单选题{{B}}第二篇{{/B}} {{B}} Crystal Ear{{/B}} One day a friend asked my wife Jill if I wanted a hearing aid. "He certainly does," replied Jill. After hearing about a remarkable new product, Jill finally got up the nerve to ask me if I'd ever thought about getting a hearing aid. "No way," I said. "It would make me look 20 years older." "No, no," she replied. "This is entirely different. It's Crystal Ear!" Jill was right. Crystal Ear is different--not the old-styled body worn or over-the-ear aid, but an advanced personal sound system so small that it's like contacts (隐形眼镜) for your ears. And Crystal Ear is super-sensitive and powerful, too. You will hear sounds your ears have been missing for years. Crystal Ear will make speech louder, and the sound is pure and natural. I couldn't believe how tiny it is. It is smaller than the tip of my little finger and it's almost invisible when worn. There are no wires, no behind-the-ear device. Put it in your ear and it’s ready-to-wear mold (形状) fits comfortably. Since it's not too loud or too tight, you may even forget that you're wearing it! Use it at work or at play. And if your hearing problem is worse in certain situations, use Crystal Ear only when you need it. Hearing loss, which occurs typically prior to teenage years, progresses throughout one's lifetime. Although hearing loss is now the world's number one health problem, nearly 90 percent of people suffering hearing loss choose to leave the problem untreated. For many millions, treating hearing loss in a conventional way can involve numerous office visits, expensive testing and adjustments to fit your ear. Thanks to Crystal Ear, the "sound solution" is now convenient. Almost 90 percent of people with mild hearing loss, and millions more with just a little hearing drop-off (下降), can be dramatically helped with Crystal Ear. Moreover, its superior design is energy-efficient, so batteries can last months. Crystal Ear is now available to help these people treat their hearing loss with a small hearing amplifier (放大器).

单选题David was a very cute boy but now he seems to have no interest in anything.

单选题He struck him with a mighty blow across his shoulder.

单选题As he wanted to watch the tennis final of the Olympic Games, he left a {{U}}pile{{/U}} of dishes unwashed in the kitchen.

单选题All living organisms, regardless of their unique identity, have certain biological, chemical, and physical characteristics in common.

单选题It"s just a petty mistake.

单选题Their parents once lived under very severe conditions. A．sound B．hard C．strict D．tight

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 Patton, who started Genera 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 11 of its tests at $42,500 a time in the U.K. and has a further four on order. It expects to sell another 25 tests before the end of March. The company says it is the only test in the U.K. 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 U.K. alone.

单选题According to the passage, chlorofluorocarbon gases differ from carbon dioxide in that

单选题Loud noises can be Uirritatinq/U.

单选题After Emily Dickinson {{U}}retreated from {{/U}}the world at the age of twenty-six, she wrote more than one thousand poems.

单选题He is renowned for his skill.

单选题What differences do you find between Finch's airplane and Earhart's?

单选题 Age Discrimination By the year 2000 nearly half the workforce in Europe are over 40 and yet throughout Europe there is a deep ambivalence (犹豫)-if not outright suspicion-towards the capabilities of older workers. Those over the age of 40 generally take longer to find new employment, but European governments have done little to protect their employment rights. Only Germany, with incentives to business to encourage the employment of older people, and France, with the introduction of legislation making it illegal to use age barriers in recruitment-or to make employees redundant because of their age done anything substantive to combat age discrimination. Yet even in these two countries, there has been no noticeable improvement in the lot of the older workers; indeed, in France, job advertisements flout (轻视，反对) the law openly by asking for applicants of a certain age. So, should France and Germany be tightening up their laws and should the rest of Europe follow suit? Bill Robbins, a careers consultant said, "Legislation against age discrimination has been in existence for well over ten year in the U.S. and Canada, but has had no effect. Employers will always be able to find some reasons for turning down an older applicant without appearing to break the law." Ironically, it was governments which played a leading role in hardening business culture against older workers in the first place. In the late 1970s, many European countries were extremely concerned about the levels of youth unemployment, and France, Germany and Belgium even initiated incentive schemes for businesses to encourage older employees to take early retirement provided that younger trainees were taken on in their place. As more and more employees took early retirement, often willingly, a new, youth-oriented culture permeated business throughout most of Europe-even in those countries that had taken no active measures to promote it. Demographic (人口统计学) trends mean that governments are now anxious to slow down the policy of early retirement as they realize that they simply do not have the funds to meet their pension promises. But reversing business attitudes is no easy matter. Dianah Worman a policy adviser said, "There is a widely held belief that older people are less adaptable and trainable. This is just not true: research has shown that differences in capability are as wide within age groups as they are between them."

单选题The Now Rich and the Old Rich Though it is mere 1 to 3 percent of the population, the upper class possesses at least 25 percent of the nation’s wealth. This class has two segments: upper-upper and lower-upper. Basically, the upper-upper class is the “old rich”—families that have been wealthy for several generations and aristocracy of birth and wealth. Their names are in the Social Register, a listing of acceptable members of high society. A few are known across the nation, such as the Rockfellers, Roosevelts, and Vanderbilts. Most are not visible to the general public. They live in grand seclusion (深居简出), drawing their income from the investment of their inherited wealth. In contrast, the lower upper class is the “new rich”. Although they may he wealthier than some of the old rich, the new rich have hustled(急于做)to make their money like everybody else beneath their class. Thus their prestige is generally lower than that of the old rich, who have not found it necessary to lift a finger to make their money, and who tend to look down upon the new rich. However its wealth is acquired, the upper class is very, very rich. They have enough money and leisure time to cultivate an interest in the arts and to collect rare books, painting, and sculpture. They generally live in exclusive areas, belong to exclusive social clubs, communicate with each other, and marry their own kind — all of which keeps them so distant from the masses that they have been called the out-of-sight class. They also command an enormous amount of power and influence here and abroad, as they hold many top government positions, run the Council on foreign relations, and control multinational corporations. Their actions affect the lives of millions.

单选题A great deal has been done to better the situation A. change B. improve C. assess D. harm

单选题Deforestation and Desertification (沙漠化) The Sahel zone lies between the Sahara desert and the fertile savannahs (热带大草原) of northern Nigeria and South Sudan. The word sahel comes from Arabic and means marginal or transitional, and this is a good description of these semi-arid (半干旱) lands, which occupy much of the Western African countries of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Chad. Unfortunately, over the last century the Sahara desert has steadily crept southwards eating into once productive Sahel lands. United Nations surveys show that over 70 percent of the dry land in agriculture use in Africa has deteriorated over the last 30 years. Droughts have become more severe, the most recent lasting over twenty years in parts of the Sahel region. The same process of desertification is taking place across southern Africa as the Kalahari desert advances into Botswana and parts of South Africa. One of the major causes of this desert advance is poor agricultural land use, driven by the pressures of increasing population. Overgrazing—keeping too many farm animals on the land—means that grasses and other plants cannot recover, and scarce water supplies are exhausted. Over cultivation—trying to grow too many crops on poor land—results in the soil becoming even less fertile and drier, and beginning to break up. Soil erosion (侵蚀) follows, and the land turns into desert. Another cause of desertification is loss of tree cover. Trees are cut down for use as fuel and to clear land for agricultural use. Tree roots help to bind the soil together, to conserve moisture, and to provide a habitat for other plants and animals. When trees are cut down, the soil begins to dry and loosen, wind and rain erosion increase, other plant species die, and eventually the fertile topsoil may be almost entirely lost, leaving only bare rock and dust. The effects of loss of topsoil and increased drought are irreversible. They are, however, preventable. Careful conservation of tree cover and sustainable agricultural land use have been shown to halt deterioration of soils and lessen the effects of shortage of rainfall. One project in Kita in south-west Mall funded by UNDP has involved local communities in sustainable management of forest, while at the same time providing a viable (有活力的) agricultural economy. This may be a model for similar projects in other West African countries.

单选题The company has the right to end his employment at any time． A．provide B．stop C．offer D．continue

单选题Their parents once lived under very {{U}}severe{{/U}} conditions. A. sound B. hard C. strict D. tight