第三部分 模拟实战测试60篇
Unit One
1
Motorola Inc., the world's second-largest mobile phone maker, will begin selling all of the technology needed to build a basic mobile phone to outside manufacturers, in a key change of strategy. The inventor of the cell phone, which has been troubled by missteps compounded by a recent industry slump in sales, is trying to become a neutral provider of mobile technology to rivals, with an eye toward fostering a much larger market than it could create itself. The Chicago area-based company, considered to have the widest range of technologies needed to build a phone, said it planned to make available chips, a design layout for the computer board, software, development tools and testing tools. Motorola has previously supplied mobile phone manufacturers with a couple of its chips, but this is the first time the company will offer its entire line of chips as well as a detailed blueprint. Mobile phones contain a variety of chips and components to control power, sound and amplification. Analysts said they liked the new strategy but were cautious about whether Motorola's mobile phone competitors would want to buy the technology from a rival.
The company, long known for its top-notch（等级）engineering culture, is hoping to profit from its mobile phone technology now that the basic technology to build a mobile phone has largely become a commodity. Motorola said it will begin offering the technology based on the next-generation GPRS(Global Packet Radio Service) standard because most mobile phone makers already have technology in place for current digital phones. GPRS offers faster access to data through "always on" network connections, and customers are charged only for the information they retrieve, rather than the length of download.
Burgess said the new business will not conflict with Motorola's own mobile phone business because the latter will remain competitive by offering advanced features and designs. Motorola's phones have been criticized as being too complicated and expensive to manufacture, but Burgess said Motorola will simplify the technology in the phones by a third. In addition to basic technology, Burgess said, Motorola would also offer additional features such as Blueteeth, a technology that allows wireless communications at a short distance, and Global Positioning System, which tracks the user's whereabouts, and MP3 audio capability.
1.The word "slump" in the first paragraph may be replaced by _______.
A.slouch B.decline C.increase D.stamp
2.According to this passage, Motorola Inc _______.
A.is the world's largest mobile phone maker
B.is trying to become a mobile technology provider besides being a mobile phone maker
C.will only sell chips of the mobile phones
D.is going to sell all its manufacturing plants
3.Analysts don't think that _______.
A.Motorola will be successful
B.the technology offered by Motorola will be selected by its competitors
C.its competitors will want to buy the technology from it
D.its mobile phones contain a variety of chips
4.The technology supplied by Motorola is based on _______.
A.Blueteeth features B.MP3 audio capability
C.Global Positioning System D.GPRS standard
5.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.GPRS offers faster access to data through network connections, so customers should pay more.
B.Motorola Inc. is the inventor of the cell phone.
C.Previously, Motorola only supplied mobile phone manufacturers with some of its chips.
D.Motorola Inc. is known for its high-class engineering culture.
2
German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck may be most famous for his military and diplomatic talent, but his legacy includes many of today's social insurance programs. During the middle of the 19th century, Germany, along with other European nations, experienced an unprecedented rash of workplace deaths and accidents as a result of growing industrialization. Motivated in part by Christian compassion for the helpless as well as a practical political impulse to undercut the support of the socialist labor movement, Chancellor Bismarck created the world's first worker's compensation law in 1884.
By 1908, the United States was the only industrial nation in the world that lacked workers' compensation insurance. America's injured workers could sue for damages in a court of law, but they still faced a number of tough legal barriers. For example, employees had to prove that their injuries directly resulted from employer negligence and that they themselves were ignorant about potential hazards in the workplace. The first state worker's compensation law in this country was passed in 1911, and the program soon spread throughout the nation.
After World War Ⅱ, benefit payments to American workers did not keep up with the cost of living. In fact, real benefit levels were lower in the 1970s than they were in the 1940s, and in most states the maximum benefit was below the poverty level for a family of four. In 1970, President Richard Nixon set up a national commission to study the problems of workers' compensation. Two years later, the commission issued 19 key recommendations, including one that called for increasing compensation benefit levels to 100 percent of the states' average weekly wages.
In fact, the average compensation benefit in America has climbed from 55 percent of the states' average weekly wages in 1972 to 97 percent today. But, as most studies show, every 10 percent increase in compensation benefits results in a 5 percent increase in the numbers of workers who file for claims. And with so much more money floating in the workers' compensation system, it's not surprising that doctors, and lawyers have helped themselves to a large slice of the growing pie.
1.The world's first workers' compensation law was introduced by Bismarck _______.
A.for fear of losing the support of the socialist labor movement
B.out of religious and political considerations
C.to speed up the pace of industrialization
D.to make industrial production safer
2.We learn from the passage that the process of industrialization in Europe _______.
A.met growing resistance from laborers working at machines
B.resulted in the development of popular social insurance programs
C.was accompanied by an increased number of workshop accidents
D.required workers to be aware of the potential dangers at the workplace
3.One of the problems the American injured workers faced in getting compensation in the early 19th century was that _______.
A.they had to produce evidence that their employers were responsible for the accident
B.America's average compensation benefit was much lower than the cost of living
C.different states in the U.S. had totally different compensation programs
D.they had to have the courage to sue for damages in a court of law
4.After 1972, workers' compensation insurance in the U.S. became more favorable to workers so that _______.
A.the poverty level for a family of four went up drastically
B.more money was allocated to their compensation system
C.there were fewer legal barriers when they filed for claims
D.the number of workers suing for damages increased
5.The author ends the passage with the implication that _______.
A.compensation benefits in America are soaring to new heights
B.people from all walks of life can benefit from the compensations system
C.the workers are not the only ones to benefit from the compensation system
D.money floating in the compensation system is a huge drain on the U.S. economy
3
In our society the razor of necessity cuts close. You must make a buck to survive the day. You must work to make a buck. The job is often a chore, rarely a delight. No matter how demeaning the task, no matter how it dulls the senses or breaks the spirit, one must work. Lately there has been a questioning of this "work ethic", especially by the young. Strangely enough, it has touched off profound grievances in others hitherto silent and anonymous.
Unexpected precincts are being heard from in a show of discontent by blue collar and white. On the evening bus the tense, pinched faces of young file clerks and elderly secretaries tell us more than we care to know. On the expressways middle-management men pose without grace behind their wheels, as they flee city and job.
In all, there is more than a slight ache. And there dangles the impertinent question: Should there not be another increment, earned though not yet received, to one's daily work—an acknowledgment of a man's being? In fact, what all of us are looking for is a calling, not just a job. Jobs alone are not being enough for people.
1."In our society the razor of necessity cuts close" in the first line means _______.
A.there is a shortage of daily necessities B.people fight each other for necessities
C.most people feel the financial pressure D.everyone lives a hard life
2.The "work ethic" in the first paragraph can be interpreted as _______.
A.one works mainly to keep body and soul together
B.one must work not only for money, but also for delight
C.one must understand that jobs as chores
D.one should earn as much money a day as possible
3.Middle-management men flee city and job because _______.
A.they have lost their grace
B.they are tired by the long day's work
C.they don't want to see the tense and pinched faces of their clerks and secretaries
D.they are frightened by the profound grievances shown by the young people
4.The phrase "increment, earned though not received" in the third paragraph means _______.
A.money one has earned and will be paid later
B.money one has earned, but will not be paid to him/her
C.something that one earns through a job, but is not counted in terms of pay
D.something that one earns that has nothing to do with his or her job
5.The main idea of this passage is _______.
A.in modern society people are under great work pressure
B.nowadays people want to enjoy life more than do hard work
C.work should be to people more than just a means to survive
D.more jobs of delight should be created for people
4
Early in the age of affluence（富裕）that followed World War Ⅱ, an American retailing analyst named Victor Lebow proclaimed, "Our enormously productive economy...demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption... We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced and discarded at an ever increasing rate."
Americans have responded to Lebow's call, and much of the world has followed.
Consumption has become a central pillar of life in industrial lands and is even embedded in social values. Opinion surveys in the world's two largest economies—Japan and the United States—show consumerist definitions of success becoming ever more prevalent.
Overconsumption by the world's fortune is an environmental problem unmatched in severity by anything but perhaps population growth. Their surging exploitation of resources threatens to exhaust or unalterably spoil forests, soils, water, air and climate.
Ironically, high consumption may be a mixed blessing in human terms, too. The time-honored values of integrity of character, good work, friendship, family and community have often been sacrificed in the rush to riches.
Thus many in the industrial lands have a sense that their world of plenty is somehow hollow—that, misled by a consumerism culture, they have been fruitlessly attempting to satisfy what are essentially social, psychological and spiritual needs with material things.
Of course, the opposite of overconsumption—poverty—is no solution to either environmental or human problems. It is infinitely worse for people and bad for the natural world too. Dispossessed（被剥夺得一无所有的）peasants slash-and-burn their way into the rain forests of Latin America, and hungry nomads（游牧民族）turn their herds out onto fragile African grassland, reducing it to desert.
If environmental destruction results when people have either too little or too much, we are left to wonder how much is enough. What level of consumption can the earth support? When does having more cease to add noticeably to human satisfaction?
1.The emergence of the affluent society after World WarⅡ_______.
A.led to the reform of the retailing system
B.resulted in the worship of consumerism
C.gave rise to the dominance of the new egoism
D.gave birth to a new generation of upper class consumers
2.Apart from enormous productivity, another important impetus to high consumption is _______.
A.the people's desire for a rise in their living standards
B.the concept that one's success is measured by how much they consume
C.the imbalance that has existed between production and consumption
D.the conversion of the sale of goods into rituals
3.Why does the author say high consumption is a mixed blessing?
A.Because poverty still exists in an affluent society.
B.Because over consumption won't last long due to unrestricted population growth.
C.Because traditional rituals are often neglected in the process of modernization.
D.Because moral values are sacrificed in pursuit of material satisfaction.
4.According to the passage, consumerist culture _______.
A.will not alleviate poverty in wealthy countries
B.will not aggravate environmental problems
C.cannot thrive on a fragile economy
D.cannot satisfy human spiritual needs
5.It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A.human spiritual needs should match material affluence
B.whether high consumption should be encouraged is still an issue
C.it remains a problem to keep consumption at a reasonable level
D.there is never an end to satisfying people's material needs
5
The next time the men were taken up onto the deck, Kunta made a point of looking at the man behind him in line, the one who laid beside him to the left when they were below. He was a Serer tribesman much older than Kunta, and his body, front and back, was creased with whip cuts, some of them so deep and festering that Kunta, felt badly for having wished sometimes that he might strike the man in the darkness for moaning so steadily in his pain. Staring back at Kunta, the Serer's dark eyes were full of fury and defiance. A whip lashed out even as they stood looking at each other—this time at Kunta, spurring him to move ahead. Trying to roll away, Kunta was kicked heavily in his ribs. But somehow he and the gasping Wolof managed to stagger back up among the other men from their shelf who were shambling toward their dousing with bucked of seawater.
A moment later, the stinging saltiness of it was burning in Kunta's wounds, and his screams joined those of others over the sound of the drum and the wheezing thing that had again begun marking time for the chained men to jump and dance for the toubob. Kunta and the Wolof were so weak from their new beating that twice they stumbled, but whip blows and kicks sent them hopping clumsily up and down in their chains. So great was his fury that Kunta was barely aware of the women singing "Toubob fa!" And when he had finally been chained back down in his place in the dark hold, his heart throbbed with a lust to murder toubob.
Every few days the eight naked toubob would again come into the stinking darkness and scrape their tubs full of the excrement that had accumulated on the shelves where the chained men lay. Kunta would lie still with his eyes staring balefully in hatred, following the bobbing orange lights, listening to the toubob cursing and sometimes slipping and tailing into the slickness underfoot—so plentiful now, because of the increasing looseness of the men's bowels, that the filth had begun to drop off the edges of the shelves down into the aisle way.
The last time they were on deck, Kunta had noticed a man limping on a badly infected leg. This time the man was kept up on deck when the rest were taken back below. A few days later, the women told the other prisoners in their singing that the man's leg had been cut off and that one of the women had been brought to tend him, but the man had died that night and been thrown over the side. Starting then, when the toubob came to clean the shelves, they also dropped red-hot pieces of metal into pails of strong vinegar. The clouds of acrid steam left the hold smelling better, but soon it would again be overwhelmed by the choking stink. It was a smell that Kunta felt would never leave his lungs and skin.
The steady murmuring that went on in the hold whenever the toubob were kept growing in volume and intensity as the men began to communicate better and better with one another. Words not understood were whispered from mouth to ear along the shelves until someone who knew more than one tongue would send back their meanings. In the process, all of the men along each shelf learned new words in tongues they had not spoken before. Sometimes men jerked upward, bumping their heads, in the double excitement of communicating with each other and the fact that it was being done without the toubob's knowledge. Muttering among themselves for hours, the men developed a deepening sense of intrigue and of brotherhood. Though they were of different villages and tribes, the feeling grew that they were not from different peoples or places .
1.The living conditions for the Blacks in the salve ship were _______.
A.adequate but primitive B.inhumane and inadequate
C.humane but crowded D.similar to the crew's quarters
2.The prisoners had difficulty communicating with each other because _______.
A.they were too sick to talk B.they distrusted one another
C.no one felt like talking D.they spoke different languages
3.Which of the following words is closest in meaning to "balefully" as used in "Kunta would lie still with his eyes staring balefully in hatred"?
A.Indulgently. B.Vacantly. C.Forlornly. D.Menacingly.
4.By constantly referring to such thing as filth and choking stink, the author seeks to create a tone that arouses a feeling of _______.
A.disgust with the dirt B.horror at the injustice
C.revolting at the foul odor D.relief that this happened long ago
5.Despite their intense pain and suffering, the Black men found a small measure of comfort in _______.
A.their exercise periods on deck B.the breathtaking ocean scenery
C.their conversations with the Black women D.their conversations with one another
Unit Two
1
When I was a kid, I never knew what my parents—or anyone else—did for a living. As far as I could tell, all grownups had mysterious jobs that involved drinking lots of coffee and arguing about Richard Nixon. If they had job-related stress, they kept it private. Now American families are expected to be more intimate. While this has resulted in a lot more hugs, "I love you," and attendance at kids' football games, unfortunately we parents also insist on sharing the frustrations of our work lives.
While we have complained about our jobs or fallen asleep in car-pool lines, our children have been noticing. They are worried about us. A new survey, "Ask the children," conducted by the Families and Work Institute of New York City, queried more than 1,000 kids between the ages of 8 and 18 about their parents' work lives. "If you were granted one wish to change the way your parents' work affected your life," the survey asked kids, "what would that wish be?" Most parents assumed that children would want more time with them, but only 10% did. Instead, the most common wish (among 34%) was that parents would be less stressed and tired by work.
Allison Kevin is the mother of three young children and a professional in the growing field of "work/ life quality", Kevin counsels employees who are overwhelmed by their work and family obligations to carefully review their commitments—not only at the office but at home and in the community too—and start paring them down. "It's not about getting up earlier in the morning so you can get more done," she says. "It's about saying no and making choices."
We can start by leaving work, and thoughts of work, behind as soon as we start the trip home. Do something to get yourself in a good mood, like listening to music, rather than returning calls on the cell phone. When you get home, change out of your work clothes, let the answering machine take your calls, and stay away from e-mail. When your kids ask about your day, tell them about something good that happened. (In the survey, 69% of moms said they liked their work, but only 42% of kids thought their mothers really did.)
Parents can also destress by cutting back on their children's activities. If keeping up with your kid's schedule is killing you, insist that he chooses between karate lessons and the theater troupe. Parents should also sneak away from work and family occasionally to have some fun. I keep a basketball in the trunk of my car. I might never be able to fix everything at work or at home, but at least I can work on my jump shot.
1.Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
A.Kids Say: Chill. B.Kids Stress Parents.
C.Parents Complain about Work. D.Parents Get in Good Mood.
2.The author mentions her own childhood experience to show that _______.
A.she never understood why her parents had odd jobs and argued about the president
B.she didn't know what her parents did to earn money to support the family when she was young
C.she did understand why the American became more and more close and hugged a lot
D.she could see that the American parents keep the stress and tiredness from work to themselves
3.We can infer from the second paragraph that nowadays the children _______.
A.are very anxious about their parents for their hard work
B.are looking forward to being with their parents
C.are very considerate about their parents
D.are very ambitious to change their parents' work
4.The phrase "paring them down" in the third paragraph most likely means _______.
A.gathering the work and family duties together
B.matching the work quality to life quality
C.decreasing the defeating commitments
D.denying to fulfill their work and family obligations
5.Which of the following is NOT the way to destress the parents' heavy burden?
A.Forgetting about the job as soon as leaving the office.
B.Reducing participating the activities for the office.
C.Sharing with the children some happy experience.
D.Taking part more actively in community activities.
2
The biographer has to dance between two shaky positions with respect to the subject（研究对象）. Too close a relation, and the writer may lose objectivity. Not close enough, and the writer may lack the sympathy necessary to any effort to portray a mind, a soul—the quality of life. Who should write the biography of a family, for example? Because of their closeness to the subject, family members may have special information, but by the same token, they may not have the distance that would allow them to be fair. Similarly, a king's servant might not be the best one to write a biography of that king. But a foreigner might not have the knowledge and sympathy necessary to write the king's biography—not for a readership from within the kingdom, at any rate.
There is no ideal position for such a task. The biographer has to work with the position he or she has in the world, adjusting that position as necessary to deal with the subject. Every position has strengths and weaknesses: to thrive, a writer must try to become aware of these, evaluate them in terms of the subject, and select a position accordingly.
When their subjects are heroes or famous figures, biographies often reveal a democratic motive: they attempt to show that their subjects are only human, no better than anyone else. Other biographies are meant to change us, to invite us to become better than we are. The biographies of Jesus（耶稣）found in the Bible are in this class.
Biographers may claim that their account is the "authentic" one. In advancing this claim, they are helped if the biography is "authorized" by the subject; this presumably allows the biographer special access to private information. "Unauthorized" biographies also have their appeal, however, since they can suggest an independence of mind in the biographer. In book promotions, the "unauthorized" characterization usually suggests the prospect of juicy gossip that the subject had hoped to suppress. A subject might have several biographies, even several "authentic" ones. We sense intuitively that no one is in a position to tell "the" story of a life, perhaps not even the subject, and this has been proved by the history of biography.
1.According to the author, an ideal biographer would be one who _______.
A.knows the subject very well and yet maintains a proper distance from him
B.is close to the subject and knows the techniques of biography writing
C.is independent and knows the techniques of biography writing
D.possesses special private information and is sympathetic toward the subject
2.The author cites the biographies of Jesus in the Bible in order to show that _______.
A.the best biographies are meant to transform their readers
B.biographies are authentic accounts of their subjects' lives
C.the best biographies are those of heroes and famous figures
D.biographies can serve different purposes
3.Which of the following statements is true, according to the passage?
A.An authentic biography seldom appeals to its readers.
B.An authentic biography is one authorized by the subject.
C.No one can write a perfect biography.
D.Authorized biographies have a wider readership.
4.An unauthorized biography is likely to attract more readers because _______.
A.it portrays the subject both faithfully and vividly
B.it contains interesting information about the subject's private life
C.it reveals a lot of accurate details unknown to outsiders
D.it usually gives a sympathetic description of the subject's character
5.In this passage, the author focuses on _______.
A.the difficulty of a biographer in finding the proper perspective to do his job
B.the secret of a biographer to win more readers
C.the techniques required of a biographer to write a good biography
D.the characteristics of different kinds of biographies questions
3
Whether the eyes are "the windows of the soul" is debatable, that they are intensely important in interpersonal communication is a fact. During the first two months of a baby's life, the stimulus that produces a smile is a pair of eyes. The eyes need not be real: a mask with two dots will produce a smile. Significantly, a real human face with eyes covered will not motivate a smile, nor will the sight of only one eye when the face is presented in profile. This attraction to eyes as opposed to the nose or mouth continues as the baby matures: In one study, when American four-year-olds were asked to draw people, 75 percent of them drew people with mouths, but 99 percent of them drew people with eyes. In Japan, however, where babies are carried on their mother's back, infants do not acquire as much attachment to eyes as they do in other cultures. As a result, Japanese adults make little use of the face either to encode or decode meaning. In fact, Argyle reveals that the "proper place to focus one's gaze during a conversation in Japan is on the neck of one's conversation partner."
The role of eye contact in a conversational exchange between two Americans is well defined: speakers make contact with the eyes of their listener for about one second, then glance away as they talk; in a few moments they re-establish eye contact with the listener to reassure themselves that their audience is still attentive, then shift their gaze away once more. Listeners, meanwhile, keep their eyes on the face of the speaker, allowing themselves to glance away only briefly. It is important that they be looking at the speaker at the precise moment when the speaker re-establishes eye contact: if they are not looking, the speaker assumes that they are disinterested and either will pause until eye contact is resumed or will terminate the conversation. Just how critical this eye maneuvering is to the maintenance of conversational flow becomes evident when two speakers are wearing dark glasses: there may be a sort of traffic jam of words caused by interruption, false starts, and unpredictable pauses.
1.The author is convinced that the eyes are _______.
A.of extreme importance in expressing feelings and exchanging ideas
B.something through which one can see a person's inner world
C.of considerable significance in making conversations interesting
D.something the value of which is largely a matter of long debate
2.Babies will not be stimulated to smile by a person _______.
A.whose front view is fully perceived B.whose face is covered with a mask
C.whose face is seen from the side D.whose face is free of any covering
3.According to the passage, the Japanese fix their gaze on their conversation partner's neck because _______.
A.they don't like to keep their eyes on the face of the speaker
B.they need not communicate through eye contact
C.they don't think it polite to have eye contact
D.they didn't have much opportunity to communicate through eye contact in babyhood
4.According to the passage, a conversation between two Americans may break down due to _______.
A.one temporarily glancing away from the other B.eye contact of more than one second
C.improperly-timed ceasing of eye contact D.constant adjustment of eye contact
5.To keep a conversation flowing smoothly, it is better for the participants _______.
A.not to wear dark spectacles C.not to glance away from each other
B.not to make any interruptions D.not to make unpredictable pauses
4
A few common misconceptions. Beauty is only skin-deep. One's physical assets and liabilities don't count all that much in a managerial career. A woman should always try to look her best.
Over the last 30 years, social scientists have conducted more than 1,000 studies of how we react to beautiful and not-so-beautiful people. The virtually unanimous conclusion: Looks do matter, more than most of us realize. The data suggest, for example, that physically attractive individuals are more likely to be treated well by their parents, sought out as friends, and pursued romantically. With the possible exception of women seeking managerial jobs, they are also more likely to be hired, paid well, and promoted.
Un-American, you say, unfair and extremely unbelievable? Once again, the scientists have caught us mouthing pieties（虔诚）while acting just the contrary. Their typical experiment works something like this. They give each member of a group-college students, perhaps, or teachers or corporate personnel managers—a piece of paper relating an individual's accomplishments. Attached to the paper is a photograph. While the papers all say exactly the same thing the pictures are different. Some show a strikingly attractive person, some an average-looking character, and some an unusually unattractive human being. Group members are asked to rate the individual on certain attributes, anything from personal warmth to the likelihood that he or she will be promoted.
Almost invariably, the better looking the person in the picture, the higher the person is rated. In the phrase, borrowed from Salppho, that the social scientists use to sum up the common perception, what is beautiful is good.
In business, however, good looks cut both ways for women, and deeper than for men. A Utah State University professor, who is an authority on the subject, explains: In terms of their careers, the impact of physical attractiveness on males is only modest. But its potential impact on females can be tremendous, making it easier, for example, for the more attractive to get jobs where they are in the public eye. On another note, though, there is enough literature now for us to conclude that attractive women who aspire to managerial positions do not get on as well as women who may be less attractive.
1.According to the passage, people often wrongly believe that in pursuing a career as manager _______.
A.a person's property or debts do not matter much
B.a person's outward appearance is not a critical qualification
C.women should always dress fashionably
D.women should not only be attractive but also high-minded
2.The result of research carried out by social scientists show that _______.
A.people do not realize the importance of looking one's best
B.women in pursuit of managerial jobs are not likely to be paid well
C.good-looking women aspire to managerial positions
D.attractive people generally have an advantage over those who are not
3.Experiments by scientists have shown that when people evaluate individuals on certain attributes________.
A.they observe the principle that beauty is only skin-deep
B.they do not usually act according to the views they support
C.they give ordinary-looking persons the lowest ratings
D.they tend to base their judgment on the individual's accomplishments
4."Good looks cut both ways for women" (Line 1, Para. 5) means that _______.
A.attractive women have tremendous potential impact on public jobs
B.good-looking women always get the best of everything
C.being attractive is not always an advantage for women
D.attractive women do not do as well as unattractive women in managerial positions
5.It can inferred from the passage that in the business world _______.
A.handsome men are not affected as much by their looks as attractive women are
B.physically attractive women who are in the public eye usually do quite well
C.physically attractive men and women who are in the public eye usually get along quite well
D.good looks are important for women as they are for men
5
The way people hold to the belief that a fun filled, painfree life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involves some pain.
As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment（承担的义务）, self improvement.
Ask a bachelor（单身汉）why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night's sleep or a three-day vacation. I don't know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couple who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.
1.According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because _______.
A.he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities
B.he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single
C.he finds more fun in dating than in marriage
D.he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement
2.Raising children, in the author's opinion, is _______.
A.a moral duty B.a thankless job
C.a rewarding task D.a source of inevitable pain
3.From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from _______.
A.hatred B.misunderstanding C.prejudice D.ignorance
4.To understand what true happiness is one must _______.
A.have as much fun as possible during one's lifetime
B.make every effort to liberate oneself from pain
C.put up with pain under all circumstances
D.be able to distinguish happiness from fun
5.What is the author trying to tell us?
A.Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain. B.One must know how to attain happiness.
C.It is important to make commitments. D.It is pain that leads to happiness.
Unit Three
1
The estimates of the numbers of home-schooled children vary widely. The U.S. Department of Education estimates there are 250,000 to 350,000 home-schooled children in the country. Home-school advocates put the number much higher—at about a million.
Many public school advocates take a harsh attitude toward home schoolers, perceiving their actions as the ultimate slap in the face for public education and a damaging move for the children. Home schoolers harbor few kind words for public schools, charging shortcomings that range from lack of religious perspective in the curriculum to a herdlike approach to teaching children.
Yet, as public school officials realize they stand little to gain by remaining hostile to the home-school population and as home schoolers realize they can reap benefits from public schools, these hard lines seem to be softening a bit. Public schools and home schoolers have moved closer to tolerance and, in some cases, even cooperation.
Says John Marshall, an education official, "We are becoming relatively tolerant of home schoolers." The idea is, "Let's give the kids access to public school, so they'll see it's not as terrible as they've been told, and they'll want to come back."
Perhaps, but don't count on it, say home-school advocates. Home schoolers oppose the system because they have strong convictions that their approach to education—whether fueled by religious enthusiasm or the individual child's interests and natural pace—is best.
"The bulk of home schoolers just want to be left alone," says Enge Cannon, associate director of the National Center For Home Education. She says home schoolers choose that path for a variety of reasons, but religion plays a role 85 percent of the time.
Professor Van Galen breaks home schoolers into two groups. Some home schoolers want their children to learn not only traditional subject matter but also "strict religious doctrine and a conservative political and social perspective. Not incidentally, they also want their children to learn—both intellectually and emotionally—that the family is the most important institution in society."
Other home schoolers contend "not so much that the schools teach heresy（异端邪说）, but that schools teach whatever they teach inappropriately," Van Galen writes. "These parents are highly independent and strive to 'take responsibility' for their own lives within a society that they define as bureaucratic and inefficient."
1.According to the passage, home schoolers are _______.
A.those who engage private teachers to provide additional education for their children
B.those who educate their children at home instead of sending them to school
C.those who advocate combining public education with home schooling
D.those who don't go to school but are educated at home by their parents
2.Public schools are softening their position on home schooling because _______.
A.there isn't much they can go to change the present situation
B.they want to show their tolerance for different teaching systems
C.home schooling provides a new variety of education for children
D.public schools have so many problems that they cannot offer proper education for all children
3.Home-school advocates are of the opinion that _______.
A.things in public schools are not so bad as has often been said
B.their tolerance of public education will attract more kids to public schools
C.home schooling is superior and, therefore, they will not easily give in
D.their increased cooperation with public school will bring about the improvement of public education
4.Most home schoolers' opposition to public education stems from their _______.
A.respect for the interests of individuals B.worry about the inefficiency of public schools
C.concern with the cost involved D.devotion to religion
5.According to Van Galen some home schoolers believe that _______.
A.public schools take up a herdlike approach to teaching children
B.teachers in public school are not as responsible as they should be
C.public schools cannot provide an education that is good enough for their children
D.public schools are the source of bureaucracy and inefficiency in modern society
2
Every year television stations receive hundreds of complaints about the loudness of advertisements. However, federal rules forbid the practice of making ads louder than the programming. In addition, television stations always operate at the highest sound level allowed for reasons of efficiency. According to one NBC executive, no difference exists in the peak sound level of ads programming. Given this information, why do commercials sound so loud?
The sensation of sound involves a variety of factors in addition to its speak level. Advertisers are skillful at creating the impression of loudness through their expert use of such factors. One major contributor to the perceived loudness of commercials is that much less variation in sound level occurs during a commercial. In regular programming the intensity of sound varies over a large range. However, sound levels in commercials tend to stay at or near peak levels.
Other "tricks of the trade" are also used. Because low-frequency sounds can mask higher frequency sounds, advertisers filter out any noises that may drown out the primary message. In addition, the human voice has more auditory（听觉的）impact in the middle frequency ranges. Advertisers electronically vary voice sounds so that they stay within such a frequency band. Another approach is to write the script so that lots of consonants（辅音）are used, because people are more aware of consonants than vowel（元音）sounds. Finally, advertisers try to begin commercials with sounds that are highly different from those of the programming within which the commercial is buried. Because people become adapted to the type of sounds coming from programming, a dramatic change in sound quality draws viewer attention. For example, notice how many commercials begin with a cheerful song of some type.
The attention-getting property of commercial can be seen by observing one-to-two-year-old children who happen to be playing around a television set. They may totally ignore the programming. However, when a commercial comes on, their attention is immediately drawn to it because of its dramatic sound quality.
1.According to the passage, the maximum intensity of sound coming from commercials _______.
A.does not exceed that of programs
B.is greater than that of programs
C.varies over a large range than that of programs
D.is less than that of programs
2.Commercials create the sensation of loudness because _______.
A.TV stations always operate at the highest sound levels
B.their sound levels are kept around peak levels
C.their sound levels are kept in the middle frequency ranges
D.unlike regular programs their intensity of sound varies over a wide range
3.Many commercials begin with a cheerful song of some kind because _______.
A.pop songs attract viewer attention
B.it can increase their loudness
C.advertisers want to make them sound different from regular programs
D.advertisers want to merge music with commercials
4.One of the reasons why commercials are able to attract viewer attention is that _______.
A.the human voices in commercials have more auditory impact
B.people like cheerful songs that change dramatically in sound quality
C.high-frequency sounds are used to mask sounds that drown out the primary message
D.they possess sound qualities that make the viewer feel that something unusual is happening
5.In the passage, the author is trying to tell us _______.
A.how TV ads vary vocal sounds to attract attention
B.how the loudness of TV ads is overcome
C.how advertisers control the sound properties of TV ads
D.how the attention-getting properties of sounds are made use of in TV ads
3
Science is a dominant theme in our culture. Since it touches almost every facet of our life, educated people need at least some acquaintance with its structure and operation. They should also have an understanding of the subculture in which scientists live and the kinds of people they are. An understanding of general characteristics of science as well as specific scientific concepts is easier to attain if one knows something about the things that excite and frustrate the scientists.
This book is written for the intelligent student of lay person whose acquaintance with science is superficial; for the person who has been presented with science as a musty storehouse of dried facts; for the person who has been presented with science as the production of gadgets; and for the person who views the scientists as some sort of magicians. The book can be used to supplement a course in any science, to accompany any course that attempts to give an understanding of the modern world, or independently of any course—simply to provide a better understanding of science. We hope this book will lead readers to a broader perspective on scientific attitudes and a more realistic view of what science is, who scientists are, and what they do. It will give them an awareness and understanding of the relationship between science and our culture and an appreciation of the roles science may play in our culture. In addition, readers may learn to appreciate the relationship between scientific views and some of the values and philosophies that are pervasive in our culture.
We have tried to present in this book an accurate and up-to-date picture of the scientific community and the people who populated it. That population has in recent years come to comprise more and more women. This increasing role of women in the scientific subculture is not a unique incident but, rather, part of the trend evident in all segments of society as more women enter traditionally male-dominated fields and make significant contribution. In discussing these changes and contribution, however, we are faced with a language that is implicitly sexist, one that uses male nouns or pronouns in referring to unspecified individuals. To offset this built-in bias, we have adopted the policy of using plural nouns and pronouns whenever possible and, when absolutely necessary, alternating he and she. This policy is far from being ideal, but it is at least an acknowledgment of the inadequacy of our language in treating half of the human equally.
We have also tried to make the book entertaining as well as informative. Our approach is usually informal. We feel, as many other scientists do, that we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously. As the reader may observe, we see science as a delightful pastime than as a grim and dreary way to earn a living.
1.According to the passage, "scientific subculture" means _______.
A.cultural groups that are formed by scientists
B.people whose knowledge of science is very limited
C.the scientific community
D.people who make good contribution to science
2.We need to know something about the structure and operation of science because _______.
A.it is not easy to understand the things that excite and frustrate science
B.science affects almost every aspect of our life
C.scientists live in a specific substructure
D.it is easier to understand general characteristics of science
3.The book mentioned in this passage is written for readers who _______.
A.long for deeper understanding of science
B.are good at producing various gadgets
C.work in a storehouse of dried facts
D.are interested in popular science
4.According to this passage, _______.
A.English is a sexist language
B.only in the scientific world is the role of women increasing rapidly
C.women are making significant contribution to eliminating the inadequacy of our language
D.male nouns or pronouns should not be used to refer to scientists
5.This passage most probably is _______.
A.a book review B.the preface of a book
C.the postscript of a book D.the concluding part of a book
4
There are some earth phenomena you can count on, but the magnetic field, some say, is not one of them. It fluctuates in strength, drifts from its axis, and every few 100,000 years undergoes a dramatic polarity reversal—a period when north pole becomes south pole and south pole becomes north pole. But how is the field generated, and why is it so unstable?
Groundbreaking research by two French geophysicists promises to shed some light on the mystery. Using 80 metres of deep sea sediment（沉淀物）core, they have obtained measurements of magnetic-field intensity that span 11 polarity reversals and four million years. The analysis reveals that intensity appears to fluctuate with a clear, well-defined rhythm. Although the strength of the magnetic field varies irregularly during the short terra, there seems to be an inevitable long-term decline preceding each polarity reversal. When the poles flip—a process that takes several hundred thousand years—the magnetic field rapidly regains its strength and the cycle is repeated.
The results have caused a stir among geophysicists. The magnetic field is thought to originate from molten（熔化的）iron in the outer core, 3,000 kilometers beneath the earth's surface. By studying mineral grains found in material ranging from rocks to clay articles, previous researchers have already been able to identify reversals dating back 170 million years, including the most recent switch 730,000 years ago. How and why they occur, however, has been widely debated. Several theories link polarity flips to external disasters such as meteor（陨星）impacts. But Peter Olson, a geophysicist at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, says this is unlikely if the French researchers are right. In fact, Olson says intensity that predictably declines from one reversal to the next contradicts 90 percent of the models currently under study. If the results prove to be valid, geophysicists will have a new theory to guide them in their quest to understand the earth's inner physics. It certainly points the direction for future research.
1.Which of the following titles is most appropriate to the passage?
A.Polarity Reversal: A Fantastic Phenomenon of Nature
B.Measurement of the Earth's Magnetic-Field Intensity
C.Formation of the Two Poles of the Earth
D.A New Approach to the Study of Geophysics
2.The word "flip" (Line 6, Para. 2) most probably means "________".
A.decline B.intensify C.fluctuate D.reverse
3.What have the two French geophysicists discovered in their research?
A.Some regularity in the changes of the earth's magnetic field.
B.Some causes of the fluctuation of the earth's magnetic field.
C.The origin of the earth's magnetic field.
D.The frequency of polarity reversals.
4.The French geophysicists' study is different from currently prevailing theories in _______.
A.its identification of the origin of the earth's magnetic field
B.the way the earth's magnetic intensity is measured
C.its explanation of the shift in the earth's polarity
D.the way the earth's fluctuation rhythm is defined
5.In Peter Olson's opinion, the French experiment _______.
A.is likely to direct further research in the inner physics of the earth
B.has successfully solved the mystery of polarity reversals
C.is certain to help predict external disasters
D.has caused great confusion among the world's geophysicists
5
All types of stress study, whether under laboratory or real-life situations, study mechanisms for increasing the arousal level of the brain.
The brain blood flow studies show that reciting the days of the week and months of the year increases blood flow in appropriate areas, whereas problem solving which demands intense concentration of a reasoning type produces much larger changes in the distribution of blood in the brain.
Between these basic studies of brain function and real life situations there is still a considerable gap, but reasonable deduction seems possible to try and understand what happens to the brain. Life consists of a series of events which may be related to work or to our so-called leisure time. Work may be relatively automatic—as with typing, for instance, it requires intense concentration and repetition during the learning phase to establish a pattern in the brain. Then the typist's fingers automatically move to hit the appropriate keys as she reads the words on the copy.
However, when she gets tired she makes mistakes much more frequently. To overcome this she has to raise her level of arousal and concentration but beyond a certain point the automatic is lost and thinking about hitting the keys leads to more mistakes.
Other jobs involve intense concentration such as holding bottles of wine up to a strong light and turning them upside down to look for particles of dirt falling down. This sounds quite easy but experience teaches that workers can do this for only about thirty minutes before they start making a mistake. This is partly because the number of occasions with dirt in the bottle is low and the arousal level, therefore, fails. Scientists have shown that devices to raise arousal level will increase the accuracy of looking for relatively rare events. A recent study of the effect of loss of sleep in young doctors showed that in tests involving a challenge to their medical judgment when short of sleep they raised their arousal level and became better at tests of grammatical reasoning as well.
1.According to the brain blood flow studies, problem solving _______.
A.increases blood flow in some areas of the brain
B.causes changes in the distribution of blood in the brain
C.demands intense concentration of blood in certain areas
D.is based on the ability to recite the time
2.The author believes that _______.
A.the results obtained in the laboratory exactly reflects the real-life situations
B.the gap between the laboratory studies and real-life situations is too large to fill up
C.the gap between the laboratory studies and real-life situations can be closed by proper reasoning
D.the difference between the laboratory studies and real-life situations will be reduced
3.When a typist gets tired, _______.
A.she has to try hard to raise her automatic B.she can type only automatically
C.she cannot think about what she is doing D.she can seldom type automatically
4.Examining bottles of wine is hard work because _______.
A.the bottles must be held upside down B.it is difficult to see the particles of dirt
C.it requires high level of automatic D.most bottles are all right
5.According to the author, a key factor in the ability to reason is _______.
A.the subject's knowledge of grammar
B.the amount of sleep the subject has had
C.the level of arousal of the subject
D.the extent to which the subject has been taught to reason
Unit Four
1
Analysts have had their go at humor, and I have read some of this interpretative literature, but without being greatly instructed. Humor can be dissected, as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards（内在部分）are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind.
In a newsreel theatre the other day I saw a picture of a man who had developed the soap bubble to a higher point than it had ever before reached. He had become the ace soap bubble blower of America, had perfected the business of blowing bubbles, refined it, doubled it, squared it, and had even worked himself up into a convenient lather. The effect was not pretty. Some of the bubbles were too big to be beautiful, and the blower was always jumping into them or out of them, or playing some sort of unattractive trick with them. It was, if anything, a rather repulsive sight. Humor is a little like that: it won't stand much blowing up, and it won't stand much poking. It has a certain fragility, an evasiveness, which one had the best respect. Essentially, it is a complete mystery. A human frame convulsed with laughter, and the laughter becoming mysterious and uncontrollable, is as far out of balance as one shaken with the hiccoughs or in the throes of a sneezing fit.
One of the things commonly said about humorist is that they are really very sad people—clowns with a breaking heart. There is some truth in it, but it is badly stated. It would be more accurate, I think, to say that there is a deep vein of melancholy running through everyone's life and that the humorist, perhaps more sensible of it than some others, compensates for it actively and positively. Humorists fatten on trouble. They have always made trouble pay. They struggle along with a good will and endure pain cheerfully, knowing how well it will serve them in the sweet by and by. You find them wrestling with foreign languages, fighting folding ironing boards and swollen drainpipes, suffering the terrible discomfort of tight boot (or as Josh Billings wittily called them, "tire boots"). They pour out their sorrows profitably, in a form that is not quite a fiction not quite a fact either. Beneath the sparking surface of these dilemmas flows the strong tide of human woe.
Practically everyone is a manic-depressive of sorts, with his up moments and his down moments, and you certainly don't have to be a humorist to taste the sadness of situation and mood. But there is often a rather fine line between laughing and crying, and if a humorous piece of writing brings a person to the point where his emotional responses are untrustworthy and seem likely to break over into the opposite realm, it is because humor, like poetry, has an extra content. It plays close to the bit hot fire, which is truth, and sometimes the reader feels the heat.
1.In the first paragraph the author wants to say that _______.
A.just as scientists can dissect a frog, so analysts can dissect humor
B.detailed, scientific analysis is not appropriate for humor, for it may make humor lose its aesthetic value
C.some people's analysis of humor are too scientific
D.analysts' attempts at humor are not instructive enough to interest the author
2.The author uses the example of the soap bubble blower to show that _______.
A.skill is required to produce humor
B.neither too much exaggeration nor absolute explicitness is fit for humor
C.people should perfect the art of humor just as the bubble blower does to the bubbles
D.humor should make people frantic for a while
3.According to the author, humorists differ from ordinary people in the sense that _______.
A.they give vent to their sorrows in a laughable way
B.they have much trouble in their life and they are melancholy
C.they are more sensible of the sadness of life and they endure and express the pain cheerfully
D.they are mostly clowns with a breaking heart
4.A humorous piece of writing can make the reader's emotional responses untrustworthy because _______.
A.it expresses the truth of the sadness of human life with a sparkling surface
B.everyone has his happy moments and unhappy moments
C.there is an obvious line between laughing and crying
D.it is like poetry, very rhythmic
5.The passage's success lies in its extensive use of _______.
A.parallelism B.metaphors C.metonymy D.similes
2
The destruction of our natural resources and contamination of our food supply continue to occur, largely because of the extreme difficulty in affixing （把……固定）legal responsibility on those who continue to treat our environment with reckless abandon （放任）. Attempts to prevent pollution by legislation, economic incentives and friendly persuasion have been met by lawsuits, personal and industrial denial and long delays—not only in accepting responsibility, but more importantly, in doing something about it.
It seems that only when government decides it can afford tax incentives or production sacrifices is there any initiative for change. Where is industry's and our recognition that protecting mankind's great treasure is the single most important responsibility? If ever there will be time for environmental health professionals to come to the frontlines and provide leadership to solve environmental problems, that time is now.
We are being asked, and, in fact, the public is demanding that we take positive action. It is our responsibility as professionals in environmental health to make the difference. Yes, the ecologists, the environmental activists and the conservationists serve to communicate, stimulate thinking and promote behavioral change. However, it is those of us who are paid to make the decisions to develop, improve and enforce environmental standards, I submit, who must lead the charge.
We must recognize that environmental health issues do not stop at city limits, county lines, state or even federal boundaries. We can no longer afford to be tunnel-visioned in our approach. We must visualize issues from every perspective to make the objective decisions. We must express our views clearly to prevent media distortion and public confusion.
I believe we have a three-part mission for the present. First, we must continue to press for improvements in the quality of life that people can make for themselves. Second, we must investigate and understand the link between environment and health. Third, we must be able to communicate technical information in a form that citizens can understand. If we can accomplish these three goals in this decade, maybe we can finally slop environmental degradation, and not merely hold it back. We will then be able to spend pollution dollars truly on prevention rather than on bandages.
1.We can infer from the first two paragraphs that the industrialists disregard environmental protection chiefly because______.
A.they are unaware of the consequences of what they are doing
B.they are reluctant to sacrifice their own economic interests
C.time has not yet come for them to put due emphasis on it
D.it is difficult for them to take effective measures
2.The main task now facing ecologists, environmental activists and conservationists is______.
A.to prevent pollution by legislation, economic incentives and persuasion
B.to arouse public awareness of the importance of environmental protection
C.to take radical measures to control environmental pollution
D.to improve the quality of life by enforcing environmental standards
3.The word "tunnel-visioned" (Line 2, Para. 4) most probably means "________".
A.narrow-minded C.short-sighted
B.blind to the facts D.able to see only one aspect
4.Which of the following, according to the author, should play the leading role in the solution of environmental problems?
A.Legislation and government intervention.
B.The industry's understanding and support.
C.The efforts of environmental health professionals.
D.The cooperation of ecologists, environmental activists and conservationists.
5.Which of the following is true according to the last paragraph?
A.Efforts should be exerted on pollution prevention instead of on remedial measures.
B.More money should be spent in order to stop pollution.
C.Ordinary citizens have no access to technical information on pollution.
D.Environmental degradation will be stopped by the end of this decade.
3
There's a simple premise behind what Larry Myers does for a living: If you can smell it, you can find it.
Myers is the founder of Auburn University's Institute for Biological Detection Systems, the main task of which is to chase the ultimate in detection devices—an artificial nose.
For now, the subject of their research is little more than a stack of gleaming chips tucked away in a laboratory drawer. But soon, such a tool could be hanging from the belts of police, arson（纵火）investigators and food-safety inspectors.
The technology that they are working on would suggest quite reasonable that, within three to five years, we'll have some workable sensors ready to use. Such devices might find wide use in places that attract terrorists. Police could detect drugs, bodies and bombs hidden in cars, while food inspectors could easily test food and water for contamination.
The implications for revolutionary advances in public safety and the food industry are astonishing. But so, too, are the possibilities for abuse: Such machines could determine whether a woman is ovulating（排卵）, without a physical exam—or even her knowledge.
One of the traditional protectors of American liberty is that it has been impossible to search everyone. That's getting not to be the case.
Artificial biosensors created at Auburn work totally differently from anything ever seen before. AromaScan, for example, is a desktop machine based on a bank of chips sensitive to specific chemicals that evaporate into the air. As air is sucked into the machine, chemicals pass over the sensor surfaces and produce changes in the electrical current flowing through them. Those current changes are logged into a computer that sorts out odors based on their electrical signatures.
Myers says they expect to load a single fingernail-size chip with thousands of odor receptors（感受器）, enough to create a sensor that's nearly as sensitive as a dog's nose.
1.Which of the following is within the capacity of the artificial nose being developed?
A.Performing physical examinations. B.Locating places which attract terrorists.
C.Detecting drugs and water contamination. D.Monitoring food processing.
2.A potential problem which might be caused by the use of an artificial nose is______.
A.negligence of public safety C.a hazard to physical health
B.an abuse of personal freedom D.a threat to individual privacy
3.The word "logged" (Line 4, Para. 7) most probably means "______".
A.preset C.processed B.entered D.simulated
4.To produce artificial noses for practical use, it is essential______.
A.to develop microchips with thousands of odor receptors
B.to invent chips sensitive to various chemicals
C.to design a computer program to sort out smells
D.to find chemicals that can alter the electrical current passing through
5.The author's attitude towards Larry Myers' work is______.
A.cautious C.suspicious B.approving D.overenthusiastic
4
In the world of entertainment, TV talk shows have undoubtedly flooded every inch of space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one varies in style and format. But no two shows are more profoundly opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows.
Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of "trash talk（废话）". The topics on his show are as shocking as shocking can be. For example, the show takes the ever-common talk show themes of love, sex, cheating, guilt, hate, conflict and morality to a different level. Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is a display and exploitation of society's moral catastrophes（灾难）, yet people are willing to eat up the intriguing predicaments（困境）of other people 's lives.
Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes TV talk show to its extreme, but Oprah goes in the opposite direction. The show focuses on the improvement of society and an individual's quality of life. Topics range from teaching your children responsibility, managing your work week, to getting to know your neighbors.
Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being dumped on society. Jerry ends every show with a "final word". He makes a small speech that sums up the entire moral of the show. Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable.
Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone. The show's main target audience are middle-class Americans. Most of these people have the time, money, and stability to deal with life's tougher problems. Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of an association with the young adults of society. These are 18-to-21-year-olds whose main troubles in life involve love, relationship, sex, money and peers. They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned underneath the show's exploitation.
While the two shows are as different as night and day, both have ruled the talk show circuit for many years now. Each one caters to a different audience while both have a strong following from large groups of fans. Ironically, both could also be considered pioneers in the talk show world.
1.Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey are______.
A.more family-oriented C.relatively formal
B.more profound D.unusually popular
2.Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear distasteful, the audience______.
A.remain indifferent to them C.remain fascinated by them
B.are willing to get involved in them D.are ready to face up to them
3.Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show?
A.Street violence. C.A new type of robot.
B.Racist hatred. D.Family budget planning.
4.Despite their different approaches, the two talk shows are both______.
A.cynical B.instructive C.sensitive D.ironical
5.We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows______.
A.are targeted at different audiences B.appear at different times of the day
C.have monopolized the talk show circuit D.exploit the weaknesses in human nature
5
Traffic statistics paint a gloomy picture. To help solve their traffic woes, some rapidly growing U.S. cities have simply built more roads. But traffic experts say building more roads is a quick-fix solution that will not alleviate the traffic problem in the long run. Soaring land costs, increasing concern over social and environmental disruptions caused by road-building, and the likelihood that more roads can only lead to more cars and traffic are powerful factors bearing down on a 1950s-style construction program.
The goal of smart-highway technology is to make traffic systems work at optimum efficiency by treating the road and the vehicles traveling on them as an integral transportation system. Proponents of the advanced technology say electronic detection systems, closed-circuit television, radio communication, ramp metering, variable message signing, and other smart-highway technology can now be used at a reasonable cost to improve communication between drivers and the people who monitor traffic.
Pathfinder, a Santa Monica, California-based smart-highway project in which a 14-mile stretch of the Santa Monica Freeway, making up what is called a "smart corridor", is being instrumented with buried loops in the pavement. Closed-circuit television cameras survey the flow of traffic, while communication linked to property equipped automobiles advise motorists of the least congested routes or detours.
Not all traffic experts, however, look smart-highway technology as the ultimate solution to traffic gridlock. Some say the high-tech approach is limited and can only offer temporary solutions to a serious problem.
"Electronics on the highway addresses just one aspect of the problem: how to regulate traffic more efficiently," explains Michael Renner, senior researcher at the world-watch Institute. "It doesn't deal with the central problem of too many cars for roads that can't be built fast enough. It sends people the wrong message. They start thinking "Yes, there used to be a traffic congestion problem, but that's been solved now because we have, advanced high-tech system in place." Larson agrees and adds, "Smart highways is just one of the tools that we use to deal with our traffic problems. It's not the solution itself, just pan of the package. There are different strategies."
Other traffic problem-solving options being studied and experimented with include car pooling, rapid mass-transit systems, staggered or flexible work hours, and road pricing, a system whereby motorists pay a certain amount for the time they use a highway.
It seems that we need a new, major thrust to deal with the traffic problems of the next 20 years. There has to be a big change.
1.Which of the following is the appropriate title for the passage?
A.Smart Highway Projects — The Ultimate Solution to Traffic Congestion
B.A Quick Fix Solution for the Traffic Problems
C.A Venture to Remedy Traffic Woos
D.Highways Get Smart — Part of the Package to Relieve Traffic Gridlock
2.The compound word "quick-fix" in Sentence 3, Para. 1, is closest in meaning to ______.
A.an optional solution B.an expedient solution
C.a ready solution D.an efficient solution
3.According to the passage, the smart-highway technology is aimed to______.
A.develop sophisticated facilities on the interstate highways
B.provide passenger vehicle with a variety of services
C.optimize the highway capabilities
D.improve communication between driver and the traffic monitors
4.According to Larsen, to redress the traffic problem,______.
A.car pooling must be studied
B.rapid mass transit system must be introduced
C.flexible work hours must be experimented
D.overall strategies must be coordinated
5.Which of the following best describes the organization of the whole passage?
A.Two contrasting views of a problem are presented.
B.A problem is examined and complementary solutions are proposed or offered.
C.Latest developments are outlined in order of importance.
D.An innovation is explained with its importance emphasized.
Unit Five
1
In old days, when a glimpse of stocking was looked upon as something far too shocking to distract the serious work of an office, secretaries were men.
Then came the first World War and the male secretaries were replaced by women. A man's secretary became his personal servant, charged with remembering his wife's birthday and buying her presents; taking his suits to the dry-cleaners; telling lies on the telephone to keep people he did not wish to speak to at bay and, of course, typing and filing and taking shorthand.
Now all this may be changing again. The microchip and high technology is sweeping the British office, taking with it much of the routine clerical work that secretaries did.
"Once office technology takes over generally, the status of the job will rise again because it will involve only the high-powered work—and then men will want to do it again."
That was said by one of the executives (male) of one of the biggest secretarial agencies in this country. What he has predicted is already under way in the U.S. One girl described to me a recent temporary job placing men in secretarial jobs in San Francisco. She noted that all the men she dealt with appeared to be gay so possibly that is just a new twist to the old story.
Over here, though, there are men coming onto the job market as secretaries. Classically, girls have learned shorthand and typing and gone into a company to seek their fortune from the bottom—and that's what happened to John Bowman. Although he joined a national grocery chain as secretary to its first woman senior manager, he has since been promoted to an administration job.
"I filled in the application form and said I could do audio/typing, and in fact I was the only applicant. The girls were reluctant to work for this young, glamorous new woman with all this power in the firm."
"I did typing at school, and then a commercial course. I just thought it would be useful finding a job. I never got any funny treatment from the girls, though I admit I've never met another male secretary. But then I joined the Post Office as a clerk and carelessly played with the typewriter, and wrote letters, and thought that after all secretaries were getting a good ￡1,000 a year more than clerks like me. There was a shortage at that time, you see."
"It was simpler working for a woman than for a man. I found she made decisions, she told everybody what she thought, and there was none of that male bitchiness, or that stuff 'ring this number for me dear, ' which men go in for."
"Don't forget, we were a team—that's how I feel about it—not boss and servant but two people doing different things for the same purpose."
Once high technology has made the job of secretary less routine, will there be male takeover? Men should beware of thinking that they can walk right into the better jobs. There are a lot of women secretaries who will do the job as well as men because they are as efficient and well trained to cope with word processors and computers, and men.
1.Before the first World War, female secretaries were rare because they______.
A.wore stockings B.were not as serious as men
C.were less efficient than men D.would have disturbed the other office workers
2.A secretary in the future will______.
A.be better paid B.have less work to do
C.have higher status D.have more work to do
3.John Bowman was given his first job as a secretary because______.
A.he was lucky B.no one else applied
C.he had the best qualifications D.he wanted to work for a woman
4.When he was a post office clerk, secretaries were better paid because______.
A.they were in shortage B.they were better trained
C.they worked longer hours D.they had greater responsibility
5.The writer believes that before long______.
A.men and women will compete for secretarial work
B.men will take over women's jobs as secretaries
C.women will operate most office machines
D.men will be better with machines
2
Sally Kemmerer has, so far, escaped Northern California's rolling blackouts.
But up on the roof for her Oakland home, workers are tapping into, perhaps, the most reliable power source, the sun. It could mean no more worries about blackouts or power rates.
Sally Kemmerer, a homeowner, says, "I hope that we'll be able to zero out, you know, our electric bill. I mean that's definitely our goal."
Turning the sun's rays into electricity is, of course, nothing new.
But California's power crisis has cast a new light on the technology.
Gary Gerber, a solar power contractor, says, "I might have been getting three phone calls a week a couple of months ago. I'm getting six a day now, it's completely crazy."
Alternative energy is even more attractive, thanks to a state rebate program. So far this month, California's energy commission has received 200 project applications. That is more than the number of applications all last year.
Putting in a solar roof is still a relatively expensive proposition. This project cost around 45,000 dollars. Even taking into account the state subsidy of 12,000 dollars, that leaves a net cost to the homeowner of around 33,000 dollars.
Sally says, "We were happy to find out that, eventually, the system should pay for itself, you know 20-years, maybe."
Aaron Wellendorf has had a p-v (or photovoltaic generator) for more than a year. Like most solar systems, his is not off the grid completely and the utility still kicks in at night, or when there's no sun. But when there is bright light, things change.
Wellendorf says, "I'm turning my meter backward with extra power that I'm generating." Backward?
That's right! Wellendorf's meter tracks how much power goes back into the utility grid. Last year all the paid for electricity was a service charge. That charge was around five dollars a month.
In fact, even after powering his super-efficient household appliances and his converted electric track, Wellendorf generated a net surplus of more than 2,000-kilowatt hours.
Unfortunately, state law doesn't require the utility to pay him for that. Wellendorf says, "I don't get it in money, I just get the satisfaction of helping out the power grid."
And, he gets the satisfaction of being energy self-sufficient.
1.According to the article, the California energy commission has received 200 project applications in one month. If that rate continues, approximately how many applications will they receive his entire year?
A.2,400. B.1,200. C.200. D.3,600.
2.What does "to zero out" mean?
A.To lose a special item or treasure. B.To gain solar power.
C.To pay for more reliable electrical power. D.To owe the electric utility company nothing.
3.In a month of work days (approximately 20), how many calls could the solar contractor expect if this current rate continues unchanged?
A.60. B.30. C.150. D.120.
4.What does "off the grid" mean in the context of this story?
A.Living in a suburban neighborhood.
B.Living in the only house in a wide area.
C.Living without the utility company's electrical power.
D.Living without any electricity from any source.
5.According to the article, when a homeowner puts in a solar roof, her worries about blackouts or power rates might be over. Why might that be true?
A.Solar power may be less expensive and more reliable than power supplied by utility companies.
B.Her roof won't leak with the heavy solar panels on top of the roof.
C.Putting in a solar roof is still an expensive proposition.
D.Super-efficient appliances use less electricity than regular appliances.
3
Why does cream go bad faster than butter? Some researchers think they have the answer, and it comes down to the structure of the food, not its chemical composition—a finding that could help rid some processed foods of chemical preservatives.
Cream and butter contain pretty much the same substances, so why cream should sour much faster has been a mystery. Both are emulsions—tiny globules（小球）of one liquid evenly distributed throughout another. The difference lies in what's in the globules and what's in the surrounding liquid, says Brocklehurst, who led the investigation.
In cream, fatty globules drift about in a sea of water. In butter, globules of a watery solution are locked away in a sea of fat. The bacteria which make the food go bad prefer to live in the watery regions of the mixture. "This means that in cream, the bacteria are free to grow throughout the mixture," he says.
When the situation is reversed, the bacteria are locked away in compartments（密封容器）buried deep in the sea of fat. Trapped in this way, individual colonies cannot spread and rapidly run out of nutrients. They also slowly poison themselves with their waste products. "In butter, you get a self-limiting system which stops the bacteria growing," says Brocklehurst.
The researchers are already working with food companies keen to see if their products can be made resistant to bacterial attack through alterations to the food's structure. Brocklehurst believes it will be possible to make the emulsions used in salad cream, for instance, more like that in butter. The key will be to do this while keeping the salad cream liquid and not turning it into a solid lump.
1.The significance of Brocklehurst's research is that______.
A.it suggested a way to keep some foods fresh without preservatives
B.it discovered tiny globules in both cream and butter
C.it revealed the secret of how bacteria multiply in cream and butter
D.it found that cream and butter share the same chemical composition
2.According to the researchers, cream sours faster than butter because bacteria______.
A.are more evenly distributed in cream
B.multiply more easily in cream than in butter
C.live on less fat in cream than in butter
D.produce less waste in cream than in butter
3.According to Brocklehurst, we can keep cream fresh by______.
A.removing its fat B.killing the bacteria
C.reducing its water content D.altering its structure
4.The word "colonies" (Line 2, Para. 4) refers to______.
A.tiny globules B.watery regions
C.bacteria communities D.little compartments
5.Commercial application of the research finding will be possible if salad cream can be made resistant to bacterial attack______.
A.by varying its chemical composition B.by turning it into a solid lump
C.while keeping its structure unchanged D.while retaining its liquid form
4
For my proposed journey, the first priority was clearly to start learning Arabic. I have never been a linguist. Though I had traveled widely as a journalist, I had never managed to pick up more than a smattering of phrases in any tongue other than French, and even my French, was laborious for want of lengthy practice. The prospect of tackling one of the notoriously difficult languages at the age of forty, and trying to speak it well, both deterred and excited me. It was perhaps expecting a little too much of a curiously unreceptive part of myself, yet the possibility that I might gain access to a completely alien culture and tradition by this means was enormously pleasing.
I enrolled as a pupil in a small school in the center of the city. It was run by a Mr. Beheit, of dapper appearance and explosive temperament, who assured me that after three months of his special treatment I would speak Arabic fluently. Whereupon he drew from his desk a postcard which an old pupil had sent him from somewhere in the Middle East, expressing great gratitude and reporting the astonishment of local Arabs that he could converse with them like a native. It was written in English. Mr. Beheit himself spent most of his time coaching businessmen in French, and through the thin, partitioned walls of his school one could hear him bellowing in exasperation at some confused entrepreneur: "Non, M. Jones. Jane suis pas francais. Pas, Pas, Pas!" (No Mr. Jones, I'm NOT French, I'm not, not, NOT!) I was gratified that my own tutor, whose name was Ahmed, was infinitely softer and less public in approach.
For a couple of hours every morning we would face each other across a small table, while we discussed in meticulous detail the colour scheme of the tiny cubicle, the events in the street below and, once a week, the hair-raising progress of a window-cleaner across the wall of the building opposite. In between, bearing in mind the particular interest I had in acquiring Arabic, I would inquire the way to some imaginary oasis, anxiously demand fodder and water for my camels, wonder politely whether the sheikh was prepared to grant me audience now. It was all hard going. I frequently despaired of ever becoming anything like a fluent speaker, though Ahmed assured me that my pronunciation was above average for a westerner. This, I suspected, was partly flattery, for there are a couple of Arabic sounds which not even a gift for mimicry allowed me to grasp for ages. There were, moreover, vast distinctions of meaning conveyed by subtle sound shifts rarely employed in English. And for me the problem was increased by the need to assimilate a vocabulary, that would vary from place to place across five essentially Arabic-speaking countries that practiced vernaculars of their own: so that the word for "people", for instance, might be nais, sah'ab or sooken.
Each day I was mentally exhausted by the strain of a morning in school, followed by an afternoon struggling at home with a tape recorder. Yet there was relief in the most elementary forms of understanding and progress. When merely got the drift of a torrent which Ahmed had just released, I was childishly elated. When I managed to roll a complete sentence off my tongue without apparently thinking what I was saying, and it came out right, I beamed like an idiot. And the enjoyment of reading and writing the flowing Arabic script was something that did not leave me once I had mastered it. By the end of June, no-one could have described me as anything like a fluent speaker of Arabic. I was approximately in the position of a fifteen-year old who, equipped with a modicum of schoolroom French, nervously awaits his first trip to Pads. But this was something I could reprove upon in my own time. I bade farewell to Mr. Beheit, still struggling to drive the French negative into the still confused mind of Mr. Jones.
1.Which of the following is NOT characteristic of Mr. Beheit?
A.He had a neat and clean appearance.
B.He was volatile and highly emotional.
C.He was very modest about his success in teaching.
D.He sometimes lost his temper and shouted loudly when teaching.
2.It is known from the passage that the writer______.
A.had a good command of French
B.couldn't make sounds properly when learning Arabic
C.spoke highly of Mr. Beheit's achievements in language teaching
D.didn't like Ahmed's style of teaching
3.It can be inferred from the passage that Ahmed was______.
A.a fast speaker B.a boring speaker
C.a laconic speaker D.an interesting speaker
4.The word "modicum" in the last paragraph can be replaced by______.
A.competence B.excellence C.mimicry D.smattering
5.Which of the following statements is FALSE according to the passage?
A.The writer's intended journey created particular difficulties in his learning of Arabic.
B.The reading and writing of the Arabic script gave the writer lasting pleasure.
C.The writer found learning Arabic was a grueling experience but rewarding.
D.The writer regarded Ahmed's praise of his pronunciation as tongue-in-cheek
5
Imagine eating everything delicious you want—with none of the fat. That would be great, wouldn't it?
New "fake fat" products appeared on store shelves in the United States recently, but not everyone is happy about it. Makers of the products, which contain a compound called olestra, say food manufacturers can now eliminate fat from certain foods. Critics, however, say the new compound can rob the body of essential vitamins and nutrients（营养物）and can also cause unpleasant side effects in some people. So it's up to consumers to decide whether the new fat-free products taste good enough to keep eating.
Chemists discovered olestra in the late 1960s, when they were searching for a fat that could be digested by infants more easily. Instead of finding the desired fat, the researchers created a fat that can't be digested at all.
Normally, special chemicals in the intestines（肠）"grab" molecules of regular fat and break them down so they can be used by the body. A molecule of regular fat is made up of three molecules of substances called fatty acids.
The fatty acids are absorbed by the intestines and bring with them the essential vitamins A, D, E, and K. When fat molecules are present in the intestines with any of those vitamins, the vitamins attach to the molecules and are carried into the bloodstream.
Olestra, which is made from six to eight molecules of fatty acids, is too large for the intestines to absorb. It just slides through the intestines without being broken down. Manufacturers say it's that ability to slide unchanged through the intestines that makes olestra so valuable as a fat substitute. It provides consumers with the taste of regular fat without any bad effects on the body. But critics say olestra can prevent vitamins A, D, E, and K from being absorbed. It can also prevent the absorption of carotenoids（类胡萝卜素）, compounds that may reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, etc.
Manufacturers are adding vitamins A, D, E, and K as well as carotenoids to their products now. Even so, some nutritionists are still concerned that people might eat unlimited amounts of food made with the fat substitute without worrying about how many calories they are consuming.
1.We learn from the passage that olestra is a substance that______.
A.contains plenty of nutrients
B.makes foods fat-free while keeping them delicious
C.renders foods calorie-free while retaining their vitamins
D.makes foods easily digestible
2.The result of the search for an easily digestible fat turned out to be______.
A.just as anticipated C.quite unexpected
B.commercially useless D.somewhat controversial
3.Olestra is different from ordinary fats in that______.
A.it facilitates the absorption of vitamins by the body
B.it passes through the intestines without being absorbed
C.it helps reduce the incidence of heart disease
D.it prevents excessive intake of vitamins
4.What is a possible negative effect of olestra according to some critics?
A.It may increase the risk of cancer. B.It may spoil the consumers' appetite.
C.It may impair the digestive system. D.It may affect the overall fat intake.
5.Why are nutritionists concerned about adding vitamins to olestra?
A.People may be induced to eat more than necessary.
B.It may trigger a new wave of fake food production.
C.It may lead to the over-consumption of vitamins.
D.The function of the intestines may be weakened.
Unit Six
1
In the 1920s, demand for American farm products fell, as European countries began to recover from World War I and instituted austerity（紧缩）programs to reduce their imports. The result was a sharp drop in farm prices. This period was more disastrous for farmers than earlier times had been, because farmers were no longer self-sufficient. They were paying for machinery, seed, and fertilizer, and they were also buying consumer goods. The prices of the items farmers bought remained constant, while prices they received for their products fell. These developments were made worse by the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and extended throughout the 1930s.
In 1929, under President Herbert Hoover, the Federal Farm Board was organized. It established the principle of direct interference with supply and demand, and it represented the first national commitment to provide greater economic stability for farmers.
President Hoover's successor attached even more importance to this problem. One of the first measures proposed by President Franklin D.Roosevelt when he took office in 1933 was the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which was subsequently passed by Congress. This law gave the Secretary of Agriculture the power to reduce production through voluntary agreements with farmers who were paid to take their land out of use. A deliberate scarcity of farm products was planned in an effort to raise prices. This law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on the grounds that general taxes were being collected to pay one special group of people. However, new laws were passed immediately that achieved the same result of resting soil and providing flood-control measures, but which were based on the principle of soil conservation. The Roosevelt Administration believed that rebuilding the nation's soil was in the national interest and was not simply a plan to help farmers at the expense of other citizens. Later the government guaranteed loans to farmers so that they could buy farm machinery, hybrid（杂交）grain, and fertilizers.
1.What brought about the decline in the demand for American farm products?
A.The impact of the Great Depression.
B.The shrinking of overseas markets.
C.The destruction caused by the First World War.
D.The increased exports of European countries.
2.The chief concern of the American government in the area of agriculture in the 1920s was______.
A.to increase farm production B.to establish agricultural laws
C.to prevent farmers from going bankrupt D.to promote the mechanization of agriculture
3.The Agricultural Adjustment Act encouraged American farmers to______.
A.reduce their scale of production B.make full use of their land
C.adjust the prices of their farm products D.be self-sufficient in agricultural production
4.The Supreme Court rejected the Agricultural Adjustment Act because it believed that the Act______.
A.might cause greater scarcity of farm products
B.didn't give the Secretary of Agriculture enough power
C.would benefit neither the government nor the farmers
D.benefited one group of citizens at the expense of others
5.It was claimed that the new laws passed during the Roosevelt Administration were aimed at______.
A.reducing the cost of farming
B.conserving soil in the long-term interest of the nation
C.lowering the burden of farmers
D.helping farmers without shifting the burden onto other taxpayers
2
In the 1950s, the pioneers of artificial intelligence (AI) predicted that, by the end of this century, computers would be conversing with us at work and robots would be performing our housework. But as useful as computers are, they're nowhere close to achieving anything remotely resembling these early aspirations for humanlike behavior. Never mind something as complex as conversation: the most powerful computers struggle to reliably recognize the shape of an object, the most elementary of tasks for a ten-month-old kid.
A growing group of AI researchers think they know where the field went wrong. The problem, the scientists say, is that AI has been trying to separate the highest, most abstract levels of thought, like language and mathematics, and to duplicate them with logical, step-by-step programs. A new movement in AI, on the other hand, takes a closer look at the more roundabout way in which nature came up with intelligence. Many of these researchers study evolution and natural adaptation instead of formal logic and conventional computer programs. Rather than digital computers and transistors, some want to work with brain cells and proteins. The results of these early efforts are as promising as they are peculiar, and the new nature-based AI movement is slowly but surely moving to the forefront of the field.
Imitating the brain's neural（神经的）network is a huge step in the fight direction, says computer scientist and biophysicist Michael Conrad, but it still misses an important aspect of natural intelligence."People tend to treat the brain as if it were made up of color-coded transistors," he explains. "But it's not simply a clever network of switches. There are lots of important things going on inside the brain cells themselves." Specifically, Conrad believes that many of the brain's capabilities stem from the pattern-recognition proficiency of the individual molecules that make up each brain cell. The best way to build an artificially intelligent device, he claims, would be to build it around the same sort of molecular skills.
Right now, the notion that conventional computers and software are fundamentally incapable of matching the processes that take place in the brain remains controversial. But if it proves true, then the efforts of Conrad and his fellow AI rebels could turn out to be the only game in town.
1.The author says that the powerful computers of today______.
A.are capable of reliably recognizing the shape of an object
B.are close to exhibiting humanlike behavior
C.are not very different in their performance from those of the 1950's
D.still cannot communicate with people in a human language
2.The new trend in artificial intelligence research stems from______.
A.the shift of the focus of study on to the recognition of the shapes of objects
B.the belief that human intelligence cannot be duplicated with logical, step-by-step programs
C.the aspirations of scientists to duplicate the intelligence of a ten-month-old child
D.the efforts made by scientists in the study of the similarities between transistors and brain cells
3.Conrad and his group of AI researchers have been making enormous efforts to______.
A.find a roundabout way to design powerful computers
B.build a computer using a clever network of switches
C.find out how intelligence developed in nature
D.separate the highest and most abstract levels of thought
4.What's the author's opinion about the new AI movement?
A.It has created a sensation among artificial intelligence researchers but will soon die out.
B.It's a breakthrough in duplicating human thought processes.
C.It's more like a peculiar game rather than a real scientific effort.
D.It may prove to be in the right direction though nobody is sure of its future prospects.
5.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the phrase "the only game in town" (Line 3, Para. 4)?
A.The only approach to building an artificially intelligent computer.
B.The only way for them to win a prize in artificial intelligence research.
C.The only area worth studying in computer science.
D.The only game they would like to play in town.
3
Cars account for half the oil consumed in the U.S., about half the urban pollution and one fourth the greenhouse（温室）gases. They take a similar toll of（损耗）resources in other industrial nations and in the cities of the developing world. As vehicle-use continues to increase in the coming decade, the U.S. and other countries will have to deal with these issues or else face unacceptable economic, health-related and political costs. It is unlikely that prices will remain at their current low level or that other nations will accept a large and growing U.S. contribution to global climatic change.
Policymakers and industry have four options: reduce vehicle use, increase the efficiency and reduce the emissions of conventional gasoline-powered vehicles, switch to less harmful fuels, or find less polluting driving systems. The last of these—in particular the introduction of vehicles powered by electricity—is ultimately the only sustainable option. The other alternatives are attractive in theory but in practice are either impractical or offer only marginal improvements. For example, reduced vehicle use could solve traffic problems and a host of social and environmental problems, but evidence from around the world suggests that it is very difficult to make people give up their cars to any significant extent. In the U.S., mass-transit ridership and carpooling（合伙用车）have declined since World War Ⅱ. Even in western Europe, with fuel prices averaging more than $1 a liter (about $4 a gallon) and with easily accessible mass transit and dense populations, cars still account for 80 percent of all passenger travel.
Improved energy efficiency is also appealing, but automotive fuel economy has barely made any progress in 10 years. Alternative fuels such as natural gas, burned in internal-combustion engines, could be introduced at relatively low cost, but they would lead to only marginal reductions in pollution and greenhouse emissions (especially because oil companies are already spending billions of dollars every year to develop less polluting types of gasoline).
1.From the passage we know that the increased use of cars will______.
A.consume half of the oil produced in the world
B.have serious consequences for the well-being of all nations
C.widen the gap between the developed and developing countries
D.impose an intolerable economic burden on residents of large cities
2.The U.S. has to deal with the problems arising from vehicle use because______.
A.most Americans are reluctant to switch to public transportation systems
B.the present level of oil prices is considered unacceptable
C.other countries will protest its increasing greenhouse emissions
D.it should take a lead in conserving natural resources
3.Which of the following is the best solution to the problems mentioned in the passage?
A.The designing of highly efficient car engines. B.A reduction of vehicle use in cities.
C.The development of electric cars. D.The use of less polluting fuels.
4.Which of the following is practical but only makes a marginal contribution to solving the problem of greenhouse emissions?
A.The use of fuels other than gasoline.
B.Improved energy, efficiency.
C.The introduction of less polluting driving systems.
D.Reducing car use by carpooling.
5.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A.The decline of public transportation accounts for increased car use in western Europe.
B.Cars are popular in western Europe even though fuel prices are fairly high.
C.The reduction of vehicle use is the only sustainable option in densely populated western Europe.
D.Western European oil companies cannot sustain the cost of developing new-type fuels.
4
The year 1400 opened with more peacefulness than usual in England. Only a few months before, Richard II, weak, wicked, and treacherous—had been deposed, and Henry IV declared king in his stead. But it was only a seeming peacefulness, lasting for but a little while; for though King Henry proved himself a just and a merciful man—as justice and mercy went with the men of iron of those days—and though he did not care to shed blood needlessly, there were many noble families who had been benefited by King Richard during his reign, and who had lost some what of their power and prestige from the coming in of the new king.
Among these were a number of great lords who had been degraded from their former titles and estates, from which degradation King Richard had lifted them. They planned to fall upon King Henry and his followers and to massacre them during a great tournament which was being held at Oxford. And they might have succeeded had not one of their own members betrayed them.
But Henry did not appear at the lists, whereupon, knowing that he had been lodging at Windsor with only a few attendants, the conspirators marched there against him. In the meantime, the king had been warned of the plot, so that instead of finding him in the royal castle, they discovered through their scouts that he had hurried to London, and that he was marching against them at the head of a considerable army. So nothing was left but fight. One and another, they were all caught and some killed. Those few who found friends faithful and bold enough to afford them shelter dragged those friends down in their own ruin.
1.What does the author seem to think of King Henry?
A.He was the best king England had ever had. B.He was unfair and cowardly.
C.He was just as evil as King Richard. D.He was a better ruler than King Richard.
2.How did King Henry find out about the plot?
A.His scouts discovered it. B.He saw the conspirators coming.
C.One of the conspirators told him. D.He found a copy of the conspirators' plan.
3.How did the conspirators find out that Henry was in London?
A.They saw him leave Windsor. B.Henry's attendants told them.
C.They saw him at the tournament. D.Their scouts told them.
4.Why did the nobles wish to kill Henry?
A.Henry had taken away power given to them by Richard.
B.Henry was weak, wicked, and treacherous.
C.Henry had needlessly killed members of their families.
D.Henry had killed King Richard.
5.It can be inferred that Richard II's reign was______.
A.peaceful B.corrupt C.democratic D.illegal
5
A nine-year-old schoolgirl single-handedly cooks up a science-fair experiment that ends up debunking（揭穿……的真相）a widely practiced medical treatment. Emily Rosa's target was a practice known as therapeutic（治疗的）touch (TT for short), whose advocates manipulate patients' "energy field" to make them feel better and even, say some, to cure them of various illness. Yet Emily's test shows that these energy fields can't be detected, even by trained TT practitioners（行医者）. Obviously mindful of the publicity value of the situation, Journal editor George Lundberg appeared on TV to declare, "Age doesn't matter. It's good science that matters, and this is good science."
Emily's mother Linda Rosa, a registered nurse, has been campaigning against TT for nearly a decade. Linda first thought about TT in the late '80s, when she learned it was on the approved list for continuing nursing education in Colorado. Its 100,000 trained practitioners (48,000 in the U.S.) don't even touch their patients. Instead, they waved their hands a few inches from the patient's body, pushing energy fields around until they're in "balance". TT advocates say these manipulations can help heal wounds, relieve pain and reduce fever, The claims are taken seriously enough that TT therapists are frequently hired by leading hospitals, at up to $70 an hour, to smooth patients' energy, sometimes during surgery.
Yet Rosa could not find any evidence that it works. To provide such proof, TT therapists would have to sit down for independent testing—something they haven't been eager to do, even though James Randi has offered more than $1 million to anyone who can demonstrate the existence of a human energy field.(He's had one taker so far. She failed.) A skeptic might conclude that TT practitioners are afraid to lay their beliefs on the line. But who could turn down an innocent fourth-grader? Says Emily, "I think they didn't take me very seriously because I'm a kid."
The experiment was straightforward: 21 TT therapists stuck their hands, palms up, through a screen. Emily held her own hand over one of theirs—left or right—and the practitioners had to say which hand it was. When the results were recorded, they'd done no better than they would have by simply guessing. If there was an energy field, they couldn't feel it.
1.Which of the following is evidence that TT is widely practiced?
A.TT has been in existence for decades.
B.Many patients were cured by therapeutic touch.
C.TT therapists are often employed by leading hospitals.
D.More than 100,000 people are undergoing TT treatment.
2.Very few TT practitioners responded to the $1 million offer because______.
A.they didn't take the offer seriously B.they didn't want to risk their career
C.they were unwilling to reveal their secret D.they thought it was not in line with their practice
3.The purpose of Emily Rosa's experiment was______.
A.to see why TT could work the way it did
B.to find out how TT cured patients' illnesses
C.to test whether she could sense the human energy field
D.to test whether a human energy field really existed
4.Why did some TT practitioners agree to be the subjects of Emily's experiment?
A.It involved nothing more than mere guessing.
B.They thought it was going to be a lot of fun.
C.It was more straightforward than other experiments.
D.They sensed no harm in a little girl's experiment.
5.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Some widely accepted beliefs can be deceiving.
B.Solid evidence weighs more than pure theories.
C.Little children can be as clever as trained TT practitioners.
D.The principle of TT is too profound to understand.
Unit Seven
1
What might driving on an automated highway be like? The answer depends on what kind of system is ultimately adopted. Two distinct types are on the drawing board. The first is a special purpose lane system, in which certain lanes are reserved for automated vehicles. The second is a mixed traffic system: fully automated vehicles would share the road with partially automated or manually driven cars. A special-purpose lane system would require more extensive physical modifications to existing highways, but it promises the greatest gains in freeway（高速公路）capacity.
Under either scheme, the driver would specify the desired destination, furnishing this information to a computer in the car at the beginning of the trip or perhaps just before reaching the automated highway. If a mixed traffic system was in place, automated driving could begin whenever the driver was on suitably equipped roads. If special-purpose lanes were available, the car could enter them and join existing traffic in two different ways. One method would use a special on-ramp（入口引道）. As the driver approached the point of entry for the highway, devices installed on the roadside would electronically check the vehicle to determine its destination and to ascertain that it had the proper automation equipment in good working order. Assuming it passed such tests, the driver would then be guided through a gate and toward an automated lane. In this case, the transition from manual to automated control would take place on the entrance ramp. An alternative technique could employ conventional lanes, which would be shared by automated and regular vehicles. The driver would steer onto the highway and move in normal fashion to a"transition" lane. The vehicle would then shift under computer control onto a lane reserved for automated traffic. (The limitation of these lanes to automated traffic would, presumably, be well respected, because all trespassers（非法进入者）could be swiftly identified by authorities.)
Either approach to joining a lane of automated traffic would harmonize the movement of newly entering vehicles with those already traveling. Automatic control here should allow for smooth merging, without the usual uncertainties and potential for accidents. And once a vehicle had settled into automated travel, the driver would be free to release the wheel, open the morning paper or just relax.
1.We learn from the first paragraph that two systems of automated highways______.
A.are being planned C.are now in wide use
B.are being modified D.are under construction
2.A special-purpose lane system is probably advantageous in that______.
A.it would require only minor changes to existing highways
B.it would achieve the greatest highway traffic efficiency
C.it has a lane for both automated and partially automated vehicles
D.it offers more lanes for automated vehicles
3.Which of the following is true about driving on an automated highway?
A.Vehicles traveling on it are assigned different lanes according to their destinations.
B.A car can join existing traffic any time in a mixed lane system.
C.The driver should inform his car computer of his destination before driving onto it.
D.The driver should share the automated lane with those of regular vehicles.
4.We know from the passage that a car can enter a special-purpose lane______.
A.by smoothly merging with cars on the conventional lane
B.by way of a ramp with electronic control devices
C.through a specially guarded gate
D.after all trespassers are identified and removed
5.When driving in an automated lane, the driver______.
A.should harmonize with newly entering cars B.doesn't have to rely on his computer system
C.should watch out for potential accidents D.doesn't have to hold on to the steering wheel
2
We can see how the product life cycle works by looking at the introduction of instant coffee. When it was introduced, most people did not like it as well as "regular" coffee and it took several years to gain general acceptance (introduction stage). At one point, though, instant coffee grew rapidly in popularity and many brands were introduced (stage of rapid growth). After a while people became attached to one brand and sales leveled off (stage of maturity). Sales went into a slight decline（衰退）when freeze-dried coffees were introduced (stage of decline).
The importance of the product life cycle to marketers is this: different stages in the product life cycle call for different strategies. The goal is to extend product life so that sales and profits do not decline. One strategy is called market modification. It means that marketing managers look for new users and market sections. Did you know, for example, that the backpacks that so many students carry today were originally designed for the military?
Market modification also means searching for increased usage among present customers or going for a different market, such as senior citizens. A marketer may reposition the product to appeal to new market sections.
Another product extension strategy is called product modification. It involves changing product quality, features, or style to attract new users or more usage from present users. American auto manufacturers are using quality improvement as one way to recapture world markets. Note, also, how auto manufacturers once changed styles dramatically from year to year to keep demand from falling.
1.According to the passage, when people grow fond of one particular brand of a product, its sales will _______.
A.decrease gradually B.become unstable
C.improve enormously D.remain at the same level
2.The first paragraph tells us that a new product is _______.
A.usually introduced to satisfy different tastes B.often more expensive than old ones
C.often inferior to old ones at first D.not easily accepted by the public
3.Marketers need to know which of the four stages a product is in so as to _______.
A.work out marketing policies B.increase its popularity
C.promote its production D.speed up its life cycle
4.The author mentions the example of "backpacks" (Line 4, Para. 2) to show the importance of______.
A.increasing usage among students B.exploring new market sections
C.pleasing the young as well as the old D.serving both military and civil needs
5.In order to recover their share of the world market, U.S. auto makers are _______.
A.improving product quality B.modernizing product style
C.repositioning their product in the market D.increasing product features
3
Most episodes of absent-mindedness—forgetting where you left something or wondering why you just entered a room—are caused by a simple lack of attention, says Schacter. "You're supposed to remember something, but you haven't encoded it deeply."
Encoding, Schacter explains, is a special way of paying attention to an event that has a major impact on recalling it later. Failure to encode properly can create annoying situations. If you put your mobile phone in a pocket, for example, and don't pay attention to what you did because you're involved in a conversation, you'll probably forget that the phone is in the jacket now hanging in your wardrobe（衣柜）."Your memory itself isn't failing you," says Schacter. "Rather, you didn't give your memory system the information it needed."
Lack of interest can also lead to absent-mindedness. "A man who can recite sports statistics from 30 years ago," says Zelinski, "may not remember to drop a letter in the mailbox." Women have slightly better memories than men, possibly because they pay more attention to their environment, and memory relies on just that.
Visual cues can help prevent absent-mindedness, says Schacter. "But be sure the cue is clear and available," he cautions. If you want to remember to take a medication（药物）with lunch, put the pill bottle on the kitchen table—don't leave it in the medicine chest and write yourself a note that you keep in a pocket.
Another common episode of absent-mindedness: walking into a room and wondering why you're there. Most likely, you were thinking about something else. "Everyone does this from time to time," says Zelinski. The best thing to do is to return to where you were before entering the room, and you'll likely remember.
1.Why does the author think that encoding properly is very important？
A.It helps us understand our memory system better.
B.It enables us to recall something from our memory.
C.It expands our memory capacity considerably.
D.It slows down the process of losing our memory.
2.One possible reason why women have better memories than men is that______.
A.they have a wider range of interests
B.they are more reliant on the environment
C.they have an unusual power of focusing their attention
D.they are more interested in what's happening around them
3.A note in the pocket can hardly serve as a reminder because______.
A.it will easily get lost B.it's not clear enough for you to read
C.it's out of your sight D.it might get mixed up with other things
4.What do we learn from the last paragraph?
A.If we focus our attention on one thing we might forget another.
B.Memory depends to a certain extent on the environment.
C.Repetition helps improve our memory.
D.If we keep forgetting things we'd better return to where we were.
5.What is the passage mainly about?
A.The process of gradual memory loss. B.The causes of absent-mindedness.
C.The impact of the environment on memory. D.A way of encoding and recalling.
4
In department stores and closets all over the world, they are walking. Their outward appearance seems rather appealing because they come in a variety of styles, textures, and colors. But they are ultimately the biggest deception that exists in the fashion industry today. What are they? They are high heels—a woman's worst enemy (whether she knows it or not). High heel shoes are the downfall of modern society. Fashion myths have led women to believe that they are more beautiful or sophisticated for wearing heels, but in reality, heels succeed in posing short as well as long term hardships. Women should fight the high heel industry by refusing to use or purchase them in order to save the world from unnecessary physical and psychological suffering.
For the sake of fairness, it must be noted that there is a positive side to high heels. First, heels are excellent for aerating（使通气）lawns. Anyone who has ever worn heels on grass knows what I am talking about. A simple trip around the yard in a pair of those babies eliminates all need to call for a lawn care specialist, and provides the perfect-sized holes to give any lawn oxygen without all those messy chunks of dirt lying around. Second, heels are quite functional for defense against oncoming enemies, who can easily be scared away by threatening them with a pair of these sharp, deadly fashion accessories.
Regardless of such practical uses for heels, the fact remains that wearing high heels is harmful to one's physical health. Talk to any podiatrist（足病医生）, and you will hear that the majority of their business comes from high-heel-wearing women. High heels are known to cause problems such as deformed feet and torn toe-nails. The risk of severe back problems and twisted or broken ankles is three times higher for a high heel wearer than for a flat shoe wearer. Wearing heels also creates the threat of getting a heel caught in a sidewalk crack or a sewer-grate（阴沟栅）and being thrown to the ground—possibly breaking a nose, back, or neck. And of course, after wearing heels for a day, any woman knows she can look forward to a night of pain as she tries to comfort her swollen, aching feet.
1.What makes women blind to the deceptive nature of high heels?
A.The multi-functional use of high heels. B.Their attempt to show off their status.
C.The rich variety of high heel styles. D.Their wish to improve their appearance.
2.The author's presentation of the positive side of high heels is meant______.
A.to be ironic B.to poke fun at women
C.to be fair to the fashion industry D.to make his point convincing
3.The author uses the expression "those babies" (Line 3, Para. 2) to refer to high heels______.
A.to show their fragile characteristics B.to indicate their feminine features
C.to show women's affection for them D.to emphasize their small size
4.The author's chief argument against high heels is that______.
A.they pose a threat to lawns B.they are injurious to women's health
C.they don't necessarily make women beautiful D.they are ineffective as a weapon of defense
5.It can be inferred from the passage that women should______.
A.see through the very nature of fashion myths B.boycott the products of the fashion industry
C.go to a podiatrist regularly for advice D.avoid following fashion toe closely
5
For centuries, explorers have risked their lives venturing into the unknown for reasons that were to varying degrees economic and nationalistic. Columbus went west to look for better trade routes to the Orient and to promote the greater glory of Spain. Lewis and Clark journeyed into the American wilderness to find out what the U.S. had acquired when it purchased Louisiana, and the Apollo astronauts rocketed to the moon in a dramatic show off technological muscle during the cold war.
Although their missions blended commercial and political-military imperatives, the explorers involved all accomplished some significant science simply by going where no scientists had gone before.
Today Mars looms（隐约出现）as humanity's next great terra incognita（未探明之地）. And with doubtful prospects for a short-term financial return, with the cold war a rapidly fading memory and amid a growing emphasis on international cooperation in large space ventures, it is clear that imperatives other than profits or nationalism will have to compel human beings to leave their tracks on the planet's reddish surface. Could it be that science, which has long played a minor role in exploration, is at last destined to take a leading role? The question naturally invites a couple of others: are there experiments that only humans could do on Mars? Could those experiments provide insights profound enough to justify the expense of sending people across interplanetary space?
With Mars the scientific stakes are arguably higher than they have ever been. The issue of whether life ever existed on the planet, and whether it persists to this day, has been highlighted by mounting evidence that the Red Planet once had abundant stable, liquid water and by the continuing controversy over suggestions that bacterial fossils rode to Earth on a meteorite（陨石）from Mars. A more conclusive answer about life on Mars, past or present, would give researchers invaluable data about the range of conditions under which a planet can generate the complex chemistry that leads to life. If it could be established that life arose independently on Mars and Earth, the finding would provide the first concrete clues in one of the deepest mysteries in all of science: the prevalence of life in the universe.
1.According to the passage, the chief purpose of explorers in going to unknown places in the past was______.
A.to display their country's military might B.to accomplish some significant science
C.to find new areas for colonization D.to pursue commercial and state interests
2.At present, a probable inducement for countries to initiate large-scale space ventures is______.
A.international cooperation B.nationalistic reasons
C.scientific research D.long-term profits
3.What is the main goal of sending human missions to Mars?
A.To find out if life ever existed there.
B.To see if humans could survive there.
C.To prove the feasibility of large-scale space ventures.
D.To show the leading role of science in space exploration.
4.By saying "With Mars the scientific stakes are arguably higher than they have ever been" (Line 1, Para. 4), the author means that______.
A.with Mars the risks involved are much greater than any previous space ventures
B.in the case of Mars, the rewards of scientific exploration can be very high
C.in the case of Mars, much more research funds are needed than ever before
D.with Mars, scientists argue, the fundamental interests of science are at issue
5.The passage tells us that proof of life on Mars would______.
A.make clear the complex chemistry in the development of life
B.confirm the suggestion that bacterial fossils traveled to Earth on a meteor
C.reveal the kind of conditions under which life originates
D.provide an explanation why life is common in the universe
Unit Eight
1
Not too many decades ago it seemed "obvious" both to the general public and to sociologists that modern society has changed people's natural relations, loosened their responsibilities to kin（亲戚）and neighbors, and substituted in their place superficial relationships with passing acquaintances. However, in recent years a growing body of research has revealed that the "obviousness" is not true. It seems that if you are a city resident, you typically know a smaller proportion of your neighbors than you do if you are a resident of a smaller community. But, for the most part, this fact has few significant consequences. It does not necessarily follow that if you know few of your neighbors you will know no one else.
Even in very large cities, people maintain close social ties within small, private social worlds. Indeed, the number and quality of meaningful relationships do not differ between more and less urban people. Small-town residents are more involved with kin than are big-city residents. Yet city dwellers compensate by developing friendships with people who share similar interests and activities. Urbanism may produce a different style of life, but the quality of life does not differ between town and city. Nor are residents of large communities any likelier to display psychological symptoms of stress or alienation, a feeling of not belonging, than are residents of smaller communities. However, city dwellers do worry more about crime, and this leads them to a distrust of strangers.
These findings do not imply that urbanism makes little or no difference. If neighbors are strangers to one another, they are less likely to sweep the sidewalk of an elderly couple living next door or keep an eye out for young troublemakers. Moreover, as Wirth suggested, there may be a link between a community's population size and its social heterogeneity（多样性）. For instance, sociologists have found much evidence that the size of a community is associated with bad behavior including gambling, drugs, etc. Large-city urbanites are also more likely than their small-town counterparts to have a cosmopolitan（见多识广者的）outlook, to display less responsibility to traditional kinship roles, to vote for leftist political candidates, and to be tolerant of nontraditional religious groups, unpopular political groups, and so-called undesirables. Everything considered, heterogeneity and unusual behavior seem to be outcomes of large population size.
1.Which of the following statements best describes the organization of the first paragraph?
A.Two contrasting views are presented.
B.An argument is examined and possible solutions given.
C.Research results concerning the quality of urban life are presented in order of time.
D.A detailed description of the difference between urban and small-town life is given.
2.According to the passage, it was once a common belief that urban residents______.
A.did not have the same interests as their neighbors
B.could not develop long-standing relationships
C.tended to be associated with bad behavior
D.usually had more friends
3.One of the consequences of urban life is that impersonal relationships among neighbors______.
A.disrupt people's natural relations
B.make them worry about crime
C.cause them not to show concern for one another
D.cause them to be suspicious of each other
4.It can be inferred from the passage that the bigger a community is,______.
A.the better its quality of life
B.the more similar its interests
C.the more tolerant and open-minded it is
D.the likelier it is to display psychological symptoms of stress
5.What is the passage mainly about?
A.Similarities in the interpersonal relationships between urbanites and small-town dwellers.
B.Advantages of living in big cities as compared with living in small towns.
C.The positive role that urbanism plays in modern life.
D.The strong feeling of alienation of city inhabitants.
2
No woman can be too rich or too thin. This saying often attributed to the late Duchess（公爵夫人）of Windsor embodies much of the odd spirit of our times. Being thin is deemed as such a virtue.
The problem with such a view is that some people actually attempt to live by it. I myself have fantasies of slipping into narrow designer clothes. Consequently, I have been on a diet for the better—or worse—part of my life. Being rich wouldn't be bad either, but that won't happen unless an unknown relative dies suddenly in some distant land, leaving me millions of dollars.
Where did we go off the track? When did eating butter become a sin, and a little bit of extra flesh unappealing, if not repellent? All religions have certain days when people refrain from eating, and excessive eating is one of Christianity's seven deadly sins. However, until quite recently, most people had a problem getting enough to eat. In some religious groups, wealth was a symbol of probable salvation and high morals, and fatness a sign of wealth and well-being.
Today the opposite is true. We have shifted to thinness as our new mark of virtue. The result is that being fat—or even only somewhat overweight—is bad because it implies a lack of moral strength.
Our obsession（迷恋）with thinness is also fueled by health concerns. It is true that in this country we have more overweight people than ever before, and that, in many cases, being overweight correlates with an increased risk of heart and blood vessel disease. These diseases, however, may have as much to do with our way of life and our high-fat diets as with excess weight. And the associated risk of cancer in the digestive system may be more of a dietary problem—too much fat and a lack of fiber—than a weight problem.
The real concern, then, is not that we weigh too much, but that we neither exercise enough nor eat well. Exercise is necessary for strong bones and both heart and lung health. A balanced diet without a lot of fat can also help the body avoid many diseases. We should surely stop paying so much attention to weight. Simply being thin is not enough. It is actually hazardous if those who get (or already are) thin think they are automatically healthy and thus free from paying attention to their overall life-style. Thinness can be pure vainglory（虚荣）.
1.In the eyes of the author, an odd phenomenon nowadays is that______.
A.religious people are not necessarily virtuous
B.looking slim is a symbol of having a large fortune
C.being thin is viewed as a much desired quality
D.the Duchess of Windsor is regarded as a woman of virtue
2.Swept by the prevailing trend, the author______.
A.had to wear highly fashionable clothes
B.had to seek help from rich distant relatives
C.had to go on a diet for the greater part of her life
D.could still prevent herself from going off the track
3.In human history, people's views on body weight_______.
A.changed from time to time B.led to different moral standards
C.varied between the poor and the rich D.were closely related to their religious beliefs
4.The author criticizes women's obsession with thinness_______.
A.from a historical and religious standpoint B.from sociological and medical points of view
C.from an economic and educational perspective D.in the light of moral principles
5.What's the author's advice to women who are absorbed in the idea of thinness?
A.They should gain weight to look healthy.
B.They should be more watchful for fatal diseases.
C.They should be more concerned with their overall life-style.
D.They should rid themselves of fantasies about designer clothes.
3
Even plants can run a fever, especially when they're under attack by insects or disease. But unlike humans, plants can have their temperature taken from 3,000 feet away—straight up. A decade ago, adapting the infrared scanning technology developed for military purposes and other satellites, physicist Stephen Paley came up with a quick way to take the temperature of crops to determine which ones are under stress. The goal was to let farmers precisely target pesticide（杀虫剂）spraying rather than rain poison on a whole field, which invariably includes plants that don't have pest（害虫）problems.
Even better, Paley's Remote Scanning Services Company could detect crop problems before they became visible to the eye. Mounted on a plane flown at 3,000 feet at night, an infrared scanner measured the heat emitted by crops. The data were transformed into a color-coded map showing where plants were running "fevers". Farmers could then spot-spray, using 40 to 70 percent less pesticide than they otherwise would.
The bad news is that Paley's company closed down in 1984, after only three years. Farmers resisted the new technology and long-term backers were hard to find. But with the renewed concern about pesticides on produce, and refinements in infrared scanning, Paley hopes to get back into operation. Agriculture experts have no doubt the technology works. "This technique can be used on 75 percent of agricultural land in the United States," says George Oerther of Texas A&M. Ray Jackson, who recently retired from the Department of Agriculture, thinks remote infrared crop scanning could be adopted by the end of the decade. But only if Paley finds the financial backing which he failed to obtain 10 years ago.
1.Plants will emit an increased amount of heat when they are_______.
A.sprayed with pesticides B.facing an infrared scanner
C.in poor physical condition D.exposed to excessive sun rays
2.In order to apply pesticide spraying precisely, we can use infrared scanning to_______.
A.estimate the damage to the crops B.measure the size of the affected area
C.draw a color-coded map D.locate the problem area
3.Farmers can save a considerable amount of pesticide by_______.
A.resorting to spot-spraying B.consulting infrared scanning experts
C.transforming poisoned rain D.detecting crop problems at an early stage
4.The application of infrared scanning technology to agriculture met with some difficulties:_______.
A.the lack of official support B.its high cost
C.the lack of financial backing D.its failure to help increase production
5.Infrared scanning technology may be brought back into operation because of _______.
A.the desire of farmers to improve the quality of their produce
B.growing concern about the excessive use of pesticides on crops
C.the forceful promotion by the Department of Agriculture
D.full support from agricultural experts
4
Prior to the 20th century, many languages with small numbers of speakers survived for centuries. The increasingly interconnected modern world makes it much more difficult for small language communities to live in relative isolation, a key factor in language maintenance and preservation. It remains to be seen whether the world can maintain its linguistic and cultural diversity in the centuries ahead. Many powerful forces appear to work against it: population growth, which pushes migrant populations into the world's last isolated locations; mass tourism; global telecommunications and mass media; and the spread of gigantic global corporations. All of these forces appear to signify a future in which the language of advertising, popular culture, and consumer products become similar. Already English and a few other major tongues have emerged as global languages of commerce and communication. For many of the world's peoples, learning one of these languages is viewed as the key to education, economic opportunity, and a better way of life. Only about 3,000 languages now in use are expected to survive the coming century. Are most of the rest doomed in the century after that?
Whether most of these languages survive will probably depend on how strongly cultural groups wish to keep their identity alive through a native language. To do so will require an emphasis on bilingualism(mastery of two languages). Bilingual speakers could use their own language in smaller spheres—at home, among friends, in community settings—and a global language at work, in dealings with government, and in commercial spheres. In this way, many small languages could sustain their cultural and linguistic integrity alongside global languages, rather than yield to the homogenizing forces of globalization. Ironically, the trend of technological innovation that threatened minority languages could also help save them. For example, some experts predict that computer software translation tools will one day permit minority language speakers to browse the Internet using their native tongues. Linguists are currently using computer-aided learning tools to teach a variety of threatened languages.
For many endangered languages, the line between revival and death is extremely thin. Language is remarkably resilient（有活力的）, however. It is not just a tool for communicating, hut also a powerful way of separating different groups, or of demonstrating group identity. Many indigenous communities have shown that it is possible to live in the modern world while reclaiming their unique identities through language.
1.Minority languages can be best preserved in_______.
A.an increasingly interconnected world B.maintaining small numbers of speakers
C.relatively isolated language communities D.following the tradition of the 20th century
2.According to Para. 2, that the world can maintain its linguistic diversity in the future is_______.
A.uncertain B.unrealistic C.foreseeable D.definite
3.According to the author, bilingualism can help _______.
A.small languages become acceptable in work places
B.homogenize the world's languages and cultures
C.global languages reach home and community settings
D.speakers maintain their linguistic and cultural identity
4.Computer technology is helpful for preserving minority languages in that it _______.
A.makes learning a global language unnecessary
B.facilitates the learning and using of those languages
C.raises public awareness of saving those languages
D.makes it easier for linguists to study those languages
5.In the author's view, many endangered languages are _______.
A.remarkable well-kept in this modern world
B.exceptionally powerful tools of communication
C.quite possible to be revived instead of dying out
D.a unique way of bringing different groups together
5
Everyone, it seems, has a health problem. After pouring billions into the National Health Service, British people moan about dirty hospitals. Long waits and wasted money. In Germany the new chancellor, Angela Merkel, is under fire for suggesting changing the financing of its health system. Canada's new Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, made a big fuss during the election about reducing the country's lengthy medical queues. Across the rich world, affluence, ageing and advancing technology are driving up health spending faster than income.
But nowhere has a bigger health problem than America. Soaring medical bills are squeezing wages, swelling the ranks of the uninsured and pushing huge firms and perhaps even the government towards bankruptcy. Ford's announcement this week that it would cut up to 30,000 jobs by 2012 was as much a sign of it's "legacy" healthcare costs as of the ills of the car industry. Pushed by polls that show health care is one of his main domestic problems and by forecasts showing that the retiring baby-boomers will crush the government's finances. George Bush is to unveil a reform plan in next week's state-of-the-union address.
America's health system is unlike any other. The Unite States spends 16% of its GDP on health, around twice the rich-country average, equivalent to $6,280 for every American each year. Yet it is the only rich country that does not guarantee universal health coverage. Thanks to an accident of history, most Americans receive health insurance through their employer, with the government picking up the bill for the poor and the elderly.
This curious hybrid certainly has its strengths. Americans have more choice than anybody else, and their health-care system is much more innovative. Europeans bills could be much higher if American medicine were not doing much of their Research and Development (R&D) for them. But there are also huge weaknesses. The one most often cited—especially by foreigners—is the army of uninsured. Some 46 million Americans do not have cover. In many cases that is out of choice and, if they fall seriously ill, hospitals have to treat them. But it is still deeply unequal. And there are also shocking inefficiencies: by some measures, 30% of American health spending is wasted.
Then there is the question of state support. Many Americans disapprove of the "socialized medicine" of Canada and Europe. In fact, even if much of the administration is done privately, around 60% of America's health-care bill ends up being met by the government. Proportionately, the American state already spends as much on health as the OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) average, and that share is set to grow as the baby-boomers run up their Medicare bills and ever more employers avoid providing health-care coverage. America is, in effect, heading towards a version of socialized medicine by default.
1.Health problems mentions in the passage include all the following EXCEPT _______.
A.poor hospital conditions in UK B.Angela Merkel under attack
C.health financing in Germany D.long waiting lines in Canada
2.Ford's announcement of cutting up to 30,000 jobs by 2012 indicates that Ford _______.
A.has the biggest health problem of the car industry
B.has made profits from its health-care legacy
C.has accumulated too heavy a health-care burden
D.owes a great deal of debt to its employees
3.In the author's opinion, America's health system is _______.
A.inefficient B.feasible C.unpopular D.successful
4.It is implied in the passage that _______.
A.America's health system has its strengths and weaknesses
B.the U.S. government pays medical bills for the poor and the elderly
C.some 46 million Americans do not have medical insurance
D.Europeans benefit a lot from America's medical research
5.from the last paragraph we may learn that the "socialized medicine" is _______.
A.a practice of Canada and Europe B.a policy adopted by the U.S. government
C.intended for the retiring baby-boomers D.administered by private enterprises
Unit Nine
1
While still catching-up to men in some spheres of modern life, women appear to be way ahead in at least one undesirable category. Women are particularly susceptible to developing depression and anxiety disorders in response to stress compared to men, according to Dr. Yehuda, chief psychiatrist at New York's Veteran's Administration Hospital.
Studies of both animals and humans have shown that sex hormones somehow affects the stress response, causing females under stress to produce more of the trigger chemicals than do males under the same conditions. In several of the studies, when stressed-out female rats had their ovaries (the female reproductive organs) removed, their chemical responses became equal to those of the males.
Adding to a woman's increased dose of stress chemicals are her increased "opportunities" for stress."It's not necessarily that women don't cope as well. It's just that they have so much more to cope with," says Dr. Yehuda. "Their capacity for tolerating stress may even be greater than men's," she observes, "it's just that they're dealing with so many more things that they become worn out from it more visibly and sooner."
Dr. Yehuda notes another difference between the sexes. "I think that the kinds of things that women are exposed to tend to be in more of a chronic or repeated nature. Men go to war and are exposed to combat stress. Men are exposed to more acts of random physical violence. The kinds of interpersonal violence that women are exposed to tend to be in domestic situations, by, unfortunately, parents or other family numbers, and they tend not to be one-shot deals. The wear-and-tear that comes from these longer relationships can be quite devastating."
Adeline Alvarez married at 18 and gave birth to a son, but was determined to finish college. "I struggled a lot to get the college degree. I was living in so much frustration that that was my escape, to go to school, and get ahead and do better." Later, her marriage ended and she became a single mother. It's the hardest thing to take care of a teenager, have a job, pay the rent, pay the car payment, and pay the debt. I lived from paycheck to paycheck."
Not everyone experiences the kinds of severe chronic stresses Alvarez describes. But most women today are coping with a lot of obligations, with few breaks, and feeling the strain. Alvarez's experience demonstrates the importance of finding ways to diffuse stress before it threatens your health and your ability to function.
1.Which of the following is true according to the first two paragraphs?
A.Women are biologically more vulnerable to stress.
B.Women are still suffering much stress caused by men.
C.Women are more experienced than men in coping with stress.
D.Men and women show different inclinations when faced with stress.
2.Dr. Yehuda's research suggests that women______.
A.need extra doses of chemicals to handle stress
B.have limited capacity for tolerating stress
C.are more capable of avoiding stress
D.are exposed to more stress
3.According to Para. 4, the stress women confront tends to be______.
A.domestic and temporary B.irregular and violent
C.durable and frequent D.trivial and random
4.The sentence "I lived from paycheck to paycheck" (Line 5, Para. 5) shows that______.
A.Alvarez cared about nothing but making money
B.Alvarez's salary barely covered her household expenses
C.Alvarez got paychecks from different jobs
D.Alvarez paid practically everything by check
5.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.Strain of Stress: No Way Out? B.Responses to Stress: Gender Difference
C.Stress Analysis: What Chemicals Say D.Gender Inequality: Women under Stress
2
It used to be so straightforward. A team of researchers working together in the laboratory would submit the results of their research to a journal. A journal editor would then remove the author's names and affiliations from the paper and send it to their peers for review. Depending on the comments received, the editor would accept the paper for publication or decline it. Copyright rested with the journal publisher, and researchers seeking knowledge of the results would have to subscribe to the journal.
No longer. The Internet—and pressure from funding agencies, who are questioning why commercial publishers are making money from government-funded research by restricting access to it—is making access to scientific results a reality. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) has just issued a report describing the far-reaching consequences of this. The report, by John Houghton of Victoria University in Australia and Graham Vickery of the OECD, makes heavy reading for publishers who have, so far, made handsome profits. But it goes further than that. It signals a change in what has, until now, been a key element of scientific endeavor.
The value of knowledge and the return on the public investment in research depends, in part, upon wide distribution and ready access. It is big business. In America, the core scientific publishing market is estimated at between $7 billion and $11 billion. The International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers says that there are more than 2,000 publishers worldwide specializing in these subjects. They publish more than 1. 2 million articles each year in some 16,000 journals.
This is now changing. According to the OECD report, some 75% of scholarly journals are now online. Entirely new business models are emerging; three main institutional subscribers pay for access to a collection of online journal titles through site-licensing agreements. There is open-access publishing, typically supported by asking the author (or his employer) to pay for the paper to be published. Finally, there are open-access archives, where organizations such as universities or international laboratories support institutional repositories. Other models exist that are hybrids of these three, such as delayed open-access, where journals allow only subscribers to read a paper for the first six months, before making it freely available to everyone who wishes to see it. All this could change the traditional form of the peer-review process, at least for the publication of papers.
1.In the first paragraph, the author discusses______.
A.the background information of journal editing
B.the publication routine of laboratory reports
C.the relations of authors with journal publishers
D.the traditional process of journal publication
2.Which of the following is true of the OECD report?
A.It criticizes government-funded research. B.It introduces an effective means of publication.
C.It upsets profit-making journal publishers. D.It benefits scientific research considerably.
3.According to the passage, online publication is significant in that______.
A.it provides an easier access to scientific results
B.it brings huge profits to scientific researchers
C.it emphasizes the crucial role of scientific knowledge
D.it facilitates public investment in scientific research
4.With the open-access publishing model, the author of a paper is required to______.
A.cover the cost of its publication B.subscribe to the journal publishing it
C.allow other online journals to use it freely D.complete the peer-review before submission
5.Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
A.The Internet is posing a threat to publishers.
B.A new mode of publication is emerging.
C.Authors welcome the new channel for publication.
D.Publication is rendered easier by online service.
3
In the early 1960s Wilt Chamberlain was one of only three players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) listed at over seven feet. If he had played last season, however, he would have been one of 42. The bodies playing major professional sports have changed dramatically over the years, and managers have been more than willing to adjust team uniforms to fit the growing numbers of bigger, longer frames.
The trend in sports, though, may be obscuring an unrecognized reality：Americans have generally stopped growing. Though typically about two inches taller now than 140 years ago, today's people—especially those born to families who have lived in the U.S. for many generations—apparently reached their limit in the early 1960s. And they aren't likely to get any taller. "In the general population today, at this genetic, environmental level, we've pretty much gone as far as we can go," says anthropologist William Cameron Chumlea of Wright State University. In the case of NBA players, their increase in height appears to result from the increasingly common practice of recruiting players from all over the world.
Growth, which rarely continues beyond the age of 20, demands calories and nutrients—notably, protein—to feed expanding tissues. At the start of the 20th century, under-nutrition and childhood infections got in the way. But as diet and health improved, children and adolescents have, on average, increased in height by about an inch and a half every 20 years, a pattern known as the secular trend in height. Yet according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, average height—5′9〞for men, 5′4〞for women—hasn't really changed since 1960.
Genetically speaking, there are advantages to avoiding substantial height. During childbirth, larger babies have more difficulty passing through the birth canal. Moreover, even though humans have been upright for millions of years, our feet and back continue to struggle with bipedal posture and cannot easily withstand repeated strain imposed by oversize limbs. "There are some real constraints that are set by the genetic architecture of the individual organism," says anthropologist William Leonard of Northwestern University.
Genetic maximums can change, but don't expect this to happen soon. Claire C.Gordon, senior anthropologist at the Army Research Center in Natick, Mass. , ensures that 90 percent of the uniforms and workstations fit recruits without alteration. She says that, unlike those for basketball, the length of military uniforms has not changed for some time. And if you need to predict human height in the near future to design a piece of equipment, Gordon says that by and large, "you could use today's data and feel fairly confident."
1.Wilt Chamberlain is cited as an example to______.
A.illustrate the change of height of NBA players
B.show the popularity of NBA players in the U.S.
C.compare different generations of NBA players
D.assess the achievements of famous NBA players
2.Which of the following plays a key role in body growth according to the passage？
A.Genetic modification. B.Natural environment.
C.Living standards. D.Daily exercise.
3.On which of the following statements would the author most probably agree？
A.Non-Americans add to the average height of the nation.
B.Human height is conditioned by the upright posture.
C.Americans are the tallest on average in the world.
D.Larger babies tend to become taller in adulthood.
4.We learn from the last paragraph that in the near future______.
A.the garment industry will reconsider the uniform size
B.the design of military uniforms will remain unchanged
C.genetic testing will be employed in selecting sportsmen
D.the existing data of human height will still be applicable
5.The passage intends to tell us that______.
A.the change of human height follows a cyclic pattern
B.human height is becoming even more predictable
C.Americans have reached their genetic growth limit
D.the genetic pattern of Americans has altered
4
In 1784, five years before he became president of the United States, George Washington, 52, was nearly toothless. So he hired a dentist to transplant nine teeth into his jaw—having extracted them from the months of his slaves.
That's far different image from the cherry-tree-chopping George most people remember from their history books. But recently, many historians have begun to focus on the roles slavery played in the lives of the founding generation. They have been spurred in part by DNA evidence made available in 1998, which almost certainly proved Thomas Jefferson had fathered at least one child with his slave Sally Hemings. And only over the past 30 years have scholars examined history from the bottom up. Works of several historians reveal the moral compromises made by the nation's early leaders and the fragile nature of the country's infancy. More significantly, they argue that many of the Founding Fathers knew slavery was wrong and yet most did little to fight it.
More than anything, the historians say, the founders were hampered by the culture of their time. While Washington and Jefferson privately expressed distaste for slavery, they also understood that it was part of the political and economic bedrock of the country they helped to create.
For one thing, the South could not afford to part with its slaves. Owning slaves was "like having a large bank account," says Wiencek, author of An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America. The southern states would not have signed the Constitution without protections for the "peculiar institution," including a clause that counted a slave as three fifths of a man for purposes of congressional representation.
And the statesmen's political lives depended on slavery. The three-fifths formula handed Jefferson his narrow victory in the presidential election of 1800 by inflating the votes of the southern states in the Electoral College. Once in office, Jefferson extended slavery with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; the new land was carved into 13 states, including three slave states.
Still, Jefferson freed Hemings' children—though not Hemings herself or his approximately 150 other slaves. Washington, who had begun to believe that all men were created equal after observing the bravery of the black soldiers during the Revolutionary War, overcame the strong opposition of his relatives to grant his slaves their freedom in his will. Only a decade earlier, such an act would have required legislative approval in Virginia.
1.George Washington's dental surgery is mentioned to______.
A.show the primitive medical practice in the past B.demonstrate the cruelty of slavery in his days
C.stress the role of slaves in the U.S. history D.reveal some unknown aspect of his life
2.We may infer from the second paragraph that______.
A.DNA technology has been widely applied to history research
B.in its early days the U.S. was confronted with delicate situations
C.historians deliberately made up some stories of Jefferson's life
D.political compromises are easily found throughout the U.S. history
3.What do we learn about Thomas Jefferson?
A.His political view changed his attitude towards slavery.
B.His status as a father made him free the child slaves.
C.His attitude towards slavery was complex.
D.His affair with a slave stained his prestige.
4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Some Founding Fathers benefit politically from slavery.
B.Slaves in the old days did not have the right to vote.
C.Slave owners usually had large savings accounts.
D.Slavery was regarded as a peculiar institution.
5.Washington's decision to free slaves originated from his______.
A.moral considerations B.military experience
C.financial conditions D.political stand
5
When Thomas Keller, one of America's foremost chefs, announced that on Sept. 1 he would abolish the practice of tipping at Per Se, his luxury restaurant in New York City, and replace it with European-style service charge, I knew three groups would be opposed: customers, servers and restaurant owners. These three groups are all committed to tipping as they quickly made clear on Web sites. To oppose tipping, it seems, is to be anticapitalist, and maybe even a little French.
But Mr. Keller is right to move away from tipping—and it's worth exploring why just about everyone else in the restaurant world is wrong to stick with the practice.
Customers believe in tipping because they think it makes economic sense. "Waiters know that they won't get paid if they don't do a good job" is how most advocates of the system would put it. To be sure, this is a tempting, apparently rational statement about economic theory, but it appears to have little applicability to the real world of restaurants.
Michael Lynn, an associate professor of consumer behavior and marketing at Cornell's School of Hotel Administration, has conducted dozens of studies of tipping and has concluded that consumers' assessments of the quality of service correlate weakly to the amount they tip.
Rather, customers are likely to tip more in response to servers touching them lightly and leaning forward next to the table to make conversation than to how often their water glass is refilled. In the words, customers tip more when they like the server, not when the service is good. Mr. Lynn's studies also indicate that male customers increase their tips for female servers while female customers increase their tips for male servers.
What's more, consumers seem to forget that the tip increases as the bill increases. Thus, the tipping system is an open invitation to what restaurant professionals call "upwelling": every bottle of imported water, every espresso and every cocktail is extra money in the server's pocket. Aggressive upwelling for tips is often rewarded while low-key, quality service often goes unrecognized.
In addition, the practice of tip poling, which is the norm in fine-dining restaurants and is becoming more in every kind of restaurant above the level of a greasy spoon, has ruined whatever effect voting with your tip might have had on an individual waiter In an unreasonable outcome, you are punishing the good waiters in the restaurant by not tipping the bad one. indeed, there appear to be little connection between tipping and good service.
1.It may be inferred that a European-style service_______.
A.is tipping-free B.charges little tip
C.is the author's initiative D.is offered at Per Se
2.Which of the following is NOT true according to the author?
A.Tipping is a common practice in the restaurant world.
B.Waiters don't care about tipping.
C.Customers generally believe in tipping.
D.Tipping has little connection with the quality of service.
3.According to Michael Lynn's studies, waiters will likely get more tips if they_______.
A.have performed good service B.frequently refill customers' water glass
C.win customers favor D.serve customers of the same sex
4.We may infer from the context that "upwelling" (Line 2, Para. 6) probably means_______.
A.selling something up B.selling something fancy
C.selling something unnecessary D.selling something more expensive
5.This passage is mainly about_______.
A.reasons to abolish the practice of tipping B.economic sense of tipping
C.consumer's attitudes towards tipping D.tipping for good service
Unit Ten
1
On September 7, 2001, a 68-year-old woman in Strasbourg, France, had her gall bladder（胆囊）removed by surgeons operating via computer from New York. It was the first complete telesurgery procedure performed by surgeons nearly 4,000 miles away from their patient.
In New York, Marescaux teamed up with surgeon Michel Gagner to perform the historic long-distance operation. A high-speed fiber-optic service provided by France Telecom made the connection between New York and Strasbourg. The two surgeons controlled the instruments using an advanced robotic surgical system, designed by Computer Motion Inc., which enabled the procedure to be minimally invasive. The patient was released from the hospital after about 48 hours and regained normal activity the following week.
The high-speed fiber-optic connection between New York and France made it possible to overcome a key obstacle to telesurgery time delay. It was crucial that a continuous time delay of less than 200 milliseconds be maintained throughout the operation, between the surgeon's movements in New York and the return video (from Strasbourg) on his screen. The delay problem includes video coding decoding and signal transmission time.
France Telecom's engineers achieved an average time delay of 150 milliseconds. "I felt as comfortable operating on my patient as if I had been in the room," says Marescaux.
The successful collaboration（合作）among medicine, advanced technology, and telecommunications is likely to have enormous implications for patient care and doctor training. Highly skilled surgeons may soon regularly perform especially difficult operations through long-distance procedures. The computer systems used to control surgical movement can also lead to a breakthrough in teaching surgical techniques to a new generation of physicians. More surgeons-in-training will have the opportunity to observe their teachers in action in telesurgery operating rooms around the world.
Marescaux describes the success of the remotely performed surgical procedure as the beginning of a"third revolution" in surgery within the last decade. The first was the arrival of minimally invasive surgery, enabling procedures to be performed with guidance by a camera, meaning that the abdomen（腹部）and thorax（胸腔）do not have to be opened. The second was the introduction of computer-assisted surgery, where complicated software algorithms（计算法）enhance the safety of the surgeon's movements during a procedure, making them more accurate, while introducing the concept of distance between the surgeon and the patient. It was thus natural to imagine that this distance-currently several meters in the operating room-could potentially be up to several thousand kilometers.
1.The title that best expresses the main idea is "______".
A.How the Second Revolution in Surgery Comes Out
B.The Telesurgery Revolution
C.A Patient Was Saved
D.Dream Comes True
2.The italicized word "telesurgery" (Line 3, Para. 1) can be best explained as_______.
A.an operation done over a distance B.an operation done on television
C.an operation demanding special skill D.an operation demanding high technology
3.How long did it take the patient to resume her normal activity after the operation?
A.24 hours. B.48 hours. C.About a week. D.Almost a month.
4.What is the major barrier to telesurgery?
A.Distance B.Advanced technology.
C.Delay D.Medical facilities.
5.The writer implies that_______.
A.difficult operation can be successfully performed all over the world now
B.compared to the "third revolution" in surgery, the first two are less important
C.all patients can be cured by a gall bladder-removal operation
D.a new breakthrough has been made in surgery
2
The multi-billion-dollar Western pop music industry is under fire. It is being blamed by the United Nations for the dramatic rise in drug abuse worldwide. "The most worrisome development is a culture of drug-friendliness that seems to be gaining prominence（显著）," said the UN's 13-member International Narcotics Control Board in a report released in late February 1998.
The 74-page study says that pop music, as a global industry, is by far the most influential trend-setter for young people of most cultures. "Some lyrics advocate the smoking of marijuana（大麻）or taking other drugs, and certain pop stars make statements and set examples as if the use of drugs for non-medicinal purposes were a normal and acceptable part of a person's life-style," the study says.
Surprisingly, says the Board, the effect of drug-friendly pop music seems to survive despite the occasional shock of death by overdose（过量用药）. "Such incidents tend to be seen as an occasion to mourn the loss of a role model, and not an opportunity to confront the deadly effect of 'recreational' drug use," it notes. Since the 1970s, several internationally famous singers and movie stars—including Elvis Presley, Janice Joplin, John Belushi, Jimi Hendrix, Jonathan Melvin and Andy Gibbs—have died of either drug abuse or drug related illnesses. With the globalization of popular music, messages tolerating or promoting drug abuse are now reaching beyond their countries of origin. "In most countries, the names of certain pop stars have become familiar to the members of every household," the study says.
The UN study also blames the media for its description of certain drug issues—especially the use of marijuana and issues of liberalization and legalization—which encourages, rather than prevents, drug abuse. "Over the last years, we have seen how drug abuse is increasingly regarded as being acceptable or even attractive," says Hamid Ghodse, president of the Board. "Powerful pressure groups run political campaigns aimed at legalizing controlled drugs," he says. Ghodse also points out that all these developments have created an environment which is tolerant of or even favorable to drug abuse and spoils international drug prevention efforts currently underway.
The present study, he says, focuses on the issue of demand reduction and prevention within an environment that has become tolerant of drug abuse. The Board calls on governments to do their legal and moral duties, and to act against the pro-drug messages of the youth culture to which young people increasingly are being exposed.
1.Which of the following statements does the author tend to agree with?
A.The use of drugs for non-medicinal purposes is an acceptable part of a person's life-style.
B.The spreading of pop music may cause the drug abuse to go beyond country, boundaries.
C.No efforts have been made to prevent the spreading of drug abuse.
D.The governments have no ability to act against the pro-drug messages of the youth culture.
2.The italicized phrase "under fire" (Line 1, Para. 1) means______.
A.in an urgent situation B.facing some problems
C.being criticized D.quite popular
3.Under the influence of drug-friendly pop music, what might the youth think of the death of some pop stars caused by overdose?
A.They tend to mourn the pop stars as role models.
B.They are shocked to know even pop stars may abuse drugs.
C.They try to confront the deadly effect of "recreational" drug use.
D.They may stop abusing the drugs.
4.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as a factor that has contributed to creating an environment tolerant of or even favorable to drug abuse?
A.The spreading of pop music.
B.The media.
C.Political campaigns run by powerful pressure groups.
D.The low price of some drugs.
5.The pop music______.
A.has a great influence on young people of most cultures
B.only appeals to a small number of young people
C.is not a profitable industry
D.is the only culprit（罪魁祸首）responsible for drug amuse
3
The Alaska pipeline starts at the frozen edge of the Arctic Ocean. It stretches southward across the largest and northern most state in the United States, ending at a remote ice-free seaport village nearly 800 miles from where it begins. It is massive in size and extremely complicated to operate.
The steel pipe crosses windswept plains and endless miles of delicate tundra that tops the frozen ground. It weaves through crooked canyons, climbs sheer mountains, plunges over rocky crags, makes its way through thick forests, and passes over or under hundreds of rivers and streams. The pipe is 4 feet in diameter, and up to 2 million barrels of crude oil can be pumped through it daily.
Resting on H-shaped steel racks called "bents," long sections of the pipeline follow a zigzag course high above the frozen earth. Other long sections drop out of sight beneath spongy or rocky ground and return to the surface later on. The pattern of the pipeline's up-and-down route is determined by the often harsh demands of the arctic and subarctic climate, the tortuous lay of the land, and the varied compositions of soil, rock, or permanently frozen ground. A little more than half of the pipeline is elevated above the ground. The remainder is buried anywhere from 3 to 12 feet, depending largely upon the type of terrain and the properties of the soil.
One of the largest in the world, the pipeline cost approximately $8 billion and is by far the biggest and most expensive construction project ever undertaken by private industry. In fact, no single business could raise that much money, so 8 major oil companies formed a consortium in order to share the costs. Each company controlled oil rights to particular shares of land in the oil fields and paid into the pipeline-construction fund according to the size of its holdings. Today, despite enormous problems of climate, supply shortages, equipment breakdowns, labor disagreements, treacherous terrain, a certain amount of mismanagements, and even theft, the Alaska pipeline has been completed and is operating.
1.The passage primarily discusses the pipeline's______.
A.operating costs B.employees C.consumers D.construction
2.The italicized word "it" (Line 3, Para. 1) refers to______.
A.pipeline B.ocean C.state D.village
3.The author mentions all of the following as important in determining the pipeline's route EXCEPT the______.
A.climate B.lay of the land itself
C.local vegetation D.kind of soil and rock
4.How many companies shared the costs of constructing the pipeline?
A.3. B.4. C.8. D.12.
5.Which of the following determined what percentage of the construction costs each member of the consortium would pay?
A.How much oil field land each company owned.
B.How long each company had owned land in the oil fields.
C.How many people worked for each company.
D.How many oil wells were located on the company's land.
4
Margherita is a London girl and arriving at Capital was like coming home. "I grew up listening to Capital Radio," she says. "People say, 'Wasn't it frightening, joining such well-known presenters?' But everyone here is so down to earth. It would be off-putting if the others had people doing their make-up, or star signs on their office doors. But there's none of that—Mick Brown, for instance, finishes his show and wanders off to get the bus home with everyone else."
Margherita says that her own musical tastes varied. But she doesn't pick her own music for her shows. The Capital computer selects the records in advance from a list approved by the station managers. "The station has a certain sound, and if we all picked our own music, it wouldn't sound like Capital," she says."But for someone who likes music, this is a dream job. I get to go to concerts and meet the bands you can hear on my show. It's great to hear the 'behind the scenes' gossip."
Most people would expect that a presenter's most important qualities are a nice voice and huge amounts of confidence, but Margherita say that basic maths is handy as well. "You have to make sure that you've got an eye on everything that's going on in the studio, but you've got to be able to add and subtract and think in minutes and seconds," she says. "You're dealing with timed records, and with announcements and commercials that are also timed precisely, and you have to be ready to switch to the news at exactly the right second. If you're going over to a live event, you need to be ready, for that on time, not a second earlier or later."
This isn't the sort of girl to let the rock'n'roll life-style go to her head. Even if she did her family would bring her down to earth. "When I started at Capital the only thing my brothers asked was whether they'd get free records," she remembers. "And my mum couldn't even find the station on her radio."
Margherita Taylor is very nice and very easy-going, but very much in control. She is so much a"Capital Radio girl" that you might think she is just doing a good job for the station's publicity, department, although you know what she's saying really comes from the heart. She smiles a lot, laughs a lot and is generally a great advert for Capital.
1.What does the italicized word "that" (Line 4, Para. 1) refer to?
A.The fame of the other presenters.
B.Margherita's fear of the other staff.
C.Self-important behaviour by the other presenters.
D.Bad treatment of Margherita by the other staff.
2.One point Margherita makes about her job is that______.
A.she has changed her attitude to music
B.she is unhappy that records she plays are chosen for her
C.she likes most of the music that she plays on her show
D.she enjoys talking to the people whose records she plays
3.What does Margherita say about presenting a show?
A.It is essential to keep in mind what is going to happen next.
B.It is more complicated than she had previously thought.
C.The ability to add and subtract is the most important requirement.
D.The contend of a show is sometimes changed suddenly.
4.How have Margherita's family reacted to her success?
A.With caution. B.Without interest.
C.With surprise. D.Without excitement.
5.In the final paragraph, what does the author say about Margherita?
A.She was different from what she had expected.
B.She genuinely believes that Capital is a good radio station.
C.She feels it necessary to talk about Capital Radio all the time.
D.She has already changed her job at Capital radio.
5
"I promise." "I swear to you it'll never happen again." "I give you my word" "Honestly. Believe me." Sure，I trust. Why not? I teach English composition at a private college. With a certain excitement and intensity, I read my students' essays, hoping to find the person behind the pen. As each semester progresses, plagiarism（剽窃）appears. Not only is my intelligence insulted as one assumes I won't detect a polished piece of prose from an otherwise-average writer, but I feel a sadness that a student has resorted to buying a paper from a peer. Writers have styles like fingerprints and after several assignments, I can match a student's work with his or her name even if it's missing from the upper left-hand corner.
Why is learning less important than a higher grade-point average (GPA)? When we're threatened or sick, we make conditional promises. "If you let me pass math I will..." "Lord, if you get me over this before the big homecoming game I'll..." Once the situation is behind us, so are the promises. Human nature? Perhaps, but we do use that cliche to get us out of uncomfortable bargains. Divine interference during distress is asked; gratitude is unpaid. After all, few fulfill the contract so why should anyone be the exception. Why not?
Six years ago, I took a student before the dean. He had turned in an essay with the vocabulary and sentence structure of Ph.D.thesis. Up until that time, both his out-of-class and in-class work were borderline passing.
I questioned the person regarding his essay and he swore it I'd understand this copy would not have the time and attention an out-of-class paper is given, but he had already a finished piece so he understood what was asked. He sat one hour, then turned in part of a page of unskilled writing and faulty logic. I confronted him with both essays.
"I promise...I'll not lying. I swear to you that I wrote the essay. I'm just nervous today."
The head of the English department agreed with my finding, and the meeting with the dean had the boy's parents present. After an hour of discussion, touching on eight of the boy's previous essays and his grade-point average, which indicted he was already on academic probation（留校查看）, the dean agreed that the student had plagiarized. His parents protested, "He's only a child" and we instructors are wiser and should be compassionate. College people are not really children and most times would resent being labeled as such... Except in this uncomfortable circumstance.
1.According to the author, students commit plagiarism mainly for_______.
A.money B.degree C.higher GPA D.reputation
2.The sentence "Once the situation is behind us, so are the promises" implies that_______.
A.students usually keep their promises
B.some students tend to break their promises.
C.the promises are always behind the situation
D.we cannot judge the situation in advance, as we do to the promises
3.The words "borderline passing" (Line 3, Para. 3) probably means_______.
A.fairly good B.extremely poor
C.above average D.below average
4.The boy's parents thought their son should be excused mainly because_______.
A.teachers should be compassionate B.he was only a child
C.instructors were wiser D.he was threatened
5.Which of the following might serve as the title for this passage?
A.Human Nurture B.Conditional Promises
C.How to Detect Cheating D.The Sadness of Plagiarism
Unit Eleven
1
Each year, millions of people in Bangladesh drink ground water that has been polluted by naturally high levels of arsenic poison. Finding safe drinking water in that country can be a problem. However, International Development Enterprises has a low-cost answer. This non-governmental organization has developed technology to harvest rainwater.
People around the world have been harvesting rainwater for centuries. It is a safe, dependable source of drinking water. Unlike ground water, rainwater contains no minerals or salts and is free of chemical treatments. Best of all, it is free.
The rainwater harvesting system created by International Development Enterprises uses pipes to collect water from the tops of buildings. The pipes stretch from the tops of buildings to a two-meter tall storage tank made of metal. At the top of the tank is a so-called "first-flush" device made of wire screen. This barrier prevents dirt and leaves in the water from falling inside the tank.
A fitted cover sits over the "first-flush" device. It protects the water inside the tank from evaporating. The cover also prevents mosquito insects from laying eggs in the water.
Inside the tank is a low coat plastic bag that collects the water. The bag sits inside another plastic bag similar to those used to hold grains. The two bags are supported inside the metal tank. All total, the water storage system can hold up to three-thousand-five-hundred liters of water. International Development Enterprises says the inner bags may need to be replaced every two to three years. However, if the bags are not damaged by sunlight, they could last even longer.
International Development Enterprises says the water harvesting system should be built on a raised structure to prevent insects from eating into it at the bottom. The total cost to build this rainwater harvesting system is about forty dollars. However, International Development Enterprises expects the price to drop over time. The group says one tank can provide a family of five with enough rainwater to survive a five-month dry season.
1.People in Bangladesh can use_______as a safe source of drinking water.
A.ground water B.rainwater C.drinking water D.fresh water
2.Which of the following contributes to the low-cost of using rainwater?
A.Rainwater is free of chemical treatments.
B.People have been harvesting rainwater for centuries.
C.The water harvesting system is built on a platform.
D.Rainwater can be collected using pipes.
3.Which of the following actually prevents dirt and leaves from falling inside the tank?
A.a barrier B.a wire screen C.a first-flush D.a storage tank
4.The bags used to hold water are likely to be damaged by_______.
A.mosquito insects B.a fitted cover C.a first-flush device D.sunlight
5.What should be done to prevent insects from eating into the water harvesting system at the bottom?
A.The two bags holding the water should be put inside the metal tank.
B.The inner bags need to be replaced every two years.
C.The water harvesting system should be built on a platform.
D.A cover should be used to prevent insects from eating it.
2
Where one stage of child development has been left out, or not sufficiently experienced, the child may have to go back and capture the experience of it. A good home makes this possible, for example by providing the opportunity for the child to play with a clockwork car or toy railway train up to any age if he still needs to do so. This principle, in fact, underlies all psychological treatment of children in difficulties with their development, and is the basis of work in child clinics.
The beginnings of discipline are in the nursery. Even the youngest baby is taught by gradual stages to wait for food, to sleep and wake at regular intervals and so on. If the child feels the world around him is a warm and friendly one, he slowly accepts its rhythm and accustoms himself to conforming to its demands, Learning to wait for things, particularly for food, is a very important element in upbringing, and is achieved successfully only if too great demands are not made before the child can understand them.
Every parent watches eagerly the child's acquisition of each new skill—the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing. It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feeling of failure and states of anxiety in the child. This might happen at any stage. A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early; a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads. On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural zest for life and his desire to find out new things for himself.
Learning together is a fruit source of relationship between children and parents. By playing together, parents learn more about their children and children learn more from their parents. Toys and games which both parents and children can share are an important means of achieving this co-operation. Building-block toys, jigsaw puzzles and crossword are good examples.
Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness or indulgence towards their children. Some may be especially strict in money matters; others are severe over times of coming home at night, punctuality for meals or personal cleanliness. In general, the controls imposed represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community as much as the child's own happiness and well-being.
1.The principle underlying all treatment of developmental difficulties in children______.
A.is to send them to clinics
B.offers recapture of earlier experiences
C.is in the provision of clockwork toys and trains
D.is to capture them before they are sufficiently experienced
2.The child in the nursery______.
A.quickly learns to wait for food
B.doesn't initially sleep and wake at regular intervals
C.always accepts the rhythm of the world around them
D.always feels the world around him is warm and friendly
3.The encouragement of children to achieve new skills______.
A.can never be taken too far B.should be left to school teachers
C.will always assist their development D.should be balanced between two extremes
4.Jigsaw puzzles are______.
A.toe difficult for children B.a kind of building-block toy
C.not very entertaining for adults D.suitable exercises for parent-child cooperation
5.Parental controls and discipline______.
A.serve a dual purpose B.should be avoided as much as possible
C.reflect the values of the community D.are designed to promote the child's happiness
3
More than half of all Jews married in U.S. since 1990 have wed people who aren't Jewish. Nearly 480,000 American children under the age of ten have one Jewish and one non-Jewish parent. And, if a survey compiled by researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles is any indication, it's almost certain that most of these children will not identify themselves as "Jewish" when they get older.
That survey asked college freshmen, who are usually around age 18, about their own and their parents' religious identities. Ninety-three percent of those with two Jewish parents said they thought of themselves as Jewish. But when the father wasn't Jewish, the number dropped to 38 percent, and when the mother wasn't Jew, just 15 percent of the students said they were Jewish, too.
"I think what was surprising was just how low the Jewish identification was in these mixed marriage families." Linda Sax is a professor of education at UCLA.She directed the survey which was conducted over the course of more than a decade and wasn't actually about religious identity specifically. But Professor Sax says the answers to questions about religion were particularly striking, and deserve a more detailed study. She says it's obvious that interfaith marriage works against the development of Jewish identity among children, but says it's not clear at this point why that's the case. "This new study is necessary to get more in-depth about their feelings about their religion. That's something that the study that I completed was not able to do. We didn't have information on how they feel about their religion, whether they have any concern about their issues of identification, how comfortable they feel about their lifelong goals. I think the new study's going to cover some of that," she says.
Jay Rubin is executive director of Hillel, a national organization that works with Jewish college students. Mr. Rubin says Judaism is more than a religion, it's an experience. And with that in mind, Hillei has commissioned a study of Jewish attitudes towards Judaism. Researchers will concentrate primarily on young adults, and those with two Jewish parents, and those with just one, those who see themselves as Jewish and those who do not. Jay Rubin says Hillel will then use this study to formulate a strategy for making Judaism more relevant to the next generation of American Jews.
1.The best title for this passage is "_______".
A.Jewish and Non-Jewish in American B.Jewish Identity in America
C.Judaism—A Religion? D.College Jewish Students
2.Among the freshmen at UCLA______ thought themselves as Jewish.
A.most
B.93% of those whose parents were both Jewish
C.62% of those only whose father were Jewish
D.15% of those only whose mother were Jewish
3.The phrase "interfaith marriage" in Para. 3 refers to the_______.
A.marriage of people based on mutual belief
B.marriage of people for the common faith
C.marriage of people of different religious faiths
D.marriage of people who have faith in each other
4.Which of the following statements is NOT true about professor Sax's research?
A.The research indicates that most students with only one Jewish parent will not think themselves as Jewish.
B.The survey was carried out among Jewish Freshmen.
C.The research survey didn't find out what and how these Jewish students think about their religion.
D.The research presents a new perspective for the future study.
5.Which of the following is true according to the last paragraph?
A.Mr. Rubin is the founder of Hillel.
B.Mr. Rubin thinks that Judaism is not a religion and it's an experience.
C.Hillel is an organization concerned with Jewish college students in the world.
D.Hillel has asked certain people to carry out a study about Jewish attitudes towards Judaism.
4
Governments that want their people to prosper in the burgeoning world economy should guarantee two basic rights: the right to private property and the fight to enforceable contracts, says Mancur Olson in his book Power and Prosperity. Olson was an economics professor at the University of Maryland until his death in 1998.
Some have argued that such fights are merely luxuries that wealthy societies bestow, but Olson turns that argument around and asserts that such rights are essential to creating wealth. "Incomes are low in most of the countries of the world, in short, because the people in those countries do not have secure individual rights," he says.
Certain simple economic activities, such as food gathering and making handicrafts, rely mostly on individual labor; property is not necessary. But more advanced activities, such as the mass production of goods, require machines and factories and offices. This production is often called capital-intensive, but it is really property-intensive, Olson observes.
"No one would normally engage in capital-intensive production if he or she did not have rights that kept the valuable capital from being taken by bandits, whether roving or stationary," he argues. "There is no private property without government—individuals may have possessions, the way a dog possesses a bone, but there is private property only if the society protects and defends a private right to that possession against other private parties and against the government as well."
Would-be entrepreneurs, no matter how small, also need a government and court system that will make sure people honor their contracts. In fact, the banking systems relied on by developed nations are based on just such an enforceable contract system. "We would not deposit our money in banks.., if we could not rely on the bank having to honor its contract with us, and the bank would not be able to make the profits it needs to stay in business if it could not enforce its loan contracts with borrowers," Olson writes.
Other economists have argued that the poor economies of Third World and communist countries are the result of governments setting both prices and the quantities of goods produced rather than letting a free market determine them. Olson agrees there is some merit to this point of view, but he argues that government intervention is not enough to explain the poverty of these countries. Rather, the real problem is lack of individual rights that give people incentive to generate wealth. "If a society has clear and secure individual rights, there are strong incentives（刺激，动力）to produce, invest, and engage in mutually advantageous trade, and therefore at least some economic advance," Olson concludes.
1.Which of the following is true about Olson?
A.He was a fiction writer.
B.He edited the book Power and Prosperity.
C.He taught economics at the University of Maryland.
D.He was against the ownership of private property.
2.Which of the following represents Olson's point or view?
A.Protecting individual property fights encourages wealth building.
B.Only in wealthy societies do people have secure individual rights.
C.Secure individual rights are brought about by the wealth of the society.
D.In some countries, people don't have secure individual rights because they're poor.
3.What does Olson think about mass production?
A.It's capital intensive. B.It's property intensive.
C.It relies on individual labor. D.It relies on individual skills.
4.What is the basis for the banking system?
A.Contract system that can be enforced.
B.People's willingness to deposit money in banks.
C.The possibility that the bank can make profits from its borrowers.
D.The fact that some people have surplus money while some need loans.
5.According to Olson, what is the reason for the poor economies of Third World countries?
A.government intervention B.lack of secure individual rights
C.being short of capital D.lack of a free market
5
Security and commodity exchanges are trading posts where people meet who wish to buy and sell. The exchanges themselves do no trading, they merely provide a place where prospective buyers and sellers can meet and conduct their business.
Wall Street, although the best known, is not home of exchanges in the United States. There are the cotton exchanges in New Orleans and Chicago; the Mercantile Exchange which deals in many farm products in Chicago; and grain exchanges in many of the large cities of the Midwest. Some exchanges, like Chicago Board of Trade, provide market services for several kinds of products. These trading posts where products may be brought or sold are called commodity exchanges.
The security exchanges, on the other hand, are meeting places where stocks and bonds are traded. Like the commodity exchanges, they help serve the economic life of the country. But when their operations get out of hand, they may become very dangerous. In 1929, the security exchange, or stock market, contributed to a crash—a sudden sharp decline in the value of securities. Many people lost fortunes; many corporations were bankrupted; many workers lost their jobs. The crash of 1929 has been attributed to many causes, among them wild and unwise speculation by many people and dishonest practices on the part of some business and of some members of the exchanges.
Today, however, investing through security exchanges and trading on commodity exchanges has been made safer by regulations set up by the exchanges themselves and by regulations of the United States government. In 1922, the government instituted the Commodity Exchange Commission which operates through the Department of Agriculture; and in 1934, the Securities Exchange Commission, to protect investors and the public against dishonest practices on the exchanges.
1.Security and commodity exchanges are meeting places for buyers and sellers of_______.
A.stocks B.securities C.products D.all of the above
2.A sudden, sharp decline in the value of securities is called_______.
A.a trade B.speculation C.investment D.a crash
3.Which of the following is the reason for the crash in 1929?
A.High taxation for trade. B.Tricks of some businessmen.
C.Speculation of some people. D.Strict regulation of the state.
4.Investing in securities has been safer by the_______.
A.Chicago Mercantile Exchange B.Chicago Board of Trade
C.Securities Exchange Commission D.Commodity Exchange
5.The passage suggests that _______.
A.buying and selling securities is dishonest
B.investing in securities is unwise
C.some exchanges provide market services for several kinds products
D.the government has been playing an important role in controlling dishonest practices on the exchanges
Unit Twelve
1
The energy crisis, which is being felt around the world, has dramatized how the careless use of the earth's resources has brought the whole world to the brink of disaster. The over-development of motor transport, with its increase of more cars, more highways, more pollution, more suburbs, more commuting, has contributed to the near destruction of our cities. The disaster has arrived in the form of the energy crisis.
Our present situation is unlike war, revolution or depression. Worldwide resources exploitation and energy use have brought us to a state where long range planning is essential. What we need is not a continuation of our present serious state, which endangers the future of our country, our children, and our earth, but a movement forward to a new norm in order to work rapidly and effectively on planetary problems.
This country has been falling back under the continuing exposures of loss of morality and the revelation that lawbreaking has reached into the highest places in the land. There is a strong demand for moral revival and for some devotion that is vast enough and yet personal enough to enlist the devotion of all. In the past it has been only in a way in defense of their own country and their own ideals that any people have been able to devote themselves wholeheartedly.
This is the first time that we have been asked to defend ourselves and what we hold dear in cooperation with all the other inhabitants of this planet, who share with us the same endangered air and the same endangered oceans. There is a common need to reassess our present course, to change that course and to devise new methods through which the world can survive. This is a priceless opportunity.
To grasp it we need a widespread understanding of nature if the crisis confronting us—and the world—is a crisis that is no passing inconvenience, no by product of the ambitions of the oil producing countries, no environmentalists' mere fears, no byproduct of any present system of government. What we face is the outcome of the invention of the last four hundred years. What we need is a transformed life-style. This new life-style can flow directly from science and technology, but its acceptance depends on a sincere devotion to finding a higher quality of life for the world's children and future generation.
1.Which condition does the author feel has nearly destroyed our cities?
A.Lack of financial planning. B.The breakup of the family.
C.Natural disasters in many regions. D.The excessive growth of motors.
2.The author in the second paragraph states what we need in our present situation is_______.
A.a continuation of our present serious state
B.worldwide resources exploitation and energy use
C.a movement forward to a new norm to planet research work
D.a state where long range planning is essential to us
3.According to the author, what is one example of our loss of morality?
A.Disregard for law. B.Lack of devotion.
C.Lack of cooperation. D.Exploitation of resources.
4.By comparing past problems with present ones, the author draws attention to the_______.
A.significance of this crisis B.inadequacy of governments
C.similarity of the past to the present D.hopelessness of the situation
5.According to the last paragraph, what contribution does the author feel people must now make?
A.Search for new energy sources. B.Outlaw motor transportation.
C.Accept a new life-style. D.Adopt a new form of government.
2
Futurists have identified two changes that seem to be central to contemporary social life. First, the United States is being restructured from an industrial to an information society. Second, modern societies are increasingly shifting from a national to a global economy. Futurists have applied a good many metaphors to these changes, including Daniel Bell's "postindustrial society", Alvin Toffier's "the third wave" and John Naisbitt's "megatrends". Common to these metaphors is the notion that American society is shifting from the production of goods to the production of services and from society based on the coordination of people and machines to a society organized around knowledge. These changes, it is contended, will afford a myriad of choices. The world will increasingly be one of many flavors, not just vanilla（香草）or chocolate.
Many observers of contemporary American life believe that we are witnessing a historical change and the first major impact of the shift from an energy economy to an information economy. For 300 years technology has been cast in a mechanical model, one based on the combustion processes that go on inside a star like the sun. The steam engine opened the mechanical age, and it reached its peak with the discovery of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion, which replicated the energy producing processes of a star. We now seem to be moving toward a biological model based on information and involving the intensive use of materials. Although biological processes need physical energy and materials, they tend to substitute information for both. Biological processes "miniaturize" size, energy, and materials by "exploding" information. The human brain is some ten times the size and weight of the brain of a lemur, but it handles a billion times more information. As a result, high tech industries are information intensive rather than energy or material intensive.
Sociologists have played and will continue to play an important role in assessing and interpreting these developments and other aspects of change.
1.It can be inferred that underlying the two changes is the change of______.
A.the instrument of production B.the size of the society
C.the social structure D.the economic market
2.With what does the mechanical age reach its highest point?
A.The steam engine. B.Nuclear power production.
C.The combustion process. D.The energy producing process of the sun.
3.With the coming of the information age, the society is becoming______.
A.more intolerable B.larger C.more varied D.a more pleasant place
4.What characterizes the information society?
A.The amount of knowledge to be learned. B.Physical energy and materials.
C.Rapid change and its social effects. D.Small size and high capacity.
5.What is the attitude of the author towards the function of sociologists in the great changes?
A.Critical. B.Positive. C.Negative. D.Indifferent.
3
In the past oysters were raised in much the same way as dirt farmers raised tomatoes—by transplanting them. First, farmers selected the oyster bed, cleared the bottom of old shells and other remains, and then scattered clean shells about. Next they "planted" fertilized oyster eggs, which within two or three weeks hatched into larvae. The larvae drifted until they attached themselves to the clean shells on the bottom. There they remained and in time grew into baby oysters called seed or spat（贝卵）. The spat grew larger by drawing in seawater from which they derived microscopic particles of food. Before long, farmers gathered the baby oysters, transplanted them in other waters to speed up their growth, and then transplanted them once more into another body of water to fatten them up.
Until recently the supply of wild oysters and those crudely farmed were more than enough to satisfy people's needs. But today the delicious seafood is no longer available in abundance. The problem has become so serious that some oyster beds have vanished entirely.
Fortunately, as far back as the early 1900's marine biologists realized that if new measures were not taken, oysters would become extinct or at best a luxury food. So they set up well-quipped hatcheries and went to work. But they did not have the proper equipment or the skill to handle the eggs. They did not know when, what, and how to feed the larvae. And they knew little about the predators that attacked and ate baby oysters by the millions. They failed, but they doggedly（努力）kept at it. Finally, in the 1940's a significant breakthrough was made.
The marine biologists discovered that by raising the temperature of the water, they could induce oysters to lay eggs not only in the summer but also in the fall, winter, and spring. Later they developed a technique for feeding the larvae and rearing them to spat. Going still further, they succeeded in breeding new strains that were resistant to diseases, grew faster and larger, and flourished in water of different salinities（盐分）and temperatures. In addition, the cultivated oysters tasted better!
1.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.The Threatened Extinction of Marine Life B.The Cultivation of Oysters
C.The Discoveries Made by Marine Biologists D.The Varieties of Wild Oysters
2.At what stage of oysters did farmers begin to speed up their growth and fatten them up in the past?
A.Shell. B.Egg. C.Larvae. D.Spat.
3.According to the passage, which of the following words best describes the efforts of the marine biologists working with oysters?
A.Persistent. B.Intermittent. C.Traditional. D.Fruitless.
4.In the passage, the author mentions that the new strains of oyster are_______.
A.cheaper B.shaped differently C.better textured D.healthier
5.Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
A.Step by step description of the evolution of marine biology.
B.Discussion of chronological events concerning oyster production.
C.Random presentation of facts about oysters.
D.Description of oyster production at different geographic locations.
4
Writing to learn makes it possible to show learning in writing. Much of the writing you will do in college and at work will ask you to demonstrate what you have learned. The success of that demonstration will depend on, among other things, revising your writing to show your knowledge to best advantage. When you have begun to see what you want to say (frequently this becomes clear at the very end of a first draft), it is time to start thinking about how to present your ideas to others. It is time to start thinking about revising.
Revising can be described as the most important (and frequently most neglected) part of writing. Novelists Doris Lessing has said that many novels miss greatness because authors are unwilling or unable to revise them. James Michaner explains the importance of revision in this way: I have never thought of myself as a good writer. Anyone who wants reassurance of that should read one of my first drafts. But I'm one of the world's great revisers.
Revising takes many forms. It means thinking about the audience for your writing. Who will read your work and why? It also means developing an overall plan for the writing that will make your ideas clear. Often the organization of a first draft will reflect your process of discovery, but that may not be the best way to present your ideas to someone else.
Revising also gives attention to the style of language, to the structure of a paragraph, and to the shape of sentences and other forms that show learning to its best advantage in order to understand your point and change a word or a phrase to make your meaning clearer.
Writing to learn and writing to show learning are never, of course, entirely separate processes. Writers frequently consider issues of demonstrating learning while writing to learn, and writing to show learning often leads to new understanding. In drafting, for example, you may start thinking about what an audience will need to know in order to understand your point and change a word or a phrase to make your meaning clearer. But understanding the differences between writing to learn and writing to show learning is central to seeing writing as a process.
1.The author thinks that revising starts when_______.
A.you want to show what you know B.you think about your audience
C.you have discovered your idea D.you have developed an overall writing plan
2.The chief purpose in revising your writing is for you to_______.
A.learn in the course of writing B.show your learning to its best advantage
C.add new ideas to your writing D.use an appropriate style of language
3.According to the passage, it is a fact that_______.
A.in revising, one should only correct some spelling mistakes
B.a good writer does not need to revise his writing much
C.the organization of a first draft is sure to be the best way to convey author's ideas
D.according to James Michaner he is a good reviser before he is a great writer
4.What Doris Lessing said helps to support the idea that_______.
A.he is one of the world's great revisers B.he is not a good writer
C.revising is very important D.many writers are unwilling to revise their works
5.Which of the following statements can be the best title for the passage?
A.The Importance of Revising B.The Importance of Writing
C.How to Compose Good Writing D.How to Revise Your Writing
5
Bird wings have a much more complex job to do than the wings of an airplane, for in addition to supporting the bird they must act as its engine, rowing it through the air. Even so the wing outline ora bird conforms to the same aerodynamic principles as those eventually discovered by people when designing airplanes, and if you know how different kinds of aircraft perform, you can predict the flight capabilities of similarly shaped birds.
Short, stubby wings enable a tanager and other forest-living to swerve and dodge at speed through the undergrowth, just as they helped the fighter planes of the Second World War to make tight turns and acrobatic maneuvers in a dog-fight. More modern fighters achieve greater speeds by sweeping back their wings while in flight, just as peregrines do when they go into a 130 kph dive, swooping to a kill. Championship gliders have long, thin wings so that, having gained height in a thermal up-current they can soar gently down for hours and an albatross, the largest of flying birds, with a similar wing shape and a span of 3 meters, can patrol the ocean for hours in the same way without a single wing beat. Vultures and hawks circle at very slow speeds supported by a thermal and they have the broad rectangular wings that very slow-flying aircraft have. People have not been able to adapt wings to provide hovering flight. That has only been achieved with the whirling, horizontal blades of a helicopter or the downward-pointing engines of a vertical landing jet. Hummingbirds have paralleled even this. They tilt their bodies so that they are almost upright and then beat their wings as fast as 80 times a second producing a similar downdraft of air. So the hummingbird can hover and even fly backwards.
1.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Bird wings have to support the bird.
B.Bird wings must act as the bird's engine.
C.Airplane's wings must act as the airplane's engine.
D.Similar wing shapes in aircraft and birds produce similar flight capabilities.
2.Modern fighter planes can be compared to_______in the way they move.
A.tanagers B.hawks C.peregrines D.hummingbirds
3.Which of the following birds beats its wings the least while flying?
A.Redwing. B.Albatross. C.Parakeet. D.Swallow.
4.Why can the hummingbird can hover and even fly backwards?
A.Because its wings are large enough.
B.Because it can tilt its body.
C.Because it has whirling and horizontal blades like a helicopter.
D.Because it can produce down-draft of air by beating their wings very fast.
5.What's the main idea of the passage?
A.Bird wings are more complex than airplane wings.
B.People design airplane by looking at the wing shapes of birds.
C.How can we make the airplane wings more efficient.
D.The wings of birds and airplanes conform to the same aerodynamic principles.
模拟实战测试60篇参考答案与解析
Unit One
1
1.【答案】B。
【解析】本题考查的是词义，slump意思是“消沉、衰退、（物价）暴跌”，四个选项中可以代替它的是decline“下降，衰落，消沉”，而slouch意为“懒散”，increase意思是“上涨，增加”，与slump意思相反，stamp是指“邮票，跺（脚）”，因此正确的答案为B。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】本文的第一段开头说“Motorola，the world's second-largest mobile phone maker”，可见摩托罗拉是世界第二大移动电话生产商，而A项说是最大的生产商，显然是错误的。从第一段第四行“is trying to become a neutral provider of mobile technology to rivals”，以及最后一段第一句“Burgess said the new business will not conflict with Motorola's own mobile phone business.”可以看出选项B的意思在文中全有体现。从第一段倒数第四行“but this is the first time the company will offer its entire line of chips as well as a detailed blueprint.”可以看出C也是不确切的。至于D，文章中没有提到有关工厂的事情。因此本题的正确答案为B。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的依据是第一段最后一句“Analysts said they liked the new strategy but were cautious about whether Motorola's mobile phone competitors would want to buy the technology from a rival.（分析家说他们喜欢这一策略，但是对于竞争者是否会愿意从竞争对手手中购买技术这一问题持谨慎态度）。”A、B、D三项都无此意，而C项“its competitors will want to buy the technology from it（竞争者们想要从摩托罗拉购买这项技术）”符合句意。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的依据是第二段第二句话“Motorola said it will begin offering the technology based on the next-generation GPRS (Global Packet Radio Service) standard.”据此很容易看出选项D为正确答案。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】A项不正确，根据第二段最后一句“GPRS offers faster access to data through 'always on' network connections, and customers are charged only for the information they retrieve, rather than the length of download.”可见顾客的付费应该是少了，而不是多了。
B项是正确的，从第一段第二句开头“The inventor of the cell phone”可以看出这一点。
C项是正确的，第一段倒数第五行“Motorola has previously supplied mobile phone manufacturers with a couple of its chips”是本句的依据。
D项是正确的，它的依据是第二段开头“The company, long known for its top-notch engineering culture”。
2
1.【答案】B。
【解析】推论题。本题出处在文章第一段最后一句。A项是对该句中“undercut the support of the socialist labor movement（削弱社会主义工人运动的支持力量）”的曲解：社会主义工人运动危及俾斯麦的资产阶级政府，俾斯麦要通过社会保障法案来减少民众对工人运动的支持，而不是像A项所说的“以防（政府）失去工人运动的支持”。文章中motivated（为……所驱动）表示原因、动机。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】推论题。A项意为“工人日益反对使用机器生产”，B项意为“导致了社会保障制度的发展”，C项意为“伴随着工伤事故的增加”，D项意为“要求工人知道工厂中潜在的危险”。文中没有A项意思；B项错误在于，是工业发展中工伤事故的增加导致了社会保险制度的产生与发展。而非工业发展导致了社会保险制度的发展；C项与文章中“experienced an unprecedented rash of growing industrialization”相符；D项是根据第二段倒数第二句设计的干扰项。
3.【答案】A。
【解析】细节题。A项是文章第二段“employees had to prove that their injuries directly resulted from employer negligence...”的改写；B项是After World WarⅡ的情况，而题目问的是in the early 19th century的事；C项属“无中生有”的干扰项，文章中没有C项的内容；D项是根据第二段第二句设计的干扰项，D项中的have the courage≠文中的face a number of tough legal barriers。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】细节理解题。A是根据第三段中“and in most states the maximum benefit levels were lower...”设计的；B项干扰性较强，因为它本身是一个事实，但是它不是“worker's compensation insurance in the U.S.become more favorable to workers”的结果，注意题干中so that表示结果；同样的，C项也不是题干所问的结果，尽管它本身可能并没有错；D项与最后一段第二句话相符。本题有不少人误选B项。
5.【答案】C。
【解析】推论题。文章最后一句话的意思是：“这么多的资金漂浮在工人社会保障体系内，医生和律师也从这块大蛋糕中设法为自己分得一块也就不算奇怪了。”其言下之意就是C项内容。D项中的drain意为“排水管”。
3
1.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的依据是原文第一段第二句的“You must make a buck to survive the day.（人们为了能够得到经济保障及其再提高而在工作中疲于奔命）”因此正确的选项是C。
2.【答案】A。
【解析】在解答本题之前，应注意文中work ethic前面有指代词this。本题的答案为A。
3.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的依据是原文的“Unexpected precincts are being heard from in a show of discontent by blue collar and white”。从中可知，他们已经厌倦了每天的工作，所以B项正确。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】解答本题关键在于理解“In fact，what all of us are looking for is a calling, not just a job.（应该从工作中得到乐趣，而不仅仅是为了拿到工资。）”因此正确答案为C。
5.【答案】C。
【解析】综合全文内容可知，本文主要讲的是工作对人们来说不应只是一种生存的手段。因此C项正确。
4
1.【答案】B。
【解析】推论题。B项是前三段的中心思想。Lebow's call的实质即B项所说的the worship of consumerism，也即第三段的consumption has become a central pillar of life and is even embedded in social values及consumerist definitions of success。A项中的retailing出现在文章的第一句话中，而该句话没有A项的意思，故A不对。C项的egoism是根据文章第一段的our ego satisfaction而来，据此也可排除C。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】细节辨认题。选择依据为第三段最后一句话。B项中的concept 是原文中的definition的同义改写。C项具有很大的迷惑性，因为C项的确是一个important impetus to high consumption，但C项其实就是题干中的enormous productivity。好比问“除了西红柿还有什么菜?”你不能回答“番茄”，因为番茄就是西红柿。
3.【答案】D。
【解析】题干出处是第五段第一句话。一般来说，段落首句后面的内容是对首句的发展或解释、进一步说明，所以答案应该到第五段首句后的内容中去寻找。据此不难看出D项正确。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】事实理解题。D项是第五、第六段的主旨。从文中找不到A、C项的意思，它们属于“无中生有”的选项，B项与文章意思相反，属“颠倒黑白”的干扰项。
5.【答案】C。
【解析】推论题。本文通过提出几个供读者思考的问题揭示文章主旨并结束文章。C项正是对文章末尾三个问题的概括。
5
1.【答案】B。
【解析】根据文中的chains，whips以及居住地点难闻的气味等等，说明他们生活在非人的条件下。因此B项正确。
2.【答案】D。
【解析】本题可参照原文的最后一段“Words not understood... send back their meanings.（他们沿着架子说着对方听不懂的话，直到某个懂得不止一门语言的人传回那些话的含义。）”据此应选D项。
3.【答案】D。
【解析】由in hatred可知balefully此处指“凶恶的，凶狠的”，menacingly的意思是“险恶地”；indulgently的意思是“放任地，溺爱地”；vacantly的意思是“空虚地”；forlornly的意思是“被遗弃地”。只有D项与balefully的意思最接近。
4.【答案】B。
【解析】本文作者多次提到“污秽”、“令人窒息的恶臭”等词语，是为了显示这些囚犯们所受的非人待遇，也让人震惊于这种惨无人道的行为。所以B（对这种不公正感到恐怖）是正确答案。
5.【答案】D。
【解析】题干的意思是“尽管他们强烈的疼痛和可怕遭遇，黑人们在何种情况下找到了一种使痛苦减轻（安慰）的方法”。由最后一段可以看出，他们尽管说不同的语言，但能够相互交流令他们感到很激动。所以D（他们相互间的交谈）是正确答案。
Unit Two
1
1.【答案】A。
【解析】综观全文，A项为正确答案。
2.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的题干处是说作者提及她的童年经历的目的。依据是最后一句的“unfortunately we parents also insist on sharing the frustrations of our work lives.（不幸的是，现在的父母同时也在与子女“分享”工作上的挫折。）”据此可知，D项为正确答案。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】本题可参照本段的最后一句“Instead, the most common wish (among 34%) was that parents would be less stressed and tired by work.”据此可知C项为正确答案。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】本题可根据后面的一句话来帮助选择：“It's not about getting up earlier in the morning so you can get more done,” she says.“It's about saying no and making choices.”（Levin说，“这并不是要你早点起床来多干些事情，而是要你学会说‘不’，学会做选择。”）由此推知“paring them down”的意思是减少不重要的事务。所以C项为正确答案。
5.【答案】D。
【解析】D项与短文中的描述正好相反。
2
1.【答案】A。
【解析】推论题。问根据作者的意见，一个理想的传记作家会是什么样的人。文章第一段便指出：“……与研究对象关系过于密切，作家就会失去客观性。与研究对象关系不够密切，作家就会缺乏写传记所需要的那种同情心。”A项说“既非常了解研究对象，又能与之保持一个适当的距离”，这样，就既能保持应有的同情心，又能保持客观性，不失公允。看来理想的传记作家应能准确地把握自己与研究对象之间关系的这个度。B、C、D三项均不合适，因为三者均没有把作家与研究对象之间的关系作为一个参照标准。故答案为A。
2.【答案】D。
【解析】推论题。问作者选择《圣经》中耶稣传记的目的何在。A项说：“最好的传记旨在改变读者。”由于文中并未提到传记的优劣标准，因此该项不合题意。C项说：“最好的传记是关于英雄和名人的传记。”这也牵涉到传记优劣的标准问题。B项说：“传记是被研究对象生活的真实写照。”这句话本身没有错，但不是作者想要说明的。第三段中指出：“当它们的研究对象是英雄或名人时，传记作品常常表现一个平民化的主题：它们试图表明这些英雄或名人只是人，只是—些普普通通的人。另一类传记旨在改变我们，想让我们变得比现在更好。《圣经》中耶稣传记就属于这—类。”这里举出两类传记作品，它们的目的不同。作者的真正用意是想说明D项所包含的内容，即“传记作品是为各种目的服务的”。故答案应为D。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】正误判断题。通过阅读全文，我们可以领会作者的用意：传记写作难。C项“任何人都不会写出十全十美的传记”这种看法比较客观，易于接受，也同作者的基本观点相吻合。故答案为C。
4.【答案】B。
【解析】辨认事实题。问一部未经授权的传记作品可能会吸引更多的读者，原因何在？最后一段第四句话指出：在促进传记销售方面，“未经授权的”传记作品通常暗示人们书中含有他们所期待的、所感兴趣的内幕情况，这些也是研究对象希望掩饰的。B项说”它包含着令人感兴趣的有关传记对象私生活的内容”，这句与上句话内容相吻合，故B为正确答案。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】主旨题。问作者在本文中谈论的主要是什么；综观全文，作者主要介绍了传记作家所面临的选择合适视角的问题。B、C、D项均不是作者在文中主要论述的的内容。唯有A项合乎题意，故为正确答案。
3
1.【答案】A。
【解析】辨认事实题。第一段第一句话指出：“眼睛是否是‘心灵的窗户’尚待讨论；然而眼睛在人与人的交往中极其重要乃是事实。”A项说：“眼睛在表达情感和交流思想方面非常重要。”这与第一句话内容相吻合，因为情感表达和思想交流是人际交往中的非常重要的一部分。故答案为A。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】辨认事实题。问婴儿不会被哪种人逗笑。根据文章第一段中的第二、第三和第四句话，A、B、D中所提到的几种人都可能逗婴儿笑：C项内容与第三句后半句“脸侧对着孩子的人不会引起婴儿发笑”相符，故为正确答案。
3.【答案】D。
【解析】辨认事实题。问根据本文，日本人在交谈中目光盯住对方的脖子原因何在。第一段第七句话指出：“……在日本，由于婴儿背在母亲的后背上，因此他们与其他的婴儿相比不爱用目光进行交流。”D项“在婴儿期他们没有多少机会通过目光接触进行交流”，与上句话意思相吻合，故为正确答案。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】辨认事实题。问根据本文，由于什么原因，两个美国人之间的谈话也许会中止。第二段第三句指出：“在说话人重新进行目光接触时，听话人看着说话人非常重要。如果他们不看说话人，对方会认为他们不感兴趣。说话人要么会停止说话直到听话人恢复目光接触，要么就会终止会话。”C项“中止目光接触的时机把握不当”符合题意，故答案为C。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】辨认事实题。问为了使会话顺利进行下去，会话双方最好怎么做。B、D两项是戴墨镜造成谈话人可能会出现的妨碍交谈的情况。C项是一般会话中不可避免的。A项“不要戴墨镜”与文章的最后一句话意思相近，故答案为A。
4
1.【答案】B。
【解析】作者在文章一开始就明确提出其观点：人们往往有一种误解——外貌对一个人担任管理职务没什么重要影响。接着在第二段用social scientists的实验表明：Looks do matter，more than most of us realize. B项正是此意。
2.【答案】D。
【解析】作者在第二段就给出了结论，第三、第四段用具体的实验情况说明这一结论的得出过程。D项就是这个结论。
3.【答案】B。
【解析】A项是social scientists要用实验来反驳的，与实验结果相反，故排除。C、D两项与事实（实验结果）恰好相反。根据文章可知，许多美国人认为外貌并不重要（第一段的内容），以貌取人是不公正、不可靠的、非美国式的做法，但social scientists的实验结果却表明：他们言行并不一致（第三段开头两句）。B项正是此意。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】回答依据为紧随该句的professor的explanation。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】回答依据与上题同。
5
1.【答案】A。
【解析】参见文章第三段第一至二行。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】根据文章第四段开头读者似乎会认为作者的意图是B项“出力不讨好，毫无回报的事”，而实际上，作者的真实想法应在But之后的句中体现。
3.【答案】B。
【解析】依据文章最后一段第四行说明：我们现在这样理解就可免除妒忌，那么反过来，妒忌产生于我们的理解不当，即misunderstanding。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】依据文章第一段第一至二行，再依据文章最后一段最后一句可以看出要理解真正的幸福是什么就必须把fun和happiness区分开来，因为两者绝不等同。C项应该是回答“怎样才能获得真正的幸福？”这一问题的。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】作者的意图出现在第一段第三行。
Unit Three
1
1.【答案】B。
【解析】根据文章（如第二段首句）可知，home schoolers是与public school advocates相对立的一种人，即home school advocates，而D项所指的人是home schooled children。
2.【答案】A。
【解析】选择依据为第三段首句。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】根据第五段第二句和第六段第一句可知C项正确。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】根据第六段可知，home schoolers之所以坚持自己的教育方法，religion plays a role 85 percent of the time，接着作者在下一段也引用别人的观点：home schoolers的理由之一是strict religious doctrine。
5.【答案】C。
【解析】根据文章最后两段的内容：Some home schoolers want their children to learn not only traditional subject matter but also “strict religious doctrine and..., that the family is the most important institution in society.” 最后一段又说他们认为schools teach whatever they teach inappropriately。
2
1.【答案】A。
【解析】选择依据为第一段第四句“...no difference exists in the peak sound level of ads and programming”和第二段最后一句“...sound levels in commercials tend to stay at or near peak levels.”
2.【答案】B。
【解析】选择依据为文章第二段最后一句话。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】根据第三段最后两句话可知C项正确。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】第三段介绍了商业节目的制造者用各种技术手段使得其节目的音响效果与众不同，正是利用its dramatic sound quality, viewer's attention is immediately drawn to it。D项正是此意。
5.【答案】D。
【解析】这是一道主旨题。本文开始就提出“为什么商业节目的声音听起来那么大”这一问题，然后作者介绍了其原因。因此D项正确。
3
1.【答案】C。
【解析】本题可参照第一段第二句和第三段第一句，即受教育也应该熟悉科学家所处的亚文化群体（subculture）以及他们是什么样的人；该书的作者力图在书中准确描述科学界（scientific community）及生活在科学界的人。由此可见，亚文化群体即科学界。因此C项正确。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的依据是第一段中的“Since it touches almost every facet of our life, educated people need at least some acquaintance with its structure and operation”。据此可知，B项的“科学几乎影响我们生活的所有方面”是本题的原因。
3.【答案】A。
【解析】本题可参照文章的第二段，即这本书为很聪明但其科学知识很肤浅的学生或科学门外汉而写；为一直把科学视为堆积干巴巴事实的、发霉味的仓库的人而写；为把科学当做是科学小装置的人而写；为把那些科学家视为某种魔术师的人而写。据此可判断出文中提到的书籍是为渴望更深入地了解科学的读者编写的，因此选项A正确。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】本题可参照文章的第三段，即近来越来越多的妇女进入科学界。在谈论妇女对科学界的贡献时，我们使用的是隐含性别歧视的语言——用阳性名词或代词来指性别不明的人物。为了消除这种固有的偏见，我们在可能和必要时用复数名词或代词来代替他或她。这是整个第三段想要阐明的。所以D项的“阳性名词或代词不应当用来指科学家”正确。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】本文第二段首的“This book is written for...”指明该书的读者对象；第三段首句和第四首句说明了该书要达到的两个目的。据此可知，B项“一本书的前言”是正确答案。
4
1.【答案】A。
【解析】问下列哪项作为这篇文章的标题最合适。一篇文章的标题应能概括文章的大意，是文章的中心思想所在。四个选项中，只有A项能概括全文的内容，B、C、D三项要么只是文章中涉及的有关内容，要么文章中干脆就没有提及，所以答案为A项。
2.【答案】D。
【解析】根据文章不难看出，the poles flip指的就是地球南、北两极的转移、倒转：decline意为“倾斜；拒绝，跌落；衰败”。intensify意为“使强烈，增加强度；变强，增强”。fluctuate表示“波动，升降，涨落不定”。reverse意为“颠倒，倒转；反转，倒行”。可见，D项reverse意思和flip最接近。
3.【答案】A。
【解析】根据文章第二段第三句话可知A项正确。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】根据文章第三段第四句话（How and why they occur, however, has been widely debated. ）及第五、第六句话可知C项正确。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】选择依据为文章最后两句话。
5
1.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的依据是第二段的“whereas problem solving which demands intense concentration of a reasoning type produces much larger changes in the distribution of blood in the brain.”据此可知B项是正确答案。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的依据是第三段的第一句“there is still a considerable gap, but reasonable deduction seems possible to try and understand what happens to the brain.”据此可知C项是正确答案。
3.【答案】A。
【解析】本题的依据是“To overcome this she has to raise her level of arousal and concentration but beyond a certain point the automatic is lost（当打字员疲劳时，她应该提高清醒度和注意力，提高这种自动性。但过了一定程度，这种自动性就会丧失）”。据此可知D错在seldom一词，她不是几乎不能自动地打字，通过提高注意力她还是可以维持一段时间，之后才会丧失自动性。因此A项是正确答案。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的依据是文中第五段中间的“...is partly because the number of occasions with dirt in the bottle is low”。据此可知D项是正确答案。
5.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的依据是最后一段的“when short of sleep they raised their arousal level and better at...”据此可知缺少睡眠能提高医生的警觉性，从而使推理能力提高，因此C项是正确答案。
Unit Four
1
1.【答案】B。
【解析】本题可参照第一段的“Humor can be dissected... dies in the process（人们能够像解剖青蛙那样剖析幽默，不过一经剖析，幽默则荡然无存）”。据此可知B项为正确答案。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的依据是第二段的“Humor is a little like that... it is a complete mystery”。据此可知B是正确答案。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】本题可参照第三段。幽默家对悲伤更敏感，主动积极地去弥补它。幽默家从困境中得到滋养，高高兴兴的忍受痛苦，用幽默的语言表达出来，所以选项C比选项A恰当。B不正确，作者认为每个人的人生都有忧郁与悲伤。D不正确，作者认为说幽默家是小丑是不恰当的。
4.【答案】A。
【解析】本题的依据是第三段的最后一句话“Beneath the sparking surface... human woe”。据此可知A项为正确答案。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】综观全文，作者多次使用暗喻的修辞手法，使文章生动、含蓄而耐人寻味，激发人的思考。parallelism的意思是“排比”；metaphor的意思是“暗喻”；metonymy的意思是“换喻”；simile的意思是“明喻”。只有B为正确答案。
2
1.【答案】B。
【解析】A、D两项在文章都找不到与此相同的内容，C项与第二段最后一句话矛盾。根据第二段第一句话可知B项正确。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】根据第三、第四段，尤其是第三段第三句、第四段最后一句可知B项正确。有人误选C项，大约是将第三段第一句话的positive（积极的，建设性的）理解为radical（极端的，激进的）。
3.【答案】D。
【解析】根据构词法可知D项正确：tunnel意为“坑道，隧道”。vision意为“视力，洞察力；观察法”。故而不难推测tunnel-visioned是“一孔之见”之类的意思。根据上下文，尤其是第四段第三句话，也可得知be tunnel-visioned意思和visualize issues from every perspective（全面地观察问题）相反。A项意为“心胸狭窄”，B项表示“视而不见”，C项意为“目光短浅”，D项表示“只看到问题的一个方面”。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】根据文章第三段，尤其是该段最后中一句可知答案为C。该段第二句话说，It is our responsibility as professionals in environmental health to make the difference（作为环境与健康方面的专业人员，做得与众不同是我们的责任）。最后一句话说，it is those of us who must lead the charge（我们中的一些人必须承担起领头的责任）。其中those of us后面有一个定语从句，不难看出those of us即environmental health professionals.
5.【答案】A。
【解析】根据最后一句话可知A项正确。该段第四句指出应向人们提供technical information in a form that citizens can understand，而C项并无此意。该段第五句只说...may be we can finally stop environmental pollution, and merely hold it back，而不是...will be stopped by the end of this decade，因此D项不对。文章最后一段未涉及选项B的内容，故B项错误。
3
1.【答案】C。
【解析】选择依据为第四段最后一句话。
2.【答案】D。
【解析】根据第五段最后一句话及第六段的内容可知D项正确。大约有31%的考生误选B项，其原因可能是对abuse的用法没有准确掌握。abuse作为动词和名词都表示“滥用”，但是与表示人的名词连用时有“虐待，伤害”之意。如：child abuse（虐待儿童）。
3.【答案】B。
【解析】四个选项分别为：preset（预先装置，预先调整）。enter（进入；加入，参加；登记，记入；编入）。process（加工，处理；用计算机处理；起诉）。simulate（假装，扮演；冒充，伪装；模仿）。将四个选项分别代入句中替换log与into搭配，只有B项说得通。
4.【答案】A。
【解析】回答依据为文章最后一句话。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】cautious（谨慎的，极小心的，犹豫的）；approving（赞许的）；suspicious（猜疑的）；overenthusiastic（过于热心的；狂热的）。显然B项正确。
4
1.【答案】D。
【解析】在本文的第一段中，作者指出各种talk show泛滥如潮，但是有两个talk show在内容上完全相反，同时与其他的talk show相比，受到观众不同寻常的欢迎，故答案D是对第一段的最好概括。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】本文第二段讲述了Jerry Springer的风格。它的话题惊世骇俗，集中展示和探求社会的道德灾难；尽管这像“倾倒给社会的毒药”，但是观众们还是接受了它们并且很着迷。正确回答本题的关键在于第二段的最后一句话。
3.【答案】D。
【解析】本文第三段提到，与Jerry SPringer相比，Oprah Winfrey将“talk show”带到另一个极端，其内容集中到社会进步和个人素质上，其话题从培养孩子的责任感到安排好自己的工作日程，以及认识你的邻居等。从以上可以看出，Oprah Winfrey最可能的话题应为D项“家庭预算”。
4.【答案】B。
【解析】本题考核考生在读完这篇文章之后，是否理解这两套节目内容上虽有天壤之别,但却都具有“教育意义”（选项B）。这两套节目之间的不同仅仅是：Oprah Winfrey从“正面”进行教育，Jerry Springer用“反面”材料进行教育。文章说，Jerry Springer在节目结束之前总要说上一段话，总结一下节目的道德含义，希望观众能从中获取深刻的教益（Hopefully，this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable）。D项“讽刺性的”、C项“神经质的”和A项“愤世嫉俗的”显然都不是答案。通过阅读，了解作者赞成什么、反对什么，这是阅读理解能力的一个重要组成部分。有46%的考生答对了本题，他们是成绩比较好的一部分考生。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】从整篇文章中可以看出，这两种talk show并不是面向每个人的。在第五段中作者指出Oprah Winfrey的节目面向美国的中产阶级，他们有时间、金钱、生活稳定，足以处理生活中的困难；Jerry Springer的节目是面向18~21岁的观众，他们在生活中的问题主要有爱、关系、性等等。因此两种talk show都有各自的目标观众群。
5
1.【答案】D。
【解析】A项不正确，依据是文中第四段第一句话“Not all traffic experts... look smart-highway technology as the ultimate solution to traffic gridlock”；B项不正确，依据是第一段第三句话“... building more roads is a quick-fix solution”，修建更多的马路是临时性的方法，而本文主要讲的并不是修路；C项不正确，本文主要讲的是smart-highway，并没有提到任何对交通事故有弥补作用的方法；D项依据文中倒数第三段的意思，点出文中主旨是smart-highway，并且谨慎地把它只作为part of the package，因此D项为正确答案。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】题中quick-fix的意思是“快速确定的”，即没经过深思熟虑而快速作出的临时解决方案。Expedient（指行动）有用，有助益，可取（但不一定合理或正当）。作名词用时，有“权宜手段”的意思。ready用作定语指头脑敏捷的，如a ready answer to the question 对问题随口而出的回答，a ready solution to the problem对问题的当场解决。因此正确答案为B。
3.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的依据是文中第二段的第一句话“The goal of smart-highway technology is to... as an integral transportation system.”和第二段的最后一句话“... to improve communication between drivers and the people who monitor traffic.”据此可知，smart-highway的目标就是最大效率的整合道路和交通工具，从而整合交通系统，从而使司机和道路监管系统能够得到高效的通信。因此D项为正确答案。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的依据是倒数第三段的最后一句话“Larson agrees and adds, Smart highways is just one... just part of the package. There are different strategies”，从中可知修建高速公路只是解决交通问题的一个方面，还有许多策略都可用来解决交通拥挤。因此选项D正确。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】综观全文，A项不对，本文并没有说交通问题的两种对立观点。C项不对，只介绍了一种新方法，并没有把所有的最新发展都按重要程度列出来。D项的意思是本文主要解释了一种改革，并重点说了其重要性，这显然与原文不符。本文是针对交通问题而介绍其解决方法，中心就是介绍了smart-highway这种运用高科技的新方法，指出了其特点和目前的不足。接着谈到了人们正在研究和实验的其他解决方法。B项中的a problem不是指交通存在的问题，而是指smart-highway，本文主要讲了解决交通问题其中的一个方法，同时又指出了其他的一些方法。因此只有B项是正确答案。
Unit Five
1
1.【答案】D。
【解析】本题可参照文章第一段的“In old days, when a glimpse of stocking was looked upon as something far too shocking to distract the serious work of an office, secretaries were men.”从中可知，以前秘书都是男性，因为人们认为女性在办公室的出现会影响其他员工的工作。因此C项为正确答案。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】本题可参照第四段。从中可知，C项为正确答案。
3.【答案】B。
【解析】从文中的“He was the only applicant”可知，John Bowman得到这份秘书工作是因为no one else applied。因此B项为正确答案。
4.【答案】A。
【解析】本题的依据是文章倒数第四段最后一句话“There was a shortage at that time, you see.”从中可知，A项为正确答案。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】本题的依据是文章的最后一句话“There are a lot of women secretaries who will do the job as well as they because they are as efficient and well trained to cope with word processors and computers, and men.”从中可知，作者认为女性也将能胜任男性所从事的这项工作。因此A项为正确答案。
2
1.【答案】A。
【解析】从题中可知，一个月收到了200份申请，按照这个比率计算，一年将收到200×12=2400份申请。因此正确答案为A。
2.【答案】D。
【解析】zero out的意思是“使……变为零”，这里使电费变为零意指不用供电公司的电。因此正确答案为D。
3.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的依据是文中第六段的“I'm getting six a day now”。从中可知，每天6个电话，一个月6×20=120。因此正确答案为D。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】本文中，grid的意思是“输电网”，即指的是供电公司的电。对于安装了太阳能发电系统的住户来说，off the grid也就是完全不用供电公司的电。因此正确答案为C。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】本题的依据是文中第二段的“perhaps, the most reliable power source, the sun. It could mean no more worries about blackouts or power rates”，从中可知太阳能发电比供电公司更可靠；第九段的“eventually, the system should pay for itself, you know 20-years, maybe”，从中可知太阳能发电将可能比输电网更便宜，因此A项为正确答案。
3
1.【答案】A。
【解析】依据是文章第一段第三行始内容。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】依据是文章第三段相关内容。
3.【答案】D。
【解析】依据是文章最后一段相关内容。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】根据该词出现的语境，也据上下文判断，应该是“菌落”的意思。
5.【答案】D。
【解析】依据是最后一段相关内容，注意：该句中的while是时间概念，相当于in the course of。
4
1.【答案】C。
【解析】本题可参照第二段。从中可知，Mr. Beheit经常向大家展示他从前的学生寄来的明信片，可知Mr. Beheit对自己的教学是非常骄傲的，而非很谦虚。因此C项为正确答案。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的依据是第三段的“there are a couple of Arabic sounds which not even a gift for mimicry allowed me to grasp for ages”，从中可知作者的一些阿拉伯语发音很有困难。因此B项为正确答案。
3.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的依据是第三段的“we discussed in meticulous detail the colour scheme of the tiny cubicle, the events in the street below and, once a week, the hair-raising progress of a window-cleaner across the wall of the building opposite”。从中可知，Ahmed和作者的谈话内容是非常无趣的，这也可以从下一句，作者一边谈话一边想像很多别的东西反映出来。因此B项为正确答案。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】 modicum的意思是“少量，一点点”。D项的smattering“略知，少数”与之相符。其他三项“competence能力；excellence优秀，卓越；mimicry模仿”都不正确。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】本题中A选项不正确。作者为了去阿拉伯而学阿拉伯语是非常愿意的，去阿拉伯是作者学习阿拉伯语的动力，而不是造成困难的。其他三项皆可在文中找到相应句子表达了相同的含义。
5
1.【答案】B。
【解析】我们可以从文章中得知olestra是一种不被消化吸收，但却能保持脂肪美味的一种物质。正确回答本题的关键在于理解第一段和第六段话的意思。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】从文章的第三段可以看出，人们是在20世纪60年代发现olestra的，当他们在寻找一种易于婴儿消化的脂肪时，却发现了根本不能消化的olestra，因此，其结果是“出乎意料的”。
3.【答案】B
【解析】从文章的第三、四、五、六段可以看出，olestra与一般脂肪相比，它是一种根本不能够被消化的脂肪。尤其是第六段第二句更是明确指出：It just slides through the intestines without being broken down.
4.【答案】A。
【解析】从文章的第六段可以看出，olestra会阻止维生素A、D、E、K的吸收，也会阻止类胡萝卜素的吸收，而类胡萝卜素可以减少癌症、心脏病等病症的发病率，因此olestra的一个消极的作用在于增加患癌的风险。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】从文章的最后一段可以看出，人们将维生素加入食物后，营养学家们关注的是人们可能吃过多的食物，而不去注意他们吸收了卡路里，因此，答案应为A。
Unit Six
1
1.【答案】B。
【解析】事实判断题。问的是美国农产品需求量下降的原因。文章第一段第一句就指出，欧洲国家从一战中恢复过来并且制定了紧缩农产品进口量的计划，导致20世纪20年代美国农产品需求量下降。因此，引起对美国农产品需求量下降的原因是由于海外市场的收缩，即欧洲国家经济的复苏及其紧缩进口量的计划。该句即是这因果关系的关键词。A只是使这一现象加重的原因，C、D则明显与短文内容相悖。答案为B。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】事实判断题。问在20世纪20年代美国政府在农业领域首要关注的是什么。文章第二段及第三段都涉及了政府对农业采取的措施。第二段第二句话谈到要建立直接干预供给和需求的政策，并要建立第一个全国性的委员会为农民提供更大的经济稳定性。第三段谈到了后来继任总统采取的各种具体措施，诸如给予农业部长一种权力，他可以通过与农民订立自愿的协议，农民使土地休耕而政府付给他们钱进行补偿。从这些事实可推断，美国政府首要关注的是防止农民破产。
3.【答案】A。
【解析】事实判断题。问美国调整农业的法案是为了鼓励农民做什么。文章第三段谈到继任总统通过一项法案，给予农业部长一种权力，他可与农民订立自愿的协议，农民使土地休耕而政府对他们进行补偿，通过有计划地减少产量以提高农产品价格。因此，美国政府的法案是鼓励农民缩小农业生产的规模。选项B、C均属政府行为，而非鼓励农民自己去做的事。D与短文事实相去甚远，self-sufficient只在第一段提到。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】事实判断题。问美国最高法院反对农业法案是因为他们认为法案怎么样。文章第三段后半部分说，该法案被宣布违宪是因为用对公众征收的税去支付给一个特殊的群体。文章倒数第二句说：该法案以保护水土的名义被通过，因为水土保护符合全体国民的利益，而非以牺牲其他公民的利益为代价来维护农民的利益。所以D项正确。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】事实判断题。问新通过的法案的立法目的是什么。从文章第三段可以看出，虽然美国最高法院拒绝了第一个法案，但却通过了第二个法案，第二个法案主要是基于如下理由：通过使土地休耕和防治洪水的措施来达到保护水土的目的，这符合全体国民的利益。因此选B。D项最具干扰性。题干问的是：该法案声称其立法目的是什么？从文章中不难看出，该法案虽然实际上是想提高农产品价格以保护农民的生产，但遭否决后转而声称是为了全体国民的利益而保护水土。
2
1.【答案】D。
【解析】事实辨认题。问作者说今天最先进的计算机能够做什么。文章第一段谈到目前计算机的能力水平。第二句指出，尽管计算机功能已经很强大，但它们仍然不能完成像早期预言者预言的那样进行像人类一样的行为，更不用说能像人类一样沟通这样复杂的事情。最先进的计算机想辨认一件物体的形状都很困难，而这对一个十个月大的孩子来说不过是基本的能力。故选D。注意选项A中“are capable of reliably recognizing...”与短文中“struggle to reliably recognize...”（努力，竭力，试图）是不一致的，故不能选；更多的考生可能会误选C，但是：① 在效能（performance）上，当今电脑与20世纪50年代的电脑相距是非常大的；② 本文探讨的是人工智能，而非电脑的一般效能，故选择时要紧扣短文主题。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】推断题。问在人工智能研究中的新方向起源于什么。文章第二段谈到这个问题：“越来越多的AI研究者认为，在AI研究中所犯的错误在于：一直试图努力分开最高最抽象的思维水平，如语言和数学，并想用逻辑的一步一步的程序来复制它。新的研究方向对自然与人工智能之间的迂回曲折的关系予以更多的关注。”故选B。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】推断题。问Conrad和他的人工智能研究人员正在努力做什么。文章第三段谈到这个问题。Conrad认为，模拟人脑的神经网是向正确方向的一大进步，但是它仍然忽视了人脑智能的一个重要方面。他解释说，人们倾向于把大脑看成是由色彩代码的处理器组成的，但是，它并不仅仅是一个更聪明的处理器。大脑细胞本身存在许多重要的东西。Conrad尤其认为，大脑的许多功能起源于构成单个大脑细胞的独立分子的模式确认能力。建立人工智能的最好方式是建立相似类型的分子的功能。故选C。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】推断题。问的是作者对于人工智能的研究动向的观点是什么。本题主要应从文章最后一段去理解。文章最后一段说，对于普通计算机和软件根本上不能代替人脑的观念是有争议的。但是，如果这一观念被证实是正确的话，那么Conrad和他的同伴的努力将变成这一领域中唯一的方向。正确回答本题的关键在于理解turn out to be the only game in town的比喻含义。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】短语辨析题。问与the only game in town意义最相近的选项是哪一个。联系文章前一部分的内容，可知文章最后一句话的意思是说：“如果这一观念（传统的计算机和软件的运行不能与人脑思维相比）被证明是对的，那么，Conrad和他的同伴的努力将成为这一领域中唯一的方向。”
3
1.【答案】B。
【解析】事实辨认题。问从文中我们可看出小汽车的使用量增加会导致什么。从文中第一段可看出，小汽车耗费了美国一半的汽油消费量，接近一半的城市污染和1/4的导致温室效应的气体是由汽车造成的。在其他工业化国家和发展中国家的城市里也是如此。因此选B，即汽车的增加对各国的生活福利有恶劣的影响，选项A、C、D均仅涉及问题的某个方面。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】事实辨认题。问美国不得不解决由于汽车使用产生的问题的原因是什么。从文中第一段的后半部分可找到本题的答案。由于汽车使用量将在未来十年不断增长，美国和其他国家不得不处理由此带来的难以承受的经济、健康和政治代价的问题。石油的价格不可能保持目前的低水平，而其他国家也不可能容忍美国对全球气候变化造成的影响。因此C正确，即其他国家将反对美国日益增多的温室效应的扩散。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】细节辨认题。问下列哪一项措施是解决文中提到问题的最好办法。文章第二段谈到了四种方法：减少汽车的使用，增加能源的使用效率，减少普通汽车的排放量，转向使用污染较少的燃料或采用污染更少的动力系统。接着，文章指出，使用电动的汽车是最终可行的选择。因此选C。
4.【答案】A。
【解析】事实辨认题。问下列哪一项措施对于解决温室效应虽然有用但效果不大。文章第三段谈到这个问题，第二句说：替代性燃料如天然气，在内燃机中燃烧可以降低消耗，但是对于减少污染和温室效应只能起到很小的作用。故选A。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】推断题。问根据文章，下列哪一个选项是正确的。根据对文章的理解，B是正确的，其意思是：在西欧，尽管燃料价格高，但小汽车仍很受欢迎。文章第二段的最后一句谈到，即使在西欧，尽管燃料价格平均为每升1美元多，公共交通工具很方便以及人口很稠密，小汽车仍承担了80%的客运量。A之因果关系与短文内容（第二段倒数第二句）不一致；C与短文内容（第二段最后一句及第一、二句）相矛盾；D也非短文最后一句之本意。
4
1.【答案】D。
【解析】本题可参照第一段。从中可知，对亨利的评价是“公正、富有同情心”等，可以推知他的统治相对于理查德来说更好一些。因此D项为正确答案。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的依据是第二段最后一句“And they might have succeeded had not one of their own members betrayed them.”据此可知，C项为正确答案。
3.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的依据是文中第三段的“they discovered through their scouts that he had hurried to London”。从中可知D正确。
4.【答案】A。
【解析】本题的依据是第一段的“there were many noble families who had been benefited by King Richard during his reign, and who had lost some what of their power and prestige from the coming in of the new king.”从中可知，A项为正确答案。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】从文中可知，贵族在理查德时代享有特权与权力，可推知当时是非常腐败的。A、C两项明显不对，D文中未提到，只有B符合文意。
5
1.【答案】C。
【解析】文中第二段最后一句话提到，TT的执业者常常被一些先进的医院高薪聘用。选项B中cure为“治愈”的意思。选项D中，undergo是“承受，担当；遭遇”的意思。B、D两项意思均与文章不符。选项A本身的陈述并没错，但它并非TT is widely practiced的evidence。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】从第三段第四句话“...TT practitioners are afraid to lay their beliefs on the line”可知C项正确。实际上，根据常识也可知C为答案。
3.【答案】D。
【解析】选择依据为第一段前三句及第三段前两句话和文章最后一句话。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】选择依据为第三段最后一句话：“因为我是小孩，所以我想他们并不太在意我。”
5.【答案】A。
【解析】选项C、D很容易被排除。而选项B在逻辑上不严谨：如果纯理论是正确的话，它和事实一样是很重要的。关键在于：① 本文所述TT并非理论，只是骗术罢了；② 即使B项的陈述本身是对的，而本文并没有涉及理论和事实哪个更重要的问题。而从文章第一句话也可知本文主旨：要揭露TT的骗术。
Unit Seven
1
1.【答案】A。
【解析】本题考查对文章第一段第三句话中drawing board一词的理解。drawing board原义为“制图板”，引申为“蓝图，计划”。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】选择依据为文章第一段最后一句话“...but it promises the greatest gains in freeway capacity.”（但它可以最大限度地发挥高速公路的能力。）
3.【答案】C。
【解析】从第二段第一句话可知C正确。选项A文中未提及。选项B较具迷惑性。从第二段第二句话可知B不对，注意该句中的on suitably equipped roads。选项D仅在混合式的车道时是正确的。
4.【答案】B。
【解析】从第二段第四、第五、第六句可知应选B。选项C易被误选，从文中知当通过电子检测后，车辆才被引到通向自动车道的门前。故应排除C。
5.【答案】D。
【解析】从文中最后一句话可知D正确。
2
1.【答案】D。
【解析】该题问题出现在第一段第六行，people became attached to one brand后面的sales leveled off即是答案。也可以从括号内的产品发展顺序判断出该词义（成熟稳定期）。
2.【答案】D。
【解析】依据为文章第一段第三行起相关内容，文章并未提及新老产品的质量比较，C错。A、B也未涉及。
3.【答案】A。
【解析】依据为文章第二段第一句。
4.【答案】B。
【解析】依据为文章第二段第四行起相关内容。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】依据为文章第四段第三句。
3
1.【答案】B。
【解析】解题依据为第二段第一、第二行。
2.【答案】D。
【解析】依据为第三段第三行的内容。误选B的主要是没有搞清楚they一词。这里指代women，和原文中的memory不是同一概念。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】依据为第四段。误选A、D的考生是脱离了文章想当然所致。误选B的考生显然误解了原文的clear一词。
4.【答案】A。
【解析】依据为最后一段第一行和第二行。B本身并不错，但这是文章第三段的内容。D主要是条件有误。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】主旨考题的解答需要考生恰当把握全文的内容，从而加以概括。答案提示有二：一是第一段第一、第二行；二是第三段开头。
4
1.【答案】D。
【解析】A、B两项都极易被排除：A显然是作者对高跟鞋的戏谑，而非妇女穿高跟鞋的理由。B意为“她们想炫耀自己的身份”，文章中找不到这样的意思。C有一定迷惑性，因为它与文章第二句话吻合。虽然C本身是正确的陈述，也与文章内容相符，但它与问题不匹配。根据第一段第七句话（Fashion myths have led women...）可知D正确。
2.【答案】A。
【解析】态度性问题。ironic是个超纲词，但我们知道irony的意思是“n. 反语，嘲弄”。poke fun at是个成语，意为“拿……开玩笑，取笑”。D意为“使他的论点有说服力”，显然不对，因为作者的论点是高跟鞋有害，the positive side of high heels当然不会支持这种论点；选择C的考生显然是仅从字面上来理解文章中For the sake of fairness（为了公平起见）的意思；文章是批评高跟鞋的危害的，而不是批评妇女，所以B也不对。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】推断题。fragile意为“易碎的，脆的，易损坏的；虚弱的，脆弱的”。题目要求考生正确理解文中those babies的含义，考生须联系上下文来体会。其实，在日常生活中我们也常常对自己喜爱的东西称为“小家伙（baby）”。
4.【答案】B。
【解析】主题性问题。本文的主旨就是告诫妇女穿高跟鞋有害于健康。文章最后一段就是在不厌其烦地列举高跟鞋威胁健康的方面。
5.【答案】D。
【解析】推断题。B、C两项极易被排除。A项具有一定的迷惑性。其意思是：“看穿流行的各种本质。”D项意为“不要跟潮流跟得太紧”。文章的主要内容是：流行趋势使得许多妇女崇尚高跟鞋，但实际上高跟鞋不利于穿着者的健康。其言下之意就是不要跟潮流跟得太紧。文章并没有花费笔墨去讲述高跟鞋这一事物流行的本质。
5
1.【答案】D。
【解析】细节题。选择依据为文章第一句话。该句中的reasons即问题所问的purpose。依据第二段前半句话也可知答案为D。该句中的imperative（n. & a. 必要的，紧急的，极重要的；命令的）与问题中的purpose对应。A项（显示军威）、C项（寻找新的殖民地）都只是经济和政治因素的一种，探险所肩负的经济、政治使命不一定就是显示军威或寻求新殖民地，所以可排除A、C项，可从第二段第一句话中看出：过去的探险虽然大都具有一定科学意义，但这只是探险活动的客观结果，而非探险的主观目的。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】推断题。回答依据为第三段第二、第三句话，尤其是第二句话。B、D两项都容易被排除，A项迷惑性较大。原文意思是：在短期内看不到经济效益、冷战结束、太空探索中日益强调国际合作的今天，显然促使人类踏上火星的原因不是利润和民族主义。
3.【答案】A。
【解析】细节题。选择依据为第四段第二句。文章中找不到B、C两项的意思。至于D项，科学目的在太空探索中具有重要意义，是其主要目的，但人类登陆火星并不是为了显示科学在太空探索中的重要意义。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】推断题。文章中找不到A、B、C三项的意思。要正确理解这句话的意思，必须联系上下文。上文中说：以前的探险主要是为着经济和民族主义原因，但火星探险却在近期内看不到经济效益，而且现在冷战结束、在太空探索中强调国际合作，那么，科学目的是否会在火星探索中占据主导地位呢？在火星探索中，科学家们比以往哪次探险都更积极地参与其中。由此可见，该句的意思是说：在火星探险中，科学家更多地参与其中是因为科学研究是探险的主要目的。D项与此意思相同。
5.【答案】D。
【解析】细节题。选择依据为文章最后一句话。文章中找不到A项的意思；B项的出题依据为第四段第二句话后半部分内容，但仔细阅读该句便可知B项内容与其不符；C项具有一定迷惑性，其出题依据是倒数第二句话。该句谓语部分（包括宾语）与C项意思类似，但主语的含义与题干中宾语从句的主语（proof of live on Mars）含义不同。
Unit Eight
1
1.【答案】A。
【解析】本题可以算是一道主旨题，但这种问法以前在四、六级考试中未出现过。它问本文第一段的组织结构是什么，其实是问第一段的主旨大意。A项意为“提出两种相反的观点”，最为恰当地概括了第一段的内容。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】推理题。文章开头就明确提出：过去人们普遍认为现代社会改变了人们自然形成的人际关系，亲戚和邻居之间变得冷漠，代之以与认识的过路人一样肤浅、表面的关系。B项说“不再形成持久、深入的人际关系”，显然B项与原文相符。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】推理题。题干中的impersonal意为“没有感情的”；A项中disrupt意为“使分裂，使中断，使陷入混乱”。根据第三段第二句话可知C项正确。A项的错误在于并非邻里之间的冷漠导致人们原来自然的关系中断，二者不是因果关系。邻居关系的疏远也不是他们担心犯罪的原因，也没有造成邻里之间互相猜疑。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】推理题。C项正是文章最后几句话的概括。A项与第二段第五句话（but the quality of life doesn't differ between town and city）相悖；D项与第二段第六句话（Nor are residents...）意思相反。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】主旨题。本文第一段先提出两种相反的观点，随后便一直在论证第二种观点，即讨论A项的内容。
2
1.【答案】C。
【解析】推断题。根据第一段最后一句（纤瘦被认为是一种美德），再加上前面的our times，可以知道这是现代社会的现象，所以选C。A项意为“宗教信徒不一定品德高尚”。文章中根本就没有提到这一点，更谈不上对此表示奇怪。文章只是说所有的宗教都有几天要求戒斋，基督教更是将暴饮暴食视为罪恶。B项错误，因为文章只是说财富和纤瘦作为女人追求的目标，永远都不会让她们满足，并没有说苗条是财富的象征。D项错，文章是说第一句话经常被认为是Duchchess of Windosor说的。有人可能会根据第三段最后一句话和第四段第一句话认为B是对的。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】细节题。由第二段第三句话可知，作者受这种趋势的影响，也加入控制饮食以减肥的大军中来，所以C正确。第二段第二句话说作者幻想能够穿上窄小衣服，但这只是幻想而已，还没有穿，而且narrow designer clother和highly fashionable clothes也不是一回事，所以A错。第二段最后一句是B项的设计依据。作者参与到减肥中来，说明她并没有脱俗，所以D错。D项和C项意思相反。
3.【答案】A。
【解析】推断题。第三段最后一句和第四段前两句形成对比。前者的过去式表明那是过去的事，后者的时间状语today和谓语时态表明现在的情况。B项因果颠倒，因为从文中可以看出，是道德准则的不同导致了对胖瘦的不同观点，而非相反；C项明显不对；D项有一定迷惑性，因为第三段最后一句有个religious。考生要明白，形成对比的不是religious和非religious，而是过去和today，故A对D错。
4.【答案】B。
【解析】推断题。前半部分主要是从社会的角度来分析以瘦为美这种社会心理的实质，后面两段都是从医学角度来分析它的原因，所以选B。文章中根本就没有谈到过教育，C项显然不对。A和D也较易被排除。
5.【答案】C。
【解析】细节题。最后一段倒数第二句说到那些认为瘦了就自然会健康，从而不注意他们的生活方式的人是非常危险的。这说明作者认为人们更应该关注自己的生活方式，所以选C。
3
1.【答案】C。
【解析】依据文章第二段第三行，说明植物在发“高烧”，也就是说，“身体状况”不佳时才会散发热。
2.【答案】D。
【解析】依据文章第二段第四行，说明目的是确定有问题的区域，以使农民有针对性地使用杀虫剂。
3.【答案】A。
【解析】依据文章第二段最后一句。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】依据文章第三段的第一至二行。可以看出红外线扫描技术应用于农业遇到了一些问题，原因有两个：一是农民对新技术的抵制，二是难以找到长期赞助商。文章中最后一段的最后一句提供的信息同样可以反推出10年前的情形。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】依据文章第三段第二行。
4
1.【答案】C。
【解析】从文章第一段第二句“The increasingly interconnected modern world makes it much difficult for small language communities to live in relative isolation, a key factor in language maintenance and preservation.”可以看出：小语种能延续的最好条件就是语言的维持。看四个选项中A、B、D都不能充当其条件，所以应该选C。
2.【答案】A。
【解析】文章第一段第三句 “It remains to be seen whether the world can maintain its linguistic and cultural diversity in the centuries ahead.（接下来的几个世纪，世界能否维持它的语言和文化多样性还有待观察。）”从这句话可以看出作者对于这个问题也持有的是一种不确定的态度，应该用uncertain，表示“不确定，不可预测”，所以应该选A。
3.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的线索在第二段，首先通过括号里的解释了解单词bilingualism意思是掌握两种语言，紧接着讲到了它的用处，具体讲它能帮助什么要看“In this way, many small languages could sustain their cultural and linguistic integrity alongside global languages, rather than yield to the homogenizing forces of globalization.（这样，许多小语种就能够保持它们在文化和语言上的完整，和全球化的语言共存，而不是屈服于全球化语言的同化压力。）”依照作者的观点掌握两种语言能够帮助保持许多小语种在文化和语言上的完整性。只有D项符合文章的意思，所以应该选D。
4.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的答案在文章的第二段后半部分，即叙述计算机技术的这一部分。首先总结说它能够挽救小语种，即保护小语种。然后举了两个例子来说明它的好处——“...some experts predict that computer software translation tools will one day permit minority language speakers to browse the Internet using their native tongues.（许多专家预言，计算机的翻译软件将使得讲小语种的人能够用他们的本土语言来浏览因特网。）”“Linguists are currently using computer-aided learning tools to teach a variety of threatened languages.（语言学家现在利用计算机辅助学习工具，讲授面临被同化威胁的各种语言。）”可见：总结这两点可知计算机分别在学习和使用上帮助保护小语种，B项符合文章的意思，所以应该选B。
5.【答案】C。
【解析】根据题目首先确定答案在最后一段，最后一段首先讲到“the line between revival and death is extremely thin”（复兴和灭亡之间的距离很近）。紧接着说：但是“language is remarkably resilient”（语言是非常有活力的），再看最后：“Many indigenous communities have shown that it is possible to live in the modern world while reclaiming their unique identities through language.”可见，作者认为，许多有灭绝危险的语言，将可能起死回生。C项符合文章的意思，所以应该选C。
5
1.【答案】B。
【解析】文章第一段讨论了有关健康的问题，本题要找出一个文章中没有提到的健康问题的选项，这四个选项文章都提到了相关的内容，现在就要看看那个不是有关健康问题的选项。“Angela Merkel, is under fire for suggesting changing the financing of its health system.”因为安吉拉·默克尔建议改革健康体系的财政政策而受到攻击，可见这里讨论的是个人问题。其他三项分别讲到了英国、德国和加拿大的健康问题，所以应该选B。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】有关福特汽车公司的内容在文章的第二段。那么现在看全段，这一段第一句点明了这一段的中心，而福特汽车公司举了一个例子来进行说明。要想知道福特公司到2012年撤销3000多工作岗位暗示了什么，需要看“soaring bills are squeezing wages, swelling the ranks of the uninsured and pushing huge firms and perhaps even the government towards bankruptcy”。可见，已经积压了太沉重的健康负担。C项最为符合，所以应该选C。
3.【答案】A。
【解析】涉及美国的健康体系的段落在第三和第四段。A项讲到美国健康体系是无效率的，第三段讲到：美国在健康问题上花费了GDP的16%，大约是富有国家平均水平的两倍，但是它却不能保证全面实施健康福利政策。可见：它是无效率的。B、C、D项的说法，文章没有涉及，所以应该选A。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】implied表示“暗含的”。由于三个选项几乎是文章的直接表述，D项在文章第四段第三句，这句话的原意是：如果美国的医药没有做很多的研究和开发，欧洲的医药账单可能更高。暗含欧洲从美国的研究中大量获利。所以应该选D。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】根据最后一段第一句话“Americans disapprove of the 'socialized medicine' of Canada and Europe.”美国人不同意加拿大和欧洲的公费医疗制度。可见：公费医疗是加拿大和欧洲的一项制度。A项符合文章的意思，所以应该选A。
Unit Nine
1
1.【答案】A。
【解析】文中第一段中的一句“Women are particularly susceptible to developing depression and anxiety disorders in response to stress compared to men.”实际上就是前两段的主旨句。vulnerable与susceptible同义。故正确答案为A。
2.【答案】D。
【解析】Dr. Yehuda研究指出“It's just that they (women) have so much more to cope with”，可见
D选项是正确的。A选项没提到，B、C选项与她的研究结果相悖。故正确答案为D。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】第四段第一句中“I think that the kinds of things that women are exposed to tend to be in more of a chronic or repeated nature.”说明了女性所承受压力是chronic or repeated, durable and frequent与它意思接近。故正确答案为C。
4.【答案】B。
【解析】Alvarez在说“I lived from paycheck to paycheck”之前，表达了自己的压力包括“...pay the rent, pay the car payment, and pay the debt.”因此根据上下文可知，“I lived from paycheck to paycheck”表达是工资“入不敷出”。故正确答案为B。
5.【答案】D。
【解析】全文讲解的是人所面临的压力，而且性别不同，所承受的压力也会不同，并且着重阐述女性承受了比男性更多的压力，故正确答案为D。
2
1.【答案】D。
【解析】第一段主要讲述了期刊出版的过程，即收稿、审稿、出版或弃用、版权和引用收费等步骤。B和D好像都符合。仔细阅读全文可知，文章先讲述了期刊出版以前是怎样的，后来又是怎样的，注意文中的一个词change，D选项中traditional也强调了过去。因此选D选项较为合理。故正确答案为D。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】OECD的报告在第二段中提到，由于网络的介入，出版社以前so far, made handsome profits的情况发生了改变（文中change一词），说明现在的情形对出版社来说变坏了。C选项中upset意为“打乱，颠覆”，与报告内容相符。故正确答案为C。
3.【答案】A。
【解析】文章第二段介绍了网络出版的新型出版方式，使获得科学成果方式简单。在第三段又讲到科学的价值和投资回报取决于杂志的发行量和易获得性。因此可推断出online publication的优势在于易获得。故正确答案为A。
4.【答案】A。
【解析】文章最后一段有一句，“There is open-access publishing, typically supported by asking the author (or his employer) to pay for the paper to be published.”由此可知，论文的作者也要为引用自己的文章而付费，因此这也要计入成本之中的。故正确答案为A。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】本文主要讲述的一种新的出版方式，即online publication。B选项能够概括这一内容。故正确答案为B。
3
1.【答案】A。
【解析】第一段在提到NBA球员张伯伦（Chamberlain）身高超过七英尺后，又讲到“The bodies playing major professional sports have changed dramatically over the year”，因而引用张伯伦的例子主要说明的是NBA球员身高的变化。故正确答案为A。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】文章第二段中提到“In the general population today, at this genetic, environmental level, we've pretty much gone as far as we can go”，第三段中提到“But as diet and health improved, children and adolescents have, on average, increased in height by about an inch and a half every 20 years”。说明生活水平在成长中占据了主要角色，A选项中modification以及B、D选项在文中都没有提到。故正确答案为C。
3.【答案】B。
【解析】A、C选项本身有错误，可以排除；D选项在文中没有提到，利用排除得到正确答案为 B。故正确答案为B。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】由最后一段的最后一句话，“...you could use today's data...”，可知D选项符合题意。故正确答案为D。
5.【答案】C。
【解析】全文由NBA球员张伯伦引出美国人身高的变化，但实际上“...apparently reached their limit in the early 1960s.”（参看第二段），后面又讲到了这种冲突的原因。主要内容还是在强调后者，即从基因上讲，美国人的身高已经达到了极限。故正确答案为C。
4
1.【答案】D。
【解析】结构题，题干中的is mentioned to表明本题是结构题。第一段首先提到了华盛顿移植牙齿的例子，接着指出，最近，许多历史学家开始关注奴隶在建国那一代人的生活中所起的作用，他们一定程度上受到1998年所获得的DNA证据的鼓舞。这些证据几乎确切证实，托马斯·杰斐逊和他的奴隶萨利·赫明丝至少有了一个孩子。这说明，提到该例子是为了揭示其生活中一些不为人知的事情。D与上意符合，为正确答案。A、B和C都是误解了作者的意图。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】推论题，题干中的infer表明本题是推论题。第二段提到，最近，许多历史学家开始关注奴隶在建国那一代人的生活中所起的作用。过去30年间，学者们从头到尾翻阅了历史，一些历史学家的作品揭示了美国的早期领导者所做的道德妥协以及美国初期的脆弱特性。由此可知，在美国的早期，其面临着微妙的形势。B与此意符合，为正确答案。A是误解了该段第三句话的意思；C是无中生有；D明显不对。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】第二段中讲述了Jefferson本人没有废除奴隶制，并且还和自己的女奴隶有私生子等等。说明Jefferson对于奴隶制的观点是不确定的、复杂的。故正确答案为C。
4.【答案】A。
【解析】一些开国元勋的确在政治上从奴隶身上获益，一个明显的例子就是第五段的内容。Jefferson在1800年的选举中获胜，源于将奴隶看成是3/5的人。故正确答案为A。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】最后一段中提到，“...believe that all men were created equal after observing the bravery of the black solders during the Revolutionary War.”由此可见，独立战争中黑人的勇敢表现使Washington作出了给奴隶自由的决定。故正确答案为B。
5
1.【答案】A。
【解析】根据题中的关键词European-style，从文章中找出相关的句子进行分析，“He would abolish the practice of tipping at Per Se, his luxury restaurant in New York City, and replace it with European-style service charge.”（他将废除他那纽约市奢华餐厅的小费制度，而用欧洲式的服务费取而代之。）这里的it是指the practice of tipping。charges little tip表示收取很少的小费，tipping-free表示免除小费，所以应该选A。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】本题是找出与原文不符的一个选项，从文章看A、C、D项都符合原文的意思，只有B项不对，看文章第一段“I knew three groups would be opposed: customers, servers and restaurant owners”我知道有三个群体可能反对：消费者，服务者和餐厅所有者。可见侍者们是关心小费的，所以应该选B。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的答案在文章的第五段，该段指出“Rather, customers are likely to tip more in response to servers... not when the service is good.”可见，赢得消费者的喜爱是决定小费多少的一个关键因素，所以应该选C。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】本题要求解释单词upwelling，找出它在文章中的位置，其前后一般都有对它相应的解释。从该词冒号后面“every bottle of imported water, every espresso and every cocktail is extra money in the server's pocket（每一瓶进口的饮料，每杯浓咖啡和鸡尾酒都有额外的费用）”，可见该词与extra意思相近，选项中只有C项与之意思相符，所以应该选C。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】主旨题，用排除法，看文章可知B、C、D项分别是文章中的一些细节。不能表达文章的中心意思。对各段的意思进行总结，文章主要讲了废除小费制度的原因，所以应该选A。
Unit Ten
1
1.【答案】 B。
【解析】本题考查的是文章的主题思想。总览全文，B项为正确答案。
2.【答案】 A。
【解析】本题可参照文章的第一段。从中可知，这次手术是法国斯特拉斯堡和美国纽约两地的医生通过电脑来共同完成的，因此A项为正确答案。
3.【答案】 C。
【解析】从文中第二段可知，大约48小时后病人就出院了，并且随后的一周内就可以正常行动。因此C项为正确答案。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】本题可参照文中第三段的“The high-speed fiber-optic connection between New York and France made it possible to overcome a key obstacle to telesurgery time delay.”从中可知正确答案为C。
5.【答案】 D。
【解析】 本题可参照文中第五段的“The computer systems used to controlsurgicalmovement can also lead to a breakthrough in teaching surgical techniques to a new generation of physicians.”从中可知正确答案为D。
2
1.【答案】 B。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有B项表达出了作者同意的观点。这可以从文中第三段的“With the globalization of popular music, messages tolerating or promoting drug abuse are now reaching beyond their countries of origin.”推出。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】本题under fire的意思是被指责，这可以从文章后的“It is being blamed by the United Nations for the dramatic rise in drug abuse worldwide.”推出。
3.【答案】A。
【解析】本题四个选项中只有A项正确。这可以从文中第三段的“Surprisingly, says the Board, the effect of drug-friendly pop music seems to survive despite the occasional shock of death by overdose（过量用药）.‘Such incidents tend to be seen as an occasion to mourn the loss of a role model, and not an opportunity to confront the deadly effect of recreational drug use’”推出。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】总览全文，没有涉及一些价格低的药品。因此D项正确。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】本题四个选项中只有A项正确。这可以从文中第二段的“The 74-page study says that pop music, as a global industry, is by far the most influential trend-setter for young people of most cultures.”推出。
3
1.【答案】D。
【解析】本题考查的是文章的主要内容。总览全文，D项为正确答案。
2.【答案】A。
【解析】本段后面的几个it指的是管道，这可以从第一句的“The Alaska pipeline starts at the frozen edge of the Arctic Ocean.”推出。因此A项正确。
3.【答案】 C。
【解析】根据文中内容可知，C项不是决定管道路线时的重要因素。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】本题四个选项中只有C项正确。这可以从文中第四段的“In fact, no single business could raise that much money, so 8 major oil companies formed a consortium in order to share the costs.”推出。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】本题四个选项中只有A项正确。这可以从文中第四段的“Each company controlled oil rights to particular shares of land in the oil fields and paid into the pipeline-construction fund according to the size of its holdings.”推出。
4
1.【答案】C。
【解析】本题四个选项中只有C项正确。因从第一段的内容可以推出，这里的that指其他节目主持人的妄自尊大的行为。
2.【答案】 D。
【解析】本题四个选项中只有D项正确。这可以从文中第二段的“But for someone who likes music, this is a dream job. I get to go to concerts and meet the bands you can hear on my show. It's great to hear the 'behind the scenes' gossip.”推出。
3.【答案】B。
【解析】本题四个选项中只有B项正确。这从第三段的内容可以看出，主持一次节目比Margherita原来所想的要复杂。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】本题四个选项中只有D项正确。这从第四段内容可以看出，Margherita的家人对她的成功并不兴奋。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】本题四个选项中只有A项正确。这从最后一段内容可以看出，作者认为Margherita和她所想的不同。
5
1.【答案】C。
【解析】题目中的关键词plagiarism在文章第一段，但是第一段并没有找到解释孩子们剽窃的主要原因，紧接第二段的第一句“Why is learning less important than a higher grade-point average (GPA)”这是一个承上启下的句子。可见，孩子们实施剽窃的主要原因是获得更高的GPA，所以应该选C。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】题目的问题在文章第二段，“When we're threatened or sick, we make conditional promises.'if you let me pass math I will 1' Once the situation is behind us, so are the promises.” 当我们受到威胁或生病的时候，我们就会作出有条件的承诺，如果你让我通过数学考试我将……一旦有这样的情况，我们就作出如此的承诺。也就暗示了人们总是在出现情况之后才作出承诺，没有问题时，誓言也就不复存在了。可见人们总是食言。B项的答案最为符合，所以应该选B。
3.【答案】D。
【解析】文章第四段“He had turned in an essay with the vocabulary and sentence structure of Ph.D. thesis. Up until that time, both his out-of-class and in-class work were borderline passing.” 直到那个时间以前，他上交了一篇具有博士学位词汇和句子的散文，由时间前后的对比，可以推断以前他的功课可能不好，即borderline passing是贬义的。排除A、C，但又因为passing是“通过，及格”的意思，所以这里应该表示刚好通过分数，B项语气太强烈，所以应该选D。
4.【答案】B。
【解析】本题在文章的最后一段，“His parents protested, 'He's only a child' and we instructors are wiser and should be compassionate.”由于A和C项在文中是并列的，不能同时成为题目的答案，所以排除它们，D项文章中没有提到，所以男孩的父母认为他们的孩子应该被原谅的主要原因是：他还仅仅是个孩子，应该选B。
5.【答案】D。
【解析】主旨题，看几个选项知A、C、D项都只是文章中的细节不能表达文章的中心思想，并且文章中plagiarism贯穿全文。所以文章的题目是剽窃的悲哀，应该选D。
Unit Eleven
1
1.【答案】B。
【解析】从文中第二段第二句可知，雨水是饮用水一个安全可靠的来源，因此B项为正确答案。
2.【答案】A。
【解析】从文中第二段第三句可知，和地下水不同，雨水不含矿物质或盐类，因此无需化学处理，因此正确答案为A。
3.【答案】B。
【解析】从文中第三段的最后两句可知，水箱上面有一个所谓的first-flush的装置，是用铁丝网做的。这一屏障能防止雨水中灰尘和树叶掉落到水箱中，而题干中出现actually“实际上”一词，因此B项为正确答案。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】从文中第五段的最后一句可知，如果袋子没有受到阳光破坏的话，使用寿命可以更长，因此D项为正确答案。
5.【答案】C。
【解析】本题可参照文中的最后一段。从中可知，国际发展企业说，储水系统应该建立在一个凸起的建筑上，以防止昆虫侵害它的底部。因此C项为正确答案。
2
1.【答案】B。
【解析】 从文中第一段的第一句和最后一句可知，解决少儿发展过程中出现的问题的原则是让孩子重新感受、体验他们在早期发展中应该但却未能充分体验的东西，因此B项为正确答案。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】从文中第二段可知，在托儿所里婴儿们开始学习遵守纪律。哪怕是最小的孩子也得一步步教他学会等待食物，学会有规律地作息等等，因此B项为正确答案。
3.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有D项正确，这可从文中第三段推出。从中可知，在孩子学习新技能时，家长若急于求成往往会适得其反，导致揠苗助长；但如果反过来，家长对孩子不管不问也会让孩子失去学习的热情。on the other hand暗示了两个极端。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】从文中第四段的最后两句可知，家长和孩子可以通过一起玩玩具、玩游戏如搭积木、拼图和猜字游戏来促进彼此之间的沟通与合作，因此D项正确。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】从文中最后一段的最后一句可知，总的来说，家长对孩子的监督既体现了家长的要求及社会的价值观又要反映孩子的快乐和幸福，所以是实现双重目标。因此A项为正确答案。
3
1.【答案】B。
【解析】本文讲述美国有犹太血统的人是否认为自己为犹太人这一问题，因此B项为正确答案。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】从文中第二段的第一、二句可知，调查表明双亲都是犹太人的新生中有93%认为自己也是犹太人。因此B项为正确答案。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】短语interfaith marriage与mixed marriage都含有“不同宗教信仰者间的婚姻”的意思，因此C项为正确答案。
4.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有B项错误，这可以从文中第二段第一句推出，即调查是针对加州大学所有新生进行的，而并非只调查犹太新生。
5.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有D项正确。这可以从文中最后一段第三句推出，即Hillel委托进行了一个调查，研究犹太人对犹太教的态度。
4
1.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有C项正确。这可以从文中第一段最后一句推出，即Olson一直在马里兰大学任经济学教授直至1998年去世。
2.【答案】A。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有A项正确。这可以从文中第二段第一句的后半句推出，即Olson把那个论点翻了个个儿，声称这种权利（财产权）对于创造财富至关重要。
3.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有B项正确。这可以从文中第三段的最后一句推出，即这种生产（批量生产）往往被称为资本密集型生产，但Olson认为其实这是财产密集型生产。
4.【答案】A。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有A项正确。这可以从文中第五段的第二句推出，即银行体系的基础就是银行与其客户之间的协议可以得到执行。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有B项正确。这可以从文中的最后一段推出，即Olson认为第三世界国家贫困的真正原因在于人们没有个人权利，也就没有动力去创造财富。
5
1.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有D项为正确答案。这可从文中的“These trading posts where products may be brought or sold are called commodity exchanges.”和“The security exchanges, on the other hand, are meeting places where stocks and bonds are traded.”推知。
2.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有D项为正确答案。这可从文中的“In 1929, the security exchange, or stock market, contributed to a crash—a sudden sharp decline in the value of securities.”推知。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有C项为正确答案。这可从文中的“The crash of 1929 has been attributed to many causes, among them wild and unwise speculation by many people and dishonest practices on the part of some business and of some members of the exchanges.”推知。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有C项为正确答案。这可从文中的“the Securities Exchange Commission, to protect investors and the public against dishonest practices on the exchanges.”推知。
5.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有D项为正确答案。这可从文中最后一段的内容推知，即政府在制约证券交易所的违法操作方面已经发挥着重要的作用。
Unit Twelve
1
1.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有D项为正确答案。这可从文中的“The over-development of motor transport, with its increase of more cars, more highways, more pollution, more suburbs, more commuting, has contributed to the near destruction of our cities.”推知。
2.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有D项为正确答案。这可从文中第二段的内容推知，即能源危机是我们目前需要面对的状况，为了解决这种状况，“where long range planning is essential”正确。
3.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有B项为正确答案。这可从文中的“There is a strong demand for moral revival and for some devotion that is vast enough and yet personal enough to enlist the devotion of all. In the past it has been only in a way in defense of their own country and their own ideals that any people have been able to devote themselves wholeheartedly.”推知，即“Lack of devotion”正确。
4.【答案】A。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有A项为正确答案。这可从文中的内容推知，即通过对过去和现在的问题的比较，作者是想使人们认识到能源危机的重要性。
5.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有C项为正确答案。这可从文中最后一段的内容推知，即作者认为人们现在必须做的事是接受一种新的生活方式。
2
1.【答案】A。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有A项为正确答案。这可从文中第一段的内容推知，即美国社会正在发生两方面的变化，一是它正在由一个工业社会向信息社会转变；二是区域经济模式正在向全球经济模式转变。未来学家们用“后工业社会”、“第三次浪潮”、“大趋势”等来描述这种转变。从以上这些描述可以推出，美国社会正在由产品的生产向第三产业的生产转化，由基于人与机器的社会向以知识产业为中心的社会发展。所以，在这两大转变的底层是生产方式的转变。
2.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有B项为正确答案。这可从文中的内容推知，即美国社会正在由能源经济模式向信息经济模式转化。300年来，技术一直围绕着一个机械方面的模式发展。再根据“The steam engine opened the mechanical age, and it reached its peak with the discovery of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion”可知，这一机械时代开始于蒸汽机的发明，至核聚裂变的发现达到其顶峰。
3.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有C项为正确答案。这可从文中的“These changes, it is contended, will afford a myriad of choices. The world will increasingly be one of many flavors, not just vanilla（香草）or chocolate.”推知，即这些变化将带来一系列选择机会，这个世界将逐渐变成一个多“风味”的世界，而不仅仅是香草或巧克力味。从这个比喻可知，这些变化为个人和社会提供了新的生活或制度模式和发展机会。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有D项为正确答案。这可从文中第二段的内容推知，即社会似乎正在向生物学模式转变，这一模式的基础是信息，涉及材料的集中利用。生物过程虽然也需要实际的能源与材料，但它倾向于用信息来代替二者。生物过程利用“爆炸”信息的方法缩小体积、能源及材料。例如：人的大脑体积及重量约是狐猴的10倍，但它所能处理的信息却是后者的10亿倍。所以，高技术工业的典型特征是信息的高度利用，而不是能源与材料的高度利用。因此“小体积大容量”正确。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有B项为正确答案。这可从文中的内容推知，即对于社会学家在这些巨大转变中所起的作用，作者所持的态度是肯定的。
3
1.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有B项为正确答案。这可从文中的内容推知，即本文围绕着如何养殖牡蛎而展开叙述。
2.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有D项为正确答案。这可从文中的“There they remained and in time grew into baby oysters called seed or spat（贝卵）. The spat grew larger by drawing in seawater from which they derived microscopic particles of food. Before long, farmers gathered the baby oysters, transplanted them in other waters to speed up their growth, and then transplanted them once more into another body of water to fatten them up.”推知，即它们会待在那儿并逐渐长成小牡蛎。我们称之为种子或贝苗。贝苗吸进海水中的微小生物作为食物从而越长越大。不久之后，农夫将这些小牡蛎收集起来，把它们移种进其他的水域加快其生长，然后再次将它们移种进另外的水域以使其肥壮起来。
3.【答案】A。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有A项为正确答案。这可从文中的内容推知，即海洋生物学家经过多次失败后，但仍顽强地坚持了下来。终于，在20世纪40年代，一个重要的突破性的进展产生了。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有D项为正确答案。这可从文中的“they succeeded in breeding new strains that were resistant to diseases, grew faster and larger, and flourished in water of different salinities（盐分）and temperatures.”推知，即他们进一步成功地培养出了新的品种，可以抵抗疾病、长得更快、更大并且在不同的盐度和温度的水中都能茁壮生长。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有B项为正确答案。这可从文中的内容推知，即本文是按照年代顺序来叙述培育牡蛎的过程。
4
1.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有C项为正确答案。这可从文中的“When you have begun to see what you want to say (frequently this becomes clear at the very end of a first draft), it is time to start thinking about how to present your ideas to others. It is time to start thinking about revising.”推知，即写出初稿后，要表达的内容及思想通常会跃然纸上。而后，作者就应考虑修改稿件，考虑如何将自己的观点更有效地、更清楚地传达给读者。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有C项为正确答案。这可从文中第一段的内容推知，即写文章的目的是传达自己的思想，展现自己的知识，但能否做到这一点，将自己的知识充分地展现出来（show your knowledge to best advantage），首先取决于你是否善于修改文章。修改文章，作者应该站在读者的立场上重新审视自己所写的东西，它的主要目的是提高写作的效益。
3.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有D项为正确答案。这可从文中的“James Michaner explains the importance of revision in this way: I have never thought of myself as a good writer. Anyone who wants reassurance of that should read one of my first drafts. But I'm one of the world's great revisers.”推知。
4.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有C项为正确答案。这可从文中第二段的内容推知，即修改文章是写作过程中最重要（也是经常为人所忽视）的一个环节，紧接着，本文举了两位名人的看法来说明这一点。
5.【答案】A。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有A项为正确答案。这可从文中的内容推知，即本文旨在阐明修改文章的重要性，而不是修改文章或写文章的步骤与方法。
5
1.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有C项为正确答案。这可从文中第一段的“Bird wings have a much more complex job to do than the wings of an airplane, for in addition to supporting the bird they must act as its engine”推知。A、B两项是文中提及的真实内容。从第二段可知，D项也是正确的，只有C项是错误的。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有C项为正确答案。这可从文中的“More modern fighters achieve greater speeds by sweeping back their wings while in flight, just as peregrines do when they go into a 130 kph dive, swooping to a kill.”推知。
3.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有B项为正确答案。这可从文中的“an albatross, the largest of flying birds, with a similar wing shape and a span of 3 meters, can patrol the ocean for hours in the same way without a single wing beat.”推知。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有D项为正确答案。这可从文中的“Hummingbirds have paralleled even this. They tilt their bodies so that they are almost upright and then beat their wings as fast as 80 times a second producing a similar downdraft of air. So the hummingbird can hover and even fly backwards.”推知。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】本题的四个选项中，只有B项为正确答案。这可从文中的“Even so the wing outline of a bird conforms to the same aerodynamic principles as those eventually discovered by people when designing airplanes, and if you know how different kinds of aircraft perform, you can predict the flight capabilities of similarly shaped birds.”推知。