单选题We were so poor in those days that the whole family had only one ______and were ashamed of being seen.

单选题Parts of 17th century Chinese pleasure gardens were not necessarily intended to look______, they were designed expressly to evoke the agreeable melancholy resulting form asense of the______of natural beauty and human glory.

单选题TEXT B Some believe that in the age of identikit computer games, mass entertainment and conformity on the supermarket shelves, truly inspired thinking has gone out of the window. But, there are others who hold the view that there is still plenty of scope for innovation, lateral thought and creative solutions. Despite the standardization of modern life, there is an unabated appetite for great ideas, visionary thinking and inspired debate. In the first of a series of monthly debates on contemporary issues, we ask two original thinkers to discuss the nature of creativity. Here is the first one. Yes. Absolutely. Since I started working as an inventor 10 or 12 years ago, I've seen a big change in attitudes to creativity and invention. Back then, there was hardly any support for inventors; apart from the national organization the Institute of Patentees and Inventors. Today, there are lots of little inventors' clubs popping up all over the place, my last count was 19 nationally and growing. These non-profit clubs, run by inventors for inventors, are an indication that people are once again interested in invention. I've been a project leader, a croupier, an IT consultant and I've written a motor mandrel. I spent my teens under a 1950s two-tone Riley RME ear, learning to put it together. Back in the Sixties, kids like me were always out doing things, making go-karts, riding bicycles or exploring. We learned to overcome challenges and solve problems. We weren't just sitting at a PlayStation, like many kids do today. But I think, and hope, things are shifting back. There's a lot more internl in design and creativity and such talents are getting a much higher profile in the media. It's evident with TV programmes such as Channel 4's Scrapheap Challenge or BBC 2's The Apprentice and Dragon's Den, where people are given a task to solve or face the challenge of selling their idea to a panel. And thankfully, the image of the mad scientist with electrified hair working in the garden shed is long gone—although, there are still a few exceptions! That's not to say there aren't problems. With the decline in manufacturing we are losing the ability to know how to make things. There's a real skills gap developing. In my opinion, the Government does little or nothing to help innovation at the lone-inventor or small or medium enterprise level. I would love to see more money spent on teaching our school kids how to be inventive. But, despite everything, if you have a good idea and real determination, you can still do very well. My own specialist area is packaging closures—almost every product needs it. I got the idea for Squeezeopen after looking at an old tin of boot polish when my mother complained she couldn't get the lid off. If you can do something cheaper, better, and you are 100 percent committed, there is a chance it will be a success. I see a fantastic amount of innovation and opportunities out there. People don't realise how much is going on. New materials are coming out all the time and the space programme and scientific research are producing a variety of spin-offs. Innovation doesn't have to be high-tech: creativity and inventing is about finding the right solution to a problem, whatever it is. There's a lot of talent out there and, thankfully, some of the more progressive companies are suddenly realising they don't want to miss out—it's an exciting time.

单选题The (contemporary) Thanksgiving turkey is an (engineered) product, (streamline) and marketed by giant turkey factories for modern (consumers).

单选题The development of female writers is hindered by the extreme conventionality of the other sex.

单选题I haven't got the ______ idea of what you mean. Would you please make it clear to me?

单选题Orioles are arboreal birds, and when they descend to the ground, it is mainly to gather nest materials.

单选题The branches could hardly ______the weight of the fruit.

单选题Eric was______at being told he would have to wait two weeks for an appointment.

单选题He appreciated ______ the chance to deliver his thesis in the annual symposium on Comparative Literature,

单选题We should______with the difficulties we were confronted with.

单选题One of the first ______ of reduced burning in Amazon rain forests was the chestnut industry: smoke tends to drive out the insect that, by pollinating chestnut tree, allow chestnuts to develop. A. reformers B. discoveries C. casualties D. beneficiaries

单选题Shopping used to be nothing more than a way of obtaining food, clothing and other necessities of life. Today, however, shopping symbolizes the materialistic culture of western society and its popularity as a leisure activity reflects the rise of consumerism.【R1】______Having more money has meant spending patterns have changed. While traditional models of economic behavior assume that consumers are rational and weigh up the costs and benefits before making a purchase, anyone who has ever walked into a shop and left five minutes later with a new jacket and 180 less in their wallet knows that this theory does not always hold true. 【R2】______Her research on consumer behavior identified impulsive buying as an attempt by shoppers to bolster their self-image, particularly for those who suffered from so-called compulsive buying or shopping addiction, a condition that affects 2 to 5 per cent of adults in the West. The three-year study compared excessive buyers to a similar group of ordinary consumers. Excessive shoppers were more materialistic and believed that buying goods was a pathway to success, happiness and identity. " Excessive buying is a coping strategy to fill the gaps between how shoppers feel about themselves and the person they want to be," Dr Dittmar said.【R3】______Her research also reveals that certain types of goods are more likely to be bought on impulse than others. Those most frequently reported—clothes, jewellery, ornaments—are closely related to self-image and appearance. This finding is contrary to usual theories about impulse shopping, which explain it as a short-term gratification winning out over longer-term concerns such as debt. 【R4】______In other words, shoppers were more willing to wait for "low impulse" goods such as kitchenware, than they were for clothes or other "high impulse" items. However, it was found that some of the 60 consumers asked to maintain a shopping diary for the study often regretted their impulsive purchases. Dr Dittmar said, "When people had explicitly bought for self-image reasons, regret was more likely to occur. " But this finding was ambiguous because shopping addicts were more motivated by self-image than ordinary shoppers and were more likely to regret their actions. "It"s not quite clear which way round this relationship goes, but there is a link between being very concerned with self-image goods and regretting impulse buying. " The conclusions drawn by Dr Dittmar about the treatment of compulsive shoppers are that prescribing anti-depressant drugs might solve the problem but only as long as sufferers continue to take them. Instead, they needed therapeutic help to address the underlying causes such as poor self-image. 【R5】______"In no sense do these people directly force anyone to buy anything. But they are very sophisticated, making advertisements and shopping environments very seductive and playing on the idea that if you buy product X you will be much more attractive. "A. Dr. Dittmar said that the idea that consumers" impulsiveness differed, depending on the type of goods, was also supported by the finding that shoppers were less willing to delay gratification for items bought on impulse.B. But there are pitfalls, such as debt and addiction to buying. Addicts shop for shopping"s sake rather than to buy what they need.C. Helga Dittmar, senior lecturer in psychology at Sussex University, has found that consumer goods are the material symbols of who a person is and who they would like to be.D. Her research also raises questions over the methods used to attract shoppers and encourage them to buy. Although advertisers and retailers increasingly appeal to consumers" self-image, Dr Dittmar said it was very difficult to argue that these factors were responsible for compulsive shopping.E. Although there were other ways of dealing with poor self-image, such as over-exercising or alcoholism , she said that shopping had become one of the most important strategies. This was especially true for women, who were three times more likely to be compulsive shoppers than men, as shopping was a socially approved activity, and allowed those who do not go out to work to get out of the house, Dr. Dittmar said.F. Women make the majority of buying decisions—estimates anywhere from 60 - 80% and growing. Despite these facts, some industries have created frustrating walls and barriers failing to cater to the buying characteristics women are looking for.G. This has been made possible by the 75 per cent increase in disposable income in the past 20 years. The number of credit cards in use has more than quadrupled, and the amount of outstanding consumer debt has almost tripled in the same period.

单选题In Hawaii, {{U}}endemic{{/U}} birds, such as the omao and the apapane, dwell in the volcanic highlands and tropical rain forests. A. alluring B. dense C. graceful D. native

单选题Some people viewed the findings with caution, noting that a cause-and-effect relationship between passive smoking and cancer remains ______.

单选题The salon was the most elegant room Madeline had ever seen, despite its ______.

单选题When {{U}}squashed{{/U}} the stem and the leaves of the jewelweed exude a juice that soothe some skin irritations. A. boiled B. aged C. crushed D. chopped

单选题Be careful when you talk to your boss. He is in a very bad ______today.

单选题This collection of short stories is said ______ into at least five foreign languages in the years to come. A. to translate B. to be translated C. to have been translated D. being translated

单选题The museum arranged the fossils in______order, placing the older fossils dating from the Late Ice Age on the first floor and the more recent fossils on the second floor.