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。{{B}}第一篇{{/B}}
{{B}}
Weather Map{{/B}} A
weather map is an important tool for geographers. A succession of three of four
maps presents a continuous picture of weather changes. Weather forecasts are
able to determine the speed of air masses and fronts; to determine whether an
individual pressure area is deepening or becoming shallow and whether a front is
increasing or decreasing in intensity. They are also able to determine whether
an air mass is retaining its original characteristics or taking on those of the
surface over which it is moving. Thus, a most significant function of the map is
to reveal a synoptic picture of conditions in the atmosphere at a given
time. All students of geography should be able to interpret a
weather map accurately. Weather maps contain an enormous amount of information
about weather conditions existing at the time of observation over a large
geographical area. They reveal in a few minutes what otherwise would take hours
to describe. The United States weather Bureau issues information about
approaching storms, floods, frosts, droughts, and all climatic conditions in
general. Twice a month it issues a 30-day "outlook" which is a rough guide to
weather conditions likely to occur over broad areas of the United States. These
30-day outlo6ks are based upon an analysis of the upper air levels with often
Set the stage for the development of air masses, fronts, and storms.
Considerable effort is being exerted today to achieve more accurate
weather predictions. With the use of electronic instruments and earth
satellites, enormous gains have taken place recently in identifying and tracking
storms over regions which have but few meteorological stations. Extensive
experiments are also in progress for weather modification studies. But the
limitations of weather modification have prevented meteorological results except
in the seeding of super-cooled, upslope mountainous winds which have produced
additional orographical precipitation on the windward side of mountain ranges.
Nevertheless, they have provided a clearer understanding of the fundamentals of
weather elements.
单选题
The National Trust The
National Trust in Britain plays an increasingly important part in the
preservation for public enjoyment of the best that is left unspoiled of the
British countryside. Although the Trust has received practical and moral support
from the Government, it is not a rich Government department. It is a voluntary
association of people who care for the unspoiled countryside and historic
buildings of Britain. It is charity which depends for its existence on voluntary
support from members of the public. Its primary duty is to protect places of
great natural beauty and places of historical interest. The
attention of the public was first drawn to the dangers threatening the great old
houses and castles of Britain by the death of Lord Lothian, who left his great
seventeenth- century house to the Trust together with the 4,500-acre park and
estate surrounding it. This gift attracted wide publicity and started the
Trust's "Country House Scheme". Under this scheme, with the help of the
Government and the general public, the Trust has been able to save and make
accessible to the public about one hundred and fifty of these old houses. Last
year about one and three quarters of a million people paid to visit these
historic houses, usually at a very small charge. In addition to
country houses and open spaces, the Trust now owns some examples of ancient wind
and water mills, nature reserves, five hundred and forty farms and nearly two
thousand five hundred cottages or small village houses, as well as some complete
villages. In these villages no one is allowed to build, develop or disturb the
old village environment in any way and all the houses are maintained in their
original sixteenth-century style. Over four hundred thousand acres of coastline,
woodland, and hill country are protected by the Trust and no development or
disturbances of any kind are permitted. The public has free access to these
areas and is only asked to respect the peace, beauty and wildlife.
So it is that over the past eighty years the Trust has become a big and
important organization and an essential and respected part of national life,
preserving all that is of great natural beauty and of historical significance
not only for future generations of Britons but also for the millions of tourists
who each year invade Britain in search of a great historic and cultural
heritage.
单选题I admire his work. A.recognize B.exploit C.tolerate D.esteem
单选题I
recommend
you buy a computer.
单选题She
gave up
her job and started writing poetry.
单选题 下面有3篇短文,每篇短文后有5道题。根据短文内容,为每题确定1个最佳选项。{{B}}第一篇{{/B}}
{{B}}The National Park Service{{/B}}
America's national parks are like old friends. You may not see them for
years at a time, but just knowing they're out there makes you feel better.
Hearing the names of these famous old friends--Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand
Canyon--revives memories of visits past and promotes dreams of those still to
come. From Acadia to Zion, 369 national parks are part of a
continually evolving system. Ancient fossil beds, Revolutionary War
battlefields, magnificent mountain ranges, and monuments to heroic men and women
who molded this country are all a part of our National Park System (NPS). The
cafe and preservation for future generations of these special places is
entrusted to the National Park Service. Uniformed Rangers, the most visible
representatives of the Service, not only offer park visitors a friendly wave, a
helpful answer, or a thought-provoking history lesson, but also are skilled
rescuers, firefighters, and dedicated resource protection professionals. The
National Park Service ranks also include architects, historians, archaeologists,
biologists, and a host of other experts who preserve and protect everything from
George Washington's teeth to Thomas Edison's wax recordings.
Modern society has brought the National Park Service both massive
challenges and enormous opportunities. Satellite and computer technologies are
expanding the educational possibilities of a national park beyond its physical
boundaries. Cities struggling to revive their urban cores are turning to the
Park Service for expert assistance to preserve their cultural heritage, create
pocket parks and green spaces, and re-energize local economies: Growing
communities thirsty for recreational outlets are also working with the NPS to
turn abandoned railroad tracks into bike and hiking trails, as well as giving
unused federal property new life as recreation centers. To help
meet these challenges and take advantage of these opportunities, the National
Park Service has formed partnerships--some dating back 100 years, some only
months old--with other agencies, state and local governments, corporations,
American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives, Park Friends groups, cooperating
associations, private organizations, community groups and individuals who share
the National Park ethic. National Park Week 1996 is a
celebration of these partnerships.
单选题I tried to (detach) myself from the reality of these terrible events.
单选题African wild dog Finding a babysitter while you go out to work is, for example, an inconvenience. For the African wild dog, one of the continent's most endangered carnivores (食肉动物), it's a matter of life and death. A new research shows that once packs (兽群) fall below a certain size, they are not enough animals to both hunt food and stay at home protecting the young. The African wild dog has declined drastically over the past century. Habitual loss (栖息地的丧失), persecution and unexplained outbreaks of disease have all been blamed. Only 3, 000 to 5,000 animals remain, and the species is expected to go extinct within decades if the trend continues. Other large carnivores such as the spotted hyena (鬣狗) face similar pressures, yet are not declining. Now Franck Courchamp of Cambridge University has found a reason why. The dog's weakness lies in its social organization. Within each pack of up to 20 adults and pups, only the dominant male and female breed. The remaining animals help raise the pups, cooperating to hunt prey and defend the kill from other carnivores. Because pups can't keep up on a hunt, large packs leave an adult behind to protect them from predators (捕猎者), which include lions and hyenas. But leaving a babysitter also carries costs. A smaller hunting party is less able to tackle large prey and to defend the kill. There is also one less stomach in which to carry food back to the den, and one more mouth to feed when they get there. Courchamp investigated this awkward trade-off (权衡) by modeling how the costs of a babysitter change with decreasing pack size. This showed that packs of more than five adults should be able to feed all the pups and still spare a babysitter. But with smaller packs, either the hunting or the babysitting suffers, or the animals have to compensate by increasing the number of hunting excursions which itself carries a cost to the pack. Field observations in Zimbabwe supported the model. Packs of five animals or fewer left pups unguarded more frequently than larger packs did. There was also evidence that when they did leave a babysitter, they were forced to hunt more often. A pack which drops below a critical size becomes caught in a vicious circle (恶性循环), says Courchamp, who is now at Paris-Sud University. "Poor reproduction and low survival further reduces pack size, culminating in (最终造成) failure of the whole pack." And deaths caused by human activity, says Courchamp, may be what reduce pack numbers to below the sustainable threshold. Mammal ecologist Chris Carbone at London's Institute of Zoology agrees. Maintaining the integrity of wild dog packs will be vital in preserving the species, he says.
单选题Oseola MeCarty
Late one Sunday afternoon in September 1999, Oseola McCarty, an elderly cleaning lady passed away in the little wooden flame house where she had lived and worked for most of her life. It may seem like an ordinary end to a humble life, but there was something quite exceptional about this woman.
In the summer of 1995, McCarty gave $150, 000, most of the money she had saved throughout her life, to the University of Southern Mississippi in her hometown. The money was to help other African Americans through university. She had started her savings habit as a young child when she would return from school to clean and iron for money which she would then save.
She led a simple, frugal existence, never spending on anything but her most basic needs. Her bank also advised her on investing her hard-earned savings.
When she retired, she decided that she wanted to use the money to give children of limited means the opportunity to go to university. She had wanted to become a nurse, but had to leave school to look after ill relatives and work. When asked why she had given her life savings away, she replied, "I"m giving it away so that children won"t have to work so hard, like I did." After news of her donation hit the media, over 600 donations were made to the scholarship fund. One was given by media executive, Ted Turner, who reputedly gave a billion dollars.
She didn"t want any fuss made over her gift, but the news got out and she was invited all over the United States to talk to people. Wherever she went, people would come up to her to say a few words or to just touch her. She met the ordinary and the famous, President Clinton included. In the last few years of her life, before she died of cancer, McCarty was given over 300 awards: she was honoured by the United Nations and received the Presidential Citizen"s Medal. Despite having no real education, she found herself with two honorary doctorates: one from the University of Southern Mississippi and the other from Harvard University. Her generosity was clearly an inspiration to many and proof that true selflessness does exist.
单选题It is strictly
prohibited
that access to confidential documents is denied to all but a few.
单选题This medicine may
loosen
your headache.
单选题Most nurses are women, but in the higher ranks of the medical profession women are in a
small number
.
单选题Medical facilities are being
upgraded
.
单选题It took him ten years to fulfill his goal.A. startB. achieveC. improveD. finish
单选题Eyespots, the most {{U}}rudimentary{{/U}} eyes, are found in protozoan flagellates, flatworms, and segmented worms.
单选题I'd {{U}}consider{{/U}} his reputation with other farmers and business
people in the community, and then make a decision about whether or not to
approve a loan.
A. take into account
B. account for
C. make up for
D. make out
单选题In Sports, Red is the Winning Color
When opponents of a game are equally matched, the team dressed in red is more likely to win, according to a new study.
British anthropologists Russell Hill and Robert Barton of the University of Durham reached that conclusion by studying the outcomes of one-on-one boxing, tae kwon do, Greco-Roman-wresting, and freestyle-wrestling matches at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
In each event Olympic staff randomly assigned red or blue clothing or body protection to competitors. When otherwise equally matched with their opponent in fitness and skill, athletes wearing red were more likely to win the bout.
"Where there was a large point difference—presumably because one contestant was far superior to the other color had no effect on the outcome," Barton said, "Where there was a small point difference, the effect of color was sufficient to tip the balance."
In equally matched bouts, the preponderance of red wins was great enough that it could not he attributed to chance, the anthropologists say. Hill and Barton found similar results in a review of the colors worn at the Euro 2004 international soccer tournament. Their report will be published in tomorrow"s issue of the journal Nature.
Joanna Setchell, a primate researcher at the University of Cambridge in England, has found similar results in nature. Her work with the large African monkeys known as mandrills shows that red coloration gives males an advantage when it comes to mating.
The finding that red also has an advantage in human sporting events does not surprise her, adding that "the idea of the study is very clever."
Hill and Barton got the idea for their study out of a mutual interest in the evolution of sexual signals in primates— "red seems to be the color, across species, that signals male dominance and testosterone levels," Barton said.
For example, studies by Setchell, the Cambridge primate researcher, show that dominant male mandrills have increased red coloration in their faces and rumps. Another study by other scientists shows that red plastic rings experimentally placed on the legs of male zebra finches increase the birds" dominance.
Barton said he and Hill speculated that there might be a similar effect in humans. And if so, it could be apparent in sporting contests.
The pair say their results indicate that sexual selection may have influenced the evolution of humans" response to color.
Setchell, the primatologist, agrees. "As Hill and Barton say, humans redden when we are angry and pale when we"re scared. These are very important signals to other individuals," she said.
The advantage of red may be intuitively known, judging from the prevalence of red uniforms in sports— "though it is clearly not very widely appreciated, on a conscious level at least," Barton said.
He adds that the finding of red"s advantage might have implications for regulations that govern sporting attire. In the Olympic matches he surveyed for the new study, for example, it is possible some medal winners may have reached the pedestal with an unintended advantage.
"That is the implication, though we cannot say that it made the difference in any one specific case," Barton said.
Meanwhile, Setchell noted tongue in cheek that a red advantage may not be limited to sports. "Going by the recent election results, red is indeed quite successful," she said.
单选题There was a rapid increase in population in the last century. A. slow B. high C. shocking D. quick
单选题The minister headed the committee.A. was on the verge ofB. was on the basis ofC. was at the cost ofD. was in charge of
单选题Trying to Find a Partner One of the most striking findings of a recent poll in the UK is that of the people interviewed, one in two believes that it is becoming more difficult to meet someone to start a family with. Why are many finding it increasingly difficult to start and sustain intimate relationships? Does modern life really make it harder to fall in love? Or are we making it harder for ourselves? It is certainly the case today that contemporary couples benefit in different ways from relationships. Women no longer rely upon partners for economic security or status. A man doesn't expect his spouse to be in sole charge of running his household and raising his children. But perhaps the knowledge that we can live perfectly well without a partnership means that it takes much more to persuade people to abandon their independence. In theory, finding a partner should be much simpler these days. Only a few generations ago, your choice of soulmate (心上人) was constrained (限制) by geography, social convention and family tradition. Although it was never explicit, many marriages were essentially arranged. Now those barriers have been broken down. You can approach a builder or a brain surgeon in any bar in any city on any given evening. When the world is your oyster (牡蛎), you surely have a better chance of finding a pearl. But it seems that the old conventions have been replaced by an even tighter constraint: the tyranny of choice. The expectations of partners are inflated (提高) to an unmanageable degree: good looks, impressive salary, kind to grandmother, and right socks. There is no room for error in the first impression. We think that a relationship can be perfect. If it isn't, it is disposable. We work to protect ourselves against future heartache and don't put in the hard emotional labor needed to build a strong relationship. Of course, this is complicated by realities. The cost of housing and child-rearing creates pressure to have a stable income and career before a life partnership.
