单选题Did you know that the parachute was invented before the airplane? This is (1) but true. The first airplane was flown in 1903. However, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist-scientist, drew sketches of a (2) over 450 years ago. The first successful parachute jump was made from a tower (3) a French scientist, Sebastien Lenormand, in 1783. In 1785 J. P. Blanchard of France used a parachute to eject a dog from a hot-air balloon. People (4) to use parachutes first for thrills and fun. Andre Jacques Garnerin, also of (5) , was the first to drop from a balloon at a (6) of 2000 feet using a parachute. Garnerin continued to parachute for a number of years, as (7) many others. It wasn't until World War I, (8) , that the parachute became important for saving lives. By the end of the war, it had become standard safety equipment for nearly all (9) . In addition, parachutes were also worn by military passengers on (10) . Today the parachute is used (11) several purposes. It is invaluable when firefighters must be dropped at the scene of a fire in (12) areas. These areas are often (13) isolated that they can't be reached by other means. The parachute is also used to drop rescuers and supplies to victims of disasters. It is also used by the military to (14) soldiers and equipment. Parachute jumping has also become a popular (15) . Many airports have schools that teach correct procedure. They also provide the airplanes to carry (16) aloft. Experienced jumpers often take up sky diving. In sky diving the jumpers don't open their parachutes immediately. (17) they fall freely toward the earth doing various tricks, after which they then open their parachutes. They do this just in time for a safe (18) . There are many (19) records in parachuting. The longest fall before opening a parachute for a safe landing was accomplished in 1962 by a Russian who fell over fifteen and one-half miles (20) using the parachute. The highest jump was made by an American in 1960. Air Force Captain Joseph Kittinger, Jr., jumped from a balloon nineteen and one-half miles high.

单选题In her 26 years of teaching English, Shannon McGuire has seen countless misplaced commas, misspelled words and sentence fragments. But the instructor at US's Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge said her job is getting harder every day. "I kid you not, the number of errors that I've seen in the past few years have multiplied five times," she said. Experts say email and instant messaging are at least partly to blame for an increasing indifference toward the rules of grammar, spelling and sentence structure. They say the problem is most noticeable in college students and recently graduates. "They used to at least feel guilty (about mistakes)," said Naomi Baron, professor of linguistics at American University in Washington, D. C. "They didn't necessarily write a little better, but at least they felt guilty." Ironically, Baron's latest book, "Alphabet to Email: How Written English Evolved and Where It's Heading," became a victim of sloppy proofreading. The book's title is capitalized differently on the cover, spine and title page. "People used to lose their jobs over this," she said. "And now they just say 'whatever'." "Whatever" describes Jeanette Henderson's attitude toward writing. The sophomore at the University of Louisiana at Monroe admits that her reliance on spellcheck has hurt her grades in English class. "Computer has spoiled us," she said. But the family and consumer sciences major believes her future bosses won't mind the mistakes as much as her professor does. "They're not going to check semicolons, commas and stuff like that," Henderson said. LSU's McGuire said she teaches her students to use distinct writing styles that fit their purpose. She emphasizes that there's the informal language of an email to a friend, but there's also the well thought out and structured academic or professional style of writing. It's not just email and instant messaging that are contributing to slack writing habits. Society as a whole is becoming more informal. Casual wear at work used to be reserved for Friday, for example, but is now commonplace at most offices. There's also a greater emphasis on youth culture, and youth tend to use instant messaging more than adults do. English language has been neglected at different points in history but always rebounds. During Shakespearen times, for example, spelling wasn't considered important, and early publishers rarely proofread. There will likely be a social force that recognizes the need for clear writing and swings the pendulum back.

单选题In the flint decades of the twentieth century, the individual gem could not be seen, but could be worked with {{U}}fruitfully{{/U}}.

单选题The government has decided to reduce a(n)______on all imports.

单选题Tight-lipped elders used to say, "It"s not what you want in this world, but what you get." Psychology teaches that you do get what you want if you know what you want and want the right things. You can make a mental blueprint of a desire as you would make a blueprint of a house, and each of us is continually making these blueprints in the general routine of everyday living. If we intend to have friends to dinner, we plan the menu, make a shopping list, decide which food to cook first, and such planning is an essential for any type of meal to be served. Likewise, if you want to find a job, take a sheet of paper, and write a brief account of yourself. In making a blueprint for a job, begin with yourself, for when you know exactly what you have to offer, you can intelligently plan where to sell your services. This account of yourself is actually a sketch of your working life and should include education, experience and references. Such an account is valuable. It can be referred to in filling out standard application blanks and is extremely helpful in personal interviews. While talking to you，your could-be employer is deciding whether your education, your experience, and other qualifications will pay him to employ you and your "wares" and abilities must be displayed in an orderly and reasonably connected manner. When you have carefully prepared a blueprint of your abilities and desires, you have something tangible to sell. Then you are ready to hunt for a job．Get all the possible information about your could-be job, make inquiries as to the details regarding the job and the firm. Keep your eyes and ears open, and use your own judgement. Spend a certain amount of time each day seeking the employment you wish for, and keep in mind: Securing a job is your job now.

单选题This teaching method is a ______ of many methods which have been used for decades in the country. A. symposium B. symphony C. spectrogram D. synthesis

单选题{{B}}Passage 1{{/B}} Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and discrimination have been condemned or made illegal. But one insidious form continues to thrive: alphabetism. This, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to discrimination against those whose surnames begin with a letter in the lower half of the alphabet. It has long been known that a taxi firm called AAAA cars has a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers thumb through their phone directories. Less well known is the advantage that Adam Abbott has in life over Zoё Zysman. English names are fairly evenly spread between the halves of the alphabet. Yet a suspiciously large number of top people have surnames beginning with letters between A and K. Thus the American president and vice-president have surnames starting with B and C respectively; and 26 of George Bush's predecessors (including his father) had surnames in the first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half. Even more striking, six of the seven heads of government of the G7 rich countries are alphabetically advantaged (Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chrétien and Koizumi). The world's three top central bankers (Greenspan, Duisenberg and Hayami) are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one of them really uses Japanese characters. As are the world's five richest men (Gates, Buffet, Allen, Ellison and Albrecht). Can this merely be coincidence? One theory, dreamt up in all the spare time enjoyed by the alphabetically disadvantaged, is that the rot sets in early. At the start of the first year in infant school, teachers seat pupils alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember their names. So short-sighted Zysman junior gets stuck in the back row, and is rarely asked the improving questions posed by those insensitive teachers. At the time the alphabetically disadvantaged may think they have had a lucky escape. Yet the result may be worse qualifications, because they get less individual attention, as well as less confidence in speaking publicly. The humiliation continues. At university graduation ceremonies, the ABCs proudly get their awards first; by the time they reach the Zysmans most people are literally having a ZZZ. Shortlists for job interviews, election ballot papers, lists of conference speakers and attendees, all tend to be drawn up alphabetically, and their recipients lose interest as they plough through them.

单选题The first few months of the year I had dreaded the ringing of the telephone, because I knew it meant another ______ decision to be made. A.critical B.plentiful C.decent D.massive

单选题The company has______over three decades into a multi-million dollar organization.

单选题The crowd ______ into the hall and some had to stand outside. A. outgrew B, overthrew C. overpassed D. overflew

单选题We seek a society that has ______ a respect for the dignity and worth of the individual.

单选题{{B}}Passage Four{{/B}} Traditionally, women have lagged behind men in adoption of Internet technologies, but a study released yesterday found that women under age 65 now outpace men in Internet usage. The report, "How Women and Men Use the Internet," examined use by both sexes, looking at what men and women are doing online as well as their rate of adopting new Web-based technologies. "I think the real interesting story is the young women, because that is the one age cohort where there are many more women online," said Deborah Fallows, who wrote the report based on findings from surveys conducted over the past five years. "The younger women are just much more comfortable with the Internet." The report found that 86 percent of women ages 18 to 29 were online, compared with 80 percent of men in the same age group. Among African Americans, 60 percent of women are online, compared with 50 percent of men. In other age groups, the disparity is only slight, with women outpacing men by 3 percentage points. However, among the older group, those age 65 and older, 34 percent of men are online, compared with 21 percent of women. It's enough of a disparity, Fallows said, to keep men in the overall lead in Internet usage, 68 percent to 66 percent. Men tend to use the Web for information and entertainment--getting sports scores and stock quotes and downloading music--while women tend to be heavier users of mapping and direction services, and communication services such as e-mail. And, in general, men are more likely to be early adopters of technology than women, the survey found. A separate survey released earlier this week seemed to underscore the finding of the report. Of those who listen to podcasts distributed over the Internet, 78 percent are men and 22 percent are women. "With podcasting just over a year old, the current maleness of the podcast audience at the aggregate level is consistent with gender usage trends of the early Web." Mark McCrery, cofounder and chief executive of Podtrac, said in a statement. Over time, however, there likely will be "a more balanced gender composition of the podcast audience," he said. Fallows agreed but also said that the disparity between the sexes among younger people was especially interesting because it could shape the way the general population uses technology and the Web in the future. "It's hard to say where that will settle," she said. "I imagine things will even out over time, because there is so much for everyone online."

单选题One student after another ______ up to answer the teacher"s questions.

单选题______a declining birth rate, there will be an over-supply of 35 000 primary school places by 2010, ______ leaving 35 schools idle. A. Coupled with, equals to B. Coupling with, equivalent to C. Coupled with, equivalent to D. Coupling with, equals to

单选题 Vitamins are organic compounds necessary in small amounts in the diet for the normal growth and maintenance of life of animals, including man. They do not provide energy, {{U}}(21) {{/U}} do they construct or build any part of the body. They are needed for {{U}}(22) {{/U}} foods into energy and body maintenance. There are thirteen or more of them, and if {{U}}(23) {{/U}} is missing a deficiency disease becomes {{U}}(24) {{/U}} Vitamins are similar because they are {{U}}(25) {{/U}} of the same elements--usually carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and {{U}}(26) {{/U}}. nitrogen. They are different {{U}}(27) {{/U}} their elements are arranged {{U}}(28) {{/U}}, and each vitamin {{U}}(29) {{/U}} one or more specific {{U}}(30) {{/U}} in the body. {{U}} (31) {{/U}} enough vitamins is essential to life, {{U}}(32) {{/U}} the body has no nutritional use for {{U}}(33) {{/U}} vitamins. Many people, {{U}}(34) {{/U}}, believe in being on the "safe side" and thus take extra vitamins. However, a {{U}}(35) {{/U}} diet will usually meet all the body's vitamin needs.

单选题The letter page of this newspaper is a ______ for public argument.

单选题Experimental sciences, based on the observation of the external world, cannot aspire to completeness; the nature of things, and the imperfection of our organs,______

单选题The story you read here can best be titled as ______.