填空题 Keeping Cut Flowers 1. While everybody enjoys fresh cut flowers around their house, few people know how to keep them for as long as possible. This may be done by keeping in mind a few simple facts. 2. An important thing to remember about cut flowers is that they are sensitive to temperature. For example, studies have shown that cut carnations (康乃馨) retain their freshness eight times longer when kept at 12℃ than when kept at 26℃. Keeping freshly harvested flowers at the right temperatures is probably the most important aspect of flower care. 3. Flowers are not intended by nature to live very long. Their biological purpose is simply to attract birds or insects, such as bees, for pollination (授粉). After that, they quickly dry up and die. The process by which flowers consume oxygen and produce carbon dioxide (二氧化碳), called respiration (呼吸), generates the energy the flower needs to give the flower its shape and color. The making of seeds also depends on this energy. While all living things respire, flowers have a high level of respiration. A result of all this respiration is heat, and for flowers the level of heat relative to the mass of the flower is very high. Respiration also brings about the eventual death of the flower. Thus the greater the level of respiration, the sooner the flower dies. 4. How, then, to control the rate at which flowers die? By controlling respiration. How is respiration controlled? By controlling temperature. We know that respiration produces heat, but the reverse is also true. Thus by maintaining low temperatures, respiration is reduced and the cut flower will age more slowly. 5. Another vital factor in keeping cut flowers is the quality of the water in which they are placed. Flowers find it difficult to "drink" water that is dirty or otherwise polluted. Even when water looks and smells clean, it almost certainly contains harmful substances that can endanger the flowers. To rid the water of these unwanted substances, household chlorine bleach (含氯漂白剂) can be used in small quantities. It is recommended that 15 drops of chlorine bleach (at 4% solution) be added to each liter of water. The water and solution should also be replaced each day. A. Control of Respiration B. Beauty of Fresh Cut Flowers C. Role of Respiration D. Most Important Aspect of Flower Care E. Need for Clean Water F. Ways of Stopping Respiration

填空题 Why Would They Falsely Confess? Why on earth would an innocent person falsely confess to committing a crime? To most people, it just doesn't seem logical. But it is logical, say experts, if you understand what can happen in a police interrogation (审讯) room, Under the right conditions, people's minds are susceptible (易受影响的) to influence, and the pressure put on suspects during police grillings (盘问) is enormous. (46) "The pressure is important to understand, because otherwise it's impossible to understand why someone would say he did something he didn't do. The answer is: to put an end to an uncomfortable situation that will continue until he does confess." Developmental psychologist Allison Redlich recently conducted a laboratory study to determine how likely people are to confess to things they didn't do. (47) The researchers then intentionally crashed the computers and accused the participants of hitting the "alt" key to see if they would sign a statement falsely taking responsibility. Redlich's findings clearly demonstrate how easy it can be to get people to falsely confess: 59 percent of the young adults in the experiment immediately confessed. (48) Of the 15- to 16-year-olds, 72 percent signed confessions, as did 78 percent of the 12- to 13-year-olds. "There's no question that young people are more at risk," says Saul Kassin, a psychology professor at Williams College, who has done similar studies with similar results. (49) Both Kassin and Redlich note that the entire "interrogation" in their experiments consisted of a simple accusation--not hours of aggressive questioning--and still, most participants falsely confessed. Because of the stress of a police interrogation, they conclude, suspects can become convinced that falsely confessing is the easiest way out of a bad situation. (50) A In her experiment, participants were seated at computers and told not to hit the "alt" key, because doing so would crash the systems. B "In some ways," says Kassin, "false confession becomes a rational decision." C "It's a little like somebody's working on them with a dental (牙齿的) drill," says Franklin Zimring, a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley. D "But adults are highly vulnerable too." E How could an innocent person admit to doing something he didn't do? F Redlich also found that the younger the participant, the more likely a false confession.

填空题California University Cuts Protested Thousands of students, faculty members and employees at the 10 University of California campuses protested budget cuts, unpaid faculty furloughs(休假) and tuition increases On Thursday. Officials at the University of California, Berkeley, estimated that several thousand protesters were in Sproul Plaza chanting and waving signs. (46) Other campuses reported smaller turnouts (聚集的人群) at rallies(集会) and marches. "Everyone agrees there is a budget crisis and that the university must respond," said Joshua Clover, all associate professor of English at U. C. Davis who was a co -author of a petition(情愿书) calling for the faculty walkout Off Thursday. Mr. Clover said (47) The online walkout petition was signed by 1,221 of the 19,000 faculty members statewide. A union representing more than 11,000 university professional and technical staff members supported the protest and called a one -day strike. (48) The university's budget now stands at $ 2.6 billion. Friction(摩擦) has developed between the administration and some faculty and staff members and students over how and where to cut. Among the more contentious(有异议的)items are a proposed 32 percent increase in student tuition by fall 2010, and decisions made by the university president, Mark Yudof, over how to handle mandatory(义务性质的) faculty furlough days ,which will reduce pay by 4 to 10 percent. (49) "I chose Berkeley over all the other universities because it offered me a very good education at a price my family could afford," said Brandon Pham, 17, a freshman political science major who skipped the day's classes in protest. Mr. Pham held a sign that read: "We make the university. They make the crisis. " Steve Montiel, a spokesman for the University of California's office of the president, said, (50) A. "We respect people expressing themselves, but we hope they realize that the true source of their frustration is in Sacramento at the state capital."B. The Legislature approved a reduction of $ 637.1 million, about 20 percent of the university's 2009 -2010 fiscal year (财政年度) financing, as part of the budget agreement reached in August.C. "The problem is that the administration's handling of the budget cuts disproportionately (不成比例) harms those who can least afford it both among the workers and the students. "D. Average yearly tuition and fees for undergraduates this academic year are $ 8,720.E. Most academic departments on campus reported that some classes had been canceled because faculty members and students walked out.F. Still, many students at Berkeley did not participate in the protest and walked about campus as they would on any other Thursday.

填空题Writing Like fine food, good writing is something we approach with pleasure and enjoy from the first taste to the last. (1) Quite the contrary, just as the cook has to undergo an intensive training, mastering the skills of his trade, the writer must sit at his desk and devote long hours to achieving a style in his writing, whatever its purpose-school work, matters of business, or purely social communication. (2) There are still some remote places in the world where you might find someone to do your business or social writing for you, for a fee. There are a few mangers who are lucky enough to have the service of that rare kind of secretary who can take care of all sorts of letter writing with no more than a quick note to work from. (3) We have to write school papers, business papers or home papers. We are constantly called on to put words to paper. It would be difficult to count the number of such words, messages, letters, and reports put to the mails or delivered by hand, but the daily figure must be enormous. (4) We want to arouse and hold the interest of readers. We want whatever we write to be read, from first word to last, not thrown into some "letters-to-be-read" file or into a wastepaper basket. (5) A. But for most of us, if there is any writing to be done, we have to do it ourselves.B. However, the managers may sometimes cause the writers a lot of trouble.C. Any good writers, like good cooks, do not suddenly appear full-blown (成熟的).D. What is more, everyone who writes expects, or at least hopes, that his writing will be read.E. This is the mason we bend our efforts toward learning and practicing the skills of interesting, effective writing.F. You may be sure that the greater the effort, the more effective the writing, and the more rewardin

填空题 McGrady's Art Is a Spectacle 1. When Tracy McGrady is healthy, his play can be so beautiful that even his own teammates on the court cannot help but admire it in the middle of a game. 2. "It's hard for me, because I'm a fan of basketball," Houston point guard Rarer Alston told the Houston Chronicle newspaper after McGrady's 44 point performance against Utah on January 5. "When he's shooting the ball like that, a lot of times I'm standing there watching and, all of a sudden, the other team's getting the ball and going on a fast break, and I'm getting yelled by the coach." Indeed, McGrady's body control, his energy, his shooting-watching, these are like watching an artist at work, blending colors, constructing sentences, or playing music. 3. Unfortunately, McGrady, 27, hasn't always been on the job. Already this season, he's missed seven games with back spasms. After Yao Ming was injured on Dec. 23, it appeared Houston would be without both of its stars. McGrady, however, returned three days later and has been playing well ever since, scoring more than 30 points in each of the last six games, as of Tuesday. Houston can't seem to get on without him. When McGrady was injured, the Rockets won two and lost five. 4. "Listen, there are only four or five people on the entire planet that can do the things he can do with the basketball," forward Shane Battier said of McGrady. "From a fan's perspective and we're fans even though we're players it's really fun to watch him do that." From a player's perspective, his game can affect the entire team. No question. We see him, and we get excited, and that pumps us up. He keeps making shots, and suddenly it seems to become easier for everybody. 5. But it won't, really. Houston has just begun an important stretch on their schedule. Four of the next seven games will be played away from Houston and without Yao. Six of the games will be against teams with winning records. Opponents will double-team McGrady in an attempt to dull the impact of his art. Instead of watching, McGrady's teammates will need to create a little art of their own. A. Necessity for the Teammates to Improve Their Own Skills B. Evaluation from Two Different Perspectives C. Spectacular Performance on the Court D. Players Houston Can't Do Without McGrady E. Yao Ming's Performance F. McGrady's Injury

填空题Financial support from both private organizations and the government has made possible ______.

填空题Old Man Myths and Realities 1. When does a middle-aged man become an old man? Officially, of course, it's when we reach retirement age. But, as we all know, this is a fairly blunt (生硬的) method of decision making. As life expectancy (预期寿命) increases, retirement planning needs to be changed. This is because being an old man today is very different from what it was a generation or so ago. 2. Sixty-five is the new middle-aged man. These days people are talking about the young-old, that is ages 70—75, and those over 75 as the old-old. The young-old frequently continue in good health and maintain strong links with friends and family. The old-old have a much higher chance of poor health and social isolation. 3. Although men are living longer, there are still more old women than old men. This fact alone should arouse interest as to why. Relatively little is actually known about why this is the case or about the experiences of the old man. Sure, we are aware that the old man experiences anxiety, financial problems, loneliness, etc., but that's really about all we know. 4. It is usually believed that the old man often complains about their health. In fact, most old man think their health is good even though most are diagnosed with at least one chronic illness. The physical health of the old man is strongly affected by their health behavior when they were younger.

填空题Home Schooling All children in the United States have to receive an education, but the law does not say they have to be educated at school. A number of parents prefer not to send their children to school. 1 There are about 300,000 home-schoolers in the United States today. Some parents prefer teaching their children at home because they do not believe that public schools teach the correct religious values; others believe they can provide a better educational experience for their children by teaching them at home. 2 David Guterson and his wife teach their three children at home. Guterson says that his children learn very differently from children in school. 3 For example, when there is heavy snowfall on a winter day, it may start a discussion or reading about climate, snow removal (去除) equipment, Alaska, polai bears (北极熊) and winter tourism. A spring evening when the family is out watching the stars is a good time to ask questions about satellites and the space program 4 . Home schooling is often more interesting than regular schools, but critics say that home-schooled are outsiders who might be uncomfortable mixing with other people in adult life. 5 However, most parents don"t have the time or the desire to teach their children at home, so schools will continue to be where most children get their formal education. A. Interestingly, results show that home-schooled children quite often do better than average on national tests in reading and math. B. Critics also say that most parents are not well qualified to teach their children. C. Learning starts with the children"s interests and questions. D. Children who are educated at home are known as "home-schoolers." E. In some countries, however, children are educated by their parents. F. If the Brazilian rain forests are on the TV news. it could be a perfect time to talk about how rain forests influence the climate, and how deserts are formed.

填空题Ludwig Van Beethoven Ludwig Van Beethoven, a major composer of the nineteenth century, overcame many personal problems to achieve artistic greatness. Born in Bonn, Germany, in 1770, he first studied music with the court organist, Gilles van der Eeden. His father was excessively strict and given to heavy drinking. 1 Appointed deputy court organist to Christian Gottlob Neefe at a surprisingly early age in 1782, Beethoven also played the harpsichord and the viola. In 1792 he was sent to Vienna by his patron, Count Ferdinand Waldstein, to study music under Haydn. Beethoven remained unmarried. 2 Continually plagued by ill health, he developed an ear infection which led to his tragic deafness in 1819. 3 He completed mature masterpieces of great musical depth: three piano sonatas, four string quartets, the Missa Solemnis, and the 9th Symphony. He died in 1827. 4 Noting that Beethoven often flew into fits of rage, Goethe once said of him, "I am astonished by his talent, but he is unfortunately an altogether untamed personality." 5 A. In spite of this handicap, however, he continued to write music. B. Because of irregular payments from his publishers and erratic support from his patrons, he was troubled by financial worries throughout his adult life. C. His life was marked by a passionate dedication to independence. D. When his mother died, Beethoven, then a young man, was named guardian of his two younger brothers. E. Although Beethoven"s personality may have been untamed, his music shows great discipline and control, and this is how we remember him best. F. Today his music is still being played all over the world.

填空题 阅读下面的短文，文章中有5处空白，文章后有6组文字。请根据文章的内容选择5组文字，将其分别放回文章原有位置，以恢复文章原貌。 {{B}}College education{{/B}} The case for college has been accepted without question for more than a generation. All high school graduates ought to go, says conventional wisdom and statistical evidence, because college will help them earn more money, become "better" people and learn to be more responsible citizens than those who don't go. But college has never been able to work its magic for everyone. And now that close to half our high school graduates are attending, those who don't fit the pattern are be coming more numerous, and more obvious. College graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis; college students interfere with each other's experiments and write false letters of recommendation in the intense competition for admission to graduate school. {{U}}(46) {{/U}}. {{U}} (47) {{/U}}. But that's a condemnation of the students as a whole, and doesn't explain all campus unhappiness. Others blame the state of the world, and they are partly right. We've been told that young people have to go to college because our economy can't absorb an army of untrained eighteen-year-olds. {{U}}(48) {{/U}}. Some adventuresome educators and campus watchers have openly begun to suggest that college may not be the best, the proper, the only place for every young person after the completion of high school. We may have been looking at all those surveys and statistics upside down, it seems, and through the rosy glow of our own remembered college experiences. Perhaps college doesn't make people intelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, or quick to learn things—maybe it's just the other way around, and intelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, quick-learning people are merely the ones who have been attracted to college in the first place. {{U}}(49) {{/U}}. This is heresy (异端邪说) to those of us who have been brought up to believe that if a little schooling is good, more has to be much better. {{U}}(50) {{/U}}. A. And perhaps all those successful college graduates would have been successful whether they had gone to college or not. B. But disappointed graduates are learning that it can no longer absorb an army of trained twenty-two-year-olds, either. C. Others find no stimulation in their studies, and drop out—often encouraged by college administrators. D. Some observers say the fault is with the young people themselves—they are spoiled and they are expecting too much. E. But contrary evidence is beginning to mount up. F. After all, the whole point of college education is that we haven't found the right way to teach every different student.

填空题The Sandwich Generation Today people often look forward to their middle age as a time when they will be able to take things easier. After their children are grown, they expect to enjoy the life they have worked hard to create. 1 In middle age, many people discover that they have two ongoing responsibilities: one is to look after their aging parents, and the other is to help their young adult children deal with the pressures of life. Around the world, there are millions of people who are "sandwiched" in between the older and the younger generations. Sometimes there may be two or three generations living in the same household—a situation that is common in many Asian countries and in some parts of Europe. In other cases, a couple may be taking care of parents and children, but they do not live with them. There are two important reasons for the rise of the sandwich generation. First, people are living longer than they used to. In the early nineteenth century, the average life expectancy (预期寿命) for adults in the United States, for example, was about 40, whereas today people live to an average age of 75. 2 The second reason is that these days, young adults often live with their parents for a longer time than they did in the past. This is often for financial reasons. It"s also more common for today"s young adults to return home during or after college if they need financial or emotional support. 3 They may have to cover expenses that their parents cannot. They may have to manage their parents" financial and legal affairs. They may have to prepare for their parents" future needs, such as special medical care or a move to a nursing home. This can be a traumatic (使人不快的) experience for everyone. Caring for adult children presents challenges as well, and caregivers have to resolve important questions: How can financial responsibilities be shared among members of the household? How can household chores be shared? What is the best way to ensure everyone"s privacy? 4 The financial and emotional pressures on the sandwich generation can be overwhelming. However, this time in life also has its rewards. 5 It can also provide a valuable opportunity to spend more time with them. However, in order to survive this difficult period in their lives, the members of the sandwich generation must remember that they also need to pay attention to their own needs and look after the quality of their own lives. They can"t be totally selfless. A．Successfully coping with these issues can avoid a lot of stress for the whole family. B．Therefore, children are taking care of their parents over a longer period of time. C．People who take care of elderly parents often face difficult issues. D．Young adults feel sandwiched between their financial responsibilities and their desire to enjoy life. E．However, the reality is often very different. F．It can be a time to rediscover the special qualities of one"s parents or children.

填空题 Teach Your Child Science 1. It is important to make your child interested in science from an early age. Most young children ask a lot of questions and you should give careful scientific answers. Don't only give facts but try to give explanations as well. 2. Science is not just knowledge; it is a way of thinking, a method of finding out about the world. We see something. We try to explain it, and we test our idea by setting up all experiments. One day you come home and find the plant on the table has fallen over. You think it might be the wind from the open window or the cat. So you close the window, but leave the cat in and see what happens (you can also try leaving the window open and shunning the cat out). Of course, you remember there may be a third explanation. 3. Ask your child to get a piece of string, some salt, a glass of water and an ice cube (冰块). Tell her to put the ice in the water, and then put one end of the string on the ice, leaving the other end over the side of the glass. Put a lime salt on the ice, wait a minute, and then pull the string, it should be attached to the ice. Ask the child: "what has happened?" 4. Probably she won't know. Ask her whether fresh water or salt water freezes into ice first. If you live near the sea and have a cold winter, she should know fresh water freezes first as she will have seen that happen. Show her how to test the idea by half-filling two paper cups with water. Then put them in the icebox and check every three minutes. Write the results in a table. The conclusion will be that salt changes the behavior of water, thinking about the string, we see the salt turned some of the ice into water. Then the salt went away into the water and the ice froze again leaving the string attached. 5. Then you can ask, "Will water with salt boil at the same temperature as water without salt?" She can think, tell you her idea and (taking care the heat) you can test it in the kitchen. A. What exactly is science. B. How do you find an explanation. C. What topics do you need. D. How do you answer your child's questions. E. Where does your child study science. F. How do you set up the experiment on salt and water.

填空题Semco At 21, Ricardo Semler became boss of his father business in Brazil, Semco, which sold parts for ships. Semler Junior worked like a madman, from 7:30 am, until midnight every day. One afternoon while touring a factory in New York he collapsed the doctor who treated him said "There"s nothing wrong with you. But if you continue like this, you"ll find a new home in our hospital." Semler got the message. He changed the way he worked. In fact, he changed the way his employees worked too. He let his workers take more responsibility so that they would be the ones worrying when things went wrong. He allowed them to set their own salaries, and he cut all the jobs he thought were unnecessary like receptionists and secretaries. 1 . "Everyone at Semco, even top managers, meets guests in reception does the photocopying, sends faxes, types letters and dials the phone." He completely reorganized the office: instead of walls, they have plants at Semco, so bosses can"t shut themselves away from everyone else. 2 . As for uniforms, some people wear suits and others wear T-shirts. Semler says: "We have a sales manager named Rubin Agater who sits there reading the newspaper hour after hour. He doesn"t even pretend to be busy. But when a Semco pump on the other side of the world fails and millions of gallons of oil are about to spill into the sea. Rubin springs into action. 3 . That"s when he earns his salary. No one cares if he doesn"t look busy the rest of the time." Semco has flexible working hours: the employees decide when they need to arrive at work. The employees also evaluate their bosses twice a year. 4 . It sounds perfect. but does it work? The answer is in the numbers: in the last six years. Semco"s revenues have gone from $35 million to $212 million. The company has grown from eight hundred employees to 3,000, why? Semler says it"s because of "peer pressure". Peer pressure makes everyone work hard for every one else. 5 . In other words, Ricardo Semler treats his workers like adults and expects them to act like adults. And they do. A. This saved money and brought more equality to the company. B. He knows everything there is to know about our pumps and how to fix them. C. And the workers are free to decorate their workspace as they want. D. Most managers spend their time making it difficult for workers to work. E. If someone isn"t doing his job well, the other workers will not allow the situation to continue. F. Also, Semco lets its workers use the company"s machines for their own projects, and makes them take holidays for at least thirty days a year.

填空题Mind Those Manners on the Subway? So, there you are, just sitting there in the subway car, enjoying that book you just but 1 Or the person sitting next to you takes out a nail clipper (指甲刀) and begins cutting his or her nails. Annoying? Many of us have to spend some time every day on public transportation 2 So, to make the trip more pleasant, we suggest the following: Let passengers get off the bus or subway car before you can get on 3 Stand away from the doors when they are closing. Don"t talk loudly on a bus to subway. Chatting loudly with your friends can be annoying to others 4 Don"t think your bags and suitcases (手提箱) deserve a seat of their own. Use a tissue whenever you cough or sneeze (打喷嚏). An uncovered sneeze can spread germs (细菌), especially in crowded places. Don"t cut your nails or pick your nose on public transportation. Don"t read over other people"s shoulder 5 It can make people uncomfortable. They might think you"re too stingy (小气的) even to buy a newspaper or they might think you"re judging their behavior. A. Don"t eat food in your car. B. Don"t shout into your mobile phone on a bus or subway. C. We all know that some behaviors are simply unacceptable. D. Many people do this on subways, but it"s really annoying. E. Getting off and on in an orderly manner can save time for all. F. Suddenly, you feel someone leaning over your shoulder reading something with you.

填空题Paragraph 5________

填空题下面的短文后有2项测试任务：(1)第23-26题要求从所给的6个选项中为第1-4段每段选择1个最佳标题；(2)第27-30题要求从所给的6个选项中为每个句子确定1个最佳选项。 Icebergs 1 Icebergs are among nature's most spectacular(壮观的) creations, and yet most people have never seen one. A vague air of mystery envelops them. They come into being—somewhere—in faraway, frigid waters, amid thunderous noise and splashing turbulence, which in most case no one hears or sees. They exist only a short time and then slowly waste away(消融) just as unnoticed. 2 Objects of sheerest(最纯粹的) beauty they have been called. Appearing in an endless variety of shapes, they may be dazzlingly white, or they may be glassy blue, green or purple, tinted faintly or in darker hues. They are graceful, stately, inspiring—in calm, sunlight seas. 3 But they are also called frightening and dangerous, and that they are—in the night, in the fog, and in storms. Even in clear weather one is wise to stay a safe distance away from them. Most of their bulk is hidden below the water, so their underwater parts may extend out far beyond the visible top. Also, they may roll over unexpectedly, churning the waters around them. 4 Icebergs are parts of glaciers that break off, drift into the water, float about awhile, and finally melt. Icebergs afloat today are made of snowflakes that have fallen over long ages of time. They embody snows that drifted down hundreds, or many thousands, or in some cases maybe a million years ago. The snows fell in polar regions and on cold mountains, where they melted only a little or not at all, and so collected to great depths over the years and centuries. As each year's snow accumulation lay on the surface, evaporation and melting caused the snowflakes slowly to lose their feathery points and become tiny grains of ice. When new snow fell on top of the old, it too turned to icy grains. So blankets of snow and ice grains mounted layer upon layer and were of such great thickness that the weight of the upper layers compressed the lower ones. With time and pressure from above, the many small ice grains joined and changed to larger crystals, and eventually the deeper crystals merged into a solid mass of ice.A．Formation of IcebergB．Iceberg Is BeautifulC．Color of IcebergD．Iceberg Is DangerousE. Iceberg Is MysteriousF. Classification of Iceberg

填空题阅读下面这篇短文，短文后有2项测试任务：(1)23～26题要求从所给的6个选项中为第2～5段第段选择1个正确的小标题；(2)第27～30题要求所给的6个选项中选择4个正确的选项，分别完成每个句子。 {{B}} Why Does Food Cost So Much?{{/B}}1 In 1959 the average American family paid $989 for a year's supply of food. In 1972 the family paid $1,311. That was a price increase of nearly one-third. Every family has had this sort of experience. Everyone agrees that the cost of feeding a family has risen sharply. But there is less agreement when reasons for the rise are being discussed. Who is really responsible?2 Many blame the farmers who produce the vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs, and cheese that stores offer for sale. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the farmer's share of the $1,311 spent by the family in 1972 was $521. This was 31 per cent more than the farmer had received in 1959.3 But farmers claim that this increase was very small compared to the increase in their cost of living. Farmers tend to blame others for the sharp rise in food prices. They particularly blame those who process the farm products alter the products leave the farm. These include truck drivers, meat packers, manufacturers of packages and other food containers, and the owners of stores where food is sold. They are among the "middlemen" who stand between the farmer and the people who buy and eat the food. Are middlemen the ones to blame for rising food prices?4 Of the $1,311 family food bill in 1972, middlemen received $790, which was 33 per cent more than they had received in 1959. It appears that the middlemen's profit has increased more than farmer's. But some economists claim that the middleman's actual profit was very low. According to economists at the First National City Bank, the profit for meat packers and food stores amounted to less than one per cent. During the same period all other manufacturers were making a profit of more than 5 per cent. By comparison with other members of the economic system both farmers and middlemen have profited surprisingly little from the rise in food prices.5 Who then is actually responsible for the size of the bill a housewife must pay before she carries the food home from the store? The economists at First National City Bank have an answer to give housewives, but many people will not like it. These economists blame the housewife herself for the jump in food prices. They say that food costs more now because women don't want to spend much time in the kitchen. Women prefer to buy food which has already been prepared before it reaches the market.6 Vegetables and chicken cost more when they have been cut into pieces by someone other than the one who buys it. A family should expect to pay more when several "TV dinners" are taken home from the store. These are fully cooked meals, consisting of meat, vegetables, and sometimes dessert, all arranged on a metal dish. The dish is put into the oven and heated while the housewife is doing something else. Such a convenience costs money. Thus, as economists point out: "Some of the basic reasons for widening food price spreads are easily traceable to the increasing use of convenience foods, which transfer much of the time and work of meal preparation from the kitchen to the food processor's plant."7 Economists remind us that many modem housewives have jobs outside the home. They earn money that helps to pay the family food bills. The housewife naturally has less time and energy for cooking after a day's work. She wants to buy many kinds of food that can be put on her family's table easily and quickly. "If the housewife wants all of these," the economists say, "that is her privilege, but she must be prepared to pay for the services of those who make her work easier."8 It appears that the answer to the question of rising prices is not a simple one. Producers, consumers, and middlemen all share the responsibility for the sharp rise in food costs.

填空题 {{B}}More Than 8 Hours Sleep Too Much of a Good Thing{{/B}} Although the dangers of too little sleep are widely known, new research suggests that people who sleep too much may also suffer the consequences. Investigators at the University of California in San Diego found that people who clock up 9 or 10 hours each weeknight appear to have more trouble falling and staying asleep, as well as a number of other sleep problems, than people who sleep 8 hours a night. People who slept only 7 hours each night also said they had more trouble falling asleep and feeling refreshed after a night's sleep than 8-hour sleepers. These findings, which DL Daniel Kripke reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, demonstrate that people who want to get a good night's rest may not need to set aside more than 8 hours a night. He added that "it might be a good idea" for people who sleep more than 8 hours each night to consider reducing the amount of time they spend in bed, but cautioned that more research is needed to confirm this. Previous studies have shown the potential dangers of chronic shortages of sleep — for instance, one report demonstrated that people who habitually sleep less than 7 hours each night have a higher risk of dying within a fixed period than people who sleep more. For the current report, Kripke reviewed the responses of 1,004 adults to sleep questionnaires, in which participants indicated how much they slept during the week and whether they experienced any sleep problems. Sleep problems included waking in the middle of the night, arising early in the morning and being unable to fall back to sleep, and having fatigue interfere with day-to-day functioning. Kripke found that people who slept between 9 and 10 hours each night were more likely to report experiencing each sleep problem than people who slept 8 hours. In an interview, Kripke noted that long sleepers may struggle to get rest at night simply because they spend too much time in bed. As evidence, he added that one way to help insomnia is to spend less time in bed. "It stands to reason that if a person spends too long a time in bed, then they'll spend a higher percentage of time awake." he said.

填空题Teach Your Child Science 1. It is important to make your child interested in science from an early age. Most young children ask a lot of questions and you should give careful scientific answers. Don"t only give facts but try to give explanations as well. 2. Science is not just knowledge, it is a way of thinking, a method of finding out about the world. We see something. We try to explain it, and we test our idea by setting up all experiments. One day you come home and find the plant on the table has fallen over. You think it might be the wind from the open window or the cat. So you close the window, but leave the cat in and see what happens (you can also try leaving the window open and shunning the cat out). Of course, you remember there may be a third explanation. 3. Ask your child to get a piece of string, some salt, a glass of water and an ice cube (冰块). Tell her to put the ice in the water, and then put one end of the string on the ice, leaving the other end over the side of the class. Put a lime salt on the ice, wait a minute, and then pull the string, it should be attached to the ice. Ask the child: "what has happened?" 4. Probably she won"t know. Ask her whether fresh water or salt water freezes into ice first. If you live near the sea and have a cold winter, she should know fresh water freezes first as she will have seen that happen. Show her how to test the idea by half-filling two paper cups with water. Then put them in the icebox and check every three minutes. Write the results in a table. The conclusion will be that salt changes the behavior of water, thinking about the string, we see the salt turned some of the ice into water. Then the salt went away into the water and the ice froze again leaving the string attached. 5. Then you can ask, "Will water will salt boil at the same temperature as water without salt?" She can think, tell you her idea and (taking care the heat) you can test it in the kitchen.

填空题A to give the boss your advice B how he is feeling C the boss may have D what you really want to talk to him about E without suggesting a way to solve it F how unhappy you are