填空题The government panel that sets U. S. vaccine policy already has begun discussing "universal immunization" as a way to boost vaccination rates and reduce flu-linked sickness and death, Dr. Scott Harper of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at a vaccine meeting this week. (41) ___________________ Harper acknowledged that the recent crisis momentarily upstaged universal immunization discussions, but said it remains a viable proposal. (42) ___________________ The vaccine meeting, held every year, seeks to set an agenda for the upcoming flu season. Participants many with a financial stake in getting more people vaccinated--said the universal vaccination push is likely to come within the next five years. (43) ___________________ Also, flu vaccine is altered every year because there are always different flu strains circulating. The unused vaccine is discarded at season's end, making flu shots financially unappealing for manufacturers. (44) ___________________ Sanofi Pasteur's Philip Hosbach said the company has two idle U. S. factories "because there's not the return on the investment." Universal vaccination could in the long term help stabilize supply if it increased demand, he said. (45) ___________________ Demand has historically been a problem, too. Millions of the at-risk patients routinely skip annual shots. Some people worry the vaccine isn't safe or they simply don't like shots, but many also underestimate the seriousness of flu, said Dr. Ann O'Malley, a researcher at the Center for Studying Health System Change.A. "Part of our job is to just keep this issue on the radar screen," Harper told vaccine providers, distributors and manufacturers at the national flu vaccine summit here.B. So far only one company, Sanofi Pasteur, is licensed to make U. S. flu vaccine for the upcoming season, though public health officials hope two others, including Chiron, will soon gain approval.C. Estimates suggest that in an average year, flu infects about 82 million people nationwide, hospitalizes 200,000 and kills 36,000.D. Dr. Herb Young of the American Academy of Family Physicians said recommending shots for everyone could ease the confusion--and that his group is moving toward supporting the idea.E. The hurdles, some observers say, are daunting. Unstable supply is one of the biggest. This year the best case scenario--having about 90 million shots available--isn't even enough for the 180 million high-risk people advised to get shots, let alone the total population of 280 million.F. The end of a chaotic season where many people seeking flu shots were turned away because of a shortage might seem an odd time to broach the idea of vaccinating even more people.G. But I'ra Longini, an Emory University biostatistician who specializes in vaccine analysis, said universal vaccination would be unworkable unless supply problems can be resolve

填空题{{B}}Directions:{{/B}} You are going to road a list of beadings and a text about the proplem of staff recruitment of most companies. Choose a heading from the list A—F that best fits the meaning of each numbered part of the text (41—45). The first and last paragraphs of the text are not numbered. There are one extra heading that you do not need to use. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points) The difficulty of holding onto good, experienced staff has always been a major issue with the majority of companies. High staff turnover can result in many problems. One of the most serious of these is the cost of continually having to find and train replacements. 41. ______ Most companies hope to recruit the right type of person in the first place. However, too much emphasis on qualifications and not enough on personality often leads to a company attracting the right standard. but not the right kind, of person. Selection tests can be used to indicate a candidate's suitability for the job they are applying for. They can also be used to identify existing staff who are suitable but who, initially, may not have been considered. 42. ______ It is important for companies to understand why employees move on to another employer. The reasons for staff resigning and the benefits offered by their new employer must be recorded. They can be the key to identifying any problem areas that might exist within an organization. It is essential, therefore, that employees who are about to disappear are interviewed before they depart, in order to discover why they are leaving. 43. ______ Analysis of these interviews has shown that a lack of appreciation is one of the main factors causing employees to look elsewhere for work. Managers should provide regular feedback to their staff. For example, when good work has been done it must be praised. If this is not done, employees will think their efforts are not appreciated. 44. ______ Communications within the organization are another consideration. If these are poor, employees will feel left out. This can be avoided through regular departmental and inter-departmental meetings, which are extremely valuable as means of passing on information throughout the company and keeping employees up to date with recent developments. They also serve to provide the opportunity for employees to express their opinions. 45. ______ Paying staff according to how they perform is another way of recognizing employee's efforts. If the company benefits from an employee's extra efforts, it is only reasonable that the employee should also receive some financial benefit. It is, however, important to avoid offering some member of staff the opportunity to improve their pay while excluding others. The reasons for staff resigning and the benefits offered by their new employer must be recorded. In cases where such difficulties might exist, a planned career progression for an individual staff member means that the pe4son knows exactly what to expect from the job and what is required from them [A] appreciation as the main factor [B] selection tests help in recruitment [C] praise the men who act well [D] to know why employees leave [E] reasonable reward and fair treatment [F] exchanges inside the company

填空题{{B}}Directions:{{/B}}You are going to read a list of headings and a text about happiness. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A-F for each numbered paragraph (41- 45). The first and last paragraphs of the text are not numbered. There is one extra heading which you do not need to use. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. [A] Various definitions and interpretations of happiness. [B] One episode of enjoying happiness. [C] Some misconceptions about happiness. [D] Where to seek happiness? [E] Happiness is equivalent to the ability to rejoice. [F] The complexity of how to define happiness. "Are you happy?" I asked my brother, Ian, one day. "Yes. No. It depends what you mean," he said. "Then tell me," I said, "when was the last time you think you were happy?" "April 1967," he said. It served me right for putting a serious question to someone who has joked his way through life. But Ian's answer reminded me that when we think about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, a pinnacle of sheer delight--and those pinnacles seem to get rarer the older we get. 41. __________. For a child, happiness has a magical quality. I remember making hide-outs in newly cut hay, playing cops and robbers in the woods, getting a speaking part in the school play. Of course, kids also experience lows, but their delight at such peaks of pleasure as winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved. In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it's conditional on such things as excitement, love, popularity and whether that zit will clear up before prom night I can still feel the agony of not being invited to a party that almost everyone else was going to. But I also recall the ecstasy of being plucked from obscurity at another event to dance with a John Travolta look-alike. In adulthood the things that bring profound joy--birth, love, marriage--also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. Love may not last, sex isn't always good, loved ones die. For adults, happiness is complicated. 42. __________. My dictionary defines happy as "lucky" or "fortunate," but I think a better definition of happiness is "the capacity for enjoyment." The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It's easy to overlook the pleasure we get from loving and being loved, the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, even good health. I added up my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First there was sheer bliss when I shut the last lunchbox and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids came home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day. Later, peace descended again, and my husband and I enjoyed another pleasure-intimacy. Sometimes just the knowledge that he wants me can bring me joy. 43. __________. You never know where happiness will turn up next. When I asked friends what makes them happy, some mentioned seemingly insignificant moments. "I hate shopping," one friend said. "But there's this clerk who always chats and really cheers me up. “ Another friend loves the telephone. "Every time it rings, I know someone is thinking about me." 44. __________. I get a thrill from driving. One day I stopped to let a school bus turn onto a side road. The driver grinned and gave me a thumbs-up sign. We were two allies in a world of mad motorists. It made me smile. We all experience moments like these. Too few of us register then as happiness. 45. __________. Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a blend of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I doubt that my great-grandmother, who raised 14 children and took in washing, had much of either. She did have a net-work of close friends and family, and maybe this is what fulfilled her. If she was happy with what she had,' perhaps it was because she didn't expect life to be very different. We, on the other hand, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we "gotta have." We're so self-conscious about our "right" to it that it's making us miserable. So we chase it and equate it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren't necessarily happier. While happiness may be more complex for us, the solution is the same as ever. Happiness isn't about what happens to us--it's about how we perceive what happens to us. It's the knack of finding a positive for every negative, and viewing a setback as a challenge. It's not wishing for what we don't have, but enjoying what we do possess.

填空题A.Mostofusknowwhatit'sliketostayinajobafterit'sstoppedbeingsatisfying,ortotakeonaprojectthat'stoobigandbereluctanttoadmitit.CEOshavebeenknowntoallocatemanpowerandmoneytoprojectslongafteritbecomesclearthattheyarefailing.Thecoststoapersonwhodoesnotknowwhentoquitcanbeenormous.Ineconomicsit'sknownassunkcostfallacy.Whilewerecognizethefallacyalmostimmediatelyinothers,it'shardertoseeinourselves.Why?B.Inoneoftheirstudies,theyputparticipantsintoeitherapromotionorpreventionfocus.Next,eachparticipantwastoldtoimaginethatheorshewasCEOofanaviationcompanythathadcommitted$10milliontodevelopingaplanethatcan'tbedetectedbyradar.Withtheprojectnearcompletionand$9millionalreadyspent,arivalcompanyannouncestheavailabilityoftheirownradar-blankplanewhichisbothsuperiorinperformanceandlowerincost.ThequestionputtoCEOswassimple:doyouinvesttheremaining$1millionandfinishyourcompany'splane,orcutyourlossesandmoveon?C.Sunkcostsaretheinvestmentsthatyou'veputintosomethingthatyoucan'tgetbackout.Theyaretheyearsyouspenttrainingforaprofessionyouhate.Theyarethethousandsofdollarsyouspentonredecoratingyourlivingroom,onlytofindthatyouhatelivinginit.Onceyou'verealizedthatyouprobablywon'tsucceed,orthatyouareunhappywiththeresults,itshouldn'tmatterhowmuchtimeandeffortyou'vealreadyputintosomething.D.RecentresearchbyNorthwesternUniversitypsychologistsDanielMoldenandChinMingHuidemonstratesaneffectivewaytobesureyouaremakingthebestdecisionswhenthingsgoawry:Focusonwhatyouhavetogainbymovingon,ratherthanwhatyouhavetolose.Whenpeoplethinkaboutgoalsintermsofpotentialgain,that'sa"promotionfocus",whichmakesthemmorecomfortablemakingmistakesandacceptinglosses.Whenpeopleadopta"preventionfocus",theythinkaboutgoalsintermsofwhattheycouldloseiftheydon'tsucceed,sotheybecomemoresensitivetosunkcosts.Thisisthefocuspeopleusuallyadopt,ifunconsciously,whendecidingwhetherornottowalkaway.Itusuallytellsusnottowalkaway,evenwhenweshould.E.Thereareseveralpowerful,largelyunconsciouspsychologicalforcesatwork.Wemaythrowgoodmoneyafterbadorwastetimeinadead-endrelationshipbecausewehaven'tcomeupwithanalternative;orbecausewedon'twanttoadmittoourfriendsandfamily,ortoourselves,thatwewerewrong.Butthemostlikelycauseisthisinnate,overwhelmingaversiontosunkcosts.F.Thetworesearchersfoundthatparticipantswithapreventionfocusstayedthecourseandinvestedtheremaining$1millionroughly80percentofthetime.Theoddsofmakingthatmistakeweresignificantlyreducedbyadoptingapromotionfocus:Thosepeopleinvestedtheremaining$1millionlessthan60percentofthetime.Whenweseeourgoalsintermsofwhatwecangain,ratherthanwhatwemightlose,wearemorelikelytoseeadoomedendeavorforwhatitis.G.AsstudiesbybehavioraleconomistslikeDanielKahnemenandDanArielyshow,peopleisgenerallyloss-averse.Puttinginalot,onlytoendupwithnothingtoshowforit,isjusttooawfulformostofustoseriouslyconsider.Theproblemisoneoffocus.Weworryfartoomuchaboutwhatwe'llloseifwejustmoveon,insteadoffocusingonthecostsofnotmovingon:Morewastedtimeandeffort,moreunhappiness,andmoremissedopportunities.Order:

填空题Directions:Read the following text and answer questions by finding a subtitle for each of the marked parts or paragraphs. There are two extra items in the subtitles. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. A. Suggestion: interaction between neuron precursors and the circulatory system B. CCL11: a protein speeding brain aging C. Supposition: connection of brain's aging and blood D. Significance: a big leap in brain studying E. CCL11: a protein refreshing brain F. Tests: effect of blood's age on brain G. Implication: controlling brain aging by aiming at brain directly Dracula may have had it right: Young blood can restore an aging body. Scientists have discovered that blood from a 3-month-old mouse can coax the brain of an older mouse into making new brain cells. The team has not yet identified the rejuvenating factor, but they have found a blood-borne compound that seems to promote brain aging. {{U}} 1 {{/U}}______ As the body ages, the brain gradually becomes more sluggish. Even in people lucky enough to dodge neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, fewer new neurons are created from stem cells in the brain, and the activity of existing neurons weakens. Neuroscientist Tony Wyss-Coray of Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California, suspected that the changes could be mediated by factors in the blood. {{U}} 2 {{/U}}______ Previous research has shown that giving young blood to older mice boosts their immune system and muscle function. Wyss-Coray wondered whether the same might be true in the brain. Although the so-called blood-brain barrier blocks many large molecules from entering the brain from the bloodstream, the barrier isn't sealed tight everywhere, which might allow some compounds to get through. It's leakiest at places where there are brain stem cells, suggesting that these neuron precursors may have interaction with the circulatory system. {{U}} 3 {{/U}}______ Wyss-Coray's team measured neurogenesis, the creation of new neurons from stem cells, in mice that were 3 months old and mice that were almost 2 years old and considered adults. Then they surgically connected the circulatory systems of pairs of young and old mice. The number of new cells in one region of the brain's hippocampus, related to memory formation, went from fewer than 400 to almost 1000 in the older mice. In the younger mice, it dropped by almost a quarter, the scientists report today in Nature. "It worked in both directions, " says Wyss-Coray. "The age of the blood has a special effect on the brain." When the researchers gave young mice daily injections of older blood, not only did neurogenesis decrease, but their learning and memory scores in a water maze test got worse. They made more than twice the number of mistakes in the maze after a day of training and a day of testing. {{U}} 4 {{/U}}______ To isolate the compound responsible for these changes, Wyss-Coray and his colleagues focused on 66 blood-borne chemicals. They identified 17 that increased in concentration as a mouse aged. One of them, a protein called CCL11, was enough to slow neurogenesis when injected into the bloodstream on its own. The researchers haven't yet found a compound that does the reverse-turning up neurogenesis. But finding more neurogenesis in old mice given young blood suggests that it exists. {{U}} 5 {{/U}}______. The findings offer a proof of principle that neurogenesis can be controlled through the blood, a paradigm-shifting idea for treating neurodegenerative disease, Wyss-Coray says. "The big implication here is that we can potentially affect brain aging and degradation, even dementia, by targeting factors in the periphery rather than having to target the brain directly." Richard Ransohoff, a neuroscientist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, says the new study is a leap toward understanding how neurogenesis is controlled in the adult brain. "I think it's very exciting to know that the aging stem cell population can remain responsive to environmental cues." But more work is needed to fully understand how all the cues work, he says, and whether the findings hold true in people. "One of the next steps is to take these factors and measure them in aging humans, " Ransohoff says. "You might take patients with neurodegenerative diseases and see how the factors are different, or follow how they change over time in people with early cases of disease." Wyss-Coray plans to start out by analyzing more blood-borne factors in mice. His team is planning a screen of hundreds more factors to see what else may be controlling the aging of the brain.

填空题A. Communication makes both parties know more about each other which makes an agreement. B. The argument itself cannot expand knowledge. C. Reasonable debate plays a positive role in knowledge advances. D. A basic common knowledge makes contribution to the argument from which people learn something. E. Generally, knowledge is gained by argument. F. Learning can be interrupted by the argument. G. Communication is closely associated with argument. Do we learn more from people whose views we share in common than from those whose ideas contradict? The speaker claims so, for the reason that disagreement can cause stress and inhabit learning. I concede that undue discord can impede learning. Otherwise, in my view we learn far more from discourse and debate with those whose ideas we oppose than from people whose ideas are in accord with our own. (1) . Admittedly, under some circumstances disagreement with others can be counterproductive to learning. For supporting examples, one need look no further than a television set. On today's typical television or radio talk show, disagreement usually manifests itself in meaningless rhetorical bouts and shouting matches, during which opponents vie to have their own message heard, but have little interest either in finding any common ground with or in acknowledging the merits of the opponent's viewpoint. Understandably, neither the combatants nor the viewers learn anything meaningful. In fact, these battles only serve to reinforce the predispositions and biases of all concerned. The end result is that learning is impeded. (2) . Disagreement can also inhibit learning when two opponents disagree on fundamental assumptions needed for meaningful discourse and debate. For example, a student of paleontology learns little about the evolution of an animal species under current study by debating with an individual whose religious belief system precludes the possibility of evolution to begin with. And, economics and finance students learn little about the dynamics of a laissez-faire system by debating with a socialist whose view is that a centralized power should control all economic activity. (3) . Aside from the foregoing two provisions, however, I fundamentally disagree with the speaker's claim. Assuming common ground between two rational and reasonable opponents willing to debate on intellectual merits, both opponents stand to gain much from that debate. Indeed it is primarily through such debate that human knowledge advances, whether at the personal, community, or global level. (4) . At the personal level, by listening to their parents' rationale for their seemingly oppressive rules and policies, teenagers can learn how certain behaviors naturally carry certain undesirable consequences. At the same time, by listening to their teenagers concerns about autonomy and about peer pressures parents can learn the valuable lesson that effective parenting and control are two different things. At the community level, through dispassionate dialogue an environmental activist can come to understand the legitimate economic concerns of those whose jobs depend on the continued profitable operation of a factory. Conversely, the latter might stand to learn much about the potential public-health price to be paid by ensuring job growth and a low unemployment rate. Finally, at the global level, two nations with opposing political or economic interests can reach mutually beneficial agreements by striving to understand the other's legitimate concerns for its national security, its political sovereignty, the stability of its economy and currency, and so forth. (5) . In sum, unless two opponents in a debate are each willing to play on the same field and by the same rules, I concede that disagreement can impede learning. Otherwise, reasoned discourse and debate between people with opposing viewpoints is the very foundation upon which human knowledge advances. Accordingly, on balance the speaker is fundamentally correct.

填空题[A]Thenextlogicalstepistoautomatethephysicalprocessofcuttingthediamond,andDrHoldenseemstohavefoundtheidealpartner.HeistalkingtoCalibratedDiamonds.acompanybasedinJohannesburg,SouthAfrica.aboutcombininghisoptimisationtechniqueswithanadvancedlaser-cuttingsystem.Traditionally,diamondsarecutandpolishedusingotherdiamonds.Butmrecentyears,lasershavebeenintroducedtomakeroughcutsandmcarry,out"bruting",thebevellingprocessusedtogivediamondstheircharacteristicsharp-edgedshapes.JohnBond.thefounderofCalibratedDiamonds,sayshislaser-cuttingmethodcanmakemuchmoreprecisecutsandcanevenpolishdiamonds,thoughheisreluctanttoexplainhowitworks.Hebelievesthatcombininghislaser-cuttingwithDrHolden'ssoftware,andautomatingthewholeprocess,couldbothreducewastedramaticallyandcuttheturnaroundtimefrommonthstodays."Currently,peoplearelosingupto70%ofthediamond."hesays.[B]Forover600yearslapidarists,orstone-cutters,havebeenusingessentiallythesametechniquestocutdiamondsanddeterminetheirvalue,saysDrHolden.Thereisagreatneedforautomation,hesays—asentimentechoedwithintheindustry.TheGemologicalInstituteofAmerica,forexample,isdevisingsoftwaretoenableretailersandconsumerstocomparediamondsofdifferentcutsbygradingthecutautomatically.[C]Inactualuse,thesystemisfedmodelsofgemstones,whichareproducedbyscanningthe.stonesusingadesktopX-raytomographymachine.Whenastoneisidentifiedasaborderlinecasebetweentwogrades,thesystemusesanoptimisationtechnique,calledageneticalgorithm,toexplorethedifferentwaysinwhichthestonecouldbecuttomaximiseitsvalue.Sometimesbiggerisnotnecessarilybetter:removingImperfections,knownasinclusions,mayreducethesizeandcaratageofastone,butcouldalsoelevateittoamorevaluablegrade.TestsofiGemshowedthatitcouldincreasethevalueofaroughstonebyasmuchas23%.[D]Evenasmallimprovementcanyieldasignificantincreaseinvalue,saysDrHolden.whospecialisesinapplyingtechnologytoimprovedecision-makinginbusiness.TogetherWithhiscolleagueMateeSerearuno.hehasdevelopedanoptimisationsystemcallediGem.Besidesautomaticallyworkingoutthegradeofaroughdiamond,italsosuggestshowbesttocatitinordertomaximisethevalueoftheresultingstones.[E]MrBondhopesthatthiscombinationoftechnologieswillhelphishomecontinenttobenefitmorefromitsnaturalwealth.Morethan60%oftheworld'sroughdiamondscomefromAfrica,hesays,butalackofexpertiseandrelativelyhighlabourcostsmeansthatthestonesareusuallyshippedoverseas,tocountriessuchasIndia,forassessmentandcutting.Hehopestohavehisfirstfactoryupandrunninglaterthisyear.[F]Thesystemusesasetofroles,distilledfromthejudgmentsoffourdiamondexperts,mdeterminetheclarity,andhencethegrade,ofeachstone.Eachexpertwasaskedtoclassify503different"virtualstones"--computermodelsofstonescontainingdifferentWivesofflaws.Theexperts'verdictswerethenboileddownintoasetofrules,sothatwhenanewgemstoneispresentedtothesystem,itcandeterminehowtheexpertswouldprobablyhavegradedit.Datafrommoreexpertscouldhavebeenused,butfourprovedtobeenoughtoproducearobustandaccuratesystem,saysDrHolden.[G]Whileadiamondmaybeforever,itsvalueisfarfromsetinstone.ItdependsonthefourCs:carat,cut,colourandclarity.Butwhilethefirstthreecanbemeasuredobjectively,assessingadiamond'sclarityinvolvesacertainamountofsubjectivityandcanleaveexpertsdisagreeingaboutthegrade—andhencethevalue—ofastone.NowresearchersatCambridgeUniversity'sInstituteforManufacturingclaimmhavedevisedawaytomakethegradingofdiamondsandotherpreciousstonesmoreconsistent.TonyHolden,theproject'sleader,saysautomatingthisprocesscoulddomorethanjustloadmmoreaccuratevaluations.Itcouldalsomakeroughstonesmorevaluable,byreducingtheamountofwasteduringcutting.Order:

填空题 After its misadventures in 1993. when American marines were driven out of Somalia by skinny gunmen, America has used a long spoon in supping with Somalia's warlords. This. tike so much else, changed on September 11th.{{U}} (41) {{/U}} Clandestine. up to a point: within hours of the arrival in Baidoa of nine closely cropped Americans sporting matching satellite phones and shades, their activities were broadcast. After meeting various warlords, the group inspected a compound that had apparently been offered to them as their future base. They also saw an old military depot. Neither can have been encouraging: the compound has been taken over by war-displaced families, and the depot by thorn-scrub. America was already convinced of al-Qaeda's presence in Somalia. It had listed a Somali Islamic group, al-ltihaad al-Islamiya (Islamic Unity), as a terrorist organisation.{{U}} (42) {{/U}}. It fears that lawless Somalia could become a haven for escapes from Afghanistan. The American navy Is currently patrolling the country's long coastline, while spy planes are said to be crisscrossing the heavens. {{U}} (43) {{/U}}. With a little bit of help, he told his American visitors, he would be ready "to liberate the country from these evil forces". America had already heard as much through its embassies in Nairobi and Addis Ababa, which maintain contact with the warlords, and from Ethiopia. The warlords are supported by Ethiopia. which has a historical fear of a strong Somalia. in a bid to oppose the government. But their differing views on where to strike at the "terrorists" reveal that their individual ambitions are even sharper than their dislike of the government. Mr. Ismail says that Merca. which is claimed by his Rahanwein clan. is the capital of terror.{{U}} (44) {{/U}}. The UN says there is only an orphanage there now. But the island is close to Mr. Morgan's home town of Kismaayo, which he failed to capture from a pro- government militia in July, and he is determined not to fail again. None of this looks good for Somalia's official president, Abdiquassim Salad Hassan. whose government is in control of about half the capital, Mogadishu. He has formed his own anti-terrorism unit, and invited America to send investigators, or even troops. America. armed with stories about the presence of al-Itihaad members held back. but on December 18th sent an envoy to Mogadishu. Both Mr. Hassan and the UN say that al-Itihaad is not a terrorist organisation. It emerged as an armed force in 1991. battling for power in the aftermath of Siad Barre's fall. It had some early successes. briefly taking Kismaayo. But it was always dependent on the blessing of its members' clan elders. When the elders eventually called their fighters back. a hard core of Islamists fled to the Gedo border region where, in 1997, they were crushed by Ethiopian troops{{U}} (45) {{/U}}. The Baidoa alliance plainly hopes to be supported as proxies in a fight against "terrorism" and the Mogadishu regime. But the latest intelligence leaks suggest that the first reports may have overestimated al-Qaeda's presence in Somalia. Nor would Mr. bin Laden and his henchmen find it easy to lie low in an oral culture that considers rumour-mongering to be a form of manners. Even so. the warlords seem to believe that they have won some promise of help. Soon after the arrival of the American group, they pulled out of the peace talks they had been holding with their government in Nairobi.[A] Al-Itihaad subsequently infiltrated Somalia's business class, and now runs Islamic schools, courts and clinics with the money it has accumulated.[B] According to Abdullahi Sheikh Ismait, the acting chairman of the loose alliance of warlords who control most of Somalia and are based in Baidoa. there are "approximately 20.480 armed extremists" in Somalia and "85% of the government is al-Itihaad".[C] Muhammad Hersi Morgan, known as the "butcher of Hargeisa" because he once razed that town to the ground, says an al-Itihaad camp on Ras Kamboni island, is still active.[D] But since September 11th 2001. western governments, anxious to prevent al-Qaeda from using Somalia as a base. have pressed the warlords to make peace.[E] American intelligence officers are working with two warlords to gather information about suspected at-Qaeda people in Somalia.[F] On December 9th America sent a clandestine mission to talk to a collection of Somali warlords. who like to claim that their country, in particular their UN-sponsored government, is overrun with terrorists[G] It had also forced the closure of Barakaat, Somalia's biggest banking and telecoms company, which handles most of the remittances that Somalis working abroad send back to their families.

填空题 [A] Energising money [B] The dilemma of smart-card systems[C] The future of money [D] Sending money home[E] Flashing the plastic [F] A cash call[G] How to pay in Tokyo Smart cards and mobile phones are quickly emerging as ways to pay with electronic cash. 41. ______. Nowadays, some of the hottest nightclubs have a new trick for checking the identity of their VIP guests: they send an entry pass in the form of a super bar code to their mobile phones. Mobile phones are becoming an increasingly popular way to make all sorts of payments. In America fans of the Atlanta Hawks have been testing specially adapted Nokia handsets linked to their Visa cards to enter their local stadium and to buy refreshments. It reckons worldwide payments using mobile phones will climb from just $ 3.2 billion in 2003 to more than $ 37 billion by 2008. 42. ______. More banking services are also being offered on mobiles. On February 12th, 19 telephone operators with networks in over 100 countries said that people would be able to use their handsets to send money abroad. MasterCard will operate the system in which remittances will be sent as text messages. Sir John Bond, formerly chairman of the HSBC banking group and now chairman of Vodafone, has 10rig been convinced that payments and mobiles would somehow converge. "Mobile phones have the ability to make a dramatic change to village life in Africa," he says. 43. ______. The various "contactless" payment systems rely on a technology called "near-field communication" (NFC). But mobile phones can be much smarter. They can be de-activated remotely; they have a screen which can show information, like a credit balance and product information; they have a keyboard to enter information and they can communicate. This means they can also be used to auth0rise larger payments by entering PIN codes directly on the handset or topped up with stored credit from an online bank account without having to go to an ATM. 44. ______. To see the potential of mobile-phone money, start in Japan. Most Japanese have at least one credit card, but they tend to stay in their owners' pockets. Housewives routinely peel off crisp YI0 000 ($ 82) notes to pay for their shopping. Utility bills and other invoices are dutifully taken to the bank and paid in cash, or more likely these days at the local convenience store. Yet despite the popularity of cash, the mobile phone is starting to change even Japan's traditional habits." However, many smart-card systems do not work with each other, but that will change on March 18th when 26 railways and 75 bus companies in the greater Tokyo area will begin sharing a new stored-value system, called Pasmo. This too will be available both as a plastic smart-card or built into mobile phones. 45. ______. Unlike the Japanese, Americans prefer to use plastic for their purchases. Cards account for more than half of all transactions, up from 29% a decade ago, according to Nilson Report, a trade publication. More than 1.5 billion credit cards are stuffed into Americans' wallets. The average household has more than ten. Banks and credit-card firms hope to convert more cash and cheque payments to plastic with new smart cards. Some versions are already very successful. Many Americans use EasyPass, in which drivers pay for highway tolls wirelessly. A decade ago some observers predicted that internet banking would render retail banking from high-street branches obsolete. But JPMorgan, Bank of America and others are adamant that people are nowadays using bank branches more than ever. Even if the phone and the smart card replace cash, who gets to collect the fees remains open to contention.