单选题
Questions 14~16 are based
on a talk about graffiti, an art form for some people or violence for others.
You now have 15 seconds to read Questions
14~16.
单选题Paul Johnson's A History Of The American People is what we have come to expect from this productive writer—clear, colorful narrative, vivid character sketches, marvelous research, sweeping, confident statements, and an insistent conservative viewpoint which tempts him into serious omissions. He will not conceal his opinions, he tells us. Good. Then we can judge his history free of pretences to objectivity—his or ours. Almost at start, we notice something interesting: Johnson passes quickly over a defining moment in American history—the Columbus story—important because it is the first lesson every American schoolchild learns. How you treat that story—what you choose to tell of it—signals your view of the longer American experience, reaching to our time. In school textbooks, Columbus has always been presented as a hero. Only recently has a new set of facts—always available but ignored—begun to get into public attention: that Columbus, on landing, and desperate for gold, encountered native Americans who were peaceful and generous (by his own admission) and tortured them, kidnapped them, enslaved them, murdered them. Johnson, who goes into much detail about other matters (like Ronald Reagan's jokes) is silent on this. Among his numerous references there is none to Bartolome de las Casas, an eyewitness, who described in detail the horrifying evils committed by Columbus and his fellowmen against the Indians, which resulted in the native population of Hispaniola being wiped out—genocide is an appropriate term—by the year 1550. I suggest this is not an innocent omission. Johnson wants us to look positively on the history of the United States. Yes, he says, there were "severe wrongs" committed in "the dispossession of a native people" and in the institution of slavery. But has the US, he asks at the start of his book, "made up for its organic sins"? His whole book suggests that it has, and that in doing so it has become (he says at the end) "a human achievement without parallel.., the first, best hope for the human race . Since Johnson has decided that the US is "the first, best hope for the human race", he has shaped its history accordingly. If we prefer to see that history as a complex and unfinished struggle of Americans for justice, against militarism, for economic, racial and sexual equality, we are badly served by a flattering admiration of those in power, pretending to be a history of "the people".
单选题We had to be patient because it ______ some time ______ we got the
full results.
A. has been; since
B. had been; until
C. was; after
D. would be; before
单选题[1] The low hedge, where the creepers climbed, divided the lawn and its magnificent Wellingtonias from the meadow. There was little grass to be seen, for it was at this time one vast profusion of delicate ixias of every bright and tender shade. [2] The evening was still, and the air heavy with scent. In a room opening upon the veranda wreathed with white-and-scarlet passion-flowers, where she could see the garden and the meadow, and, beyond all, the Mountain Beautiful, lay a sick woman. Her dark face was lovely as an autumn leaf is lovely — hectic with the passing life. Her eyes wandered to the upper snows of the mountain, from time to time resting upon the brown-haired English girl who sat on a low stool by her side, holding the frail hand in her cool, firm clasp. [3] The invalid was speaking; her voice was curiously sweet, and there was a peculiarity about the "s" , and an occasional turn of the sentence, which told the listener that her English was an acquired language. [4] "I am glad he is not here, "she said slowly. "I do not want him to have pain. " [5] "'But perhaps, Mrs. Denison, you will be much better in a day or two, and able to welcome him when he comes back." [6] "No, I shall not be here when he comes back, and it is just as it should be. I asked him to turn round as he left the garden, and I could see him, oh, so well! He looked kind and so beautiful, and he waved to me with his hand. Now he will come back, and he will be sad. He did not want to leave me, but the governor sent for him. He will be sad, and he will remember that I loved him, and some day he will be glad again. " She smiled into the troubled face near her. [7] The girl stroked the thick dark hair lovingly. [8] "Don't, " she implored; "it hurts me. You are better tonight, and the children are coming in. "Mrs. Denison closed her eyes, and with her left hand she covered her face. [9] "No, not the children . "she whispered, "not my darlings. I cannot bear it. I must see them no more. " She pressed her companion's hand with a sudden close pressure. "But you will help them, Alice; you will make them English like you — like him. We will not pretend tonight; it is not long that I shall speak to you. I ask you to promise mc to help them to be English." [10] "Dear, "the girl urged, "they are such a delicious mixture of England and New Zealand — prettier, sweeter than any mere English child could ever be. They are enchanting. " [11] But into the dying woman's eyes leaped an eager flame. [12] "They must all be English, no Maori!" she cried. A violent fit of coughing interrupted her, and when the paroxysm was over she was too exhausted to speak. The English nurse, Mrs. Bentley, an elderly Yorkshire woman, who had been with Mrs. Denison since her first baby came six years ago, and who had, in fact, been Horace Denison's own nurse-maid, came in and sent the agitated girl into the garden. "For you haven't had a breath of fresh air today, "she said. [13] At the door Alice turned. The large eyes were resting upon her with an intent and solemn regard, in which lay a message, "What was it?" she thought, as she passed through the wide hall sweet with flowers. "She wanted to say something; I am sure she did. Tomorrow I will ask her." But before the morrow came she knew. Mrs. Dennison had said good-bye. [14] The funeral was over. Mr. Denison, who had looked unaccountably ill and weary for months, had been sent home by Mr. Danby for at least a year's change and rest, and the doctor's young sister had yielded to various pressure, and promised to stay with the children until he returned. There was every reason for it. As for Mr. Denison, he was pathetically grateful and relieved when Alice promised to remain.
单选题 Questions 11--13 are based on the following dialogue. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 11--13.
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{{I}} Questions 11--13 are based on the
following passage about the London Marathon. You now have 15 seconds to read
Questions 11--13.{{/I}}
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单选题Questions 14~16 are based on the following dialogue on arranging a holiday. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 14~16.
单选题{{I}} Questions 17~20 are based on the following passage. You now have 20 seconds to read the questions 17~20.{{/I}}
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单选题Questions 17—20 are based on the following passage. You now have 15 seconds to read questions 17—20.
单选题{{B}}Passage 4{{/B}}
We all know that the normal human daily cycle of
activity is some 7—8 hours' sleep alternating with some 16—17 hours' wakefulness
and that, broadly speaking, the sleep normally coincides with the hours of
darkness. Our present concern is how easily and to what extent this cycle can be
modified. The question is no more academic one. The ease, for
example, with which people can change from working in the day to working at
night, is a question of growing importance in industries where automation calls
for round-the-clock working of machines. It normally takes from five days to one
week for a person to adapt to a reversed routine of sleep and wakefulness,
sleeping during the day and working at night. Unfortunately, it is often the
case in industries where shifts are changed every week; a person may work from
12 midnight to 8 a.m. one week, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. the next, and 4 p.m. to 12
midnight the third and soon. This means that no sooner has he got used to one
routine than he has to change to another, so that much of his time is spent
neither working nor sleeping very efficiently. The only real
solution appears to be to hand over the night shift to a number of
permanentnight workers. An interesting study of the domestic life and health
of night-shift workers was carried out by Brown in 1957. She found a high
incidence of disturbed sleep and other disorders among those on alternating day
and night shifts, but no abnormal occurrence of these phenomena among those on
permanent night work. This latter system then appears to be the
best long-term policy, but meanwhile something may be done to relieve the
strains of alternate day and night work by selecting those people who can adapt
most quickly to the changes of routine. One way of knowing when a person has
adapted is by measuring his body temperature. People engaged in normal daytime
work will have a high temperature during the hours of wakefulness and a low one
at night; when they change to night work, the pattern will only gradually go
back to match the new routine and the speed with which it does so parallels,
broadly speaking, the adaptation of the body as a whole, particularly in terms
of performance. Therefore, by taking body temperature at intervals of two hours
throughout the period of wakefulness it can be seen how quickly a person can
adapt to a reversed routine, and this could be used as a basis for selection. So
far, however, such a form of selection does not seem to have been applied in
practice.
单选题{{B}}Passage 3{{/B}}
Society was fascinated by science and
things scientific in the nineteenth century. Great breakthroughs in engineering,
the use of steam power, and electricity were there for all to see, enjoy, and
suffer. Science was fashionable and it is not surprising that, during this great
period of industrial development, scientific methods should be applied to the
activities of man, particularly to those involved in the processes of
production. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, international competition
began to make itself felt. The three industrial giants of the day, Germany,
America, and Great Britain, began to find that there was a limit to the
purchasing power of the previously apparently inexhaustible markets. Science and
competition therefore provided the means and the need to improve industrial
efficiency. Frederick Winslow Taylor is generally acknowledged
as being the father of the scientific management approach, as a result of the
publication of his book, The Principles of Scientific Management, published in
1911. However, numerous other academics and practitioners had been actively
applying such approaches since the beginning of the century. Charles Babbage,
and English academic, well-known for his invention of the mechanical computer
(with the aid of a government grant as long as 1820) applied himself to the
costing of processes, using scientific methods, and indeed might well be
recognized as one of the fathers of cost accounting. Taylor was
of well-to-do background and received an excellent education but, partly owing
to troubles with his eyesight, decided to become an engineering apprentice. He
spent some twenty-five years in the tough, sometimes brutal, environment of the
US steel industry and carefully studied methods of work when he eventually
attained supervisory status. He made various significant innovations in the area
of steel processing, but his claim to fame is through his application of methods
of science to methods of work, and his personal efforts that proved they could
succeed in a hostile environment. In 1901, Taylor left the steel
industry and spent the rest of his life trying to promote the principles of
managing scientifically and emphasizing the human aspects of the method, over
the slave-driving methods common in his day. He died in 1915, leaving a huge
school of followers to promote his approach
worldwide.
单选题New Zealand is just west of the International Date Line, so it is the first country to get ______. A. frozen B. wet C. the new day D. united
单选题
单选题The sentence "Close your book and listen to mc carefully" performs [A] a directive function [B] a phatic function [C] an informative function [D] a performative function
单选题{{B}}Passage 3{{/B}}
Many of the most damaging and
life-threatening types of weather--torrential rains, severe thunderstorms, and
tornadoes--begin quickly, strike suddenly, and dissipate rapidly, devastating
small regions while leaving neighboring areas untouched. One such event, a
tornado, struck the northeastern section of Edmonton, Alberta, in July 1987.
Total damages from the tornado exceeded $ 250 million, the highest ever for any
Canadian storm. Conventional computer models of the atmosphere have limited
value in predicting short-lived local storms like the Edmonton tornado, because
the available weather data are generally not detailed enough to allow computers
to discern the subtle atmospheric changes that precede these storms. In most
nations, for example, weather-balloon observations are taken just once every
twelve hours at locations typically separated by hundreds of miles. With such
limited data, conventional forecasting models do a much better job predicting
general weather conditions over larger regions than they do forecasting specific
local events. Until recently, the observation--intensive
approach needed for accurate, very short-range forecasts, or "Nowcasts", was not
feasible. The cost of equipping and operating many thousands of conventional
weather stations was prohibitively high, and the difficulties involved in
rapidly collecting and processing the raw weather data from such a network were
insurmountable. Fortunately, scientific and technological advances have overcome
most of these problems. Radar systems, automated weather instruments, and
satellites are all capable of making detailed, nearly continuous observation
over large regions at a relatively low cost. Communications satellites can
transmit data around the world cheaply and instantaneously, and modern computers
can quickly compile and analyzing this large volume of weather information.
Meteorologists and computer scientists now work together to design computer
programs and video equipment capable of transforming raw weather data into
words, symbols, and vivid graphic displays that forecasters can interpret easily
and quickly. As meteorologists have begun using these new technologies in
weather forecasting offices, Nowcasting is becoming a
reality.
单选题His father had talked to him for many times while he was watching TV,
but ______.
A. a little did he hear
B. little did he hear
C. little heard he
D. a little heard he
单选题More and more, the operations of our business, governments, and financial institutions are controlled by information that exists only inside computer memories. Anyone clever enough to modify this information for his own purpose can reap substantial rewards. Even worse, a number of people who have done this and been caught at it have managed to get away without punishment. It's easy for computer crimes to go undetected if no one checks up on what the computer is doing. But even if the crime is detected, the criminal may walk away not only unpunished but with a glowing recommendation from his former employers. Of course, we have no statistics in crimes that go undetected. But it's disturbing to note how many of the crimes we don't know about were detected by accident, not by systematic inspections or other security procedures. The computer criminals who have been caught may have been the victims of uncommonly bad luck. For example, a certain keypunch operator complained of having to stay overtime to punch extra cards. Investigation revealed that the extra cards he was being asked to punch were for dishonest transactions. In another case, dissatisfied employees of the thief tipped off the company that was being robbed. Unlike other lawbreakers, who must leave the country, commit suicide, or go to jail, computer criminals sometimes escape punishment, demanding not only that they not be charged but that they be given good recommendations and perhaps other benefits. All too often, their demands have been met. Why? Because company executives are afraid of the bad publicity that would result if the public found out that their computer had been misused. They hesitate at the thought of a criminal boasting in open court how he jugged the most confidential records right under the noses of the company's executives and security staff. And so another computer criminal departs with just the recommendations he needs to continue his crimes elsewhere.
