单选题What does the words of Dr.' Hisham Gasseib mean in the third paragraph?

单选题Before the economy fell apart, it was Britain's society that was supposed to be in terminal decline, especially in the eyes of the Tories. David Cameron, the Conservative Party leader, was wont to bemoan "broken Britain", mired in moral degeneracy, with high rates of teenage pregnancy, low rates of marriage and other less quantifiable breakdowns in the civilised scheme of things. Such antediluvian worries were raked over again on July 13th when Iain Duncan Smith, a former Tory leader, called for an official endorsement of marriage. Mr Duncan Smith cites several reasons to encourage wedlock, including family stability (married couples are much less likely to split than cohabiting ones ) and healthier children who do better in later life. There was talk of state-run counselling, pro-marriage propaganda in schools and mandatory "cooling-off" periods before divorces. Mr Duncan Smith favours tax breaks for married couples, something that Labour has long refused to endorse. It is true that marriage is a declining institution. Marriage rates are at their lowest since 1895．But, curiously, those who do marry now stay together for longer. Divorce rates are falling, not rising, and have been for several years. In 2007 11.9 married couples per thousand untied the knot, down from 12.2 the year before and the lowest since 1981．The time that divorcing couples endure each other before flinging back the rings has lengthened too., from 10.1 years in 1981 to 11.7 in 2007．Indifference towards the sacrament of marriage appears strongest among the elderly, not the feckless young. Since 2004, when the overall divorce rate peaked at 14.1 per thousand, over-60s have been the only part of the population whose rates have continued to rise. There are plenty of competing explanations for the diminishing appeal of divorce, and no easy way to discover which are true. Immigration may have helped, since immigrant families often have more conservative attitudes than the degenerate natives. Accountants and divorce lawyers reckon a string of recent big settlements may have acted as a deterrent (although it could equally have encouraged the poorer partners in financially unequal marriages). Falling marriage rates and falling divorce rates could be two sides of the same coin, says Kathleen Kiernan, a professor of social policy at York University. The unpopularity of marriage and the relative ease of divorce has left only a hard core of stable couples bound in wedlock. And the rise in the average age at which people get married (now 36 for men and 33 for women) is helping too, since older brides and grooms tend to stay together longer in any case. If so, politicians should be cautious about handing out tax breaks. Even if they work (and Ms Kiernan thinks they would have to be enormous to have much effect), chivvying unmarried couples into wedlock is likely to mean more divorces in the future.

单选题The Treasury could pocket 20 million a year in extra fines once the country's speed camera network is expanded. Motoring organizations warned that the (1) could become a poll tax on wheels, (2) huge number of drivers. There could be many more incidents of vandalism (3) cameras. The warnings came (4) a Daily Mail survey found almost all the 23 police forces in England and Wales were either (5) to expansion plans or considering (6) . Nationwide, the number of speeding tickets is expected to treble, (7) 90 million a year. (8) the scheme, police keep some of the cash from fines to 9 the costs of fitting and maintaining extra cameras and (10) that existing ones always have film in them. The rest will go to the Treasury. Both Ministers and police insist the scheme is aimed (11) at making roads safer. They point to trials in eight areas which cut collisions by a quarter and deaths and serious injuries by (12) a half. But motoring organizations fear cameras will be sited on relatively safe (13) fast stretches to catch as many drivers as possible. Some forces are also expected to 14 the "threshold" speeds at which cameras are (15) to the absolute legal minimum-15 mph in a 10 mph limit, and 26 mph in a 20 mph zone. This could encourage drivers to stare at their speedometers instead of concentrating on the road, and (16) to more accidents. Sue Nicholson, head of campaigns at the RAC, said, "We don't have a problem with speed cameras (17) . But we do have concerns about (18) they are sited. Police risk losing credibility (19) motorists if cameras are seen as revenue-raising (20) safety devices./

单选题We can learn from the last paragraph that Patrick Cescau

单选题According to the passage, Frederick Ⅱ carried on the experiments to ______.

单选题According to the logical clue of the text, the second paragraph is an example to show that

单选题According to paragraph 2, the interest among photographers in each of the photography's two ideals can be described as

单选题One of the most important results of research into ageing has been to pinpoint the significance of short-term memory. This faculty is easily (1) as ageing advances. What seems to (2) is that information is received by the brain, (3) scans it for meaning in order to decode it at some future time. It looks as if the actual (4) of the short-term memory itself may not change too much (5) age. A young man and a man in his late fifties may (6) be able to remember and repeat a(n) (7) of eight numbers recited to them. But what (8) change is that when the older man is asked to remember anything (9) between the time he is first given the numbers to memorise and the time he is asked to (10) them, he will be much less likely to remember the (11) numbers than the young man. This is because the scanning stage is more easily (12) by other activities in (13) people. In (14) living one experiences this as a fairly minor (15) -- a telephone number forgotten while one looks (16) an area code, or the first part of (17) street directions confused with the last because the last 'turn lefts' and 'turn rights' have interfered (18) remembering the first directions. In more formal learning, however, the (19) of short-term memory is more than just a mild social embarrassment. It can be a serious bar to further (20) or indeed to any progress at all.

单选题Like all quintessentially British things, gardening is a pastime that has long been in decline. From a high point of ￡5 billion in 2001, spending on plants, tools and garden furniture has fallen every year since then, to around ~3 billion in 2008．The arrival of economic recession only deepened the gloom: to credit-crunched consumers, shrubs and hanging baskets seemed obvious candidates for cuts. Yet the latest figures from the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) suggest a bumper year for garden-related expenditure is in the making. Sales volumes were up by 21% in March and 28% in April compared with the same months a year earlier. This was not the result of deep discounting, a strategy that many other retailers have been adopting. The value of garden goods sold was 37% higher in March and 42% higher in April than a year earlier, whereas the value of all sales had increased by just 3% in April. Datamonitor, a market-research firm, reckons that gardening will continue to outperform the rest of retailing for at least the next two years. Much of the good news is due to the weather, admits Tim Briercliffe, the HTA's director of business development. Last year the vital spring months were damp and miserable; this year sunshine (and weathermen's prediction of a hot summer) has boosted custom. But the economic downturn itself has turned out to be as much a blessing as a curse. Gardening may be a luxury, argues Mr. Briercliffe, but it competes with other, more expensive luxuries. "People who might have otherwise booked a city break to Prague are staying at home and making the best of what they have," he maintains. According to Ipsos MORI, a pollster, three-quarters of people plan to spend at least as much on their garden this year as last. Economic hardship has created a new breed of gardener too. Partly, that reflects people making the most of their enforced leisure: "We get some unemployed city types who are just filling time while looking for another job," admits a garden-centre worker near the London commuter town of Guilford. But there are more positive developments. Much of the growth in garden spending has come from the under-35s, not traditionally a green-fingered demographic. One explanation is that environmentalism and thriftiness have made growing vegetables trendy, an idea that is supported by growing shortage of allotments. But there is more to it than pleasant weather and belt-tightening. The HTA detects deeper, and darker, changes in the national psyche. Citing research from the Future Foundation, a prognosticatory consultancy, it reckons that people are spending more time in their homes, fortifying them into havens from an unwelcoming world haunted by crime, bureaucracy and rising unemployment. The longer the downturn persists, the greener the grass may grow.

单选题According to the author, the notion that computers are to blame for the wage gap is

单选题It's never too early or too late for a parent to become a teacher. In this age of teacher accountability, endless school testing, increased pressure and competition, and the proliferation of "educational" toys, too many people forget that success begins at home. Freeman A. Hrabowski Ⅲ, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and co-author of Beating the Odds: Raising Academically Successful African American Males and Overcoming the Odds: Raising Academically Successful African American Young Women, says that in the interviews he and his co-authors conducted, the overwhelming factor in their children's academic achievement was that parents inspired and envisioned their children's success. They thought and talked about what would be required to have a .successful child. "It just makes such a difference when there's someone in that house working to relate to that child and inspire that child," Hrabowski says. "These parents (of the high achievers discussed) are really inspirational in their commitment to their children." Professor Barbara T. Bowman, one of the faculty founders of Chicago's Erikson Institute, an independent institution of higher education that prepares child development professionals for leader- ship, says that Black children must learn in two different cultures-the African-American culture in which they live and the mainstream culture on which school and education are based. Bowman also says the relationship between children and their parents is critical. "It is the early responsive ness of the caregiver to the infant's behavior that creates a sense of well-being and optimism that affects the child's interest in learning," says Bowman, who served as president of the institute from 1994 to last year. "Children who like and want to please the adult learn better what the adult wants them to learn." In this day of highly competitive testing and the stress of getting high SAT or ACT scores, it's important also to avoid pressuring or overexposing your child. Your son or daughter is probably already facing stress at school and on the playground. Your role is to help him or her relieve and manage that stress. Help them to understand that life does not end or begin with a test. And while academic success is important, it's also important to keep everything in perspective. Failure is a relative term in the grand scheme of things. If your child did poorly on a test, but answered a particularly tough question correctly, stress the positive. On the other hand, if schoolwork comes too easily to your child, find other ways to challenge him or her so they understand that life won't always be that way.