单选题The word "contingencies" in the 5th paragraph means ______.

单选题In this passage, the word "buoyant' in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to the word ______.

单选题{{B}}Passage 4{{/B}} Scientists claim that air pollution causes a decline in the world's average air temperature. In order to prove that theory, ecologists have turned to historical data in relation to especially huge volcanic eruptions. They suspect that volcanoes effect weather changes that are similar to air pollution. One source of information is the effect of the eruption of Tambora, a volcano in Sumbawa, the Dutch East Indies, in April 1815. The largest recorded volcanic eruption, Tambora threw 150 million tons of fine ash into the stratosphere. The ash from a volcano spreads worldwide in a few days and remains in the air for years, It’s effect is to mm incoming solar radiation into space and thus cool the earth. For example, records of weather in England show that between April and November 1815, the average temperature had fallen 4.50 ℃. During the next twenty-four months, England suffered one of the coldest periods of its history. Farmers' records from April 1815 to December 1818 indicate frost throughout the spring and summer and sharp decreases in crop and livestock markets. Since there was a time lag of several years between causes and effect, by the time the world agricultural commodity community had deteriorated, no one realized the cause. Ecologists today warn that we face a twofold menace. The ever-present possibility of volcanic eruptions, such as that of Mt St Helens in Washington, added to man's pollution of the atmosphere with oil, gas, coal, and other polluting substances, may bring increasingly colder weather.

单选题In what respect was Kohoutek a disappointment?

单选题The writer believes that reading by the computer is advisable chiefly because

单选题As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Universal human rights begin in small places, close to home. " And Tolerance. org, a Web site from the Southern Poverty Law Center, is helping parents across the country create homes in which tolerance and understanding are guiding themes. "The goal of nurturing open-minded, empathetic children is a challenging one," says Jennifer Holladay, director of Tolerance. org. "To cultivate tolerance, parents have to instill in children a sense of empathy, respect and responsibility--to oneself and to others--as well as the recognition that every person on earth is a treasure. " Holladay offers several ways parents can promote tolerance: Talk about tolerance. Tolerance education is an ongoing process; it cannot be captured in a single moment. Establish a high comfort level for open dialogue about social issues. Let children know that no subject is taboo. Identify intolerance when children are exposed to it. Point out stereotypes and cultural misinformation depicted in movies, TV shows, computer games and other media. Challenge bias when it comes from friends and family members. Do not let the moment pass. Begin with a qualified statement: "Andrew just called people of XYZ faith 'lunatics. ' What' do you think about that, Zoe?" Let children do most of the talking. Challenge intolerance when it comes from your children. When a child says or does something that reflects biases or embraces stereotypes, confront the child: "What makes that joke funny, Jerome?" Guide the conversation toward internalization of empathy and respect--"Mimi uses a walker, honey. How do you think she would feel about that joke?" or "How did you feel when Robbie made fun of your glasses last week?" Support your children when they are the victims of intolerance. Respect children's troubles by acknowledging when they become targets of bias. Don't minimize the experience. Provide emotional support and then brainstorm constructive responses. For example, develop a set of comebacks to use when children are the victims of name-calling. Create opportunities for children to interact with people who are different from them. Look critically at how a child defines "normal". Expand the definition. Visit playgrounds where a variety of children are present--people of different races, socioeconomic backgrounds, family structures, etc. Encourage a child to spend time with elders--grandparents, for example. Encourage children to call upon community resources. A child who is concerned about world hunger can volunteer at a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter. The earlier children interact with the community, the better. This will help convey the lesson that we are not islands unto ourselves. Model the behavior you would like to see. As a parent and as your child's primary role model, be consistent in how you treat others. Remember, you may say, "Do as I say, not as I do," but actions really do speak louder than words.

单选题Reading to oneself is modem activity which was almost unknown to the scholars of the classical and medieval (between AD 1100 and 1500) worlds, while during the fifteenth century the term "reading" undoubtedly meant reading aloud. Only during the nineteenth century did silent reading become commonplace. One should be careful, however, in assuming that silent reading came about simply because reading aloud is distraction to others. Examination of factors related to the historical development of silent reading reveals that it became the usual mode of reading for most adult reading tasks mainly because the tasks themselves changed in character. The last century saw a steady gradual increase in literacy, and thus in the number of readers. As readers increased, so the number of potential listeners decreased, and thus there was some reduction in the need to read aloud. As reading for the benefit of listeners grew less common, so came the flourishing of reading as a private activity in such public places as libraries, railway carriages and offices, where reading aloud would cause distraction to other readers. Towards the end of the century there was still considerable argument over whether books should be used for information or treated respectfully, and over whether the reading of materials such as newspapers was in some way mentally weakening. Indeed this argument remains with us still in education. However, whatever its virtues, the old shared literacy culture had gone and was replaced by the printed mass media on the one hand and by book and magazines for a specialized readership on the other. By the end of the century students were being recommended to adopt attitudes to books and to use skills in reading them which were inappropriate, if not impossible, for the oral reader. The social, cultural, and technological changes in the century had greatly altered what the term "reading" implied.

单选题Questions 14-16 are based on the following talk about computer science education in Switzerland.

单选题Nowadays, air travel is very (21) . We are not surprised when we watch on TV that a politician has talked with French President in Paris and attended a meeting in Beijing on the same day. (22) , if a person takes long-distance flying frequently, he can be so tired that he maybe feel his brain is in one country, his (23) in another. (24) , he (25) knows where he is. When we fly from east to west or (26) versa, the (27) we experience after taking a long distance flying is (28) , because we cross time zones. According to doctors, air travelers, after crossing several time zones, are in no (29) to go to work, and they should go (30) to bed (31) arrival. As to airline pilots who often live (32) their own watches and ignore local time, there is no need for them to worry about their health although they sometimes have breakfast at midnight, be cause they are used to (33) and are (34) fit. Many businessmen like long-distance flights, thinking they are (35) to have been chosen and they are out for promotion. They are lucky if the company follows the doctor's advice and al low them to rest for a day or two (36) working. However, sometimes the manager is so energetic that he believes everyone is (37) to be as fit as he is. Since he has never felt (38) after fly ing himself, the work he assigns is so (39) that the employee is too (40) to carry the work out satisfactorily. That is disastrous for the employee's health and the company's reputation.

单选题Questions 17-20 are based on the following passage. You now have 20 seconds to read Questions 17—20.

单选题What does "Heavy, heavy, the feet of Theodore." mean?

单选题 America, unhappily, is bullish on garbage. Our production of refuse, now about 160 million tons a year, will rise to 193 million tons by the end of the century{{U}} (21) {{/U}}nothing is done. This growing effluence of affluence, 3.5 pounds a day for every American, is a{{U}} (22) {{/U}}of our consumer society,{{U}} (23) {{/U}}watchwords are "convenience", "ready to use" and "throw away". And it has become a major national environmental issue. forcing citizens,{{U}} (24) {{/U}}officials and private companies to{{U}} (25) {{/U}}serious thought to rubbish. The contentious reality is that the{{U}} (26) {{/U}}cheap and simple solution to trashdumping it in a landfill just beyond the edge of town{{U}} (27) {{/U}}no longer workable, particularly around major cities. Old dumps, which now get 8% of all garbage, are filling up, end new{{U}} (28) {{/U}}have become virtually{{U}} (29) {{/U}}to build with the result of skyrocketing land costs,{{U}} (30) {{/U}}stringent environmental regulations and shrill public opposition{{U}} (31) {{/U}}new landfills "in my backyard". "Five years from now,"{{U}} (32) {{/U}}Bruce Waddle. director of the Environmental Protection Agency's municipal-solid-waste program, "we'll have only half the number of landfills operating." With this grim prospect, new methods are required, all variations on the only four ways available to deal{{U}} (33) {{/U}}garbage: bury it, burn it, recycle it or don't make as{{U}} (34) {{/U}}in the first place. What's needed, experts say, is sophisticated{{U}} (35) {{/U}}fallout, called "integrated waste management" An{{U}} (36) {{/U}}valuable items are sorted out of the waste stream and turned{{U}} (37) {{/U}}new products, and the rest are burned cleanly in a furnace that also produces steam to{{U}} (38) {{/U}}electricity. Only the ash,{{U}} (39) {{/U}}of the original volume of trash, is then disposed{{U}} (40) {{/U}}in carefully engineered landfills.

单选题Why are some African-American couples today still choosing jumping the broom as part of their wedding ceremony?