Over the past decade, thousands of patents have been granted for what are called business methods. Amazon, com received one for its "one-click" online payment system. Merrill Lynch got legal protection for an asset allocation strategy. One inventor patented a technique for lifting a box. Now the nation's top patent court appears completely ready to scale back on business-method patents, which have been controversial ever since they were first authorized 10 years ago. In a move that has intellectual-property lawyers abuzz the U.S. court of Appeals for the federal circuit said it would use a particular case to conduct a broad review of business-method patents. In re Bilski, as the case is known ,is "a very big deal" ,says Dennis D. Crouch of the University of Missouri School of law. It "has the potential to eliminate an entire class of patents." Curbs on business-method claims would be a dramatic about-face, because it was the federal circuit itself that introduced such patents with is 1998 decision in the so-called state Street Bank case, approving a patent on a way of pooling mutual-fund assets. That ruling produced an explosion in business-method patent filings, initially by emerging internet companies trying to stake out exclusive rights to specific types of online transactions. Later, move established companies raced to add such patents to their files, if only as a defensive move against rivals that might beat them to the punch. In 2005, IBM noted in a court filing that it had been issued more than 300 business-method patents despite the fact that it questioned the legal basis for granting them. Similarly, some Wall Street investment films armed themselves with patents for financial products, even as they took positions in court cases opposing the practice. The Bilski case involves a claimed patent on a method for hedging risk in the energy market. The Federal circuit issued an unusual order stating that the case would be heard by all 12 of the court's judges, rather than a typical panel of three, and that one issue it wants to evaluate is whether it should "reconsider" its state street Bank ruling. The Federal Circuit's action comes in the wake of a series of recent decisions by the supreme Court that has narrowed the scope of protections for patent holders. Last April, for example the justices signaled that too many patents were being upheld for" inventions" that are obvious. The judges on the Federal circuit are "reacting to the anti-patent trend at the Supreme Court", says Harold C. Wegner, a patent attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School.

Directions:Writeanessaybasedonthechart.Inyourwriting,youshould1)interpretthechart,and2)giveyourcomments.Youshouldwriteabout150words.

BPart ADirections: Write a composition/letter of no less than 100 words on the following information./B

BPart ADirections: Write a composition/letter of no less than 100 words on the following information./B

Suppose you have found something wrong with the electronic dictionary that you bought from an online store the other day. Write an email to the customer service center tol)make a complaint, and 2)demand a prompt solution. You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET 2. Do not sign your own name at the end of the letter. Use "Zhang Wei" instead. Do not write your address.

Directions:Writeanessaybasedonthechart.Inyourwriting,youshould1)interpretthechart,and2)giveyourcomments.Youshouldwriteabout150words.

Directions:Writeanessaybasedonthechart.Inyourwriting,youshould1)interpretthechart,and2)giveyourcomments.Youshouldwriteabout150words.

BSection I Use of EnglishDirections: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D./B

Last year nearly one million Americans filed for bankruptcy. That is far fewer than the number who used to seek bankruptcy protection before the law was made tougher a decade ago. This reform may have done more harm than good. The aim of bankruptcy law is to give people relief from unpayable debts. Some two-thirds of individual bankruptcies are due to a lost job. Many bankrupts need time to get back on their feet. In the mid-2000s Chapter 7 rules made it easy to wash away debts. That irritated credit-card firms, which claimed that spendthrifts abused the system; so in 2005 the law was toughened. The idea was to shift people to a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, where they would have to repay some of the debt. The reform had a big impact. At least at first, Chapter 13 filings rose relative to Chapter 7 ones. And a new paper, from Stefania Albanesi, of the New York Federal Reserve, and Jaromir Nosal, of Columbia University, finds that the reform led to a permanent drop in the bankruptcy rate. However, other recent research suggests that this is not necessarily a good thing. Will Dobbie, of Princeton University, and Jae Song, of the Social Security Administration, look at Chapter 13 bankruptcies before the reforms of 2005. They link half a million bankruptcy filings to tax records and use a novel technique to analyse them. Because some bankruptcy judges are more merciful than others, people in similar straits may end up with different bankruptcy decisions. This quirk allows some useful comparisons. Messrs Dobbie and Song argue that easier bankruptcy laws have good microeconomic effects. If a creditor may no longer claim large chunks of a bankrupt's salary, that may increase his incentive to work—and decrease his need to slip out of town, change his job and close down his bank account. On average, those granted bankruptcy earned over 6,000 more in the subsequent year than similarly-placed plaintiffs who were rejected. The unlucky ones found it trickier to service their mortgages. Michelle White of the University of California, San Diego and colleagues found that bankruptcy reform caused the default rate on prime mortgages to rise 23%. Making consumer-bankruptcy law more debtor-friendly could hit Americans in other ways. If lenders are exposed to bigger losses, some argue, interest rates for such things as creditcards are bound to rise. But that danger can be overstated. Credit-card companies may be reluctant to charge rates higher than their competitors' lest they attract more customers—those not put off by high rates because they know that, with luck, they won't have to pay their debts back.

BPart B/B

Directions: In this section, you are asked to write an essay based on the following information. Make comments and express your own opinion. You should write at least 150 words. 在一些大学校园，学生在日常生活中造成大量的浪费。这是非常有害的。对此你有什么看法和建议?

A Picasso painting valued at about $140 million is the centerpiece of a new type of auction at Christie' s, combining Modern and contemporary artworks spanning 100 years, that will kick-start its postwar and contemporary sales in New York in May. Scheduled for May 11, "Looking Forward to the Past" is an evening sale of about 25 lots organized by Loic Gouzer, of Christie's postwar and contemporary art department. Mr. Gouzer was also the specialist responsible for Christie' s much-hyped "If I Live I'll See You Tuesday" auction of 35 works by fashionable contemporary names, which raised $134.6 million last May. "Traditionally, people would start by collecting Impressionist and Modern art, and then gradually turn to contemporary," Mr. Gouzer said. "Recently, we're seeing the contrary. Collectors start with contemporary, and then they start to look for other works that have quality, relevance and freshness." Picasso, who died at 91 in 1973, has nevertheless traditionally been included in auctions of Impressionist and Modern art. But Christie's said that the broadening client base at the week of contemporary art sales in New York was crucial in persuading an unidentified seller to come forward with Picasso's 1955 canvas "Les Femmes d'Alger (Version 'O')," around which the auction house fashioned its "Looking Forward to the Past" sale. Inspired by Eugene Delacroix's 1834 Orientalist masterpiece, "Women of Algiers," this was one of a number of works Picasso produced in the 1950s and 1960s in response to earlier artists he admired. This particular painting was last seen on the market in November 1997, when it was bought by the London dealer Libby Howie, on the behalf of a client, for $31.9 million at Christie's auction from the collection of the Americans Victor and Sally Ganz. Christie's new valuation of about $140 million on this superior Picasso ranks as one of the highest estimates ever put on an artwork at auction. Francis Bacon's "Three Studies of Lucian Freud," which sold for a record $142.4 million at Christie's in November 2013, carried a presale es timate of more than $85 million. Christie' s has guaranteed the seller of "Les Femmes d' Alger (Ver sion 'O')" an undisclosed minimum price. It would not specify whether this guarantee had been funded by the auction house or by a third party. Last week, Mr. Gouzer posted an image of a 1938 Picasso painting of Dora Maar on Instagram. That work will be in his sale with an estimate of more than $50 million. But there are still gaps, Mr. Gouzer said. "I'm still looking for a 1960s Carl Andre."[A] is an auction organized by Loic Gouzer.[B] is an evening sale of 35 contemporary works.[C] is Picasso's 1955 painting valued at about $140 million.[D] is Picasso's 1938 painting estimated more than $50 million.[E] is Eugene Delacroix's 1834 Orientalist masterpiece.[F] was produced by Francis Bacon in the 1950s and 1960s.[G] set a record of $142.4 million at Christie's.

[A] What to do as a student[B] Various definitions of plagiarism[C] Ideas should always be sourced[D] Ignorance can be forgiven[E] Plagiarism is equivalent to theft[F] The consequences of plagiarism[G] Acknowledgement should substitute plagiarism Scholars, writers and teachers in the modern academic community have strong feelings about acknowledging the use of another person's ideas. In the English-speaking world, the term plagiarism (抄袭) is used to label the practice of not giving credit for the source of one's ideas. Simply stated, plagiarism is "the wrongful appropriation(盗用) or purloining(偷窃), and publication as one's own of the ideas, or the expression of ideas of another." 【R1】______ The penalties for plagiarism vary from situation to situation. In many universities, the punishment may range from failure in a particular course to expulsion (开除) from the university. In the literary world, where writers are protected from plagiarism by international copyright laws, the penalty may range from a small fine to imprisonment and a ruined career. Protection of scholars and writers, through the copyright laws and through the social pressures of the academic and literary communities, is a relatively recent concept. Such social pressures and copyright laws require writers to give scrupulous attention to documentation of their sources. 【R2】______ Students, as inexperienced scholars themselves, must avoid various types of plagiarism by being self-critical in their use of other scholars' ideas and by giving appropriate credit for the source of borrowed ideas and words, otherwise dire (可怕的) consequences may occur. There are at least three classifications of plagiarism as it is revealed in students' inexactness in identifying sources properly. They are plagiarism by accident, by ignorance, and by intention. 【R3】______ Plagiarism by accident, or oversight, sometimes is the result of the writer's inability to decide or remember where the idea came from. He may have read it long ago, heard it in a lecture since forgotten, or acquired it second-hand or third-hand from discussions with colleagues. He may also have difficulty in deciding whether the idea is such common knowledge that no reference to the original source is needed. Although this type of plagiarism must be guarded against, it is the least serious and, if lessons learned, can be exempt(被免除……的) from being severely punished. 【R4】______ Plagiarism through ignorance is simply a way of saying that inexperienced writers often do not know how or when to acknowledge their sources. The techniques for documentation-note-taking, quoting, footnoting, listing bibliography—are easily learned and can prevent the writer from making unknowing mistakes or omissions in his references. Although "there is no copyright in news, or in ideas, only in the expression of them," the writer cannot plead (为……辩护 ) ignorance when his sources for ideas are challenged. 【R5】______ The most serious kind of academic thievery is plagiarism by intention. The writer, limited by his laziness and dullness, copies the thoughts and language of others and claims them for his own. He not only steals, he tries to deceive the reader into believing the ideas are original. Such words as immoral, dishonest, offensive, and despicable are used to describe the practice of plagiarism by intention. The opposite of plagiarism is acknowledgement. All mature and trustworthy writers make use of the ideas of others but they are careful to acknowledge their indebtedness to their sources. Students, as developing scholars, writers, teachers, and professional leaders, should recognize and assume their responsibility to document all sources from which language and thoughts are borrowed. Other members of the profession will not only respect the scholarship, they will admire the humility and honesty.

BPart ADirections: Write a composition/letter of no less than 100 words on the following information./B

Suppose Li Ming"s application for admission to Washington University has been accepted. Write him a letter to 1) offer him admission, and 2) inform him the details he should know. You should write about 100 words. Do not use your own name. Use "The Admissions Office" instead. Do not write your address.

Anyone who has searched for a job fresh out of college knows how difficult it is to get that first job. Sending out hundreds of resumes, only to get a few interviews in the end—if you're lucky!— and if you're very lucky, eventually there's a job offer on the table. Should you grasp it, or wait for something better to come along the way? It depends on whether you are a "maximizer" or a "satisficer". Maximizers want to explore every possible option before choosing a job. They gather every stick of information in the hope of making the best possible decision. If you are a satisficer, however, you make decisions based on the evidence at hand. Simply put, satisficers are more likely to cut their job search short and take the first job offer. Maximizers are more likely to continue searching until a better job offer comes along. Which type of approach yields the better payoff? A maximizer. Specifically, quoting the results of a study of the job search of 548 members of the Class of 2002 by Sheena Iyengar, Rachael Wells, and Barry Schwartz, the maximizers put themselves through more contortions in the job hunt. They applied to twenty jobs, on average, while satisficers applied to only ten, and they were significantly more likely to make use of outside sources of information and support. But it turned out to be worth it: the job offers they got were significantly better, in terms of salary, than what the satisficers got. Satisficers were offered jobs with an average starting salary of $37, 085; the average starting salary offered to maximizers was $44, 515, more than 20 percent higher. The trouble is, however, that higher pay doesn't make maximizers a happier group than satisficers. In fact, maximizers were significantly more likely than satisficers to be unhappy with the offers they accepted. Evidently, being a maximizer can help you earn more income, but that income doesn't buy more happiness, as the maximizer's likely to agonize over the prospect of a better job offer out there he or she missed. Maximizers may have objectively superior outcomes, but they're so busy obsessing about all the things that they could have had, they tend to be less happy with the outcomes they do get.

Social science has weighed in on the "tiger mom" debate, and it looks like everyone is right: Both over-protective and laid-back mothers can raise successful children. Three years after Yale law professor Amy Chua's controversial article, "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior," in the Wall Street Journal, Stanford researchers Alyssa Fu and Hazel Markus have published a study examining the effectiveness of the【C1】______, high-pressure parenting Chua【C2】______and the more relaxing style【C3】______in European-American culture. They found both parenting styles can be【C4】______; the key is in how the child views his or her relationship with the mother. In Asian-American culture, children are often expected to rely on their families,【C5】______traditionally European-American families【C6】______value and encourage independence. Parental pressure【C7】______different reactions in each culture: Asian-American students said they felt like parent involvement in their lives is a form of support, while European-American children【C8】______the pressure to perform. "These findings underline the importance of understanding cultural【C9】______in how people interpret themselves and their relationships to others," the researchers wrote. "European-American mothers who assume that achievement is an individual project may be right to believe that too much involvement can【C10】______motivation. Tiger Mothers who assume that achievement is a group project may be equally right to【C11】______that parental involvement is【C12】______for motivation." The researchers evaluated these two different parenting【C13】______by analyzing the connections between children's motivation and their mothers. Across the studies, Asian-American students saw more【C14】______between themselves and their mothers and were more accepting of their mothers' involvement in their lives. These students viewed pressure from their mothers【C15】______and said it motivated them in times of【C16】______. European-American students, on the other hand, reported feeling more independent from their mothers and seeing pressure to succeed【C17】______a lack of support rather than a source of motivation. Parents might take some comfort knowing that,【C18】______Chua's battle cries for stricter childrearing, it looks like parenting isn't quite so clear-cut And dissatisfied white kids can【C19】______, too: They now have the social science to【C20】______ignoring their mothers.

BPart ADirections: Write a composition/letter of no less than 100 words on the following information./B

I can tap my smartphone and a cab will arrive almost immediately. Another tap will tell me the latest news, value my share portfolio or give me route directions to my next meeting. As a result, I do not need to stand on a street corner vainly trying to hail a taxi to the theatre, lose myself in London streets. The changes that have occurred in the past decade have, from an economic perspective, increased at virtually no cost the efficiency of household production. The data framework within which economic analysis is conducted is largely the product of the second world war. In the 1930s American economist Simon Kuznets began to elaborate a system of national accounts. That work was given impetus when the war led governments to take control of important sectors of economic activity. It was soon realized that this required far better data than had previously existed, which in turn raised the challenge of how best to structure such information. Household production—women's work as homemakers—did not have much of a look-in; that was not the front line against fascism. The joke about the man who reduced national income by marrying his housekeeper, so that a market transaction became part of household production, was once a mandatory part of every introductory course on national income accounting but has succumbed to political correctness. Technological advance has always enhanced household as well as business efficiency. Our domestic productivity has benefited from washing machines, vacuum cleaners and central heating, and before that from electric light and automobiles. But at least these things were partially accounted for: from an economic perspective a car is a faster and cheaper horse. Statisticians in principle incorporated these improvements in the efficiency of consumer goods into their measurement of productivity, though in practice they did not try very hard. But the technological advances of the past decade seem to have increased the efficiency of households, rather than the efficiency of businesses, to an unusual extent. An ereader in the pocket replaces a roomful of books, and all the world's music is streamed to my computer. We look at aggregate statistics and worry about the slowdown in growth and productivity. But the evidence of our eyes seems to tell a different story.

BSection III Writing/B