单选题The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Monday to let stand a ruling in an online defamation case will make it more difficult to determine correct legal jurisdictions in other Internet eases, legal experts said. By opting not to take the case, the high court effectively endorsed a lower court's decision that a Colorado company that posts ratings of health plans on the Internet could be sued for defamation in a Washington court. The lower court ruling is one of several that makes it easier for plaintiffs to sue Web site operators in their own jurisdictions, rather than where the operators maintain a physical presence. The case involved a defamation suit filed by Chehalis, Wash.-based Northwest Healthcare Alliance against Lakewood, Colo. -based Healthgrades.com. The Alliance sued in Washington federal court after Healthgrades. com posted a negative ranking of Northwest Healthcare's home health services on the Internet. Healthgrades. com argued that it should not be subject to the jurisdiction of a court in Washington because its publishing operation is in Colorado. Observers said the fact that the Supreme Court opted not to hear the case only clouds the legal situation for Web site operators. Geoff Stewart, a partner at Jones Day in Washington, D. C. , said that the Supreme Court eventually must act on the issue, as Internet sites that rate everything from automobile dealerships to credit offers could scale back their offerings to avoid lawsuits originating numerous jurisdictions. Online publishers also might have to worry about being dragged into lawsuits in foreign courts, said Dow Lohnes ＆ Albertson attorney Jon Hart, who has represented the Online News Association. "The much more difficult problems for U. S. media companies arise when claims are brought in foreign countries over content published in the United States," Hart said. Hart cited a recent case in which an Australian court ruled that Dow Jones must appear in a Victoria, Australia court to defend its publication of an article on the U. S. -based Watt Street Journal Web site. According to Hart, the potential chilling effect of those sorts of jurisdictional decisions is substantial. "I have not yet seen publishers holding back on what they otherwise publish because they're afraid they're going to get sued in another country, but that doesn't mean it Won't happen if we see a rash of U. S. libel cases against U. S. media companies being brought in foreign countries," he said. Until the high court decides to weigh in directly on this issue, Web site operators that offer information and services to users located outside of their home states must deal with a thorny legal landscape, said John Morgan, a partner at Perkins Coie LLP and an expert in Internet law.

单选题There are countless parents who will not allow their children to play violent video games, in which players are able to kill, maim, dismember or sexually assault human images in depraved ways. The video game industry rates them, and some stores use that rating to decide whether to sell a particular game to a minor. But California went too far in 2005 when it made it illegal to sell violent video games to minors. Retailers challenged the law, and a federal appeals court rightly ruled that it violates the First Amendment. Last week, the Supreme Court said that it would review that decision. We hope it agrees that the law is unconstitutional. California's law imposes fines of up to $1,000 on retailers that sell violent video games to anyone under 18. To qualify, a game must, as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors. But video games are a form of free expression. Many have elaborate plots and characters, often drawn from fiction or history. The California law is a content-based restriction, something that is presumed invalid under the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has made it clear that minors have First Amendment rights. California has tried to lower the constitutional standard for upholding the law by comparing it to "variable obscenity," a First Amendment principle that allows banning the sale of some sexually explicit materials to minors that cannot be banned for adults. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, like other federal courts, rightly refused to extend that doctrine to violent games. Under traditional First Amendment analysis, content-based speech restrictions can survive only if they are narrowly tailored to promote a compelling government interest. California says its interest is in preventing psychological or neurological damage to young people. The appeals court concluded that the evidence connecting violent video games to this sort of damage is too weak to make restricting the games a compelling government interest. Even if the interest were legitimate, the state could have used less restrictive methods. The video game industry, like the movie business, has a voluntary rating system that provides buyers and sellers with information on the content of specific games, including age-specific ratings, ranging from "early childhood" to "adults only. " The government could do more to promote the use of voluntary ratings by retailers and parents. California lawmakers may have been right when they decided that video games in which players kill and maim are not the most socially beneficial form of expression. The Constitution, however, does not require speech to be ideal for it to be protected.

单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} It was a fixing sight: there, in the Capitol itself, a U.S. Senator often mocked for his halting, inarticulate speaking, reached deep into his Midwestern roots and spoke eloquently, even poetically, about who he was and what he believed, stunning politicians and journalists alike. I refer, of course, to Senator Jefferson Smith. In Frank Capra's classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Jimmy Stewart plays this simple, idealistic small-town American, mocked and scorned by the big-moneyed, oh-so-sophisticated power elite--only to triumph over a corrupt Establishment with his rock-solid goodness. At root, it is this role that soon-to-be-ex-Senator Bob Dole most aspires to play., the self- effacing, quietly powerful small-town man from Main Street who outwits the cosmopolitan, slick-talking snob from the fleshpots. And why not? There is, after all, no more enduring American icon. How enduring? Before Americans had a Constitution, Thomas Jefferson was arguing that the new nation's future would depend on a base of agrarian yeomen free from the vices inherent in big cities. In 1840 one of the classic, image-driven presidential campaigns featured William Henry Harrison as the embodiment of rural virtues, the candidate of the log cabin and hard cider, defeating the incumbent Martin Van Buren, who was accused of dandified dress and manners. There is, of course, a huge disconnect between this professed love of the simple, unspoiled life and the way Americans actually live. As a people, Americans have spent the better part of the 20th century deserting the farms and the small towns for the cities and the suburbs; and are torn between vacationing in Disney World and Las Vegas. U.S. politicians too haven't exactly shunned the temptations of the cosmopolitan life. The town of Russell, Kansas, often seems to be Dole's running mate, but the candidate spends his leisure time in a luxury condominium in Bal Harbor, Florida. Bill Clinton still believes in a place called Hope, but the spiffy, celebrity-dense resorts of Martha's Vineyard 'and Jackson Hole are where he kicks back. Ronald Reagan embodied the faith-and-family pieties of the front porch and Main Street, but he fled Iowa for a career and a life in Hollywood. Still, the hunger for the way Americans believe they are supposed to live is strong, and the distrust of the intellectual hustler with his airs and his high flown language runs deep. It makes sense for the Dole campaign to make this a contest between Dole as the laconic, quiet man whose words Can be trusted and Bill Clinton as the traveling salesman with a line of smooth patter but a suitcase full of damaged goods. It makes sense for Dole to make his campaign song Thank God I'm a Country Boy--even if he is humming it 9,200 m up in a corporate jet on his way to a Florida condo.

单选题Women often (1) that dating is like a cattle (2) , and a paper just published in Biology Letters by Thomas Pollet and Daniel Nettle of Newcastle University, in England, suggests they are (3) . They have little cause for complaint, however, because the paper also suggests that in this particular market, it is (4) who are the buyers. Mr. Pollet and Dr. Nettle were looking for (5) to support the contention that women choose men of (6) status and resources, as well as good looks. That may sound common sense, but it was often (7) by social scientists until a group of researchers who called themselves evolutionary psychologists started investigating the matter two decades ago. Since then, a series of experiments in laboratories have supported the contention. But as all zoologists know, (8) can only tell you so much. Eventually, you have to look at (9) populations. And that is what Mr. Pollet and Dr. Nettle have done. They have examined data from the 19t0 census of the United States of America and discovered that marriage is, indeed, a market. Moreover, as in any market, a (10) of buyers means the sellers have to have particularly attractive goods on (11) if they are to make the exchange. The advantage of picking 1910 was that America had not yet settled down, demographically speaking. Though the long-colonized eastern states had a sex (12) of one man to one woman, or thereabouts, in the rest of the country the old adage "go west, young man" had resulted in a (13) of males. Mr. Pollet and Dr Nettle were thus able to see just how picky women are, (14) the chance. (15) looking at the whole census, the two researchers relied on a sample of one person in 250. They then (16) the men in the sample a socioeconomic status score between zero and 96, on a scale drawn up in 1950 (which was as close to 1910 as they could get). They showed that in states where the sexes were equal in number, 56% of low status men were married by the age of 30, (17) 60% of high status men were. Even in this case, then, there are women who would prefer to remain (18) rather than marry a deadbeat. When there were 110 men for every 100 women (as, for example, in Arizona), the women got really (19) . In that case only 24% of low-status men were married by 30 compared with 46% of high-status men. As the men went west, then, so did their (20) opportunities.

单选题Jeffrey Sachs described the situation in Malawi in order to

单选题 Fears of "mad cow" disease spread {{U}}(1) {{/U}} the globe last week {{U}}(2) {{/U}} South Africa, New Zealand and Singapore joining most of Britain' s European Union partners in {{U}}(3) {{/U}} imports of British beef. In London, steak restaurants were empty follwing the March 20 announcement by scientists that they had found a {{U}}(4) {{/U}} link between mad cow disease from British beef and its human {{U}}(5) {{/U}}, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease(CJD) . Efforts to reassure consumers and governments proved {{U}}(6) {{/U}}. France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Greece were among countries which announced bans {{U}}(7) {{/U}} British beef shipments. A committee of EU veterinary experts, meeting in Brussels, {{U}}(8) {{/U}} new protective measures but said transmission of the disease from cattle to humans was unproven and did not {{U}}(9) {{/U}} a general ban on British beef exports. Britain's own main consumer group advised people to {{U}}(10) {{/U}} beef if they wanted to be absolutely sure of not {{U}}(11) {{/U}} CJD which destroys the brain and is always {{U}}(12) {{/U}}. "Could it be worse than AIDS?" The stark headline in Friday's Daily mail newspaper encapsulated the fear and uncertainty {{U}}(13) {{/U}} Britain. CJD {{U}}(14) {{/U}} humans in the same way that BSE makes cows mad—by eating away nerve cells in the brain {{U}}(15) {{/U}} it looks like a spongy Swiss cheese. The disease is incurable. Victims show {{U}}(16) {{/U}} of dementia and memory loss and usually die {{U}}(17) {{/U}} six months. Little is known {{U}}(18) {{/U}} sure about the group of diseases known collectively as spongiform encephalopathies, which explains {{U}}(19) {{/U}} some eminent scientists are not prepared to {{U}}(20) {{/U}} a human epidemic of AIDS-like proportions.

单选题Free education for all is not enough because______.

单选题Walt Disney could have built his biggest theme park anywhere. He chose Florida. The weather is balmy, and when it gets too hot there are lots of pools to cool off in, says. Meg Crofton, Walt Disney World's CEO'. Florida also offers plenty of space to expand. Disney World, which was first carved out of wild woodland in 1971, has swollen to four parks covering 40 square miles ( 104 sq km) and employing 60 000 "cast members". Contrary to the stereotype of rapid flow in the service sector, the average full-time employee sticks around for nine years. Florida's business climate is sunny, too. The Milken Institute, a think-tank in California, compiles an index of "best-performing cities" in America, a composite measure of such things as job creation, wage growth and whether businesses are thriving. In the most recent index, six of the top ten metropolitan areas are in Florida. ( Orlando-Kissimmee is sixth. ) And 18 of the top 30 are in the South. For a long time the South's weather got in the way of its development. Richard Pillsbury, a geography professor at Georgia State University, describes traditional life in the lowland South, a region stretching from northern Virginia down to the Gulf coast of Texas: "Smallish barren farms almost lost in the white heat of a hot and humid summer sun as the owners and their help fought swarms of mosquitoes to plant, cultivate and harvest the meagre cotton crop for market." Then air-conditioning came. As it spread after the World War Ⅱ, the South became suddenly more comfortable to live and work in. From the 1940s until the 1980s the region boomed. In his book Old South, New South, Gavin Wright lists four reasons why Federal defence spending stimulated growth. Sunshine attracted skilled professionals. The South, having developed so little in the past, was a "clean slate", without strong labour unions, entrenched bureaucracies, restrictive laws or outdated machinery. Lastly, given how much catching up the South had to do, the potential returns were higher than in the north. Southerners have prospered in part by playing to their traditional strengths. The fame of southern hospitality has bolstered the region's hotel chains, such as Holiday Inn. That of southern cuisine helps local restaurants, such as Waffle House, Cracker Barrel and KFC. Arkansas-based Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has kept costs low by refusing to recognize unions. And Coca-Cola owes at least some of its success to its southern origins.

单选题 The effect of the baby boom on the schools helped to make possible a shift in thinking about the role of public education in the 1920's. In the 1920's, but especially{{U}} {{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}}the Depression of the 1930's, the United States experienced a{{U}} {{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}}birth rate. Then with the prosperity{{U}} {{U}} 3 {{/U}} {{/U}}on by the Second World War and the economic boom that followed it, young people married and{{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}households earlier and began to{{U}} {{U}} 5 {{/U}} {{/U}}larger families than had their{{U}} {{U}} 6 {{/U}} {{/U}}during the Depression. Birth rates rose to 102 per thousand in 1946, 106.2 in 1950, and 118 in 1955.{{U}} {{U}} 7 {{/U}} {{/U}}economics was probably the most important{{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}, it is not the only explanation for the baby boom. The increased value placed{{U}} {{U}} 9 {{/U}} {{/U}}the idea of the family also helps to{{U}} {{U}} 10 {{/U}} {{/U}}this rise in birth rates. The baby boomers began streaming{{U}} {{U}} 11 {{/U}} {{/U}}the first grade by the mid-1940's and became a{{U}} {{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}by 1950. The public school system suddenly found itself{{U}} {{U}} 13 {{/U}} {{/U}}The wartime economy meant that few new schools were buih between 1940 and 1945.{{U}} {{U}} 14 {{/U}} {{/U}}, large numbers of teachers left their profession during that period for better-paying jobs elsewhere. {{U}} {{U}} 15 {{/U}} {{/U}}, in the 1950's, the baby boom hit an antiquated and inadequate school system. Consequently, the custodial rhetoric of the 1930's no longer made{{U}} {{U}} 16 {{/U}} {{/U}}; keeping youths ages sixteen and older out of the labor market by keeping them in school could no longer be a high{{U}} {{U}} 17 {{/U}} {{/U}}for an institution unable to find space and staff to teach younger children. With the baby boom, the focus of educators{{U}} {{U}} 18 {{/U}} {{/U}}turned toward the lower grades and back to basic academic skills and{{U}} {{U}} 19 {{/U}} {{/U}}. The system no longer had much{{U}} {{U}} 20 {{/U}} {{/U}}in offering nontraditional, new, and extra services to older youths.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} Whether work should be placed among the causes of happiness or among the causes of unhappiness may perhaps be regarded as a doubtful question. There is certainly much work which is exceedingly weary and an excess of work is always very painful. I think, however, that, provided work is not excessive in amount, even the dullest work is to most people less painful than idleness. There are in work all grades, from mere relief of tedium up to the profoundest delights, according to the nature of the work and the abilities of the worker. Most of the work that most people have to do is not in itself interesting, but even such work has certain great advantages. To begin with, it fills a good many hours of the day without the need of deciding what one shall do. Most people, when they are left free to fill their own time according to their own choice, are at a loss to think of anything sufficiently pleasant to be worth doing. And whatever they decide, they are troubled by the feeling that something else would have been pleasanter. To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level. Moreover the exercise of choice is in itself tiresome. Except to people with unusual initiative it is positively agreeable to be told what to do at each hour of the day, provided the orders are not too unpleasant. Most of the idle rich suffer unspeakable boredom as the price of their freedom from toil. At times they may find relief by hunting big game in Africa, or by flying round the world, but the number of such sensations is limited, especially after youth is past, Accordingly the more intelligent rich men work nearly as hard as if they were poor, while rich women for the most part keep themselves busy with innumerable trifles of those earth-shaking importance they are firmly persuaded. Work therefore is desirable, first and foremost, as a preventive of boredom, for the boredom that a man feels when he is doing necessary though uninteresting work is as nothing in comparison with the boredom that he feels when he has nothing to do with his days. With this advantage of work another is associated, namely that it makes holidays much more delicious when they come. Provided a man does not have to work so hard as to impair his vigor, he is likely to find far more zest in his free time than an idle man could possibly find. The second advantage of most paid work and of some unpaid work is that it gives chances of success and opportunities for ambition. In most work success is measured by income, and while our capitalistic society continues, this is inevitable. It is only where the best work is concerned that this measure ceases to be the natural one to apply. The desire than men feel to increase their income is quite as much a desire for success as for the extra comforts that a higher income can acquire. However dull work may be, it becomes bearable if it is a means of building up a reputation, whether in the world at large or only in one's own circle.

单选题One hundred years ago, people were ______.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} When two of the world's richest and mightiest men pledge to destroy an enemy, it is time to pay attention. Bill Gates, the former boss of Microsoft who now devotes all his time to his charitable foundation, travelled this week to New York, the city run by Michael Bloomberg, to join his fellow billionaire's campaign to stamp out smoking. Have the two potentates met their match? Despite decades of work by health campaigners, more than one billion people still smoke today. Smoking kills up to half of those who fail to quit puffing, reducing their lives by an average of 10 to 15 years. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says more than 5 million people a year die early from the effects (direct or indirect) of tobacco. That exceeds the combined toll of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Despite that dismal situation, there are three reasons to give the latest pair of campaigners a slim chance of success: money, methods and motivation. Messrs Gates and Bloomberg vowed to spend a combined total of $ 500 million on discouraging the weed. Since Mr. Bloomberg's charity had already announced an award of $125 million earlier, the new money pledged this week totalled a "mere" $ 375 million: $ 250 million from the mayor, and a fresh $ 125 million from the software magnate's philanthropic outfit. How will this cash be spent? In quite innovative ways, and that is a second reason for optimism. Hitherto, most anti-smoking funds have been channelled through a few large bureaucracies. But Mr. Bloomberg's charity wants to let a thousand flowers bloom: in other words, to lend a hand to many initiatives, both public and private, to see what works. There will be a competitive grant scheme for poor countries where the tobacco habit is spreading. The very fact that two giants are teaming up is a landmark in American philanthropy- comparable to Warren Buffett's decision, two years ago, to put his fortune at the disposal of Mr. Gates' foundation. As part of their joint commitment, Mr. Gates is giving some of his $ 125 million directly to Mr. Bloomberg's charity; the rest will go to carefully monitored projects in India, China and other places where the number of smokers is rising relentlessly. Then there is motivation. There are other big players in this cause, and that should induce every new entrant to try bringing something fresh to the party. Earlier this year the WHO started a campaign against tobacco known as MPower. One of its selling points was that in contrast with many other projects, it had a fairly clear idea about what was needed. WHO experts have listed a series of tactics, ranging from aggressive public education to a rise in tobacco taxes, that deliver results. (Even if high taxes lead to some smuggling and diversion, studies done in Brazil, for example, show that fiscal measures do curb consumption. ) The World Bank, which funded that research, is also thought to be ready to join the anti-smoking scrum after years of paying little attention. A crowded field, indeed. But having an extra $ 500 million from two hard-driven billionaires surely won't hurt.

单选题The example of the publicist is used to show most people's