单选题"Salty" Rice Plant Boosts Harvests British scientists are breeding a new generation of rice plants that will be able to grow in soil containing salt water. Their work may enable abandoned farms to become productive once more. Tim Flowers and Tony Yeo, from Sussex University"s School of Biological Sciences, have spent several years researching how crops, such as rice, could be made to grow in water that has become salty. The pair have recently begun a three-year programme, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, to establish which genes enable some plants to survive salty conditions. The aim is to breed this capability into crops, starting with rice. It is estimated that each year more than 10m hectares (公顷) of agricultural land are lost because salt gets into the soil and stunts (妨碍生长) plants. The problem is caused by several factors. In the tropics, mangroves (红树林) that create swamps (沼泽) and traditionally formed barriers to sea water have been cut down. In the Mediterranean, a series of droughts have caused the water table to drop, allowing sea water to seep (渗透) in. In Latin America, irrigation often causes problems when water is evaporated (蒸发) by the heat, leaving salt deposits behind. Excess salt then enters the plants and prevents them functioning normally. Heavy concentrations of minerals in the plants stop them drawing up the water they need to survive. To overcome these problems, Flowers and Yeo decided to breed rice plants that take in very little salt and store what they do absorb in ceils that do not affect the plants" growth. They have started to breed these characteristics into a new rice crop, but it will take about eight harvests before the resulting seeds are ready to be considered for commercial use. Once the characteristics for surviving salty soil are known, Flowers and Yeo will try to breed the appropriate genes into all manners of crops and plants. Land that has been abandoned to nature will then be able to bloom again, providing much needed food in the poorer countries of the world.

单选题Riches and Romance From France's Wine Harvest September is harvest time. And with bunches of grapes swinging (摇摆) in the wind, the vineyards of southern France are getting ready to celebrate it. The yearly wine festival is held in honour of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. It's a fun time with parties, music, dancing, big meals and, of course, lots of wine. French wine-making began more than 2,500 years ago. The world's oldest type of vine grows in France and always produces a good quality wine. Today France produces one-fifth of the world's wine, and some of the most famous varieties. The top wine-producing areas are Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Loire Valley. Champagne, a drink used in celebrations, is named after the place where sparkling (有气泡的)wine was first produced in 1700. Wine is made from the juice of freshly picked grapes. It is the sugars that turn into alcohol. Traditionally, people used to take off their shoes and crush the grapes with their bare feet to bring out the juice. Nowadays, this practice is usually carried out by machines. Each wine producing region has its own character, based on its type of grapes and soil. The taste of wine changes with time. Until 1850, all French champagne was sweet. Now, both wine and champagne taste slightly bitter. The drink has always been linked with riches, romance and nobleness. Yet the French think of it in more ordinary terms. They believe it makes daily living easier, less hurried and with fewer problems. "All its links are with times when people are at their best; with relaxation, happiness, long slow meals and the free flow of ideas, "wrote wine expert Hugh Johnson.

单选题The Fraunhofer Society is the largest organisation for applied technology in

单选题We volunteered to collect money to help the victims of the earthquake.

单选题There is always excitement at the Olympic Games when an athlete Ubreaks/U a previous record of performance,

单选题College Night Owls Have Lower Grades College students who are morning people tend to get better grades than those who are night owls (晚睡的人) , according to University of North Texas researchers. They had 824 undergraduate (大学本科生的) students complete a health survey that included questions about sleep habits and daytime functioning, and found that students who are morning people had higher grade point averages (GPAs)than those who are night people. "The finding that college students who are evening types have lower GPAs is a very important finding, sure to make its way into undergraduate psychology texts in the near future, along with the research showing that memory is improved by sleep, "study co-author Daniel J. Taylor said in a prepared statement. "Further, these results suggest that it might be possible to improve academic performance by using chronotherapy (时间疗法) to help students retrain their biological clock to become more morning types," Taylor said. The research was expected to be presented Monday at SLEEP, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, in Baltimore. In other findings expected to be heard at the meeting, University of Colorado researchers found a significant association between insomnia (失眠) and a decline in college students" academic performance. The study included 64 psychology, nursing and medical students, average age 27.4 years, who were divided into two groups—low GPAs and high GPAs. Among those with low GPAs, 69.7 percent had trouble falling asleep, 53.1 percent experienced leg kicks or twitches (痉挛) at night, 65.6 percent reported waking at night and having trouble falling back to sleep, and 72.7 percent had difficulty concentrating during the day. "In college students, the complaint of difficulty concentrating during the day continues to have a considerable impact on their ability to succeed in the classroom," study author Dr James F. Pagel said in a prepared statement. "This study showed that disordered sleep has significant harmful effects on a student"s academic performance, including GPAs."

单选题We"ll give every teacher space to develop.

单选题American Sports The United States is a sports-loving nation. Sports in America take a variety of forms: organized competitive struggles, which draw huge crowds to cheer their favorite team to victory; athletic games, played for recreation anywhere sufficient space is found; and hunting and fishing. Most sports are seasonal, so that what is happening in sports depends upon the time of year. Some sports are called spectator sports, as the number of spectators greatly exceeds the number playing in the game. Baseball is the most popular sport in the U. S. It is played throughout the spring and summer, and professional baseball teams play well into the fall. Although no other game is exactly like baseball, perhaps the one most nearly like it is the English game of cricket. Football is the most popular sport in the fall. The game originated as a college sport more than 75 years ago. It is still played by almost every college and university in the country, and the football stadiums of some of the largest universities seat as many as 80,000 people. The game is not the same as European football or soccer. In American football there are 11 players on each team, and they are dressed in padded uniforms and helmets because the game is rough and injuries are likely to occur. Basketball is the winter sport in American schools and colleges. Like football, basketball originated in the U.S. and is not popular in other countries. Many Americans prefer it to football because it is played in- doors throughout the winter and because it is a faster game. It is a very popular game with high schools, and in more than 20 states, state-wide high school matches are held yearly. Other spectator sports include wrestling, boxing, and horse racing. Although horse-racing fans call themselves sportsmen, the accuracy of the term is questionable, as only the jockeys who ride the horses in the races can be considered athletes. The so-called sportsmen are the spectators, who do "not assemble" primarily to see the horses race, but to bet upon the outcome of each race. Gambling is the attraction of horse racing.

单选题He rolled up his trouser leg to exhibit his wounded knee.

单选题He paused, waiting for her to digest the information.

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}}Art of the middle Ages{{/B}} In the art of the Middle ages, we never encounter the personality of the artist as an individual; rather it is diffused (普及的) through the artistic genius of centuries embodied (具体表达) in the rules of religious art. Art of the middle Ages is first a sacred(神的，宗教的) script, the symbols and meanings of which were well settled. The circular halo placed vertically (神学,神性). By bare feet, we recognize God, the angels, Jesus Christ and the apostles (使徒), but, for an artist to have depicted the Virgin Mary with bare feet would have been tantamount (等价的) to heresy (异教). Several concentric, wavy lines represent the sky, while parallel lines water or the sea. A tree, which is to say a single stalk with two or three stylised leaves, informs us that the scene is laid on earth. A tower with a window indicates a village, and, should an angel be watching from the battlements, that city is thereby identified as Jerusalem. Saint Peter is always depicted with curly hair, a short beard, and a tonsure, while Saint Paul has always a bald head and a long beard. A second characteristic of this iconography is obedience (服从，顺从) to a sacred mathematic. "The Divine Wisdom," wrote Saint Augustine, "reveals itself everywhere in numbers," a doctrine attributable to the neo-Platonists who revived the genius of Pythagoras. Twelve is the master number of the Church and is the product of three, the number of the Trinity, and fours, the number of material elements. The number seven, the most mysterious of all numbers, is the sum of four and three. There are the seven ages of man, seven virtues, seven planets. In the final analysis, the seven-tone scale of Gregorian music is the sensible embodiment of the order of the universe. Numbers also require a symmetry. At Charters, a stained glass window shows the four prophets, Isaac, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Jeremiah, carrying on their shoulders the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. A third characteristic of this art is to be a symbolic language, showing us one thing and inviting us to see another. In this respect, the artist was called upon to imitate God, who had hidden a profound meaning behind the literal and wished nature itself to be a moral lesson to man. Thus, every painting is an allegory. In a scene of the final judgment, we see the foolish virgins at the left hand of Jesus and the wise at his right, and we understand that this symbolizes those who are lost and those who are saved. Even seemingly insignificant details carry hidden meaning: The lion in a stained glass window is the figure of the Resurrection. These, then, are the defining characteristics of the art of the Middle Ages, a system within which even the most mediocre talent was elevated by the genius of the centuries. The artists of the early Renaissance broke with tradition at their own peril. When they are not outstanding, they are scarcely able to avoid insignificance and banality in their religious works, and, even when they are great, they are no more than the equals of the old masters who passively followed the sacred rules.

单选题Your hair wants cutting you'd better have it done tomorrow, A. likes B. requires C. needs D. desires

单选题Long before the concert began, big crowds of pop fans had assembled in the stadium.

单选题 阅读下面这篇短文，短文后列出了7个句子，请根据短文的内容对每个句子作出判断。如果该句提供的是正确信息，请选择A项；如果该句提供的是错误信息，请选择B项；如果该句信息文章中没有提及，请选择C项。 {{B}}The Workers' Role in Management{{/B}} Traditionally, it has been the workers' role to work and management's role to manage. Managers have planned and directed the firm's operations with little thought to consulting the labor force. Managers have rarely felt compelled to obtain the workers' opinions or to explain their decisions to their employees. At most, companies have provided" suggestion boxes" in which workers could place ideas for improving procedures. In recent years, however, many management specialists have been arguing that workers are more than sellers of labor--they have a vital stake in the company and may be able to make significant contributions to its management. Furthermore, major company decisions profoundly affect workers and their dependents. This is particularly true of plant closings, which may put thousands on the unemployment lines. Should workers, then, play a stronger role in management? Workers should have a role in management. At the very least, the labor force should be informed of major policy decisions. (A common complaint among rank-and-file workers is the lack of information about company policies and actions.) Between 1980 and 1985 about five million workers were the victims of plant closings and permanent layoffs, often with no warning. At least 90 days' notice ought to be given in such instances so that workers have time to adjust. Management should consult workers before closing a plant, because the workers might be able to suggest ways of improving productivity and reducing costs and might be willing to make concessions that will help keep the plant operating. It should become a general practice to include workers in some managerial decision making. There ought to be representatives of the workers on the firm's board of directors or other major policymaking groups. If rank-and-file workers are given a voice in the planning and management of the work flow, they will help to make improvements, their morale will rise, and their productivity will increase. As a further incentive, they must be given a share in the company's profits. This can be done through employee stockownership plans, bonuses, or rewards for efficiency and productivity. Finally, when a plant can no longer operate at a profit, the workers should be given the opportunity to purchase the plant and run it themselves.

单选题I meant to give you this book today, but I forgot.A. intended toB. tended toC. extended toD. pretended to

单选题 Cosmetic Surgery Surgery that can improve the way a person looks is becoming more and more popular in the United States. This kind of surgery is called cosmetic surgery, and both men and women are turning to this treatment as a way of keeping their appearance young as well as keeping competitive (有竞争力的)in their jobs. Men especially are beginning to turn to face-lifts(面部拉皮手术), liposuction (taking fat out of the body), and implants(putting artificial parts into their bodies )to help them look younger. As companies downsize(缩编)and move younger employees into higher positions, older employees in their late forties and early fifties feel the need to look and act younger in order to stay competitive. These operations are not without dangers, however. One young woman had an eye operation to get rid of the bags under her eyes. She described, her experience as terrible. She said, "When he started cutting, I was fully awake. Even though he'd given me an injection near my eyes, I saw everthing." She went on to explain, "I knew I had to keep still because of what he was doing. He was scraping(刮)away fat underneath my eyes. It took about ten minutes. After he finished, I felt I couldn't walk. I was so faint. "Her troubles did not end after the operation for two weeks. Her eyes were swollen (肿胀的)and almost completely closed, and even dark glasses could not hide the side effects of the operation. Liposuction, taking fat out of the body, is probably the most popular cosmetic operation in the United States. It seems simple enough. First, a small cut is made over the place where the patient wants the fat removed. Next, a small pipe is put into the cut. A machine like a vacuum cleaner is then used to suck the fat out of the body. However, as one doctor explained, some problems can happen after the operation. He warned, "Irregular lumps and loose skin can result from this operation. If it is not evenly done, liposuction can produce a very lumpy result." Patients often must have more liposuction to correct the problem.

单选题It is highly unlikely that she will arrive today.

单选题Atlas ran faster than Hercules.

单选题The Barbie Dolls In the mid 1940's, the young ambitious duo Ruth and Elliot Handler, owned a company that made wooden pictures frames. It was in 1945 that Ruth and Elliot Handler joined with their close friend Harold Mattson to form a company that would be known for the most famous and successful doll ever created. This company would be named MATTEL, MATT for Mattson, and EL for Elliot. In the mid 1950's, while Visiting Switzerland, Ruth Handler purchased a German Lilli doll. Lilli was a shapely, pretty fashion doll first made in 1955. She was originally fashioned after a famous cartoon character in the West German Newsletter, Build. Lilli is the doll that would inspire Ruth Handler to design the Barbie doll. With the help of her technicians and engineers at Mattel, Barbie was born. Ruth then hired Charlotte Johnson, a fashion designer, to create Barbie's wardrobe. It was in 1958 that the patent for Barbie was obtained. This would be a fashion doll unlike any of her time. She would be long limbed, shapely, beautiful, and only 11.5 inches tall. Ruth and Elliot would name their new fashion doll after their own daughter, Barbie. In 1959, the Barbie doll would make her way to the New York Toy Show and receive a cool reception from the toy buyers. Barbie has undergone a lot of changes over the years and has managed to keep up with current trends in hairstyles, makeup and clothing. She is a reflection of the history of fashion since her introduction to the toy market. Barbie has a universal appeal and collectors both young and old enjoy time spent and memories made with their dolls.

单选题It {{U}}proved{{/U}} that the old woman she had been taking care of was indeed her own mother.