单选题Do not waste time on insignificant points.

单选题At an early age he showed a talent for music.A. qualityB. characterC. abilityD. gene

单选题Children who are over-protected by their parents may become {{U}}mollycoddled{{/U}}.

单选题 Football Football is, suppose, the most popular game in England: one has only to go to one of the important matches to see this. Rich and poor, young and old, one can see them all there, shouting and cheering for one side or the other. One of the most surprising things about football in England to a stranger is the great knowledge of the game which even the smallest boy seems to have. He can tell you the names of the players in most of the important teams. He has photographs of them and knows the results of a large number of matches. He will tell you, with a great air of authority, who he expects will win such and such a match, and his opinion is usually as valuable as that of men three or four times his age. Most schools in England take football seriously - much more seriously than nearly all European schools, where lessons are all-important (至关重要的), and games left for private arrangements. In England, it is believed that education is not only a matter of filling a boy's mind with facts in a classroom; education also means character training; and one of the best ways of training character is by means of games, especially team games, where the boy has to learn to work with others for his team, instead of working selfishly (自私地) for himself alone. The school therefore arranges games and matches for its pupils. Football is a good team game, it is good exercise for the body, it needs skill and a quick brain, it is popular and it is cheap: as a result, it is the school's favorite game in the winter.

单选题Its evident that her handling of them has bruised the peaches.

单选题When We Are Asleep Everyone dreams, but some people never recall their dreams, or do so very rarely. Other people always wake up with vivid recollections (记忆) of their dreams, though they forget them very quickly. In an average night of eight hours" sleep, an average adult will dream for around one hundred minutes, probably having three to five dreams, each lasting from ten to thirty minutes. Scientists can detect when someone is having a dream by using an instrument which measures the electrical waves in the brain. During dreaming, these waves move more quickly. Breathing and pulse rate also increase, and there are rapid eye movements under the lids, just as though the dreamer were really looking at moving objects. These signs of dreaming have been detected in all mammals (哺乳动物) studied, including dogs, monkeys, cats and elephants, and also some birds and reptiles (爬行动物).This period of sleep is called the "D" state for around 50% of their sleep; the period reduces to around 25% by the age of 10. Dreams take the form of stories, but they may be strange and with incidents not connected, which make little sense. Dreams are seldom without people in them and they are usually about people we know. One estimate says that two-thirds of the "cast" of our dream dramas are friends and relations. Vision seems an essential part of dreams, except for people blind from birth. Sound and touch senses are also often aroused, but smell and taste are not frequently involved. In "normal" dreams, the dreamer may be taking part, or be only an observer. But he or she cannot control what happens in the dream. However, the dreamer does have control over one type of dream. This type of dream is called a "lucid" (清醒的) dream. Not everyone is a lucid dreamer. Some people are occasional lucid dreamers. Others can dream lucidly more or less all the time. In a lucid dream, the dreamer knows that he is dreaming.

单选题{{B}}第二篇{{/B}} {{B}} Mother Knows Best?{{/B}} Once while being prepped (准备) for a television interview, I was chatting with the host about stay-at-home fathers. I made the point that one reason we're seeing more stay-at-home dads may be that it's no longer a given (假定的事实) that a man makes more money than his wife. Many families now take earning power into account when deciding which parent will stay home. At that point, one of the male crew members commented, almost to himself but loud enough for my benefit, "It should be the better parent who stays home." A lot of guys say things like that. Usually it's a code for, "My wife (read: any woman) is the better parent." I was a stay-at-home father for eight years, so his declaration made me bristle (激动). It implied that our family's choice could only have been correct if I was a "better" parent than my wife. I suppose an argument could have been made that when I began staying home my wife was the "better" parent: She had spent more time with Ry, could read him better and calm him more quickly. And given a choice, he'd have picked her over me. But as she was the more employable one, my wife went out to work and ! looked after our son. Because of the increased time I spent with him, I soon knew Ry well, understood what he needed and could look after him more or less as well as my wife could. Actually, the experience helped me unlock one of the world's great secrets: Women are good at looking after children because they do it. It's not because of any innate (先天的) female aptitude (天资) or a mother's instinct. It's because they put in the time and attention required to become good at the job. Women obviously get a biological head start from giving birth and nursing, but over the long term experience is more important. When I got the experience myself, I was good, too. As good? I don't know. Who cares? Children are not made of glass. Other people are capable of looking after them besides Mom.

单选题About one quarter of the workers in the country are employed in factories.

单选题 Technology Transfer in Germany When it comes to translating basic research into industrial success, few nations can match Germany. Since the 1940s, the nation's vast industrial base has been fed with a constant stream of new ideas and {{U}}expertise{{/U}} from science. And though German prosperity (繁荣) has faltered (衰退) over the past decade because of the huge cost of unifying east and west as well as the global economic decline, it still has an enviable (令人羡慕的) record for turning ideas into profit. Much of the reason for that success is the Fraunhofer Society, a network of research institutes that exists solely to solve industrial problems and create sought-after technologies. But today the Fraunhofer institutes have competition. Universities are taking an ever larger role in technology transfer, and technology parks are springing up all over. These efforts are being complemented by the federal programmes for pumping money into start-up companies. Such a strategy may sound like a recipe for economic success, but it is not without its critics. These people worry that favoring applied research will mean neglecting basic science, eventually starving industry of fresh ideas. If every scientist starts thinking like an entrepreneur (企业家), the argument goes, then the traditional principles of university research being curiosity-driven, free and widely available will suffer. Others claim that many of the programmes to promote technology transfer are a waste of money because half the small businesses that are promoted are bound to go bankrupt within a few years. While this debate continues, new ideas flow at a steady rate from Germany's research networks, which bear famous names such as Helmholtz, Max Planck and Leibniz. Yet it is the fourth network, the Fraunhofer Society, that plays the greatest role in technology transfer. Founded in 1949, the Fraunhofer Society is now Europe's largest organization for applied technology, and has 59 institutes employing 12,000 people. It continues to grow. Last year, it swallowed up the Heinrich Hertz Institute for Communication Technology in Berlin. Today, there are even Fraunhofers in the US and Asia.

单选题In the latter case the outcome can be serious indeed A. result B. judgment C. decision D. event

单选题 Some Things We Know about Language Many things about language are a mystery, and many will always remain so. But some things we do know. First, we know that all human beings have a language of some sort. There is no race of men anywhere on earth so backward that it has no language, no set of speech sounds by which the people communicate with one mother. Furthermore, in historical times, there has never been a race of men without a language. Second, there is no such thing as a primitive language. There are many people whose cultures are undeveloped, who are, as we say, uncivilized, but the languages they speak are not primitive. In all known languages we can see complexities that must have been tens of thousands of years in developing. This has not always been well understood; indeed, the direct contrary has often been stated. Popular ideas of the language of the American Indians will illustrate. Many people have supposed that the Indians communicated in a very primitive system of noises. Study has proved this to be nonsense. There are, or were, hundreds of American Indian languages, and all of them turn out to be very complicated and very old. They are certainly different from the languages that most of us are familiar with, hut they are no more primitive than English and Greek. A third thing we know about language is that all languages are perfectly adequate. That is, each one is a perfect means of expressing the culture of the people who speak the language. Finally, we know that language changes. It is natural and normal for language to change; the only languages which do not change are the dead ones. This is easy to understand if we look backward in time. Change goes on in all aspects of language. Grammatical features change as do speech sounds, and changes in vocabulary are sometimes very extensive and may occur very rapidly. Vocabulary is the least stable part of any language.

单选题It will be safer to walk the streets because people will not need to carry large amounts of cash. Virtually all financial {{U}}deals{{/U}} will be conducted by computer. A. transactions B. transmissions C. transitions D. transformations

单选题Smith died in 1800.

单选题 下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题，每题后面有4个选项。请仔细阅读短文，并根据短文回答其后面的问题，从4个选项中选择1个最佳答案。{{B}}第一篇{{/B}} {{B}}Domestic violence{{/B}} Domestic violence—overwhelmingly a male-against-female problem but a major issue in same-sex relationships as well—is a public health dilemma that crosses boundaries of wealth, race and class. A decade ago, the standard question for a woman in an abusive relationship was: "Why don't you just leave?" But evidence is mounting that "just leaving" can be dangerous; some men become revengeful when a woman stands her ground. This is complicated by the fact that women often feel ambivalent toward their abusers, and want legal intervention one day and not the next. While the basic pattern fits into cultural definitions of masculinity and femininity, abuse is really about power and control. It's the opportunity, and the entitlement, for the powerful to use force to control the less powerful. How can such a complex dynamic ever be changed? "What seems most effective," Merry said, "is a three-layered approach." First, there must be "some kind of punishment for the batterer. In the absence of punishment, other approaches don't have much impact... Second, there has to be some effort at reform-treatment programs." Over time, educating batterers that their behaviour is not acceptable can change cultural norms. Data suggest that, although many batterers drop out of treatment programs, 80 percent of those who stay stop battering, at least for a year. "Third, there must be mechanisms that focus on the woman's safety." Shelters help, but so do temporary restraining orders—civil court orders aimed at keeping the batterer away from his victim. Over time, Merry said, "the law acts not just by imposing sanctions but also by creating normative standards for how people ought to treat each other." In recent years, the number of restraining orders has soared in many states, including Massachusetts. Restraining orders may not deter someone how is homicidal but they can work with a "relatively new batterer who has not had a lot of experience with the courts."

单选题John is Ucrazy/U about pop music.

单选题Royal Shakespeare Company Stratford-on-Avon, as we all know, has only one industry—William Shakespeare—but there are two distinctly separate and increasingly hostile branches. There is the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), which presents superb productions of the plays at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre on the Avon. And there are the townsfolk who largely live off the tourists who come, not to see the plays, but to look at Anne Hathaway"s Cottage, Shakespeare birthplace and the other sights. The worthy residents of Stratford doubt that the theatre adds a penny to their revenue. They frankly dislike the RSC"s actors, them with their long hair and beards and sandals and noisiness. It"s all deliciously ironic when you consider that Shakespeare, who earns their living, was himself an actor (with a beard) and did his share of noise-making. The tourist streams are not entirely separate. The sightseers who come by bus—and often take in Warwick Castle and Blenheim Palace on the side—don"t usually see the plays, and some of them are even surprised to find a theatre in Stratford. However, the playgoers do manage a little sight-seeing along with their play going. It is the playgoers, the RSC contends, who bring in much of the town"s revenue because they spend the night (some of them four or five nights) pouring cash into the hotels and restaurants. The sightseers can take in everything and get out of town by nightfall. The townsfolk don"t see it this way and local council does not contribute directly to the subsidy of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stratford cries poor traditionally. Nevertheless every hotel in town seems to be adding a new wing or cocktail lounge. Hilton is building its own hotel there, which you may be sure will be decorated with Hamlet Hamburger Bars, the Lear Lounge, the Banquo Banqueting Room, and so forth, and will be very expensive. Anyway, the townsfolk can"t understand why the Royal Shakespeare Company needs a subsidy. (The theatre has broken attendance records for three years in a row. Last year its 1, 431 seats were 94 percent occupied all year long and this year they"ll do better.) The reason, of course, is that costs have rocketed and ticket prices have stayed low. It would be a shame to raise prices too much because it would drive away the young people who are Stratford"s most attractive clientele. They come entirely for the plays, not the sights. They all seem to look alike (though they come from all over) lean, pointed, dedicated faces, wearing jeans and sandals, eating their buns and bedding down for the night on the flagstones outside the theatre to buy the 20 seats and 80 standing-room tickets held for the sleepers and sold to them when the box office opens at 10:30 a. m..

单选题Only a small minority of the mentally ill are (liable) toharm themselves or others,

单选题Swimming will be banned in this lake.A. forbiddenB. allowedC. permittedD. promoted

单选题Societies such as the United States or Canada, are characterized by various national, religious, and cultural differences, as a result, people there highly value individualism -the differences among people. Teachers place a lot of importance on the qualities that make each student special. The educational systems in these countries show these values. Students work individually and find answers themselves rather than memorize information. At an early age, students learn to form their own ideas and opinions. American people attach much importance to individualism becauseA. they are required to work individually instead of in groups.B. they have so much in common that difference is valued.C. the educational systems teach people to value individualism.D. they come from different national, religious and cultural backgrounds.

单选题 Don't Count on Dung Conservationists (自然保护主义者) may be miscalculating the numbers of the {{B}}threatened{{/B}} animals such as elephants, say African and American researchers. The error occurs because of a flaw in the way they estimate animal numbers from the piles of dung (粪) the creatures leave behind. The mistake could lead researchers to think that there are twice as many elephants as there really are in some regions according to Andrew Plumptre of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in New York. Biologist Katy Payne of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, agrees. "We really need to know elephant numbers and the evidence that we have is quite indirect," says Payne, who electronically tracks elephants. Counting elephants from planes is impossible in the vast rainforests of Central Africa. So researchers often estimate elephant numbers by counting dung piles in a given area. They also need to know the rate at which dung decays: Because it's extremely difficult to determine these rates. However, researchers counting elephants in one region tend to rely on standard decay rates established elsewhere. But researchers at the WCS have found that this decay rate varies from region to region depending on the climate and environment. Using the wrong values can lead the census astray (离开正道), says Plumptre. He and his colleague Anthony Chifu Nchanji studied decaying elephant dung in the forests of Cameroon. They found that the dung decayed between 55 and 65 percent more slowly than the dung in the rainforests of neighbouring Gabon. If researchers use decay rates from Gabon to count elephants in Cameroon, they would probably find more elephants than are actually around. This could mean estimates in Cameroon are at least twice as high as those derived from decay rates calculated locally, says Plumptre. "However accurate your dung density estimate might be, the decay rate can severely affect the result." Plumptre also says that the dung-pile census should be carried out over a region similar in size to an elephant's natural range. The usual technique of monitoring only small, protected areas distorts numbers because elephants move in and out of these regions, he says. "If the elephant population increases within the protected area, you can not determine whether it is a real increase or whether it is due to elephants moving in because they are being poached (入侵偷猎) outside." Plumptre says that similar problems may also affect other animal census studies that rely on indirect evidence such as nests, tracks or burrows (地洞).