单选题[此试题无题干]
单选题Abraham Lincoln turns 200 this year, and he's beginning to show his age. When his birthday arrives, on February 12, Congress will hold a special joint session in the Capitol's National Statuary Hall, a wreath will be laid at the great memorial in Washington, and a webcast will link school classrooms for a "teach-in" honouring his memory Admirable as they are, though, the events will strike many of us Lincoln fans as inadequate, even halfhearted - and another sign that our appreciation for the 16th president and his towering achievements is slipping away And you don't have to be a Lincoln enthusiast to believe that this is something we can't afford to lose. Compare this year's celebration with the Lincoln centennial, in 1909. That year, Lincoln's likeness made its debut on the penny, thanks to approval from the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Communities and civic associations in every comer of the country erupted in parades, concerts, balls, lectures, and military displays. We still feel the effects today: The momentum unloosed in 1909 led to the Lincoln Memorial, opened in 1922, and the Lincoln Highway, the first paved transcontinental thoroughfare. The celebrants in 1909 had a few inspirations we lack today. Lincoln's presidency was still a living memory for coundess Americans. In 2009 we are farther in time from the end of the Second World War than they were from the Civil War; families still felt the loss of loved ones from that awful national trauma. But Americans in 1909 had something more: an unembarrassed appreciation for heroes and an acute sense of the way that even long-dead historical figures press in on the present and make us who we are. One story will illustrate what I'm talking about. In 2003 a group of local citizens arranged to place a statue of Lincoln in Richmond, Virginia, former capital of the Confederacy. The idea touched off a firestorm of controversy. The Sons of Confederate Veterans held a public conference of carefully selected scholars to "reassess" the legacy of Lincoln. The verdict - no surprise - was negative: Lincoln was labeled everything from a racist totalitarian to a teller of dirty jokes. I covered the conference as a reporter, but what really unnerved me was a counter-conference of scholars to refute the earlier one. These scholars drew a picture of Lincoln that only our touchy- feely age could conjure up. The man who oversaw the most savage war in our history was described - by his admirers, remember-as "nonjudgmental," "unmoralistic," "comfortable with ambiguity." I felt the way a friend of mine felt as we later watched the unveiling of the Richmond statue in a subdued ceremony: "But he's so small!" The statue in Richmond was indeed small; like nearly every Lincoln statue put up in the past half century, it was life-size and was placed at ground level, a conscious rejection of the heroic - approachable and human, yes, but not something to look up to. The Richmond episode taught me that Americans have lost the language to explain Lincoln's greatness even to ourselves. Earlier generations said they wanted their children to be like Lincoln: principled, kind, compassionate, resolute. Today we want Lincoln to be like us. This helps to explain the long string of recent books in which writers have presented a Lincoln made after their own image. We've had Lincoln as humorist and Lincoln as manic-depressive, Lincoln the business sage, the conservative Lincoln and the liberal Lincoln, the emancipator and the racist, the stoic philosopher, the Christian, the atheist - Lincoln over easy and Lincoln scrambled. What's often missing, though, is the timeless Lincoln, the Lincoln whom all generations, our own no less than that of 1909, can lay claim to. Lucky for us, those memorializers from a century ago - and, through them, Lincoln himself- have left us a hint of where to find him. The Lincoln Memorial is the most visited of our presidential monuments. Here is where we find the Lincoln who endures: in the words he left us, defining the country we've inherited. Here is the Lincoln who can be endlessly renewed and who, 200 years after his birth, retains the power to renew us.
单选题What does Christmas commemorate?
单选题AnarmedgangattackedbusesontheborderbetweenCongoand______.A.TogoB.CabindaC.AngolaD.Zaire
单选题[此试题无题干]
单选题A series of dynastic civil wars between supporters of the House of Lancaster and the House of York in the 15th century are also known as[A] Seven Years' War.[B] the Hundred Years' War.[C] the Wars of the Roses.[D] War of Independence.
单选题The branch of linguistics that studies how context influences the way speakers interpret sentences is called ______.
单选题All of the following words except ______ are formed through a process of derivation.
单选题TheIsraelicoupleendedkissingon______.
单选题Japanese uses ______ writing system.
单选题Who wrote one of the most enduring classic poem Ode to the West Wind?
单选题{{B}}TEXT D{{/B}}
Going Forth, The Nations Multiply
Unevenly Despite wars, famines, and epidemics, Earth's
population is booming ahead to new records--with no end insight.
Every day, the world adds enough people to populate a medium-sized city in
the US. In one month, the number of new world citizens equals the population of
New York City. Every year, there are 90 million more mouths to feed, more than
the total population of Germany. Several factors are propelling
this rapid growth, including an element that is often overlooked: the huge
number of teenagers who are becoming mothers, particularly in the countries of
sub-Saharan Africa. In four African nations-- Niger, Mali, Sierra Leone, and
Ivory Coast -- 1 out of every 5 adolescent females of child bearing age has a
baby annually. The US Bureau of the Census says this high rate of motherhood
among teens has helped to maintain the high pace of births across most of the
African continent. By starting a family early, a typical woman is Somalia, for
instance, has seven children during her lifetime. Equally large families are the
rule in Zambia, Zaire, Uganda, Mauritania, Mali, Malawi, and Ethiopia.
The current record-holder for fertility is strife-tom Rwanda, where a
typical mother has at least eight or nine children. While population experts
often focus on Africa's problems, analysts note that teenaged mothers are also
far more prevalent in the United States than in France, Germany, Italy, Sweden,
or Britain. This issue --" babies having babies" -- has recently
gained prominence in the US. Teenaged motherhood in the US has fueled an
expansion of the state federal welfare system and brought cries for welfare
reform from lawmakers. With its high rate of teen births, the US
now ranks alongside Indonesia and parts of South America, and only modestly
ahead of Mexico, India, and Pakistan. Overall, the fertility
rate among Americans remains relatively low at 2.1 births per woman--about the
replacement level. Although the US population is expected to climb steadily,
from 260 million today to 323 million by 2020, most of that growth will court
from immigration. The Census Bureau estimates that in Haiti,
where thousands of citizens are trying to flee to the US because of military
oppression and poverty, AIDS will cut the annual growth rate during the next 25
years from 2.1 percent to 1.3 percent. The decline in growth is
even sharper in the Central African Republic, where rates will dip from 2.4
percent to 0.7 percent, hi Thailand which already had low birth rates, AIDS will
drive population downward to 0.8 percent a year. In the 16 countries that are
hit hardest, AIDS will lower populations by 121 million over expected
projections by 2020. In Africa, the impact of AIDS is so great that trends
toward longer life spans during the past 40 years are being reversed. Some
nations will suffer declines in average life spans of 10 to 30 years compared
with expected life spans without AIDS. In the US, where AIDS is
also a substantial problem, the impact will be lower because the disease is
mostly limited to homosexuals and drug users, says Peter Way, a Census Bureau
researcher. In many African nations, AIDS is prevalent among the heterosexual
population, which sharply boosts infant mortality. A compelling
chapter in the research deals with aging. Today the median age in developed
countries is 35, and in developing nations are only 23. By 2020, the
corresponding figures will be 42 and 28. Today there are fewer adults over 60
(525 million) than children under 5 (636 million). As the world population ages,
by 2020 the number over 60 will be more than 1 billion, while those under 5 will
total 717 million.
单选题A linguistic study is ______ if it describes and analyses facts observed.
单选题What does a man do when he cannot get exactly what he wants?
单选题Which of the following is NOT a case in English?
单选题 While no woman has been President of the United
States,yet the world does have several thousand years' worth of experience with
female leaders. And I have to acknowledge it: Their historical record puts men's
to shame. A notable share of the great leaders in history have
been women: Queen Hatshepsut and Cleopatra of Egypt,Empress Wu Zetian of
China,Isabella of Castile,Queen Elizabeth I of England,Catherine the Great of
Russia,and Maria Theresa of Austria. Granted,I'm neglecting the likes of Bloody
Mary,but it's still true that those women who climbed to power in monarchies had
an astonishingly high success rate. Research by political'
psychologists points to possible explanations. Scholars find that women,compared
with men,tend to excel in consensus-building and certain other skills useful in
leadership. If so,why have female political leaders been so much less impressive
in the democratic era? Margaret Thatcher was a transformative figure,but women
have been mediocre prime ministers or presidents in countries like Sri
Lanka,India,Bangladesh,Pakistan,the Philippines and Indonesia. Often,they
haven't even addressed the urgent needs of women in those countries.
I have a pet theory about what's going on. In
monarchies,women who rose to the top dealt mostly with a narrow elite,so they
could prove themselves and get on with governing. But in democracies in the
television age,female leaders also have to navigate public prejudices and
these make democratic politics far more challenging for a woman than for a
man. In one common experiment,the "Goldberg paradigm," people
are asked to evaluate a particular article or speech,supposedly by a man. Others
are asked to evaluate the identical presentation,but from a woman. Typically,in
countries all over the world,the very same words are rated higher coming from a
man. In particular,one lesson from this research is that
promoting their own successes is a helpful strategy for ambitious men. But
experiments have demonstrated that when women highlight their
accomplishments,that's a turn-off. And women seem even more offended by
self-promoting females than men are. This creates a huge
challenge for ambitious women in politics or business: If they're
self-effacing,people find them unimpressive,but if they talk up their
accomplishments,they come across as. pushy braggarts. The
broader conundrum is that for women,but not for men,there is a tradeoff in
qualities associated with top leadership. A woman can be perceived as competent
or as likable,but not both. "It's an uphill struggle,to be
judged both a good woman and a good leader,"said Rosabeth Moss Kanter,a Harvard
Business School professor who is an expert on women in leadership. Professor
Kanter added that a pioneer in a man's world,like Hillary Rodham Clinton,also
faces scrutiny on many more dimensions than a man--witness the public debate
about Mrs. Clinton's allegedly "thick ankles,"or the headlines last year about
cleavage. Clothing and appearance generally matter more for
women than for men,research shows. Surprisingly,several studies have found that
it's actually a disadvantage for a woman to be physically attractive when
applying for a managerial job. Beautiful applicants received lower
ratings,apparently because they were subconsciously pegged as stereotypically
female and therefore unsuited for a job as a boss. Female
leaders face these impossible judgments all over the world. An M. I. T.
economist,Esther Duilo,looked at India,which has required female leaders in
one-third of village councils since the mid-1990s. Professor Duflo and her
colleagues found that by objective standards,the women ran the villages better
than men. For example,women constructed and maintained wells better,and took
fewer bribes. Yet ordinary villagers themselves judged the
women as having done a worse job,and so most women were not re-elected. That
seemed to result from simple prejudice. Professor Duflo asked villagers to
listen to a speech,identical except that it was given by a man in some cases and
by a woman in others. Villagers gave the speech much lower marks when it was
given by a woman. Such prejudices can be overridden after
voters actually see female leaders in action. While the first ones received
dismal evaluations,the second round of female leaders in the villages were rated
the same as men. "Exposure reduces prejudice," Professor Duflo
suggested. Women have often quipped that they have to be twice
as good as men to get anywhere--but that,fortunately,is not difficult. In
fact,it appears that it may be difficult after all. Modern democracies may
empower deep prejudices and thus constrain female leaders in ways that ancient
monarchies did not.
单选题{{B}}TEXT B{{/B}}
Languages will continue to diverge.
Even if English were to become the universal language, it would still take many
different forms. Indeed the same could happen to English as has happened to
Chinese: a language of intellectuals which doesn't vary hugely alongside a large
number of variants used by local peoples. We will continue to
teach other languages in some form, and not just for reasons of practicality.
Learning a language is good for your mental health; it forces you to understand
another cultural and intellectual system. So I hope British education will
develop a more rational approach to the foreign languages available to students
in line with their political importance. Because so many people believe it's no
longer important to know another language, I fear that time devoted to language
teaching in schools may well continue to decline. But you can argue that
learning another language well is more taxing than, say, learning to play chess
well—it involves sensitivity to a set of complicated rules, and also to
context. Technology will certainly make a difference to the use
of foreign languages. Computers may, for instance, alleviate the drudgery that a
vast translation represents. But no one who has seen a computer translation will
think it can substitute for knowledge of the different languages. A machine will
always be behind the times. Still more important is the fact that no computer
will ever get at the associations beyond the words associations that may not be
expressed but which carry much of the meaning. In' languages like Arabic that
context is very important. Languages come with heavy cultural baggage too—in
French or German if you missed the cultural references behind a word you're very
likely to be missing the meaning. It will be very hard to teach all that to a
computer. All the predictions are that English will be spoken by
a declining proportion of the world's population in the 21st century. I don't
think foreign languages will really become less important, but they might be
perceived to be—and that would in the end be a very bad
thing.
单选题{{I}} Questions 7 and 8 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the news.{{/I}}
单选题So far, inflation is roaring in only a few sectors of the economy. While platinum has soared 121 percent, soybeans have risen 115 percent, and an index of Real Estate Investment Trusts has climbed 42 percent since May 2001, the consumer price index (CPI) has gone up only 4.2 percent during the same period. The challenge is figuring out what happens next. Astute investors are asking two questions: 1) Will the dollar continue to decline? 2) Which assets will continue to inflate? The value of the dollar matters because much of what Americans buy comes from abroad. And in the past two years, the dollar has been slipping badly: down some 25 percent against a basket of foreign currencies, including the euro and the yen. That makes imported goods more expensive. If the dollar falls further, the rise in prices could boost inflation. And that's exactly what some analysts predict. "This is not a run-of-the-mill problem where the currency corrects 25 percent" then stabilizes, says David Tice, Dallas-based manager of the Prudent Global Income Fund. "We have an economy that's very dependent upon ever-increasing amounts of debt. Look at borrowing in this country for automobiles and housing. At the federal level, we are creating credit as if it is going out of style. Given that, we think the dollar can decline substantially more from here." That's why Mr. Tice's income fund has invested in government bonds in countries that are major trading partners of the US. These bonds tend to increase in value as the dollar weakens. There are other ways for investors to protect themselves from inflation. For example: TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities) are US government bonds that increase both principal and interest payments in line with the CPI/U, which measures prices for urban dwellers. Thus, if the price of consumer goods goes up, TIPS owners get a boost in their rate of return. That's a level of inflation protection that most bonds and money-market funds don't provide. Still, there are no guarantees. If real interest rates rise faster than inflation, TIPS can lose value if they're not held to maturity. "TIPS have generally been less volatile than traditional bonds," but investors have already seen periods when their inflation-protection doesn't match the actual rise in prices, warns Duane Cabrera, head of the personal financial planning group at Vanguard, based in Valley Forge, Pa. For example, the year-over-year change in the CPI/U is running about 1.9 percent, be points out, but college costs have been rising about 5 percent annually. Investors should also discuss the tax consequences with their investment advisers, Mr. Cabrera notes. On the stock front, investors can also turn to natural-resource stocks or mutual funds that invest in them. A slightly more exotic option: exchange-traded funds, which act like mutual funds but trade like stocks. Commodities offer another avenue for profit during inflationary times. Individual investors probably want to avoid commodity trading, often a wild and woolly experience. But certain mutual funds offer share holders a chance to profit when commodity prices go up. The PIMCO Commodity Real Return Fund, for example, provides exposure to the performance of the Dow-Jones AIG Commodity Index while generating income from TIPS. Another option: the Oppenheimer Real Asset Fund, which is actively managed and tracks the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index. There's no clear winner between these stock funds and the commodities their companies have invested in. When commodity prices are falling, natural-resource firms can protect themselves by hedging their risks, says Kevin Baum, portfolio manager of the Oppenheimer Real Asset Fund. On the other band, hedging may keep them from benefiting when commodity prices rise. And the stocks can be more volatile than the commodities themselves. Gold funds typically are three times more volatile than the price of gold itself. Sometimes, the commodities and funds tied to those commodities move in opposite directions, Mr. Baum says. PIMCO's Mr. Harris is quick to note that many commodity prices have been soaring. So the key question is: Which ones will continue to rise in price? Individual investors should maintain strict discipline when they pick commodities funds, he says;
单选题At what age should people be introduced to jogging as an exercise?