A programmer and an engineer are sitting next to each other on a long flight from Los Angeles to New York.The programmer leans over to the engineer and asks if he would like to play a fun game.The engineer just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks. The programmer persists and explains that the game is really easy and has a lot of fun.He explains, "I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5.Then you ask me a question, and if I don't know the answer, I'll pay you $5." Again, the engineer politely refuses and tries to get to sleep. The programmer, now somewhat anxious, says, "OK, if you don't know the answer you pay me $5, and if I don't know the answer, I'll pay you $50!" This catches the engineer's attention, and he sees no end to this torment unless he plays, so he agrees to the game. The programmer asks the first question."What's the distance from the earth to the moon?'' The engineer doesn't say a word, but reaches into his wallet, pulls out a five dollar bill and hands it to the programmer.Now, it's the engineer's turn.He asks the programmer, "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down on four?" The programmer looks up at him with a puzzled look.He takes out his laptop computer and searches all of his references.After about an hour, he wakes the engineer and hands him $50.The engineer politely takes the $50 and turns away to try to get back to sleep.The programmer, more than a little angry, shakes the engineer and asks, "Well, so what's the answer?" Without a word, the engineer reaches into his wallet, hands the programmer $5, and turns away and goes back to sleep. What's the best title for the passage? A) A Boring Conversation B) A Fun Game C) A Trick During The Flight D) A Question Without Answer
B
For some years the big drugmakers have been worrying about an approaching "patent cliff"--a fall in sales as the patents on their most popular pills expire or are struck down by legal challenges, with few new potential _ to take their place. This week the patent on the best-selling drug in history expired--Lipitor, an anti-cholesterol pill which earned Pfizer nearly $11 billion in revenues last year.In all, pill like Lipitor with a combined $170 billion in annual sales will go off-patent by the end of 2015. What is supposed to happen now is that lots of copycat firms rush in with "generic" (ie, chemically identical) versions of Lipitor at perhaps one-fifth of its price.Patients and health-care payers should reap the benefit.Pfizer's revenues should suffer. The same story will be repeated many times, as other best-selling drugs march over the patent cliff But generics makers may face delays getting their cheaper versions to market.Ranbaxy, a Japanese-owned drugmaker, struggled to get regulators' approval for its generic version of Lipitor, and only won it on the day the patent expired.More importantly, research-based drug firms are using a variety of tactics to make the patent cliff slope more gently. Jon Leibowitz, chairman of America's Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is concerned by drugmakers filing additional patents on their products to put off the day when their protection expires. Another tactic is "pay-for-delay", in which a drugmaker facing a legal challenge to its patent pays its would-be competitor to put off introducing its cheaper copy. In the year to October the FTC identified what it believes to be 28 such settlements. American and European regulators are looking into these deals. However, legal challenges against them have been delayed, and a bill to ban them is stuck in Congress. To encourage generics makers to challenge patents on drugs, and introduce cheaper copies, an American law passed in 1984 says that the first one to do so will get a 180-day exclusivity period,in which no other... Which of the following might be the best title for the passage? A) Drugmakers' struggle B) Generic makers' dilemma C) Laws concerning patent protection D) Popular pills of Pfizer
A
(Question)
Every year there are changes in climate in different parts of the world.Some of these changes are due to natural causes.However,some climate changes are caused by air pollution and these changes may increase. If the pollution affects the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,the results are likely to be serious.There is only a small part of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.But it has an important function in keeping the balance between radiation from the sun entering the atmosphere and radiation leaving the Earth.Some of the radiation is absorbed by the Earth and some is radiated back into the atmosphere.The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere prevents some of the radiation from leaving the atmosphere.Thus the heat remains in the atmosphere and carbon dioxide helps to prevent the temperature of the Earth from falling. If the proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increased as a result of air pollution,the temperature of the atmosphere may rise.This might cause the ice in the North and South to melt.If this happened,the sea level could rise and parts of the Earth would be flooded.This is not quite likely but the possibility exists. There is also a fairly strong possibility that the dust level in the atmosphere will rise as a result of industrial pollution.This dust pollution will reflect sunlight back onto space.If this happens,less sunlight will reach the Earth and the temperature will fall. Another danger comes from the destruction of the Earth's vegetation such as the forest of Brazil,which is being cleared away for farmland and cities.Trees use carbon dioxide and their destruction may upset the balance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The main purpose of the passage is to tell us that _ . A) the climate of the earth is always changing B) air pollution has greatly affected the climate of the world C) carbon dioxide has something to do with climate changes D) the climate of the world is subjected to dangers from air pollution
(Answer)
D