单选题阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。 From Monday until Friday{{U}} (33) {{/U}}people are busy working or studying, but in the evenings and{{U}} (34) {{/U}}weekends they are free to enjoy themselves. Some watch TV or go to the movies; {{U}}(35) {{/U}}take part in sports. It depends on individual{{U}} (36) {{/U}}. There are many different ways to spend our{{U}} (37) {{/U}}time. {{U}} (38) {{/U}}. everyone has some kind of hobby. It may be{{U}} (39) {{/U}}from collecting stamps to{{U}} (40) {{/U}}model planes. Some hobbies are very{{U}} (41) {{/U}}; others don't cost{{U}} (42) {{/U}}at all. Some collections (收藏品) are{{U}} (43) {{/U}}a lot of money; others are valuable only{{U}} (44) {{/U}}their owners. I know a man who{{U}} (45) {{/U}}a coin collection worth thousands of dollars. A short time ago, he got a{{U}} (46) {{/U}}fifty cent piece by{{U}} (47) {{/U}}$250. He was very happy about his collection and thought the price was{{U}} (48) {{/U}}. On the contrary, my youngest brother{{U}} (49) {{/U}}match boxes. He has almost 6,000 of them. But I{{U}} (50) {{/U}}if they are worth any money. However, for my brother they are very{{U}} (51) {{/U}}. Nothing makes him{{U}} (52) {{/U}}than to find a new match box for his collection.

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单选题Up-Minneapolis, MN—A father was recently arrested by the police for spanking his child, starting a debate among the American public about spanking. Is spanking, or other types of corporal punishment, an acceptable form of discipline for children? Or is it a form of child abuse? The case that everyone has talking is the arrest of Dale Clover, a thirty-six-year-old father of three, at a shopping mall in St. Louis, Missouri. He was arrested after an employee at the mall saw him spanking his five-year-old son, Donny, and called the police. The father was arrested for child abuse. Mr. Clover admits that he hit his son but says that it wasn"t child abuse. He says it was discipline. Across the country, parents disagree on this issue: What is the difference between loving discipline and child abuse? Some parents like Rhonda Moore see a clear difference between spanking and child abuse. Rhonda Moore believes a little bit of pain is necessary to teach a child what is right and wrong. "It"s like burning your hand when you touch a hot stove. Pain is nature"s way of teaching us." Moore believes that spanking is done out of love, but child abuse is done out of anger, when the parent loses control. "When I spank my children, I always talk to them before and afterward, and explain why they are being spanked. I explain what they did wrong, and they remember not to do it again." Moore says that her children respect her as a parent and understand that she is spanking them for their own good. In contrast, Taylor Robinson, father of four, feels that parents should never hit their children for any reason. Robinson wants his children to learn right and wrong, but not because they are afraid of being hit. "Spanking teaches children to fear their parents, not respect them. When a parent spanks a child, what the child learns is that problems should be solved with violence." Robinson believes that children learn that it is acceptable for parents to hurt their children. "None of these are lessons that I want to teach my children. I want my children to learn to talk about their problems and solve them without violence, but spanking doesn"t teach that." Parents are split about corporal punishment, and doctors also disagree about the issue. Dr. John Oparah thinks our child abuse laws sometimes go too far; that is, they make it difficult for parents to discipline their children. Oparah says that today many children do not respect their parents. "Children need strong, loving discipline. Sometimes spanking is the best way to get a child"s attention, to make sure the child listens to the parent." Most doctors, however, say that there are many harmful effects of spanking. Dr. Beverly Lau is opposed to spanking. Lau argues that spanking can lead to more violent behavior in children. She points to research shows that children who are spanked are more violent when they grow up. "A child may stop misbehaving for the moment, but over time, children who are spanked actually misbehave more than children who are not spanked." Lau adds that research shows that, if you want a peaceful family, parents should not spank their children. The issue of spanking and corporal punishment will continue to be debated among parents and in the courts. In the meantime, if he is convicted of child abuse, Dale Clover could get up to five years in prison.

单选题The word "dry" in the sentence "It's hard to imagine a drier subject." (last paragraph) can be replaced by ______.

单选题 Researchers have known that secondhand smoke can be just as dangerous for nonsmokers as smoking is for smokers, but now there's fresh evidence quantifying just how hazardous the after-burn from cigarettes can be, and how quickly it affects your body. Scientists at the Oregon Department of Health documented for the first time an hourly buildup of a cancer-causing compound from cigarette smoke in the blood of nonsmokers working in bars and restaurants in the state. Reporting in the American Journal of Public Health, the researchers found that waiters and bartenders working a typical night shift gradually accumulated higher levels of NNK, a carcinogen in cigarette smoke, at the rate of 6 % each hour they worked. NNK is known to be involved in inducing lung cancer in both lab rats and smokers. "We were somewhat surprised by the immediacy of the effect and the fact that we could measure the average hourly increase," says Michael Stark, the lead author of the study and a principal investigator at the Mulmomah County Health Department in Oregon. The authors are confident that the increases in NNK in the workers they tested most likely came from their exposure to smoke -- the study included a control group of similar subjects in restaurants where no smoking was allowed. "There is experimental evidence from studies where you put nonsmokers in a room, blow smoke into the room and measure their artery function, that you see the platelets get sticky, which can cause clots and lead to a heart attack, and the ability of the arteries to dilate decreases very rapidly," says Dr. Matthew McKenna, director of the office on smoking and public health for the Centers for Disease Control. All of which could mean more time loitering outside buildings and in alleyways for smokers intent on grabbing a puff. Thirteen states now prohibit smoking in restaurants altogether (most of these include bars as well), and while 11 states still put no restrictions on lighting up, individual cities within those states -- such as Austin in Texas, for example -- have passed legislation banning smoking in eating establishments and other public areas. It's just getting harder to refute the scientific evidence; in a study done in Scotland several months after that nation instituted a ban on smoking in public places, researchers found that following the ban, bar patrons showed stronger lung capacity and reduced levels of inflammation (a red flag for a number of chronic diseases, including heart disease and asthma). "We made it pretty clear that the science on this is pretty irrefutable," says McKenna. And if smokers have fewer places to smoke, that message may finally get heard.

单选题 Questions 11-15 Pop stars today enjoy a style of living which was once the prerogative only of Royalty. Wherever they go, people turn out in their thousands to greet them. The crowds go wild trying to catch a brief glimpse of their smiling, colorfully dressed idols. The stars are transported in their chauffeur driven Rolls-Royces, private helicopters or executive airplanes. They are surrounded by a permanent entourage of managers, press agents and bodyguards. Photographs of them appear regularly in the press and all their comings and goings are reported, for, like Royalty, pop stars are news. If they enjoy many of the privileges of Royalty, they certainly share many of the inconveniences as well. It is dangerous for them to make unscheduled appearances in public. They must be constantly shielded from the adoring crowds which idolize them. They are no longer private individuals, but public property. The financial rewards they receive for this sacrifice cannot be calculated, for their rates of pay are astronomical. And why not? Society has always rewarded its top entertainers lavishly. The great days of Hollywood have become legendary, famous stars enjoyed fame, wealth and adulation on an unprecedented scale. By today's standards, the excesses of Hollywood do not seem quite so spectacular. A single gramophone record nowadays may earn much more in royalties than the films of the past ever did. The competition for the title "Top of the Pops" is fierce, but the rewards are truly colossal. It is only right that the stars should be paid in this way. Don't the top men in industry earn enormous salaries for the services they perform to their companies and their countries? Pop stars earn vast sums in foreign currency--often more than large industrial concerns—and the taxman can only be grateful for their massive annual contributions to the exchequer. So who would begrudge them their rewards? It's all very well for people in humdrum jobs to moan about the successes and rewards of others. People who make envious remarks should remember that the most famous stars represent only the tip of the iceberg. For every famous star, there are hundreds of others struggling to earn a living. A man working in a steady job and looking forward to a pension at the end of it has no right to expect very high rewards. He has chosen security and peace of mind, so there will always be a limit to what he can earn. But a man who attempts to become a star is taking enormous risks. He knows at the outset that only a handful of competitors ever get to the very top. He knows that years of concentrated effort may be rewarded with complete failure. But he knows, too, that the rewards for success are very high indeed: they are the recompense for the huge risks involved and if he achieves them, he has certainly earned them. That's the essence of private enterprise.

单选题Which of the following does NOT support the statement "Recession is not an event to be weathered but an opportunity." in Paragraph 8?

单选题Which of the following does NOT support the statement "America is not the only country wrestling with immigration."? (Para. 1)

单选题Questions 1～5 Around one in a hundred deaths worldwide is due to passive smoking, which kills an estimated 600,000 people a year, World Health Organization (WHO) researchers said on Friday. In the first study to assess the global impact of second-hand smoke, WHO experts found that children are more heavily exposed to second-hand smoke than any other age-group, and around 165,000 of them a year die because of it. "Two-thirds of these deaths occur in Africa and South Asia," the researchers, led by Annette Pruss-Ustun of the WHO in Geneva, wrote in their study. Children's exposure to second-hand smoke is most likely to happen at home, and the double blow of infectious diseases and tobacco "seems to be a deadly combination for children in these regions", they said. While deaths due to passive smoking in children were skewed toward poor and middle-in come countries, deaths in adults were spread across countries at all income levels. In Europe's high-income countries, only 71 child deaths occurred, while 35,388 deaths were in adults. Yet in the countries assessed in Africa, an estimated 43,375 deaths due to passive smoking were in children compared with 9,514 in adults. Pruss-Ustun urged countries to enforce the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which includes higher tobacco taxes, plain packaging and advertising bans, among other steps. "Policymakers should bear in mind that enforcing complete smoke-free laws will probably substantially reduce the number of deaths attributable to exposure to second-hand smoke within the first year of its implementation, with accompanying reduction in costs of illness in social and health systems," she wrote. Only 7.4 percent of the world population currently lives in jurisdictions with comprehensive smoke-free laws, and those laws are not always robustly enforced. In places where smoke free rules are adhered to, research shows that exposure to second-hand smoke in high-risk places like bars and restaurants can be cut by 90 percent, and in general by 60 percent, the researchers said. Studies also show such laws help to reduce the number of cigarettes smoked by smokers and lead to higher success rates in those trying to quit.

单选题 The number of women directors appointed to corporate boards in the United States has increased dramatically, but the ratio of female to male directors remains low. Although pressure to recruit women directors, unlike that to employ women in the general work force, does not derive from legislation, it is nevertheless real. Although small companies were the first to have women directors, large corporations currently have a higher percentage of women on their boards. When the chairs of these large corporations began recruiting women to serve on boards, they initially sought women who were chief executive officers (CEOs) of large corporations. However, such women CEOs are still rare. In addition, the ideal of six CEOs (female or male) serving on the board of each of the largest corporations is realizable only if every CEO serves on six boards. This raises the specter of director over commitment and the resultant dilution of contribution. Consequently, the chairs next sought women in business- who had the equivalent of CEO experience. However, since it is only recently that large numbers of women have begun to rise in management, the chairs began to recruit women of high achievement outside the business world. Many such women are well known for their contributions in government, education, and the nonprofit sector. The fact that the women from these sectors who were appointed were often acquaintances of the boards' chairs seems quite reasonable: chairs have always considered it important for directors to interact comfortably in the boardroom. Although many successful women from outside the business world are unknown to corporate leaders, these women are particularly qualified to serve on boards because of the changing nature of corporations. Today a company's ability to be responsive to the concerns of the community and the environment can influence that company's growth and survival. Women are uniquely positioned to be responsive to some of these concerns. Although conditions have changed, it should be remembered that most directors of both sexes are over fifty years old. Women of that generation were often encouraged to direct their attention toward efforts to improve the community. This fact is reflected in the career development of most of the outstandingly successful women of the generation now in their fifties, who currently serve on corporate boards: 25 percent are in education and 22 percent are in government, law, and the nonprofit sector. One organization of women directors is helping business become more responsive to the changing needs of society by raising the level of corporate awareness about social issues, such as problems with the economy, government regulation, the aging population and the environment. This organization also serves as a resource center of information on accomplished women who are potential candidates for corporate boards.

单选题Ten thousand years ago, as the last ice age drew to a close, sea levels around the world were far lower than they are today. Much of the land under the North Sea and the English Channel was part of a huge region of forests and grassy plains, where herds of horses and reindeer roamed free and people lived in villages by the lakes and rivers. Then the climate gradually became warmer and the water trapped in glaciers and ice caps was released. This ancient land was submerged in the resulting deluge and all that remains to tell us that it was once lush and verdant—and inhabited—is the occasional stone tool, harpoon or mammoth tusk brought up from the sea bed by fishing boats. Now the development of advanced sonar technology, known as bathymetry, is making it possible to study this flooded landscape in extraordinary detail. A special echo sounder is fixed to the bottom of a survey vessel, and it makes wide sweeps across the sea bed. While previous devices have only been able to produce two-dimensional images, bathymetry makes use of computers, satellite positioning devices and special software to create accurate and remarkably detailed maps. For the first time an ancient river bed leaps out of the three-dimensional image, complete with rocky ledges rising up from the bottom of the valley. The sites of pre-historic settlements can now be pinpointed, and it is also possible to see in stunning detail the sunken shipwrecks that litter this part of the sea bed. According to archaeologist Dr Linda Andrews, this technological development is of huge significance. "We now have the ability to map the sea bed of the Channel and the North Sea as accurately as we can map dry land," she says. She is, however, scathing about the scale of government funding for such projects. "We have better images of Mars and Venus than of two-thirds of our own planet! In view of the fact that Britain is a maritime nation, and the sea has had such a massive influence on us, it"s an absolute scandal that we know so little about the area just off our shores!" Once bathymetric techniques have identified sites where people might have built their homes and villages, such as sheltered bays, cliffs with caves and the shores of freshwater lakes, divers could be sent down to investigate further. Robot submarines could also be used, and researchers hope they will find stone tools and wood from houses (which survives far longer in water than on dry land) as proof of human activity. The idea of Britain as a natural island kingdom will be challenged by these findings: Britain has been inhabited for about 500,000 years, and for much of this time it has been linked on and off to continental Europe. It remains to be seen how far this new awareness is taken on board among our "island" people. In fact, the use of bathymetry scanners will not be limited to the study of lost landscapes and ancient settlements. It will also be vital in finding shipwrecks. Records show that there are about 44,000 shipwrecks off the shores of Britain, but there is good reason to believe that the real figure is much higher. In addition, commercial applications are a real possibility. Aggregates for the construction industry are becoming increasingly expensive, and bathymetry scanners could be used to identify suitable sites for quarrying this material. However, mapping the sea bed will also identify places where rare plants and shellfish have their homes. Government legislation may prevent digging at such sites, either to extract material for a profit or to make the water deeper: there are plans to dredge parts of the English Channel to provide deeper waterways for massive container ships.

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单选题Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following talk.

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单选题The basic story is very old indeed and familiar to most of us. The heroine, Cinderella, is treated cruelly by her stepmother and mocked by her two ugly stepsisters. And even though her father loves her, she can"t tell him how unhappy she is because her stepmother has bewitched him. One day Cinderella"s stepmother and stepsisters are invited to a ball at the royal palace. Cinderella is told she cannot go and is understandably very unhappy. However, her fairy godmother comes to the rescue and, waving her magic wand, produces some beautiful clothes for Cinderella as well as a carriage to convey her to the ball. There, she dances with the handsome prince, who falls in love with her… Just a sweet, pretty tale? Not in the view of Ellen Macintosh, who has written extensively about fairy tales. "This story features the stock, two-dimensional characters of most fairy tales, and little character development is attempted," she says. Indeed, although her comment does make one wonder why simplicity of this sort should be out of place in a story for children. Be that as it may, Ellen"s main problem is with what the story implies. "Instead of standing up to her cruel stepmother and absurd stepsisters, Cinderella just waits for a fairy godmother to appear and solve her problem. But wouldn"t you want a daughter of yours to show more spirit?" The story is enduring, whatever its shortcomings, and it doesn"t take much in the way of analytical skills to see its influence on a number of recent Hollywood productions, all aimed at girls aged five to fifteen. In these versions for the silver screen, the Cinderella character no longer has to clean the house and has no siblings to make her life a misery, though she persists in not showing much backbone. The character of the rich and handsome stranger, however, is retained, and in some cases really is a prince. The role of the fairy godmother is often played by coincidence or sheer luck; we live in an enlightened age when even very young children might reject the notion of fairies. The wicked stepmother may be transformed into a villain of some sort. In the majority of film versions, the heroine has a profession and is even permitted to continue working after marrying her prince — this is the twenty — first century, after all. Doesn"t the success of these films indicate that the story has relevance to children even today? "Yes," admits Ellen, who sees its message as being rooted in a fundamental childhood desire for love and attention. "Most children experience a sense of inner loneliness as they are growing up and empathies with the protagonist who faces some sort of test or challenge. This can be seen in the original story of Cinderella, where the fairy godmother tells the heroine that she must learn to be gracious and confident if she is to go to the ball. She has to grow spiritually, and by maturing, she becomes attractive to the prince, thus ensuring that the ending of the story will be happy." "In the later versions, this element is missing," says Ellen, "and the theme of the story is simply that a girl"s role in life is to be more beautiful than other little girls so that she can carry off the prize: the handsome prince. Is this really what we want girls to grow up believing?"

单选题 {{B}}Questions 23—26{{/B}}

单选题 Questions 26～30 Extract 1 Henri-Lloyd, the UK sailing clothes brand, is launching a new women's fashion footwear collection. Spanning eight styles in a multitude of clearways, the collection is deemed to be modern and sporty, a bit like the brand itself. According to the company's commercial director, Graham Allen, the women's line is very much a response to consumer and retailer demand. "It is a really exciting move for us and is a natural extension of our existing men's footwear business," he says. Hailed as "essential staples in the wardrobe of any actively minded woman", the new collection is designed to encapsulate Henri-Lloyd's spirit of adventure, but with a feminine twist. The collection is designed to target a certain mindset rather than a particular demographic, and pinning the Henri-Lloyd team down to a particular age group can be tricky. The company prides itself on its pioneering styles, aiming to produce the highest quality products with strong functionality and design. Ongoing involvement with the BMW ORACLE racing team has helped cement its technical marine roots with fashion. Outside the UK, Henri-Lloyd's biggest export markets are Italy, Sweden and the USA. The brand can be found in 2,006 stores in 23 countries worldwide. Extract 2 Two important considerations when designing historical, or "period", costumes are shape and colour. Whereas it is possible to eliminate the colour aspect by designing in black, white and grey— as in the early days of television—it is impossible to create a costume which has no shape. Costumes with bad or weak shapes are all too common and it is necessary to train the eye to select what is telling and pertinent and to incorporate these elements into the design. This chapter sketches the changing shape of period clothes; but it should not be thought that the consideration of shape applies only to historical dress—it is just as important when designing a comedy horse or a spaceman's costume, neither of which are in any way related to the historical scene. The drawings I have made show people from the early medieval period to the 1930s. It must be understood that I have tried to select figures which will show fairly clearly the progression of costume style. Transitional styles—often very interesting. I fully acknowledge-have necessarily had to be left out. Change of shape is affected by the social history of the period, the availability and discovery of fabrics and the human desire for change. The period covered is indeed a large one, but it must be appreciated that in the early days fashion, and therefore shape, changed very slowly this has accelerated until today fashion changes almost yearly. Extract 3 According to UK prediction consultant Tim Harvey, "The emerging shopping culture is one that values individuality. We want things that look more distinctive and less mass-produced, that have content and meaning specific to us. " At present we can see large chain stores struggling to create an intimate space within their vast warehouse-like shopping emporiums and win back disgruntled customers. Even Clothes4U are developing a boutique-style environment, with a designer range sold in selected stores from a screened-off area. Unfortunately, a huge disparity has emerged in the levels of service. And service is where retailers can add value to the experience of shopping for clothes, because, where matters of image are concerned, buying clothes requires a certain amount of emotional involvement. More than the mere removal of garments in a cramped changing room, most of us invest the new clothes we try on with the ability to augment confidence or bolster self-esteem. Clever retailers know how potentially-therapeutic any shopping trip is and can train staff to understand the anxieties we bring to the dressing room mirror.

单选题Whatarethetwospeakersdoing?[A]Watchingamovie.[B]Havingdinner.[C]Makingsoup.

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