填空题 [A] Preserving cultural identity can be achieved in different way.[B] Ritual and ceremony are used in order to keep their own cultural identification.[C] Ritual and ceremony should not be regarded as a only way of keeping cultural identification, for they have other function.[D] Different cultures mainly use superstition to keep identification.[E] Ritual and ceremony have a closer relation with superstition.[F] In American ritual and ceremony can show their subcultures identity. The speaker asserts that rituals and ceremonies are needed for any culture or group of people to retain a strong sense of identity. I agree that one purpose of ritual and ceremony is to preserve cultural identity, at least in modern times. However, this is not their sole purpose; nor are ritual and ceremony the only means of preserving cultural identity. 41.______ I agree with the speaker insofar as one purpose of ritual and ceremony in today's world is to preserve cultural identity. Native American tribes, for example, cling tenaciously to their traditional ceremonies and rituals, which typically tell a story about 'tribal heritage. The reason for maintaining these rituals and customs lies largely in the tribes' 500-year struggle against assimilation, even extinction, at the hands of European intruders. An outward display of traditional customs and distinct heritage is needed to put the world on notice that each tribe is a distinct and autonomous people, with its own heritage, values, and ideas. Otherwise, the tribe risks total assimilation and loss of identity. 42.______ The lack of meaningful ritual and ceremony in homogenous mainstream America underscores this point. Other than a few gratuitous ceremonies such as weddings and funerals, we maintain no common rituals to set us apart from other cultures. The reason for this is that as a whole America has little cultural identity of its own anymore. Instead, it has become a patchwork quilt of many subcultures, such as Native Americans, Hasidic Jews, Amish, and urban African Americans--each of which resort to some outward demonstration of its distinctiveness in order to establish and maintain a unique cultural identity. 43.______ Nevertheless, preserving cultural identify cannot be the only purpose of ritual and ceremony. Otherwise, how would one explain why isolated cultures that don't need to distinguish themselves to preserve their identity nevertheless engage in their own distinct rituals and ceremonies? In fact, the initial purpose of ritual and ceremony is rooted not in cultural identity but rather superstition and spiritual belief. The original purpose of a ritual might have been to frighten away evil spirits, to bring about weather conditions favorable to bountiful harvests, or to entreat the gods for a successful hunt or for victory in battle. Even today some primitive cultures engage in rituals primarily for such reasons. 44.______ Nor are ritual and ceremony the only means of preserving cultural identity. For example, our Amish culture demonstrates its distinctiveness through dress and lifestyle. Hasidic Jews set themselves apart by their dress, vocational choices, and dietary habits. And African Americans distinguish themselves today by their manner of speech and gesture. Of course, these subcultures have their own distinct ways of cerebrating events such as weddings, coming of age, and so forth. Yet ritual and ceremony are not the primary means by which these subcultures maintain their identity. 45.______ In sum, to prevent total cultural assimilation into our modern-day homogenous soup, a subculture with a unique and proud heritage must maintain an outward display of that heritage--by way of ritual and ceremony. Nevertheless, ritual and ceremony serve a spiritual function as well--one that has little to do with preventing cultural assimilation. Moreover, rituals and ceremonies are not the only means of preserving cultural identity.

填空题 Among certain parents, it is an article of faith not only that they should treat their sons and daughters alike, but also that they do. If Jack gets videos games, and joins the soccer team and the math club, so does Jane.{{U}} {{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}} In one, scientists dressed newborns in gender-neutral clothes and misled adults about their sex. The adults described the "boys" (actually girls) as angry or distressed more often than did adults who thought they were observing girls, and described the "girls" (actually boys) as happy and socially engaged more than adults who knew the babies were boys. {{U}} {{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}} In another study, mothers estimated how steep a slope their 11-month-olds could crawl down. Moms of boys got it right to within one degree; morns of girls underestimated what their daughters could do by nine degrees, even though there are no differences in the motor skills of infant boys and girls. {{U}} {{U}} 3 {{/U}} {{/U}}. How we perceive children-sociable or remote, physically bold or quiet-shapes how we treat them and therefore what experiences we give them. Since life leaves footprints on the very structure and function of the brain, these various experiences produce sex differences in adult behavior and brains-the result not of innate and inborn nature but of nurture. Yet there are differences in adults' brains, and here Eliot is at her most original and persuasive: explaining how they arise from tiny sex differences in infancy. For instance, baby boys are more irritable than girls. {{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}. By 4 months of age, boys and girls differ in how much eye contact they make, and differences in sociability, emotional expressivity, and verbal ability-all of which depend on interactions with parents-grow throughout childhood. {{U}} {{U}} 5 {{/U}} {{/U}}You often see the claim that toy preferences-trucks or dolls-appear so early, they must be innate. But as Eliot points out, 6 and 12-month-olds of both sexes prefer dolls to trucks, according to a host of studies. Children settle into sex-based play preferences only around age 1, which is when they grasp which sex they are, identify strongly with it, and conform to how they see other, usually older, boys or girls behaving. "Preschoolers are already aware of what's acceptable to their peers and what's not," writes Eliot. Those play preferences then snowball, producing brains with different talents. The belief in blue brains and pink brains has real-world consequences, which is why Eliot goes after them with such vigor (and rigor). It encourages parents to treat children in ways that make the claims come true, denying boys and girls their full potential. "Kids rise or fall according to what we believe about them," she notes. And the belief fuels the drive for single-sex schools, which is based in part on the false claim that boy brains and girl brains process sensory information and think differently. A. That makes parents likely to interact less with their "nonsocial" sons, which could cause the sexes' developmental pathways to diverge. B. Lise Eliot, a neuroscientist at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, doesn't think these parents are lying, exactly. But she would like to bring some studies to their attention. C. Those differences also arise from gender conformity. D. Dozens of such disguised-gender experiments have shown that adults perceive baby boys and girls differently, seeing identical behavior through a gender-tinted lens. E. For instance, the idea that the band of fibers connecting the right and left brain is larger in women, supposedly supporting their more "holistic" thinking, is based on a single 1982 study of only 14 brains. F. But that prejudice may cause parents to unconsciously limit their daughter's physical activity. G. Eliot's inescapable conclusion: there is "little solid evidence of sex differences in children's brains."

填空题 [A] Separation of Hollinger[B] Profits of newspaper[C] The ideal business model[D] Hollinger denies the rumor[E] Difficult to share in the international market[F] Lord Black sells his remaining local newspapers in Canada HE HAS been selling newspaper titles in Canada. backing a new one in New York and trying to quash rumours that he is selling them in Britain. What exactly is Conrad Black, chairman of Hollingar, ex-Canadian, newly ennobled Briton, up to?41._______________. Last month, Lord Black of Crossharbour. as he is now known, sold his remaining local newspapers in Canada. This came shortly after he had offloaded his residual 50% stake in the National Post, the Canadian daily paper he founded only in 1998, to Can West Global Communications. This Canadian media group had already picked up the other half last year, along with most of Lord Black's other local newspapers in the country, for $1.8 billion.42._______________.Shorn of its Canadian operations, and apart from the tiny Jerusalem Post, Hollinger has now been pared down to two chief assets: the Chicago Sun-Times, plus a bagful of local papers in that area, and the Daily Telegraph, Britain's most popular broadsheet paper. After the group recently reported a net loss of $9 million for the nine months to September. excluding exceptional items, rumours swirled that even the Telegraph might be for sale.43._______________.Not so, says Hollinger. Although earnings at the Telegraph and its Sunday sister are well down on last year, and the papers plan to sack up to 40 editorial staff, they still provide most of the group's profits. "There is no substance at all to the story that the Telegraph is for sale," says Daniel Colson, Hollinger's vice-chairman. Indeed, having stemmed the National Post's losses and booked a good price for the sale of most of its Canadian assets last year, the group has cut its heavy debt burden and is wall-placed to look for new projects.44._______________.But what? Economies of scale in the newspaper market are best achieved with the local and regional press. The ideal business model, says Peter Kreisky of Mercer Management Consulting, is a geographical cluster of regional titles. With local monopoly power, this can bring down the cost of paper and ink, of printing and distribution, and of marketing. Hollinger enjoys many of these benefits in the Chicago area, where it has 97 papers.45._______________.But it is far harder to achieve cost-sharing across international borders. Most national papers are still mn from and owned in their home country. Those that belong to an international owner, such as Hollinger, Tony O'Reilly's Independent News and Media and Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp, concentrate on English-speaking markets. Yet owning newspapers is as much to do with kudos and influence as it is about profits. Although he would not rule out opportunities even in non-English-speaking parts of Europe, Lord Black's sights now seem to be set on the United States. He has just made a small bet on a new quality paper, The New York Sun, by putting in $2 million, or about 13% of the total investment. Although Hollinger stresses that it is only loosely involved, the project is nevertheless intriguing. There has long been a view that New York. a city of 8 million people, ought m be able to support more than one all-round quality newspaper; yet the New York Times, with a circulation of 1.1 million, has no direct cross-town rival. Lord Black's experience of launching a new title, The National Post, in Canada may be salutary. He managed to create a franchise from nothing in a competitive market, and in doing so stirred up political controversy in consensus-minded Canada. But it never made him any money, which may be why his bet on The New York Sun is so modest. Buying established but faltering papers would make more sense. "There will be investment opportunities arising from this economic downturn that H. advantage of," says Mr Colson, "not only in New York, but elsewhere in the US."

填空题Scientists say they have achieved small-scale nuclear fusion in a tabletop experiment, using tried and true techniques that are expected to generate far less controversy than past such claims. This latest experiment relied on a tiny crystal to generate a strong electric field. While the energy created was too small to harness cheap fusion power, the technique could have potential uses in medicine, spacecraft propulsion, the oil drilling industry and homeland security, said Seth Putterman, a physicist at the University of California at Los Angeles. Putterman and his colleagues at UCLA, Brian Naranjo and Jim Gimzewski, report their results in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.41. Held up to ridicule Previous claims of tabletop fusion have been met with skepticism and even derision by physicists. ( )42. Sound theoretical basis Fusion experts said the UCLA experiment will face far less skepticism because it conforms to well-known principles of physics. ( )43. Energy in waiting Fusion power has been touted as the ultimate energy source and a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels like coal and oil. Fossil fuels are expected to run short in about 50 years. ( )44. Process of fusion In the UCL'A experiment, scientists placed a tiny crystal that can generate a strong electric field into a vacuum chamber filled with deuterium gas, a form of hydrogen capable of fusion. Then the researchers activated the crystal by heating it. ( )45. Commercial uses UCLA's Putterman said future experiments will focus on refining the technique for potential commercial uses, including designing portable neutron generators that could be used for oil well drilling or scanning luggage and cargo at airports. ( ) In the Nature report, Putterman and his colleagues said the crystal-based method could be used in "microthrusters for miniature spacecraft." In such an application, the method would not rely on nuclear fusion for power generation, But rather on ion propulsion, Putterman said. "As wild as it is, that's a conservative application," he said.A. In fusion, light atoms are joined in a high-temperature process that frees large amounts of energy. It is considered environmentally friendly Because it produces virtually no air pollution and does not pose the safety and long-term radioactive waste concerns associated with modern nuclear power plants, where heavy uranium atoms are split to create energy in a process known as fission.B. The resulting electric field created a Beam of charged deuterium atoms that struck a nearby target, which was embedded with yet more deuterium. When some of the deuterium atoms in the beam collided with their counterparts in the target, they fused. The reaction gave off an isotope of helium along with subatomic particles known as neutrons, a characteristic of fusion. The experiment did not, however, produce more energy than the amount put in-- an achievement that would be a huge breakthrough.C. Another technique, known as sonoluminescence, generates heat through the collapse of tiny bubbles in a liquid. Some scientists claim that nuclear fusion occurs during the reaction, but those claims have sparked sharp debate.D. In a Nature commentary, Michael Saltmarsh of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory said the process was in some ways "remarkably low-tech,' drawing upon principles that were first recorded by the Greek philosopher Theophrastus in 314B.C.. "This doesn't have any controversy in it because they're using a tried and true method," David Ruzic, professor of nuclear and plasma engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbane-Champaign, told The Associated Press. "There's no mystery in terms of the physics. 'E. In one of the most notable cases, Dr.B. Stanley Pons of the University of Utah and Martin Fleischmann of Southampton University in England shocked the world in 1989 when they announced that they had achieved so-called cold fusion at room temperature. Their work was discredited after repeated attempts to reproduce it failed.F. The technology also could conceivably give rise to implantable radiation sources, which could target cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissue. "You could bring a tiny crystal into the body, place it next to a tumor, turn on the radiation and blast the tumor," Putterman told MSNBC. com.

填空题 Scientists had until very recently believed that there were around 100,000 human genes, available to make each and every one of us in our splendid diversity. 41) __________. So that grand panjandrum, the human, may not manage to boast twice as many genes as that microscopic nowhere—worm, with its 18,000 genes, the nematode. Even the fruit fly, considered so negligible that even the most extreme of animal rights activists don't kick up a fuss about its extensive use in genetic experimentation, has 16,000 genes. 42) __________. Without understanding in the least what the scientific implications of this discovery might be, anybody with the smallest curiosity about people—and that's pretty much all of us—can see that it is pretty significant. 43) __________. Human complexity, on this information, can he Best explained in the manner it looks to be best explained before scientific evidence becomes involved at all. In other words, in the nature versus nurture debate, the answer, thankfully, is "both". 44) __________. Nurture does have a huge part to play in human destiny. Love can transform humans. Trust can make a difference. Second chances are worth trying. Life, to a far greater extent than science thought up until now, is what we make it. One day we may know exactly what we can alter and what we cannot. Knowing that there is a great deal that we can alter or improve, as well as a great deal that we must accept and value for its own sake, makes the human journey progressive rather than deterministic, complex and open, rather than simple and unchangeable. For no one can suggest that 30,000 genes doesnt't give the human race much room for manoeuver. Look how many tunes, after all, we're able to squeeze out of eight notes. But it surely must give the lie to the rather sinister belief that has been gaining credence in the West that there is a hardwired, no-prisoners-taken, gene for absolutely everything and that whole sections of the population can be labelled as "stupid" or "lazy" or "criminal" or somehow or other sub-human. 45) __________.[A] Instead, like the eight notes which can only make music (albeit in astounding diversity), the 30,000 genes can only make people. The rest is up to us.[B] Now, the two rival teams decoding the book life, have each found that instead there are only somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 genes.[C] There's nothing wrong with our genes: it's that our modern food supply has given us far too many calories and far more food processing than our bodies evolved to handle.[D] The most obvious conclusion to be drawn from the limited number of genes available to programme a human is that biological deternination goes so far and no further.[E] Why is this so important? Because it should mean that we can accept one another's differences more easily, and help each other when appropriate.[F] Some genes were identified in both of the previous studies, which made the researchers feel pretty sure that they were indeed looking at a gene.[G] Not for the first time it has to be admitted that it's a funny old world, and that we humans are the beings who make it such.

填空题 [A] Mobility of this kind meant also mobility of ideas, their transference across frontiers, and their simultaneous impact upon many groups of people. The point of learning is to share it, whether with students or with colleagues; one presumes that only eccentrics have no interest in being credited with a startling discovery, or a new technique. It must also have been reassuring to know that other people in other parts of the world were about to make the same discovery or were thinking along the same lines, and that one was not quite alone, confronted by inquisition, ridicule or neglect. [B] Scholars and students have always been great travelers. The case for “academic mobility” is now often stated in impressive terms as a fundamental necessity for economic and social progress in the world, but it is certainly nothing new. Serious students were always ready to go abroad in search of the most stimulating teachers and the most famous academies; in search of the purest philosophy, the most effective medicine, the likeliest road to gold. [C] Apart from the vehicle itself, it is fairly easy to identify the main factors which have brought about the recent explosion in academic movement. Some of these are purely quantitative and require no further mention: there are far more centers of learning, and a far greater number of scholars and students. [D] But as the specializations have increased in number and narrowed in range, there had been an opposite movement towards interdisciplinary Studies. These owe much to the belief that one cannot properly investigate the incredibly complex problems thrown up by the modern world, and by recent advances in our knowledge along the narrow front of a single discipline. This trend has led to a great deal Of academic contact between disciplines, and a far greater emphasis on the pooling of specialist knowledge, reflected in the broad subjects chosen in many international conferences. [E] Frequently these specializations lie in areas where very rapid developments are taking place, and also where the research needed for developments is extremely costly and takes a long time. It is precisely in these areas that the advantages of collaboration and sharing of expertise appear most evident. Associated with this is the growth of specialist periodicals, which enable scholars to become aware of what is happening in different centers of research and to meet each other in conferences and symposia. From these meetings come the personal relationships which are at, the bottom of almost all formalized schemes of cooperation, and provide them with their most satisfactory stimulus. [F] In the twentieth century, and particularly in the last 20 years, the old footpaths of the wandering scholars have become vast highways. The vehicle which has made this possible has of course been the aeroplane, making contact between scholars even in the most distant places immediately feasible, and providing for the very rapid transmission of knowledge. [G] In addition one must recognize the very considerable multiplication of disciplines, particularly in the sciences, which by widening the total area of advanced studies has produced an enormous number of specialists whose particular interests are precisely defined. These people would work in some isolation if they were not able to keep in touch with similar isolated groups in other countries. (作图)

填空题{{B}}Directions:{{/B}} In the following article, some sentences have been removed. For Questions 41--45, choose the most suitable paragraph from the list A--F to fit into each of the numbered blank. There is one extra choice that does not fit in any of the gaps. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. The making of weathervanes (devices fixed on the top of buildings to show directions of the wind) is an ancient skill, going back to early Egyptian times. Today the craft is still very much alive in the workshop that Graham Smith has set up. He is one of the few people in the country who make hand-cut weathervanes. Graham's designs are individually created and tailored to the specific requirements of his customers. "That way I can produce a unique personalized item," he explains, "A lot of my customers are women buying presents for their husbands. They want a distinctive gift that represents the man's business or leisure interests." It's all a far cry from the traditional cock, the most common design for weathervanes. It was not a cock but a witch on a broomstick that featured on the first weathervane Graham ever made. Friends admired his surprise present for his wife and began asking him to make vanes for them. "I realized that when it came to subjects that could be made into them, the possibilities were limitless," he says. (41) ___________________ That was five years ago and he has no regrets about his new direction. "My previous work didn't have an artistic element to it, whereas this is exciting and creative," he says, "I really enjoy the design side." (42) ___________________ Graham also keeps plenty of traditional designs in stock, since they prove as popular as the one-offs. "It seems that people are attracted to handcrafting,' Graham says, "They welcome the opportunity to acquire something a little bit different." (43) ___________________ "I have found my place in the market. People love the individuality and I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing a nondescript shape turn into something almost lifelike,' he says. (44) "And nowadays, with more and more people moving to the country, individuals want to put an exclusive finishing touch to their properties. It has bean a boost to crafts like mines," (45) ___________________ American and Danish huyers in particular are showing interest. "Pricing," he explains, "depends on the intricacy of the design. "His most recent request was for a curly-coated dog. Whatever the occasion, Graham can create a gift with a difference. [A] Graham has become increasingly busy, supplying flat-packed weathervanes to clients worldwide. [B] Graham decided to concentrate his efforts on a weathervane business. He had served an apprenticeship as a precision engineer and had worked in that trade for 15 years when he and his wife, Liz, agreed to swap role--she went out to work as an architectural assistant and he stayed at home to look after the children and build up the business. [C] Last month, a local school was opened with his galleon ship weathervane hoisted above it. [D] "For centuries, weathervanes have kept communities in touch with the elements, signaling those shifts in wind directions that bring about changes in the weather," he explains. [E] Graham has no plans for expansion, as he wants to keep the business as a rural craft. [F] Graham has now perfected over 100 original designs. He works to very fine detail, always seeking approval for the design of the silhouette from the customer before proceeding with the hand-cutting.