单选题Do patents help or hinder innovation? Instinctively, they would seem a blessing. Patenting an idea gives its inventor a 20-year monopoly to exploit the fruit of his la- bor in the marketplace, in exchange for publishing a full account of how the new product, process or material works for everyone to see. For the inventor, that may be a reasonable trade-off. For society, however, the loss of competition through the granting sole rights to an individual or organization is justified only if it stimulates the economy and delivers goods that change people's lives for the better. Invention, though, is not innovation. It may take a couple of enthusiasts working evenings and weekends for a year or two--not to mention tens of thousands of dollars of their savings--to get a pet idea to the patenting stage. But that is just the beginning. Innovations based on patented inventions or discoveries can take teams of researchers, engineers and marketing experts a decade or more, and tens of millions of dollars, to transfer to the marketplace. And for every bright idea that goes on to become a commercial winner, literally thousands fall by the wayside. Most economists would argue that, without a patent system, even fewer inventions would lead to successful innovations, and those that did would be kept secret for far longer in order to maximize returns. But what if patents actually discourage the combining and recombining of inventions to yield new products and processes--as has happened in biotechnology, genetics and other disciplines? Or what about those ridiculous business-process patents, like Amazon.com's "one-click" patent or the "nameyour-price" auction patent assigned to Priceline.com? Instead of stimulating innovation, such patents seem more about extracting "rents" from innocent bystanders going about their business. One thing has become clear since business-process patents took off in America during the 1990s: the quality of patents has deteriorated markedly. And with sloppier patenting standards, litigation has increased. The result is higher transaction costs all round. It is not simply a failure of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to examine applications more rigorously. The Federal Circuit has been responsible for a number of bizarre rulings. Because of its diverse responsibilities, the Federal Circuit--unlike its counterparts in Europe and Japan--has never really acquired adequate expense in patent law. To be eligible for a patent, an invention must not just be novel, but also useful and non-obvious. Anything that relies on natural phenomena, abstract ideas or the laws of nature does not qualify. The USPTO has taken to requiring a working prototype of anything that supposedly breaches the laws of physics. So, no more perpetualmotion machines, please.

单选题Strange things have been happening to England. Still (1) from the dissolution of the empire in the years (2) World War Ⅱ, now the English find they are not even British. As the cherished "United Kingdom" breaks into its (3) parts, Scots are clearly (4) and the Welsh, Welsh. But who exactly are the English? What's left of them, with everything but the (5) half of their island taken away? Going back in time to (6) roots doesn't help. First came the Celts, then the Romans, then Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Danes. Invasion after invasion, until the Norman Conquest. English national identity only seemed to find its (7) later, on the shifting sands of expansionism, from Elizabethan times onwards. The empire seemed to seal it. But now there's just England, (8) of a green island in the northern seas, lashed by rain, scarred by two (9) of vicious industrialization fallen (10) dereliction, ruined, as D．H. Lawrence thought, by "the tragedy of ugliness," its abominable architecture. Of all English institutions, the one to (11) on would surely be the pub. Shelter to Chaucer's pilgrims, home to Falstaff and Hal, throne of felicity to Dr. Johnson, the pub- that smoky, yeasty den of jollity-is the womb of (12) , if anywhere is. Yet in the midst of this national (13) crisis, the pub, the mainstay of English life, a staff driven (14) into the sump of history, (15) as the Saxons, is suddenly dying and evolving at (16) rates. Closing at something like a rate of more than three a day, pubs have become (17) enough that for the first time since the Domesday Book, more than half the villages in England no longer have one. It's a rare pub that still (18) , or even limps on, by being what it was (19) to be: a drinking establishment. The old (20) of a pub as a place for a "session," a lengthy, restful, increasingly tipsy evening of swigging, is all but defunct.

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 ANSWER SHEET 1. Researchers have found that migrating animals use a variety of inner compasses to help them navigate. Some{{U}} (1) {{/U}}by the position of the Sun. Others navigate by the stars. Some use the Sun as{{U}} (2) {{/U}}guide during the day, and then{{U}} (3) {{/U}}to star navigation by night. One study shows that the homing pigeon uses the Earth's magnetic fields as a guide{{U}} (4) {{/U}}finding its way home, and there are indications that various other animals, from insects to mollusks (软体动物), can also make{{U}} (5) {{/U}}of magnetic compasses.{{U}} (6) {{/U}}is of course very useful for a migrating bird to be able to switch to magnetic compass when clouds cover the sun;{{U}} (7) {{/U}}it Would just have to land and wait for the Sun to come out again.{{U}} (8) {{/U}}with the Sun or stars to steer by, the problems of navigation are more complicated{{U}} (9) {{/U}}they might seem at first. For example, a worker honeybee{{U}} (10) {{/U}}has found a rich source of nectar and pollen flies rapidly home to the hive to{{U}} (11) {{/U}}: A naturalist has discovered that the bee scout{{U}} (12) {{/U}}her report through complicated dance in the hive,{{U}} (13) {{/U}}she tells the other workers not only how far away the food is, but also what direction to fly in{{U}} (14) {{/U}}to the Sun.{{U}} (15) {{/U}}the Sun does not stay in one place all day. As the workers start{{U}} (16) {{/U}}to gather the food, the Sun may{{U}} (17) {{/U}}have changed its position in the sky somewhat. In later trips during the day, the Sun seems to move farther and farther toward the west. Yet the worker bees seem to have no{{U}} (18) {{/U}}at all in finding the food source. Their inner{{U}} (19) {{/U}}tell them just where the Sun will be, and they change their course{{U}} (20) {{/U}}.

单选题A study released a little over a week ago, which found that eldest children end up, on average, with slightly higher IQ's than younger siblings, was a reminder that the fight for self- definition starts much earlier than freshman year. Families, whatever the relative intelligence of their members, often treat the firstborn as if he or she were the most academic, and the younger siblings fill in other niches: the wild one, the flirt. These imposed caricatures, in combination with the other labels that accumulate from the sandbox through adolescence, can seem over time like a miserable entourage of identities that can be silenced only with hours of therapy. But there's another way to see these alternate identities: as challenges that can sharpen psychological skills. In a country where reinvention is considered a birthright, many people seem to treat old identities the way Houdini treated padlocked boxes: something to wriggle free from, before being dragged down. And psychological research suggests that this ability can be a sign of mental resilience, of taking control of your own story rather than being trapped by it. The late-night bull sessions in college or at backyard barbecues are at some level like out-of-body experiences, allowing a re-coloring of past experience to connect with new acquaintances. A more obvious outlet to expand identity--and one that's available to those who have not or cannot escape the family and community where they're known and labeled-- is the Internet. Admittedly, a lot of the role-playing on the Internet can have a deviant quality. But researchers have found that many people who play life-simulation games, for example, set up the kind of families they would like to have had, even script alternate versions of their own role in the family or in a peer group. Decades ago the psychologist Erik Erickson conceived of middle age as a stage of life defined by a tension between stagnation and generativity-a healthy sense of guiding and nourishing the next generation, of helping the community. Ina series of studies, the Northwestern psychologist Dan P. McAdams has found that adults in their 40s and 50s whose lives show this generous quality - who often volunteer, who have a sense of accomplishment - tell very similar stories about how they came to be who they are. Whether they grew up in rural poverty or with views of Central Park, they told their life stories as series of redemptive lessons. When they failed a grade, they found a wonderful tutor, and later made the honor roll; when fired from a good job, they were forced to start their own business. This similarity in narrative constructions most likely reflects some agency, a willful reshaping and re-imagining of the past that informs the present. These are people who, whether pegged as nerds or rebels or plodders, have taken control of the stories that form their identities. In conversation, people are often willing to hand out thumbnail descriptions of themselves: "I'm kind of a hermit. " Or a talker, a practical joker, a striver, a snob, a morning person. But they are more likely to wince when someone else describes them so authoritatively. Maybe that's because they have come too far, shaken off enough old labels already. Like escape artists with a lifetime's experience slipping through chains, they don't want or need any additional work. Because while most people can leave their family niches, schoolyard nicknames and high school reputations behind, they don't ever entirely forget them.

单选题What did scientists learn about earthquakes at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal?

单选题It is the staff of dreams and nightmares. Where Tony Blair's attempts to make Britain love the euro have fallen on deaf ears, its incarnation as notes and coins will succeed. These will be used not just in the euro area but in Britain. As the British become accustomed to the euro as a cash currency, they will warm to it--paving the way for a yes note in a referendum. The idea of euro creep appeals to both sides of the euro argument. According to the pros, as Britons become familiar with the euro, membership will start to look inevitable, so those in favor are bound to win. According to the antis, as Britons become familiar with the euro, membership will start to look inevitable, so those opposed must mobilize for the fight. Dream or nightmare, euro creep envisages the single currency worming its way first into the British economy and then into the affections of voters. British tourists will come back from their European holidays laden with euros, which they will spend not just at airports but in high street shops. So, too, will foreign visitors. As the euro becomes a parallel currency, those who make up the current two-to-one majority will change their minds. From there, it will be a short step to decide to dispense with the pound. Nell Kinnock, a European commissioner and former leader of the Labor Party, predicts that the euro will soon become Britain's second currency. Hans Eichel, the German finance minister, also says that it will become a parallel currency in countries like Switzerland and Britain. Peter Hain, the European minister who is acting as a cheerleader for membership, says the euro will become "a practical day-to-day reality and that will enable people to make a sensible decision about it." As many as a third of Britain's biggest retailers, such as Marks and Spencer, have said they will take euros in some of their shops. BP has also announced that it will accept euros at some of its garages. But there is less to this than meet the eyes. British tourists can now withdraw money from cashpoint from European holiday destinations, so they are less likely than in the past to end up with excess foreign money. Even if they do, they generally get rid of it at the end of their holidays, says David Southwell, a spokesman for the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

单选题{{B}}Part A{{/B}}{{B}}Directions:{{/B}}Reading 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}} It was inevitable that any of President George W. Bush's fans had to be very disappointed by his decision to implement high tariffs on steel imported to the U.S. The president's defense was pathetic: He argued that the steel tariffs were somehow consistent with free trade, that the domestic industry was important and struggling, and that the relief was a temporary measure to allow time for restructuring. One reason that this argument is absurd is that U. S. integrated steel companies ("Big Steel") have received various forms of government protection and subsidy for more than 30 years. Instead of encouraging the industry to restructure, the long-term protection has sustained inefficient companies and cost U.S. consumers dearly. As Anne O. Krueger, now deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said in a report on Big Steel: "The American Big Steel industry has been the champion lobbyist and seeker of protection .... It provides a key and disillusioning example of the ability to lobby in Washington for measures which hurt the general public and help a very small group." Since 1950s, Big Steel has been reluctant to make the investments needed to match the new technologies introduced elsewhere. It agreed to high wages for its unionized labor force. Hence, the companies have difficulty in competing not only with more efficient producers in Asia and Europe but also with technologically advanced U. S. mini-mills, which rely on scrap metal as an input. Led by Nucor Cor. , these mills now capture about half of overall U. S. sales. The profitability of U. S. steel companies depends also on steel prices, which, despite attempts at protection by the U.S. and other governments, are determined primarily in world markets. These prices are relatively high as recently as early 2000 but have since declined with the world recession to reach the lowest dollar values of the last 20 years. Although these low prices are unfortunate for U.S. producers, they are beneficial for the overall U. S. economy. The low prices are also signal that the inefficient Big Steel companies should go out of business even faster than they have been. Instead of leaving or modernizing, the dying Big Steel industry complains that foreigners dump steels by selling at low prices. However, it is hard to see why it is bad for the overall U.S. economy if foreign producers wish to sell us their goods at low prices. After all, the extreme case of dumping is one where foreigners give us their steel for free and why would that be a bad thing?

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} My dictionary defines subtle as "not immediately obvious; characterized by skill or ingenuity; clever; elusive; [even] insidious." Let us look at some concrete instances of this. (The very word itself is an example, as the letter" b" is silent in pronunciation.)" Language can be straight-forward and directly to the point, but sometimes that takes the fun out of it. On occasion, at least, one appreciates subtleties—often as the mark of a quick wit. This particularly is true of jokes that generally have a double meaning. For example: Awaitress received only three pennies for a tip. Nonplussed, she told the customer that those three pennies told a lot about him. He took the bait and asked what they revealed. "The first penny," she said, "tells me you are thrifty." The patron agreed. "what does the second penny say?" asked the customer. "It tells me you're a bachelor." "Right again," he replied, "And what does the third penny tell you?" "The third penny," responded the waitress, "tells me your daddy was a bachelor, too." How's that for a subtle punishment? Subtleties also can be used on occasion for a good putdown. For instance, one can say a certain man was a big gun of industry. "Yes," is the counter, "he was fired several times." In this category was Mark Twain' s caustic time bomb: "He was a good man—in the worst sense of the term." In our day of political correctness (sometimes called the tyranny of the minority), police seldom talk about suspects, but only about" persons of interest." I guess law enforcement does not want another lawsuit on its hands. Then, too, with the campaign against fat and fried foods, Kentucky Fried Chicken calls itself KFC, figuring that few will think of "fried" that way. The meaning of a word or phrase seems to change more rapidly today and unless one is "with it", a faux pas (失礼) can be committed. Such is the case with the term, "an exceptional child." Way back when, one would think that referred to an especially bright youngster, whereas today it indicates a handicapped youth. So, too, the word "primitive" virtually has been erased from our language and replaced with "earlier culture" and Indians are known as Native Americans. The world of advertising is a master at subtleties with which it hopes to bamboozle (欺骗) the customer. For instance, when asked how much a gallon of gasoline costs, the reply might be something like $2.25. Yet, one must add a penny to that as a 9/10 follows the price, making it, in effect, $2.26. Cereal prices have skyrocketed over the years, but some companies claim to have held the line by keeping the price the same. What many do, however, is reduce the number of ounces in the package. I leave the reader with the truism that subtlety, not brevity, is the soul of wit. Use it to win friends and influence people.

单选题More and more residences, businesses, and even government agencies are using telephone answering machines to take messages or give information or instructions. Sometimes these machines give (1) instructions, or play messages that are difficult to understand. If you (2) telephone calls, you need to be ready to respond if you get a (3) . The most common machine is the (4) used in residence. If you call a home (5) there is a telephone answering machine in operation you (6) hear several rings and then a recorded message (7) usually says something (8) this: "Hello. We can't come to the (9) right now. If you want us to call you back, please leave your name and number after the beep." Then you will hear a "beep," (10) is a brief, high-pitched (11) . Alter the beep, you can say who you are, whom you want to speak to, and what number the person should call to (12) you, or you can leave a (13) . Some telephone answering machines (14) for only 20 or 30 seconds after the beep, so you must respond quickly. Some large businesses and government agencies are using telephone answering machines to provide information on (15) about which they receive a large volume of (16) . Using these systems (17) you to have a touch-tone phone (a phone with buttons rather than a rotary dial). The voice on the machine will tell your to push a certain button on your telephone if you want in-formation on Topic A, another button for Topic B, and so on. You listen (18) you hear the topic you want to learn about, and then you push the (19) button. After making your (20) , you will hear a recorded message on the topic.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} Many countries have a tradition of inviting foreigners to rule them. The English called in William of Orange in 1688, and, depending on your interpretation of history, William of Normandy in 1066. Both did rather a good job. Returning the compliment, Albania asked a well-bred Englishman called Aubgrey Herbert to be their king in the 1920s. He refused—and they ended up with several coves called Zog. America, the country of immigrants, has no truck with imported foreign talent. Article two of the constitution says that "no person except a natural-born citizen.., shall be eligible to the office of the president". This is now being challenged by a particularly irresistible immigrant: Arnold Schwarzcnegger. Barely a year has passed since the erstwhile cyborg swept to victory in California's recall election, yet there is already an Amend-for-Arnold campaign collecting signatures to let the Austrian-born governor have a go at the White House. George Bush senior has weighed in on his behalf. There are several "Arnold amendments" in Congress: one al- lows foreigners who have been naturalized citizens for 20 years to become president. (The Austrian became American in 1983. ) It is easy to dismiss the hoopla as another regrettable example of loopy celebrity politics. Mr. Schwarzenegger has made a decent start as governor, but he bas done little, as yet, to change the structure of his dysfunctional state. Indeed, even if the law were changed, he could well be elbowed aside by another incomer, this time from Canada: the Democratic governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm, who appears to have fewer skeletons in her closet than the hedonistic actor. Moreover, changing the American constitution is no doddle. It has happened only 17 times since 1791 (when the first ten amendments were codified as the bill of rights). To change the constitution, an amendment has to be approved by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, and then to be ratified by three-quarters of the 50 states. The Arnold amendment is hardly in the same category as abolishing slavery or giving women the vote. And, as some wags point out, Austrian imports have a pretty dodgy record of running mil- itary superpowers.

单选题An attempt towards the rectification of the rot that has set in the social and national life of the country is being made, with great enthusiasm, through judicial activism. However judicial activism alone does not suffice for the rectification of this all-pervading malaise. What is urgently needed is the support of other social agencies/institutions. A very important role in this matter can be played by media activism, the topic under discussion today. It is undoubtedly true that the position of media or journalism is not that of a mission but of a commercial industry. The truth of the matter, however, is that our present journalism is used to presenting only half side of the picture. This is the root cause of all our problems. In view of the present circumstances media activism would amount to present a balanced reporting of the situation abandoning the present policy of selective reporting. The principle of modern journalism can be understood from this saying: "When a dog bites a man it is no news, but when a man bites a dog, it is news". One practical example of this method is provided by our present journalism which is constantly engaged in giving maximum coverage to any hot news created by an unruly section of Muslims. If the percentage of hot news forms only one percent the percentage of soft news is not less than 99 percent. But the readers of the newspapers aretotally in the dark about this 99 percent of the picture, whereas the one percent is being repeated. Similarly if an extremist Hindu creates hot news, this will find a place in all the newspapers the next day. Whereas even in the Hindu world there is 99 percent soft news while hot news forms not more than one percent. As a result of this one sided study, unreal opinion is formed by both the communities regarding one another. Taking extreme forms this unreal opinion at times turns into communal riots. The selective reporting of this nature remains a permanent obstacle to the path of national integration. For the rectification of this state of affairs a powerful journalists organization-as we already have formed for our rights-based on the principles of social responsibilities is required. Media Relations Forum is an organization which aims at working for this goal. Along with this I should like to put forward a proposal for bringing about an atmosphere of support and cooperation between the newspapers and social workers. Whenever a rumor spreads or a group indulges in any activity which may lead to disrupting peace, social workers should immediately engage themselves in a thorough investigation of the matter and then through the full support of the newspapers the actual version is published in the newspapers. This is the only way to maintain peace and harmony in communities.

单选题The text suggests that Mr. Isdell