单选题They have a far beaer yield than any other year.A. expectationB. soilC. climateD. harvest

单选题He obviously displays a great appreciation for some of your poems.A. consentB. admirationC. respectD. pleasure

单选题Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason for the disrupted sleep of travelers?

单选题The Ucontempt /U he felt for his fellow students was obvious

单选题I feel regret about what"s happened.

单选题The city has decided to do away with all the old buildings in its center.

单选题{{B}}第二篇{{/B}} {{B}} What is Cold?{{/B}} How cold is cold? It all depends on who is talking. To us ordinary people nothing in the world maybe so cold as failing through the ice on a frozen lade, or huddling(卷缩)on a windswept mountain hoping to be rescued in the dead of winter. Some may even think they are freezing to death when rushing under an ice-cold shower just out of a warm bed. Indeed, we all know what cold means. Arctic(北极) .explorers would laugh at such ideas. Down in the Antarctic(南极), where scientists of many nations spend very dark months living on a sheet of ice two miles thick, the temperature spends most of its time at 50or60 degrees Fahrenheit below zero, often with hundred-mile winds and heavy snowstorms. This is the cold that is cold, to them. Space people have still another standard. The coldest place in which a person can live and survive is some 400 degrees hotter than space itself,". However, the coldest place in earth-colder even than space-is inside a machine called a cryostat(低温保持器). Here, scientists and engineers in thousands of laboratories and factories in many parts of the world regularly make cold that turns the South Pole's worst into a pleasant summer day. They are inching toward such cold that there is no temperature at all-down a frozen valley that leads to Absolute Zero, 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit below our zero of a cold winter's day.

单选题Will Quality Eat up the U. S. Lead in Software? If U. S. software companies don't pay more attention to quality, they could kiss their business good-bye. Both India and Brazil are developing a world-class software industry. Their weapon is quality and one of their jobs is to attract the top U. S. quality specialists whose voices are not listened to in their country. Already, of the world's 12 software houses that have earned the highest rating in the world, seven are in India. That's largely because they have used new methodologies rejected by American software specialists. For example, for decades, quality specialists, W · Edwards Deming and J. M. Juran had urged U. S. software companies to change their attitudes to quality. But their quality call mainly fell on deaf ears in the U. S—but not in Japan. By the 1970s and 1980s. Japan was grabbing market share with better, cheaper products. They used Deming's and Juran's ideas to bring down the cost of good quality to as little as 5% of total production costs. In U. S. factories, the cost of quality then was 10 times as high: 50%. In software, it still is. Watts S. Humphrey spent 27 years at IBM heading up software production and then quality assurance. But his advice was seldom paid attention to. He retired from IBM in 1986. In 1987, he worked out a system for assessing and improving software quality. It has proved its value time and again. For example, in 1990 the cost of quality at Raytheon Electronics Systems was almost 60% of total software production costs. It fell to 15% in 1996 and has since further dropped to below 10%. Like Deming and Juran, Humphrey seems to be winning more praises overseas than at home. The Indian government and several companies have just founded the WaRs Humphrey Software Quality Institute at the Software Technology Park in Chennai, India. Let's hope that U. S. 1 ead in software will not he eaten up by its quality problems.

单选题Stage Fright Fall down as you come onstage. That"s an odd trick. Not recommended. But it saved the pianist Vladimir Feltsman when he was a teenager back in Moscow. The veteran cellist (大提琴演奏家) Mstislav Rostropovich tripped him purposely to cure him of pre-performance panic. Mr. Feltsman said, "All my fright was gone. I already fell. What else could happen?" Today, music schools are addressing the problem of anxiety in classes that deal with performance techniques and career preparation. There are a variety of strategies that musicians can learn to fight stage fright and its symptoms: icy fingers, shaky limbs, racing heart, blank mind. Teachers and psychologists offer wide-ranging advice, from basics like learning pieces inside out, to mental discipline, such as visualizing a performance and taking steps to relax. Don"t deny that you"re jittery (紧张不安的), they urge; some excitement is natural, even necessary for dynamic playing. And play in public often, simply for the experience. Psychotherapist Diane Nichols suggests some strategies for the moments before performance, "Take two deep abdominal breaths, open up your shoulders, then smile," she says. "And not one of these "please don"t kill me" smiles. Then choose three friendly faces in the audience, people you would communicate with and make music to, and make eye contact with them." She doesn"t want performers to think of the audience as a judge. Extreme demands by mentors or parents are often at the root of stage fright, says Dorothy Delay, a well- known violin teacher. She tells other teachers to demand only what their students are able to achieve. When Lynn Harrell was 20, he became the principal cellist of the Cleverland Orchestra, and he suffered extreme stage fright. "There were times when I got so nervous. I was sure the audience could see my chest responding to the throbbing. It was just total panic. I came to a point where I thought, "If I have to go through this to play music, I think I"m going to look for another job."" Recovery, he said, involved developing humility-recognizing that whatever his talent, he was fallible, and that an imperfect concert was not a disaster. It is not only young artists who suffer, of course. The legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz"s nerves were famous. The great tenor Franco Corelli is another example. "They had to push him on stage," Soprano Renata Scotto recalled. Actually, success can make things worse. "in the beginning of your career, when you"re scared to death, nobody knows who you are, and they don"t have any expectations," Soprano June Anderson said. "There"s less to lose. Later on, when you"re known, people are coming to see you, and they have certain expectations. You have a lot to lose." Anderson added, "I never stop being nervous until I"ve sung my last note."

单选题{{B}}第二篇{{/B}} {{B}}Explorer of the Extreme Deep{{/B}} Oceans cover more than two-thirds of our planet. Yet, just a small fraction of the underwater world has been explored. Now, Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts are building an underwater vehicle that will carry explorers as deep as 6,500 meters (21,320 feet). The new machine, known as a manned submersible or human-operated vehicle (HOV), will replace another one named Alvin which has an amazing record of discovery, playing a key role in various important and famous undersea expeditions. Alvin has been operating for 40 years but can go down only 4,500 meters (14,784 feet). It's about time for an upgrade, WHOI researchers say. Alvin was launched in 1964. Since then, Alvin has worked between 200 and 250 days a year, says Daniel Fornari, a marine geologist and director of the Deep Ocean Exploration Institute at WHOI. During its lifetime, Alvin has carried some 12,000 people on a total of more than 3,000 dives. A newer, better versions of Alvin is bound to reveal even more surprises about a world that is still full of mysteries, Fornari says. It might also make the job of exploration a little easier. "We take so much for granted on land," Fomari says. "We can walk around and see with our eyes how big things are. We can see colors, special arrangements." Size-wise, the new HOV will be similar to Alvin. It'll be about 37 feet long. The setting area inside will be a small sphere, about 8 feet wide, like Alvin, it'll carry a pilot and two passengers. It will be just as maneuverable. In most other ways, it will give passengers more opportunities to enjoy the view, for one thing. Alvin has only three windows, the new vehicle will have five, with more overlap so that the passengers and the pilot can see the same thing. Alvin can go up and down at a rate of 30 meters every second, and its maximum speed is 2 knots ( about 2.3 miles per hour), while the new vehicle will be able to ascend and descend at 44 meters per second. It'll reach speeds of 3 knots, or 3.5 miles per hour.

单选题Mad Scientist Stereotype Outdated Do people still imagine a physicist as a bearded man in glasses or has the image of the mad scientist changed? The Institute of Physics set out to find out whether the stereotype of a physics 'boffin' (科学家) still exists by conducting a survey on shoppers in London. The people were asked to identify the physicist from a photograph of a line-up of possible suspects. 98 percent of those asked got it wrong. The majority of people picked a white male of around 60, wearing glasses and with a white beard. While this stereotype may have been the image of all average physicist fifty years ago, the reality is now very different Since 1960 the number of young women entering physics has doubled and the average age of a physicist is now 31. The stereotype of the absent-minded scientist has lasted a long time because the media and Hollywood help promote the image of men in white lab coats with glasses sitting by blackboards full of equations (等式) or working with fizzing (嘶嘶响) test tubes. These stereotypes are really damaging to society. Very good school children are put off studying science because they don't see people like themselves on television or in magazines doing science. They simply don't relate to the media's image of the mad scientist. This is one reason why fewer young people are choosing to do science at university. If we want to encourage more young people to study science subjects, we need to change this image of the scientist and make science careers more attractive. But we must also develop children's interest in science. In an attempt to change this negative image, an increasing number of science festivals are being organized. Thousands of people from secondary schools are also encouraged to take part in the international-wide science competitions of which the most popular are the national science Olympiads. Winning national teams then get the opportunity to take part in the International Science Olympiads which are held in a different county every year. These events are all interesting for the young people who take part but they only involve a small proportion of students who are already interested in science. It seems that there is a long way to go before science becomes attractive as subjects like computer studies or fashion and design.

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}} Looking to the Future—2040{{/B}} Do you forget to turn off the lights and heaters when you go out of a room? In 2040 it will not matter. They will turn themselves off—and on again when you return. You will choose the temperature for each room, the lighting and the humidity. A sensor will detect the presence of a human (and, with luck, ignore the dog!) and turn the systems on, and when the humans leave it will turn them off again. The sensors will work through the central home computer, and they will do much more than just turn the fires and lights on and off for you. They will detect faulty electrical appliances, plugs or switches, isolate them so that they cannot harm anyone, and then warn you that they need repair. They will detect fire and if you are out of the house, the computer will call the fire brigade. It will also call the police should the sensors detect an intruder. This will not be difficult because the locks on the outside doors will be electronic. You will open them using your personal card—the one you use for shopping—maybe using a number known only to you. It will be impossible to lose the key, and a housebreaker will have to tamper (拨弄) with the lock or with a window. It is not very difficult to make such tampering send a signal to the computer. The computer will be more than a fireman—policeman—servant. It will be an entertainer, and most of your entertainment will come right into your home. It does now, of course, but by 2040 “entertainment” will mean much more. For one thing, you will be able to take part actively, rather than just watching

单选题The Biology of Music Humans use music as a powerful way to communicate. It may also play an important role in love. But what is music, and how does it work its magic? Science does not yet have all the answers. What are two things that make humans different from animals? One is language, and the other is music. It is true that some animals can sing (and many birds sing better than a lot of people). However, the songs of animals, such as birds and whales, are very limited. It is also true that humans, not animals, have developed musical instruments. Music is strange stuff. It is clearly different from language. However, people can use music to communicate things—especially their emotions. When music is combined with speech in a song, it is a very powerful form of communication. But, biologically speaking, what is music? If music is truly different from speech, then we should process music and language in different parts of the brain. The scientific evidence suggests that this is true. Sometimes people who suffer brain damage lose their ability to process language. However, they don"t automatically (自动地) lose their musical abilities. For example, Vissarion Shebalin, a Russian composer, had a stroke (中风) in 1953. It injured the left side of his brain. He could no longer speak or understand speech. He could, however, still compose music until his death ten years later. On the other hand, sometimes strokes cause people to lose their musical ability, but they can still speak and understand speech. This shows that the brain processes music and language separately. By studying the physical effects of music on the body, scientists have also learned a lot about how music influences the emotions. But why does music have such a strong effect on us? That is a harder question to answer. Geoffrey Miller, a researcher at University College, London, thinks that music and love have a strong connection. Music requires special talent, practice, and "physical ability. That"s why it may be a way of showing your fitness to be someone"s mate. For example, singing in tune or playing a musical instrument requires fine muscular control. You also need a good memory to remember the notes (音符). And playing or singing those notes correctly suggests that your hearing is in excellent condition. Finally, when a man sings to the woman he loves (or vice versa), it may be a way of showing off. However, Miller"s theory still doesn"t explain why certain combinations of sounds influence our emotions so deeply. For scientists, this is clearly an area that needs further research.

单选题Customers often defer payment for as long as possible.

单选题We are disappointed to find out that he has made a fatal mistake.A. crucialB. foolishC. stupidD. important

单选题第二篇 Will Quality Eat up the U. S. Lead in Software? If U. S. software companies don"t pay more attention to quality, they could kiss their business good-bye. Both India and Brazil are developing a world-class software industry. Their weapon is quality and one of their jobs is to attract the top U. S. quality specialists whose voices are not listened to in their country. Already, of the world"s 12 software houses that have earned the highest rating in the world, seven are in India. That"s largely because they have used new methodologies rejected by American software specialists. For example, for decades, quality specialists, W. Edwards Deming and J. M. Juran had urged U. S. software companies to change their attitudes to quality. But their quality call mainly fell on deaf ears in the U. S—but not in Japan. By the 1970s and 1980s, Japan was grabbing market share with better, cheaper products. They used Deming"s and Juran"s ideas to bring down the cost of good quality to as little as 5% of total production costs. In U. S. factories, the cost of quality then was 10 times as high: 50%. In software, it still is. Watts S. Humphrey spent 27 years at IBM heading up software production and then quality assurance. But his advice was seldom paid attention to. He retired from IBM in 1986. In 1987, he worked out a system for assessing and improving software quality. It has proved its value time and again. For example, in 1990 the cost of quality at Raytheon Electronics Systems was almost 60% of total software production costs. It tell to 15% in 1996 and has since further dropped to below 10%. Like Deming and Juran, Humphrey seems to be winning more praises overseas than at home. The Indian government and several companies have just founded the Watts Humphrey Software Quality Institute at the Software Technology Park in Chennai, India. Let"s hope that U. S. lead in software will not be eaten up by its quality problems.

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}} As Dr. Samuel Johnson said in a different era about ladies preaching, the surprising thing abut computers is not that they think less well than a man, but that they think at all. The early electronic computer did not have much going for it except a marvelous memory and some good math skills. But. today the best models can be wired up to learn by experience, follow an argument, ask proper questions and write poetry and music. They can also carry on somewhat puzzling conversations. Computers imitate life. As computers get more complex, the imitation gets better. Finally, the line between the original and the copy becomes unclear. In another 15 years or so, we will see the computer as a new form of life. The opinion seems ridiculous because, for one thing, computers lack the drives and emotions of living creatures. But drives can be programmed into the computer's brain just as nature programmed them into our human brains as a part of the equipment for survival. Computers match people in some roles, and when fast decisions are needed in a crisis, they often surpass them. Having evolved when the pace of life was slower, the human brain has an inherent defect that prevents it from absorbing several streams of information simultaneously and acting on them quickly. Throw too many things at the brain at one time and it freezes up. We are still in control, but the capabilities of computers are increasing at a fantastic rate, while raw human intelligence is changing slowly, if at all. Computer power has increased ten times every eight years since 1946. In the 1990s, when the sixth generation appears, the reasoning power of an intelligence built out of silicon will begin to match that of the human brain. That does not mean the evolution of intelligence has ended on the earth. Judging by the past, we can expect that a new species will arise out of man, surpassing his achievements as he has surpassed those of his predecessor. Only a carbon chemistry enthusiast would assume that the new species must be man' s flesh-anti-blood descendants. The new kind of intelligent life is more likely to be made of silicon.

单选题You look smart in the new suit.

单选题The latest car model embodies the new research development.

单选题Many tourists are attracted to the New England states by the autumn foliage .