单选题The author believes that sex discrimination in the West before the 1960s was

单选题{{B}}Part A{{/B}}{{B}}Directions:{{/B}} Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.{{B}}Text 1{{/B}} Has America gone insane? Season six for American Idol has caused us to ask some fundamental questions about the reality television phenomenon. Show judge Simon Cowell repeatedly chides(斥责) contestants," This is a singing competition. But is it really? When talented singers such as Gina Glocksen are voted off in favor of a tone-deaf Sanjaya Malakar, with his trainwreck performances, the question is whether Idol is really a singing competition, or something altogether different. Although Sanjaya was only in the middle of the pack for last week's vote, on the Web he was the most searched for Idol contestant of the season, garnering(获得) more than twice the volume of searches than his nearest rival (not counting the continuing quests for racy photos of Antonella Barba, who is no longer in the competition). Theories abound as to Sanjaya's staying power on the show, from suggestions of a flood of offshore voting to the texting power of pre-pubescent girls. There is one theory that can actually be quantified by Internet data: shock-jock Howard Stern's campaigning for show-spoiler site Vote for the Worst" to support voting for the entertaining contestants who the producers would hate to see win on American Idol, according to site creator Dave Della Terza, who teaches a course in reality television at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Ill. While {{U}}Votefortheworst.com{{/U}} is small compared to the official American Idol site, the fact that it gets nearly a fifth as many online visits gives it the strength to sway a vote. Vote for the Worst is gaining strength, with over a 50% growth since last season, which can be attributed largely to the self-proclaimed "King of All Media." But what does the American public think of the unlikely Idol star? Of all of the searches for Sanjaya over the last four weeks, 41% were searching on variations of his name," Sanjaya, or" Sanjaya Malakar, and various misspellings. At least 2.9% searched for information on Sanjaya's sister, who didn't make the cut on the show. The next most popular search topic regarded questions about Sanjaya's sexual orientation, with searches such as "Sanjaya Malakar gay", "Sanjaya gay" and" is Sanjaya gay? What's missing are searches related to Sanjaya's musical selection or talent. The Sanjaya phenomenon, while amusing, highlights the biggest challenge to reality shows that depend on a public vote for show outcome. It's not a singing contest, or even a popularity contest; it's become a race to see who can make the biggest spectacle. In that context, Sanjaya has the advantage.

单选题In the seventies, people would lie in a bath to ______.

单选题From the last paragraph the conclusion can be drawn that children who enjoy all-important happiness will

单选题As people in rich countries know very well, eating too much food and burning too few calories is why a substantial number of us are overweight or obese. Now, however, a remarkable change in perspective has come from the discovery that obesity actually provides people with temporary protection from the harmful effects of fat. The insight has come from re-examining the common assumption that fatness itself drives the development of metabolic syndrome, which is what causes so much of the actual damage. The syndrome comes with a mixture of life-threatening effects, with cardiovascular disease (diseases relating to the heart and blood vessels) and type 2 diabetes being among the most serious. In fact, it now seems that body fat may be a barrier that stops millions of Americans and fatty citizens elsewhere from going on to develop the syndrome. And the real damage is caused by the inflammatory effect of high levels of fat in the bloodstream. And ironically, it's fat cells that protect us from this by serving as toxic dumps, locking away the real villains of the modern diet. The problem is that this protection only lasts so long, until there is simply no more room inside the fat cells. That's when they start to break down, leading to a toxic spill into the bloodstream. This sets off an inflammatory response that causes various kinds of damage to body tissues. In this way, every excess calorie takes people closer to metabolic syndrome. So what can we do to stop a superabundance of fat triggering the syndrome? Of course there's no substitute for a healthy diet and exercise, but incitation to this effect seem to be of limited use. As with cigarettes and alcohol, a tax on calories--pricing foods by their energy content--is increasingly seen as another "lever" to change behaviour by making obesity too costly. The new research may even suggest treatments to combat metabolic syndrome, such as anti-inflammatory drugs. One promising candidate is salsalate, an arthritis drug related to aspirin, and the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston is now considering large-scale trials. What might be more helpful, though, is simply a wider recognition that fatty and sugary foods are more directly toxic than we had assumed. Ideally, people should be as well informed about the harmful effects of what they eat as, for example, pregnant women are about drinking and smoking. There is a consolation--you have your fat tissue to protect you when you consume that extra burger or sweetened soda. But now you know the perils of pushing your friendly fat cells beyond their natural limits.

单选题From the introduction of the Sturgises, we learn that

单选题Text 4 Pursuing free trade through WTO has many attractions. Countries bind themselves and their trading partners to transparent and non-discriminatory trade rules, which the WTO then enforces even-handedly. Since most governments operate on the premise that opening domestic markets is a concession to be traded for access to foreign markets, multilateral liberalisation is often the most effective route to free trade. A successful WTO round requires two big bargains to be struck: a transatlantic deal between America and the EU and a north-south deal between the rich and the poor. Yet at Seattle this year there is a long way to go before such broad bargains can be considered, let alone struck. America wants a few priority issues to be settled. Its list includes an extension of the duty-free status of e-commerce, a broader IT pact, reform of the WTO dispute-settlement system, increased WTO transparency and the phase-out of tariffs in eight sectors including chemicals, energy products and environmental products. The EU on the other hand professes to want a more comprehensive approach that focuses on removing tariff peaks for such imports as textiles, glass and footwear, but would preserve tariff preferences for developing countries. The biggest obstacle may be the insistence of many developing countries that they will block further liberalisation until their gripes over the Uruguay round are addressed. They want their obligations in areas such as intellectual property, investor protection, subsidies and anti-dumping to be eased. They argue that the Uruguay round has failed to deliver expected benefits in such areas as agriculture and textiles. Though by no means a monolithic block, the developing countries share a feeling that whatever the promise of liberalisation at the WTO, rich countries will conspire to keep their markets closed. Indeed, the EU insists that freeing trade should be "controlled, steered and managed according to the concerns of EU citizens". That is in keeping with a view, widespread on the continent, that "a protectionist trade policy is a price readily paid for political objectives". However great these obstacles are, they could be overcome if America were still leading the drive for freer world trade. With its economy doing well, greater access to foreign markets seems a less pressing priority. The Clinton administration is unwilling to make politically painful concessions required to achieve that aim. So there is a possibility that the Seattle round will turn out to be a fiasco. If that happens, it will encourage the anti-WTO groups to go on the offensive. America, the EU and Janan would increasingly be tempted by managed trade.

单选题{{B}}Part A{{/B}}{{B}}Directions:{{/B}}Read the following four texts, Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.{{B}}Text 1{{/B}} Americans are now flying the crowded, cranky skies. Flight delays in January were the worst for that month since 1999. Weather is always the primary cause of delays. Add to that the US Airways Christmas baggage meltdown and Comair's computer failure, the combination of which left hundreds of thousands of fliers stranded at airports. But airline employees see a deeper reason for both the increase in delays and passenger complaints: a demoralized and frustrated workforce that's being asked to do more even as it's getting paid lass. The airlines and unions are quick to praise their workers for rising to the challenge during these very difficult times, as well as for carrying the brunt of the cost cutting. But unease is growing within the ranks. And passengers have noticed. For instance, some of the so-called older carriers now require gate agents to clean the planes as well as check people in. So some passengers have found themselves without a customer-service agent to talk to until just before the plane leaves. Pilots find themselves stuck at the gate because their Crew of flight attendants has already worked as long as the FAA would allow them to. "They've cut employees to such a degree that they don't have enough employees to do the job and serve the customers properly," says one pilot. The major airlines contend that's not the case at all. Jeff Green, a spokesman for United Airlines, says the major carriers have shrunk significantly since 9/11. While there are far fewer employees, the airline also has far fewer flights. He also notes that United has had its best on-time performance in the past two years and that internal gauges of customer satisfaction are up. "What our employees are going through is not having an effect on our customer service," says Mr. Green. Employees on the front line tell a different story. "They're just closing the doors and releasing the brake so they can report an on- time departure, when in reality they may still be loading cargo for 30 minutes." Aviation experts contend that if that's the case, the major airlines may find even more challenges ahead. As their fare structures and prices come closer to those of the successful low-cost carriers, customer service will become even more crucial in determining which airlines succeed. "The way you're treated on the plane speaks a lot as to whether you'll fly that airline again," says Helane Becker, an airline analyst. "It's not the be-all and end-all. It's not going to put an airline out of business. But it's not going to help it a lot either if they're already in trouble."

单选题It is implied but not directly state in the passage that______

单选题One of the characteristics of a utopian society envisioned by Saint Simonians would

单选题The main idea of the text is to

单选题The government and Microsoft plan to sell around the world Britain"s new system for online transactions between citizens and government after its successful launch in the U.K. A key step in the government"s $1.4b e-government program has seen online payment for the Inland Revenue"s pay-as-you-earn scheme, some Customs and Excise value added tax procedures, and claims for European Union subsidies for farmers all go live in the past month. At a presentation in Seattle today, Bill Gates, Microsoft"s co-founder and chairman, will demonstrate the British system to 400 government officials from 80 countries to show how citizens and businesses can interact with government over the Internet. "Although some U.S. states are using leading edge technology, Europe in general, and the U.K. in particular, is well ahead in implementing e-government initiatives. It should put the citizen at the center of government," says David Vigano, general manager of public sector at the software group. "The projects have been implemented in just 15 weeks using Microsoft"s net technology," said Andrew Pinder, the government"s e-envoy. "This is a key piece of infrastructure, brought in on time and on budget," he said. The secure transaction technology is to be rolled out through about 200 central government departments and agencies and 482 local government institutions over the next five years in the drive to have all of the government online by 2005. The successful implementation is a coup for Microsoft which is trying to build up its enterprise software business and has targeted e-government. It has about 1,000 staff dedicated to government business. "This is a milestone for Microsoft," said Barry Goffe, group manager, net enterprise solutions at the Redwood, Washington state-based company. "Two years ago, when the technology for successful integration did not exist, we would have walked away." The hardware was supplied by Dell, and the servers are managed by Cable and Wireless. The technology is based on XML, a new language protocol, that allows information to be labeled and then easily exchanged between computers on different platforms. "People want to hang on to their legacy systems which have been massive investments, but integrating these has proven difficult and expensive in the past. It"s astonishing how the friction has been wiped out by XML, which reduces paperwork, reduces complexity and slashes costs," said Mr. Goffe.

单选题Who knows better than your customers where your operations can be improved? Today, progressive firms increasingly rely on advisory councils to suggest improvements, recommend action, and offer feedback on programs and policies. In fact, many companies feel that this form of communication is vital to the continuous improvement of their business operations. A council, among other things, improves communication and spurs improvement of operations. Remember that the secret to success is dialogue -- the .exchange of ideas and opinions. Focus on problems your customers have. Spell out your goals and objectives. Each meeting should have a specific objective to accomplish. Determine the meeting'sfrequency. If you want to implement a strategic plan, an annual meeting may be enough. If you want to focus on operational issues, more meetings may be needed. A good council will have no more than 12 people, with half of the members from your company and half your customers. It should also have diversity in its membership. Members should serve from one to three years-rotation of membership will ensure the council doesn't become stale. Find an approximate meeting site, whether it's in-house or off site, where there will be no interruptions. You should pay for all the expenses related to the meeting -- remember, the council members are providing your company with a service. Treat them as your guests and your experts. If you have a fixed beginning and ending time to your meeting, stick to it.. When structuring the meeting, remember the 80720 problem-solving rule. Structure the meeting so that 20 percent of the time is spent identifying or discussing a problem and 80 percent of the time is spent designing a solution. Often it is helpful to have a person act as timekeeper and announce when the agenda time for a particular item has expired. However, during the meeting, be flexible. The facilitator can allow . the group to decide whether to move on to the next item or extend the discussion. As you go along, look to narrow the differences among members and form a consensus. As the meeting closes, summarize what was accomplished, checking for agreement and commitment among the members. Make a detailed list of the follow-up items, who has responsibility for each item, and a timeline for completion. The results from really listening to and learning from your customers in a well-run advisory council can pay huge dividends.

单选题Old stereotypes die hard. Picture a video-game player and you will likely imagine a teenage boy, by himself, compulsively hammering away at a game involving ray guns and aliens that splatter when blasted. Ten years ago that might have borne some relation to reality. But today a gamer is as likely to be a middle-aged commuter playing "Angry Birds" on her smartphone. In America, the biggest market, the average game-player is 37 years old. Two-fifths are female. Over the past ten years the video-game industry has grown from a small business to a huge, mainstream one. With global sales of $56 billion in 2010, it is more than twice the size of the recorded-music industry. Despite the downturn, it is growing by almost 9% a year. Is this success due to luck or skill? The answer matters, because the rest of the entertainment industry has tended to treat gaming as being a lucky beneficiary of broader technological changes. Video gaming, unlike music, film or television, had the luck to be born digital. In fact, there is plenty for old media to learn. Video games have certainly been swept along by two forces: demography and technology. The first gaming generation—the children of the 1970s and early 1980s—is now over 30. Many still love gaming, and can afford to spend far more on it now. Meanwhile rapid improvements in computing power have allowed game designers to offer experiences that are now often more cinematic than the cinema. But even granted this good fortune, the game-makers have been clever. They have reached out to new customers with new methods. They have branched out into education, corporate training and even warfare, and have embraced digital downloads and mobile devices with enthusiasm. Though big-budget games are still popular, much of the growth now comes from "casual" games that are simple, cheap and playable in short bursts on mobile phones or in web browsers. The industry has excelled in a particular area—pricing. In an era when people are disinclined to pay for content on the web, games publishers were quick to develop "freemium" models, where you rely on non-paying customers to build an audience and then extract cash only from a fanatical few. As gaming comes to be seen as just another medium, its tech-savvy approach could provide a welcome shot in the arm for existing media groups.