Cruelty to animals, it is said, is often a precursor to graver crimes. So would there not be some usefulness to a registry of individuals convicted of felony animal abuse? Legislators in California want the Golden State to be the first to establish such a record—just as California was the first in the nation to create a registry of sex offenders. The goal of the registry, which would list crimes against both pets and farm animals, is to make it easier for shelters and animal-adoption groups to identify people who shouldn't be allowed access to animals. It would also be a boon to law enforcement because animal abuse, the bill's authors' say, often escalates to violence against people. Abuses covered in the bill would include the malicious and intentional maiming, mutilation, torture, wounding or killing of a living animal. It would also target pet hoarders and operators of animal-fighting rings (such as dog-baiting and cockfighting) who have felony convictions. "We think California is primed for this kind of a bill," says state senate majority leader Dean Florez, who introduced the bill in late February. "We've progressed to the point where we as a legislature are moving in a direction of this bill, which is ultimately, how do we in essence prevent repeat offenses when it comes to cruelty to animals in the state of California?" It is an issue that, Florez says, Californians care for deeply. About 60% of California residents own pets, he says; add in farm animals, and 80% of the population has some kind of ownership of animals. The bill's biggest stumbling block may be the funding it would require. Created with the assistance of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the bill would raise the approximately $500,000 to $1 million necessary for its launch through a 2- or 3-cent tax per pound of pet food, says Florez, a Democrat who is chairman of the Food and Agriculture Committee. He estimated that after it's launch, the project could cost between $300,000 to $400,000 a year to maintain. Yet even that relatively small amount has some organizations, including a national pet-product trade group and even the Humane Society, raising concerns. Jennifer Fearing, California senior state director and chief economist for the US Humane Society, supports the measure's aims but worries about whether it can get passed. Says Fearing: "I would be shocked if this legislature is prepared to enact any tax this year, much less one levied on pet owners who are struggling to care for their animals, when many of them are dropping them off at shelters. " Ed Rod, vice President of government affairs for the American Pet Products Association, says the proposal is inherently inequitable. "You're looking at pet owners paying for something that's really going to benefit everyone," says Rod. "And animal abuse certainly affects pets, but it also affects agricultural animals as well, and in this case I don't believe there is any provision to impose a fee on livestock feed. The goal we support, certainly, but we think this is kind of a blunt instrument to reach that goal. " There may be other ways to fund the registry. Fearing says the Humane Society supported a similar law in Tennessee that called for those convicted of animal abuse to pay $50 toward the cost of an animal-abusers registry. The bill, however, was defeated. Florez says having offenders pay a fee toward the operation of the registry is also under consideration in the California legislation. Even if those convicted of animal-abuse felonies were charged a fee, however, that may not be enough to cover the cost of the registry, since only a small percentage of animal-abuse cases result in felony charges, according to Madeline Bernstein, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles. "The bottom line is that there aren't a lot of felony convictions for animal abuse in the state of California," says Bernstein. The proposal also puts an added burden on local police—operating at a time of state funding cuts—by requiring them to gather registry information on convicted felons and transfer the information to the Department of Justice within three days of collection. Despite the obstacles, Florez expects to push the legislation as far as it can go. Could he get the two-thirds majority required to turn the bill into law—particularly from the Republican minority that pledged not to raise taxes? "In this case," he says, "the issue is simple. Do Republican members really want to be seen on the side of animal abuse? I don't think they do."

The rapidly developing technology disturbs the relationship between parents and their children, which is now rated a social problem that we need to pay attention to and guard against. Read the following excerpt carefully and write your response in NO LESS THAN 300 WORDS, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the research findings; 2. give your comment. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks. Write your article on ANSWER SHEET FOUR. Excerpt The increased presence of technology in the daily life of modern children has caused the relationship between parents and their children to be affected. Khan, an educator, did a study on the relationship between the duration of adolescents' (14 to 18 years old) technology usage on computer, mobile phone and video games and their relationship with their parents. This research was done in a New York high school on 63 students. These students represent a generation that has been exposed to technology the most throughout their lifetime. It was found that when they spent long time on computers, the closeness towards parents diminished. On the other hand, there was no correlation to be found between the usage of mobile and the closeness with parents as mobile phone is still a way for both parents and their children to communicate. Similarly, another research also has shown that relationship between children and their family members is affected by the amount of time they spend on the Internet. Young ( a psychologist) investigated whether any decline and loss of desire for face-to-face communication with their use was related to Internet surfing. The age range (14 to 18 years old) of this study was controlled because there may be restrictions implied in their use of Internet by parents and also because that generation is being exposed much to technology since birth. Young's research found that students use the Internet more often, which in turn causes them to spend less time with their family. Plus, the desire for face-to-face communication with family members declined when more time was spent on the Internet. Children who spend hours on the Internet will find that there is not much time left for any other types of interaction or bonding time with their family. Consequently, children and their parents as family members will have a poorer relationship instead of being able to maintain a stronger family relationship. On top of that, Lee (a scholar) reported that the use of computer for recreational and communication purposes among 1,312 adolescents from the United States (age 12 to 18) replaced their time with their parents and Lee's result had showed "an increase of 1 hour in computer-mediated communication results in a decrease of 24 minutes in time with parents". Lee's finding shows a negative correlation between the time spent on computer and on parent-child relationship. However, one drawback that was found in Lee's study was that she did not consider including the specific type of online activity and also the type of social networking sites. Punamaki, Wallenius, Holtto, Nygard, and Rimpela's research had shown similarities in their findings. Their research was conducted on 478 Finnish children and adolescents from seven schools. The result found that using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for entertainment is related to poor peer and parental relations. In addition, engaging in intensive Internet surfing however was found to associate with poor maternal relation which is seen most in daughter-mother communication. As there is only 24 hours in a day, the time used on the computer will reduce the time spent on other activities. Thus, the relationship between parents and children are affected by the usage of ICT causing both parents and children to have poor communication with one another, when communication is essential in building a strong parent-child relationship.

他的成功比人们先前预料的要快很多。

One of the paradoxes of human biology is that the rich world has fewer children than the poor world. In most species, improved circumstances are expected to increase reproductive effort, not reduce it, yet as economic development gets going, country after country has experienced what is known as the demographic transition; fertility (defined as the number of children borne by a woman over her lifetime) drops from around eight to near one and a half. That number is so small that even with the reduced child mortality which usually accompanies development it cannot possibly sustain the population. This reproductive collapse is particularly worrying because it comes in combination with an increase in life expectancy which suggests that, by the middle of the century, not only will populations in the most developed countries have shrunk (unless they are propped up by historically huge levels of immigration) but also that the number of retired individuals supported by each person of working age will increase significantly. If Mikko Myrskyla of the University of Pennsylvania and his colleagues are correct, though, things might not be quite as bad as that. A study they have just published in Nature suggests that as development continues, the demographic transition goes into reverse. Dr. Myrskyla compared two things. One was the total fertility rate (the number of children that would be born to a woman in a particular country over the course of her life if she experienced the age-specific fertility rates observed in that country during the calendar year in question). The other was the human development index for that country. The HDI, a measure used by the United Nations, has three components; life expectancy; average income per person; and level of education. Its maximum possible value is one. Back in the 1970s, no country got anywhere near one. Of the 107 places the researchers looked at, the best was Canada, with an HDI of 0.89. By 2005, however, things had improved markedly. Two dozen of what were now 240 countries had HDIs above nine—and something else remarkable had happened. Back in 1975, a graph plotting fertility rate against the HDI fell as the HDI rose. By 2005, though, the line had a kink in it. Above an HDI of 0. 9 or so, it turned up, producing what is known in the jargon as a "J-shaped" curve (even though it is the mirror image of a letter J). In many countries with really high levels of development (around 0.95) fertility rates are now approaching two children per woman. There are exceptions, notably Canada and Japan, but the trend is clear. Why this change has come about, and why the demographic transition happens in the first place, are matters of debate. There are lots of social explanations of why fertility rates fall as countries become richer. The increasing ability of women in the developed world to control their own reproductive output is one, as is the related phenomenon of women entering the workplace in large numbers. The increasing cost of raising children in a society with more material abundance plays a part. So does the substitution of nationalised social-security systems for the support of offspring in old age. Falling rates of child mortality are also significant. Conversely, Dr. Myrskyla speculates that the introduction of female-friendly employment policies in the most developed countries allows women to have the best of both worlds, and that this may contribute to the uptick. No doubt all these social explanations are true as far as they go, but they do not address the deeper question of why people's psychology should have evolved in a way that makes them want fewer children when they can afford more. There is a possible biological explanation, though.

"How does the human brain work?" remains one of the most profound questions confront modern science.

中国民族自古以来从不把人看做高于一切。

PASSAGE FOUR

The rude antics of some Chinese tourists have embarrassed many in the country, and sparked debate about how the government could discourage bad behavior. What's your idea towards this issue? The following are opinions from different people. Read the excerpt carefully and write your response in NO LESS THAN 300 WORDS, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the different opinions; 2. give your comment. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks. Write your article on ANSWER SHEET FOUR. Excerpt Sivarnee (China): Not every Chinese tourist is a rude one, and educated people are usually better behaved than those who have had a lower standard of education. This could be why the middle-aged or older tourists who have been deprived of or received little education tend to act more rudely. Many of them do not speak English, and some are not fluent putonghua speakers. Their knowledge of the destination country and its culture is often at best outdated or non-existent. Michael (the US): Like many commentators, I am not convinced that Chinese travelers on the whole behave worse than other groups when traveling abroad. We Yanks, along with our German and Israeli friends, for instance, have long suffered poor reputations when traveling. My personal worst embarrassment for a compatriot happened in Rome, where I witnessed a loud American in a cowboy hat, black socks, and sandals look down at the Roman Forum and say to his wife, "more ruins—if you've seen one ruin, you've seen them all. " Chang Jun (China): As China rises to the second largest economy in the world, Chinese visitors are also traveling everywhere including Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia and Latin America. Although destination countries and regions welcome the tourism dollars and the buying power, they are upset with the chaos, hassles and bad behavior some Chinese tourists bring upon their cities. In light of the Chinese tourism boom, some industry insiders believe the government should implement educational programs. For example, mandatory etiquette classes for visitors prior to their departures are encouraged to help them better behave in foreign countries and cultures. Gavin (the UK): As a nation that has quadrupled its income over the last decade, you're dealing almost exclusively with people who aren't used to being abroad, and as a consequence, the Chinese don't particularly know how to holiday. They are seldom to be seen playing beach-bat with the kids, or reading Dan Brown in a sun lounger, because they don't switch off like that. The high-flyers who make it out don't strictly "do" downtime. Hence you find them shuffling around beachfronts in packs, wondering what exactly they're meant to be doing when the answer is right in front of them. They've got the money. So they're going on holiday "because they can". Sophie (Australia): Why have the Chinese risen so rapidly to join the ranks of the world's most boorish tourists? In their defense, they are not the only tourists in the world considered to be rude. Despite all the recent media spotlight on Chinese misbehavior, Americans still rank as the world's worst tourists, according to a recent opinion poll. And the Chinese have gained wealth so quickly that they have become thrust into global tourist culture without time to create guideposts that other nationalities might enjoy. For instance, there is no Chinese equivalent of Lonely Planet, encouraging young Chinese to explore the world and respect the cultures and communities they enter. In many countries, Chinese are still viewed with suspicion during visa review processes. Chinese tourists always seem to travel in huge packs because joining a tour group makes getting a visa easier.

He was only one of the candidates who was going to take the oral defense.

In last week's Tribune, there was an interesting letter from Mr. J. Stewart Cook, in which he suggested that the best way of avoiding the danger of a "scientific hierarchy" would be to see to it that every member of the general public was, as far as possible, scientifically educated. At the same time, scientists should be brought out of their isolation and encouraged to take a greater part in politics and administration. As a general statement, I think most of us would agree with this, but I notice that, as usual, Mr. Cook does not define science, and merely implies in passing that it means certain exact sciences whose experiments can be made under laboratory conditions. Thus, adult education tends "to neglect scientific studies in favor of literary, economic and social subjects", economics and sociology not being regarded as branches of science, apparently. This point is of great importance. For the word science is at present used in at least two meanings, but the whole question of scientific education is obscured by the current tendency to dodge from one meaning to the other. Science is generally taken as meaning either (a) the exact sciences, such as chemistry, physics, etc., or (b) a method of thought which obtains verifiable results by reasoning logically from observed fact. If you ask any scientist, or indeed almost any educated person, "What is science?" you are likely to get an answer approximating to (b). In everyday life, however, both in speaking and in writing, when people say "science" they mean (a). Science means something that happens in a laboratory: test-tubes, balances, Bunsen burners, microscopes. A biologist, an astronomer, perhaps a psychologist or a mathematician, is described as a "man of science": no one would think of applying this term to a statesman, a poet, a journalist or even a philosopher. And those who tell us that the young must be scientifically educated mean, almost invariably, that they should be taught more about radioactivity, or the stars, or the physiology of their own bodies, rather than that they should be taught to think more exactly. This confusion of meaning, which is partly deliberate, has in it a great danger. Implied in the demand for more scientific education is the claim that if one has been scientifically trained one's approach to all subjects will be more intelligent than if one had had no such training. A scientist's political opinions, it is assumed, his opinions on sociological questions, on morals, on philosophy, perhaps even on the arts, will be more valuable than those of a layman. But a" scientist", as we have just seen, means in practice a specialist in one of the exact sciences. It follows that a chemist or physicist, as such, is politically more intelligent than a poet or a lawyer. And, in fact, there are already millions of people who do believe this. But is it really true that a "scientist", in this narrower sense, is any likelier than other people to approach non-scientific problems in an objective way? There is not much reason for thinking so. Take one simple test—the ability to withstand nationalism. It is often loosely said that "Science is international", but in practice the scientific workers of all countries line up behind their own governments with fewer scruples than are felt by the writers and the artists. The German scientific community, as a whole, made no resistance to Hitler. There were plenty of gifted men to do the necessary research on such things as synthetic oil, jet planes, rocket projectiles and the atomic bomb. On the other hand, what happened to German literature when the Nazis came to power? I believe no exhaustive lists have been published, but I imagine that the number of German scientists—Jew apart—who voluntarily exiled themselves or were persecuted by the regime was much smaller than the number of writers and journalists. More sinister than this, a number of German scientists swallowed the monstrosity of "racial science". But does this mean that the general public should not be more scientifically educated? On the contrary! All it means is that scientific education for the masses will do little good, and probably a lot of harm, if it simply boils down to more physics, more chemistry, more biology, etc. to the detriment of literature and history. Its probable effect on the average human being would be to narrow the range of his thoughts and make him more than ever contemptuous of such knowledge as he did not possess; and his political reactions would probably be somewhat less intelligent than those of an illiterate peasant who retained a few historical memories and a fairly sound aesthetic sense. Clearly, scientific education ought to mean the implanting of a rational, skeptical, experimental habit of mind. It ought to mean acquiring a method—a method that can be used on any problem that one meets—and not simply piling up a lot of facts. Put it in those words, and the apologist of scientific education will usually agree. Press him further, ask him to particularize, and somehow it always turns out that scientific education means more attention to the exact sciences, in other words—more facts. The idea that science means a way of looking at the world, and not simply a body of knowledge, is in practice strongly resisted. I think sheer professional jealousy is part of the reason for this.

(1)The English, in fact, are strongly gifted with the rural feeling. They possess a quick sensibility to the beauties of nature, and a keen relish for the pleasures and employments of the country. This passion seems inherent in them. Even the inhabitants of cities, born and brought up among brick walls and bustling streets, enter with facility into rural habits, and evince a tact for rural occupation. The merchant has his snug retreat in the vicinity of the metropolis, where he often displays as much pride and zeal in the cultivation of his flower-garden, and the maturing of his fruits, as he does in the conduct of his business, and the success of a commercial enterprise. Even those less fortunate individuals, who are doomed to pass their lives in the midst of din and traffic, contrive to have something that shall remind them of the green aspect of nature. In the most dark and dingy quarters of the city, the drawing-room window resembles frequently a bank of flowers: every spot capable of vegetation has its grass-plot and flower-bed: and every square its mimic park, laid out with picturesque taste, and gleaming with refreshing verdure. (2)Those who see the Englishman only in town, are apt to form an unfavorable opinion of his social character. He is either absorbed in business, or distracted by the thousand engagements that dissipate time, thought, and feeling, in this huge metropolis. He has, therefore, too commonly, a look of hurry and abstraction. Wherever he happens to be, he is on the point of going somewhere else: at the moment he is talking on one subject, his mind is wandering to another, and while paying a friendly visit, he is calculating how he shall economize time so as to pay the other visits allotted to the morning. An immense metropolis, like London, is calculated to make men selfish and uninteresting. In their casual and transient meetings, they can but deal briefly in commonplaces. They present but the cold superficies of character—its rich and genial qualities have no time to be warmed into a flow. (3)It is in the country that the Englishman gives scope to his natural feelings. He breaks loose gladly from the cold formalities and negative civilities of town: throws off his habits of shy reserve, and becomes joyous and free-hearted. He manages to collect round him all the conveniences and elegancies of polite life, and to banish its restraints. His country-seat abounds with every requisite, either for studious retirement, tasteful gratification, or rural exercise. Books, paintings, music, horses, dogs, and sporting implements of all kinds, are at hand. He puts no constraint, either upon his guests or himself, but, in the true spirit of hospitality, provides the means of enjoyment, and leaves every one to partake according to his inclination. (4)The taste of the English in the cultivation of land, and in what is called landscape gardening, is unrivalled. They have studied Nature intently, and discovered an exquisite sense of her beautiful forms and harmonious combinations. Those charms which, in other countries, she lavishes in wild solitudes, are here assembled round the haunts of domestic life. They seem to have caught her coy and furtive graces, and spread them, like witchery, about their rural abodes. (5)Nothing can be more imposing than the magnificence of English park scenery. Vast lawns that extend like sheets of vivid green, with here and there clumps of gigantic trees, heaping up rich piles of foliage. The solemn pomp of groves and woodland glades, with the deer trooping in silent herds across them: the hare, bounding away to the covert: or the pheasant, suddenly bursting upon the wing. The brook, taught to wind in natural meanderings, or expand into a glassy lake—the sequestered pool, reflecting the quivering trees, with the yellow leaf sleeping on its bosom, and the trout roaming fearlessly about its limpid waters: while some rustic temple, or sylvan statue, grown green and dank with age, gives an air of classic sanctity to the seclusion. (6)These are but a few of the features of park scenery: but what most delights me, is the creative talent with which the English decorate the unostentatious abodes of middle life. The rudest habitation, the most unpromising and scanty portion of land, in the hands of an Englishman of taste, becomes a little paradise. With a nicely discriminating eye, he seizes at once upon its capabilities, and pictures in his mind the future landscape. The sterile spot grows into loveliness under his hand: and yet the operations of art which produce the effect are scarcely to be perceived. The cherishing and training of some trees: the cautious pruning of others: the nice distribution of flowers and plants of tender and graceful foliage: the introduction of a green slope of velvet turf: the partial opening to a peep of blue distance, or silver gleam of waterfall these are managed with a delicate tact, a pervading yet quiet assiduity, like the magic touchings with which a painter finishes up a favorite picture. (7)The residence of people of fortune and refinement in the country, has diffused a degree of taste and elegance in rural economy that descends to the lowest class. The very laborer, with his thatched cottage and narrow slip of ground, attends to their embellishment. The trim hedge, the grass-plot before the door, the little flower-bed bordered with snug box, the woodbine trained up against the wall, and hanging its blossoms about the lattice: the pot of flowers in the window: the holly, providently planted about the house, to cheat winter of its dreariness, and to throw in a semblance of green summer to cheer the fireside: all these bespeak the influence of taste, flowing down from high sources, and pervading the lowest levels of the public mind. If ever Love, as poets sing, delights to visit a cottage, it must be the cottage of an English peasant. (8)The fondness for rural life among the higher classes of the English has had a great and salutary effect upon the national character. I do not know a finer race of men than the English gentlemen. Instead of the softness and effeminacy which characterize the men of rank in most countries, they exhibit a union of elegance and strength, a robustness of frame and freshness of complexion, which I am inclined to attribute to their living so much in the open air, and pursuing so eagerly the invigorating recreations of the country.

张大千是丹青巨匠，在当世与齐白石并称“南张北齐”。徐悲鸿对他更是推崇：“张大千，五百年来第一人。”20世纪50年代，张大千游历世界，获得巨大的国际声誉，被西方艺坛赞为“东方之笔”。少有人知的是，丹青圣手张大干也是赫赫有名的美食大家，而且是厨界高手。张大千既爱吃，又懂吃，这两条是判断美食家的重要标准。

我已是一个中年的人。一到中年，就有许多不愉快的现象，眼睛昏花了，记忆力减退了，头发开始秃脱而且变白了，意兴，体力，什么都不如年青的时候，常不禁会感觉到难以名言的寂寞的情味。尤其觉得难堪的是知友的逐渐减少和疏远，缺乏交际上的温暖的慰藉。 不消说，相识的人数是随了年龄增加的，一个人年龄越大，走过的地方当过的职务越多，相识的人理该越增加了。可是相识的人并不就是朋友。我们和许多人相识，或是因了事务关系，或是因了偶然的机缘——如在别人请客的时候同席吃过饭之类。 见面时点头或握手，有事时走访或通信，口头上彼此也称“朋友”，笔头上有时或称“仁兄”，诸如此类，其实只是一种社交上的客套，和“顿首”“百拜”同是仪式的虚伪。这种交际可以说是社交，和真正的友谊相差似乎很远。

After the horror became public in his hometown, Sylacauga, Alabama, city council president George Carlton told a reporter,"This is not the type of place that this happens. " A week ago, few【S1】______people could have pointed out Sylacauga on a map. A tiny city of 13,000, halfway between Birmingham and Montgomery, Sylacaugawas known as for its white marble quarries, textile mills and ice-【S2】______cream factories. And last week Sylacauga became a chapter in the【S3】______recent history of hatred. According to police, Steven Eric Mullins, 25, and Charles Monroe Butler Jr. , 21, plotted for two weeks to murder Billy JackGaither, 39. In Feb. 19, they arranged to meet him at a Sylacauga【S4】______bar and lured him to secluded area. There they beat him and【S5】______dump him into the trunk of his car. They then drove about 15 miles【S6】______to Peckerwood Creek. There, says Sheriffs Deputy Al Bradley, " they took him out of the trunk, took an ax handle and beat him todeath. " They set two old tires flame, says Bradley, "then they put【S7】______the body on the fire. " They did it all, the deputy says, while【S8】______Gaither was gay. Gaither's death has become a rallying point for gay-rightsorganizations and state legislators' pushing a bill that would extend【S9】______Alabama's three-year-old hate-crimes law beyond race, color, religion and national origin to cover crimes related to sexualorientation as well. "It's fortunate that somebody had to lose his life【S10】______in order for this legislation to pick up momentum here in the state of Alabama," says state Representative Alvin Holmes, who failed to get the original law amended when it was passed in 1996.

In a Bertelsmann Foundation study on social justice releasedthis fall, the United States came in deadly last among the rich【M1】______countries, with only Greece, Chile, Mexico and Turkey faring worse. Whether in poverty prevention, child poverty, incomeinequality and health ratings, the United States ranked below【M2】______countries like Spain and South Korea, not mention Japan,【M3】______Germany or France. It was another sign of how badly Americans are hurting theirmiddle class. Wars, famine and violence have been devastated【M4】______middle classes before, in Germany and Japan. But when the smoke cleared and the dust settled, a social structure roughly similar to what existed before would always resurface. No nation has ever lost an existing middle class, and theUnited States is in danger of that yet. But the percentage of【M5】______national income holding by the top 1 percent of Americans went【M6】______from about 10 percent in 1980 to 24 percent in 2007, that is a【M7】______worrisome signal. So before the United States continues on its current road of dismantling its version of the welfare state, of expanding the gap between rich and poor, Americans might dowell glance south. The lesson is that even after a large middle class【M8】______emerges, yawning inequities between rich and poor severely strain any society's cohesion and harmony. The United States has never had the type of robust welfarestate that European built after World War II. It didn't need that.【M9】______Through private initiative and efforts to equalize opportunity, Americans long ago ensured that a huge middle class would provide the social glue to hold his society together.【M10】______

Passage Three

Whom can you trust these days? It is a question posed by David Halpern of Cambridge University, and the researchers at the Downing Street Strategy Unit who take an interest in "socialcapital". In intervals they go around asking people in assorted【M1】______nations the question: "Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted?" The results are fascinated. The conclusion that leaps from the【M2】______figures and into sensational headlines are that social dislocation,【M3】______religious decline, public scandals, family fragmentation and thefear of crime have made us more trusting. Comparative surveys【M4】______over 40 years suggest that British trustfulness had halved: in the【M5】______1950s 60 per cent of us answered "yes, most people can be trusted", in the 1980s 44 per cent, today only 29 per cent. Trust levels also continue to fall in Ireland and the US—meanwhile, the Norwegians, Swedes, Danes and Dutch express tremendousconfidence in one and another's honesty: levels are actually rising.【M6】______In Mexico and Japan the level of trust is also increasing, that is【M7】______interesting if mild bewildering. And the Palme d'Or(金棕榈奖)【M8】______for mutual suspect goes to the Brazilians—with less than 3【M9】______per cent replying "yes"—and the Turks with 6.5 per cent The French,apparently, never trusted each other and still don't. Nevertheless we【M10】______become less Scandinavian and more French(or Turkish)every year.

Then Redi began to gather and record facts to find out if his hypothesis was correct. He did this by carrying on many experiments, which were designed to help him get the facts he needed.

Natural language interfaces enable the user to communicatewith the computer in French, English, German, or a human【S1】______language. Some applications of such interfaces are database queries, information retrieval from texts, so-called expert systems,and robot control. Current advances in recognition of spoken【S2】______language improve the usability of many types of natural language systems. Communication with computers using spoken language willhave a lasted impact upon the work environment, completely new【S3】______areas of application for information technology will open up.However, spoken language needs to be combined to other modes of【S4】______communication such as pointing with mouse or finger. Because such【S5】______multimodal communication is finally embedded in an effective general model of cooperation, we have succeeded in turning the machine to a partner. Much older than communication problems【S6】______between human beings and machines are these between people with【S7】______different mother tongues. One of the original aims of computational linguistics has always been fully automatic translation between human languages. From bitter experience scientists have realizedthat they are still far away from getting the ambitious goal of【S8】______translating unrestricted texts. Nevertheless, they have been able to create software systems that simplify the work of human translators and clearly improve their productivity. Less than perfect automatictranslations can also be of a great help to information seekers who【S9】______have to search for large amounts of texts in foreign languages.【S10】______