of Pittsburgh found that women in good marriages have a much lower risk of heart disease than those in high-stress relationships. The National Love and Health Study has been 35 more than a million subjects since 1979. The study shows that married people live longer, have fewer heart attacks and lower cancer rates, and even get pneumonia less frequently than singles. A new study from the University of Iowa also found that cancer patients with a strong sense of connection to others and in 36 relationship were better able to fight off cancer. It seems that love helps people 37 their immune system. A. range B. makeup C. stronger D. righteous E. tracking F. slice G. health H. strengthen I. benefits J. refreshing K. misunderstandings L. designing M. satisfying N. suggested O. explicit

单选题 每年的农历九月初九是中国的传统节日重阳节(the Double Ninth Festival)。重阳节有2000多年的历史，早在唐朝时期就正式被定为民间节日。皇帝和百姓，都根据礼仪和风俗庆祝重阳节。随着时间的流逝，重阳节逐渐形成一些庆祝习俗，如出游、登高、插茱萸(cornel)。重阳节那天，全家人通常在一起庆祝节日，而离家的人则会倍加思乡。汉族的传统观念认为，数字9代表健康长寿，因此中国政府于1989年将农历九月初九定为“老人节”。

单选题 The Art of Friendship Making Friends in Midlife A. One evening a few years ago I found myself in an anxiety. Nothing was really wrong—my family and I were healthy, my career was busy and successful—I was just feeling vaguely down and in need of a friend who could raise my spirits, meet me for coffee and let me rant until the clouds lifted. I dialed my best friend, who now lives across the country in California, and got her voice mail. That's when it started to dawn on me—lonesomeness was at the root of my dreariness. My social life had dwindled to almost nothing, but somehow until that moment I'd been too busy to notice. Now it hit me hard. My old friends, buddies since college or even childhood, knew everything about me; when they left, they had taken my context with them. B. Research has shown the long-range negative consequences of social isolation on one's health. But my concerns were more short-term. I needed to feel understood right then in the way that only a girl friend can understand you. I knew it would be wrong to expect my husband to replace my friends: He couldn't, and even if he could, to whom would I then complain about my husband? So I resolved to acquire new friends—women like me who had kids and enjoyed rolling their eyes at the world a little bit just as I did. Since I'd be making friends with more intention than I'd ever given the process, I realized I could be selective, that I could in effect design my own social life. The downside, of course, was that I Mt pretty frightened. C. After all, it's a whole lot harder to make friends in midlife than it is when you're younger—a fact women I've spoken with point out again and again. As Leslie Danzig, 41, a Chicago theater director and mother sees it, when you're in your teens and 20s, you're more or less friends with everyone unless there's a reason not to be. Your college roommate becomes your best pal at least partly due to proximity. Now there needs to be a reason to be friends. 'There are many people I'm comfortable around, but I wouldn't go so far as to call them friends. Comfort isn't enough to sustain a real friendship.' Danzig says. D. At first, finding new companions felt awkward. At 40 I couldn't run up to people the way my 4-year-old daughters do in the playground and ask, 'will you be my friend?' 'Every time you start a new relationship, you're vulnerable again,' agrees Kathleen Hall, D Min, founder and CEO of the Stress Institute, in Atlanta. Fortunately, my discomfort soon passed. I realized that as a mature friend seeker my vulnerability risk was actually pretty low. If someone didn't take me up on my offer, so what: I wasn't in junior high, when I might have been rejected for having the wrong clothes or hair. At my age I have collected enough self-esteem to realize that I have plenty to offer. E. Friends that make you a better you (1) We're all so busy, in fact, that mutual interests—say, in a project, class, or cause that we already make time for—become the perfect catalysts for bringing us in contact with candidates for comradeship. Michelle Mertes, 35, a teacher and mother of two in Wausau, Wisconsin, says a new friend she made at church came as a pleasant surprise. 'In high school I chose friends based on their popularity and how being part of their circle might reflect on me. Now it's our shared values and activities that count.' Mertes says her pal, with whom she organized the church's youth programs, is nothing like her but their drive and organizational skills make them ideal friends. F. Friends that make you a better you (2) Happily, as awkward as making new friends can be, self-esteem issues do not factor in—or if they do, you can easily put them into perspective. Danzig tells of the mother of a child in her son's pre-school, a tall, beautiful woman who is married to a big-deal rock musician. 'I said to my husband, 'she's too cool for me,'' she jokes. 'I get threat from people. But once I got to know her, she turned out to be pretty laid-back and friendly.' In the end there was no chemistry between them, so they didn't become good pals. 'I realized that we weren't each other's type, but it wasn't about hierarchy.' What midlife friendship is about, it seems, is reflecting the person you've become (or are still becoming) back at yourself, thus reinforcing the progress you've made in your life. G. Friends that make you a better you (3) Harlene Katzman, 41, a lawyer in New York City, notes that her oldest friends knew her back when she was less sure of herself. As much as she loves them, she believes they sometimes respond to issues in light of who she once was. An old chum has the goods on you. With recently made friends, you can turn over a new leaf. H. Friends that make you a better you (4) A new friend, chosen right, can also help you point your boat in the direction you want to go. Hanna Dershowitz, 39, an attorney and mother in Los Angeles, found that a new acquaintance from work was exactly what she needed in a friend. In addition to liking and respecting Julia, Dershowitz had a feeling that the fit and athletic younger woman would help her to get in shape. I. Be a better friend While you're busy making new friends, remember that you still need to nurture your old ones. We asked Maria Paul, author of The Friendship Crisis: Finding, Making, and Keeping Friends When You're Not a Kid Anymore, for the best ways to maintain these important relationships. ●Keep in touch. Your friends should be a priority; schedule regular lunch dates or coffee catch-up sessions, no matter how busy you are. ●Know her business. Keep track of important events in a friend's life and show your support. Call or e-mail to let her know you're thinking of her. ●Speak your mind. Tell a friend (politely) if something she did really upset you. If you can't be totally honest, then you need to reexamine the relationship. ●Accept her flaws. No one is perfect, so work around her quirks to cut down on frustration and fights. ●Boost her ego. Heartfelt compliments make everyone feel great, so tell her how much you love her new sweater or what a great job she did on a work project.

单选题 One of the most interesting paradoxes in America today is that Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, is now engaged in a serious debate about what a university should be, and whether it is measuring up (符合标准). Like the Roman Catholic Church and other ancient institutions, it is asking—still in private rather than in public—whether its past assumptions about faculty, authority, admissions, courses of study, are really relevant to the problems of our society. Should Harvard—or any other university—be an intellectual sanctuary, apart from the political and social revolution of the age, or should it be a laboratory for experimentation with these political and social revolutions; or even an engine of the revolution? This is what is being discussed privately in the big clapboard (楔形板) houses of faculty members around the Harvard Yard. The issue was defined by Walter Lippmann, a distinguished Harvard graduate, many years ago. 'If the universities are to do their work, ' he said, 'they must be independent and they must be disinterested... They are places to which men can turn for unbiased judgments. Obviously, the moment the universities fall under political control, or under the control of private interests, or the moment they themselves take a hand in politics and the leadership of government, their value as independent and disinterested sources of judgment is impaired...' This is part of the argument that is going on at Harvard today. Another part is the argument of the militant and even many moderated students: that a university is the keeper of our ideals and morals, and should not be 'disinterested' but activist in bringing the Nation's ideals and actions together. Harvard's men of today seem more troubled and less sure about personal, political and academic purpose than they did at the beginning. They are not even clear about how they should debate and resolve their problems, but they are struggling with them privately, and how they come out is bound to influence American university and political life in the 21st century.

单选题 中国有句古话，“要想富，先修路。”世纪之交，传统的交通系统很难满足中国日益增长的经济发展需要，高铁(high-speed rail)应运而生。2007年，中国开始修建高速铁路。2009年，从武汉到广州的高速铁路开通。当前，中国拥有世界上最大的高速铁路网络。高铁不仅提高交通效率，也将中国的经济向前推进。高铁网络好比今日中国的丝绸之路(Silk Road)，带来了更多的贸易机会。

单选题Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessaybasedonthepicturebelow.Youshouldstartyouressaywithabriefdescriptionofthepictureandthendiscussthereasons.Youshouldgivesoundargumentstosupportyourviewsandwriteatleast120wordsbutnomorethan180words.