单选题The worst thing about television and radio is that they entertain us, saving us the trouble of entertaining ourselves. A hundred years ago, before all these devices were invented, if a person wanted to entertain himself with a song or a piece of music, he would have to do the singing himself or pick up a violin and play it. Now-, all he has to do is turn on the radio or TV As a result, singing and music have declined. Italians used to sing all the time. Now, they only do it in Hollywood movies. Indian movies are mostly a series of songs and dances wrapped around silly stories. As a result, they don't do much singing in Indian villages anymore. Indeed, ever since radio first came to life, there has been a terrible decline in amateur singing throughout the world. There are two reasons for this sad decline: One, human beings are astonishingly lazy. Put a lift in a building, and people would rather take it than climb even two flights of steps. Similarly, invent a machine that sings, and people would rather let the machine sing than sing themselves. The other reason is people are easily embarrassed. When there is a famous, talented musician readily available by pushing a button, which amateur violinist or pianist would want to try to entertain family or friends by himself ? These earnest reflections came to me recently when two CDs arrived in the mail: They are historic recordings of famous writers reading their own works. It was thrilling to hear the voices from a long dead past in the late 19th century. But today, reading out loud anything is no longer common. Today, we sing songs to our children until they are about two, we read simple books to them till they are about five, and once they have learnt to read themselves, we become deaf. We're alive only to the sound of the TV and the stereo. I count myself extremely lucky to have been born before TV became so common. 1 was about six before TV appeared. To keep us entertained, my mother had to do a good deal of singing and tell us endless tales. It was the same in many other homes. People spoke a language; they sang it, they recited it; it was something they could feel. Professional actors' performance is extraordinarily revealing. But I still prefer my own reading. Because it's mine. For the same reason, people find karaoke liberating. It is almost the only electronic thing that gives them back their own voice. Even if their voices are hoarse and hopelessly out of tune. At least it is meaningful self-entertainment.
单选题 Passage Four Economics
has long been known as the dismal science. But is any economist so dreary as to
criticize Christmas? At first glance, the holiday season in western economies
seems a treat for those concerned with such vagaries as GDP growth. After all,
everyone is spending; in America, retailers make 25% of their yearly sales and
60% of their profits between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even so, economists
find something to worry about in the nature of the purchases being
made. Much of the holiday spending is on gifts for others. At
the simplest level, giving gifts involves the giver thinking of something that
the recipient would like—he tries to guess her preferences, as economists
say—and then buying the gift and delivering it. Yet this guessing of preferences
is no mean feat; indeed, it is often done badly. Every year, ties go unworn and
books unread. And even if a gift is enjoyed, it may not be what the recipient
would have bought had they spent the money themselves. Intrigued by this
mismatch between wants and gifts, in 1993 Joel Waldfogel, then an economist at
Yale University, sought to estimate the disparity in dollar terms. In a paper
that has proved seminal in the literature on the issue, he asked students two
questions at the end of a holiday season: first, estimate the total amount paid
(by the givers) for all the holiday gifts you received; second, apart from the
sentimental value of the items, if you did not have them, how much would you be
willing to pay to get them? His results were gloomy: on average, a gift was
valued by the recipient well below the price paid by the giver. The most
conservative estimate put the average receiver's valuation at 90% of the buying
price. The missing 10% is what economists call a deadweight loss: a waste of
resources that could be averted without making anyone worse off. In other words,
if the giver gave the cash value of the purchase instead of the gift itself, the
recipient could then buy what she really wants, and be better off for no extra
cost. If the results are generalized, a waste of one dollar in ten represents a
huge aggregate loss to society. It suggests that in America, where givers spend
$40 billion on Christmas gifts, $4 billion is being lost annually in the process
of gift-giving. Add in birthdays, weddings and non-Christian occasions, and the
figure would balloon. So should economists advocate an end to gift-giving, or at
least press for money to become the gift of choice?
单选题{{U}}Ultimately{{/U}}, the better team did not win the game.
A. Eventually
B. Fortunately
C. Occasionally
D. Presumably
单选题
单选题Intellectually brilliant students from this high school are most ______ to be admitted to elite universities.
单选题
单选题It may sound like something out of a science fiction plot, but Oxford researchers say that modern conventional medicine is gradually developing ways to change the moral states of humans through pharmaceutical drugs, and thus control the way people think and act in various life situations. These new drugs will literally have the ability to disrupt an individual's personal morality, and instead reprogram that person to believe and do whatever the drug designer has created that drug to do. "Science has ignored the question of moral improvement so far, but it is now becoming a big debate," said Dr. Guy Kahane from the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics in the UK. "There is already a growing body of research you can describe in these terms. Studies show that certain drugs affect the ways people respond to moral dilemmas by increasing their ability to share in another's feelings, group affiliation and by reducing aggression." While this may sound good in theory, mind control is already a very dangerous side effect of existing drugs. Take the antidepressant drug Prozac, for instance, which has been known to cause those taking it to lash out in violent rages. One young boy murdered his father by beating him and stabbing him in the head, and hit his mother with a crowbar and stabbed her in the face, shortly after starting to take Prozac. But the kinds of drugs Kahane and his colleagues are referring to imply designer drugs specifically designed to not only alter one's mental state, but also to change the way that person thinks about situations from a moral perspective. The end result is literally a type of drug-induced mind control where human subjects will be controlled by someone else, and unable to make conscious decisions for themselves. Research on the subject, of course, tries to paint the idea of mind-control drugs in a positive light, suggesting that they could be used to help make the world a better place. Just imagine less violence, more trust, and more love, they say. This way of using words persuasively, though, is really just a tactic to further numb the already mind-numbed masses into accepting the idea as a good thing.
单选题The court held the parents accountable for the minor child's acts of violence. A. responsible for B. indifferent to C. desperate for D. involved in
单选题{{B}}Directions:{{/B}} There are 10 questions in this part of the test. Read the
passage through. Then, go back and choose one suitable word or phrase marked A,
B, C, or D for each blank in the passage. Mark the corresponding letter of the
word or phrase you have chosen with a single bar across the square brackets on
your machine-scoring Answer Sheet. Recent
progress in public health has helped people live longer and healthier lives.
There is abundant evidence of {{U}} {{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}}the use
of existing knowledge has led to major improvements in the life {{U}}
{{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}}and quality of life of middle-aged and older
people. Yet approximately four in five chronic disease deaths now occur in low
and middle income countries, whose people are also more {{U}} {{U}}
3 {{/U}} {{/U}}to dying prematurely. The results of
studies suggest that a global goal for preventing chronic disease is needed to
generate the {{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}actions required to
reduce the disease burden. The target for this proposed goal is an additional 2%
reduction in the death {{U}} {{U}} 5 {{/U}} {{/U}}from chronic
disease annually over the next 10 years to 2015. The indicators for the
measurement of success {{U}} {{U}} 6 {{/U}} {{/U}}this goal are
the number of chronic disease deaths {{U}} {{U}} 7 {{/U}}
{{/U}}and the number of healthy life years gained. This target was developed
{{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}the achievements of several
countries, such as Poland, which achieved a 6-10% annual reduction in
cardiovascular deaths during the 1990s. Similar results have been realized in a
number of countries {{U}} {{U}} 9 {{/U}} {{/U}}in which
comprehensive programs have been {{U}} {{U}} 10 {{/U}}
{{/U}}.
单选题 Most people believe the key to happy and productive
retirement years is staying healthy. Yet, it's not just about diet and exercise.
How you manage your money often determines your level of stress, which, if too
high, may lead to chronic health problems like heart diseases.
So you'll have to do more than switch to whole wheat and start jogging every
day. Your health also depends on feeling good about and in control of your
finances. Not a lot of people understand that—and relatively few are doing much
about it. In a survey, Principal Financial found that just 48%
of American workers are monitoring their spending—down from 58% two years ago.
Fewer are reevaluating their investments, and while more are using a budget, the
rate is still low at just 28%. In other words, they are casual about their
money. Most American workers see the link between wealth and
health as one directional: Staying healthy is the ticket to saving on healthcare
costs and to financial security in retirement. In the survey, 84% said being
physically healthy is good for their financial future and 76% said if they spend
money on their health or things they enjoy now they will avoid major health
costs later in life. Yet it's not that simple. Good health
comes with its own financial demands. Living healthy means living longer, which
is wonderful. But without a traditional pension or other source of guaranteed
lifetime income how will you pay for all those extra years? You'll need to save
tens of thousands of dollars more than you may have figured in your lifetime—and
still there is no guarantee you won't need costly, end-of-life
services. None of this is to say that living longer and
healthier isn't a blessing, and probably even less a demand on your resources
than developing chronic illness and passing away early. But the link between
financial health and physical health goes both ways. In the survey, workers were
far more likely to rate themselves physically healthy (53%) than financially
healthy (31%), suggesting they see it as a one-way street. But it's also the
case that feeling in control of your wealth—no matter how much you have—leads to
better health.
单选题Passage Two Too much eating. Too many unhealthy foods. Too many advertisements for food. Too little activity. Different explanations are offered for America's weight problem--a problem increasingly shared by other countries. Almost one-fifth of American children and teenagers are overweight. Schools have been urged to increase physical education, an important tool for public health. And many have. Yet now comes a study showing an increase in the number of injuries in physical education class. Injuries increased 150% between 1997 and 2007. he study involved injuries treated in hospital emergency departments. Only 2% were serious. The researchers did not try to identify the causes of the increase, but they have some theories. Lara McKenzie from Ohio State University was the lead researcher. She says one possibility is a decrease in the number of school nurses during the period they studied. For example, a 2004 study showed that the number of school nurses nationally failed to meet federal guidelines. Schools without a nurse on duty may be more likely to send an injured child to a hospital. Another possible reason for more injuries is a change in the traditional idea of physical education. This "New PE." expands the kinds of sports that are taught. But activities that some schools offer now, like rock climbing walls and skateboarding, can also expand the risks, says Cheryl Richardson. She is with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. Also, she says not all states require P.E. teachers to be specially trained. Untrained teachers could be less likely to recognize unsafe conditions. Cheryl Richardson also points to one of the study's findings--that injuries are often the result of contact with a person or a structure. This tells her that the teachers were not giving each student enough space to move around safely. Six activities produced 70% of all injuries: running, basketball, football, volleyball, soccer and gymnastics. The researchers say larger class sizes are another possible reason for the increase in injuries. Larger classes can mean less supervision. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education says 20 to 30 students in a PE. class should be the limit.
单选题Stressful environment leads to unhealthy behaviors such as poor eating
habits, which ______ increase the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.
A. in turn
B. by chance
C. by fortune
D. in case
单选题 A New website from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) shows that 10 percent of the country is now a "food desert."
The Food Desert Locator is an online map highlighting thousands of areas where,
the USDA says, low-income families have little or no access to healthy fresh
food. First identified in Scotland in the 1990s, food deserts have come to
symbolize urban decay. They suggest images of endless fast-food restaurants and
convenience stores serving fatty, sugary junk food to overweight customers who
have never tasted a Brussels sprout. Accordingly, Michelle
Obama announced a ＄400m Healthy Food Financing Initiative last year with the aim
of eliminating food deserts nationwide by 2017. Official figures for the number
of people living in food deserts already show a decline, from 23.5m in 2009 to
13.5m at the launch of the website. Although this might on the face of it
suggest that the initiative is off to a superb start, sadly it does not in fact
represent a single additional banana bought or soda escaped. This is because in
America, the definition of a food desert is any census area where at least 20
percent of inhabitants are below the poverty line and 33 percent live more than
a mile from a supermarket. By simply extending the cut- off in rural areas to
ten miles, the USDA managed to rescue 10m people from desert life.
Some academics would go further, calling the appearance of many food
deserts nothing but a {{U}}mirage{{/U}}. Research by the Centre for Public Health
Nutrition at the University of Washington found that only 15 percent of people
shopped for food within their own census area. Critics also note that focusing
on supermarkets means that the USDA ignores tens of thousands of larger and
smaller retailers, farmers' markets and roadside greengrocers, many of which are
excellent sources of fresh food. Together, they account for more than half of
the country's trillion-dollar retail food market. A visit to
Renton, a depressed suburb of Seattle, demonstrates the problem, The town sits
directly in the middle of a USDA food desert stretching miles in every
direction. Yet it is home to a roadside stand serving organic fruit and
vegetables, a health-food shop packed with nutritious grains and a superstore
that researchers found attracts flocks of shoppers from well outside the
desert.
单选题This young man has been losing weight by {{U}}working out{{/U}} at the gym
at least twice a week.
A. making extra money
B. doing his utmost
C. solving each problem
D. taking physical exercise
单选题The people who objected to the new road were told that since work had
already started there was no point in______.
A. contradicting
B. protesting
C. provoking
D. refusing
单选题The participants of the meeting discussed, ______ , the future of the
oil industry.
A. from now on
B. in the way
C. among other things
D. on their mind
单选题About three years into this job, these migrant laborers came to accept
the harsh facts {{U}}in time{{/U}}.
A. punctually
B. immediately
C. originally
D. eventually
单选题Handbags made of ______ leather are considered old-fashioned and poor in quality. A. systematic B. synthetic C. sympathetic D. statistic
单选题Unpleasant symptoms can cause the smoker to {{U}}resume{{/U}} smoking to
raise the levels of nicotine in the blood.
A. let down
B. go about
C. drop off
D. return to
单选题Experts say walking is one of the best ways for a person to
{{U}}remain{{/U}} healthy.
A. stay
B. preserve
C. maintain
D. reserve