单选题The river widens considerably as it begins to turn east.

单选题The Robot Man According to Hans Moravec, universal robots will take over all the physical activities that we engage in, leaving us with little to do. Moravec sees four generations on the road to true universal robots. The first generation will be here by 2010 and will consist of free-ranging robots that can navigate by building an internal mental map of their surroundings. In new situations they"ll be able to adapt, unlike today"s mobile industrial robots. These robots will have the computing power to cope with simple speech and text recognition, and will be used for tasks such as domestic cleaning. The second generation will arrive around 2020 and will be distinguished by the ability to learn. Second generation robots are programmed with sets of primitive tasks and with feedback that provide "pleasure" and "pain" stimuli. For example, a collision provokes a negative response, a completed task would be positive. Move forward another ten years to 2030 and you get to generation three. This robot can build internal simulations of the world around it. Before beginning a task, it can imagine what will happen in order to predict problems. If it has a free moment, it can replay past experiences and try variations in order to find a better way of doing things next time. It could even observe a person or another robot performing a task and learn by imitation. For the first time, we have here a robot that can think. By the time we get to generation four in 2040, Moravec predicts that robots will be able to: match human reasoning and behaviour; generalise abstract ideas from specific experience; and, conversely, compile detailed plans of action from general commands such as "earn a living" or "make more robots". The Moravec manifesto(宣告) runs something like this. As robots start to become useful in generation one, they"ll begin to take on many tasks in industry. Driven by the availability of this cheap and tireless labour force, the economy will boom and the demand for robots will grow so rapidly that they will soon become low-cost commodity items. So much so that they"ll move into the home, where the domestic robot will relieve us of many chores. With increasing automation in generations two and three, the length of the average working day will plummet , eventually to near zero. Most people will be unemployed as robots take over not just primary industry, but the service economy too. Moravec sees the fourth generation as an opportunity to surpass our human limitations. These future machines will be our "mind children". Like biological children of previous generations, they will embody humanity"s best hope for a long-term future.

单选题The development of the transistor and integrated circuits revolutionized the electronics industry by allowing components to be packaged more densely.A. compactlyB. inexpensivelyC. quicklyD. carefully

单选题The student is collecting material for his science report.

单选题Inflation Business and government leaders also consider the inflation rate to be an important general indicator. Inflation is a period of increased spending that causes rapid rises in prices. (51) your money buys fewer goods so that you get (52) for the same amount of money as before, inflation is the problem. There is a general rise (53) the price of goods and services. Your money buys less. Sometimes people describe inflation as a time when "a dollar is not worth a dollar anymore". Inflation is a problem for all consumers. People who live on a fixed income are hurt the (54) . Retired people, for instance, cannot count on an increase in income as prices rise. Elderly people who do not work face serious problems in stretching their incomes to (55) their needs in time of inflation. Retirement income (56) any fixed income usually does not rise as fast as prices. Many retired people must cut their spending to (57) rising prices. In many cases they must stop (58) some necessary items, such as food and clothing. Even (59) working people whose incomes are going up, inflation can be a problem. The (60) of living goes up, too. People who work must have even more money to keep up their standard of living. Just buying the things they need costs more. When incomes do not keep (61) with rising prices, the standard of living goes down. People may be earning the same amount of money, but they are not living as well because they are not able to buy as many goods and services. Government units gather information about prices in our economy and publish it as price indexes (62) the rate of change can be determined. A price index measures changes in prices using the price for a (63) year as the base. The base price is set at 100, and the other prices are reported as a (64) of the base price. A price index makes (65) possible to compare current prices of typical consumer goods, for example, with prices of the same goods in previous years.

单选题Some psychologists argue that the traditional idea" spare the rod and spoil the child" is not reasonable.A. helpfulB. kindC. sensibleD. effective

单选题As a policeman, you should not ignore any particulars in an accident.

单选题A notably short man, he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.

单选题The city has decided to Udo away with/U all the old buildings in its centre.

单选题She felt hurt by my words, but it wasn't really out of my ______.A. intentionB. indicationC. implicationD. invasion

单选题More Than a Ride to School The National Education Association claims, "The school bus is a mirror of the community." They further add that, unfortunately, what appears on the exterior does not always reflect the reality of a chosen community. They are right—sometimes it reflects more! Just ask Liesl Denson. Riding the school bus has been more than a ride to school for Liesl. Bruce Hardy, school bus driver for Althouse Bus Company has been Liesl"s bus driver since kindergarten. Last year when Liesrs family moved to Parkesburg, knowing her bus went by her new residence, she requested to ride the same bus. This year Liesl is a senior and will enjoy her last year riding the bus. She says, "It"s been a great ride so far! My bus driver is so cool and has always been a good friend and a good listener. Sometimes when you"re a child adults do not think that what you have to say is important. Mr. Hardy always listens to what you have to say and makes you feel important." Her friends Ashley Batista and Amanda Wolfe agree. Bruce Hardy has been making Octorara students feel special since 1975. This year he will celebrate 30 years working for Althouse Bus Company. Larry Althouse, president of the company, acknowledges Bruce Hardy"s outstanding record: "You do not come by employees like Bruce these days. He has never missed a day of work and has a perfect driving record. He was recognized in 2000 by the Pennsylvania School Bus Association for driving 350,000 accident free miles. Hardy"s reputation is made further evident through the relationships he has made with the students that ride his bus." Althouse further adds, "Althouse Bus Company was established 70 years ago and has been providing quality transportation ever since. My grandfather started the business with one bus. Althouse Bus Company is delighted to have the opportunity to bring distinctive and safe service to our local school and community and looks forward to continuing to provide quality service for many more years to come." Three generations of business is not all the company has enjoyed. Thanks to drivers like Bruce Hardy, they have been building relationships through generations. Liesl"s mother Carol also enjoys fond memories of riding Bruce Hardy"s bus to the Octorara School District.

单选题Dining Custom Every land has its own dining custom, and the United States is no exception. Americans feel that the first rule of being a polite guest is to be on time. If a person is invited to dinner at 6.30, the hostess expects him to be there at 6.30 or not more than a few minutes after. Because she usually does her own cooking, she times the meal so that the coffee and meat will be at their best at the time she asks the guest to come. If he is late, the food will not be so good, and the hostess will be disappointed. When the guest cannot come on time, he calls his host or hostess on the telephone, gives the reason, and tells at what time he thinks he can come. As guests continue to arrive, the men in the group stand when a woman enters and remain standing until she has found a chair. A man always rises when he is being introduced to a woman. A woman does not rise when she is being introduced either to a man or a woman unless the woman is much older. When the guests sit down at a dinner table, it is customary for the men to help the ladies by pushing their chairs under them. Even an American may be confused by the number of knives, forks, and spoons besides his plate when he sits down to a formal dinner. The rule is simple, however: use them in the order in which they lie, beginning from the outside, or watch the hostess and do what she does. The small fork on the outside on the left is for salad, which is often served with the soup. The spoon on butter spreader, on a small bread-and-butter plate at the left. As the bread is passed, each guest puts his piece on the bread-and-butter plate.

单选题An important part of the national government is the Foreign Service, a branch of the Department of State. A．tree B．division C．root D．leaf

单选题Grasses and flowers in desert are able to survive because they stay in the

单选题The river widens considerably as it begins to turn east.

单选题She exhibited great powers of endurance during the climb.

单选题Smoking Can Increase Depressive Symptoms in Teens While some teenagers may use cigarettes to "self-medicate" (自我治疗) against the blues, scientists at the University of Toronto and the University of Montreal have found that smoking may actually 1 depressive symptoms in some teens. "This observational study is one of the few to examine the perceived 2 benefits of smoking among teens," says lead researcher Michael Chaiton, a research associate at the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit of the University of Toronto. " 3 cigarettes may appear to have self-medicating effects or to improve mood, in the long 4 we found that teens who started to smoke reported higher depressive symptoms." As part of the study, some 662 high school teenagers completed up to 20 questionnaires about their use of cigarettes to 5 mood. Secondary schools were selected to provide a mix of French and English participants, urban and rural schools, and schools 6 in high, moderate and low socioeconomic neighbourhoods. Participants were divided into three 7 : never smokers; smokers who did not use cigarettes to self-medicate, improve mood or physical 8 ; smokers who used cigarettes to self-medicate. Depressive symptoms were measured using a scale that asked how often participants felt too fired to do things; had 9 going to sleep or staying asleep; felt unhappy, sad, or depressed; felt hopeless about the future; felt anxious or tense; and worried too much about things. "Smokers who used cigarettes as mood 10 had higher risks of elevated(提升) depressive symptoms 11 teens who had never smoked," says co-researcher Jennifer O"Loughlin, a professor at the University of Montreal Department of Social and Preventive Medicine. "Our study found that teen smokers who reported emotional benefits from smoking are 12 higher risk of developing depressive symptoms." The 13 between depression and smoking exists 14 among teens that use cigarettes to feel better. "It"s 15 to emphasize that depressive symptom scores were higher among teenagers who reported emotional benefits from smoking after they began to smoke," says Dr. Chaiton.

单选题Please don't refuse his help because he is so kind a man.A. tum downB. go downC. take downD. run down

单选题The latest census is encouraging. A. statement B. assessment C. count D. evaluation

单选题I was impressed by the way he could Uformulate/U his ideas, for he was only two years old.