单选题 For health insurance, the United States has taken the road less traveled. The United States is the only rich country without universal health insurance. People in the United States spend the most, rely heavily on the private sector, and obtain care from the world's most complicated delivery system. While some supporters have expressed satisfaction, if not pride, in these remarkable qualities, others contend that the United States faces unique limitations in reforming health care. In her exceptional book,Parting at the Crossroads, Antonia Maioni compares the formation of the U.S. and Canadian health-care systems for the years 1930—1960. The United States and Canada are often considered the most similar of Western democracies. They share a common border, are wealthy, and have federal government. Their trade unions are only moderately powerful, and their populations are diverse and young. Nevertheless, their heath-insurance systems are nearly opposite. The United States relies on a mix of government plans. Targeted to the elderly and indigent, and employment based plans, which the government indirectly supports, Canada offers public health insurance to all qualified resident, with the private sector providing supplementary services in some provinces. Labor organizations became strong advocates for health-insurance reform in both countries. Their impact partially depended on political institutions and how other actors, particularly organized medicine, wielded them. Canada's governmental and electoral systems allowed labor to cooperate with a social democratic party in the Saskatchewan province, which established a universal program. The Saskatchewan program demonstrated universal insurance feasibility, spurring the dominant Liberals to introduce a national universal program. In contrast, the U. S. electoral system effectively precluded third-party formation, forcing organized labor to dilute its health-insurance goals because it was one of many interests represented by the Democratic Party. Maioni suggests that economic vitality is important for the future of both countries' systems, but the prognosis is uncertain. Despite recent concerns about the Canadian government's budgetary health, Maioni contends that widespread support protects universal insurance. Conversely, Maioni seems pessimistic about options for U.S. universal health insurance. Despite economic buoyancy, dissension will likely prevent reforms. Although a devastating econmnic downturn would make health finance difficult in either country, the U.S. system seems especially vulnerable. Employment-based insurance and Medicare both rely on labor market attachment. High, chronic unemployment could result in coverage loss and financial difficulties for employer insurance and Medicare, swelling the uninsured pool. Such a crisis could provide an opening for universal health insurance. In any case, whether the United States relies on the public or private sector, escalating health expenditures figure into budget of government, corporations, and families, the U. S. health care system's future may depend on Americans" willingness to devote more of their national income to health care.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} What would happen to the U. S. economy if all its commercial banks suddenly closed their doors? Throughout most of American history, the answer would have been a disaster of epic proportions, akin to the Depression wrought by the chain-reaction bank failures in the early 1930s. But in 1993 the startling answer is that a shutdown by banks might be far from cataclysmic. Consider this: though the economic recovery is now 27 months old, not a single net new dollar has been lent to business by banks in all that time. Last week the Federal Reserve reported that the amount of loans the nation's largest banks have made to businesses fell an additional ＄2. 4 billion in the week ending June 9, to ＄274.8 billion. Fearful that the scarcity of bank credit might sabotage the fragile economy, the White House and federal agencies are working feverishly to encourage banks to open their lending windows. In the past two weeks, government regulators have introduced steps to make it easier for banks to lend. Is the government's concern fully justified? Who really needs banks these days? Hardly anyone, it turns out. While banks once dominated business lending, today nearly 80% of all such loans come from nonbank lenders like life insurers, brokerage firms and finance companies. Banks used to be the only source of money in town. Now businesses and individuals can write checks on their insurance companies, get a loan from a pension fund, and deposit paychecks in a money-market account with a brokerage firm. "It is possible for banks to die and still have a vibrant economy," says Edward Furash, a Washington bank consultant. The irony is that the accelerating slide into irrelevance comes just as the banks racked up record profits of ＄43 billion over the past 15 months, creating the illusion that the industry is staging a comeback. But that income was not the result of smart lending decisions. Instead of earning money by financing America's recovery, the banks mainly invested their funds--on which they were paying a bargain-basement 2% or so--in risk-free Treasury bonds that yielded 7%. That left bank officers with little to do except put their feet on their desks and watch the interest roll in. Those profits may have come at a price. Not only did bankers lose many loyal customers by withholding credit, they also inadvertently opened the door to a herd of nonbank competitors, who stampeded into the lending market. "The banking industry didn't see this threat," says Furash. "They are being fat, dumb and happy. They didn't realize that banking is essential to a modern economy, but banks are not."

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} The producers of instant coffee found their product strongly resisted in the market places despite their product's manifest advantages. Furthermore, the advertising expenditure for instant coffee was far greater than that for regular coffee. Efforts were made to find the cause of the consumers' seemingly unreasonable resistance to the product. The reason given by most people was dislike for the taste. The producers suspected that there might be deeper reasons, however. This was confirmed by one of motivation research's classic studies, one often cited in the trade. Mason Haire, of the university of California, constructed two shopping lists that were identical except for one item. There were six items common to both lists: hamburger, carrots, bread, baking powder, canned peaches, and potatoes, with the brands or amounts specified. The seventh item, in fifth place on both lists, read "1 lb. Maxwell House Coffee" on one list and "Nestle Instant Coffee" on the other. One list was given to each one in a group of fifty women, and the other list to those in another group of the same size. The women were asked to study their lists and then to describe, as far as they could, the kind of women ("personality and character") who would draw up that shopping list. Nearly half of those who had received the list including instant coffee described a housewife who was lazy and a poor planner. On the other hand, only one woman in the other group described the housewife, who had included regular coffee on her list, as lazy; only six of that group suggested that she was a poor planner. Eight women felt that the instant-coffee user was probably not a good wife! No one in the other group drew such a conclusion about the housewife who intended to buy regular coffee.

单选题Which of the following is not listed as one of Einstein' s activities?

单选题BenjaminFranklinjustgotaface-lift.Andit'sabouttime.Overthepastsevenyears,theTreasuryDepartmenthasredesignedthe＄5,＄10,＄20and＄50bills,citingcounterfeiting(1)OnApril21,the＄100bill(2)itsfellowswhentheU.S.BureauofEngravingandPrinting(BEP)unveileditslatestbill.The＄100billisthehighest-denominationnotein(3)andcanweathermorethansevenyearsof(4)Ahumble＄1billlastsonly21months.TheAmericanRevolution'scontinentalcurrency-thefirstattempt(5)nationaltender-didnothavethesamekindof(6).Somuchofthemoneywasproducedto(7)thewarthatitquickly(8).In1863,Congress(9)theissuanceofpapertender,muchofwhichwaseasytocounterfeit.Itisestimatedthatone-thirdofmoneycirculatingatthetimewas(10).Butthatdidn'tstopthegovernmentfromproducing(11)ofit.BythetimetheBEPwasofficiallyestablishedin1874,theTreasuryDepartmenthadbeencreating(12)formorethanadecade-withdozensofclerksmanuallycuttingandsigningbillsbeforetheprocesswas(13)TheU.S.startedproducingcoinsin1792.ThefirstpieceofmoneytofeatureaPresident's(14)wasacoin:theAbrahamLincolnpenny,createdin1909.And(15)thefactthatitcoststomakeeachcoin,morepenniesareproducedthananyotherU.S.denomination.(16)billssuchasthe＄500,＄1,000,＄5,000,and＄10,000hadnosuchluck,(17),andthe＄100,000notewasprintedbutneverreleased.(18)hundredsofbillionsofdollarsincirculationatanygiventime(morethan＄330billionwasproducedlastyearalone),updatingsecurityfeaturesoncurrencyisa(n)(19)process."InGodWe(20),"sure.Inhumans,notsomuch.

单选题Only when______ can the postal code system achieve its full efficiency.

单选题Every living thing has an inner biological clock that controls behavior. The clock works all the time; even when there are no outside signs to mark the passing of time. The biological clock tells plants when to form flowers and when the flowers should open. It tells insects when to leave the protective cocoon and fly away. And it tells animals when to eat, sleep and wake. It controls body temperature, the release of some hormones and even dreams. These natural daily events are circadian rhythms. Man has known about them for thousands of years. But the first scientific observation of circadian rhythms was not made until 1729. In that year a French astronomer, Jean Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan, noted that one of his plants opened its leaves at the same time every morning, and closed them at the same time every night. The plant did this even when he kept it in a dark place all the time. Later scientists wondered about circadian rhythms in humans. They learned that man’s biological clock actually keeps time with a day of a little less than 25 hours instead of the 24 hours on a man-made clock. About four years ago an American doctor, Eliot Weitzman, established a laboratory to study how our biological clock works. The people in his experiments are shut off from the outside world. They are free to listen to and live by their circadian rhythms. Dr. Weitzman hopes his research will lead to effective treatments for common sleep problems and sleep disorders caused by ageing and mental illness. The laboratory is in the Montefiore Hospital in New York City. It has two living areas with three small rooms in each. The windows are covered, so no sunlight or moonlight comes in. There are no radios or television receivers. There is a control room between the living areas. It contains computers, one-way cameras and other electronic devices for observing the person in the living area. A doctor or medical technician is on duty in the control room 24 hours a day during an experiment. They do not work the same time each day and are not permitted to wear watches, so the person in the experiment has no idea what time it is. In the first four years of research, Dr. Weitzman and his assistant have observed 16 men between the ages of 21 and 80. The men remained in the laboratory for as long as six months. Last month, a science reporter for “The New York Times” newspaper, Dava Sobel, became the first woman to take part in the experiment. She entered the laboratory on June 13th and stayed for 25 days. Miss Sobel wrote reports about the experiment during that time, which were published in the newspaper.

单选题More and more people are starting to work from home, re-assessing their "work-life balance" and capitalising on what industry calls "remote working". A recent survey of British companies showed that eight out of ten businesses have now agreed new working arrangements for their personnel. The object of the exercise was to improve the work-life Balance of employees and encourage greater levels of efficiency. During 2003/2004, some 900,000 requests to work flexibly were made under a new Government scheme and 800,000 of the applications were granted. Furthermore, seven out of ten businesses said that they also would be prepared to consider flexible working requests from other staff who did not qualify under the Government scheme. One of the new technological developments that makes remote working possible is the Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), broadband that can carry both voice and data at high-speed. Remote workers can connect to their company's Virtual Private Network either through Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) internet, which is permanently connected, or through a Remote Access Service (RAS), which involves having to dial in each time. "People started thinking about remote working back in the Eighties but the technology was not available to consider it a possibility," says Meyrick Vevers, Commercial Director of Telewest Broadband, one of UK's communication and media groups. "However, now with the increased availability and use of DSL to home users, remote working is definitely on the increase." Of course, security is very important and IT directors are understandably cautious. But they are now beginning to feel more comfortable about allowing their staff a higher level of access from home. Telewest Business's experience in putting together product solutions is based on the company's focus on understanding their customers' needs. Because customers' needs are diverse and Telewest Business's possible solutions are wide-ranging, the company invites businesses seeking further information to visit their web site or call direct. Call centre workers, mobile staff, such as sales executives and local authority social workers or parents at home, are among those for whom remote working appears to be increasingly attractive. "People in industry in the UK have some of the longest working hours in the world," says Vevers. "Doing those hours solely in the office is more disruptive to the personal life of the individual than having the flexibility to work from home." "Remote working is all about personal choice and giving people more flexibility that suits their personal lives. At Telewest Business, we aim to try and help play a part in enabling companies to give their employees that flexibility./

单选题One important reason why teachers are leaving their profession is that they are

单选题Despite ongoing negotiations with its unions, United Airlines has told the bankruptcy court that the "likely result" will be a termination to its pension plans. That would precipitate the biggest pension default in history. The move is expected to destabilize the already struggling airline industry, prompting other carriers to eventually follow suit to maintain competitiveness. It would also put additional pressure on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the federal agency that insures traditional pensions in case companies belly up. A default by United would saddle it with an additional $8.4 billion in unfunded obligations. If other airlines follow, the PBGC may have to go to Congress and plead for a bailout. More broadly, what all this means is that retirement for US workers just isn't what it used to be. The impact of globalization and competition from low—wage companies that don't provide benefits has shifted the onus of retirement security from larger firms onto individuals. Twenty years ago, 40 percent of American workers were covered by traditional pensions known as defined—benefit plans. Today that number's dropped to 20 percent. As the United examples show, even that 20 percent may not be able to count on what they've been promised. Currently, about 75 percent of those corporate plans are underfunded. There are numerous threats to retirement in the future, so it's incumbent on individuals to be well informed, prudent about their investments, and to save accordingly. Betty has been flying for United for 26 years. She was expecting to retire at 60 with $140, 000 a year. After the recent round of give-backs, that was cut to $90, 000. But if United defaults as expected, she'd receive only $28, 000. If she waits until 65 to start collecting, she could be eligible for as much $44, 500 a year. Either way, once pilots are forced to leave the cockpit at 60, most will probably look for another job rather than lounge on the golf course. Betty has already started a mediation business on the side. "All of the benefits have been erased by corporate American greed," she says, "You have to see the big picture. If the money isn't there, it isn't there." For the pilots union, which negotiated the pension benefits, often giving up wage increases for better retirement packages, the current situation is infuriating. They see pensions as benefits that are earned, not a bonus to be given as long as a company can afford it. "It seems immoral that just because they happen to be in a legal situation, they can walk away from those obligations," says Steve Derebey, spokesman for Air Line Pilots Association. "Why this isn't a burning, blazing campaign issue is beyond me./

单选题The celebration of the New Year is the oldest one of all holidays. It was first (1) in (2) Babylon about 4,000 years ago. New Year's Day is an (3) national holiday, and banks and offices will be closed. Many families have New year's Day (4) . Traditionally, it was thought that it could (5) the luck they would have (6) the coming year by (7) they did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason, it has become common for (8) to celebrate the first few minutes of a (9) new year in the (10) with the family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing of a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring (11) good luck or bad luck to the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor (12) to be a tall dark-haired man. Traditional New Year's (13) are also thought to bring luck. People in many parts of the US celebrate the New Year by (14) black-eyed peas and cabbage. Black-eyed peas have been considered good luck in many cultures. Cabbage leaves are considered a (15) of prosperity, being (16) of paper currency. Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year's resolutions. That tradition also (17) back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the (18) to lose weight or quit smoking. The song, "Auld Lang Syne", is sung at the (19) of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the New Year. "Auld Lang Syne" literally (20) "yearning for the old days./

单选题When European Union (EU) leaders took delivery of Europe's first draft of a constitution at a summit in Greece last June, it was with almost universal praise. There was wide agreement that the text could save the EU from paralysis once it expands from 15 to 25 members next year. It would give Europe a more stable leadership and greater clout on the world stage, said the chairman of the Convention which drafted the agreement, former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing. Such praise was too good to last. As the product of a unique 16-month public debate, the draft has become a battleground. Less than four months after it was delivered, the same leaders who accepted it opened the second round of talks on its content this week by trading veiled threats to block agreement or cut off funds if they don't get their way. The tone was polite, but unyielding. In a bland joint statement issued when the talks opened on October 4, the leaders stressed the constitution, "represents a vital step in the process aimed at making Europe more cohesive, more democratic and closer to its citizens. "Sharp differences remain, though, between member countries of the EU over voting rights, the size and composition of the executive European Commission, defense co-operation and the role of religion in the new constitution. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's hopes of wrapping up a deal on the constitution by Christmas seem far from being realized. While the six founding members of the EU--Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg--plus Britain and Denmark, want as little change as possible to the draft, the 10 mainly central European countries due to join the 15-nation bloc next year want to alter the institution's balance. Such small states are afraid their views will be ignored under the constitution and are determined to defend the disproportionate voting rights they won at the 2000 Nice Summit. EU experts fear such sharp differences will create exactly the paralysis in the EU the Convention was established to avoid.

单选题 How long you live has a lot to do with your environment and lifestyle, but exceptional longevity may have even more to do with your genes. For the first time, researchers have identified a genetic recipe that accurately predicts who may live to 100 and beyond. Scientists led by Dr. Thomas Perls at the Boston University School of Medicine conducted a genetic analysis of more than 1,000 centenarians and their matched controls and found 150 genetic variants-or bits of DNA-that differed between the two groups. These variants identified people who lived to a very old age (past 100) with 77% accuracy, researchers found. Further analysis identified 19 distinct genetic profiles associated with extremely long life; 90% of participants who lived to 100 possessed at least one of the signature genetic clusters. Each profile appeared to confer a different tendency to develop common age-related chronic diseases, such as heart disease or brain disorder. "We realize this is a complex genetic puzzle," Perls said. "We're quite a ways away still in understanding how the integration of these genes-not just with themselves but with environmental factors-are playing a role in this longevity puzzle." Perls has studied many factors that contribute to longevity, and he is the first to acknowledge that living longer isn't likely to be simply a matter of genes. His previous work has shown, for example, that among most elderly people who live into their 70s and 80s, about 70% of their longevity can be ascribed to environmental factors such as not smoking; eating a healthy, low-fat, low-calorie diet; and remaining socially engaged and intellectually active throughout life. Still, it seems clear that those who live to an exceptionally ripe old age are benefiting from a special DNA boost. In fact, Perls believes that the older a person gets, the more likely it is that his or her genes are contributing to those extended years. His current genetic findings support that theory: the 19 most common genetic profiles that distinguished the exceptionally long-lived appear to be correlated with lower incidence of certain diseases. For example, some profiles were associated with lower rates of high blood pressure and diabetes, while another was linked to a reduced risk of brain disorder. Although most of us can't expect to become centenarians, Peris is hoping that his work will lead to better ways-perhaps through pharmaceutical interventions based on the genetic clues to longevity-to help more of us live like them.