单选题Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessay.Youshouldstartyouressaywithabriefdescriptionofthepictureandthenexpressyourviewsontheimpactofsocialnetworkingwebsites.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsbutnomorethan180words.'I'mtheleastpopularboyinschool.Ionlyhave545Weibofriends!'

单选题 McDonald's is having a bit of an identity crisis. Recently, the burger giant announced a 5.2% drop in profits for the first three months of this year and a l.7% decrease in same store sales in the US. President and CEO Don Thompson emphasized that McDonald's would be focusing on its core products, like its Big Mac, Egg McMuffin, and its famous French fries. Thompson's back-to-basics vow comes in response to the sort of menu creep the chain experienced last year, when it rolled out a seemingly endless stream of limited time offers, like its Mighty Wings, a steak and egg burrito (蛋卷饼), a steak breakfast sandwich and so on. It's vital that McDonald's craft a consistent message, so customers' expectations are met when they choose to eat there. When McDonald's first got off the ground in the 1940s, it had a nine-item menu made up of hamburger, cheeseburger, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips, and a slice of pie. It built its iconic(标志性的) reputation on guaranteeing that these food and beverage items would have the same great taste no matter the McDonald's location at which they were served. Just as crucial, too much menu diversification, which McDonald's has suffered from lately, leads to longer customer wait times in an industry built on speed. 'What McDonald's workers do inside those four walls is really impressive. Everyone has their time and place, and their entire job is done in two or three steps,' says Howard Penney, managing director at Hedgeye Risk Management. Adding more processes that come with a bigger menu, specifically the smoothie(奶昔) and espresso machines, has disrupted McDonald's restaurants' time and motion, he says. It takes a lot longer to make a smoothie than it does to pour a fountain Coke. 'Everything they've done to become all things to all people has slowed service,' Penney says. Going back to its roots could be just what McDonald's needs. After all, it seems like a long shot for the fast food giant to become the next Chipotle or Panera since, as Penney puts lt, 'the core McDonald's customer is not looking for a wrap with a cucumber in it'.

单选题 Why Are Asian Americans Missing from Our Textbooks? A. I still remember my fourth-grade social studies project. Our class was studying the Gold Rush, something all California fourth-graders learned. I was excited because I had asked to research Chinese immigrants during that era. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I had always known that 'San Francisco' translated to 'Gold Mountain' in Chinese. The name had stuck ever since Chinese immigrants arrived on the shores of Northern California in the 1850s, eager to try their luck in the gold mines. Now I'd have the chance to learn about them. B. My excitement was short-lived. I remember heading to the library with my class and asking for help. I remember the librarian's hesitation. She finally led me past row after row of books, to a corner of the library where she pulled an oversized book off the shelf. She checked the index and turned over to a page about early Chinese immigrants in California. That was all there was in my entire school library in San Francisco, home of the nation's first Chinatown. That was it. C. I finally had the opportunity to learn about Asian Americans like myself, and how we became part of the fabric of the United States when I took an introductory class on Asian-American history in college. The class was a revelation. I realized how much had been missing in my textbooks as I grew up. My identity had been shaped by years of never reading, seeing, hearing, or learning about people who had a similar background as me. Why, I wondered, weren't the stories, histories, and contributions of Asian Americans taught in K-12 schools, especially in the elementary schools? Why are they still not taught? D. Our students—Asian, Latino, African American, Native American, and, yes, white—stand to gain from a multicultural curriculum. Students of color are more engaged and earn better grades when they see themselves in their studies. Research has also found that white students benefit by being challenged and exposed to new perspectives. E. For decades, activists have called for schools to offer anti-racism or multicultural curricula. Yet a traditional American K-12 curriculum continues to be taught from a Eurocentric point of view. Being multicultural often falls back on weaving children of color into photographs, or creating a few supporting characters that happen to be ethnic—an improvement, but superficial nonetheless. Elementary school classrooms celebrate cultural holidays—Lunar New Year! Red envelopes! Lion dancers!—but they're quick to gloss over (掩饰) the challenges and injustices that Asian Americans have faced. Most students don't, for example, learn about the laws that for years excluded Asians from immigrating to the U.S. They don't hear the narratives of how and why Southeast Asian refugees (难民) had to rebuild their lives here. F. Research into what students learn in school has found just how much is missing in their studies. In an analysis, Christine Sleeter, a professor in the College of Professional Studies at California State University, Monterey Bay, reviewed California's history and social studies framework, the curriculum determined by state educators that influences what is taught in K-12 classrooms. Of the nearly 100 Americans recommended to be studied, 77% were white, 18% African American, 4% Native American, and 1% Latino. None were Asian American. G. Worse, when Asian Americans do make an appearance in lesson books, it is often laced with problems. 'There hasn't been much progress,' says Nicholas Hartlep, an assistant professor at Metropolitan State University. His 2016 study of K-12 social studies textbooks and teacher manuals found that Asian Americans were poorly represented at best, and subjected to racist caricatures (拙劣的模仿) at worst. The wide diversity of Asian Americans was overlooked; there was very little mention of South Asians or Pacific Islanders, for example. And chances were, in the images, Asian Americans appeared in stereotypical (模式化的) roles, such as engineers. H. Teachers with a multicultural background or training could perhaps overcome such curriculum challenges, but they're few and far between. In California, 65% of K-12 teachers are white, compared with a student population that is 75% students of color. Nationwide, the gap is even greater. It isn't a requirement that teachers share the same racial or ethnic background as their students, but the imbalance poses challenges, from the potential for unconscious bias to a lack of knowledge or comfort in discussing race and culture. I. How race and ethnicity is taught is crucial, says Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, an Asian-American studies professor at San Francisco State University. She added that it's not so much about the teacher's background, but about training. 'You can have a great curriculum but if you don't have teachers dedicated (专注于) to teaching it well,' she says, 'it won't work as well as you want it to.' J. Some teachers are finding ways to expose students to Asian-American issues—if not during school hours, then outside of them. This summer, Wilson Wong will lead a class of rising fifth-graders at a day camp dedicated to Chinese culture and the Chinese-American community in Oakland, California. His students, for instance, will learn about how Chinese immigrants built the railroads in California, and even have a chance to 'experience' it themselves: They will race each other to build a railroad model on the playground, with some students being forced to 'work' longer and faster and at cheaper wages. Wong, a middle school teacher during the school year, hopes he's exposing the students to how Chinese Americans contributed to the U.S., something that he didn't get as a student growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area. 'I planted the seeds early,' he says. 'That's what I'm hoping for.' K. And, despite setbacks, the tide may finally be turning. California legislators passed a bill last year that will bring ethnic studies to all its public high schools. Some school districts, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, already offer ethnic studies at its high schools. High schools in Portland, Chicago, and elsewhere have either implemented or will soon introduce ethnic studies classes. And, as more high schools begin teaching it, the door could crack open for middle schools, and, perhaps inevitably, elementary schools, to incorporate a truly more multicultural curriculum. Doing so will send an important message to the nation's youngest citizens: Whatever your race or ethnicity, you matter. Your history matters. Your story matters.

单选题 There was a time, not that long ago, when women were considered smart if they played dumb to get a man, and women who went to college were more interested in getting a 'Mrs. degree' than a bachelor's. Even today, it's not unusual for a woman to get whispered and unrequested counsel from her grandmother that an advanced degree could hurt her in the marriage market. 'There were so many misperceptions out there about education and marriage' that I decided to sort out the facts,' said economist Betsey Stevenson, an assistant professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. So along with Wharton colleague Adam Isen, Stevenson calculated national marriage data from 1950 to 2008 and found that the marriage penalty women once paid for being well educated has largely disappeared. 'In other words, the difference in marriage rates between those with college degrees and those without is very small,' said Stephanie Coontz, a family historian at Evergreen State College. The new analysis also found that while high-school dropouts (辍学学生) had the highest marriage rates in the 1950s, today college-educated women are much more likely to marry than those who don't finish high school. Of course, expectations have changed dramatically in the last half century. 'In the 1950s, a lot of women thought they needed to marry right away,' Coontz said. 'Real wages were rising so quickly that men in their 20s could afford to marry early. But they didn't want a woman who was their equal. Men needed and wanted someone who knew less.' In fact, she said, research published in 1946 documented that 40 percent of college women admitted to playing dumb on dates. 'These days, few women feel the need to play down their intelligence or achievements,' Coontz said. The new research has more good news for college grads. Stevenson said' the data indicate that modern college-educated women are more likely to be married before age 40, are less likely to divorce, and are more likely to describe their marriages as 'happy'. The marriages of well-educated women tend to be more stable because the brides are usually older as well as wiser, Stevenson said.

单选题 How Should You Build up Your Vocabulary? A. Exactly what do you do during a normal day? How do you spend your time? Paul T. Rankin very much wanted an answer to that question. To get it, he asked sixty-eight individuals to keep an accurate, detailed record of what they did every minute of their waking hours. When he consolidated (巩固) his findings, he discovered that the average individual spent 70 percent of his waking time doing one thing only—communication. That meant either reading, writing, speaking or listening. B. Put that evidence alongside of the research findings uncovered by the Human Engineering Laboratories. In exploring aptitudes (智能) and careers involving, among other things, data from 30,000 vocabulary tests given yearly, they discovered that big incomes and big vocabularies go together. Vocabulary, more than any other factor yet known, predicts financial success. C. And it all fits. Each word you add to your vocabulary makes you a better reader, writer, speaker and listener. Furthermore, linguistic scientists are quick to point out that we actually think with words. If that is so, new words make us better thinkers as well as communicators. No wonder more words are likely to mean more money. What better reason for beginning right now to extend your vocabulary? D. Take reading. What exactly do you read? Common sense says you read words. Research confirms that fact. 'Vocabulary in context' contributes 39 percent to comprehension. That's more than any other factor isolated and studied—even more than intelligence. And 'word discrimination' contributes more to speed of reading than any other factor—28 percent. In short, your efforts to improve vocabulary will pay off in both comprehension and speed. E. Suppose, as you're reading along, you 'lumtebs' across a strange word. Did you find yourself stopping for a closer look at lumtebs? Pardon the spelling slip. That's actually the word 'stumble' (偶然发现). The letter just got mixed around. Obviously you now know that strange words do slow you down—or even stop you completely. Furthermore, strange words hinder (妨碍) comprehension. Which is easier to understand, 'Eschew garrulity' or 'Avoiding talking too much'? F. What you need is a vital, dynamic approach to vocabulary building. Hybrid(混合种) corn combines the best qualities of several varieties to ensure maximum productivity. A hybrid approach to vocabulary should, in the same way, ensure maximum results. That's why you should use the CPD formula. Through Context G. When students in a college class were asked what should be done when they came across an unknown word in their reading, 84 percent said, 'Look it up in the dictionary.' If you do, however, you short-circuit the very mental processes needed to make your efforts most productive. H. But there's another reason. Suppose someone asks you what the word fast means. You answer, 'speedy or swift'. But does it mean that in such contexts as 'fast color', 'fast woman', or 'fast friend'? And if a horse is fast, is it securely tied or galloping (飞驰) at top speed? It could be either. It all depends. On the dictionary? No, on context—on how the word is actually used. After all, there are over twenty different meanings for fast in the dictionary. But the dictionary doesn't tell you which meaning is intended. That's why it makes such good sense to begin with context. Through Word Parts I. Now for the next step. Often unfamiliar words contain one or more parts, which, if recognized, provide definite help with meaning. Suppose you read that someone 'had a predilection for_reading mysteries'. The context certainly isn't too helpful. But do you see a prefix, suffix or root that you know? Well, there's the familiar prefix pre-, meaning 'before'. Look back at the context and try inserting 'before'. Reading mysteries apparently comes 'before' other kinds of reading. Yes, a predilection—or preference—is something put 'before' something else. Or take the word monolithic. Try to isolate the parts. There is the prefix mono-, meaning 'one', and the root lith, meaning 'stone'. Finally, there's the suffix -ic, meaning 'consisting of'. Those three parts add up to this definition: 'consisting of one stone'. J.To speed up your use of word parts, you will be introduced to the fourteen most important words the English language.The prefix and root elements in those few words are found in over 14,000 words of desk dictionary size. With those amazingly useful shortcuts, you can build vocabulary, not a snail's pace,one word at a time, but in giant strides, up to a thousand words at a time. Your second step, then, is to look for familiar word parts.If they do not give you exact meanings, they should at least bring you much closer. Through the Dictionary K. Now you can see why you should consult the dictionary last, not first. You've looked carefully at the context. You've looked for familiar word parts. Now you play Sherlock Holmes—an exciting role. You hypothesize. In light of context or word parts, you try to solve a mystery. What exactly does that strange word mean? Only after you go through the mental gymnastics to come up with a tentative definition should you open the dictionary to see if you're right. L. After all, those first two steps or approaches spark a stronger than usual interest in that dictionary definition. You're now personally involved. Did you figure out the word meaning? Your heightened interest will lead to a better memory of both word and meaning. It also encourages your development of the habits needed to accelerate your progress. And when you see in black and white the definition you had expected, w:hat a feeling of accomplishment is yours. In that way, the CPD Formula provides the exact dynamic interplay of approaches for maximum effectiveness. M. Well, there it is, your new formula—Context, Parts, Dictionary. Use it! The exercises that follow will give you specific, step-by-step help in sharpening your awareness of contextual clues, learning the most useful word parts, and using the dictionary with increased accuracy and ease. The results will be like the money in the bank.

单选题It is not unusual today for old people to spoil their grandchildren with toys and sweets and to 29 to their aggressive demands. It is natural that old people adore (爱) their grandchildren, but is not normal that this adoration should go so far as to create little emperors and empresses. Such adoration has a 30 effect on the children's personalities and moral standards. A survey of 152 such families found that 88 percent of grandparents admitted that they tended to yield to their grandchildren's every request, especially if the children had resorted to tears. It seems that when children are told off by their parents or teachers, their elder relatives interfere protecting and comforting the children. When the children are 31 to do some family chores (杂务), 59 percent of the old people said they would invariably (总是) do it for them. Some grandparents would even go to 32 to sweep floors and wash windows for their grandchildren. It has become usual that when little boys and girls get good 33 in examinations, their grandparents reward them. As a result, the children have come to take these favours for granted (认为……是理所当然) and have become less 34 towards others. Parents and teachers have all appealed to old people to be 35 for the sake of future generations. The problems of these spoiled children can be 36 . First, parents and grandparents should understand that their 37 is to train the children to become both self-controlled and self-dependent. Second, they should allow the children to be more independent. And third, young parents should 38 with the old instead of leaving the grandparents entirely responsible to raise the children. A. beneficial I. quarrel B. considerate J. required C. cooperate K. school D. information L. sensible E. marks M. solved F. negative N. task G. participated O. yield H. precisely

单选题 从明朝开始，小说作为一种文学形式全面展现出它的社会功能和文学价值。明朝和清朝早期的小说代表了中国古典小说的最高峰(pinnacle)，实现了展示新的文化价值观和知识分子情怀(intellectual concerns)的新突破。这一时期最成功的文学作品是四大名著，即《三国演义》《水浒传》《西游记》和《红楼梦》。从明清时期开始，四大名著就直接或间接地通过戏剧和其他流行文化形式广为中国人所知。

单选题 Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the importance of being a civilized tourist. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.

单选题 How Much Can an Extra Hour's Sleep Change You? A. The average Briton gets six-and-a-half hours' sleep a night, according to the Sleep Council. Michael Mosley took part in an unusual experiment to see if this is enough. It has been known for some time that the amount of sleep people get has, on average, declined over the years. This has happened for a whole range of reasons, not least because we live in a culture where people are encouraged to think of sleep as a luxury—something you can easily cut back on. After all, that's what caffeine is for—to jolt you back into life. But while the average amount of sleep we are getting has fallen, rates of obesity and diabetes have soared. Could the two be connected? B. We wanted to see what the effect would be of increasing average sleep by just one hour. So we asked seven volunteers, who normally sleep anywhere between six and nine hours, to be studied at the University of Surrey's Sleep Research Centre. The volunteers were randomly allocated to two groups. One group was asked to sleep for six-and-a-half hours a night, the other got seven-and-a-half hours. After a week the researchers took blood tests and the volunteers were asked to switch sleep patterns. The group that had been sleeping six-and-a-half hours got an extra hour, the other group slept an hour less. C. While we were waiting to see what effect this would have, I went to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford to learn more about what actually happens when we sleep. In the Sleep Centre, they fitted me up with a portable electro-encephalograph, a device that measures brain wave activity. Then, feeling slightly ridiculous, I went home and had my seven-and-a-half hours of sleep. D. The following day ! went to discuss what had happened inside my head during the night with Dr. Katharina Wulff. The first thing she pointed out was that I had very rapidly fallen into a state of deep sleep. Deep sleep sounds restful, but during it our brains are actually working hard. One of the main things the brain is doing is moving memories from short-term storage into long-term storage, allowing us more short-term memory space for the next day. If you don't get adequate deep sleep then these memories will be lost. E. You might think: 'I'll cut back during the week and then make up for it at the weekend.' Unfortunately it doesn't work like that, because memories need to be consolidated within 24 hours of being formed. Since deep sleep is so important for consolidating memories it is a good idea if you are revising or perhaps taking an exam to make sure that you're getting a reasonable night's sleep. In one study, people who failed to do so did 40% worse than their contemporaries. Deep sleep only lasts for a few hours. F. My electrode results showed that during the night my brain went through multiple phases of another kind of activity, called REM sleep. 'This is the phase when you are usually paralyzed—so you can't move,' Wulff explained. 'But the eye muscles are not paralyzed, and that's why it's called rapid eye movement sleep.' During REM sleep an extraordinary thing happens. One of the stress-related chemicals in the brain, noradrenalin, is switched off. It's the only time, day or night, this happens. It allows us to remain calm while our brains reprocess all the experiences of the day, helping us come to terms with particularly emotional events. We get more REM sleep in the last half of the night. Which means that if you are woken unexpectedly, your brain may not have dealt with all your emotions—which could leave you stressed and anxious. Drinking alcohol late at night is not a good idea as it reduces your REM sleep while it's being processed in your body. G. Back at the University of Surrey our sleep volunteers had finished their second week of the experiment. What we wanted to see was the effect switching from six-and-a-half hours to seven-and-a-half hours, or vice versa, would have on our volunteers. H. Computer tests revealed that most of them struggled with mental agility tasks when they had less sleep, but the most interesting results came from the blood tests that were run. Dr. Simon Archer and his team at Surrey University were particularly interested in looking at the genes that were switched on or off in our volunteers by changes in the amount that we had made them sleep. 'We found that overall there were around 500 genes that were affected,' Archer explained. 'Some which were going up, and some which were going down.' What they discovered is that when the volunteers cut back from seven-and-a-half to six-and-a-half hours' sleep a night, genes that are associated with processes like inflammation, immune response and response to stress became more active. The team also saw increases in the activity of genes associated with diabetes and risk of cancer. The reverse happened when the volunteers added an hour of sleep. I. So the clear message from this experiment was that if you are getting less than seven hours' sleep a night and can alter your sleep habits, even just a little bit, it could make you healthier. 'Have a lie-in, it will do you good'—that's the kind of health message that doesn't come along very often.

单选题 The quality of patience goes a long way toward your goal of creating a more peaceful and loving self. The more patient you are, the more accepting you will be of what life is, rather than insisting that life be exactly as you would like it to be. Without patience, life is extremely frustrating. You are easily annoyed, bothered, and irritated. Patience adds a dimension of ease and acceptance to your life. It's essential for inner peace. Becoming more patient involves opening your heart to the present moment, even if you don't like it. If you are stuck in a traffic jam, late for an appointment, being patient would mean keeping yourself from building a mental snowball before your thinking get out of hand and gently reminding yourself to relax. It might also be a good time to breathe as well as an opportunity to remind yourself that, in the bigger scheme of things, being late is 'small stuff'. Patience is a quality of heart that can be greatly enhanced with deliberate practice. An effective way that I have found to deepen my own patience is to create actual practice periods—periods of time that I set up in my mind to practice the art of patience. Life itself becomes a classroom, and the curriculum is patience. You can start with as little as five minutes and build up your capacity for patience over time. What you'll discover is truly amazing. Your intention to be patient, especially if you know it's only for a short while, immediately strengthens your capacity for patience. Patience is one of those special qualities where success feeds on itself. Once you reach little milestone (里程碑)—five minutes of successful patience—you'll begin to see that you do indeed have the capacity to be patient, even for longer periods of time. Over time, you may even become a patient person. Being patient will help you to keep your perspective. You'll see even a difficult situation, say your present challenge, isn't 'life or death' but simply a minor obstacle that must be dealt with. Without patience, the same scenario can become a major emergency complete with yelling, frustration, hurt feelings, and high blood pressure.

单选题Over the last two years, in the PC business Michael Dell has been beaten like a rented mule. His company continues to lose market 25 particularly in the U.S. Industry analysts would say that Dell has done a poor job of bringing out 26 and attractive products. Apple Mac sales keep rising. HP, Sony, and Lenovo have 27 new product lines which have had warm 28 . Dell's core business is being hit by three things. The first is that the company was fairly late at 29 into retail outlets (零售店) overseas. It 30 on its direct sales model for too long. The second problem is that the recession has 31 Dell's sales. Dell's final problem is that it cannot find the right people to run the company. It 32 dumped most of the senior management that it hired just over a year ago. It takes time for new people to get up to speed. Word has gotten out that Dell plans to launch its own high-end smartphone. Dell does not do well what it is supposed to do well. It has become a second rate PC company. It proposes to partially offset that by entering a business which is controlled by Apple and RIM, the maker of the Blackberry. Because smartphone margins are high, Nokia, the world largest cellphone company, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson are also 33 into the market. The traffic jam is going to be 34 . So Dell can't win in the handset business. What it ought to do is to try to improve its PC business. A. receptions E. targeting I. comprehensive M. expanding B. depended F. innovative J. recently N. consequently C. share G. launched K. rushing O. cut D. extraordinary H. declined L. expressions

单选题 在清明节的饮食方面，各地有不同的节令食品。由于寒食节(Cold Food Festival)与清明节合二为一的关系，一些地方还保留着清明节吃冷食的习惯。在山东，即墨吃鸡蛋和冷饽饽。据说吃了眼睛明亮。晋南人过清明时，习惯用白面蒸大馍，中间夹有核桃、枣儿、豆子，外面盘成龙形，龙身中间扎一个鸡蛋，名为“子福”。要蒸一个很大的总“子福”，象征全家团圆幸福。上坟时，将总“子福”献给祖灵，扫墓完毕后全家分食之。

单选题 It is easier to negotiate initial salary requirement because once you are inside, the organizational constraints (约束) influence wage increases. One thing, however, is certain: your chances of getting the raise you feel you deserve are less if you don't at least ask for it. Men tend to ask for more, and they get more, and this holds true with other resources, not just pay increases. Consider Beth's story: I did not get what I wanted when I did not ask for it. We had cubicle (小隔间) offices and window offices. I sat in the cubicles with several male colleagues. One by one they were moved into window offices, while I remained in the cubicles. Several males who were hired after me also went to offices. One in particular told me he was next in line for an office and that it .had been part of his negotiations for the job. I guess they thought me content to stay in the cubicles since I did not voice my opinion either way. It would be nice if we all received automatic pay increases equal to our merit, but 'nice' isn't a quality attributed to most organizations. If you feel you deserve a significant raise in pay, you'll probably have to ask for it. Performance is your best bargaining chip (筹码) when you are seeking a raise. You must be able to demonstrate that you deserve a raise. Timing is also a good bargaining chip. If you can give your boss something he or she needs (a new client or a sizable contract, for example) just before merit pay decisions are being made, you are more likely to get the raise you want. Use information as a bargaining chip too. Find out what you are worth on the open market. What will someone else pay for your services? Go into the negotiations prepared to place your chips on the table at the appropriate time and prepared to use communication style to guide the direction of the interaction.