单选题It is often observed that the aged spend much time thinking and talking about their past lives, rather than about the future. These reminiscences are not simply random or trivial memories, (1) is their purpose merely to make conversation. The old person's recollections of the past help to (2) an identity that is becoming increasingly fragile: (3) any role that brings respect or any goal that might provide (4) to the future, the individual mentions their (5) as a reminder to listeners, that here was a life (6) living. (7) , the memories form part of a continuing life (8) , in which the old person (9) the events and experiences of the years gone by and (10) on the overall meaning of his or her own almost completed life. As the life cycle (11) to its close, the aged must also learn to accept the reality of their own impending death. (12) this task is made difficult by the fact that death is almost a (13) subject in the United States. The mere discussion of death is often regarded as (14) As adults, many of us find the topic frightening and are (15) to think about it and certainly not to talk about it (16) the presence of someone who is dying. Death has achieved this taboo (17) only in the modern industrial societies. There seems to be an important reason for our reluctance to (18) the idea of death; It is the very fact that death remains (19) our control; it is almost the only one of the natural processes (20) is so. Notes: reminiscence n. 回忆 fragile adj. 脆弱的。impending adj. 即将发生的。

单选题Which of the following hold the most important position in the Senate?

单选题In para. 6 the author______.

单选题Halfway through" The Rebel Sell," the authors pause to make fun of" free-range" chicken. Paying over the odds to ensure that dinner was not in a previous life, confined to tiny cages is all well and good. But "a free-range chicken is about as plausible as a sun-loving earthworm": given a choice, chickens prefer to curl up in a nice dark comer of the barn. Only about 15% of "free-range" chickens actually use the space available to them. This is just one case in which Joseph Heath, who teaches philosophy at the University of Toronto, and Andrew Potter, a journalist and researcher based in Montreal, find fault with well-meaning but, in their view, ultimately naive consumers who hope to distance themselves from consumerism by buying their shoes from Mother Jones magazine instead of Nike. Mr Heath and Mr Potter argue that "the counterculture," in all its attempts to be subversive, has done nothing more than create new segments of the market, and thus ends up feeding the very monster of consumerism and conformity it hopes to destroy. In the process, they cover Marx, Freud ,the experiments on obedience of Stanley Milgram, the films" Pleasantville", "The Matrix" and "American Beauty", 15th-century table manners, Norman Mailer, the Unabomber, real-estate prices in central Toronto (more than once ), the voluntary-simplicity movement and the world' s funniest joke. Why range so widely? The authors' beef is with a very small group: left-wing activists who eschew smaller, potentially useful campaigns in favor of grand statements about the hopelessness of consumer culture and the dangers of" selling out". Instead of encouraging useful activities, such as pushing for new legislation, would-be leftists are left to participate in unstructured, pointless demonstrations against" globalization," or buy fair-trade coffee and free-range chicken, which only substitutes snobbery for activism. Two authors of books that railed against brands, Naomi Klein (" No Logo")and Alissa Quart (" Branded"), come in for special derision for diagnosing the problems of consumerism but refusing to offer practical solutions. Anticipating criticism, perhaps ,Messrs Heath and Potter make sure to put forth a few of their own solutions, such as the 35-hour working week and school uniforms (to keep teenagers from competing with each other to wear ever-more-expensive clothes). Increasing consumption, they argue throughout, is not imposed upon stupid workers by overbearing companies, but arises as a result of a cultural" arms race" :each person buys more to keep his standard of living high relative to his neighbors', Imposing some restrictions, such as a shorter working week, might not stop the arms race, but it would at least curb its most offensive excesses. ( This assumes one finds excess consumption offensive; even the authors do not seem entirely sure. ) But on the way to such modest suggestions, the authors want to criticise every aspect of the counterculture, from its disdain for homogenisation, franchises and brands to its political offshoots. As a result, the book wanders: chapters on uniforms and on the search for" cool" could have been cut. Moreover, the authors make the mistake of assuming that the consumers they sympathise with—the ones who buy brands and live in tract houses—know enough to separate themselves from their purchases, whereas the free-trade-coffee buyers swallow the brand messages whole, as it were. Still, it would be a shame if the book' s ramblings kept it from getting read. When it focuses on explaining how the counterculture grew out of post-World War II critiques of modem society, "The Rebel Sell" is a lively read, with enough humour to keep the more theoretical stretches of its argument interesting. At the very least, it puts its finger on a trend: there will be plenty of future critics of capitalism lining up for their free-range chicken.

单选题Henry Kissinger may be the most successful, certainly the most flamboyant, Secretary of State to hold that office in modern times. When he was appointed in the late 1960's, there were no American ties with Communist China, Vietnam and Berlin seemed ready to draw the United States into a third world war, and Russia was seen as "the enemy". But all this has changed, and Henry Kissinger caused much of the change; in 1971, he made his first trip to China, a trip that was the beginning of the current ties between the United States and China. He brought the United States and Russia closer together on major issues by the policy he called "detente", literally meaning a relaxation. His philosophy was always to talk and to bring together. With these two policies, Kissinger did much to draw attention away from any possible Russia-American friction. In 1973 he made his first visit to Egypt. Here he was able to begin U.S. relations with Egypt. He used his contact later to begin the sort of talks that the American press called "shuttle diplomacy". For ninety-nine days, he "shuttled" back and forth on flights between Cairo and Jerusalem to work out a step-by-step withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Sinai desert. His wit, his careful approach to detail, and his presence made "shuttle diplomacy" work. It was the only successful approach to Mid-east peace in the thirty years since the state of Israel was founded. Another major work was the Strategic Arms Limitation Talk. Though his term in office passed with the treaty unsigned, Kissinger left a draft of the treaty to which the Russians had already agreed. The SALT treaty spelled out a one-tenth reduction in nuclear arms, a major accomplishment by any standard, even if one does not consider all the other conditions and limitations included in the treaty. Even though he successfully helped bring an end to the Vietnam War, Kissinger's final days in office were affected, as was the entire executive branch in one way or another, by the scandals of the Nixon White House. Kissinger's critics point to his role in placing wiretaps on the phones of reporters and officials and to what they consider his "high-handed" approach to setting foreign policy. But Kissinger, during the last few months of the Nixon presidency, limited the effects of American domestic problems on our foreign policy. He continued talks in the Middle East. He continued close contact with the Soviet Union. History will decide in the final view, as Kissinger--and many presidents--often said, on the value of his service. Whatever they decide, whether his actions are finally to be considered wise or foolish, he had a personal vision that will be difficult to match. (459 words)Notes: work out 制定。spell out 清楚地说明。wiretap 窃听(电话)。scandal 丑闻。

单选题Shortly after September 11th, President Bush's father observed that just as Pearl Harbor awakened this country from the notion that we could somehow avoid the call of duty to defend freedom in Europe and Asia in World War Two, so, too, should this most recent surprise attack erase the concept in some quarters that America can somehow go it alone in the fight against terrorism or in anything else for that matter. But America's allies have begun to wonder whether that is the lesson that has been learned--or whether the Afghanistan campaign's apparent success shows that unilateralism works just fine. The United States, that argument goes, is so dominant that it can largely afford to go it alone. It is true that no nation since Rome has loomed so large above the others, but even Rome eventually collapsed. Only a decade ago, the conventional wisdom lamented an America in decline. Bestseller lists featured books that described America's fall. Japan would soon become "Number One". That view was wrong at the time, and when I wrote "Bound to Lead" in 1989, I, like others, predicted the continuing rise of American power. But the new conventional wisdom that America is invincible is equally dangerous if it leads to a foreign policy that combines unilateralism, arrogance and parochialism. A number of advocates of "realist" international-relations theory have also expressed concern about America's staying-power. Throughout history, coalitions of countries have arisen to balance dominant powers, and the search for traditional shifts in the balance of power and new state challengers is well under way. Some see China as the new enemy; others envisage a Russia-China-India coalition as the threat. But even if China maintains high growth rates of 6% while the United States achieves only 2%, it will not equal the United States in income per head until the last half of the century. Still others see a uniting Europe as a potential federation that will challenge the United States for primacy. But this forecast depends on a high degree of European political unity, and a low state of transatlantic relations. Although realists raise an important point about the leveling of power in the international arena, their quest for new cold-war-style challengers is largely barking up the wrong tree. They are ignoring deeper changes in the distribution and nature of power in the contemporary world. The paradox of American power in the 21st century is that the largest power since Rome cannot achieve its objectives unilaterally in a global information age.

单选题In the last ten years, the Internet has opened up incredible amounts of information to ordinary citizens. But using the Internet can be like walking into a library where the books are all lying on the floor in piles. While tools like Google allow some structured search, much of the data from such searches is outdated or of questionable value. Some Web enthusiasts, have taken up the task of organizing information through a democratic means that only the Interne t allows: an encyclopedia of the people, by the people, and completely free to copy and distribute. This "people's encyclopedia" of the Web—a free site called Wikipedia—has provided a unique solution by inviting individuals to participate in the process of rationalizing and updating Web content. At the heart of this movement are wikis, Web sites that allow users to directly edit any Web page with one click of the mouse. Wikipedia—the largest example of these collaborative efforts—is a functioning, user-contributed online encyclopedia that has become a popular and highly regarded reference in just three years of existence. The goal of Wikipedia was to create an encyclopedia that could be shared and copied freely while encouraging people to change and improve the content. Each and every article has an "Edit this page" button, allowing anyone, even anonymous passers-by, to add or delete any content on the page. It seems like a recipe for disaster and chaos, but it has produced surprisingly credible content that has been evaluated and revised by the thousands of international visitors to the site. For many, it finally realizes the original concept of World Wide Web creator Tim Berners-Lee—an online environment where people not only browse content, but freely and actively exchange information. The Wikipedia project was started by Jimmy Wales, head of Internet startup Bomis. corn, after his original project for a volunteer, but strictly controlled, free encyclopedia ran out of money and resources after two years. Editors with PhD degrees were at the helm of the project then, but it produced only a few hundred articles. Not wanting the content to languish, Wales placed the pages on a wiki website in January 2001 and invited any Internet visitor to edit or add to the collection. The site became a runaway success in the first year and gained a loyal following, generating over 20,000 articles and spawning over a dozen language translations. After two years, it had 100,000 articles, and in April 2004, it exceeded 250,000 articles in English and 600,000 articles in 50 other languages. Over 2,000 new articles are added each day across all the various languages. And according to website rankings at Alexa. com, it has become more popular than traditional online encyclopedias such as Britannica. com and is one of the top 600 most heavily visited websites on the Internet.

单选题Sometimes we have specific problems with our mother; sometimes, life with her can just be hard work. If there are difficulties in your (1) , it's best to deal with them, (2) remember that any (3) should be done (4) person or by letter. The telephone is not a good (5) because it is too easy (6) either side to (7) the conversation. Explain to her (8) you find difficult in your relationship and then (9) some new arrangements that you think would establish a (10) balance between you. Sometimes we hold (11) from establishing such boundaries because we are afraid that doing (12) implies we are (13) her. We need to remember that being (14) from our mother does not (15) mean that We no longer love her. If the conflict is (16) and you cannot find a way to (17) it, you might decide to give up your relationship with your mother for a while. Some of my patients had (18) "trial separations". The (19) allowed things to simmer down, enabling (20) .

单选题As people age and need more help with daily activities, such as bathing or taking medication, moving to a facility that provides some assistance, without sacrificing independence, may be an option. This type of environment, known as assisted living, has emerged in the past two decades as an increasingly available option for housing and long-term care. The growth of assisted living facilities has leveled off in recent years, however, as the economic downturn hampered new construction and occupancy rates. In 2007, there were approximately 38 000 assisted living facilities nationwide, serving about 975000 residents. The overwhelming majority of assisted living residents in the United States are female, according to the National Center for Assisted Living. One of the most common types of facilities that provide assisted living are called continuing care retirement communities, which offer a stepwise approach to care, says Kerry Peck, an elder law attorney based in Chicago. "The concept is you age in place," meaning you never have to leave the grounds for housing, he says, "You buy an apartment or cottage, and then as your health declines, the facility agrees to provide continuing care. Some of the most successful centers have independent living, then assisted living, then a nursing home for acute care. " But much like deciding whether a nursing home is necessary, the decision to move into an assisted living facility is not an easy one. So what factors should you consider when looking for a place to move to? Mainly, you should think about what activities you or your loved one need help with. People residing in assisted living facilities may need assistance with any number of daily activities, such as bathing, dressing, using the bathroom, cooking or eating. About 87 percent of residents need help preparing meals, for example, and 81 percent need help with managing or taking their medications, reports the NCAL. Most residents come from living in private homes or apartments; fewer come from living with adult children or other family members, from nursing home facilities, retirement or independent living communities, or another assisted living or group home. For some people, however, assisted living may not be an option, mostly for financial reasons. Assisted living facilities cost an average of $ 34 000 annually in 2009, compared to about $ 74 000 per year for a nursing home, according to research published in January in Health Affairs. How this expense is paid varies. Residents can buy into a facility by paying a large, upfront sum of money, followed by smaller monthly assessment fees. Or if the resident opts for a facility where he can rent instead, he would pay monthly for the cost of housing and care. The facilities are also mostly located in areas where home values are higher and people nearby have higher incomes.

单选题At work, as in life, attractive women get a lot of the breaks. Studies have shown that they are more likely to be promoted than their plain-Jane colleagues. Because people tend to project positive traits onto them, such as sensitivity and poise, they may also be at an advantage in job interviews. The only downside to hotness is having to fend off ghastly male colleagues; or so many people think. But research by two Israelis suggests otherwise. Bradley Ruffle at Ben-Gurion University and Ze'ev Shtudiner at Ariel University Centre looked at what happens when job hunters include photos with their curricula vitae, as is the norm in much of Europe and Asia. The pair sent fictional applications to over 2,500 real-life vacancies. For each job, they sent two very similar résumés, one with a photo, one without. Subjects had previously been graded for their attractiveness. For men, the results were as expected. Hunks were more likely to be called for an interview if they included a photo. Ugly men were better off not including one. However, for women this was reversed. Attractive females were less likely to be offered an interview if they included a mugshot. When applying directly to a company (rather than through an agency) an attractive woman would need to send out 11 CVs on average before getting an interview; an equally qualified plain one just seven. At first, Mr Ruffle considered what he calls the "dumb-blonde hypothesis"—that people assume beautiful women to be stupid. However, the photos had also been rated on how intelligent people thought each subject looked; there was no correlation between perceived intellect and pulchritude. So the cause of the discrimination must lie elsewhere. Human resources departments tend to be staffed mostly by women. Indeed, in the Israeli study, 93% of those tasked with selecting whom to invite for an interview were female. The researchers' unavoidable—and unpleasant—conclusion is that old-fashioned jealousy led the women to discriminate against pretty candidates. So should attractive women simply attach photos that make them look dowdy? No. Better, says Mr Ruffle, to discourage the practice of including a photo altogether. Companies might even consider the anonymous model used in the Belgian public sector, where CVs do not even include the candidate's name.

单选题{{B}}Text 3{{/B}} Ask any employee at an level in any company what they dislike about their job and somewhere on the list you will find a complaint about the system of performance appraisals. It does seem strange that an idea which was supposed to benefit both individuals and the company should be so universally disliked, but the staff appraisal is now one of the biggest causes of dissatisfaction at work. In the United States there have even been cases of unhappy workers taking their employers to court over appraisal interviews. It is in a company's interest to combat this situation, but, before reversing the appraisal's negative associations, an organization needs to pinpoint the underlying reasons which have contributed to them. Problems with appraisals can fall into two main areas--those arising from the scheme itself and those arising from the implementation and understanding of that scheme. Naturally it is easier to tackle those in the former category; indeed, some companies have developed schemes following legal guidelines. These guidelines suggest that a successful scheme should have a clear appeal process, that any negative feedback should be accompanied by "evidence" such as dates, times and outcomes and that, most importantly, ratings should reflect specific measurable elements of the job requirements. It is not always necessary to resort to legal advice however. Some changes to current schemes are simply a matter of logic. For instance, if employees are constantly encouraged to work in teams and to assume joint responsibility for their successes and failures, it makes little sense for the appraisals to focus on individuals, as this may lead to resentments and create divisions within the group. It is possible, and in some cases more suitable, to arrange appraisals where performance is rated for the group. Staff also need to be educated about the best way to approach appraisals. Managers often find that they are uncomfortable being asked to take on a more supportive role than they are used to without having had any training. Those being appraised may see it as a chance to air their grievances and highlight the company's failings rather than consider their own role. Both parties view the process as a necessary evil, to be gone through once or twice a year, and then forgotten about. The importance given to the appraisal stems from the fact that, despite all the talk of the interview being a chance for management and employees to come together and exchange ideas, set joint targets and improve the way decisions are reached, the reality is that they are often nothing more than the pretext on which pay rises are given, or not given. Pay is, of course, a subject that always leads to problems. Given the problems associated with staff appraisals, why is it that, with no legal requirement, companies continue to run them? The answer is simple, it is impossible to manage something you know nothing about. As any Human Resources manager can tell you, the best way to learn about someone is to talk to them. Effective people management relies on knowledge and appraisals are still the best way to build up that bank of knowledge.

单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} Do your children lie to you and their friends about their activities online? Do they feel empty, depressed and irritable when not at the computer? Do they have problems with school or work, yet they always seem to feel energized again when they are at the computers surfing the internet? If you answered "yes" to one or even more of the above questions, your children are suffering from internet addiction. The amount of time kids spend online is a source of headaches for many parents. At first, parents welcomed the Internet into their homes, believing they were opening up an exciting new world of educational opportunities for their children. But soon, to their disappointment, instead of using the Internet for homework or research, their kids were spending hours instant chatting with friends, playing online games or even talking to strangers in chat rooms, which is posing real dangers to the children. Maintaining a healthy balance between entertainment media and other activities in children's lives has always been a {{U}}challenge{{/U}} for parents. The Internet has made this challenge even more difficult. The engaging nature of Internet communications and interactive games means many children and teens have trouble controlling the time they spent online. Unfortunately, parents and teachers do not realize that there is a problem until it becomes serious. To make it worse, Internet addiction is not widely recognized by the medical community. (Mental health practitioners continue to debate whether this behavior is an "addiction," with some preferring to identify it as "behavior control problems. Children and young people can easily become "hooked" on online activities such as multi-user games, instant messaging with their pals and chat rooms. The children most easily influenced, according to the Computer-Addiction Services at Harvard Medical School, are those who are "lonely and bored or from families where nobody is at home to relate to after school." Children who are unpopular or shy with peers are often attracted to the opportunities for creating new identities in online communities. Boys, in particular, are frequent users of online role-playing games, where they have new identities and interact with other players. Although playing these games with thousands of other users may appear to be a social activity, for the troubled child or teen, too much playing can further separate them from friends and peers.

单选题An official report, addressing concerns about the many implications of genetic testing, outlined policy guidelines and legislative recommendations intended to avoid involuntary and/or ineffective testing, and to protect confidentiality. The report identified urgent concerns, such as quality control measures (including federal oversight for testing laboratories) and better genetics training for medical practitioners. It recommended voluntary screening, urged couples in high-risk populations to consider carrier screening, and advised caution in using and interpreting pre-symptomatic or predictive tests, because certain information could easily be misused or misinterpreted. About three in every 100 children are born with a severe disorder presumed to be genetic or partially genetic in origin. Genes, often in concert with environmental factors, are being linked to the causes of many common adult diseases such as heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), various cancers, Alzheimer's disease, etc. Tests to determine predisposition to a variety of conditions are under study, and some are beginning to be applied. The report recommended that all screening, including screening of newborns, be voluntary. Citing the results of two different voluntary newborn screening programs, the report said these programs can achieve compliance rates equal to or better than those of obligatory programs. State health departments could eventually require the offering of tests for diagnosing treatable conditions in newborns, however, careful pilot studies for conditions diagnosable at birth need to be done first. Although the report asserted that it would prefer that all screening be voluntary, it did note that if a state requires newborn screening for a particular condition, the state should do so only if there is strong evidence that a newborn would benefit from effective treatment at the earliest possible age. Newborn screening is the most common type of genetic screening today. More than four million newborns are tested annually so that effective treatment can be started in a few hundred infants. Prenatal (preceding birth) testing can pose the most difficult issues. The ability to diagnose genetic disorders in the fetus(胎儿)far exceeds any ability to treat or cure them. Parents must be fully informed about risks and benefits of testing procedures, the nature and variability of the disorders they would disclose, and the options available if test results are positive. Obtaining informed consent—a process that would include educating participants, not just processing documents—would enhance voluntary participation. When offered testing, parents should receive comprehensive counseling, which should be nondirective. Relevant medical advice, however, is recommended for treatable or preventable conditions. Genetics also can predict whether certain diseases might develop later in life. For single-gene diseases, population screening should only be considered for treatable or preventable conditions of relatively high frequency. Children should be tested only for disorders for which effective treatments or preventive measures could be applied early in life.

单选题By "alcohol is a dietary Jekyll and Hyde", the author means