单选题The contract between the two companies will expire soon.

单选题The news will horrify everyone.

单选题 Can Buildings Be Designed to Resist Terrorist Attack In the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, structural engineers are trying hard to solve a question that a month ago would have been completely unthinkable: Can building be designed to withstand catastrophic blasts inflicted by terrorists? Ten days after the terrorist attacks on the twin towers, structural engineers from the University at Buffalo and the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) headquartered at UB traveled to ground zero as part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation. Visiting the site as part of an MCEER reconnaissance visit, they spent two days beginning the task of formulating ideas about how to design such structures and searching for clues on how to do so in buildings that were damaged, but still are standing. "Our objective in visiting ground zero was to go and look at the buildings surrounding the World Trade Center, those buildings that are still standing, but that sustained damage," said M. Bruneau, Ph. D. "Our immediate hope is that we can develop a better understanding as to why those buildings remain standing, while our long-term goal is to see whether earthquake engineering technologies can be married to existing technologies to achieve enhanced performance of buildings in the event of terrorist attacks," he added. Photographs taken by the investigators demonstrate in startling detail the monumental damage inflicted on the World Trade Center towers and buildings in the vicinity. One building a block away from the towers remains standing, but was badly damaged. "This building is many meters away from the World Trade Center and yet we see a column there that used to be part of that building," explained A. Whittaker, Ph. D. "The column became a missile that shot across the road, through the window and through the floor." The visit to the area also revealed some surprises, according to the engineers. For example, the floor framing systems in one of the adjacent buildings was quite rugged, allowing floors that were pierced by tons of falling debris to remain intact. "Highly redundant ductile framing systems may provide a simple, but robust strategy for blast resistance," he added. Other strategies may include providing alternate paths for gravity loads in the event that a load-bearing column fails. "We also need a better understanding of the mechanism of collapse," said A. Whittaker. "We need to find out what causes a building to collapse and how you can predict it." A. Reinhorn, Ph. D. noted that "earthquake shaking has led to the collapse of many buildings in the past. It induces dynamic response and extremely high stresses and deformations in structural components. Solutions developed for earthquake-resistant design may be directly applicable to blast engineering and terrorist-resistant design. Part of our mission now at UB is to transfer these solutions and to develop new ones where none exist at present."

单选题The rocks are very big with bands of colors on them.

单选题The book shifted her {{U}}outlook{{/U}} from social to spiritual, for its theme was that before you change other people you have to change yourself. A. viewpoint B. vocation C. prospect D. preference

单选题Although many people view conflict as bad, conflict is sometimes useful {{U}}because{{/U}} it forces people to test the relative merits of their attitudes and behaviours.

单选题Saving Money Where you save your money often depends on what you are saving for. If you are saving to buy a dictionary or to go to a concert, then probably keep your money somewhere in your room. If you are saving for a big purchase like a mountain bike or a school trip, where would you save your money? One place to save money is the bank. Putting your money in a savings account will help your money earn more money. If you put your money in a piggy bank (猪形储蓄罐), one year later you"ll still have the same amount of money you put in. If you put your money in a savings account, one year later, you"ll have more money than you put in. Why? When you keep your money in a bank, your money earns interest. Interest is the amount of money a bank pays you to use your money. The bank uses your money (and the money of other people, too) to loan money to people and businesses. The bank will send you a statement several times a year. A bank statement tells you how much money there is in your account. It also tells you how much interest you have earned. If you leave your money in the bank, you can watch it grow! Another way you can save money is to buy a certificate of deposit or CD. If you have some money that you don"t need to use for a long time, this is a good way to make your money grow. You can buy a CD at a bank. You agree not to use the money for a certain period of time. That period might be from six months to five years. You can"t touch your money during that time. If you do, you must pay a penalty, or fee. Since the bank is using your money for that time period, it will pay you interest. You will earn more interest with a CD than in a savings account. Can you guess why? It"s because you promise to leave your money in the bank for a certain period of time. Banks pay different rates of interest. So, you may want to compare rates in newspaper ads before buying a CD.

单选题Success often depends on temperament .

单选题Ms. Breen has been living in town for only one year, yet she seems to {{U}}be familiar with{{/U}} everyone who comes to the store. A. accepted B. admitted C. admired D. acquainted

单选题I must {{U}}compliment{{/U}} you on your handling of a very difficult situation. A. silence B. praise C. assure D. complain

单选题{{B}}第二篇{{/B}} {{B}}Life at Aichi University{{/B}} I'm Yamamoto Mika, a 22-year old Japanese girl. I'd like to invite you to Aichi University so you can understand my life. Our university has a close relationship with China and my department is the only one of its kind in Japan. My courses include the Chinese language, modem Chinese politics and economics. I love the Chinese culture and I have been to Tian jin as an exchange student. In Japan, our courses are divided into compulsory, optional and specialized courses. However, we have a flexible schedule. We can choose classes from a wide range of options. Many students finish the compulsory courses in three years so that they can have one year without any classes. They often use this period of time to study abroad, conduct research and travel. Many students even suspend their study for additional study-abroad opportunities. Japanese universities encourage students to choose their own ways of study, so it is quite easy for us to apply for study suspension. Japanese students participate in various kinds of extracurricular activities. They attend clubs from elementary schools, so many have already been accustomed to clubs when they enter university. Our university now has 42 art clubs and 45 sports clubs. The annual University Festival is the grandest carnival of Japanese universities. In the festival, students promote their clubs and organize various activities. Our university's festival attracted about 150,000 people last year. I really like this festival. In school, I participate in the journalism club. When we have the club promotion, we cook "tonnjiru", a kind of pork soup, and sell it to other students at the fair. We also go to different places to interview celebrities who attend our festival as guests. It is a wonderful experience to talk to those stars face to face. Japanese students like to hold parties. We have two kinds of parties. One is the Mochiyori party. If you want to attend this party you have to cook a course and take it to the party. The organizer buys drinks and snacks. Another kind of party is the Nomikai, which mainly involves alcohol. We drink something called chu-hai, which is a combination of soda and wine. We also drink Japanese sake and beer. There are parties for many occasions, like welcoming new students, graduation, celebrating victories, birthday parties or just for promoting friendship.

单选题The word "compulsory" in paragraph 3 could be best replaced by

单选题{{B}}第三篇{{/B}} {{B}} Up in Smoke{{/B}} I began to smoke when I was in high school. In fact, I remember the evening I was at a girlfriend's house, and we were watching a movie—a terribly romantic movie, He (the hero of the movie) was in love, she (his lady) was beautiful, and they were both smoking. My friend had only two cigarettes from a pack in her mother's purse, and she gave one to me. It was my first time. My parents didn't care much. They both smoked, and my older brother did too. My mother told me that smokers don't grow tall, but I was already 5'6" (taller than most of the boys in my class), so I was happy to hear that "fact." In school, the teachers talked against smoking, but the cigarette advertisements were so exciting. The men in the ads were so good-looking and so successful, and the women were—well, they were beautiful and sophisticated (老于世故的). I read a book called How to Stop Smoking. The writer said that smoking wastes time, and that cigarettes cost a lot of money. "So what.'7" I thought. The book didn't say that smoking can take away years of your life, But ten years later, everyone began to hear about the negative effects of cigarette smoke: lung disease, cancer, and heart problems. After that, there was a health warning on every pack of cigarettes. I didn't pay much attention to the reports and warnings. I felt healthy, and I thought I was taking good care of myself. Then two events changed my mind. First, I started to cough, I thought it was just a cold, but it didn't get better. Second, my brother got lung cancer. He got sicker and sicker. My brother and I used to smoke cigarettes together over twenty years ago, and we smoked our last cigarettes together the day before he died. I sat with him in his hospital room, and I decided to quit. "NO more cigarettes, ever," I said to myself, However, it was very hard to stop. Nicotine (尼古丁) is a drug; as a result, cigarettes cause a powerful addiction. I tried several times to quit on my own—without success. I made excuses, I told myself: Smoking helps me keep my figure—i.e. I don't gain weight when I smoke. Smoking not only relaxes me but it also helps me think clearly. I'm a free, liberated woman. I can smoke when I want to. Finally, I ran out of excuses—I might say my excuses went up in smoke. I joined the "Stop Smoking" program at the local hospital, which also ended up in failure.

单选题New Product Will Save Lives Drinking water that looks clean may still contain bugs(虫子), which can cause illness. A small company called Genera Technologies has produced a testing method in three stages, which shows whether water is safe. The new test shows if water needs chemicals added to it, to destroy anything harmful. It was invented by scientist Dr. Adrian Parton, who started Gen-era five years ago. He and his employees have developed the test together with a British water company. Andy Headland, Genera"s marketing director, recently presented the test at a conference in the USA and forecast good American sales for it. Genera has already sold of its tests at $ 42,500 a time in the UK and has a further four on order. It expects to sell another 25 tests be-fore the end of March. The company says it is the only test in the UK to be approved by the government. Genera was formed five years ago and until October last year had only five employees; it now employs 14. Mr Headland believes that the company should make around $ 19 million by the end of the year in the UK alone.

单选题Cell Phones: Hang Up or Keep Talking? Millions of people are using cell phones today. In many places it is actually considered unusual not to use one. In many countries, cell phones are very popular with young people. They find that the phones are more than a means of communication--having a mobile phone shows that they are cool and connected. The explosions around the world in mobile phone use make some health professional worried. Some doctors are concerned that in the future many people may suffer health problems from the use of mobile phones. In England, there has been a serous debate about this issue. Mobile phone companies are worried about the negative publicity of such ideas. They say that there is no proof that mobile phones are bad for your health. On the other hand, why do some medical studies show changes in the brain cells of some people who use mobile phones? Signs of change in the issues of the brain and head can be detected with modern scanning (扫描) equipment. In one case, a traveling salesman had to retire at a young age because of serious memory loss. He couldn"t remember even simple tasks. He would often forget the name of his own son. This man used to talk on his mobile phone for about six hours a day, every day of his working week, for a couple of years. His family doctor blamed his mobile phone use, but his employer"s doctor didn"t agree. What is it that makes mobile phones potentially harmful? The answer is radiation. High-tech machines can detect very small amounts of radiation from mobile phones. Mobile phone companies agree that there is some radiation, but they say the amount is too small to worry about. As the discussion about their safety continues, it appears that it"s best to use mobile phones less often. Use your regular phone if you want to talk for a long time. Use your mobile phone only when you really need it. Mobile phones can be very useful and convenient, especially in emergencies. In the future, mobile phones may have a warning label that says they are bad for your health. So for now, it"s wise not to use your mobile phone too often.

单选题The harpsichord, developed during the Middle Ages, was one of the {{U}}forerunners{{/U}} of the piano.

单选题Helen and Martin With a thoughtful sigh, Helen turned (51) the window and walked back to her favourite armchair. (52) her brother never arrive? For a brief moment, she wondered if she really (53) that much. Over the years Helen had given up waiting (54) Martin to take an interest in her. Her feelings for him had gradually (55) until now, as she sat waiting for him, she experienced no more (56) a sister's curiosity to see what had (57) of her brother. Almost without warning, Martin had lost his job with a busy publishing company after (58) the last eight years in New York as a key figure in the us office. Somehow the two of them hadn't bothered to (59) in touch and, left alone, Helen had slowly found her (60) in her own judgement growing. Ignoring the wishes of her parents, she had left (61) halfway through her course and now, to the (62) of the whole family, she was gaining a fast growing reputation in the pages of respected art magazines and was actually (63) enough to live on from her paintings. Of course, she took no pleasure in Martin's sudden misfortune, but she couldn't help looking (64) to her brother's arrival with (65) satisfaction at what she had achieved.

单选题The Difference between Man and Computer What makes people different from computer programs? What is the missing element that our theories don"t 1 account for? The answer is simple: People read newspaper stories for a reason: to learn more about 2 they are interested in. Computers, on the other hand, don"t. In fact, computers don"t even have interests; there is nothing 3 that they are trying to 4 when they read. If a computer program is to be a model of story understanding, it should also read for a " 5 ". Of course, people have several goals that do not make 6 to attribute to computers. One might read a restaurant guide in order to 7 hunger or entertainment goals, or to find a good place to go for a business lunch. Computers do not get 8 , and computers do not have business lunches. 9 , these physiological and social goals give 10 to several intellectual or cognitive goals. A goal to satisfy hunger gives rise to goals to find information about the name of a restaurant which serves the 11 type of food, how expensive the restaurant is, the location of the restaurant, etc. These are goals to 12 information or knowledge, what we are calling learning goals. These goals can be held by computers too; a computer might "want" to find out the 13 of a restaurant, and read a guide in order to do so in 14 way as a person might. While such a goal would not arise out of hunger in the 15 of the computer, it might well arise out of the "goal" to learn more about restaurants.

单选题On the table was a vase filled with artificial flowers.

单选题She eventually married the most persistent one of her admirers.