单选题 Botany, the study of plants, occupies a peculiar position in the history of human knowledge. For many thousands of years it was the one field of awareness about which humans had anything more than the vaguest of insights. It is impossible to know today just what our Stone Age ancestors knew about plants, but from what we can observe of pre-industrial societies that still exist, a detailed learning of plants and their properties must be extremely ancient. This is logical. Plants are the basis of the food pyramid for all living things, even for other plants. They have always been enormously important to the welfare of peoples, not only for food, but also for clothing, weapons, tools, dyes, medicines, shelter, and a great many other purposes. Tribes living today in the jungles of the Amazon recognize literally hundreds of plants and know many properties of each. To them botany, as such, has no name and is probably not even recognized as a special branch of "knowledge" at all. Unfortunately, the more industrialized we become, the farther away we move from direct contact with plants, and the less distinct our knowledge of botany grows. Yet everyone comes unconsciously on an amazing amount of botanical knowledge, and few people will fail to recognize a rose, an apple, or an orchid. When our Neolithic ancestors, living in the Middle East about 10,000 years ago, discovered that certain grasses could be harvested and their seeds planted for richer yields the next season, the first great step in a new association of plants and humans was taken. Grains were discovered and from them flowed the marvel of agriculture: cultivated crops. From then on, humans would increasingly take their living from the controlled production of a few plants, rather than get a little here and a little there from many varieties that grew wild and the accumulated knowledge of tens of thousands of years of experience and intimacy with plants in the wild would begin to fade away.

单选题We"ll continue along the road ______ by our presidents more than seventy years ago.

单选题As soon as he was confronted with the evidence, he {{U}}confessed{{/U}} his quilt. A. showed B. admitted C. told D. claimed

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单选题As the success of this project is {{U}}up to{{/U}} us, we are to double our efforts from now on. A. dependent on B. relative to C. closest to D. away from

单选题The ferry service will initially run on ______ days, increasing eventually to daily sailings. A. considerate B. alternate C. elaborate D. subordinate

单选题 Like many writers, I've been kicking around an idea for a novel for years. I wrote part of my tale during a less busy time in my life years ago. But I couldn't {{U}}build momentum{{/U}}. I'd write a bit, then abandon the project for months. This is a problem many people face, I learned while writing about workday schedules for my recent book. We have grand ideas for where to take our careers someday, but immediate deadlines or meetings or aggressive coworkers always seem to take precedence on Monday morning. Internal motivation is powerful, but it's easier to say no to ourselves rather than the rest of the world. So what do successful people do? They create external motivations for things they want to do but that life has a way of crowding out. They create accountability systems that boost important but not urgent items to the top of their priority lists—ideally in a way that makes failure really uncomfortable. Nika Stewart, for instance, owns a social media marketing business. She's also part of an accountability group called the 7-Figure Club. Every Monday, each entrepreneur checks in online to determine the amount of a week's work that will advance her toward her annual goals. Then on Friday, everyone checks back in to say whether she met her goal. If Stewart's weekly goal, shared with the group on Monday, was to send out 10 proposals, she tells me, "Thursday night, if I didn't do it, I might stay up and do it." Why? She doesn't want to look lazy to people whose opinion she cares about. I knew I needed an accountability system for myself, or my novel would never get written. Late last year, I found my partner Katherine Reynolds Lewis. I'm almost embarrassed to say how effective this little shift in approach was. Being accountable to Katherine made me want to write 2,000 words, just so I could e-mail her saying I'd written them. There weren't any real consequences to failing, but the part of my brain that learned to turn in papers on time in school years ago leapt to attention once it had an assignment. "Write 2,000 words" got a spot on my to-do list. In 10 weeks, I had enough words (20,000) to have a sense of how I intended to shape the second half of the book. By April 15,! had my draft.

单选题Her excellent ______ of English helped her communicate freely with foreign partners. A. standard B. criterion C. evaluation D. command

单选题Light levels are carefully controlled to fall within an acceptable level for ______ reading convenience.

单选题 The biggest problem facing Chile as it promotes itself as a tourist destination to be reckoned with, is that it is at the end of the earth. It is too far south to be a convenient stop on the way to anywhere else and is much farther than a relatively cheap half-day's flight away from the big tourist markets, unlike Mexico, for example. Chile, therefore, has to fight hard to attract tourists, to convince travelers that it is worth coming halfway round the world to visit. But it is succeeding, not only in existing markets like the U.S.A and Western Europe but in new territories, in particular the Far East. Markets closer to home, however, are not being forgotten. More than 50% of visitors to Chile still come from its nearest neighbor, Argentina, where the cost of living is much higher. Like all South American countries, Chile sees tourism as a valuable earner of foreign currency, although it has been far more serious than most in promoting its image abroad. Relatively stable politically within the region, it has benefited from the problems suffered in other areas. In Peru, guerrilla warfare in recent years has dealt a heavy blow to the tourist industry and fear of street crime in Brazil has reduced the attraction of Rio de Janeiro as a dream destination for foreigners. More than 150,000 people are directly involved in Chile's tourist sector, an industry which earns the country more than U.S. $950 million each year. The state-run National Tourism Service, in partnership with a number of private companies, is currently running a world-wide campaign, taking part in trade fairs and international events to attract visitors to Chile. Chile's great strength as a tourist destination is its geographical diversity. From the parched Atacama Desert in the north to the Antarctic snowfields of the south, it is more than 5,000 km long. With the Pacific on one side and the Andean mountains on the other, Chile boasts natural attractions. Its beaches are not up to Caribbean standards but resorts such as Vina del Mar are generally clean and unspoilt and have a high standard of services. But the trump card is the Andes mountain range. There are a number of excellent ski resorts within one hour's drive of the capital, Santiago, and the national parks in the south are home to rare animals and plant species. The parks already attract specialist visitors, including mountaineers, who come to climb the technically difficult peaks, and fishermen, lured by the salmon and trout in the region's rivers. However, infrastructure development in these areas is limited. The ski resorts do not have as many lifts as their European counterparts and the poor quality of roads in the south means that only the most determined travelers see the best of the national parks. Air links between Chile and the rest of the world are, at present, relatively poor. While Chile's two largest airlines have extensive networks within South America, they operate only a small number of routes to the United States and Europe, while services to Asia are almost non-existent. Internal transport links are being improved and luxury hotels are being built in one of its national parks. Nor is development being restricted to the Andes. Easter Island and Chile's Antarctic Territory are also on the list of areas where the Government believes it can create tourist markets. But the rush to open hitherto inaccessible areas to mass tourism is not being welcomed by everyone. Indigenous and environmental groups, including Green peace, say that many parts of the Andes will suffer if they become over-developed. There is a genuine fear that areas of Chile will suffer the cultural destruction witnessed in Mexico and European resorts. The policy of opening up Antarctica to tourism is also politically sensitive. Chile already has permanent settlements on the ice and many people see the decision to allow tourists there as a political move, enhancing Santiago's territorial claim over part of Antarctica. The Chilean Government has promised to respect the environment as it seeks to bring tourism to these areas. But there are immense commercial pressures to exploit the country's tourism potential. The Government will have to monitor developments closely if it is genuinely concerned in creating a balanced, controlled industry and if the price of an increasingly lucrative tourist market is not going to mean the loss of many of Chile's natural riches.

单选题The usual reason for exemption from tax does not______in this case. A. apply B. impose C. regard D. demand

单选题 Passage Six Plants are subject to attach and infection by a remarkable variety of symbiotically species and have evolved a diverse array of mechanisms designed to frustrate the potential colonists. These can be divided into preformed or passive defense mechanisms and inducible or active systems. Passive plant defense comprises physical and chemical barriers that prevent entry of pathogens(病原体), such as bacteria, or render tissues unpalatable or toxic to the invader. The external surfaces of plants, in addition to being covered by an epidermis(表皮层) and a waxy cuticle, often carry spiky hairs known as trichomes(毛状物), which either prevent feeding by insects or may even puncture and kill insect larvae. Other trichomes are sticky and glandular and effectively trap and immobilize insects. If the physical barriers of the plant are breached, then preformed chemicals may inhibit or kill the intrude, and plant tissues contain a diverse array of toxic or potentially toxic substances, such as resins, tannins, glycosides, and alkaloids, many of which are highly effective deterrents to insects that feed on plants. The success of the Colorado beetle in infesting potatoes, for example, seems to be correlated with its high tolerance to alkaloids that normally repel potential pests. Other possible chemical defenses, while not directly toxic to the parasite, may inhibit some essential step in the establishment of a parasitic relationship. For example, glycoproteins(糖蛋白) in plant cell walls may inactivate enzymes that degrade cell walls. These enzymes are often produced by bacteria and fungi. Active plant defense mechanisms are comparable to the immune system of vertebrate animals, although the cellular and molecular bases are fundamentally different. Both, however, are triggered in reaction to intrusion, implying that the host has some means of recognizing the presence of a foreign organism. The most dramatic example of an inducible plant defense reaction is the hypersensitive response. In the hypersensitive response, cells undergo rapid necrosis—that is, they become diseased and die—after being penetrated by a parasite; the parasite itself subsequently ceases to grow and is therefore restricted to one or a few cells around the entry site. Several theories have been put forward to explain the basis of hypersensitive resistance.

单选题Directions: In this section you will hear two mini-talks. At the end of each talk, there will be some questions. Both the talks and the questions will be read only once. After each question, there will be a pause. During the pause.

单选题 Researchers may have found a solution to the annoying gender-wage gap: Tell all the male CEOs to have more babies. And only child daughters, to be precise. A new, not-yet-published study that tracked 12 years of wage data in Denmark finds that when male CEOs had daughters, their female employees' wages went up 1.3 percent while their male employees only gained 0.8 percent raises. The study's authors-from Aalborg University in Denmark, the University of Maryland, and Columbia found that women's wages were boosted even more if the daughter was the first child of the CEO. The researchers found that the birth of a first daughter to a male CEO "resulted in a 1.4 percent increase in women's wages, and an approximately 0.8 percent decrease in the gender wage gap. If the first daughter was also a first child, the gender wage gap decreased by roughly 2.8 percent." If a second daughter was born to a male CEO, women's wages were not significantly affected. "Thus, our results suggest that the first daughter 'flips a switch' in the mind of a male CEO, causing him to attend more to equality in gender-related wage policies," they write. David Gaddis Ross, co-author of the study and an assistant professor at Columbia's Business School, said he would love to do a similar study in the United States, but there is no way the data would be available. "Getting this information in the United States would be wildly difficult, especially on the family structure of the CEOs," he said. The Denmark data did not reveal names of individuals or companies, but each employee of every company in the country is attached to a code that researchers could use to find gender, number of children, salary, and other information such as home address and phone number. The study is not the first to examine how having a daughter affects men's decision-making. Ebonya Washington wrote in a study published in the American Economic Review in 2008 that U.S. legislators were more likely to vote more liberally on women's reproductive issues if they had daughters. Another study found that parents with daughters were more likely to adopt feminist views on gender equality.

单选题Differences in culture and values will give rise to {{U}}conflict{{/U}} of ideas and tastes. A. outbreak B. assimilation C. clash D. harmony

单选题The English abstract of your thesis leaves much to be desired , so you have to rewrite it.

单选题Overseas athletes and officials were impressed by the superb performance of Chinese counterparts.

单选题Ties have no practical use at all and most men see them as part of a uniform instead of an independent piece of clothing. But, these small strips of cloth should not be underestimated, fashion experts say. The shirt, suit or jacket are neutral means of expression. But, the tie gives you the final personal touch, experts suggest. In fact, its color also has psychological im portance. "Red, for instance, evokes feelings of warmth and intimacy", according to Axel Venn. He's a professor of design at the University of Applied Sciences and Art in Germany. "It also stands for energy, dynamism and strength." Using shades of color requires understanding and sensitivity. Orange is regarded as a lively color. Blue stands for matter-of-fact, solitude and coolness. Shiny yellow stirs amusement. Green is the color of nature and harmony. It's only when the color fits the personal character that it is viewed as authentic. "A lively orange with a black suit and white shirt can look great at a private party or in an artistic environment," Venn says. "In a conservative environment such as in a bank such dress is unsuitable." Imme Vogelsang, a trainer of etiquette in Hamburg, Germany, recommends in business environment how contrasting colors such as wine red, dark green or dark blue. But feminine colors have also become popular. "Light green and a fine rose color play an increasing role. Such colors express innovation and sensitivity," Venn says. Also, patterns that stand out can be an interesting eye catcher in a private environment but are unsuitable in business. "Stripes and small geometric patterns are more appropriate in business," Vogelsang says, "but stripes should never run vertically or horizontally." With diagonal stripes it is important to look at the direction. They should run from the bottom left to the right top. "This symbolizes dynamism. In the opposite direction it shows fear and escapist thoughts./

单选题Her sense of humor, her grace and her willingness to bare her heart make this story beautifully rendered .

单选题The levels of PM2.5 in Beijing are {{U}}by far{{/U}} the worst since the government began releasing figures on PM2.5 particles. A. by a considerable margin B. until the present moment C. over a large area D. according to most people