单选题 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.
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单选题"Water, which is essential for life, costs nothing. On the other hand, diamonds, which are essential for nothing, cost a lot." Unfortunately, the world has changed considerably since an 18th century economist made this remark.
What was true over 200 years ago is certainly no longer true now. In a number of countries people pay as much for water in their homes as they do for electricity.
Like health, we ignore water when we have it--unless there are floods, of course. Once there is a threat to our water supply, however, water can quickly become the only thing that matters. We know only too well that, without water, there can be no life.
The situation is now becoming so bad that environmentalists feel it may be necessary to shock the world into saving water in a similar way to the shock caused by the oil crises in the 1970"s.
At that time, the oil crisis became such a serious threat to the lives of everyone in the developed countries that it made people conscious of the importance of saving oil and provided powerful encouragement for governments to look for other forms of energy.
The result undoubtedly was of major benefit to energy conservation.
There is now no longer an unlimited supply of fresh water. About 97 percent of the planet"s water is seawater. Another 2 percent is locked in icecaps and glaciers. There are also reserves of fresh water under the earth"s surface but these are too deep for us to use economically.
Unfortunately, competition is growing fiercely for what little water is available. It may be a matter of time before that competition becomes a conflict.
To make matters worse, the world"s population is increasing so rapidly that it is expected to grow to about 8 billion in 15 years.
Moreover, in many developed countries throughout the world, flush lavatories and washing machines mean the average person now uses 300 litres of water a day compared with 50 at the beginning of last century.
At the other extreme, according to the World Health Organization, one quarter of the world"s present population still lacks safe drinking water and proper sanitation. Most live in the southern hemisphere, where supplies of fresh water are put in jeopardy through dirty industrial practices, poor irrigation and erosion.
The social stability of the world is no longer threatened by global wars, the Cold War. However, the supply of water could soon become the chief threat to such stability. There is already evidence of this happening, especially in Africa.
Recently the Egyptian Government threatened to destroy any dams built on the Nile if they considered the dams would affect their supply of fresh water.
What is required immediately is an awareness of the true value of water and the formation of sensible water conservation strategies.
It is also of vital importance to have a consensus on how best to use shared water resources for the benefit of all the countries in the world as well as an examination of the best methods for the distribution of the world"s water.
单选题
"Water, which is essential for life,
costs nothing. On the other hand, diamonds, which are essential for nothing,
cost a lot." Unfortunately, the world has changed considerably since an 18th
century economist made this remark. What was true over 200 years
ago is certainly no longer true now. In a number of countries people pay
as much for water in their homes as they do for electricity.
Like health, we ignore water when we have it--unless there are floods, of
course. Once there is a threat to our water supply, however, water can quickly
become the only thing that matters. We know only too well that, without water,
there can be no life. The situation is now becoming so bad that
environmentalists feel it may be necessary to shock the world into saving water
in a similar way to the shock caused by the oil crises in the 1970's.
At that time, the oil crisis became such a serious threat to the lives of
everyone in the developed countries that it made people conscious of the
importance of saving oil and provided powerful encouragement for governments to
look for other forms of energy. The result undoubtedly was of
major benefit to energy conservation. There is now no longer an
unlimited supply of fresh water. About 97 percent of the planet's water is
seawater. Another 2 percent is locked in icecaps and glaciers. There are also
reserves of fresh water under the earth's surface but these are too deep for us
to use economically. Unfortunately, competition is growing
fiercely for what little water is available. It may be a matter of time before
that competition becomes a conflict. To make matters worse, the
world's population is increasing so rapidly that it is expected to grow to about
8 billion in 15 years. Moreover, in many developed countries
throughout the world, flush lavatories and washing machines mean the average
person now uses 300 litres of water a day compared with 50 at the beginning of
last century. At the other extreme, according to the World
Health Organization, one quarter of the world's present population still lacks
safe drinking water and proper sanitation. Most live in the southern hemisphere,
where supplies of fresh water are put in jeopardy through dirty industrial
practices, poor irrigation and erosion. The social stability of
the world is no longer threatened by global wars, the Cold War. However, the
supply of water could soon become the chief threat to such stability. There is
already evidence of this happening, especially in Africa.
Recently the Egyptian Government threatened to destroy any dams built on
the Nile if they considered the dams would affect their supply of fresh
water. What is required immediately is an awareness of the true
value of water and the formation of sensible water conservation
strategies. It is also of vital importance to have a consensus
on how best to use shared water resources for the benefit of all the countries
in the world as well as an examination of the best methods for the distribution
of the world's water.
单选题[此试题无题干]
单选题
Questions 6～10
If you were to examine the birth certificates of every soccer
player in 2006's World Cup tournament, you would most likely find a noteworthy
quirk: elite soccer players are more likely to have been born in the earlier
months of the year than in the later months. If you then examined the European
national youth teams that feed the World Cup and professional ranks, you would
find this strange phenomenon to be even more pronounced. What
might account for this strange phenomenon? Here are a few guesses: a) certain
astrological signs confer superior soccer skills; b) winter born babies tend to
have higher oxygen capacity, which increases soccer stamina; c) soccer mad
parents are more likely to conceive children in springtime, at the annual peak
of soccer mania; d)none of the above. Anders Ericsson, a
58-year-old psychology professor at Florida State University, says he believes
strongly in "none of the above." Ericsson grew up in Sweden, and studied nuclear
engineering until he realized he would have more opportunity to conduct his own
research if he switched to psychology. His first experiment, nearly 30 years
ago, involved memory: training a person to hear and then repeat a random series
of numbers. "With the first subject, after about 20 hours of training, his digit
span had risen from 7 to 20," Ericsson recalls. "He kept improving, and after
about 200 hours of training he had risen to over 80 numbers. "
This success, coupled with later research showing that memory itself is
not genetically determined, led Ericsson to conclude that the act of memorizing
is more of a cognitive exercise than an intuitive one. In other words, whatever
inborn differences two people may exhibit in their abilities to memorize, those
differences are swamped by how well each person "encodes" the information. And
the best way to learn how to encode information meaningfully, Ericsson
determined, was a process known as deliberate practice. Deliberate practice
entails more than simply repeating a task. Rather, it involves setting specific
goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on
outcome. Ericsson and his colleagues have thus taken to
studying expert performers in a wide range of pursuits, including soccer. They
gather all the data they can, not just performance statistics and biographical
details but also the results of their own laboratory experiments with high
achievers. Their work makes a rather startling assertion, the trait we commonly
call talent is highly overrated. Or, put another way, expert performers—whether
in memory or surgery, ballet or computer programming--are nearly always made,
not born.
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{{B}}Questions
27-30{{/B}}
单选题The author gives all of the following as reasons for preserving forgeries EXCEPT their ability to ______.
单选题Questions 19-22
单选题Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following news.
单选题Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following talk.
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Questions
19-22
单选题According to the passage, what can be made into fertilizer?
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单选题
If one of your research staff announced
that he had worked out a way to propel a vehicle on a cushion of air, would you
tell him to concentrate on something practical, or suggest taking it further? If
a member of your development team asked if she could come in late because she
had her best ideas at 3 am would you insist that she is in the office at 9 am
like everyone else? Current business wisdom is that companies
need creative, innovative people to beat competitors. The reality is that
companies have always needed new ideas to survive and progress, but in the past
they weren't particularly good at encouraging the people who produced
them. Original thinkers don't always fit easily into the
framework of an organisation. However, the advice from managing director, John
Serrano is "Get rid of the dull people and encourage the unusual ones".
Essentially, he believes that companies need to learn how to manage their
original thinkers in order to ensure that the business profits from their
contribution. He also says, "Original thinkers often find it difficult to drive
change within the organisation, so they resign, feeling angry and disappointed.
It is essential to avoid this." "You can't recognise original
thinkers by the way they look", says Ian Freeman. An apparently ordinary
exterior can conceal a very creative thinker. "His consultancy, IBT Personnel,
has devised a structured way to identify original thinkers. We define employees
as champions, free-wheelers, bystanders and weak links, and most original
thinkers come into the category of free-wheelers. They may miss deadlines if
they become involved in something more interesting. They are passionate and
highly motivated but have little or no understanding of business directions and
systems." Headhunter George Solomon also thinks original
thinkers have their disadvantages. "They may have a bad influence within an
organisation, especially given the current management trend for working in
teams. The original thinkers themselves may be unaware of any problem, but
having them around can be disruptive to colleagues, who have to be allowed to
point out when they are being driven crazy by the original thinkers behaviour."
Yet, in his opinion, the "dream team" in any creative organisation consists of a
balanced mixture of original thinkers and more practical, realistic
people. So, having identified your original thinkers, how do you
handle them? One well-known computer games company has a very inventive
approach. "We encourage our games designers by creating an informal working
environment", says director Lorna Marsh. "A company cannot punish risk-takers if
it wants to encourage creativity. Management has to provide support, coaching
and advice-and take the risk that new ideas may not work. Our people have
flexible working hours and often make no clear distinction between their jobs
and their home lives." Original thinkers may fit into the
culture of 21st century organisations, but more traditional organisations may
have to change their approach. Business psychologist Jean Row believes that the
first step is to check that original thinkers are worth the effort. "Are the
benefits they bring worth the confusion they cause? If so, give them what they
want, allow plenty of space, but set clear limits. Give them extremely demanding
targets. If they fail to meet them, then the game is up. But if they succeed,
your organisation stands only to gain."
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单选题[此试题无题干]
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{{B}}Questions
27-30{{/B}}
单选题Over the years, Allan Rechtschaffen has killed a lot of rats just by keeping them awake.
In his sleep laboratory at the University of Chicago, Rechtschaffen places each rat on an enclosed turntable contraption that begins spinning whenever the rodent"s brain waves suggest it is beginning to nod off-forcing the rodent to keep moving so that it doesn"t bump into a wall. After about a week of enforced consciousness, the rat begins showing some signs of strain. Odd lesions break out on its tail and paws. It becomes irritable. Its body temperature drops even as it attempts to make itself warmer than usual. It eats twice as much food as normal but loses 10 to 15 percent of its body weight. After about 17 days of sleeplessness, the rat dies.
What kills it? "We don"t know," says Rechtschaffen.
Thus it goes in the science of sleep. Rats can last about 16 days without eating, suggesting that sleep is nearly as vital to life as is food. Yet scientists are far from answering the seemingly simple question of what, exactly, sleep is good for.
Of course, there"s no shortage of hypotheses; insomniacs hoping for some shut-eye might do well to count sleep theories instead of sheep. Many of the most popular theories are extensions of common-sense propositions from human experience. Since we feel rested after sleep, some researchers argue-that sleep must be for rest. Harold Zepelin, professor emeritus in psychology at Michigan"s Oakland University, regards sleep as a period of mandatory energy conservation. "We can"t afford to be active 24 hours per day," syas Zepelin, so evolution dictated this daily period of hibernation. (Some even argue that one reason sleep evolved in humans was to keep us unconscious and out of harm"s way during the night, when we are not exactly the king of beasts.) Smaller animals such as rodents, which have high metabolisms and expend proportionately more energy to make up for the rapid loss of heat that is a geometric consequence of smallness, do tend to sleep more. Larger animals such as giraffes sleep less than five hours each day.
But the energy savings from sleep in large animals are so small it is hard to see why they would sleep at all by this theory. Humans save merely 120 kilocalories a night (about the equivalent of an apple) by sleeping rather than staying awake. Moreover, even hibernating animals arouse themselves from torpor to enter sleep and then fall back into hibernation, suggesting that there is a deeper need for sleep than a mere recharging of the body"s batteries.
Dennis McGinty believes part of the function of sleep is to cool off the brain. The chief of neurophysiology research at Los Angeles"s Sepulveda Veterans Hospital, McQmty points to a feedback loop in the brain that seems to trigger sleep when the brain gets too hot. When provided with a bar to increase cage temperature, rats that are kept awake jack up the heat about 10 degrees Celsius. By attempting to get warmer than usual, the rats may be hoping to trigger sleep-inducing neurons.
The phenomenon also occurs in humans. "If you exercise in the extreme heat, it practically knocks you out," McGinty notes. Well-trained athletes who are able to increase their body temperature during exercise—unlike us weekend workout warriors—sleep about one hour longer than normal. In essence, a jump in body temperature activates heat-sensitive neurons to slow down the body"s metabolism—preferably by sleep—and thus cool down the brain. The body"s minimum temperature comes during the deepest sleep, typically at around 5 a.m.
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