单选题The American Family In the American family the husband and wife usually share important decision **. When the children are (51) enough, they take part as well. Foreigners are often surprised by the permissiveness(宽容) of American parents. The old rule that "children should be seen and not heard" is rarely (52) , and children are often allowed to do (53) they wish without strict control of their parents. The father seldom expects his children to listen to him (54) question, and children are encouraged to be (55) at an early age. Some people believe that American parents carry this freedom (56) far. Others think that a strong father image would not (57) the American values of equality and independence. Because Americans emphasize the importance of independence, young people are expected to (58) their parental families by the time they have (59) their late teens or early twenties. Indeed, not to do so is often regarded as a (60) , a kind of weak dependence. This pattern of independence often results in serious (61) for the aging parents of a small family. The average American is expected to live (62) the age of 70 The job-retirement age is (63) 65. The children have left home, married, and (64) their own households. At least 20 percent of all people over 65 do not have enough retirement incomes. (65) the major problem of many elderly couples is not economic. They feel useless and lonely with neither an occupation nor a close family group.

单选题 Caffeine Caffeine is probably the most widely used drug in the world. Humans have been consuming caffeine for hundreds of years, primarily in the form of coffee, tea, and cocoa. Habitual coffee and tea drinkers had long been observed to have a lower incidence of non- melanoma (黑色素瘤) skin cancers, although no one knew why. A recent study found that caffeine affects skin cells damaged by ultraviolet radiation, a main cause of skin cancer. Caffeine interferes with a protein that cancerous cells need to survive, leaving the damaged cells to die before they become cancerous. Drinking caffeinated coffee has also been associated with a decreased incidence of endometrial (子宫内膜的) cancer—that is, cancer of the cells lining the uterus—the strongest effect appears to be in overweight women, who are at greatest risk for the disease. Researchers believe blood sugar, fat cells, and estrogen (雌性激素) may play a role. Although the mechanism remains unknown, people who drink more than two cups of coffee or tea a day reportedly have about half the risk of developing chronic liver disease as those who drink less than one cup of coffee daily; caffeinated coffee has also been associated with lowered risk of cirrhosis (肝硬化) and liver cancer. While many of caffeine's undesirable effects, such as elevated heart rate and blood pressure, are brief, some short-term benefits, including pain relief, increased alertness, and increased physical endurance, have also been attributed to caffeine. As a component of numerous over the counter diet pills and pain relievers, caffeine increases their effectiveness and helps the body absorb them more quickly. By constricting (收缩) blood vessels in the brain, it can alleviate headaches—even migraines (偏头痛)—and can help counter the drowsiness (眩晕) caused by antihistamines (抗组胺药). Caffeine does not alter the need for sleep, but it does offer a temporary solution to fatigue for people who need to stay alert. Research has shown that sleep deprived individuals who consumed caffeine had improved memory and reasoning abilities, at least in the short term. Studies of runners and cyclists have shown that caffeine can improve their stamina—hence its addition to energy boosting sports drinks. People who consume a lot of caffeine regularly may develop temporary withdrawal symptoms, headache being the most common, if they quit or cut back on it abruptly. Fortunately, these symptoms last only a day or two in most cases. Individuals who are more sensitive to the stimulatory side effects of caffeine may want to avoid it, but most doctors agree that the equivalent of three cups of coffee a day does not harm healthy people. There is no medical basis to give up daily caffeine and many reasons to include a moderate amount in one's diet.

单选题 Is There a Way to Keep Britain's Economy Growing? In today's knowledge economy, nations survive on the things they do best. The Japanese design electronics while the Germans export engineering techniques. The French serve the best food and Americans make computers. Britain specializes in the gift of talking. The nation doesn't manufacture much of anything. But it has lawyers, stylists and business consultants who earn their living from talk, talk and more talk. The World Foundation think tank says the UK's four iconic (标志性的) jobs today are not scientists, engineers, teachers and nurses. Instead, they're hairdressers, celebrities, management consultants and managers. But can all this talking keep the British economy going? The British government thinks it can. Although the country's trade deficit was more than ￡60 billion in 2006, UK's largest in the postwar period, officials say the country has nothing to worry about. In fact, Britain does have a world-class pharmaceutical (制药的) industry, and it still makes a small sum from selling arms abroad. It also trades services— accountancy, insurance, banking and advertising. The government believes Britain is on the cutting edge of the knowledge economy. After all, the country of Shakespeare and Wordsworth has a literary tradition of which to be proud. Rock 'n' roll is an English language medium, and there are billions to be made by their cutting-edge bands. In other words, the creative economy has plenty of strength to carry the British economy. However, creative industries account for only about 4 percent of UK's exports of goods and services. The industries are finding it hard to make a profit, according to a report of the National Endowment for Science, Technology, and the Arts. The report shows only 38 percent of British companies were engaged in "innovation activities", 3 percentage points below the EU average and well below Germany (61 percent) and Sweden (47 percent). In fact, it might be better to call Britain a "servant" economy—there are at least 4 million people "in service". The majority of the population are employed by the rich to cook, clean, and take care of their children. Many graduates are even doing menial (体力劳动的) jobs for which they do not need a degree. Most employment growth has been, and will continue to be, at the low-skill end of the service sector—in shops, bars, hotels, domestic service and in nursing and care homes.

单选题Women developed a sense of space out of the need

单选题I wonder what your aim in life is.

单选题This country is ______ for its many historic houses.A. obviousB. remarkableC. abundantD. sufficient

单选题On the Trial of the Honey Badger On a recent field trip to the Kalahari Desert, a team of researchers learn a lot more about honey badgers. The team employed a local wildlife expert Kitso Khama to help them locate and follow the badgers across the desert. Their main aim was to study the badgers" movements and behavior as discreetly (谨慎地) as possible without frightening them away or causing them to change their natural behavior. They also planned to trap a few and study them close up before releasing them in view of the animal"s reputation, this was something that even Khama was reluctant to do. "The problem with honey badgers is they are naturally curious animals, especially when they see something new," he says, "That, combined with their unpredictable nature, can be a dangerous mixture. If they sense you have food, for example, they won"t be shy about coming right up to you for something to eat. They"re actually quite sociable creatures around humans, but as soon as they feel they might be in danger, they can become extremely vicious (凶恶的). Fortunately this is rare, but it does happen." The research confirmed many things that were already known. As expected, honey badgers ate any creatures they could catch and kill. Even poisonous snakes, feared and avoided by most other animals, were not safe from them. The researchers were surprised, however, by the animal"s fondness for local melons, probably because of their high water content. Preciously researchers thought that the animal got all of its liquid requirements from its prey (猎物). The team also learnt that, contrary to previous research findings, the badgers occasionally formed loose family groups. They were also able to confirm certain results from previous research, including the fact that female badgers never socialized with each other. Following some of the male badgers was a challenge, since they can cover large distances in a short space of time. Some hunting territories cover more than 500 square kilometers. Although they seem happy to share these territories with other males, they are occasional fights over an important food source, and male badgers can be as aggressive towards each other as they are towards other species. As the badgers became accustomed to the presence of people, it gave the team the chance to get up close to them without being the subject of the animal"s curiosity--or sudden aggression. The badgers" eating patterns, which had been disrupted, returned to normal. It also allowed the team to observe more closely some of the other creatures that form working associations with the honey badger, as these seemed to badgers" relaxed attitude when near humans.

单选题Difficult to Have Hard Discoveries If there is one thing scientists have to hear, it is that the game is over. Raised on the belief of an endless voyage of discovery, they recoil (畏缩) from the suggestion that most of the best things have already been located. If they have, today"s scientists can hope to contribute no more than a few grace notes to the symphony of science. A book to be published in Britain this week, The End of Science , argues persuasively that this is the case. Its author, John Horgan, is a senior writer for Scientific American magazine , who has interviewed many of today"s leading scientists and science philosophers. The shock of realizing that science might be over came to him, he says, when he was talking to Oxford mathematician and physicist Sir Roger Penrose. The End of Science provoked a wave of denunciation (谴责) in the United States last year. "The reaction has been one of complete shock and disbelief," Mr. Horgan says. The real question is whether any remaining unsolved problems, of which there are plenty, lend themselves to universal solutions. If they do not, then the focus of scientific discovery is already narrowing. Since the triumphs of the 1960s—the genetic code, plate tectonics (板块构造学说), and the microwave background radiation that went a long way towards proving the Big Bang —genuine scientific revolutions have been scarce. More scientists are now alive, spending more money on research, than ever. Yet most of the great discoveries of the 19th and 20th centuries were made before the appearance of state sponsorship, when the scientific enterprise was a fraction of its present size. Were the scientists who made these discoveries brighter than today"s? That seems unlikely. A far more reasonable explanation is that fundamental science has already entered a period of diminished returns. "Look, don"t get me wrong," says Mr. Horgan. "There are lots of important things still to study, and applied science and engineering can go on forever. I hope we get a cure for cancer, and for mental disease, though there are few real signs of progress."

单选题The ATMs enable bank customers to access their money 24 hours a day and seven clays a week ______ ATMs are located.A. whereverB. wheneverC. howeverD. whatever

单选题Counterfeit Making and selling fake copies of well-known products has been a nice little earner for crafty craftsmen over thousands of years: In Roman Gaul, unscrupulous potters would put the seals of better-known competitors on their urns so they would sell better. Until 1980s, counterfeiting was a relatively small-scale business, restricted mainly to copying luxury fashion items, such as watches and leather goods, in limited quantities. But in the 1990s, it was transformed into a much bigger, broader industry, with large-scale production and distribution of false versions of such everyday items as biscuits and shampoo. Modern technology is making it ever easier to create near-perfect copies of branded goods for a fraction of the retail price of the real thing. By its nature, the extent of counterfeiting is hard to measure precisely, but a study by the International Chamber of Commerce reckoned that it grew from perhaps 3% of world trade in 1990 to 5% in 1995. John Pepper, chairman of Proter to enforce their piracy laws adequately; and to heap firms inhibit trade in faked versions of their products. Besides offering poorer countries trade privileges in return for a clampdown on counterfeiting, rich countries have tried convincing them that if they try harder to enforce intellectual property rights, they will win more foreign investment. But, realizing that persuasion is having little effect, they are also resorting to threats: On January 15th, America issued a warning to the Philippines, one of the world"s leading piracy centers, that it may has its trade privileges taken away unless it crack down harder on the counterfeiting gangs. But the counterfeiters are mocking his efforts: Some pirated video discs of the New James Bond film "Die Another Day", widely available on the streets, carry the taunting message "Come and catch me".

单选题Alaska is an American state that

单选题Some abnormal human behavior may be caused by eating substances that upset delicate chemical balances in the brain.

单选题The government is debating the education laws.

单选题The consumer went to the manager to make a complaint.A. customerB. assistantC. teacherD. student

单选题2 The scientists began to {{U}}accumulate{{/U}} data.

单选题Oil and Economy Could the bad old days of economic decline be about to return? Since OPEC agreed to supply-cuts in March, the price of crude oil has jumped to almost $26 a barrel, up from less than $10 last December. This near-tripling of oil prices calls up scary memories of the 1973 oil shock, when prices quadrupled, and 1979—1980, when they also almost tripled. Both previous shocks resulted in double-digit inflation and global economic decline. So where are the headlines warning of gloom and doom this time? The oil price was given another push up this week when Iraq suspended oil exports. Strengthening economic growth, at the same time as winter grips the northern hemisphere, could push the price higher still in the short term. Yet there are good reasons to expect the economic consequences now to be less severe than in the 1970s. In most countries the cost of crude oil now accounts for a smaller share of the price of petrol than it did in the 1970s. In Europe, taxes account for up to four-fifths of the retail price, so even quite big changes in e price of crude oil have a more muted effect on pump prices than in the past. Rich economies are also less dependent on oil than they were, and so less sensitive to swings in the oil price. Energy conservation, a shift to other fuels and a decline in the importance of heavy, energy-intensive industries have reduced oil consumption. Software, consultancy and mobile telephones use far less oil than steel or car production. For each dollar of GDP ( inconstant prices) rich economies now use nearly 50% less oil than in 1973. The OECD estimates in its latest Economic Outlook that, if oil prices averaged $22 a barrel for a full year, compared with $13 in 1998, this would increase the oil import bill in rich economies by only 0.25% -0.5% of GDP. That is less than one-quarter of the income loss in 1974 or 1980. On the other hand, oil-importing emerging economies—to which heavy industry has shifted—have become more energy-intensive, and so could be more seriously squeezed. One more reason not to lose sleep over the rise in oil prices is that, unlike the rises in the 1970s, it has not occurred against the background of general commodity-price inflation and global excess demand. A sizable portion of the world is only just emerging from economic decline. The Economist"s commodity price index is broadly unchanging from a year ago. In 1973 commodity prices jumped by 70%, and in 1979 by almost 30%.

单选题The pressure on her from her family caused her to resort to the drastic measures.

单选题Flowers and Yeo have started a programme

单选题The police believe the motive for the murder was jealousy.

单选题The once barren hillsides are now good farmland. A. hairless B. bare C. empty D. bald