单选题Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show?A. A new type of robot. C. Family budget planning.B. Racist hatred. D. Street violence.

单选题How long did Charles Darwin spend on his first sea voyage in Beagle?

单选题In recent years a new farming revolution has begun, one that involves the (21) of life at a fundamental level — the gene. The study of genetics has (22) a new industry called biotechnology. As the name suggests, it (23) biology and modem technology through such techniques as genetic engineering. Some of the new biotech companies specialize (24) agriculture and are working feverishly to duplicate seeds that give a high yield, that (25) diseases, drought and frost, and that reduce the need for (26) chemicals. (27) such goals could be achieved, it would be most beneficial. But some have raised concerns about genetically engineered crops. In nature, genetic diversity is created within certain space. A rose (28) be crossed with a different kind of rose, but a rose will never cross with a potato. Genetic engineering, (29) , usually involves taking genes from one species and inserting them into (30) in an attempt to transfer a desired characteristic. This could mean, (31) , selecting a gene which leads to the production of a chemical with anti-freeze quality from an arc- tic fish, and inserting (32) into a potato or strawberry to make it frost-resistant. In essence, then, biotechnology allows humans to (33) the genetic walls that separate species. Like the green revolution, (34) some call the gene revolution contributes to the problem of genetic uniformity — some say even more so that geneticists can employ techniques (35) as cloning and (36) culture, processes that produce perfectly (37) copies. Concerns about the erosion of biodiversity, therefore, (38) . Genetically altered plants, however, raise new issues, such as the effects that they may have (39) us and the environment. "We are flying blindly into a new era of agricultural biotechnology with high hopes, few constraints, and (40) idea of the potential outcomes," said science writer Jeremy Rifkin.

单选题Overshadowed by rows over Nigeria and Lockerbie, the Commonwealth"s attempts to refocus on trade and investment—the main theme of the Edinburgh heads of government meeting—attracted little attention and even less praise. Hopes were high that the summit"s economic statement would be of similar weight to the Harare Declaration, issued in 1991 to map out a political agenda for the ex-colonial club after the end of its preoccupation with the struggle against separateness. But the publication of the statement did little to divert attention from rows over the trial of two Lockerbie bomb suspects and over the decision by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMag) not to impose new sanctions against Nigeria. CMag chose to ignore calls for Nigeria"s expulsion and the imposition of an oil embargo. They concluded that the situation would be reassessed if General Sani Abacha failed to honor his promise to hold fully democratic elections next October. The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, was delighted with the six-page document, entitled Promoting Shared Prosperity. "It signals the end of ideology and reflects basic principles of economic and social justice," Downing Street said. "It would have been unthinkable only a short time ago." But the declaration produced few surprises and many boring repetitions of statements based on affirmation of free market principles in the global economy. It was never going to be easy to bridge gaps between the Commonwealth"s 54 members, which include both wealthy countries, such as Britain, and some of the world"s poorest, such as Bangladesh. So Edinburgh stayed on safe ground, establishing four key principles: 1) The world economy should be geared towards promoting universal growth and prosperity for all; 2) There must be effective participation by all countries in economic decision-making; 3) The removal of obstacles that prevent developing countries from playing a full part in shaping the global economy; 4) International regimes affecting economic relations among nations should provide benefits for all. Caribbean members insisted on a reference to their troubles over banana exports threatened by a new World Trade Organization ruling, and won recognition of their "legitimate interests" and the need for help to diversify their economies. Practical measures included a decision to establish a Commonwealth Trade and Investment Access Facility to help developing countries take advantage of globalization. One additional source of revenue was opened up with the creation of a new fund for development in South Asian member countries. The Worldwide Fund for Nature said the Commonwealth had not matched its rhetoric about the dangers of globalisation by failing to promise higher-quality investment, protection for the environment and labour rights.

单选题What's the author's attitude towards foreign investment?

单选题It can be inferred from the passage that Mann believe that America as an empire built on military domination alone will not succeed because ______.

单选题______ we need more practice is quite clear. A. Which B. What C. That D. /

单选题Read the following text. Choose the best word or phrase marked A, B, C or D for each numbered blank. The idea that some groups of people may be more intelligent than others is one of those hypotheses that dare not speak its name. But Gregory Cochran is {{U}} {{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}}to say it anyway. He is that {{U}} {{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}}bird, a scientist who works independently {{U}} {{U}} 3 {{/U}} {{/U}}any institution. He helped popularize the idea that some diseases not {{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}thought to have a bacterial cause were actually infections, which aroused much controversy when it was first suggested. {{U}} {{U}} 5 {{/U}} {{/U}}he, however, might tremble at the {{U}} {{U}} 6 {{/U}} {{/U}}of what he is about to do. Together with another two scientists, he is publishing a paper which not only {{U}} {{U}} 7 {{/U}} {{/U}}that one group of humanity is more intelligent than the others, but explains the process that has brought this about. The group in {{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}are a particular people originated from central Europe. The process is natural selection. This group generally do well in IQ test, {{U}} {{U}} 9 {{/U}} {{/U}}12—15 points above the {{U}} {{U}} 10 {{/U}} {{/U}}value of 100, and have contributed {{U}} {{U}} 11 {{/U}} {{/U}}to the intellectual and cultural life of the West, as the {{U}} {{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}of their elites, including several world-renowned scientists, {{U}} {{U}} 13 {{/U}} {{/U}}They also suffer more often than most people from a number of nasty genetic diseases, such as breast cancer. These facts, {{U}} {{U}} 14 {{/U}} {{/U}}, have previously been thought unrelated. The former has been {{U}} {{U}} 15 {{/U}} {{/U}}to social effects, such as a strong tradition of {{U}} {{U}} 16 {{/U}} {{/U}}education. The latter was seen as a (n) {{U}} {{U}} 17 {{/U}} {{/U}}of genetic isolation. Dr. Cochran suggests that the intelligence and diseases are intimately {{U}} {{U}} 18 {{/U}} {{/U}}His argument is that the unusual history of these people has {{U}} {{U}} 19 {{/U}} {{/U}}them to unique evolutionary pressures that have resulted in this {{U}} {{U}} 20 {{/U}} {{/U}}state of affairs.

单选题He is taller than ______ in his class. [A] the other boy [B] other boy [C] the other boys

单选题Sincethedawnofhumaningenuity,peoplehavedevisedevermorecunningtoolstocopewithworkthatisdangerous,boring,burdensome,orjustplainnasty.Thatcompulsionhasresultedinrobotics-thescienceofconferringvarioushumancapabilitiesonmachines.Andifscientistshaveyettocreatethemechanicalversionofsciencefiction,theyhavebeguntocomeclose.Asaresult,themodemworldisincreasinglypopulatedbyintelligentgizmoswhosepresencewebarelynoticebutwhoseuniversalexistencehasremovedmuchhumanlabor.Ourfactorieshumtotherhythmofrobotassemblyarms.Ourbankingisdoneatautomatedtellerterminalsthatthankuswithmechanicalpolitenessforthetransaction.Oursubwaytrainsarecontrolledbytirelessrobotdrivers.Andthankstothecontinualminiaturizationofelectronicsandmicromechanics,therearealreadyrobotsystemsthatcanperformsomekindsofbrainandbonesurgerywithsubmillimeteraccuracy-fargreaterprecisionthanhighlyskilledphysicianscanachievewiththeirhandsalone.Butifrobotsaretoreachthenextstageoflaborsavingutility,theywillhavetooperatewithlesshumansupervisionandbeabletomakeatleastafewdecisionsforthemselves-goalsthatposearealchallenge."Whileweknowhowtotellarobottohandleaspecificerror,"saysDaveLa-very,managerofaroboticsprogramatNASA,"wecan'tyetgivearobotenough'commonsense'toreliablyinteractwithadynamicworld."Indeedthequestfortrueartificialintelligencehasproducedverymixedresults.Despiteaspellofinitialoptimisminthe1960sand1970swhenitappearedthattransistorcircuitsandmicroprocessorsmightbeabletocopytheactionofthehumanbrainbytheyear2010,researcherslatelyhavebeguntoextendthatforecastbydecadesifnotcenturies.Whattheyfound,inattemptingtomodelthought,isthatthehumanroughlyonehundredbillionnervecellsaremuchmoretalented-andhumanperceptionfarmorecomplicated-thanpreviouslyimagined.Theyhavebuiltrobotsthatcanrecognizetheerrorofamachinepanelbyafractionofamillimeterinacontrolledfactoryenvironment.Butthehumanmindcanglimpsearapidlychangingsceneandimmediatelydisregardthe98percentthatisirrelevant,instantaneouslyfocusingonthemonkeyatthesideofawindingforestroadorthesinglesuspiciousfaceinabigcrowd.ThemostadvancedcomputersystemsonEarthcan'tapproachthatkindofability,andneuroscientistsstilldon'tknowquitehowwedoit.

单选题 {{I}} Questions 1446 are bused on the following dialogue. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 14--16.{{/I}}

单选题Which of the following is made by craft production?

单选题In the past decade, new scientific developments in communications have changed the way many people gather information about politics. The most important of these new (21) is the Internet. Recent research suggests the use of the Internet for political information increases the (22) of participation. While a(n) (23) relationship between Internet news and political participation has been found, a theoretical link as to why the Internet is (24) from other media forms is largely (25) This research is an attempt to (26) the "black-box" linking the Internet and political participation by building on two theoretical (27) The first, surge and decline theory, comes out of political science and the second, media systems dependency theory, (28) from communications. Both explanations focus on individual costs and benefits of political participation. The media can (29) the "costs" by providing sufficient information to make (30) decisions about voting. Previous research (31) that the Internet benefits the public through the cost side of the equation. One of the media's greatest (32) is information and the public (33) on media to provide them with the information they need. (34) the Internet is capable of providing information (35) , and from a multitude of sources, one would expect it to (36) . political action through lowering the cost of information. Besides lowering participation costs, the media can (37) increase the benefits of participation. Intense media (38) of an event such as an election can (39) excitement that increases the perceived "benefit" of participating. The Internet may encourage a unique participation benefit (40) increased mobilization efforts.

单选题Questions 11～13 are based on the following life story about a musician named Itzhak Perlman. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 11～13.

单选题The Earth"s Spreading Deserts Only a generation ago, Mauritania"s capital city was many days" walk from the Sahara. Today it is in the Sahara. The sand blows through the city streets and piles up against walls and fences. The desert stretches out as far as the eye can see. In some parts of the Amazon rain forest in Brazil, all the trees have been cut down. The earth lies bare and dry in the hot sun. Nothing grows there any more. Over vast areas of every continent, the rainfall and vegetation necessary for life are disappearing. Already more than 40 percent of the earth"s land is desert or desert-like. About 628 million people—one out of seven—live in these dry regions. In the past, they have managed to survive, but with difficulty. Now, largely through problems caused by modern life, their existence is threatened by the slow, steady spread of the earth"s deserts. Many countries first became concerned in the 1970s after a terrible drought and famine destroyed Africa"s Sahel, the fragile desert along the south edge of the Sahara. Thousands of people died even though there was a worldwide effort to send food and medicine to the starving people. Droughts and crop failures are not new in desert regions. They have been a fact of life for thousands of years. However, few people lived in desert regions in the past. They kept few animals, and they moved frequently. Today"s problems are caused in great part by distinctly modern factors. In the Sahel, for example, Africans benefited from improvements in public health and modern farming methods. New water wells encouraged people to settle down on the land near the wells. The population grew. Farmers planted more crops and enlarged their herds of cattle, sheep and goats. They became dependent on the new wells. When the drought came, the crops failed and the cattle ate all the grass around the overworked wells. The fragile land quickly lost its topsoil and became nothing but sand and dust. Many countries are experiencing similar problems. Poor land is farmed until it is worn out, and trees are cut for firewood, leaving the soil unprotected against wind and rain. In Peru, Chile, and Brazil, some areas that once were covered with forests now look like the moon. In India, some land has been so badly damaged by farming and tree cutting that mud now slides into the Indus and Ganges rivers. Cattle, sheep, and goats add to the problem by eating grass and other plants faster than they can grow back. In the United States, some highly populated areas are really desert. Water must be piped in from hundreds of miles away. Scientists still do not understand all the complex problems of the desert; but there have been many ideas for saving the land. Saudi Arabia has planted 10 million trees to help keep the sand from taking over fertile areas. The Israelis are again using some of the water collection systems left by the ancient peoples in the Negev desert. They plan to water their orchards with the extra water. Some Sahel farmers still raise cattle on their poor farm land, but before the cattle are sold, they are taken to greener lands in the south to get fat. The spread of the deserts affects more countries. The big question today is, how can an expanding world population find food and space without destroying the land it lives on? For many countries, battling the desert is the only chance to avoid starvation and disaster.