单选题This past academic year, 146 New York City kids from 4 to 14 dutifully attended Rosalyn Chao's Mandarin class at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral Academy. Many of the students were first-generation Americans; for several, Mandarin would be their third language, after English and Spanish. Get used to this picture; around the world, more adults and kids are learning Chinese. Beijing is pouring money into new Confucius Institutes (Chinese language and culture centers), and two U.S. senators recently proposed spending $1.3 billion on Chinese-language programs over the next five years. From Ulan Bator to Chicago, it sometimes seems as if everyone is trying to learn the language now spoken by a fifth of the world's population. Their reasoning is easy to understand. China is booming, and citizens around the globe want a piece of the action. Speaking Mandarin can facilitate communication with newly wealthy Chinese tourists or smooth bilateral trade relations. In a form of intense cultural diplomacy, Beijing is also promoting its films, music, art and language as never before. Front and center are the Confucius Institutes, modeled on the British Council, Germany's Goethe Institutes or the Alliance Francaise. China's Ministry of Education is sending thousands of language instructors to foreign programs and inviting foreign students from Asia, Africa and elsewhere to study in its universities. As a result, Beijing predicts that 100 million individuals will be studying Mandarin as a second language by the end of the decade. The U.S. Department of Education announced earlier this year that it hopes to have 5 percent of all elementary, secondary and college students enrolled in Mandarin studies by 2010. The Chinese boom hasn't escaped criticism, however. For one thing, the language is hard, with more than 2,500 characters generally employed in daily writing and a complex tonal speaking system. Then there's the danger that other important languages, such as Russian or Japanese, will be neglected; for example, there are now 10 times more students learning Mandarin than Japanese in the United States. And other countries fear a growing encroachment(侵蚀) of Chinese power; some Africans have complained about Beijing's "neocolonialist(新殖民主义)" attitudes, for example, and this could breed resentment against Confucius Institutes on their soil. Yet most Mandarin students, like those at St. Pat's, aren't letting such concerns dissuade them. Mandarin represents a new way of thinking. Chao says that" we must begin preparing our students for the interconnected world." Accordingly, she has encouraged her Mandarin students to correspond with pen pals in Shanghai. Chao says that" in reading the Chinese students' letters, we learned quickly that American students are far behind their Asian counterparts." If they hope to catch up to their Chinese competitors, her students--like the growing legions of Mandarin pupils around the globe -- are going to have to study hard indeed.

单选题Many parents who welcome the idea of turning off the TV and spending more time with the family are still worried that without TV they would constantly be on call as entertainers for their children. They remember (1) of all sorts of things to do when they were kids, but their own kids seem different, less resourceful, (2) When there's nothing to do, these parents observe (3) , their kids seem unable to (4) any thing to do besides turning on the TV. One father, (5) , says "When I was a kid, we were always thinking up things to do, projects and (6) . We certainly never complained in an (7) way to our parents, 'I have nothing to do!'" He compares this with his own children today: "If someone doesn't entertain them, they'll happily sit there in front of the (8) all day." There is one word for this father's (9) : unfair. It is as if he were disappointed in them for not reading Greek though they have never studied the language. He deplores his children's (10) of inventiveness, as if the ability to play were something (11) that his children are missing. In fact, while the tendency to play is built into the human species, the actual ability to play—to imagine, to invent, to elaborate on (12) in a playful way—and the ability to gain (13) from it, these are skills that have to be learn ed and developed. Such disappointment, (14) , is not only (15) , it is also destructive. Sensing their parents' disappointment, children come to believe that they are, indeed, lacking something, and that this makes them less worthy of (16) and respect. Giving children the opportunity to develop new (17) , to enlarge their horizons and (18) he pleasures of doing things on their own is, on the other hand, a way to help children develop a (19) feeling about themselves as (20) and interesting people.

单选题Why are "Berlin to Beijing and Boston" mentioned in the last paragraph?

单选题According to the text, the public response to Mr Philips' claim is

单选题After World War Ⅱ the glorification of an ever-larger GNP formed the basis of a new materialism, which became a sacred obligation for all Japanese governments, businesses and trade unions. Anyone who mentioned the undesirable by-products of rapid economic growth was treated as a heretic. Consequently, everything possible was done to make conditions easy for the manufacturers. Few dared question the wisdom of discharging untreated waste into the nearest water body or untreated smoke into the atmosphere. This silence was maintained by union leaders as well as by most of the country's radicals; except for a few isolated voices, no one protested. An insistence on treatment of the various effluents would have necessitated expenditures on treatment equipment that in turn would have given rise to higher operating costs. Obviously, this would have meant higher prices for Japanese goods, and ultimately fewer sales and lower industrial growth and GNP. The pursuit of nothing but economic growth is illustrated by the response of the Japanese government to the American educational mission that visited Japan in 1947. After surveying Japan's educational program, the Americans suggested that the Japanese fill in their curriculum gap by creating departments in chemical and sanitary engineering. Immediately, chemical engineering departments were established in all the country's universities and technical institutions. In contrast, the recommendation to form sanitary engineering departments was more or less ignored, because they could bring no profit. By 1960, only two second-rate universities, Kyoto and Hokkaido, were interested enough to open such departments. The reluctance to divert funds from production to conservation is explanation enough for a certain degree of pollution, but the situation was made worse by the type of technology the Japanese chose to adopt for their industrial expansion. For the most part, they simply copied American industrial methods. This meant that methods originally designed for use in a country that stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific with lots of air and water to use as sewage receptacles were adopted for an area a fraction of the size. Moreover, the Japanese diet was much more dependent on water as a source of fish and as an input in the irrigation of rice; consequently discharged wastes built up much more rapidly, in the food chain. (373 words)Notes: heretic 异教徒。sanitary 卫生的。for the most part 基本上。receptacle 储存地。

单选题Who is poor in America? This is a hard question to answer. Despite poverty's messiness, we've measured progress against it by a single statistic: the federal poverty line. In 2008, the poverty threshold was $ 21,834 for a four-member family with two children under 18. By 1his measure, we haven't made much progress. Except for recessions, when the poverty rate can rise to 15 percent, it's stayed in a narrow range for decades. In 2007—the peak of the last business cycle—the poverty rate was 12.5 percent; one out of eight Americans was "poor. " In 1969, another business-cycle peak, the poverty rate was 12.1 percent. But the apparent lack of progress is misleading for two reasons. First, it ignores immigration. Many immigrants are poor and low skilled. They add to the poor. From 1989 to 2007, about three quarters of the increase in the poverty population occurred among Hispanics—mostly immigrants, their children, and grandchildren. The poverty rate for blacks fell during this period, though it was still much too high (24.5 percent in 2007). Poverty "experts" don't dwell on immigration, because it implies that more restrictive policies might reduce U.S. poverty. Second, the poor's material well-being has improved. The official poverty measure obscures this by counting only pretax cash income and ignoring other sources of support. These include the earned-income tax credit (a rebate to low-income workers), food stamps, health insurance (Medicaid), and housing subsidies. Although many poor live hand to mouth, they've participated in rising living standards. In 2005, 91 percent had microwaves, 79 percent air-conditioning, and 48 percent cell phones. The existing poverty line could be improved by adding some income sources and subtracting some expenses (example: child care). Unfortunately, the administration's proposal for a "supplemental poverty measure" in 2011—to complement, not replace, the existing poverty line—goes beyond that. The new poverty number would compound public confusion. It also raises questions about whether the statistic is tailored to favor a political agenda. The "supplemental measure" ties the poverty threshold to what the poorest third of Americans spend on food, housing, clothing, and utilities. The actual threshold not yet calculated—will probably be higher than today's poverty line. Moreover, this definition has strange consequences. Suppose that all Americans doubled their income tomorrow, and suppose that their spending on food, clothing, housing, and utilities also doubled. That would seem to signify less poverty—but not by the new poverty measure. It wouldn't decline, because the poverty threshold would go up as spending went up. Many Americans would find this weird., people get richer, but "poverty" stays stuck. What produces this outcome is a different view of poverty. The present concept is an absolute one: the poverty threshold reflects the amount estimated to meet basic needs. By contrast, the new measure embraces a relative notion of poverty: people are automatically poor if they're a given distance from the top, even if their incomes are increasing.

单选题The big UK grocery retailer TESCO is testing a database which knows when you like to shop, what's on the list and how much you are likely to spend. It also knows that three-quarters of a store's total profits comes from its top 10% of customers. Data mining—the intensive analysis of statistics—is being combined with micro-marketing—the targeting of small groups of consumers—to cause big changes in the way we spend. The U. S. retailer Wal-Mart now mails out to customers personalised weekly shopping lists with prices, together with a list of little temptations for their taste, budget and stage in life. These developments may have profound effects on the way we bank as well on the way we shop. In perhaps six months a customer will be able to arrive at a supermarket, pick up a bar code reader and wander about the shop, clicking on to whatever he or she wants to buy that week. A member of staff will take the bar code reader, use it to deliver the goods from the warehouse, while the customer goes off for a coffee or to have their hair clone. A 3D body scanner will come into use within a few years. A customer who stands partially clothed in a small room for about 10 seconds, can have his physical stature mapped to an accuracy of 1 millimeter. Then he or she can shop from home, with a television remote control device, flicking through the latest catalogue of offerings from a retailer. Fancy that outfit for yourself? A click of the button, and there you are, on the television screen, wearing it. Like to see it in another color? Click. Just got to have it? Another click to call up the Internet banking connection, and you have bought and paid for it, and a courier will deliver tomorrow. The revolution does not stop there. Mr. Treleaven, an expert in artificial intelligence and so- called neural networks, can tie together your current preferences, sprinkle with a little knowledge of how you are likely to age and predict your spending patterns for the rest of your life. Is it too intrusive—an invasion of privacy? "In fact just the opposite," says Mr. Treleaven. "People welcome the chance to be given valuable assistance in some of the humdrum chores of our time, and avoid being targeted by the irritations of intrusive advertising. The store owner will become the friend who gives valuable information to you.

单选题What is following is the cause that will make the Olympic Games suspect and no longer worth watching?

单选题{{B}}Directions:{{/B}} Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSER SHEET 1. Divorce is the act by which a valid marriage is dissolved, usually freeing the parties to remarry. In regions in {{U}}(1) {{/U}}ancient {{U}}(2) {{/U}} authority still predominates, divorce may be {{U}}(3) {{/U}} and rare, especially when, as among Roman Catholics and Hindus, the religious {{U}}(4) {{/U}} views marriage {{U}}(5) {{/U}} indissoluble. Custom, {{U}}(6) {{/U}}, may make divorce a simple matter in {{U}}(7) {{/U}} societies. {{U}}(8) {{/U}} some Pueblo Indian tribes a woman could divorce her husband {{U}}(9) {{/U}} leaving his moccasins on the doorstep. The {{U}}(10) {{/U}} of individual determination and mutual {{U}}(11) {{/U}} are making divorce {{U}}(12) {{/U}} acceptable in the {{U}}(13) {{/U}} parts of the world. Among premodern societies, the rate of marital stability is difficult to {{U}}(14) {{/U}} {{U}}(15) {{/U}} the varying definitions of {{U}}(16) {{/U}} and divorce. It seems to be broadly true {{U}}(17) {{/U}} wherever divorce is a legal impossibility the wedding is a well-defined event conducted with {{U}}(18) {{/U}} formality. The {{U}}(19) {{/U}} principle does not hold true: elaborate marriage ceremonial is quite compatible with high divorce rates. Many anthropologists agree that divorce is generally more permissible in matrilineal societies {{U}}(20) {{/U}} in patrilineal ones, in which the procreative and sexual rights of the bride are often symbolically transferred to the husband with the payment of bride-price.

单选题The author's tone in the text may best be summarized as that of

单选题"Hotspot" regions(Line 7, Para. 2) refer to

单选题To which of the following statements would Matthew Simmons most likely agree?

单选题Do you wake up every day feeling too tired, or even upset? If so, then a new alarm clock could be just for you. The clock, called Sleep Smart, measures your sleep cycle, and waits (1) you to be in your lightest phase of sleep (2) rousing you. Its makers say that should (3) you wake up feeling refreshed every morning. As you sleep you pass (4) a sequence of sleep states—light sleep, deep sleep and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep—that (5) approximately every 90 minutes. The point in that cycle at which you wake can (6) how you feel later, and may (7) have a greater impact than how much or little you have slept. Being roused during a light phase (8) you are more likely to wake up energetic. SleepSmart (9) the distinct pattern of brain waves (10) during each phase of sleep, via a headband equipped (11) electrodes and a microprocessor. This measures the electrical activity of the wearer's brain, in much the (12) way as some machines used for medical and research (13) , and communicates wirelessly with a clock unit near the bed. You (14) the clock with the latest time at (15) you want to be wakened, and it (16) duly wakes you during the last light sleep phase before that. The (17) was invented by a group of students at Brown University in Rhode Island (18) a friend complained of waking up tired and performing poorly on a test." (19) sleep-deprived people ourselves, we started thinking of (20) to do about it," says Eric Shashoua, a recent college graduate and now chief executive officer of Axon Sleep Research Laboratories, a company created by the students to develop their idea.

单选题What do we know from the first paragraph?

单选题However important we may regard school life to be, there is no denying the fact that children spend more time at home than in the classroom. Therefore, the great influence of parents cannot be ignored or discounted by the teacher. They can become strong allies of the school personnel or they can consciously or unconsciously hinder and frustrate curricular objectives. Administrators have been aware of the need to keep parents informed of the newer methods used in schools. Many principals have conducted workshops explaining such matters as the reading readiness program, manuscript writing and developmental mathematics. Moreover, the classroom teacher, with the permission of the supervisors, can also play an important role in enlightening parents. The informal tea and the many interviews carried on during the year, as well as new ways of reporting pupils" progress, can significantly aid in achieving a harmonious interplay between school and home. To illustrate, suppose that a father has been drilling Junior in arithmetic processes night after night. In a friendly interview, the teacher can help the parent sublimate his natural paternal interest into productive channels. He might be persuaded to let Junior participate in discussing the family budget, buying the food, using a yardstick or measuring cup at home, setting the clock, calculating mileage on a trip and engaging in scores of other activities that have a mathematical basis. If the father follows the advice, it is reasonable to assume that he will soon realize his son is making satisfactory progress in mathematics, and at the same time, enjoying the work. Too often, however, teachers" conferences with parents are devoted to petty accounts of children"s misdemeanors, complaints about laziness and poor work habits, and suggestion for penalties and rewards at home. What is needed is a more creative approach in which the teacher, as a professional adviser, plants ideas in parents" minds for the best utilization of the many hours that the child spends out of the classroom. In this way, the school and the home join forces in fostering the fullest development of youngsters" capacities.