单选题This "mechanism" in the last sentence of the first paragraph refers to______.

单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} Last weekend, sportsmen and women of an unusually hardy disposition descended on Sherborne, a pretty Dorset town. There, they swam twice around Sherborne Castle's lake, cycled 180kin and then ran a marathon. The winners of this gruelling race--Britain's inaugural Ironman triathlon—were rewarded with a spot in a prestigious race in Hawaii, where yet more pain awaits. For a sport barely known in Britain five years ago, triathlon has grown at a sprinter's pace. This year the British Triathlon Association, the governing body, will sanction some 450 triathlons, duathlons (running and biking) and aquathlons (running and swimming). These vary from tough races aimed at endurance junkies to shorter events designed to lure newcomers. By far the most successful is the London triathlon, which, three weeks ago, brought 8 000--half of them first-timers--to the Royal Victoria Dock in east London. That made it the world's biggest. There are echoes of the jogging craze of the early 1980s. Both sports are American exports; both have grown partly thanks to television coverage. Inclusion in the Olympic and Commonwealth games has conferred credibility and state funding on triathlon. Even better, Britain's professional triathletes are doing rather well on the international circuit. There are practical reasons for the growth of the sport, too. Nick Rusling, event director of the London triathlon, points out that established events such as the London marathon and Great North Run are hugely over-subscribed (this year the marathon received 98 500 applications for 36 000 places). Triathlon offers a more reliable route to exhaustion, and a fresh challenge to athletes who are likely to cross-train anyway. The sport will not soon supplant "the great suburban Everest", as Chris Brasher, founder of the London marathon, described his event. The sport's tripartite nature means that putting on events is fiendishly complex, a fact reflected in high entry fees: competitors at last weekend's Ironman race forked out ￡220. Shorter events are cheaper, but participants must still provide their own bicycles and wetsuits and pay for training. Compared with the inhabitants of Newham, the London borough where this year's London triathlon was held, competitors appeared overwhelmingly white and middle class. Another drag on growth is a shortage of suitable venues in a small island--a problem exacerbated by safety fears. But that ought to be less of a hindrance in future. Two court decisions, in 2003 and earlier this year, have firmly established that the owners of large bodies of water may not be held responsible when adults injure themselves as a result of extravagant sporting actions.

单选题We can know from the first paragraph that______.

单选题The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has positioned itself as the premier champion of investor rights, regularly singling out bad managers at some of the nation's largest companies in its annual corporate-governance focus lists. And with $153 billion under management, Wall Street tends to listen when CalPERS speaks out. But the country's largest pension fund has never taken on as big a fish as it did Dec. 16, when it filed a class action against the New York Stock Exchange and seven of its member firms. CalPERS' suit charges the NYSE and specialist firms with fraud, alleging that the exchange skirted its regulatory duties and allowed its members to trade stocks at the expense of investors. The move is a major slap in the face for the NYSE's recently appointed interim Chairman John Reed. The former Citibank chairman and CEO came on board in September after the exchange's longtime head, Richard Grasso, resigned under pressure over public outrage about his excessive compensation. Reed has been widely criticized by CalPERS and other institutional investors for not including representatives of investors on the exchange's newly constituted board and not clearly separating the exchange's regulatory function from its day-to-day operations. The CalPERS lawsuit is evidence that the investment communities' dissatisfaction hasn't ebbed. "Our hopes were dashed when Mr. Reed didn't perform," says Harrigan. The suit alleges that seven specialist firms profited by abusing and overusing a series of trading tactics. The tactics, which are not currently illegal, include "penny lumping', where a firm positions itself between two orders to capture a piece of the price differential, "front running", which involves trading in advance of customers based on confidential information obtained by their orders, and "freezing" the firm's order book so that the firm can make trades on its own account first. Many of the suit's allegations are based on a previously disclosed investigation of the exchange conducted by the Securities & Exchange Commission. According to the suit, the October SEC report found "serious deficiencies in the NYSE's surveillance and investigative procedures, including a habit of ignoring repeat violations By specialist firms". The suit highlights the growing frustration that institutional investors have expressed with what they perceive as a system that needs to be revamped--if not eliminated. According to California State Comptroller Steve Westley, a CalPERS board member who participated in the Dec. 16 press conference, he has repeatedly called on the NYSE to end its use of specialist firms to facilitate trades and move to a system of openly matching of buyers and sellers. BLIND EYE? "There's no reason not to move to a fully automated exchange," Westley says. "Every exchange in the world is using such a system. The time is now for the NYSE to move into the 21st century and remove the cloud that there's self-dealing working against investors./

单选题Tom Burke recently tried to print out a boarding pass from home before one of the frequent/lights he takes. He couldn't. His name, or one similar to it, is now on one of the Transportation Security Administration's terrorist watch lists. Every day, thousands of people like Burke find themselves unable o do things like print a boarding pass and are pulled aside for extensive screening because their name, or a name that sounds like theirs, is on one of the watch lists. From the TSA's perspective, the screening is just one of the many new layers of increased security that are designed to prevent terrorist activity. The inconvenience is regrettable, but a price that society has to pay for security. And for national security reasons, the FBI and other government agencies responsible for supplying names to the lists will not disclose the criteria they use. They say that would amount to tipping their hands to the terrorists. But civil libertarians are more concerned about the long-term consequence of the current lists. On Sept. 11, 2001, the no-fly list contained 16 names. Now, the combined lists are estimated to have as many as 20,000. Internal FBI memos from agents referred to the process as "really confused" and "not comprehensive and not centralized." Burke and others contend that such comments axe disturbing, because it was during the first year after the attacks that the watch lists grew exponentially. "The underlying danger is not that Tom. Burke can no longer get a boarding pass to get on an air line," says a lawyer. "It's that the Tom Burkes in the world may .forever more be associated (with the terrorist watch list)." Burke says they do know that the lists axe frequently updated and distributed internationally, but they don't know how the old lists are destroyed. They also hope to ensure that sometime in the future a person whose name is on the list, but is not a terrorist, does not run into further trouble if, say, law enforcement in another country that they're visiting comes across their name on one of the old lists. In addition, airlines are concerned that the lists are not updated frequently enough. "We've been encouraging the TSA to work with all of the other federal law-enforcement agencies to get a regular re view of the names that they submit to TSA, because there have been reports that these agencies have said that if there was a review, many of the names could be removed," says Diana Cronin of the Air Transport Association.

单选题The word "exacerbate" (Paragraph 5) is closely associated with

单选题Scientists around the world are racing to learn how to rapidly diagnose, treat and stop the spread of a new, deadly disease. SARS — Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome — was (1) for the first time in February 2003 in Hanoi, (2) since then has infected more than 1,600 people in 15 countries, killing 63. At this (3) , there are more questions than answers surrounding the disease. Symptoms start (4) a fever over 100.4 degrees F, chills, headache or body (5) . Within a week, the patient has a dry cough, which might (6) to shortness of breath. In 10% to 200% of cases, patients require (7) ventilation to breathe. About 3.5% die from the disease. Symptoms (8) begin in two to seven days, but some reports suggest it (9) take as long as 10 days. Scientists are close to (10) a lab test to diagnose SARS. In the meantime, it is diagnosed by its symptoms. There is no evidence (11) antibiotics or anti-viral medicines help, (12) doctors can offer only supportive care. Patients with SARS are kept in isolation to reduce the risk of (13) . Scientists aren’t sure yet, but some researchers think it’s a (14) discovered coronavirus, the family of viruses that cause some common colds. Most cases appear to have been passed (15) droplets expelled when infected patients cough or sneeze. Family members of infected people and medical workers who care for them have been most likely to (16) the illness. But recent developments in Hong Kong suggest that the (17) might spread through air, or that the virus might (18) for two to three hours on doorknobs or other (19) Health experts say it is (20) , though, that sharing an elevator briefly with an infected person would be enough to pass the virus.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} The history of modem pollution problems shows that most have resulted from negligence and ignorance. We have an appalling tendency to interfere with nature before all of the possible consequences of our actions have been studied in depth. We produce and distrobite radioactive substances, synthetic chemicals and many other potent compounds before fully comprehending their effects on living organisms. Our education is dangerously incomplete. It will be argued that the purpose of science is to move into unknown territory, to explore, and to discover. It can be said that similar risks have been taken before, and that these risks are necessary to technological progress. These arguments overlook an important element. In the past, risks taken in the name of scientific progress were restricted to a small place and brief period of time. The effects of the processes we now strive to master are neither localized nor brief. Air pollution covers vast urban areas. Ocean pollutants have been discovered in nearly every part of the world. Synthetic chemicals spread over huge stretches of forest and farmland may remain in the soil for decades and years to come. Radioactive pollutants will be found in the biosphere for generations. The size and persistence of these problems have grown with the expanding power of modem science. One might also argue that the hazards of modem pollutants are small compared with the dangers associated with other human activity. No estimate of the actual harm done by smog, fallout, or chemical residues can obscure the reality that the risks are being taken before being fully understood. The importance of these issues lies in the failure of science to predict and control human intervention into natural processes. The true measure of the danger is represented by the hazards we will encounter if we enter the new age of technology without first evaluating our responsibility to environment.

单选题To which of the follow is the author likely to agree?

单选题The film-awards season, which reaches its tearful climax with the Oscars next week, has long been only loosely related to the film business. Hollywood is dedicated to the art of funneling teenagers past popcorn stands, not art itself. But this year"s awards are less relevant than ever. The true worth of a film is no longer decided by the crowd that assembles in the Kodak Theatre—or, indeed, by any American. It is decided by youngsters in countries such as Russia, China and Brazil. Hollywood has always been an international business, but it is becoming dramatically more so. In the past decade total box-office spending has risen by about one-third in North America while more than doubling elsewhere. Thanks to Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes and "Inception", Warner Bros made $2.93 billion outside North America last year, smashing the studio"s previous record of $2.24 billion. Falling DVD sales in America, by far the world"s biggest home-entertainment market, mean Hollywood is even more dependent on foreign punters. The rising foreign tide has lifted films that were virtually written off in America, such as "Prince of Persia" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: the Voyage of the Dawn Treader". Despite starring the popular Jack Black, "Gulliver"s Travels" had a disappointing run in North America, taking $42m at the box office so far. But strong turnout in Russia and South Korea helped it reach almost $150m in sales elsewhere. As a result, it should turn a profit, says John Davis, the film"s producer. The growth of the international box office is partly a result of the dollar"s weakness. It was also helped by "Avatar", and eco-fantasy that made a startling $2 billion outside North America. But three things are particularly important: a cinema boom in the emerging world, a concerted effort by the major studios to make films that might play well outside America and a global marketing push to make sure they do. Russia, with its shrinking teenage population, is an unlikely spot for a box-office boom. Yet cinema-building is proceeding apace, and supply has created demand. Last year 160m cinema tickets were sold in Russia—the first time in recent years that sales have exceeded the country"s population. Ticket prices have risen, in part because the new cinemas are superior, with digital projectors that can show 3D films. The big Hollywood studios are muscling domestic film-makers aside. In 2007 American films made almost twice as much at the Russian box office as domestic films—8.3 billion roubles ($325m) compared with 4.5 billion. Last year the imported stuff made some 16.4 billion roubles: more than five times as much as the home-grown product, estimates Movie Research, a Moscow outfit. Earlier this month Vladimir Putin, Russia"s Prime Minister, said the government would spend less money supporting Russian film-makers and more on expanding the number of screens.

单选题The shift in the nature of consumer decision is revealed in the fact that

单选题In Cambodia, the choice of a spouse is a complex one for the young male. It may involve not only his parents and his friends, 1 those of the young woman, but also a matchmaker. A young man can 2 a likely spouse on his own and then ask his parents to 3 the marriage negotiations, or the young man"s parents may make the choice of a spouse, giving the child little to say in the selection. 4 , a girl may veto the spouse her parents have chosen. 5 a spouse has been selected, each family investigates the other to make sure its child is marrying 6 a good family. The traditional wedding is a long and colorful affair. Formerly it lasted three days, 7 by the 1980s it more commonly lasted a day and a half. Buddhist priests offer a short sermon and 8 prayers of blessing. Parts of the ceremony involve ritual hair cutting, 9 cotton threads soaked in holy water around the bride"s and groom"s wrists, and 10 a candle around a circle of happily married and respected couples to bless the 11 . Newlyweds traditionally move in with the wife"s parents and may 12 with them up to a year, 13 they can build a new house nearby. Divorce is legal and easy to 14 , but not common. Divorced persons are 15 with some disapproval. Each spouse retains 16 property he or she 17 into the marriage, and jointly-acquired property is 18 equally. Divorced persons may remarry, but a gender prejudice 19 up: The divorced male doesn"t have a waiting period before he can remarry 20 the woman must wait ten months.

单选题According to paragraph 5, the responses of different countries to globalization may be looked on as

单选题Though it is mere 1 to 3 percent of the population, the upper class possesses at least 25 percent of the nation's wealth. This class has two segments: upper-upper and lower-upper. Basically, the upper-upper class is the "old rich"—families that have been wealthy for several generations—an aristocracy of birth and wealth. Their names are in the Social Register, a listing of acceptable members of high society. A few are known across the nation, such as the Rockefellers, Roosevelts, and Vanderbilts. Most are not visible to the general public. They live in grand seclusion, drawing their income from the investment of their inherited wealth. In contrast, the lower-upper class is the "new rich". Although they may be wealthier than some of the old rich; the new rich have hustled to make their money like everybody else beneath their class. Thus their prestige is generally lower than that of the old rich, who have not found it necessary to lift a finger to make their money, and who tend to look down upon the new rich. However its wealth is acquired, the upper class is very, very rich. They have enough money and leisure time to cultivate an interest in the arts and to collect rare books, painting, and sculpture. They generally live in exclusive areas, belong to exclusive social clubs, communicate with each other, and marry their own kind—all of which keeps them so distant from the masses that they have been called the out-of-sight class. More than any other class, they tend to be conscious of being members of a class. They also command an enormous amount of power and influence here and a broad, as they hold many top government positions, run the Council on Foreigh Relations, and control multinational corporations. The actions affect the lives of millions.