单选题 Old stereotypes die hard. Picture a video-game player and you will likely imagine a teenage boy, by himself, compulsively hammering away at a game involving rayguns and aliens that splatter when blasted. Today a gamer is as likely to be a middle-aged commuter playing 'Angry Birds' on her smartphone. In America, the biggest market, the average game-player is 37 years old. Two-fifths are female. Even teenagers with imaginary rayguns are more likely to be playing 'Halo' with their friends than playing alone Over the past ten years the video-game industry has grown from a small niche business to a huge, mainstream one. With global sales of $56 billion in 2010, it is more than twice the size of the recorded-music industry. Despite the downturn, it is growing by almost 9% a year. Is this success due to luck or skill? The answer matters, because the rest of the entertainment industry has tended to treat gaming as being a lucky beneficiary of broader technological changes. Video gaming, unlike music, film or television, had the luck to be born digital: it never faced the struggle to convert from analogue. In fact, there is plenty for old media to learn. Video games have certainly been swept along by two forces: demography and technology. The first gaming generation—the children of the 1970s and early 1980s—is now over 30. Many still love gaming, and can afford to spend far more on it now. As gaming establishes itself as a pastime for adults, the social stigma and the worries about moral corruption that have historically greeted all new media, from novels to pop music, have dissipated. Meanwhile rapid improvements in computing power have allowed game designers to offer experiences that are now often more cinematic than the cinema. The industry has excelled in two particular areas: pricing and piracy. In an era when people are disinclined to pay for content on the web, games publishers were quick to develop 'freemium' models, where you rely on non-paying customers to build an audience and then extract cash only from a fanatical few. In China, where piracy is rampant, many games can be played online for nothing. Finns instead make money by selling in-game perks and 'virtual goods' to dedicated players. China is now the second-biggest gaming market, but does not even rank in the top 20 markets for the music business. As gaming comes to be seen as just another medium, its tech-savvy approach could provide a welcome shot in the arm for existing media groups. Time Warner and Disney have bought games firms; big-budget games, meanwhile, now have Hollywood-style launches.

单选题 Most of us know to stay low .to the floor if we're caught in a fire, or head to the basement if a storm's coming, or board up the windows in a hurricane. But because relatively few of us live along fault lines, the massive earthquake that hit Haiti was a reminder that we're far less experienced in what to do when the ground below us shakes. If we're in a house or building, for example, our first impulse might be to run outside—but, counterintuitive (与直觉相反的) as it might sound, experts warn against that since people are too often killed by falling or fallen objects as they try to escape. Of course, just as the best way to survive car crashes is to make safer cars, the best way to reduce the risk of being killed in an earthquake is to enact stronger building codes. But given how many of us travel in quake-prone regions today—including, tragically, the four students and two professors from Lynn University in Florida who perished in the Haiti quake—even folks who don't reside in California should know how to survive an earthquake. But there are two different, and at times competing, schools of thought on the matter—both of which are considered valid but perhaps not always in the same situations. The most conventional and widely accepted practice by the disaster-response community is the 'drop, cover and hold on' approach, which urges people to take cover beneath something like a heavy table to avoid falling objects. The newer method—and less researched—is known as the 'triangle of life.' It recommends lying down in a fetal position not under but next to furniture; as roofs and walls collapse on the top of those sofas and desks, buffer (缓冲) spaces are created that protect people from being crushed. Over the past decade, a consensus has been building that 'drop, cover and hold on' is a more appropriate method for developed countries like the U.S., where improved construction has greatly reduced the likelihood of structures collapsing inwards. The triangle of life is thought to be more suitable in developing nations like Haiti, where inferior building codes make finding a 'survivable void' inside collapsed buildings more important than shielding yourself from falling pieces. 'You have to think about the hazard level of the area you're in,' says Gary Patterson, a geologist and director of education and outreach at the Center for Earthquake Research Information at the University of Memphis in Tennessee. 'ff you're going to play the odds, drop and cover may be the best way to go, but a lot of emergency responders might say triangle of life because they're the ones who see the fatalities in buildings that do collapse.'

单选题 在全球化的世界，中国需要越来越多具备国际教育背景的人才。

单选题Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessayentitledTheProportionofMentoWomeninExecutivePositions.Youshouldstartyouressaywithabriefdescriptionofthechartandwriteatleast150wordsbutnomorethan200words.

单选题 Achieving Contentment A. Socrates said contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty. Being a minimalist isn't easy. Living this counter-cultural lifestyle requires quite a determined personality. You have to smile and ignore friends and family who keep saying 'but you could be earning so much more if you took that corporate job.' Or 'why are you driving a 5-year-old car when you can afford a brand new one.' 'Why are you camping in a game reserve, and not staying in a 5-star hotel and casino.' B. It isn't easy to keep the constant pressure to shop and own at bay, but what makes it easy is contentment. When you look happy and your life is one that others envy for its solid relationships, rewarding creative work and annoying glow of health, people's helpful advice on lifestyle tends to sound thin. C. It's worth learning to be content! Not only does contentment provide the opportunity for minimalism, it also reduces your stress level, improves your outlook, relaxes your body, and makes your life enjoyable. There is an unmistakable freedom that follows contentment: a freedom to be who you are, enjoy who you are, and live the life you were destined to live. D. In our consumeristic-culture discontent is promoted and encouraged. If you aren't discontent with your car, why would you buy another one at twice the price? 'They' need to foster discontent with your body, your life, your husband or your job to soften you up for the hard sell. E. If only you bought this product, smoked this drug, drank this poison, used this service you would be happy. Selling starts by first breeding discontent. That is why celebrity shows are all over TV—they are an important foundation for the adverts between shows—no matter how beautiful you are, no matter how rich, there is always that celebrity to show you that you are being positively frugal (节俭的) by only buying a Mercedes and not a Porche. F. On the one hand, your life is enhanced by your dreams and aspirations. On the other hand, these drives can pull you farther and farther from your enjoyment of your life right now. By learning the lessons of gratitude and abundance, you can bring yourself closer to fulfilling the challenge of living in the present. There is no one-size-fits-all, but here are five keys that have helped us further develop contentment in our lives. 1. Be grateful G. Gratitude and contentment are inseparable. Focus on the good things in your life—the things you have—not the things you lack. Are you questioning what you have to be grateful for? Nothing come to mind? After all you are poorer than X, and uglier than Y, not as important as the boss, and suffer more responsibility than your staff. There you go comparing up again. When 90% of the world probably has less than you do, most people still focus on the few 0.2% of lucky souls who are models, superstars, CEOs and plain lucky. H. Come on now, get some perspective. Start making a list of all the good things in your life—even if it's just sunny weather, a nice nose or a great cup of coffee. Don't worry about finishing—the simple discipline of appreciating what you do have will set off a new habit. Try to add one or two items to the list every day. 2. You can't keep shopping your way to happiness I. Advertising has ingrained (使根深蒂固) the belief that the proper way to diffuse discontent is to buy whatever we don't yet have. Almost no energy is spent determining the true root of the discontent. We quickly focus on the nearest product (preferably chocolate based), and avoid thinking about what really makes us feel out of control, frustrated or angry. J. You have to break that habit. Understand that material possessions will never fully satisfy the desires of your heart (that's why discontent always returns). The next time you recognize discontentment surfacing in your life, refuse to give into that bad habit. Instead, commit to better understand yourself. Are you buying a new cell phone, or do you really want to buy 'coolness and popularity, and the envy of friends?' K. A little trick—if you compulsively shop when your world is out of control, buy something really tiny such as the smallest chocolate bar in the shop, a pair of plastic earrings, a cup of coffee. The action of purchasing makes people happy because for a few seconds at least, you have the sole attention of the shop assistant (aren't you an important person!) and you demonstrate through the display of cash or credit cards that you are in control of your life. For most people a 50p pack of gum gives the same pleasure as a $500 pair of shoes. Better in fact, you don't have that dull dread of the let-down when you get them home and can't work out where you will fit them in your cupboard. 3. Take charge of your attitude L. A person who lacks contentment in their life will often engage in 'when and then thinking'—'when I get..., then I will be happy.' Remember, your happiness is not reliant on the acquisition of any possession. The temporary joy of happiness is not contentment—happiness is often externally driven by things that happen to you. That is what you remember and you keep looking for that high in external events and things. Contentment is how you respond to life and situations. Contentment is a decision. 4. Stop comparing yourself to others M. This is a hard one—it's such a daily, hourly habit. I'm smarter than him, and dumber than her. I'm fatter than them, and so much better than him. Comparing your life with someone else's will always lead to discontentment. There will always be people who 'appear' to be better off than you and seemingly living the perfect life. But be advised, we always compare the worst of what we know about ourselves to the best assumptions that we make about others. You are unique. And it's always better that way. Live up to your own expectations of what you can be, and stop living up to the media and friends' expectations. 5. Get off your butt and help N. When you begin helping others, sharing your talents, time and money, you will find yourself learning to be content. You will feel better about yourself. If you don't like people much, volunteer to walk dogs. If you're allergic to cats, help an elderly person with her garden or go shopping with her and carry groceries. Pick up litter, plant a flowing shrub in a wasteland, get someone a cup of coffee without being asked. And while you're at it, stop shirking. Ladies, mow the lawn or change a plug now and then. Men, pick up that laundry before you're asked. O. Be content with what you have, never with what you are. Never stop learning, growing, or discovering. Take pride in your personhood and the progress that you have made, but never become so content that you cannot find room for improvement. Contentment is not the same as complacency (自满).

单选题 The Amazon Mystery: What America's Strangest Tech Company Is Really Up To A. If there's a sentence that sums up Amazon, the weirdest major technology company in America, it's one that came from its own CEO, Jeff Bezos, speaking at the Aspen Institute's 2009 Annual Awards Dinner in New York City: 'Invention requires a long-term willingness to be misunderstood.' In other words: if you don't yet get what I'm trying to build, keep waiting. B. Four years later, Amazon's annual revenue and stock price have both nearly tripled, but for many onlookers, the long wait for understanding continues. Bezos's company has grown from its humble Seattle beginnings to become not only the largest bookstore in the history of the world, but also the world's largest online retailer, the largest Web-hosting company in the world, the most serious competitor to Netflix in streaming video, the fourth-most-popular tablet (平板电脑) maker, and a sprawling international network of fulfillment centers for merchants around the world. It is now rumored to be close to launching its own smartphone and television set-top box. The every-bookstore has become the store for everything, with the global ambition to become the store for everywhere. C. Seriously: What is Amazon? A retail company? A media company? A logistics (物流) machine? The mystery of its strategy is deepened by two factors. First is the company's communications department, which famously excels at not communicating. (Three requests to speak with Amazon officials for this article were delayed and, inevitably, declined.) This moves discussions of the company's intentions into the realm of mind reading, often attempted by the research departments of investment banks, where even optimistic analysts aren't really sure what Bezos is up to. 'It's very difficult to define what Amazon is,' says R. J. Hottovy, an analyst with Morningstar, who nonetheless champions the company's future. D. Second, investors have developed a seemingly unconditional love for Amazon, despite the company's reticence (沉默寡言) and, more to the point, its financial performance. Some 19 years after its founding, Amazon still barely turns a profit—when it makes money at all. The company is pinched between its low margins as a discount retailer and its high capital spending as a global logistics company. Last year, it lost $39 million. By comparison, in its latest annual report, Apple announced a profit of almost $42 billion—nearly 22 times what Amazon has earned in its entire life span. And yet Amazon's market capitalization, the value investors place on the company, is more than a quarter of Apple's, placing Amazon among the largest tech companies in the United States. E. 'I think Amazon's efforts, even the seemingly eccentric ones, are centered on securing the customer relationship,' says Benedict Evans, a consultant with Enders Analysis. The Kindle Fire tablet and the widely rumored phone aren't boring experiments, he told me, but rather purchasing devices that put Amazon on the coffee table so consumers can never escape the tantalizing glow of a shopping screen. F. In a way, this strategy isn't new at all. It's ripped from the mildewed playbooks of the first national retail stores in American history. Amazon appears to be building nothing less than a global Sears, Roebuck of the 21st century—a large-scale operation that aims to dominate the future of shopping and shipping. The question is, can it succeed? G. In the late 19th century, soon after a network of rail lines and telegraph wires had stitched together a rural country, mail-order companies like Sears built the first national retail corporations. Today the Sears catalog seems about as innovative as the prehistoric handsaw, but in the 1890s, the 500-page 'Consumer's Bible' popularized a truly radical shopping concept: the mail would bring stores to consumers. H. But in the early 1900s, as families streamed off farms and into cities, chains like J. C. Penney and Woolworth sprang up to greet them. Sears followed. The company's focus on the emerging middle-class market paid off so well that by mid-century, Sears's revenue approached 1 percent of the entire U.S. economy. But its dominance had deflated by the late 1980s, after more competitors arose and as the blue-collar consumer base it had leaned on collapsed. I. Now that Internet cables have replaced telegraph wires, American consumers are reverting to their turn-of-the-century shopping habits. Families have rediscovered the Consumer's Bible while sitting on their couches, and this time, it's in a Web browser. E-commerce has nearly doubled in the past four years, and Amazon now takes in revenue of more than $60 billion annually. The Internet means to the 21st century what the postal service meant to the late 1800s: it welcomes retailers like Amazon into every living room. J. 'Sears took advantage of the U.S. postal system and railways in the early 20th century just as transportation costs were falling,' says Richard White, a historian at Stanford, 'and Amazon has done the same with the Web.' Its national logistics machine mimics Sears's pneumatic-tube-powered (气动管驱动的) Chicago warehouse, but is more powerful, and much faster. K. Like the mail-order giants did a century ago, Amazon is moving to the city. In the past few years, the company has added warehouses in the most-populous metros to cut shipping times to urban customers. People subscribing to Amazon Prime or AmazonFresh (which, in exchange for an annual payment, provides fast delivery of most goods or groceries you'd like to order) commit themselves financially, with Prime members spending twice as much as other buyers. If those subscriptions grow numerous enough, Amazon's search bar could become the preferred retail-shopping engine. L. At least, that's the vision. Defenders say Amazon is trading the present for the future, spending all its revenue on a global scatter plot of warehouses that will make the company unbeatable. Eventually, the theory goes, investors expect Amazon to complete its construction project and, having swayed enough customers and destroyed enough rivals, to 'flip the switch,' raising prices and profits greatly. In the meantime, they're happy to keep buying stock, offering an unqualified thumbs-up for heavy spending. M. But this theory assumes a practically infinite life span for Amazon. The modem history of retail innovation suggests that even the giants can be overtaken suddenly. Sears was still America's largest retailer in 1982, but just nine years later, its annual revenues were barely half those of Walmart. N. Amazon is not as insulated from its rivals as some think it is. Walmart, eBay, and a bounty of upstarts (新贵) are all in the race to dominate online retail. Amazon's furious spending on new buildings and equipment isn't an elective measure; it's a survival plan. The truth is Amazon has won investors' trust with a reputation for spending everybody to death, and it can spend everybody to death because it has won investors' trust. For now. O. 'Amazon, as best I can tell, is a charitable organization being run by elements of the investment community for the benefit of consumers,' Slate's Matthew Yglesias joked earlier this year. Of course, Amazon is not a charity, and its investors are not philanthropists (慈善家). Today, they are funding an effort to fulfill the dreams of the turn-of-the-century retail kings: to build the perfect personalized shopping experience for the modem urban household. For once, families are reaping the dividends of Wall Street's generosity. The longer investors wait for Amazon to fulfill their orders, the less we have to wait for Amazon to fulfill ours.

单选题 Questions18-20 are based on the recording you have just heard.

单选题 How to Duck Cabin Fevers and Other Aches on a Plane? A. On the first leg of this season's holiday travel tour, I had the delightful experience of watching my 20-month-old touch nearly every surface on our airplane, from numerous armrests and people we passed in the aisle to our fingerprint-stained window. As a somewhat uncontrollable germaphobe (洁癖), it took everything I had not to dip my son in hand sanitizer (消毒剂) and then physically restrain him. But I was flying alone with two children and he was happy eating those snacks off the floor, and so, for the sake of my fellow passengers, I let him handle pretty much anything he wanted. Hence, I wasn't surprised when his nose started running shortly after we arrived at our destination, followed by the inevitable cough, which his older brother also picked up. Our 'vacation' ended at a CVS Minute Clinic, with ear infections for both kids. B. Coming down with a cold, cough or other illness after air travel is a common refrain, even from adults who don't try to lick the seatback tray table. But is the plane really to blame? Not particularly, says aviation medicine specialist Mark Gendreau, vice chair of emergency medicine at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass. 'You do have a higher risk of contracting a viral infection while traveling, but you have to remember that it's really the door-to-door experience that's exposing you to germs: the crowds on the subway to the airport, the escalator, the security line, getting on and off the aircraft,' he explains. 'It's almost impossible to say where, exactly, you get sick.' C. In fact, experts point out that the environment of a plane is probably less risky, health-wise, than many other crowded, confined spaces. Given airliners' improved ventilation systems, germs aren't being constantly circulated through the plane, stresses Gendreau. Instead, he says, you are most likely to pick up a bug from close contact with a sick person or by touching a surface that's been coughed or sneezed on or otherwise contaminated, such as an armrest or an overhead bin lock. D. Studies have shown that the highest risk of germ transmission on a plane, by far, comes from those around you, particularly those seated within two rows, says Michael Zimring, director of the Center for Healthy Travel at the Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. 'The closer the proximity and the longer the time you're confined with someone in a closed compartment—and usually it's at least a couple of hours—the better the chance of catching a cold,' he says. E. Research published last May in the journal BMJ studied a packed, long-haul 747 flight from Los Angeles to New Zealand that had at least nine passengers who were later confirmed to have swine flu. Researchers found that the three additional travelers who appeared to have contracted the virus on the flight were all sitting within two rows of an infected person; that put the chance of transmission at 3.5 percent within two rows and roughly 1.9 percent for anyone in the same section of the plane. F. 'There's no doubt that planes are pretty germy,' says Charles Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona who studies how diseases are transmitted in indoor environments. 'There is no requirement or regulation for the cleaning and disinfection of airplanes—it's up to individual airlines—and it just doesn't get done regularly,' he said. The dirtiest spot on board? By far, the restrooms, according to Gerba, who says that in the course of his research, he has identified E. coli bacteria on almost every toilet surface, with the worst offenders being sink handles and faucets, soap dispensers and door handles. G. Of course, just because such germs are there doesn't mean they're a problem. 'There is definitely an unpleasant factor, but it's one thing to say there's a virus or bacteria on a surface, and another thing for that to make you sick,' says Katherine Andrus, assistant general counsel for the Air Transport Association, a trade group representing major U.S. airlines. 'Most of us, if we're relatively healthy and have good immune systems, don't have to worry that much about all of the surfaces in the world that may be contaminated.' She adds that frequent, proper hand washing goes a long way toward preventing illness in any crowded environment. H. There are several other steps you can take. Zimring, author of 'Healthy Travel: Don't Travel Without It,' says it's important get enough sleep, eat healthfully, exercise and get a flu shot to build up immunity before traveling. Gendreau suggests the following to stay healthy while flying: I. Drink up. Proper hydration (水合作用) is critical to optimal immune function. Given that the relative humidity in a passenger cabin can be as low as 10 percent on long flights, it's essential to drink as much water while in the air as possible; avoiding alcohol will help, too. Staying well hydrated can also help prevent mild altitude sickness, with symptoms such as headache, lightheadedness and nausea (恶心), which people often mistake for a post-flight cold or flu. J. Pack a hand sanitizer. Soap and water do a great job, but the restroom's sink handle, soap dispenser and doorknobs may be contaminated with germs. So use alcohol-based sanitizer after leaving the restroom and throughout the rest of your flight. And think twice before you rub, scratch or otherwise pat your face during a flight; those simple acts can provide ample opportunity for the transmission of bacteria and viruses. K. Be wary about that tray. Air carriers with flight turnover times of less than an hour do not routinely disinfect the trays or other surfaces such as the armrests and windows. So wipe them down with an alcohol-based sanitizer when you first take your seat. L. Keep the air turned on at your seat. When people cough, sneeze or speak, they eject up to 30,000 droplets, which can travel several feet. To minimize the chance of infected droplets landing on you, turn your air vent to medium flow and position it so that the air current is directed just slightly in front of your face. That will help direct germs away from your eyes, nose and mouth. M. As for me, I think I will run with my germaphobic tendencies from now on, forbidding floor snacks, using a great amount of sanitizer on both my children and wiping down our immediate surroundings as soon as we board. The travel might not be happier—for me or for my fellow passengers—but if it's even slightly more healthful, I think it's worth it.

单选题Ideas about 'spoiling' children have always involved consideration of just what is a spoiled child, how does spoiling occur, and what are the consequences of spoiling; they have always included 26 of a child's nature, the ideal child and the ideal adult. The many mothers of 1820 who belonged to the early 'maternal (母亲的) associations' struggled to 27 the ideas about child raising that had been 28 in the 18th century. They had always been told that the spoiled child stood in danger of having trouble later in life (when exposed to all the 29 of the world) and, more importantly, stood in danger of 30 ruin. The approach these mothers knew was to 'break the will' of the child. This approach, coming 31 from the theology (神学) of Calvin, the French protestant reformer, was 32 from the stern outlook of the Puritans. As one mother wrote, 'No child has even been known, since the earliest period of the world, destitute(缺乏的) of an evil disposition however sweet it appears.' Infant depravity (堕落), by which meant the child's 33 , could be curbed only by breaking the will so that the child 34 implicitly to parental guidance. By freeing the child from its evil nature, parents believed they could then guide the child into acquiring the right character traits, such as honesty, industriousness, and society. These moral 35 , fixed in the child's character, were to govern it throughout life, in a society where free enterprise, individual effort, and competition were believed to be the ruling forces. A. spiritual B. impulses C. eventually D. principles E. denounce F. prevalent G. temptations H. initially I. concepts J. segregated K. uphold L. authentic M. submitted N. descriptions O. inherited

单选题 筷子 几千年来，我们中国人一直将筷子视为一种将饭送入口中的最简单、有效的工具。早在周朝时期，筷子便被人们用来夹取荤、蔬菜，而米饭在那时则用手来取食。筷子的大小基本一样，而制作筷子的材料则各有不同，所选材料有竹子、木材、玉石等。中国人使用筷子的方法很有艺术性，各人有各人的方法，就好像签名一样，不尽一致。中国人一般都能随心所欲地用筷子夹起一粒米饭，一粒豌豆，甚至一只滑溜溜的丸子。