阅读理解The Carnegie Foundation report says that many colleges have tried to be "all things to all people". In doing so, they have increasingly catered to a narrow minded careerism while failing to cultivate a global vision among their students. The current crisis, it contends, does not derive from a legitimate desire to put learning to productive ends. The problem is that in too many academic fields, the work has no context; skills, rather than being means, have become ends. Students are offered a variety of options and allowed to pick their way to a degree. In short, driven by careerism, "the nation''s colleges and universities are more successful in providing credentials (文凭) than in providing a quality education for their students. "The report concludes that the special challenge confronting the undergraduate college is one of shaping an "integrated core" of common learning. Such a core would introduce students" to essential knowledge, to connections across the disciplines, and in the end, to application of knowledge to life beyond the campus." Although the key to a good college is a high-quality faculty, the Carnegie study found that most colleges do very little to encourage good teaching. In fact, they do much to undermine it. As one professor observed: "Teaching is important, we are told, and yet faculty know that research and publication matter most." Not surprisingly, over the last twenty years colleges and universities have failed to graduate half of their four-year degree candidates. Faculty members who dedicated themselves to teaching soon discover that they will not be granted tenure (终身任期), promotion, or substantial salary increases. Yet 70 percent of all faculty say their interests lie more in teaching than in research. Additionally, a frequent complaint among young scholars is that "There is pressure to publish, although there is virtually no interest among administrators or colleagues in the content of the publications. "

阅读理解Passage One Children with attention problems in early childhood were 40% less likely to graduate from high school, says a new study from Duke University

阅读理解Whether the eyes are "the windows of the soul" is debatable; that they are intensely important in interpersonal communication is a fact. During the first two months of a baby''s life, the stimulus that produces a smile is a pair of eyes. The eyes need not be real: a mask with two dots will produce a smile. Significantly, a real human face with eyes covered will not motivate a smile, nor will the sight of only one eye when the face is presented in profile. This attraction to eyes as opposed to the nose or mouth continues as the baby matures. In one study, when American four-year-olds were asked to draw people, 75 percent of them drew people with mouths, but 99 percent of them drew people with eyes. In Japan, however, where babies are carried on their mother''s back, infants do not acquire as much attachment to eyes as they do in other cultures. As a result, Japanese adults make little use of the face either to encode (把......编码) or decode (理解) meaning. In fact, Argyle reveals that the "proper place to focus one''s gaze during a conversation in Japan is on the neck of one''s conversation partner." The role of eye contact in a conversational exchange between two Americans is well defined: speakers make contact with the eyes of their listener for about one second, then glance away as they talk; in a few moments they reestablish eye contact with the listener or reassure themselves that their audience is still attentive, then shift their gaze away once more. Listeners, meanwhile, keep their eyes on the face of the speaker, allowing themselves to glance away only briefly. It is important that they be looking at the speaker at the precise moment when the speaker re-establishes eye contact: if they are not looking, the speaker assumes that they are disinterested and either will pause until eye contact is resumed or will terminate the conversation. Just how critical this eye maneuvering is to the maintenance of conversational flow becomes evident when two speakers are wearing dark glasses: there maybe a sort of traffic jam of words caused by interruption, false starts, and unpredictable pauses.

阅读理解Long-term storage of CO2 is no easy job because of .

阅读理解In the old days, applicants only had to submit a sample of their school papers to show their writing ability.

阅读理解Listen up soldiers, we have a crisis on our hands. A silent army has been built up over hundreds of years and is the most deadly enemy we have ever had to face. This is the enemy you people have known since the day you were brought into tins world. You are face to face with this enemy every day, unknowing that every step you take, every move you make, and every decision you face is contributing somehow to this army''s strength. In case you haven''t noticed yet, ladies and gentlemen, this enemy is ourselves. Slowly and surely we are destroying animals, ourselves and most importantly the only planet we have, Earth. You have probably all heard this speech a thousand times before, and well if this has to be the 1001 before we get off our lazy, self-destructing asses and do something to fix it, so be it! I admit I''m no better than the rest of you at the simple things in everyday life that are destroying this planet, but the whole issue pisses me off. Our whole existence revolves around money, and our personal benefit. We have forgotten how to do things for others, how to help the planet and, in turn, how to benefit the species. The fact is simple, people, we''re killing ourselves. Many, however, don''t notice it. They believe what they''re doing is either beneficial, or that they are too small to do anything about it. Well, most of them are right, most of us fall under some sort of higher power, which means that the root of the problems are mainly the governments. Don''t think that this is leading into one of those conspiracy-theory-type lectures, however if you''d like to call it that, I won''t be one to judge. I do believe the governments know how to prevent and stop much of the problems in our world today. For example, it''s a widely known fact that we have the technology to use water instead of gas for cars, but the government won''t allow production because they get money off gas, and to them it''s more important man a clean environment, more important than contaminating the water, or killing off animals because of the pollution even when the money they get from the gas ends up being put back into trying to control these problems anyway. And who was the guy who thought that burning fossil fuels would be a good source of energy anyway? Did they take the first suggestion that came up or what? Fossil fuels are not everlasting guys, HELLO! Is our species so narrow-minded that we can''t see into the future and realize that one day it will run out. Or did we know that in the beginning and not care because it was the only resource we could use? Did we then become so lazy that we couldn''t spend the time and money to figure out some other sort of fuel or energy source?! This is nuts! So go ahead try and hide. Protect yourselves with your fancy guns and munitions, run away with your trains, planes, and automobiles or go about as if nothing''s happening. None of those will help you much because the only way we can shelter ourselves from what''s to come is if we stop it from ever happening. Now are you all able to get off your couches, stop watching your TV and do something about it? Didn''t think so but it was worth a try anyway.

阅读理解Should You Jump on the Technological Bandwagon (时尚)? Technological Advances and Their Influence Within the last 20 years, we have been swamped with new technology which has helped us run our businesses faster, and hopefully better. Recently, some of us have begun to question whether the onslaught of ever newer technology is really helping us as much as the initial improvements did. Just because a technology is new doesn''t necessarily mean that it is better. Perhaps what we should be asking is "What technology can we really use?" We all have some hi-tech products that we''ve bought but don''t use. Many of us have a VCR with so many complex functions that we have difficulty programming it to record a program. Similarly, we have seen workers spend an hour playing with a computer program to print out a single mailing label which could have been more quickly done on a typewriter. Every business may not be able to afford all of these new toys. And they may not need to. Remembering that in many cases the pushers of new technology are simply salespeople trying to get you to pay for the toys which intrigue them. There are several questions you should ask yourself before making any decision: How much are these toys really worth? Does this new technology make sense for your business? Is this technology really worth the effort needed to use it? With any new technology, there is a payback time when the increased efficiency gained may help to pay for the adoption of that new technology. When you first computerized your office, you got a big boost in efficiency for a minimal investment. As the technology gets ever more sophisticated, you start to lose that increase in efficiency. The old saying goes that you get 90% of your increase in efficiency for 10% of your investment. The remaining 90% of your money is spent trying to get that last 10% increase in efficiency. You have to analyze your business and decide if you ever get enough increase in efficiency to pay back that large additional cost. New Technologies and Their Cost You need to analyze die way you do business to see what you can do to increase your efficiency. You can''t get caught in the trap of "WE''VE ALWAYS DONE IT THIS WAY!" You want to keep the best, and throw away the things that slow you down. Sometimes that does mean adopting new technology. Sometimes it means changing the way you do business. Sometimes it means keeping what you have. Let''s consider and analyze some of the new technologies. --Internet Presence The Internet is receiving a lot of hype (炒作) these days, and it sounds as though every business needs to have an Internet presence. Developing and maintaining a website takes time and money. Before you make that investment, you should decide if you really need an Internet presence. Ask yourself these questions: Are your potential clients located throughout me United States? Do your potential clients own computers? Are your potential clients computer sophisticates who surf the Web regularly? Are the people who ARE on the Internet part of your potential client base? (The primary users of me Internet at this time tend to be educated, middle to upper middle class people.) If you can answer yes to all of these questions, then an Internet presence may make sense for your business. If your potential clients are all local, if they have little or no access to the Internet, then this technology may be one you can play with, as long as you recognize that the expenses will not necessarily increase your business. --Paperless Office A paperless office is one in which all records are kept only in the computer. To many people, this appears to be a good idea. No paper files are kept, so no time is spent filing. However, time is still needed to scan information into the computer, correct it, etc. More importantly, In most computer systems, there exists the possibility of altering records without a trail being left. The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) knows this. They know that it is harder to "doctor" paper records. Recently several court decisions have hinged on the ability of the premium finance company to produce paper records of their operations. Is this new technology worth the money, time and risk? --Automated Phone System By automated phone systems, I am referring to those systems which direct you to "PRESS 1 to TALK TO DEPARTMENT ONE; PRESS 2 TO FIND OUT YOUR ACCOUNT STATUS, ETC." These systems are, in many companies, replacing a real person servicing the clients. I personally detest those systems and, given the choice, do not do business with those companies that use an automated phone system. I don''t think I am alone. However, if you choose to use an automated phone system, you need to get a good one, with lots of options to answer client questions. The cost of such a system is high. The "whizkid" (神童) suggested that you should really spend about $50,000 to get an adequate system. That is a lot of money for all but the largest operations. Sales pros tell us that "the customer is always right." If that is true, so is the idea that the customer is important to your business, and deserves your full attention. An automated phone system tells that customer that you think of him as a number that can be handled with an impersonal automated message and then dismissed. The systems are slow and annoying and many people still have to talk to a real person to get the answer they want. The customer''s problem is not resolved quickly and they feel abused. In a society ever more conscious of service, that is a dangerous message to send. From a customer satisfaction standpoint — nothing beats a smiling voice on the other end of the phone who is willing to answer a question or solve a problem. Research has repeatedly shown that "giving good telephone" (as one of our clients put it) helps enhance customer satisfaction, thus helping to retain business and bring in new business. --Laser-Printed Forms Laser-printed forms sound like a great idea, and in some cases, they are. With laser printable forms, an agent can print premium finance agreements on plain paper in his/her office. And if all premium finance forms were laser printable, a premium finance company would need only one printer for all of its printing needs. However, there are some significant problems with laser printable forms that may rule them out for your operation. One concern for all laser printable forms is the cost. It''s true that when you can print on plain paper, you no longer have to purchase forms. That cost, however, is offset by the need to purchase paper, printer supplies, and increased maintenance. One of the PC magazines recently quoted a cost of 3.5—5.0 cents per page. In addition, the ability to print forms on a laser printer requires additional programming. Programs that enable you to print forms on a laser printer, generally must be WINDOWS-based. This means that programming costs are higher because of the complexity of the programming required. And support costs more for the company developing the program, which is reflected in the cost to the customer. That means that the costs of these programs are higher than you might expect, or be willing to pay for. Conclusion In conclusion, the question to ask is "Is the new technology worth having?" Are you increasing efficiency and value to your business or are you simply doing tricks? Do you really have a payback for the added expense of the new technology (and the costs are high)? You have to analyze these questions in the context of your own business requirements and operation before deciding to jump on the technology wagon. New technology isn''t necessarily better for your business. And up to date technology may put you behind in terms of cost and efficiency.

阅读理解Passage Two Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage. It’s possible to admire Oprah Winfrey and still wish Harvard hadn’t awarded her an honorary doctor of law degree and the commencement (毕业典礼）speaker spot at yesterday’s graduation. There’s no question Oprah's achievements place her in the temple of American success stories. Talent, charm, and an exceptional work ethic have rarely hurled anyone as far as they have this former abused teenage mother from rural Mississippi who became one of the world's most successful entertainment icons and the first African-American female billionaire. Honorary degrees are often conferred on non-academic leaders in the arts, business, and politics. Harvard’s list in recent years has included Kofi Annan, Bill Gates. Meryl Streep, and David Souter. But Oprah’s particular brand of celebrity is not a good fit for the values of a university whose motto (座右铭）, Veritas, means truth. Oprah's passionate advocacy extends, unfortunately, to a hearty embrace of fake science. Most notoriously, Oprah’s validation of Jenny McCarthy’s claim that vaccines cause autism（自闭症）has no doubt contributed to much harm through the foolish avoidance of vaccines. Famous people are entitled to a few failings, like the rest of us, and the choice of commencement speakers often reflects a balance of institutional priorities and aspirations. Judging from our conversations with many students* Oprah was a widely popular choice. But this vote of confidence in Oprah sends a troubling message at precisely the time when American universities need to do more to advance the cause of reason. As former Dean of Harvard College, Harry Lewis, noted in a blog post about his objections, “It seems very odd for Harvard to honor such a high profile popularize of the irrational… at a time when political and religious nonsense so jeopardize the rule of reason in this allegedly enlightened democracy and around the world.” As America's oldest and most visible university, Harvard has a special opportunity to convey its　respect for science not only through its research and teaching programs but also in its public affirmation of evidence-based inquiry. Unfortunately, many American universities seem awfully busy protecting their brand name and not nearly busy enough protecting the pursuit of knowledge. A recent article in The Harvard Crimson noted the shocking growth of Harvard’s public relations arm in the last five years and it questioned whether a focus on risk management and avoiding controversy was really the best outward-looking face of this great institution. As American research universities begin to resemble profit centers and entertainment complexes, it’s easy to lose sight of their primary mission: to produce and spread knowledge. This mission depends on traditions of rational discourse and vigorous defense of the scientific method. Oprah Winfrey's honorary doctorate was a step in the wrong direction.

阅读理解Let''s now briefly consider a generally honored but sometimes maligned (被诋毁的)type of scientist, the theorist. Theorists are considered separately, since they are the rarest, most fascinating, and most important of the species scientists. Their motivational system most often is that of the Player, although occasionally it is that of the Operator. Although theorists are often viewed as cold. rational, deliberate machine, they are generally almost the opposite of this popular picture. They are usually individuals of strong feelings who have the ego of actors and an irrational, almost mysterious attachment to particular views of their discipline. The appearance of cool deliberation is their public face. which often represents only their contempt for contact with the spectators. There are important occupational differences between theorists and other scientists. Theo risks set the framework within which others do their research. Those other than the theorists do the important work of filling in details of existing theories. Non-theorists fulfill a relatively safe and useful function. Their work contributes to science but does not threaten the individual scientist unless he or she happens to accumulate evidence contrary to the status quo (现状). What is the general personality makeup of theorists? Are they normal, neurotic (神经病的), or even psychotic (患精神病的)? They rarely fit the pattern of middle-class formality, and yet they are intensely in touch with their own reality. Perhaps they don''t fit any of the usual category. George Bernard Shaw once said, "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man." Perhaps his message was to tolerate the objectors, the eccentrics, and in general those who disagree with what we know is right so long as they don''t become too violent. Tolerate them. not out of any sense of humanity but for foolish self-inter est. A few of them arc innovators, and society needs them infinitely more than they need society. In reviewing all the groups of scientists and science-trained individuals we have encountered, we find a range of individuals spread over the whole spectrum of human behavior but with some important common characteristics. Scientists are neither supermen nor naive children. They are not foggily (模糊的) absent-minded or unrealistic; rather, many of the things they consider important and real are often quite different from those of the "everyday" world.

阅读理解Increased Screen Time and Wellbeing Decline in Youth [A] Have young people never had it so good? Or do they face more challenge than any previous generation? Our current era in the west is one of high wealth

阅读理解Stress may be defined as the response of the body to any demand. Whenever people experience something pleasant or unpleasant, we say they are under stress. We call the pleasant kind "eustress", the unpleasant kind "distress". People sometimes compare our lives with that of the caveman (穴居人), who didn''t worry about the stock market or the atomic bomb. They forget that the caveman worried about being eaten by a bear or about dying of hunger—things that few people worry about today. It''s not that people suffer more stress today; it''s just that they think they do. It is inconceivable that anyone should have no stress at all. Most people who are ambitious and want to accomplish something live on stress. They need it. But excessive stress is by all means harmful. Worse, chronic exposure to stress over a long time may cause more serious diseases and may actually shorten your life. The most frequent causes of distress in man are psychological lack of adaptability, not having a code of behavior. So the secret of coping with stress is not to avoid it, but to do what you like to do and what you are made to do, at your own rate. For most people, it is really a matter of learning how to behave in various situations. The most important thing is to have a code of life, to know how to live.

阅读理解 Ask most people how they define the American Dream and chances are they''ll say, “Success.” The dream of individual opportunity has been home in American since Europeans discovered a “new world” in the Western Hemisphere. Early immigrants like Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur praised highly the freedom and opportunity to be found in this new land. His glowing descriptions of a classless society where anyone could attain success through honesty and hard work fired the imaginations of many European readers: in Letters from an American Farmer (1782) he wrote. “We are all excited at the spirit of an industry which is unfettered (无拘无束的) and unrestrained, because each person works for himself … We have no princes, for whom we toil (干苦力活)，starve, and bleed: we are the most perfect society now existing in the world.” The promise of a land where “the rewards of a man''s industry follow with equal steps the progress of his labor” drew poor immigrants from Europe and fueled national expansion into the western territories. Our national mythology (神化) is full of illustration the American success story. There''s Benjamin Franklin, the very model of the self-educated, self-made man, who rose from modest origins to become a well-known scientist, philosopher, and statesman. In the nineteenth century, Horatio Alger, a writer of fiction for young boys, became American''s best-selling author with rags-to-riches tales. The notion of success haunts us: we spend million every year reading about the rich and famous, learning how to “make a fortune in real estate with no money down,” and “dressing for success.” The myth of success has even invaded our personal relationships: today it''s as important to be “successful” in marriage or parenthoods as it is to come out on top in business. But dreams easily turn into nightmares. Every American who hopes to “make it” also knows the fear of failure, because the myth of success inevitably implies comparison between the haves and the have-nots, the stars and the anonymous crowd. Under pressure of the myth, we become indulged in status symbols: we try to live in the “right” neighborhoods, wear the “right” clothes, eat the “righ” foods. These symbols of distinction assure us and others that we believe strongly in the fundamental equality of all, yet strive as hard as we can to separate ourselves from our fellow citizens. Ask most people how they define the American Dream and chances are they''ll say, “Success.” The dream of individual opportunity has been home in American since Europeans discovered a “new world” in the Western Hemisphere. Early immigrants like Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur praised highly the freedom and opportunity to be found in this new land. His glowing descriptions of a classless society where anyone could attain success through honesty and hard work fired the imaginations of many European readers: in Letters from an American Farmer (1782) he wrote. “We are all excited at the spirit of an industry which is unfettered (无拘无束的) and unrestrained, because each person works for himself … We have no princes, for whom we toil (干苦力活)，starve, and bleed: we are the most perfect society now existing in the world.” The promise of a land where “the rewards of a man''s industry follow with equal steps the progress of his labor” drew poor immigrants from Europe and fueled national expansion into the western territories. Our national mythology (神化) is full of illustration the American success story. There''s Benjamin Franklin, the very model of the self-educated, self-made man, who rose from modest origins to become a well-known scientist, philosopher, and statesman. In the nineteenth century, Horatio Alger, a writer of fiction for young boys, became American''s best-selling author with rags-to-riches tales. The notion of success haunts us: we spend million every year reading about the rich and famous, learning how to “make a fortune in real estate with no money down,” and “dressing for success.” The myth of success has even invaded our personal relationships: today it''s as important to be “successful” in marriage or parenthoods as it is to come out on top in business. But dreams easily turn into nightmares. Every American who hopes to “make it” also knows the fear of failure, because the myth of success inevitably implies comparison between the haves and the have-nots, the stars and the anonymous crowd. Under pressure of the myth, we become indulged in status symbols: we try to live in the “right” neighborhoods, wear the “right” clothes, eat the “righ” foods. These symbols of distinction assure us and others that we believe strongly in the fundamental equality of all, yet strive as hard as we can to separate ourselves from our fellow citizens. 文章大意：议论文。本文围绕美国梦的内涵展开议论。文章首段提出，很多美国人都用“成功”来定义美国梦，这样的梦想可以追溯到欧洲人在美洲发现新大陆，他们想通过自己的努力获得成功并建立一个人人平等的完美的社会。第二段从列举一些美国人成功的故事入手，提出了当今人们不但想在事业上成功还要在生活的其他方面取得成功。最后一段话锋一转，揭示了美国人追求成功和美国梦之间的矛盾。

阅读理解Passage two Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage Twenty years ago, the urban land institute defined the two types of cities that dominated the us landscape: smaller cities that operated around standard 9-5 business hours and large metropolitan areas that ran all 24 hours of the day

阅读理解 Too many vulnerable child-free adults are being ruthlessly(无情的)manipulated into parent-hood by their parents, who think that happiness among older people depends on having a grand-child to spoil. We need an organization to help beat down the persistent campaigns of grandchildless parents. It''s time to establish Planned Grandparenthood, which would have many global and local benefits. Part of its mission would be to promote the risks and realities associated with being a grandparent. The staff would include depressed grandparents who would explain how grandkids break lamps, bite, scream and kick. Others would detail how an hour of baby-sitting often turns into a crying marathon. More grandparents would testify that they had to pay for their grandchild''s expensive college education. Planned grandparenthood''s carefully written literature would detail all the joys of life grand-child-free a calm living room, extra money for luxuries during the golden years, etc. Potential grandparents would be reminded that, without grandchildren around, it''s possible to have a conversation with your kids, who — incidentally — would have more time for their own parents. Meanwhile, most children are vulnerable to the enormous influence exerted by grandchildless parents aiming to persuade their kids to produce children. They will take a call from a persistent parent, even if they''re loaded with works. In addition, some parents make handsome money offers payable upon the grandchild''s birth. Sometimes these gifts not only cover expenses associated with the infant''s birth, but extras, too, like a vacation. In any case, cash gifts can weaken the resolve of even the noblest person. At Planned Grandparenthood, children targeted by their parents to reproduce could obtain non-biased information about the insanity of having their own kids. The catastrophic psychological and economic costs of childbearing would be emphasized. The symptoms of morning sickness would be listed and horrors of childbirth pictured. A monthly newsletter would contain stories about overwhelmed parents and offer guidance on how childless adults can respond to the different lobbying tactics that would-be grandparents employ. When I think about all the problems of our overpopulated world and look at our boy grabbing at the lamp by the sofa, I wish I could have turned to Planned Grandparenthood when my parents were putting the grandchild squeeze on me. If I could have, I might not be in this parenthood predicament( 窘境). But here''s the crazy irony, I don''t want my child-free life back. Dylan''s too much fun. Too many vulnerable child-free adults are being ruthlessly(无情的)manipulated into parent-hood by their parents, who think that happiness among older people depends on having a grand-child to spoil. We need an organization to help beat down the persistent campaigns of grandchildless parents. It''s time to establish Planned Grandparenthood, which would have many global and local benefits. Part of its mission would be to promote the risks and realities associated with being a grandparent. The staff would include depressed grandparents who would explain how grandkids break lamps, bite, scream and kick. Others would detail how an hour of baby-sitting often turns into a crying marathon. More grandparents would testify that they had to pay for their grandchild''s expensive college education. Planned grandparenthood''s carefully written literature would detail all the joys of life grand-child-free a calm living room, extra money for luxuries during the golden years, etc. Potential grandparents would be reminded that, without grandchildren around, it''s possible to have a conversation with your kids, who — incidentally — would have more time for their own parents. Meanwhile, most children are vulnerable to the enormous influence exerted by grandchildless parents aiming to persuade their kids to produce children. They will take a call from a persistent parent, even if they''re loaded with works. In addition, some parents make handsome money offers payable upon the grandchild''s birth. Sometimes these gifts not only cover expenses associated with the infant''s birth, but extras, too, like a vacation. In any case, cash gifts can weaken the resolve of even the noblest person. At Planned Grandparenthood, children targeted by their parents to reproduce could obtain non-biased information about the insanity of having their own kids. The catastrophic psychological and economic costs of childbearing would be emphasized. The symptoms of morning sickness would be listed and horrors of childbirth pictured. A monthly newsletter would contain stories about overwhelmed parents and offer guidance on how childless adults can respond to the different lobbying tactics that would-be grandparents employ. When I think about all the problems of our overpopulated world and look at our boy grabbing at the lamp by the sofa, I wish I could have turned to Planned Grandparenthood when my parents were putting the grandchild squeeze on me. If I could have, I might not be in this parenthood predicament( 窘境). But here''s the crazy irony, I don''t want my child-free life back. Dylan''s too much fun. 文章大意：议论文。文章首段提出中心论点，即反对父母催促自己的子女要孩子，而且为了实现这一点，还需建立一个组织。第二段和第三段介绍了这个组织的任务是让父母明白，有孙子的麻烦和没孙子的好处。第四段和第五段采用对比的手法说明：在通常情况下，许多人要孩子是因为父母使用软硬兼施的手段进行催促；而在这个组织里，人们则会得到和要孩子有关的客观信息从而自行选择。文章结尾，作者表白了自己矛盾的心理，虽然要孩子很麻烦，但自己的孩子确实给她带来了很多快乐。

阅读理解Passage Two Heres how the Pacific Northwest is preparing for The Big One

阅读理解"The global employment situation is gloomy (惨淡) and will become still gloomier". General Director Michel Hansenne of the International Labour Organisation said in September 1998. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) represents 125 million organised workers in 145 countries. While women make up 39 per cent of this rank and file, only ten per cent of the board (董事会) members are women. In April 2000 the ICFTU Congress changed its statutes so that women are expected to increase their representation at the next Congress in 2004. The global labour force includes half of the world''s population, numbering about three billion people. --Half of all jobs are in agriculture. A significant proportion of these jobs are seasonal in the developing countries. --Almost one third of those employed work in the service industries. --40 per cent of working people are women. Women are in the majority in subcontracting (转包合同) and temporary jobs, part-time and temporary employment and in the informal sector. 250 million children are involved in working life. Of these, 110 million are girls aged 5 to 14 years. A majority of the labour force in the developing countries work in the informal or grey sector (灰色行业,指不正当行业) of the economy, in which employment is not regulated by collective agreements and even legislation has little impact. One billion people suffer from lack of work. The labour supply greatly exceeds its demand. There are 150 million unemployed and about 750 to 900 million underemployed worldwide. A situation in which roughly one third of the global labour force suffer from lack of work perpetuates (使继续) a serious imbalance in the labour market. For the employers this offers an effective means to pressure employees to accept substandard working conditions. The lack of work is greatest in the developing countries. Very high unemployment rates are common all over the third world. In the European Union the general unemployment rate was just under ten per cent at the beginning of the year 2000, while in the USA and Japan it was four to five per cent. Of the unemployed 60 million are aged 15 to 24 years. Highly skilled jobs are concentrated in the industrialised countries, while those demanding fewer skills are in the developing countries. This gap is not narrowing. The demand for unskilled labour is continuously decreasing in the affluent countries as the emphasis moves ever more towards production demanding highly skilled labour. In the 1980s and 1990s the parallel change in the developing countries was slower than in the economically developed countries. In some developing countries vocational skills barely developed at all. People in working life have noticed the increased competition in the form of growing demands made by employers. Often these demands are inordinate. According to a report published in Helsingin Sanomat in June 2000, Finnish President Tarja Halonen described the consequences of excessive demands made by employers at a seminar organised by the Social Insurance Institution — KELA in the following terms: "There are rather many burned out or overburdened people at workplaces nowadays, and in many ways work exceeds its frame of reference to affect leisure time and family life so that people lose the ability to cope with working life". This stress has been augmented by a loss of job security and, especially in the public sector, by the increased prevalence of temporary jobs. Employers apply pressure on their employees by threatening to transfer their work to subcontractors or to other corporations offering services for hire. Efforts to protect individual employment in Finland have led to uncompensated overtime work in many industries. In the 1990s this phenomena also became more common in the municipal sector. It represents an exacerbated (加剧的) example of how fiercer competition increases the pressure to undermine working conditions. The more employee groups concede (让步) in the face of such pressure, the more difficult it is for others to defend their working conditions, and the race to the bottom accelerates (加速). The system of collective bargaining gives the best protection to wage and salary earners. Collective agreements offer the most effective means of preventing "the race to the bottom". The Finnish public is well aware of this, as was clear from a survey made by the SAK organisation in late winter 2000. 73 per cent of those interviewed considered that employees are in a weak position when wages, salaries and other working conditions are entirely negotiated at the workplace. 79 per cent of wage earners and 78 per cent of salaried employees concur with this view. 63 per cent of those in managerial positions are of a similar opinion. 54 per cent of entrepreneurs consider it important to settle working conditions by collective bargaining. However, one third of the Finns are of the opinion that employers must have the right to employ people at whatever conditions job applicants agree to. There are no collective agreements of generally binding character in the municipal sector. In school cleaning, for example, two different agreements may be applied if part of the work is commissioned from a private company. The pay and the other benefits for the same work may differ substantially, which tempts employers to choose the cheaper alternative regardless of the outcome of the work. This is a hard challenge for municipal staff. The arrangement has been exacerbated by an increase in the number of bids made by unorganised employers and of those who hire out labour in competitive tendering for public services. This limits the prospects for defending appropriate pay levels and decent working conditions. The European Union trade union movement is calling for the inclusion of the basic rights of wage and salary earners in the EU charter. In the first half of the year 2000 the trade union organisations stepped up their lobbying of EU policymakers in this area. The Core standards for working life must be the starting point everywhere. Defending core labour standards is a fundamental principle in the strategy of the international trade union movement. In 1998 the Member States of the International Labour Organisation — ILO specified what they meant by core labour standards. Their goal is: -- to secure the right to organise and the right to collective bargaining, --to prevent discrimination based on gender, race or religion in recruiting (征召) and pay, --to limit the participation in working life of minors and completely stop child labour in the worst jobs, and --to bring an end to forced labour. There is no country where women are not victims of discriminated in the labour market. The extreme case is Afghanistan. Appealing to the Koran, its hard-line Islamic leadership has forbidden women from participating in working life. As far as business enterprises are concerned, discrimination in recruiting and promotion is an oddity, as it means under-utilisation of the skills and know-how of women. As such, this also hampers the development of society as a whole. In all cases discrimination against women has been inherited from the past when women were responsible for work in the home, while men worked outside the home. In the last decades of the 20th century, however, female participation in working life increased at an accelerating pace so that by the beginning of the new millennium 40 per cent of the global labour force was female. Many growth industries have a female majority in the labour force. By increasing the proportion of women in its leading bodies the trade union movement will become stronger and its ability to promote organisation will improve. This has been stressed in several official decisions of trade union committees. The trade union movement in Finland believes that it can solve this problem by analysing the consequences of the alternatives for the position of women when it prepares its decisions. Trade union organisations in several other countries have adopted a similar approach. However this method of mainstreaming has not been fully applied in any country.

阅读理解How can you tell the difference between a problem that will go away on its own and one that should be attended to as soon as possible? Here are six symptoms that you should call your doctor about. 1. Persistent Headaches Everybody gets headaches now and then. If you''ve had the same pattern of headaches for years, chances are that it''s going to continue that way for years more. But if your headaches are so severe that you miss work or social gatherings, or if over-the-counter painkillers don''t help, see your doctor. There are new treatments now that work well, even for disabling migraines (偏头痛). If you have an unfamiliar type of headache that''s persisted for three days or longer and is associated with vomiting or visual changes, it could indicate an abnormality in or near the brain, such as a blood clot. If you have an unremitting (不间断的) headache on only one side of your head, near the temple or above the ear, it may be a condition called temporal arthritis (颞动脉炎). It can be cured with cortisone (可的松) or steroids (类固醇) , but, left untreated, it can lead to blindness. The most important thing to remember: Any new or extremely painful headache should prompt you to call your doctor. 2. Chest Pain Colds and respiratory infections often result in inflammation of the cartilage (软骨) next to the ribs, which can cause chest pain. Pneumonia or pleurisy (胸膜炎), an inflammation of the lining of the lungs, can also lead to chest or rib pain. So if your chest hurts, don''t panic, but do look into it. Chest pain can indicate something as simple as a gas bubble in the stomach, or it could be a heart attack. Sometimes it''s hard to distinguish between the two. When a nerve near the heart (called the vagus nerve) becomes irritated because of a heart attack, it can cause stomach symptoms. If the pain goes away with an antacid (抗酸剂), it''s less likely to be related to the heart. Most times, it''s probably not a heart attack, but if dull, pressure-like chest pain comes on for no reason, call an ambulance and get to an emergency room. Why an ambulance rather than your neighbor? For two reasons: Many ambulances now come equipped with sophisticated monitoring equipment, and emergency personnel are trained to administer necessary medication at a time when every minute counts. A number of doctors also recommend that you take an aspirin to protect your heart from a blood clot while the ambulance is on its way. 3. Abdominal (腹部的) Pain All of us suffer abdominal pains occasionally, and their causes are many. In fact, there are entire medical textbooks on how to evaluate this particular type of pain. In most cases, it''s something that can be easily cured. Abdominal pain that occurs before meals and is relieved by food can indicate an ulcer (溃疡). Treatment is generally simple, so why suffer? If the pain occurs when you eat, it might mean gastritis (an inflamed stomach) , or a problem with the gallbladder (胆囊) or pancreas (胰腺). The pain related to each of these conditions has somewhat different characteristics, so your doctor will probably ask such questions as where the pain radiates, what eases it, what makes it feel worse, and whether the pain comes on when you lie down. More serious causes of abdominal pain can include problems with blood vessels that nourish the intestines (肠) or with the aorta (the artery that distributes oxygen-containing blood from the heart to other parts of the body), gallstones, obstruction of the intestine, an infection, or cancer. Whatever the possible cause, have the pain checked out. 4. Bruising and Bleeding If you bump into something and get a bruise, it generally turns blue-purple over a day or two and then slowly fades to yellow over the course of another four or five days. That''s normal and is nothing to be concerned about. In addition, many of us develop mysterious bruises from time to time and don''t remember bumping into anything. But if you develop spontaneous recurrent bruises in places that aren''t prone to being bumped, it could signify a disorder of blood clotting (凝结). It could also be because you''re taking medications that predispose you to bruising, such as wayfaring (徒步), which is a blood thinner, or aspirin. If you cut yourself or brush your teeth too vigorously, you''ll start to bleed. Put an antiseptic (抗菌剂) on the cut or ease the pressure on your toothbrush and you''ll be fine. However, if you notice any rectal (直肠的) bleeding, any vaginal bleeding after menopause (更年期), any blood in your urine, or any blood when you vomit or cough, make an appointment with your doctor to find out the cause. It might be a simple problem, or it might possibly be serious. 5. Breathing Problems If you have a cold, sinus (静脉窦) problem, or allergies that cause nasal congestion, you may find it difficult to breathe. A cold will generally clear up on its own in a week, and you''ll be back to normal in short order. But if a sinus problem or allergies continue to distress you, call your doctor for an appointment. A simple medication will often do me trick, and you''ll be smelling the roses soon. People who are out of shape certainly find strenuous activity more difficult than those who exercise regularly, so difficulty breathing on exertion can be a sign that it''s time to start exercising. But it could also raise a red flag that indicates lung problems, heart problems, asthma, or even anemia. Also, if you become short of breath when you''re lying down and have to prop yourself up on two or three pillows to sleep comfortably, it might signal heart failure. Call your doctor. 6. Sadness I don''t know a single person who hasn''t felt blue or sad from time to time. These feelings are a normal component of human emotion and deserve attention and recognition, but not necessarily medical intervention. So if you''re blue because a friend moved away or someone close to you is ill, that''s unfortunate, but it''s not a reason to call your doctor. If you feel sad or irritable most of the day for at least two weeks, however, and you take less interest in activities that once gave you pleasure, then it''s time to seek help. You could be suffering from depression, which is a painful and disabling problem. Other signs of depression include crying spells for no apparent reason, unexplained aches and pains that won''t go away, difficulty in making decisions, an inability to concentrate, and a feeling that the future looks grim. Many people believe that persistent feelings of hopelessness are part of aging. That''s not true. So by all means talk to your doctor. Fortunately, depression is treatable. Nobody should have to suffer from it, and nobody should have to live with it.

阅读理解In the early 20th century Americans believed science and technology could _______.

阅读理解Would George W. Bush have been reelected president if the public understood how much responsibility his administration hears for allowing the 9/11 attacks to succeed? The answer is unknowable and, at this date, meaningless. Yet it was appalling to learn that the White House suppressed until after the election a report that exposes the administration as woefully incompetent if not criminally negligent. Belatedly declassified excerpts from the 9/11 commission report, which focus on the failure of the Federal Aviation Administration to heed multiple warnings that A1 Qaeda (基地组织) terrorists were planning to hijack planes as suicide weapons, make clear that this tragedy could have been avoided. For the last three years, administration apologists have tried to make the FAA the scapegoat for the 9/11 attacks. But it is the president who ultimately is responsible for national security. The terrible fact is that the administration took none of the steps that would have put the protection of human life ahead of a diverse set of economic and political interests, which included not offending our friends the Sandis and not hurting the share prices of airline corporations. The warnings provided by intelligence agencies to the FAA were far clearer and more specific than suggested by Condoleezza Rice''s testimony before the 9/11 commission when she reluctantly conceded the existence of a presidential briefing that warned of impending Al Qaeda attacks. Given this shocking record of indifference on the part of the administration, it is politically understandable that it tried to prevent the formation of the 9/11 commission in the first place, and then for five months prevented the declassification of key sections of the final report. Had the business-friendly administration put safety first, nearly 3,000 people might not have died that day. And had the president of the United States taken some time from his ranch vacation that August to order a nationwide airport alert, two bloody wars abroad probably would not have happened. Instead, an administration that resisted spending the tens of millions required to fortify airline security before 9/11 is nearing the $ 300-billion mark on Mghanistan and Iraq. And declassified documents have unmistakably said the latter had nothing to do with 9/11, while those countries that at least indirectly did have been let off the hook. Indeed, the 9/11 commission was not allowed to get near that story: The basic narrative on the tragedy derives from the interrogations of key detainees whom the 9/11 commissioners were not allowed to interview. Nor were they permitted to even take testimony from the U. S. intelligence personnel who interrogated those prisoners. As a result, the public is simply incapable of making informed decisions on the most crucial decisions we face-starting with whom we elect as our commander in chief.

阅读理解Internet, E-mail and similar electronic connections offer a far wider ground for scholarly communication, because a researcher can post the beginnings of a theory, receive comments on it from peers, incorporate new ideas and alter the details over and over until it is right. Electronic networks enable scholarly publishing to imitate the intellectual process more closely. The unit of transaction will become the idea, not just a collection of articles. This dynamic, fluid progression of an idea known as "scholarly skywriting" is possible, because the speed and reach of electronic messaging "more closely match the natural biological speed of human thought". When writing a paper, says Harnad, he is able instantly to incorporate the forces of the Net into the creative process. In one part of his computer will be E-mailed comments from colleagues, in another will be his own notes, in yet another his previous papers--and at any time, he can launch into the Net to find a new resource or paper, send off a thought to a commentator or ask a question, all as if they were in the same room. This new form of scholarship could cause problems with copyrights, however. With so many voices involved in production of a new idea, it''s more difficult than ever to pin down exactly who should receive credit for it. Some scholars believe that the storage of documents as disembodied electronic signals will gradually alter the structure of knowledge. "Manuscripts" will increasingly be "live", changing as the author returns to the computer and other scholars offer their comments in the margins. It will be possible to update and massage (篡改) documents without increased cost, so that the notion of a bound book could become obsolete. Even the idea of authorship could change. In the long run, the new information technologies may fundamentally alter creativity itself. Nowadays, much of the process of scholarship--the testing of an idea and the subsequent peer commentary--takes place in private; only the publication of a final manuscript is a public event. Then, what about scientific journals? At a wider level, there seems to be growing acknowledgement that the main of journals in future will be to provide research papers with a guarantee of quality and added editorial value--in terms of making science more readable, and placing it within a wider perspective for example--while their traditional role as a distribution outlet will become less important.