单选题{{B}}Text 1{{/B}} Some countries are more populous; some have more crime. But in no other country are crime fighters quite so knowledgeable about citizens as in Britain. On January 4th a boastful Home Office detailed the triumphs of the world's biggest forensic DNA database, which holds samples from more than 5% of the entire population of England and Wales. Recent changes to the rules governing the database mean that it may eventually hold profiles from more than a fifth of all adults. Once a country starts storing DNA samples from criminals it is hard to resist the urge to expand the collection. When the National DNA Database (NDNAD) was set up, in 1995, samples could only be taken from those charged with "recordable" offences. If a suspect was not tried, or was freed, the sample had to be destroyed and the profile removed from the database. That law was abandoned in 2001, after two men who had been convicted of murder and rape had their cases overturned on appeal--the DNA evidence against them related to crimes they had not beep convicted of, and so ought to have been removed from the database. The change has led to the retention of around 200,000 samples that world previously have been destroyed. Some 7,591 of these were subsequently matched with samples from crime scenes, including those from 88 murders and 116 rapes. And since April 2004, police have been able to take and keep samples from anyone arrested for a recordable offence, even if charges do not ensue. The main reason the NDNAD is larger than databases in other countries is that Britain was first to start using DNA as an investigative tool. So not only has it had time to collect more DNA samples, but it has also had longer to appreciate the sheer power of a large database.." Every other country that does databasing will get to where Britain is now," says Chris Asplen, a consultant to law enforcement agencies and governments on DNA technology. The increased use of DNA evidence has given rise to intriguing new courtroom defences. DNA tests are now so sensitive that they can detect if a person has sneezed or sweated near an object. John Swain, a barrister with a background in biochemistry, recently defended a man charged with armed robbery. The defendant's DNA was on the gun that was used, but the defence argued that he might just have been near it after he had been to the gym, and that an errant bead of sweat could account for the presence of his DNA on a weapon he had never handled. He was declared not guilty.

单选题Want a glimpse of the future of health care? Take a look at the way the various networks of people involved in patient care are being connected to one another, and how this new connectivity is being exploited to deliver medicine to the patient—no matter where he or she may be. Online doctors offering advice based on standardized symptoms are the most obvious example. Increasingly, however, remote diagnosis (telemedicine) will be based on real physiological data from the actual patient. A group from the University of Kentucky has shown that by using an off-the-shelf PDA(personal data assistance) such as a Palm Pilot plus a mobile phone, it is perfectly feasible to transmit a patient's vital signs over the telephone. With this kind of equipment in a first-aid kit, the cry asking whether there was a doctor in the house could well be a thing of the past. Other medical technology groups are working on applying telemedicine to rural care. And at least one team wants to use telemedicine as a tool for disaster response—especially after earthquakes. Overall, the trend is towards providing global access to medical data and expertise. But there is one problem. Bandwidth is the limiting factor for transmitting complex medical images around the world—CT scans being one of the biggest bandwidth consumers. Communications satellites may be able to cope with the short-term needs during disasters such as earthquakes, wars or famines. But medicine is looking towards both the second-generation Internet and third-generation mobile phones for the future of distributed medical intelligence. Doctors have met to discuss computer-based tools for medical diagnosis, training and telemedicine. With the falling price of broadband communications, the new technologies should usher in an era when telemedicine and the sharing of medical information, expert opinion and diagnosis are common.

单选题What does the author mean by "the blocking of some 'questionable’site was not comprehensive" ( Line 1, Last Paragraph) ?

单选题According to the author, the success of the campaigns may depend on

单选题A wise man once said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. So, as a police officer, I have some urgent things to say to good people. Days after days my men and I struggle to hold back a tidal wave of crime. Something has gone terribly wrong with our once-proud American way of life. It has happened in the area of values. A key ingredient is disappearing, and I think I know what it is: accountability. Accountability isn't hard to define. It means that every person is responsible for his or her actions and liable for their consequences. Of the many values that hold civilization together—honesty, kindness, and so on—accountability may be the most important of all. Without it, there can be no respect, no trust, no law— and, ultimately, no society. My job as a police officer is to impose accountability to people who refuse, or have never learned, to impose it on themselves. But as every policeman knows, external controls on people's behavior are far less effective than internal restraints such as guilt, shame and embarrassment. Fortunately there are still communities—smaller towns, usually—where schools maintain discipline and where parents hold up standards that proclaim: "In this faimily certain things are not tolerated—they simply are not done!" Yet more and more, especially in our larger cities and suburbs, these inner restraints are loosening. Your typical robber has none. He considers your property his property; he takes what he wants, including your life if you enrage him. The main cause of this break-down is a radical shift in attitudes. Thirty years ago, if a crime was committed, society was considered the victim. Now, in a shocking reversal, it's the criminal who is considered victimized: by his underprivileged upbringing, by the school that didn't teach him to read, by the church that failed to reach him with moral guidance, by the parents who didn't provide a stable home. I don't believe it. Many others in equally disadvantaged circumstances choose not to engage in criminal activities. If we free the criminal, even partly, from accountability, we become a society of endless excuses where no one accepts responsibility for anything. We in America desperately need more people who believe that the person who commits a crime is the one responsible for it.

单选题This line of inquiry did not begin until earlier this month--more than three months after the accident--because there were "too many emotions, too many egos," said retired Adm. Harold Gehman, chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee, Gehman said this part of his inquiry Was in its earliest stages, starting just 10 days ago. But Gehman said he already has concluded it is "inconceivable" that NASA would have been unable or unwilling to attempt a rescue for astronaut, s in orbit if senior shuttle managers and administrators had known there was fatal damage to Columbia's left wing. Gehman told reporters after the hearing that answers to these important questions could have enormous impact, since they could place in a different context NASA's decisions against more aggressively checking possible wing damage in the days before Columbia's fatal return. Investigators believe breakaway insulating foam damaged part of Columbia's wing Shortly after liftoff, allowing superheated air to penetrate the wing during its fiery re-entry on Feb. 1 and melt it from the inside. Among those decisions was the choice by NASA's senior shuttle managers and administrators to reject offers of satellite images of possible damage to Columbia's left wing before the accident. The subject dominated the early part of Wednesday's hearing. Gehman complained that managers and administrators "missed signals" when they rejected those offers for images, a pointedly harsh assessment of the space agency's inaction during the 16 day shuttle mission. "We will attempt to pin this issue down in our report, but there were a number of bureaucratic and administrative missed signals here," Gehman told senators. "We're not quite so happy with the process." The investigative board already had recommended that NASA push for better coordination between the space agency and military offices in charge of satellites and telescopes. The U. S. National Imagery and Mapping Agency in March agreed to regularly capture detailed satellite images of space shuttles in orbit. Still, Gehman said it was unclear whether even images from America's most sophisticated spy satellites might have detected on Columbia's wing any damage, which Gehman said could have been as small as two inches square. The precise capabilities of such satellites was a sensitive topic during the Senate hearing.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} Standard & Poor's maintains a cautious stance on cable-TV operators in the wake of Verizon's (VZ) announcement in early May of aggressive price cuts for its digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet-access service. Our overall outlook for the S & P Cable & Broadcasting index, which also includes shares of over-the-air TV and radio broadcasters, is neutral to modestly positive. Cable operators have so far ruled out an overt price war on broadband services. However, expect to see near-term responses like increased bundling of services, extended free months, more aggressive marketing and promotions, even modest price cuts from cable outfits that offer multiple services such as broadband as they defend their high- growth Internet-access Business. Continued rapid growth in digital cable and high-speed data services helped support the industry's ongoing revenue growth. We at S & P are wary of price pressures on the long-term and short-term economics of cable's broadband business. That's especially true as another Baby Bell, SBC Communications (SBC), is also undercutting cable-service providers in many core markets. In their traditional business segment, U.S. cable operators continue to benefit from a modest rebound in advertising spending, following a significant downturn during the economic slump that started in 2001. The industry has actually increased its share of total U. S. ad spending. The cable sector posted uninterrupted revenue growth during the recent downturn, as its greater reliance on subscriber revenues gives it a more defensive posture than broadcasters. Subscriptions remain the industry's primary revenue source, accounting for roughly 65% of the total, with advertising makes up the rest. Our near-term outlook for cable remains tempered by heightened levels of geopolitical anxieties, though the Iraq war's end has alleviated their impact on advertising demand. Meanwhile, core subscription growth continues to be driven by robust rates of high-speed data sign-ups and by improved prospects for digital-video ancillary offerings like video-on-demand and high-definition TV. We believe that successful media operators will continue to anticipate, rather than react to, the ever changing dynamics of an increasingly competitive media environment. Even with increased regulatory surveillance, vertically and horizontally integrated media operators should begin to wield increasing competitive advantages as they leverage operating efficiencies and realize synergies across multiple delivery platforms.

单选题The word "globalization" usually conjures up images of globe-spanning companies and distance-destroying technologies. Its enablers are the laws of comparative advantage and economies of scale. In The Great Brain Race Ben Wildavsky points to another mighty agent o globalization: universities. These were some of the world's first "global" institutions. In the Middle Ages great universities such as Paris and Bologna attracted "wandering scholars" from across Europe. In the 19th century Germany's research universities attracted scholars from across the world. In the early 20th century philanthropists such as Cecil Rhodes and William Harkness established scholarships to foster deeper links between countries. By the 1960s globe-trotting professors were so commonplace that they bad become the butt of jokes. (What is the difference between God and professor so and so? God is everywhere. Professor so and so is everywhere but here. ) Universities are obsessed by the global marketplace for students and professors. They are trying to attract as many students from abroad as possible (not least because foreign students usually pay full fees). Nearly 3 million students now spend some time studying in foreign countries, a number that has risen steeply in recent years. Universities are also setting up overseas. New York University has opened a branch in Abu Dhabi. Six American universities have created a higher-education supermarket in Qatar. Almost every university worth its name has formed an alliance with a leading Chinese institution. But globalization is going deeper than just the competition for talent: a growing number of countries are trying to create an elite group of "global universities" that are capable of competing with the best American institutions. China and India are focusing resources on a small group. The French and German governments are doing hattie with academic egalitarians in an attempt to create European Ivy Leagues. Behind all this is the idea that world-class universities can make a disproportionate contribution to economic growth. This is a fascinating story. But Mr. Wildavsky, a former education reporter who now works for both the Kauffman Foundation and the Brookings Institution, is too earnest a writer to make the best of it. He wastes too much ink summarising research papers and quoting "experts" uttering banalities. And he fails to point out the humour of sabbatical man jet-setting hither and thither to discuss such staples of modern academic life as poverty and inequality. Mr. Wildavsky should spend less time with his fellow think-tankers (who are mesmerised by the idea of a global knowledge economy) and more talking to students, who experience the disadvantages as well as the advantages of the new cult of globalization at first hand.

单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} Britain's undeclared general election campaign has already seen the politicians trading numbers as boxers trade punches. There is nothing new in such statistical slanging matches(相互谩骂)What is new is an underestimation of worry about what has been happening to official statistics under the Labour government. One of the most important figures for Gordon Brown when presenting his pre-election budget on March 16th was the current-budget balance. This is the gap between current revenues and current spending. It matters to the chancellor of the exchequer(财政部长) because he is committed to meeting his own "golden rule" of borrowing only to invest, so he has to ensure that the current budget is in balance or surplus over the economic cycle. Mr. Brown told MPs that he would meet the golden rule for the current cycle with ￡ 6 billion ($11.4 billion) to spare—a respectable-sounding margin, though much less than in the past. However, the margin would have been halved but for an obscure technical change announced in February by the Office for National Statistics to the figures for road maintenance of major highways. The ONS said that the revision was necessary because it had been double-counting this spending within the current budget. If this were an isolated incident, then it might be disregarded. But it is not the first time that the ONS has made decisions that appear rather convenient for the government. Mr. Brown aims to meet another fiscal rule, namely to keep public net debt below 40% of GDP, again over the economic cycle. At present he is meeting it but his comfort room would be reduced if the S 21 billion borrowings of Network Rail were included as part of public debt. They are not thanks to a controversial decision by the ONS to classify the rail-infrastructure corporation within the private sector, even though the National Audit Office, Parliament's watchdog, said its borrowings were in fact government liabilities. This makes it particularly worrying that the official figures can show one thing, whereas the public experiences another. One of the highest-profile targets for the NHS is that no patient should spend more than four hours in a hospital accident and emergency department. Government figures show that by mid-2004, the target was being met for 9696 of patients. But according to a survey of 55,000 patients by the Healthcare Commission, an independent body, only 77% of patients said they stayed no more than four hours in A&E. One way to help restore public confidence in official statistics would be to make the ONS independent, as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have suggested. Another would be for the National Audit Office to assess how the government has been performing against targets, as the Public Administration Committee has recommended.

单选题The views of the writer and Spitzer on American corporate governance are

单选题From what you have read, would you expect manners to improve among people who

单选题The writer mentions the political elements in 19th century opera to illustrate