It says the government should impose exact price controls of drugs.

It claims that American drug companies should imitate their European counterparts.

It indicates that price control does not reduce the innovativeness of drug making.

It suggests that price control can promote the innovativeness of drug making.

Question: How does the new study mentioned in Paragraph 2 support government's health-care reform?

Governments around the world are struggling to cope with the rising cost of health care, and of drugs in particular. Many rich countries have resorted to price controls, and some on the American left advocate them noisily. But drug firms maintain that America, where they are free to price patented pills largely as they please, is the engine of global pharmaceutical innovation, while price-controlling Europeans are free riders. That, says PhRMA, the industry's lobby based in Washington, D.C., is because price regulations seen in other rich countries" chill innovation, impede patients' access to the newest cutting-edge medicines, and trigger innovators to relocate to countries with more progressive public policy."
A new study, written by Donald Light, a visiting professor at Stanford University, claims that European drug firms are more innovative than American ones, in spite of price controls. That flies in the face of an influential paper published in the same journal in 2006, which examined the geographic origins of drugs registered between 1982 and 2003 and concluded that favourable public policies had helped propel America to the top of the list. PhRMA has rushed to denounce Mr Light's study, insisting it gives a" distorted picture"  and understates the impact of" home-grown innovation" .
The tiff exposes two fallacies that come from looking at a globalised industry through national spectacles. Both sides attribute new drugs to a specific country of origin（based on the location of the headquarters of the firm that first launches them）. But Patricia Danzon of the Wharton Business School argues that this makes little sense when most big drug firms have laboratories in several countries and often acquire drugs under development from biotechnology firms located elsewhere. By the same token, firms develop drugs for the global market, observes Alan Garber of Stanford, not just for the local one. So the imposition of price caps in a given country will not necessarily quash innovation there, thanks to the lure of exports.
The exception to this rule, of course, is the United States, which alone accounts for over 40% of global sales. So what would happen if America's Congress imposes price regulations? If the cuts are swinging, then the prize for inventors everywhere will be reduced. But short of such a radical scenario, pricing reform would not kill off innovation, according to Sanford Bernstein, a financial-research firm. It has analysed the likely impact of a cut of 20% in the prices Medicare, the government health scheme for the elderly, pays for its drugs. It concluded that the earnings per share of big pharmaceutical firms would drop by 3-8%.
There is even reason to think that pricing reforms may boost innovation. Britain and Germany are pioneering comparative reviews of drugs' effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses aimed at reimbursing firms for new drugs based on how well they perform. Janssen-Cilag persuaded Britain's health service to accept Velcade, its expensive cancer drug, by offering a money-back guarantee if it did not work as well as promised.
The American pharmaceutical lobby is violently opposed to making such an approach compulsory. Some suspect that its opposition stems from the fear that many expensive and profitable pills would be found to be of dubious value. But as Ms Danzon points out, " Comparative-effectiveness reviews are an indirect form of price control-but one that is consistent with encouraging innovation."


The measure has contributed to many free riders.

The measure is agreed upon by many rich countries.

The measure has encountered resistance from drug firms.

The measure has aroused a controversy that is yet to be settled.

Question: Which of the following is NOT true concerning price control of drugs?


in the same way
symbolically
by the same expression
in the same sense

Question: The expression" by the same token"  （Line 5, Paragraph 3）most probably means  _ .


Because it works in Britain and Germany.

Because firms are encouraged by government to guarantee better performance.

Because firms will be reimbursed for new drugs based on how well they perform.

Because Britain's health service would like to try new drugs.

Question: Why does the author say that price control may promote innovation?


Medicare may reduce pharmaceutical firms' earning per share in future.

The price-control-for-innovation approach is not applicable to US.

The American pharmaceutical industry utilizes politics for its own benefit.

Comparative-effectiveness analysis is the best way to encourage innovation.

Question: Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?


the underestimate of the grassland acreage

Question: The major reason for listing the lesser prairie as threatened is _

Biologists estimate that as many as 2 million lesser prairie chickens---a kind of bird living on stretching grasslands-once lent red to the often gray landscape of the midwestern and southwestern United States. But just some 22,000 birds remain today, occupying about 16% of the species' historic range.
The crash was a major reason the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)decided to formally list the bird as threatened. "The lesser prairie chicken is in a desperate situation," said USFWS Director Daniel Ashe. Some environmentalists, however, were disappointed. They had pushed the agency to designate the bird as "endangered," a status that gives federal officials greater regulatory power to crack down on threats. But Ashe and others argued that the"threatened" tag gave the federal government flexibility to try out new, potentially less confrontational conservations approaches. In particular, they called for forging closer collaborations with western state governments, which are often uneasy with federal action and with the private landowners who control an estimated 95% of the prairie chicken's habitat.
Under the plan, for example, the agency said it would not prosecute landowner or businesses that unintentionally kill, harm, or disturb the bird, as long as they had signed a range-wide management plan to restore prairie chicken habitat. Negotiated by USFWS and the states, the plan requires individuals and businesses that damage habitat as part of their operations to pay into a fund to replace every acre destroyed with 2 new acres of suitable habitat. The fund will also be used to compensate landowners who set aside habitat, USFWS also set an interim goal of restoring prairie chicken populations to an annual average of 67,000 birds over the next 10 years. And it gives the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA., a coalition of state agencies, the job of monitoring progress. Overall, the idea is to let "states" remain in the driver's seat for managing the species," Ashe said.
Not everyone buys the win-win rhetoric Some Congress members are trying to block the plan, and at least a dozen industry groups, four states, and three environmental groups are challenging it in federal court Not surprisingly, doesn't go far enough "The federal government is giving responsibility for managing the bird to the same industries that are pushing it to extinction," says biologist Jay Lininger.


was a give-in to governmental pressure
would involve fewer agencies in action
granted less federal regulatory power
went against conservation policies

Question: The "threatened" tag disappointed some environmentalists in that it _


volunteer to set up an equally big habitat

offer to support the WAFWA monitoring job

promise to raise funds for USFWS operations

Question: It can be learned from Paragraph3 that unintentional harm-doers will not be prosecuted if they _


the federal government
the wildlife agencies
the landowners
the states

Question: According to Ashe， the leading role in managing the species in _


industry groups
the win-win rhetoric
environmental groups
the plan under challenge

Question: Jay Lininger would most likely support _


scientists are split as to whether birds descended from dinosaurs

the bone similarities between birds and dinosaurs are a coincidence

fossils have proven that birds evolved from dinosaurs

the idea that birds are connected with dinosaurs has always been taken seriously

Question: We learn from the beginning of the passage that  _ .

The once radical notion that birds descended from dinosaurs-or may even be dinosaurs, the only living branch of the family that ruled the earth eons ago-has got stronger and stronger since paleontologists first started taking it seriously a couple of decades ago. Remarkable similarities in bone structure between dinos and birds were the first clue. Then came evidence, thanks to a series of astonishing discoveries in China's Liaoning province over the past five years, that some dinosaurs may have borne feathers. But a few scientists still argued that the link was weak; the bone similarities could be a coincidence, they said. And maybe those primitive structures visible in some fossils were feathers-but maybe not. You had to use your imagination to see them.
Not anymore. A spectacularly preserved fossil of a juvenile dinosaur, announced by a team of paleontologists from the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences and New York City's American Museum of Natural History in the latest issue of Nature, is about as good a missing link as anyone could want. " It has things that are undeniably feathers,"  exults Richard Prum, of the University of Kansas Natural History Museum, an expert on the evolution of feathers. " But it is clearly a small, vicious theropod similar to the velociraptors that chased the kids around the kitchen in Jurassic Park."
The find helps cement the dinosaur-bird connection, but it also casts new light on the mystery of why nature invented feathers in the first place. For the better part of a century, biologists have assumed that these specialized structures evolved for flight, but that's clearly not true. " The feathers on these dinosaurs aren't flight-worthy, and the animals couldn't fly,"  says paleontologist Kevin Padian, of the University of California, Berkeley. " They're too big, and they don't have wings."  So what was the original purpose of feathers? Nobody knows for sure; they might have been useful for keeping dinos dry, distracting predators or attracting mates, as peacocks do today.
But many biologists suspect that feathers originally arose to keep dinosaurs warm. The bone structure of dinosaurs shows that, unlike modern reptiles, they grew as fast as birds and mammals-which dovetails with a growing body of evidence that dinos were, in fact, warm-blooded. Says Padian:" They must have had a high basal metabolic rate to grow that fast. And I wouldn't be surprised if they had some sort of skin covering for insulation when they were small."  Says Norell:" Even baby tyrannosaurs probably looked like this one."
At the rate feathered dinosaurs are turning up, it shouldn't take long to solidify scientists' understanding of precisely how and why feathers first arose and when the first birdlike creature realized they were useful for flight. Meanwhile, kids had better get used to the idea that T. rex may have started life looking an awful lot like Tweety Bird.


it brings new mystery to paleontologists

it further proves the link between birds and dinosaurs

it solves the puzzle of birds' evolution

Question: Speaking of the recently-announced fossil of a juvenile dinosaur, the author implies that  _ .


could protect dinosaurs from their natural enemy

Question: In the view of Kevin Padian, the feathers on those dinosaurs  _ .


to help dinosaurs fly
to keep dinosaurs warm
to distract predators
a mystery

Question: The original purpose of feather was  _ .


T-rex is a kind of dinosaur figure familiar to kids

living feathered dinosaurs can still be found in certain parts of the world

scientists understand precisely how and why feathers first arose

Question: We learn from the last paragraph that  _ .


cleverer than the younger
no cleverer than the younger
less clever than the younger
as clever as the younger

Question: According to the research, usually the elder in a two-child family is .

The classical study of family size and IQ was conducted in the Netherlands. It was based on the military examinations of more than 386,000 Dutchmen. Researchers found that the brightest subjects came from the smallest families and had few, if any, brothers and sisters when they were born. Thus the firstborn child in a family of two was usually brighter than the last child in a family.
The effects of family size on intelligence may be explained by what a house full of children does to the home environment. It increases the amount of time a child spends with other children and decreases the amount of parental attention he or she receives. For example, a parent with one restless child is likely to sit and play with the child. The same parent with two or three restless children is more likely to ask them to play with each other. Some psychologists say that when a child interacts with an adult alone, the child learns more and therefore intelligence is increased. Researchers have also found that parents often expect more from their firstborn, which motivates such children to seek a higher standard.
Not all psychologists agree that firstborns tend to be more intelligent. They say that the data need to be examined more closely for other possible explanations. For example, in industrialized nations most large families come from lower socio - economic backgrounds. Thus environment, not family size or birth order, may be influencing intelligence. On the other hand, there may be genetic variations within families that also explain the cause of differences.
If firstborns have advantages in the area of intelligence, research has also shown that they may be more conforming and have poorer social skills than their younger siblings (brothers and / or sisters). Although more research needs to be done in this area, it is clear that such factors as birth order, the order in which boys and girls are born into a family, the number of years that separate siblings probably have an effect on the development of intelligence, personality, and social relationships.


Their parents spend less time with other children.

Question: Why are firstborns encouraged to seek a higher standard?


Family Size and IQ
Boys Cleverer Than Girls
The Development of intelligence
Factors Influencing IQ

Question: The best title for this passage would be .


a graduate student
a part-time student
a full-time student
an undergraduate student

Question: In order to be eligible to enroll in Mechanical Engineering 850,a student must be _ .

Courses with the numbers 800 or above are open only to graduate students.Certain courses,generally those devoted to introductory material,are numbered 400 for undergraduate students and 600 for graduate students. Courses designed for students seeking a professional degree carry a 500 number for undergraduate students and a 700 munber for graduate students.
A full-time graduate student is expected to take courses which total ten to sixteen credit hours. Students holding assistantships are expected to enroll for proportionately fewer hours.A part-time graduate student must register for a minimun of five credit hours.


accounting 520
accounting 620
accounting 720
accounting 820

Question: If an undergraduate student uses the number 520 to register for an accounting course,what number would a graduate student probably use to register for the same course?


full-time student
graduate student
part-time student
non-degree student

Question: A student who register for eight credit hours is a _ .


register for courses if he has an assistantship

Question: A graduate student may not _


the life of the real policemen and that of the policemen on TV are entirely different

the real policemen will find the similarities if they can get home in time

the real policemen seldom can get home in time to watch TV

the policemen shown on TV can always get home in time

Question: The first sentence implies that _ .

Real policemen hardly recognize any resemblance between their lives and what they see on TV if they everget home in time. There are similarities, of course, but the cops don't think much of them.
The first difference is that a policeman's real life revolves round the law. Most of his training is in criminal law. He has to know exactly what actions are crimes and what evidence can be used to prove them in court. He has to know as a professional lawyer, and what is more, he has to apply it on his feet, in the dark and rain, running down an alley after someone he wants to talk to.
Little of his time is spent in chatting to scantily-clad  ladies or in dramatic confrontationswith desperate criminals. He will spend most of his working life typing millions of words on thousands of forms about hundreds of sad, unimportant people who are guilty or not of stupid, petty crimes.
Most television crime drama is about finding the criminal: as soon as he's arrested, the story is over. i real life, finding criminals is seldom much of a problem. Except in very serious cases like murders and terrorist attacks where failure to produce results reflects on the standing of the police little effortis spent on searching.
Having made an arrest, a detective really starts to work. He has to prove his case in court and to do thathe often has to gather a lot of different evidence. So, as well as being overworked, a detective has to beout at all hours of the day and night interviewing his witnesses and persuade them usually against their own best interests, to help him.


so that he can catch criminals in the streets

because many of the criminals he has to catch are dangerous

so that he can justify his arrests in court

because he has to know nearly as much about law as a professional lawyer

Question: It is essential for a policeman to be trained in criminal law _ .


exciting and glamorous
full of danger
devoted mostly to routine matters
wasted on unimportant matters

Question: The everyday life of a policeman or detective is _ .


prefer to wait for the criminal to give himself away

make great efforts to try to track down their man

try to make a quick arrest in order to keep up their reputation

Question: When murders and terrorist attacks occur,the police _ .


Policemen and Detective
Policemen's Life-Fun and Fantasy
The Real Life of a Policeman
Drama and Reality

Question: What's the best title for the passage?


They were a source of political corruption.

They were a threat to the nation's security.

They were part of the nation's bloodstream.

Question: How were immigrants viewed by U.S. Congress in early days?

The percentage of immigrants (including those unlawfully present) in the United States has been creeping upward for years. At 12.6 percent, it is now higher than at any point since the mid-1920s.
We are not about to go back to the days when Congress openly worried about inferior races polluting America's bloodstream. But once again we are wondering whether we have too many of the wrong sort of newcomers. Their loudest critics argue that the new wave of immigrants cannot, and indeed do not want to, fit in as previous generations did.
We now know that these racist views were wrong. In time, Italians, Romanians and members of other so-called inferior races became exemplary Americans and contributed greatly, in ways too numerous to detail, to the building of this magnificent nation. There is no reason why these new immigrants should not have the same success.
Although children of Mexican immigrants do better, in terms of educational and professional attainment, than their parents, UCLA sociologist Edward Telles has found that the gains don't continue. Indeed, the fourth generation is marginally worse off than the third. James Jackson, of the University of Michigan, has found a similar trend among black Caribbean immigrants. Telles fears that Mexican-Americans may be fated to follow in the footsteps of American blacks-that large parts of the community may become mired  in a seemingly permanent state of poverty and underachievement. Like African-Americans, Mexican-Americans are increasingly relegated to  segregated, substandard schools, and their dropout rate is the highest for any ethnic group in the country.
We have learned much about the foolish idea of excluding people on the presumption of the ethnic/racial inferiority. But what we have not yet learned is how to make the process of Americanization work for all. I am not talking about requiring people to learn English or to adopt American ways; those things happen pretty much on their own. But as arguments about immigration heat up the campaign trail, we also ought to ask some broader question about assimilation, about how to ensure that people, once outsiders, don't forever remain marginalized within these shores.
That is a much larger question than what should happen with undocumented workers, or how best to secure the border, and it is one that affects not only newcomers but groups that have been here for generations. It will have more impact on our future than where we decide to set the admissions bar for the latest wave of would-be Americans. And it would be nice if we finally got the answer right.


They will be a dynamic work force in the U. S.

They can do just as well as their predecessors.

They will be very disappointed on the new land.

They may find it hard to fit into the mainstream.

Question: What does the author think of the new immigrants?


They may slowly improve from generation to generation.

They will do better in terms of educational attainment.

They will melt into the African-American community.

They may forever remain poor and underachieving.

Question: What does Edward Telles' research say about Mexican-Americans?


Rid them of their inferiority complex.
Urge them to adopt American customs.
Prevent them from being marginalized.
Teach them standard American English.

Question: What should be done to help the new immigrants?


how to deal with people entering the U.S. without documents

how to help immigrants to better fit into American society

how to stop illegal immigrants from crossing the border

how to limit the number of immigrants to enter the U.S.

Question: According to the author, the burning issue concerning immigration is ________.


that high school students have been spending too much money on it

that childhood obesity has become more and more serious

that the state wants to raise its public image

Question: The reason why California has banned school junk food is _ .

Five years after California started cracking down on junk food in school cafeterias, a new report shows that high school students there consume fewer calories and less fat and sugar at school than students in other states.
The ﬁndings suggest that state policies can be successful to some extent in inﬂ uencing the eating habits of teenagers. The study found that California high school students consumed on average nearly 160 calories fewer per day than students in other states, the equivalent of cutting out a small bag of potato chips. That difference came largely from reduced calorie consumption at school, and there was no evidence that students were compensating for their limited access to junk food at school by eating more at home.
While a hundred calories here or there may not sound like much, childhood obesity rates have more than tripled in the United States in the last four decades, and many researchers say that most children and adolescents could avoid signiﬁ cant long-term weight gain by cutting out just 100 to 200 extra calories a day.
"I would deﬁ nitely say that 158 calories is signiﬁ cant," said Daniel R. Taber, an author of the study and a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "When you combine this study with other studies on California law, the body of evidence suggests the schools in California really have made healthier changes by getting rid of things like sweets and candy bars."
California is one of several states that have sought to reduce childhood obesity by targeting junk food in schools. A decade ago it became the ﬁ rst state to ban the sale of soft drinks in grade schools, and it later enacted a similar ban in high schools. Since 2007, the state has also enforced nutrition standards for "competitive foods" in schools, the snacks and foods that are not included in meal plans but that students can get on school grounds-from vending machines, for example.
California law limits the amount of fat, sugar and calories that can be found in these foods.
To study the effect of this policy, the researchers examined data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the eating habits of high school students in California, comparing it with data on students from 14 states that did not have nutrition standards for vending machine snacks and other foods sold outside of school lunches and other meal plans. Over all, 680 students were included in the study, which was ﬁ nanced by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine .
California students had the lowest daily intake of calories, fat and, especially, added sugars.
And it seemed clear that their eating behaviors at school played a large role. California students got a lower proportion of their daily calories from school foods than students in other states: about 21.5 percent, compared with 28.4 percent among students elsewhere.
The reductions in fat, sugar and calorie consumption among Hispanic students "are particularly encouraging given the high prevalence of youth obesity among Hispanic individuals in California and the United States over all," the authors wrote. "It is also encouraging in light of research that documented the high presence of convenience stores, mobile food vendors and other food outlets surrounding schools in Hispanic communities."
Still, California's students had not suddenly become health nuts. They were still eating junk food-just slightly less of it than their peers in other states. And their vitamin and mineral intake was similar to that of students in other parts of the country.
"Students may not be buying as many candy bars at school, but that doesn't mean that they're necessarily eating salads instead," Dr. Taber said, noting that schools still offer items like baked chips and desserts that comply with the regulations but offer little in the way of nutrition.
He said that schools could take an additional step by replacing some of the junk food being ﬁltered out with healthy options like fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Iowa, for example, began requiring in 2010 that at least half of the foods available outside meal plans contain whole grains. Other than that, no state has laws that require whole, unprocessed or fresh foods to be available outside of school lunches for high school students.
School initiatives could also focus on students' eating behaviors at home, Dr. Taber said. "We have to recognize that school-based laws have a limited scope because students only consume about 25 percent of their calories at school," he said. "No one sector or environment is going to be the magical cure. Obesity is a very complex problem with many answers, so we really need to target different aspects of students' environments."
From The New York Times, May 8, 2012


California is the only state that cares about childhood obesity in the United States.

California began the ban with forbidding the sale of drinks in high schools.

No snacks can be found in Californian schools.

Nutrition standards for those foods in vending machine snacks have been enforced in Californian schools.

Question: Which is TRUE about California according to the passage?


online shops
vending machines
convenience stores
mobile food vendors

Question: Concerning food outlets, _  is not mentioned in the passage.


people who are enthusiastic about health

Question: By "health nuts", the writer means _ .


results from students' bad eating habits

Question: Dr. Taber believes that obesity problem _ .


the problem of new coverage
an uncertain prospect
inquiries by the general public
shrinkage of audience

Question: The world famous BBC now faces 	.

With the start of BBC World Service Television, millions of viewers in Asia and America can now watch the Corporation's news coverage, as well as listen to it.
And of course in Britain listeners and viewers can tune in to two BBC television channels, five BBC national radio services and dozens of local radio stations. They are brought sport, comedy, drama, music, news and current affairs, education, religion, parliamentary coverage, children's programmes and films for an annual license fee of ￡83 per household.
It is a remarkable record, stretching back over 70 years -- yet the BBC's future is now in doubt. The Corporation will survive as a publicly-funded broadcasting organization, at least for the time being, but its role, its size and its programmes are now the subject of a nation-wide debate in Britain.
The debate was launched by the Government, which invited anyone with an opinion of the BBC
-- including ordinary listeners and viewers -- to say what was good or bad about the Corporation, and even whether they thought it was worth keeping. The reason for its inquiry is that the BBC's royal charter runs out in 1996 and it must decide whether to keep the organization as it is, or to make changes.
Defenders of the Corporation -- of whom there are many -- are fond of quoting the American slogan "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The BBC "ain't broke," they say, by which they mean it is not broken (as distinct from the word ‘broke', meaning having no money), so why bother to change it?
Yet the BBC will have to change, because the broadcasting world around it is changing. The commercial TV channels - ITV and Channel 4 -- were required by the Thatcher Government's Broadcasting Act to become more commercial, competing with each other for advertisers, and cutting costs and jobs. But it is the arrival of new satellite channels -- funded partly by advertising and partly by viewers' subscriptions -- which will bring about the biggest changes in the long term.


Extension of its TV service to Far East.

Programmes as the subject of a nation-wide debate.

Potentials for further international cooperations.

Its existence as a broadcasting organization.

Question: In the passage, which of the following about the BBC is NOT mentioned as the key issue?


the financial support from the royal family

a unique relationship with the royal family

Question: The BBC's "royal charter" (Line 4, Paragraph 4) stands for 	.


the enforcement of Broadcasting Act by the government

the urgent necessity to reduce costs and jobs

Question: The foremost reason why the BBC has to readjust itself is no other than 	.


animal cloning is absolutely impractical

human cloning should be done selectively

animal cloning is not worth the effort at all

Question: By "stupid endeavor" (Line 2, Para. 1), Westhusin means to say that ________.

"I've never met a human worth cloning," says cloning expert Mark Westhusin from his lab at Texas A&M University. "It's a stupid endeavor." That's an interesting choice of adjective, coming from a man who has spent millions of dollars trying to clone a 13-year-old dog named Missy. So far, he and his team have not succeeded, though they have cloned two cows and expect to clone a cat soon. They just might succeed in cloning Missy this spring-or perhaps not for another 5 years. It seems the reproductive system of man's best friend is one of the mysteries of modern science.
Westhusin's experience with cloning animals leaves him upset by all this talk of human cloning. In three years of work on the Missy project, using hundreds upon hundreds of dog's eggs, the A&M team has produced only a dozen or so embryos  carrying Missy's DNA. None have survived the transfer to a surrogate  mother. The wastage of eggs and the many spontaneously aborted fetuses  may be acceptable when you're dealing with cats or bulls, he argues, but not with humans. "Cloning is incredibly inefficient, and also dangerous," he says.
Even so, dog cloning is a commercial opportunity, with a nice research payoff. Ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1997, Westhusin's phone has been ringing with people calling in hopes of duplicating their cats and dogs, cattle and horses. "A lot of people want to clone pets, especially if the price is right," says Westhusin. Cost is no obstacle for Missy's mysterious billionaire owner; he's put up $3.7 million so far to fund A&M's research.
Contrary to some media reports, Missy is not dead. The owner wants a twin to carry on Missy's fine qualities after she does die. The prototype is, by all accounts, athletic, good-natured and supersmart. Missy's master does not expect an exact copy of her. He knows her clone may not have her temperament. In a statement of purpose, Missy's owner and the A&M team say they are "both looking forward to studying the ways that her clones differ from Missy."
Besides cloning a great dog, the project may contribute insight into the old question of nature vs, nurture. It could also lead to the cloning of special rescue dogs and many endangered animals.
However, Westhusin is cautious about his work. He knows that even if he gets a dog pregnant, the offspring, should they survive, will face the problems shown at birth by other cloned animals: abnormalities like immature lungs and heart and weight problems~ "Why would you ever want to clone humans,Westhusin asks, "when we're not even close to getting it worked out in animals yet?"


Its success is already in sight.
It is doomed to utter failure.
It is progressing smoothly.
Its outcome remains uncertain.

Question: What does the first paragraph tell us about Westhusin's dog cloning project?


examine the reproductive system of the dog species

find out the differences between Missy and its clones

search for ways to modify.its temperament

Question: By cloning Missy, Mark Westhusin hopes to ________.


an abnormal shape
a bad temper
defective organs
immune deficiency

Question: We learn from the passage that animal clones are likely to have ________.


provide insight into the question of nature vs, nurture

have been widely used in saving endangered species

have proved quite adequate for the cloning of humans

still have a long way to go before reaching maturity

Question: It can be seen that present cloning techniques ________.


media companies are blind to the benefit brought by Google

business response towards Google's practice is in sharply contrast with that of consumers

Google is to be blamed for reducing the profit of most media companies

Google tends to disrupt every industry it touches upon

Question: From the passage we can infer that  _ .

Sometimes it seems as if Google has never come across an industry it doesn't want to disrupt. Best known for its hugely popular search engine, the Internet giant has spread its tentacles into an ever-growing array of businesses, including advertising, telecoms and, most recently, digital-navigation software. The company's habit of selling services cheaply or giving them away for free has endeared it to consumers. But its tactics have enraged competitors, who complain their new rival is out to destroy the economics of entire industries.
Such griping has been loudest in the worlds of publishing and entertainment. Although media companies are hooked on the money they mint via adverts that run on Google and its YouTube video-streaming business, many of them also accuse the search firm of commoditising their content and of undermining their profits by making it easy for marketers to track the effectiveness of online ad spend. " You're fucking with the magic,"  says the boss of one big media company to Google's founders in a memorable scene recounted at the start of Ken Auletta's new book.
Mr Auletta, an American journalist and long-time commentator on the media industry, dismisses claims that Google's programming wizards are to blame for putting a jinx on the media world. Instead, he places the blame squarely, and correctly, on the publishing and movie executives who failed to appreciate the speed with which the Internet would sap their companies' fortunes. They were also slow to spot that, although Google presented itself as a friend, it had all the hallmarks of a powerful enemy too. Now the frenemy has become a scapegoat for many of the industry's self-inflicted wounds.
Mr Auletta does a respectable job of reviewing the media companies' predicaments. He also rehearses some of the well-known elements of Google's culture that have helped transform it from a start-up launched in a garage 11 years ago to a colossus with ambitions to become the world's first media company with revenues of $100 billion. Among other things, these include lavish stock options, perks such as free meals and massages, and a rigorous and sometimes quirky recruitment process.
More compelling are the book's insights into the relationship between the members of the triumvirate that runs Google-Mr Brin, Larry Page, his co-founder, and Eric Schmidt, the chief executive, who arrived at Google several years after its launch. Brought in at the behest of venture capitalists that have backed the firm, Mr Schmidt found himself treading a delicate path between the sensibilities of the brilliant but socially awkward founders and the demands of the impatient financiers. With the help of a veteran Silicon Valley executive who acts as a coach, the three men ultimately developed an effective working relationship.
Which is just as well, for Google now faces some formidable challenges. Fast-growing social networks such as Facebook are after a much bigger chunk of online ad dollars. And Google's size has begun to attract the attention of anti-trust watchdogs in areas such as digital book scanning, where it has ambitious plans. This hardly amounts to the end of Google's dominance as we know it. But if the company misplays its hand, it could turn out to be the beginning of the end.


Google barely intends to be friends with other media companies.

Google is currently generating an annual revenue of $100 billion.

Media companies should blame themselves for their decline.

Google's triumvirate management structure poses a disadvantage to the company's operation.

Question: Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?


disadvantage
competition
dilemma
bad luck

Question: The word" jinx" （Line 2, Paragraph 3）most probably means  _ .


Ken Auletta shows a professional insight in this book

Ken Auletta writes this book from a subjective perspective

Ken Auletta demonstrates a pessimistic view on Google's future

Ken Auletta writes this book to defend Google

Question: We can conclude from the text that  _ .


Question: The author's attitude towards Ken Auletta's new book seems to be  _ .


the practice of turning goods into money

Question: The marketing concept discussed in the passage is, in essence _ .

To understand the marketing concept, ii is only necessary to understand the difference between marketing and selling. Not too many years ago, most industries concentrated primarily on the efficient production of goods, and then relied on "persuasive salesmanship" to move as much of these goods as possible. Such production and selling focuses on the needs of the seller to produce goods and then convert them into money.
Marketing, on the other hand focuses on the wants of consumers. It begins with first analyzing r.he preferences and demands of consumers and then producing goods that will satisfy them. This eye-on-the-consumer approach is known as the marketing concept which simply means that instead of trying to sell whatever is easiest to produce or buy for resale, the makers and dealers first endeavor to find out what the consumer wants to buy and then go about making it available for purchase.
This concept does not imply that business is benevolent  or that consumer satisfaction is given priority over profit in a company. There are always two sides to every business transaction-the firm and the customer-and each must be satisfied before trade occurs. Successful merchants and producers, however, recognize that the surest route to profit is through understanding and catering to customers. A striking example of the importance of catering to the consumer presented itself in mid-1985, when Coca Cola changed the flavor of its drink. The non acceptance of the new flavor by a significant portion of the public brought about a prompt restoration of the Classic Coke, which was then marketed alongside the new. King Customer ruled!


The needs of the market.
The preferences of the dealer,
The efficiency of production.
The satisfaction of the user.

Question: What was the main concern of industrialists before the marketing concept was widely accepted?


to redesign these goods for large-scale production

to transport goods as efficiently as possible

to sell the largest possible amount of goods

to dispose of these goods in large quantities

Question: According to the passage, "to move as much of these goods as possible"(Line 3, Para.l} means _ .


Products must be designed to suit the taste of the consumer.

Consumers with conservative tastes are often difficult to please.

It takes time for a new product to be accepted by the public.

Traditional goods have a stronger appeal to the majority of people.

Question: What does the restoration of the Classic Coke best illustrate?


its social impact
its theoretical basis
its possible consequence
its main characteristic

Question: In discussing the marketing concept, the author focuses on _ .


discuss jogging as a physical fitness program

describe the type of clothing needed for jogging

provide scientific evidence of the benefits of jogging

distinguish between jogging as a " common sense " fitness program and a cult movement

Question: They main purpose of this passage is to  _ .

Jogging has become the most popular individual sport in America. Many theories, even some mystical ones, have been advanced to explain the popularity of jogging. The plain truth is that jogging is a cheap, quick and efficient way to maintain (or achieve )physical fitness.
The most useful sort of exercise is exercise that develops the heart, lungs, and circulatory systems. If these systems are fit, the body is ready for almost any sport and for almost any sudden demand made by work or emergencies. One can train more specifically, as by developing strength for weight lifting or the ability to run straight ahead for short distances with great power s in football, but running trains your heart and lungs to deliver oxygen more efficiently to all parts of your body. It is worth noting that this sort of exercise is the only kind that can reduce heart disease, the number one cause of death in America.
Only one sort of equipment is needed - a good pair of shoes. Physicians advise beginning joggers not to run in a tennis or gym shoe. Many design advances have been made in only the last several years that make an excellent running shoe in dispensable if a runner wishes to develop as quickly as possible, with as little chance of injury as possible. A good running shoe will have a soft pad for absorbing shock, as well as a slightly built-up heel and a full heelcup that will give the knee and ankle more stability. A wise investment in good shoes will prevent bilisters and the foot, ankle and knee injures and will also enable the wearer to run on paved or soft surfaces.
No other special equipment is needed; you can jog in any clothing you desire, even your street clothes. Many joggers wear expensive, flashy warm -up suits, but just as many wear a simple pair of gym shoes and T-shirt; in fact, many people just jog in last year's clothes. In cold weather, several layers of clothing are better than one heavy sweater or coat. If joggers are wearing several layers of clothing, they can add or subtract layers as conditions change.
It takes surprisingly little time to develop the ability to run. The American Jogging Association has a twelve - week program designed to move form a fifteen-minute walk (which almost anyone can manage who is in reasonable health) to a thirty-minute run. A measure of common sense, a physical examination, and a planned schedule are all it takes.


enables a person to run straight ahead for short distances with great power

develops the heart, lungs, and circulatory systems

Question: The most useful kind of exercise is exercise that  _ .


because of jogging, heart disease is no longer an American problem

jogging can be harmful if the runner is not properly prepared

warm-up suits are preferable to gym shoes and T-shirts

Question: We can conclude from this passage that  _ .


skeptical
aggressive
approving
purely objective

Question: The author's tone  _ .


awesome
horrifying
a spirtual discipline
vicious

Question: As used in this passage, the word " mystical "  means  _ .


in a long winding line through central Rome."

at a leisurely pace through central Rome."

Question: The expression "snake through central Rome" probably means "to move

Tourists were surprised to see a woman driving a huge orange tractor down one of Rome's main avenues. Italy's political leaders and some of its male union chiefs are said to have been even more puzzled to see that the tractor was followed by about 200,000 women in a parading procession that took more than three hours to snake through central Rome.
Shouting slogans, waving flags and dancing to drumbeats, the women had come to the capital from all over Italy to demonstrate for "a job for each of us, a different type of job, and a society without violence." So far, action to improve women's opportunities in employment has been the province of collective industrial bargaining. "But there is a growing awareness that this is not enough," says a researcher on female labor at the government-funded Institute for the Development of Professional Training for Workers.
Women, who constitute 52 per cent of Italy's population, today represent only 35 per cent of Italy's total workforce and 33 per cent of the total number of Italians with jobs. However, their presence in the workplace is growing. The employment of women is expanding considerably in services, next to the public administration and commerce as their principal workplace. Official statistics also show that women have also made significant strides in self-employment. More and more women are going into business for themselves. Many young women are turning to business because of the growing overall in employment. It is also a fact that today many prejudices have disappeared, so that banks and other financial institutes make judgments on purely business considerations without caring if it is a man or a woman.
Such changes are occurring in the professions too. The number of women doctors, dentists,lawyers, engineers and university professors increased two to three fold. Some of the changes are immediately visible. For example, women have appeared on the scene for the first time as state police, railway workers and street cleaners.
However, the present situation is far from satisfactory though some progress has been made.
A breakthrough in equal opportunities for women is now demanded.


In Italy, women are chiefly employed in services.

In Italy, women are still at a disadvantage in employment.

In Italy, about two-thirds of the jobs are held by men.

Question: Which of the following statements is NOT true?


more job opportunities
a greater variety of jobs
"equal job, equal pay"
both A and B

Question: About 200,000 women in Rome demonstrated for 	.


Women Demonstrate for Equality in Employment

Question: The best title for this passage would be 	.


it is more closely related to the muledeer of eastern Washington than to other types of deer.

hits has replaced the black-tailed deerin the open prairie.

It no longer lives in a particular typeof habitat that it once occupied.

Question: According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of the white-tailed deer of Puget Sound?

Two species of deer have been prevalent in the Puget Sound area of Washington State in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The black-tailed deer, a lowland, west-side cousin of the mule deer of eastern Washington, is now the most common. The other species, the Columbian white-tailed deer, in earlier times was common in the open prairie country; it is now restricted to the low, marshy islands and flood plains along the lower Columbia River.
Nearly any kind of plant of the forest understory can be part of a deer's diet. Where the forest inhibits the growth of grass and other meadow plants, the black-tailed deer browses on huckleberry, salal, dogwood, and almost any other shrub or herb. But this is fair-weather feeding. What keeps the black-tailed deer alive in the harsher seasons of plant decay and dormancy? One compensation for not hibernating is the built-in urge to migrate. Deer may move from high-elevation browse areas in summer down to the lowland areas in late fall. Even with snow on the ground, the high bushy understory is exposed; also snow and wind bring down leafy branches of cedar, hemlock, red alder, and other arboreal fodder.
The numbers of deer have fluctuated markedly since the entry of Europeans into Puget Sound country. The early explorers and settlers told of abundant deer in the early 1800s and yet almost in the same breath bemoaned the lack of this succulent game animal. Famous explorers of the north American frontier, Lewis and Clark arrived at the mouth of the Columbia River on November 14, 1805, in nearly starved circumstances. They had experienced great difficulty finding game west of the Rockies and not until the second of December did they kill their first elk. To keep 40 people alive that winter, they consumed approximately 150 elk and 20 deer. And when game moved out of the lowlands in early spring, the expedition decided to return east rather than face possible starvation. Later on in the early years of the nineteenth century, when Fort Vancouver became the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company, deer populations continued to fluctuate. David Douglas, Scottish botanical explorer of the 1830s, found a disturbing change in the animal life around the fort during the period between his first visit in 1825 and his final contact with the fort in 1832. A recent Douglas biographer states:" The deer which once picturesquely dotted the meadows around the fort were gone , hunted to extermination in order to protect the crops.
Reduction in numbers of game should have boded ill for their survival in later times. A worsening of the plight of deer was to be expected as settlers encroached on the land, logging, burning, and clearing, eventually replacing a wilderness landscape with roads, cities, towns, and factories. No doubt the numbers of deer declined still further. Recall the fate of the Columbian white-tailed deer, now in a protected status. But for the black-tailed deer, human pressure has had just the opposite effect. Wildlife zoologist Helmut Buechner(1953), in reviewing the nature of biotic changes in Washington through recorded time, says that "since the early 1940s, the state has had more deer than at any other time in its history, the winter population fluctuating around approximately 320,000 deer (mule and black-tailed deer), which will yield about 65,000 of either sex and any age annually for an indefinite period."
The causes of this population rebound are consequences of other human actions. First, the major predators of deer-wolves, cougar, and lynx-have been greatly reduced in numbers. Second, conservation has been insured by limiting times for and types of hunting. But the most profound reason for the restoration of high population numbers has been the fate of the forests. Great tracts of lowland country deforested by logging, fire, or both have become ideal feeding grounds of deer. In addition to finding an increase of suitable browse, like huckleberry and vine maple, Arthur Einarsen, longtime game biologist in the Pacific Northwest, found quality of browse in the open areas to be substantially more nutritive. The protein content of shade-grown vegetation, for example, was much lower than that for plants grown in clearings.


make food unavailable in the highlandsfor deer

make it easier for deer to locateunderstory plants

prevent deer from migrating during thewinter

Question: It can be inferred from the discussion inparagraph 2 that winter conditions


consists of
combines
restricts
establishes

Question: The word "inhibits" in thepassage (paragraph 2) is closest in meaning to


impatiently humorously continuously immediately

Question: The phrase "in the same breath"in the passage (paragraph 3) is closest in meaning to


The number of deer within the Puget Soundregion has varied over time.

Most of the explorers who came to thePuget Sound area were primarily interested in hunting game.

There was more game for hunting in theEast of the United States than in the West.

Individual explorers were not assuccessful at locating games as were the trading companies.

Question: The author tells the story of theexplorers Lewis and Clark in paragraph 3 in order to illustratewhich of the following points?


The fort had become the headquarters forthe Hudson's Bay Company.

Deer had begun populating the meadowsaround the fort.

Deer populations near the fort had been destroyed.

Crop yields in the area around the forthad decreased.

Question: According to paragraph 3, how had FortVancouver changed by the time David Douglas returnedin 1832?


To provide support for the idea thathabitat destruction would lead to population decline

To compare how two species of deer causedbiotic changes in the wilderness environment

To provide an example of a species ofdeer that has successfully adapted to human settlement

To argue that some deer species must begiven a protected status

Question: Why does the author ask readers to recall"the fate of the Columbian white-tailed deer" (paragraph 4) in the discussionof changes in the wilderness landscape?


whose end has not been determined
that does not begin when expected
that lasts only briefly
whose importance remains unknown

Question: The phrase "indefinite period" in thepassage (paragraph 4) is closest in meaning to period


Deer populations reached their highestpoint during the 1940s and then began to decline.

The activities of settlers contributed inunexpected ways to the growth of some deer populations in later times.

The cleaning of wilderness land for construction caused biotic changes from which the black-tailed deer populationhas never recovered.

Since the 1940s the winter populations ofdeer have fluctuated more than the summer populations have.

Question: Which of the following statements aboutdeer populations is supported by the information in paragraph 4?


Question: The word "rebound" in the passage(paragraph 5) s closest in meaning to


Laws that protected feeding grounds ofdeer

Question: Which of the following is NOT mentionedin paragraph 5 as a factor that has increased deer populations?


do not trust banks
have a little money.
want to live in a quiet place.
expect to lose it

Question: People who bury treasure usually _ .

People bury treasure to stop other people fromtaking it. They choose a quiet place, dig a deep holeand bury the treasure in it. Then they make a map ofwhere the treasure is or write down other cluesthat will help them or someone else to find itagain.
In Britain a few years ago; a writer wrote about sometreasure that he had buried. He put clues in the story to help readers find it. Thousands ofpeople hunted for the treasure. They dug holes all over Britain, hoping to find it.
One of the most popular adventure stories ever written is Robert Louis Stephenson'sTreasured Island, an exciting story about a young boy, Jim Hawkins, who is captured by piratesand later finds some buried treasure.
Then there is the true story about a man who had to travel overseas for a year. He did not trustbanks, so he buried his life savings in a park. Then he went away. On his return, he wentstraight to the park. But the park was no longer there. In its place there was a huge building.
And then there was the man who buried his savings, all in bank notes, in a waterproofbag. When he dug it up years later, there was nothing left. Worms and insects had eaten thebag and everything in it.
And of course, these are stories about people who bury things and either forget where theyhave buried them or lose the map.
Although it is true that people sometimes lose their money because a bank fails, banks are stillthe safest place to keep our savings and treasures.


had lost his treasure and wanted people to help him find it.

caused trouble because people dug holes everywhere.

Question: The writer in Britain _ .


is a story about pirates.
is about the adventures of Jim Hawkins.
is the most popular story ever written
is a well-known fairy tale.

Question: Treasure Island _ .


thought his money was safer there than in a bank.

Question: The man who buried his money in a park _ .


a waterproof bag is not proof against worms and insects.

Question: From these stories we understand that _ .


a few years ago
within the last one hundred years
hundreds of years ago
thousands of years ago

Question: Science fiction appeared_ .

Amongst the most popular books being written today are those which are usually classified as science fiction. Hundreds of titles are published every year and are read by all kinds of people. Furthermore, some of the most successful films of recent years have been based on science fiction stories.
It is often thought that science fiction is a fairly new development in literature, but its ancestors can be found in books written hundreds of years ago. These books were often concerned with the presentation of some form of ideal society, a theme which is still often found in modern stories.
Most of the classics of science fiction, however, have been written within the last one hundred years. Books by writers such as Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, to mention just two well-known authors, have been translated into many languages.
Modern science fiction writers don't write about men from Mars or space adventure stories. They are more interested in predicting the results of technical developments on society and the human mind; or in imagining future worlds which are a reflection of the world which we live in now. Because of this their writing has obvious political undertones.
In an age where science in fact frequently overtakes science fiction, the writers may find it difficult to keep ahead of scientific advances. Those who are sufficiently clear-sighted to see the way wg are going ，however, may provide a valuable lesson on how to deal with the problems which society will inevitably face as it tries to master its new technology and come to terms with a continually changing view of the world.


Imagination of the world in which we could live.

Question: Which of the following is not likely to be reflected in modern science fiction?


has been written only by Jules Verne and H. G.  Wells

Question: It can be concluded that modern science fiction_ .


is a fairly new development in literature

describes things that happen in developed countries

reflects the technical advances in the past

Question: From the article we get the impression that science fiction_ .


Science fiction often overtakes science fact.

Writers may find it easy to keep ahead of scientific advances.

Science fiction is based on successful films.

The writers who can see clearly the way we are going will give us valuable instructions.

Question: Which of the following statements is TRUE?


They suffer great losses in stocks, property and other assets.

They find the self-correcting mechanisms dysfunctioning.

They are afraid the normal social order will be paralyzed.

They don't know what is going to happen in the future.

Question: Why do consumers, businesses and investors retreat and panic in times of depression?

"Depression" is more than a serious economic downturn. What distinguishes a depression from a harsh recession is paralyzing fear - fear of the unknown so great that it causes consumers, businesses, and investors to retreat and panic. They save up cash and desperately cut spending. They sell stocks and other assets. A shattering loss of confidence inspires behavior that overwhelms the normal self-correcting mechanisms that usually prevent a recession from becoming deep and prolonged: a depression.
Comparing 1929 with 2007-09, Christina Romer, the head of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, finds the initial blow to confidence far greater now than then. True, stock prices fell a third from September to December 1929, but fewer Americans then owned stocks. Moreover, home prices barely dropped. From December 1928 to December 1929, total household wealth declined only 3%. By contrast, the loss in household wealth between December 2007 and December 2008 was 17%. Both stocks and homes, more widely held, dropped more. Thus traumatized the economy might have gone into a free fall ending in depression. Indeed, it did go into free fall. Shoppers refrained from buying cars, appliances, and other big-ticket items. Spending on such "durables" dropped at a 12% annual rate in 2008's third quarter, a 20% rate in the fourth. And businesses shelved investment projects.
That these huge declines didn't lead to depression mainly reflects, as Romer argues, countermeasures taken by the government. Private markets for goods, services, labor, and securities do mostly self-correct, but panic feeds on itself and disarms these stabilizing tendencies. In this situation, only government can protect the economy as a whole, because most individuals and companies are involved in the self-defeating behavior of self-protection. Government's failure to perform this role in the early 1930s transformed recession into depression. Scholars will debate which interventions this time - the Federal Reserve's support of a failing credit system, guarantees of bank debt, Obama's "stimulus" plan and bank "stress test" - counted most in preventing a recurrence. Regardless, all these complex measures had the same psychological purpose: to reassure people that the free fall would stop and, thereby, curb the fear that would perpetuate a free fall.
All this improved confidence. But the consumer sentiment index remains weak, and all the rebound has occurred in Americans' evaluation of future economic conditions, not the present. Unemployment (9.8%) is abysmal, the recovery's strength unclear. Here, too, there is an echo from the 1930s. Despite bottoming out in 1933, the Depression didn't end until World War II. Some government policies aided recovery; some hindered it. The good news today is that the bad news is not worse.


Its severity is no match for the Great Depression of 1929.

Its initial blow to confidence far exceeded that of 1929.

It has affected house owners more than stock holders.

It has resulted in a free fall of the prices of commodities.

Question: What does Christina Romer say about the current economic recession?


People refrained from buying durables and big-ticket items.

Individuals and companies adopted self-protection measures.

Question: Why didn't the current recession turn into a depression according to Christina Romer?


To curb the fear of a lasting free fall.

Question: What is the chief purpose of all the countermeasures taken?


It may worsen without further stimulation.

It does not give people reason for pessimism.

Question: What does the author think of today's economic situation?


Lack of money.
The increased standard of living.
No government help.
Agreement with their parents.

Question: According to the text, what causes some people to be homeless?

In many countries the standard of living enjoyed by their peole has increased rapidly in recent years. Sadly,not everyone in these coyntries is so fortunate and many people in rich contries are homeless.
The reasons for homelessness are various, but povertyis undoubtedly one of the main causes. The homeless people may have become jobless and then been unable to pay their rent and so no longer have a roof over their heads. Often, the fact that unemployed people get help from the government prevents this from happening, but not always.
Some homeless people are mentally ill and have no one to look after them. Some are young people who, for one reason or another , have left home and have nowhere to live. Many of them have had a serious disagreement with their parents and have left home, choosing to go to a city and live on the streets. Sometimes they have taken such action because they have been unable to get on with a step-parent.
Many homeless people get into the habit of begging to get enough money to stay alive, but many of the general public tefuse to give anything to beggars. Often they are moved on by the police, being accused ，whether rightly or wrongly, of forceful begging. There are many who disrespect homeles people.
Some cynicsdeclare that homeless people choose to live the life which they lead. But who would willingly choose to live in z shop doorway, under a bridger or in a cardboard box?


the homeles are willing to live under a bridge or in a cardboard box

you will not find homeless people in countries with a high standard of living

the mentally ill live on the stress becausethey want the company of other homeless people

the unemployed who receive help may still be among the homeless

Question: It can be inferred from the text that _ .


Question: In paragraph 2 , "a roof over their needs "most probably means _ .


pitiful troublesome respectable admirable

Question: The author thinks that the homeless people are _ .


employers are checking more closely on applicants now

lying about college degrees has become a widespread problem

college degrees can now be purchased easily

employers are no longer interested in college degrees

Question: The main idea of this passage is that.

You're busy filling out the application form for a position you really need; let's assume you once actually completed a couple of years of college work or even that you completed your degree. Isn't it tempting to lie just a little, to claim on the form that your diploma represents a Harvard degree? Or that you finished an extra couple of years back at State University?
More and more people are turning to utter deception like this to land their job or to move ahead in their careers, for personnel officers, like most Americans, value degrees from famous schools. A job applicant may have a good education anyway, but he or she assumes that chances of being hired are better with a diploma from a well-known university. Registrars at most well-known colleges say theydeal with deceitful claims like these at the rate of aboutone per week.
Personnel officers do check up on degrees listed on application forms, then. If it turns out that an applicants lying, most colleges are reluctant to accuse the applicant directly. One Ivy League school calls them impostors(Æ×Ó); another refers to them asspecial cases. One well-known West Coast school, in perhaps the most delicate phrase of all, says that these claims are made byno such people.
To avoid outright(³¹µ×µÄ)lies, some job-seekers claim that they attended or were associated with a college or university. After carefully checking, a personnel officer may discover that attending means being dismissed after one semester. It may be that being associated with a college means that the job-seeker visited his younger brother for a football weekend. One school that keeps records of false claims says that the practice dates back at least to the turn of the century-that's when they began keeping records, anyhow.
If you don't want to lie or even stretch the truth, there are companies that will sell you a phony(¼ÙµÄ)diploma. One company, with offices in New York and on the West Coast, will put your name on a diploma from any number of non-existent colleges. The price begins at around twenty dollars for a diploma from Smoot State University.The prices increase rapidly for a degree from the University of Purdue. As there is no Smoot State and the real school in Indiana properly called Purdue University, the prices seem rather high for one sheet of paper.


students never attended a school they listed on their application

students purchase false degrees from commercial films

Question: According to the passage, special cases refer to cases where.


performance is a better judge of ability that a college degree

past work histories influence personnel officers more than degrees do

a degree from a famous school enables an applicant to gain advantage over others in job petition

Question: We can infer from the passage that.


personnel officers only consider applicants from famousschools

most people lie on applications because they were dismissed from school

society should be greatly responsible for lying on applications

Question: This passage implies that.


Question: As used in the first line of the second paragraph, the word utter means.


deal with problems rather than blame others

meet with fewer difficulties in their lives

Question: According to the passage, winners _ .

When something goes wrong，it can be very satisfying to say，"Well,it's so-and-so's fault."or "I know I'm late，but it's not my fault；the car broke down."It is probably not your fault，but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation，you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However,you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation. This is the winner's key to success.
Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car examined more regularly. Or, you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don't rely on the person. You should accept that the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don't rely on this person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.
This is what being a winner is all about-creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don't have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on "whose fault it is." Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stop on for success.


blame him for his lack of responsibility

tell him to find the cause of the problem

Question: When your colleague brings about a problem, you should _ .


excuses for their failures
barriers to greater power
challenges to their colleagues
chances for self-development

Question: When problems occur, winners take them as _ .


A Winner's Secret.
A Winner's Problem.
A Winner's Opportunity.
A Winner's Achievement.

Question: Which of the following is the best title for the passage?


attract the readers' interest in the subject

show great respect for the ancient thinker

prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations

Question: The opening paragraph is mainly intended to  _ .

If Confucius（）were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. IIe'd need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It's nothing personal. Most Americans don't even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn't mean that Americans don't care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy（）. Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantages of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
So the old thinker's ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.


have a great interest in studying Chinese

take an active part in Chinese competitions

Question: We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students _ .


Forgotten Wisdom in America
Huge Fans of the Chinese Language
Chinese Culture for Westerners
Old Thinker with a Big Future

Question: What is the best title for the passge?


a biography
a history paper
a newspaper
a philosophy textbook

Question: The passage is likely to appear in _ .


important
extremely large
highly unusual
active

Question: The word "enormous"(paragraph 1)in the passage is closest in meaning to

The surface of Mars shows a wide range of geologic features, including huge volcanoes-the largest known in the solar system-and extensive impact cratering. Three very large volcanoes are found on the Tharsis bulge, an enormous geologic area near Mars's equator. Northwest of Tharsis is the largest volcano of all: Olympus Mons, with a height of 25 kilometers and measuring some 700 kilometers in diameter at its base. The three large volcanoes on the Tharsis bulge are a little smaller-a "mere" 18 kilometers high.
None of these volcanoes was formed as a result of collisions between plates of the Martian crust-there is no plate motion on Mars. Instead, they are shield volcanoes - volcanoes with broad, sloping slides formed by molten rock. All four show distinctivelava channels and other flow features similar to those found on shield volcanoes on Earth. Images of the Martian surface reveal many hundreds of volcanoes. Most of the largest volcanoes are associated with the Tharsis bulge, but many smaller ones are found in the northern plains.
The great height of Martian volcanoes is a direct consequence of the planet's low surface gravity. As lava flows and spreads to form a shield volcano, the volcano's eventual height depends on the new mountain's ability to support its own weight. The lower the gravity, the lesser the weight and the greater the height of the mountain. It is no accident that Maxwell Mons on Venus and the Hawaiian shield volcanoes on Earth rise to about the same height (about 10 kilometers) above their respective bases-Earth and Venus have similar surface gravity. Mars's surface gravity is only 40 percent that of Earth, so volcanoes rise roughly 2.5 times as high. Are the Martian shield volcanoes still active? Scientists have no direct evidence for recent or ongoing eruptions, but if these volcanoes were active as recently as 100 million years ago (an estimate of the time of last eruption based on the extent of impact cratering on their slopes), some of them may still be at least intermittently active. Millions of years, though, may pass between eruptions.
Another prominent feature of Mars's surface is cratering. The Mariner spacecraft found that the surface of Mars, as well as that of its two moons, is pitted with impact craters formed by meteoroids falling in from space. As on our Moon, the smaller craters are often filled with surface matter-mostly dust-confirming that Mars is a dry desert world. However, Martian craters get filled in considerablyfaster than their lunar counterparts. On the Moon, ancient craters less than 100 meters across (corresponding to depths of about 20 meters) have been obliterated, primarily by meteoritic erosion. On Mars, there are relatively few craters less than 5 kilometers in diameter. The Martian atmosphere is an efficient erosive agent, with Martian winds transporting dust from place to place and erasing surface features much faster than meteoritic impacts alone can obliterate them.
As on the Moon, the extent of large impact cratering (i.e. craters too big to have been filled in by erosion since they were formeD. serves as an age indicator for the Martian surface. Age estimates ranging from four billion years for Mars's southern highlands to a few hundred million years in the youngest volcanic areas were obtained in this way.
The detailed appearance of Martian impact craters provides an important piece of information about conditions just below the planet's surface. Martian craters are surrounded by ejecta (debris formed as a result of an impact) that looks quite different from its lunar counterparts. A comparison of the Copernicus crater on the Moon with the (fairly typical) crater Yuty on Mars demonstrates the differences. The ejecta surrounding the lunar crater is just what one would expect from an explosion ejecting a large volume of dust, soil, and boulders. However, the ejecta on Mars gives the distinct impression of a liquid that has splashed or flowed out of crater. Geologists think that this fluidized ejecta crater indicates that a layer of permafrost, or water ice, lies just a few meters under the surface. Explosive impacts heated and liquefied the ice, resulting in the fluid appearance of the ejecta.


has more complex geologic features
shows less impact cratering
is taller
was formed at a later time

Question: According to paragraph 1, Olympus Mons differs from volcanoes on the Tharsis bulge in that Olympus Mons


Question: The word "distinctive"(paragraph 1)in the passage is closest in meaning to


They are smaller than the largest volcano on Mars.

They have channels that resemble the lava channels of volcanoes on Earth.

Question: According to paragraphs 1 and 2, which of the following is NOT true of the shield volcanoes on the Tharsis bulge?


typically. frequently. actually. approximately.

Question: The word "roughly" in the passage is closest in meaning to


To help explain the relationship between surface gravity and volcano height.

To explain why Mars's surface gravity is only 40 percent of Earth's.

To point out differences between the surface gravity of Earth and the surface gravity of Venus.

To argue that there are more similarities than differences between volcanoes on different planets.

Question: In paragraph 3, why does the author compare Maxwell Mons on Venus to the Hawaiian shield volcanoes on Earth?


frequently. significantly. clearly. surprisingly.

Question: The word "considerably"(paragraph 3)in the passage is closest in meaning to


Erosion from meteoritic impacts takes place more quickly on Mars than on the Moon.

There is more dust on Mars than on the Moon.

Wind is a powerful eroding force on Mars.

Question: According to paragraph 4, what is demonstrated by the fact that cratersfill in much faster on Mars than on the Moon?


To explain why scientists believe that the surface matter filling Martian craters is mostly dust.

To explain why scientists believe that the impact craters on Mars were created by meteoroids.

To support the claim that the Martian atmosphere is an efficient erosive agent.

To argue that Mars experienced fewer ancient impacts than the Moon did.

Question: In paragraph 4, why does the author point out that Mars has few ancient craters that are less than 5 kilometers in diameter?


Some Martian volcanoes are much older than was once thought.

The age of Mars's surface can vary from area to area.

Large impact craters are not reliable indicators of age in areas with high volcanic activity.

Some areas of the Martian surface appear to be older than they actually are.

Question: According to paragraph 5, what have scientists been able to determinefrom studies of large impact cratering on Mars?


Has now become part of a permafrost layer.

Contains a large volume of dust, soil and boulders.

Suggests that liquid once came out of the surface at the crater site.

Was thrown a comparatively long distance from the center of the crater.

Question: According to paragraph 6, the ejecta of Mars's crater Yuty differs fromthe ejecta of the Moon's Copernicus crater in that the ejecta of the Yuty crater


kids missing the sense of wonder outdoors

parks are in danger of being gradually encroached

Richard Louv is the author of Last Child in the Woods

children are expected to develop into protectors of nature

Question: The main idea of Paragraph 2 is that _ .

One of our biggest fears nowadays is that our kids might some day get lost in a "sea of technology" rather than experiencing the natural world. Fear-producing TV and computer games are leading to a serious disconnect between kids and the great outdoors, which will changes the wild places of the world, its creatures and human health for the worse, unless adults get working on child's play.
Each of us has a place in nature we go sometimes, even if it was torn down. We cannot be the last generation to have that place. At this rate, kids who miss the sense of wonder outdoors will not grow up to be protectors of natural landscapes. "If the decline in parks use continues across North America, who will defend parks against encroachment ?" asks Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods.
Without having a nature experience, kids, can turn out just fine, but they are missing out a huge enrichment of their lives. That applies to everything from their physical health and mental health, to stress levels, creativity and cognitive  skills. Experts predict modern kids will have poorer health than their parents-and they say a lack of outside play is surely part of it; research suggests that kids do better academically in schools with a nature component and that play in nature fosters  leadership by the smartest, not by the toughest. Even a tiny outdoor experience can create wonder in a child. The three-year-old turning over his first rock realizes he is not alone in the world. A clump of trees on the roadside can be the whole universe in his eyes. We really need to value that more.
Kids are not to blame. They are over-protected and frightened. It is dangerous out there from time to time, but repetitive stress from computers is replacing breaking an arm as a childhood riteof passage.
Everyone, from developers, to schools and outdoorsy citizens, should help regain for our kids some of the freedom and joy of exploring, taking friendship in fields and woods that cement  love, respect and need for landscape. As parents, we should devote some of our energies to taking our kids into nature. This could yet be our greatest cause.


be less healthy both physically and mentally

change wild places and creatures for the better

Question: According to the passage, children without experiencing nature will _ .


the natural experience in their growing up

the result of their own carelessness in play

the effect of their repetitive stress from computers

Question: According to the author, children's breaking an arm is _ .


blame children for getting lost in computer games

encourage children to protect parks from encroachment

show his concern about children's lack of experience in nature

inspire children to keep the sense of wonder about things around

Question: In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to _ .


how the Leaning Tower of Pisa got its name

Question: This passage is about _.

I often dreamed about Pisa when I was a boy. I read about the famous building called the Leaning Tower of Pisa .But when I read the word Pisa, I was thinking of pizza .I thought this tower was a place to buy pizza .It must be the best place to buy pizza in the world, I thought.
Many years later finally saw the Leaning Tower. I knew then that is was Pisa and no pizza .But there was still something special about it for me. The tower got its name because it really does lean to one side. Some people want to try to fix it. They are afraid it may fall over and they don‘t like that it leans over the city.
I do not think it‘s a good idea to try to fix it. The tower probably will not fall down, it is 600 years old. Why should anything happen to it now? And, if you ask me, I like what it looks like. To me it is a very human kind of leaning .Nothing is perfect, it seems to say.
And who cares? Why do people want things to be perfect? Imperfect things may be more interesting. Let‘s take the tower in Pisa. Why is it so famous? There are many other older, more beautiful towers in Italy. But Pisa tower is the most famous. People come from all over the world to see it.


in Spain
not very famous
not the same as pizza
the same as pizza

Question: The writer used to think Pisa _.


modern
falling down
600 years old
60 years old-

Question: The Leaning Tower of Pisa is _.


thinks it‘s the most beautiful tower in Italy

Question: The writer  _ .


it‘s old
it‘s perfect
it sells pizza
it‘s imperfect

Question: The writer likes the Leaning Tower of Pisa because  _ .


They were a relief from his hard work at school.

They offered him a chance to know more people.

Question: How did the author look back on his summer days while at college?

I've worked in the factories surrounding my hometown every summer since I graduated from high school, but making the transition  between school and full-time blue-collar work during the break never gets any easier. For a student like me who considers any class before noon to be uncivilized, getting to a factory by 6 o'clock each morning is torture. My friends never seem to understand why I'm so relieved to be back at school or that my summer vacation has been anything but a vacation.
There're few people as self-confident as a college student who has never been out in the real world. People my age always seem to overestimate the value of their time and knowledge. In fact, all the classes did not prepare me for my battles with the machine I ran in the plant, which would jam whenever I absent-mindedly put in a part backward or upside down.
The most stressful thing about blue-collar life is knowing your job could disappear overnight. Issues like downsizing  and overseas relocation had always seemed distant to me until my co-workers told me that the until I was working in would shut down within six months and move to Mexico, where people would work for 60 cents and hour.
After working 12-hour shifts in a factory, the other options have become only too clear. When I'm back at the university, skipping classes and turning in lazy re-writes seems too irresponsible after seeing what I would be doing without school. All the advice and public-service announcements about the value of an education that used to sound stale now ring true.
These lessons I'm learning, however valuable, are always tinged  with sense of guilt. Many people pass their lives in the places I briefly work, spending 30 years where I spend only two months at a time. "This job pays well, but it's hell on the body," said one co-worker. "Study hard and keep reading," she added.
My experiences in the factories have inspired me to make the most of my college years before I enter the real world for good.


They expect too much from the real world.

They have little interest in blue-collar life.

Question: What does the author say about college students?


They do not get decent pay.
They do not have job security.
They have to work 12-hour shifts.
They have to move from place to place.

Question: What, according to the author, is most frustrating for blue-collar workers?


He came to appreciate his college education.

Question: In what important way has the author's work experience changed him?


He realizes there is a great divide between his life and that of blue-collar workers.

He looks down upon the mechanical work at the assembly life.

He has not done much to help his co-workers at the factory.

He has stayed at school just for the purpose of escaping from the real world.

Question: Why does the author feel somewhat guilty?


Oliver Williamson and Elinor Ostrom were not considered candidates for the Noble Prize in Economics

the research focus of Oliver Williamson and Elinor Ostrom touches upon a variety of fields

the works of Oliver Williamson and Elinor Ostrom are irrelevant to the study of economics

Elinor Ostrom is known as the first female winner of the Nobel Prize since its establishment

Question: From the first paragraph we learn that  _ .

Neither Oliver Williamson of the University of California at Berkeley nor Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University at Bloomington was widely tipped to win this year's Nobel Prize for economics. This may be because their work sits at the boundary of economics, law and political science, and tackles different questions to the ones that economists have traditionally studied. Mr. Williamson and Ms. Ostrom work independently of each other but both have contributed plenty to economists' understanding of which institutions-firms, markets, governments, or informal systems of social norms, for example-are best suited for conducting different types of economic transactions.
Ronald Coase, a British economist who won the Nobel Prize in 1991, argued that in some situations, and for some kinds of transactions, administrative decision-making within a single legal entity is more efficient than a straightforward market transaction. Mr. Coase's arguments were influential and convinced economists that the internal workings of organisations were worth paying attention to explicitly. But it was left to Mr. Williamson to refine Mr. Coase's theory and clarify what features of certain transactions made carrying them out more efficient within a firm rather than in the market.
Mr. Williamson showed that complex transactions involving investment decisions that are much more valuable within a relationship than to a third party are best done within a firm. Part of the problem, he argued, was that some economic transactions are so complicated, and involve so many things which could go wrong, that writing a legally enforceable contract that takes all possibilities into account is impossible. Simpler transactions are completed easily in markets; more complicated ones may demand firms. But in later work he also showed that organising matters within companies had costs: in particular, it relied on internal authority to get things done, and this could be abused.
Ms. Ostrom has concentrated on a different aspect of economic governance. She has spent her life studying how human societies manage common resources such as forests, rivers, pastures or wildlife. Just as with public goods, it is difficult to prevent people from using the commons. But unlike public goods, and like private ones, what one person takes leaves less for others. Economic theory then predicts that rational individuals will overuse these resources.
Economists have tended to emphasise property rights as a solution to the problem of managing common resources. But Ms. Ostrom spent much of her early career studying how communities managed such common resources. She found that groups of people tended to have complex sets of rules, norms and penalties to ensure that such resources were used sustainably. Such self-governance often worked well. Successful informal institutions, she found, have certain features in common, which sets them apart from institutions that fail. The principles of game theory, particularly the theory of repeated interactions, proved remarkably useful in formulating general principles of how common resources ought to be managed without necessarily resorting to private or state ownership.
Mr Williamson launched an entire branch of economic theorising which looks more deeply into firms than economists had tended to do previously. His theories have also helped with understanding the choice between equity and debt, and corporate finance more generally. Ms. Ostrom's research has spawned many experiments about how people interact strategically. Some of these have influenced game theory, which originally provided Ms. Ostrom with her analytical tools.


Williamson and Ostrom's winning the prize mainly attributes to their cooperation in research.

Williamson has identified a series of factors which make the transactions in the market different from those within firms.

Both Williamson and Ostrom address the question of economic transactions.

It is commonly agreed among economists that transactions within firms tend to be more efficient.

Question: Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?


it is universally true that complex transactions are more efficient in companies

to write a contract for complicated transactions is impossible

the prediction about rational individuals overusing common resources is incorrect

privatization is not necessarily the solution of problems about common resources

Question: Ostrom and Williamson's researches show that  _ .


self-management. self-control. self-government. self-manipulation.

Question: Which of the following best defines the word" self-governance"  （Line 4, Paragraph 5）?


their researches shed light on the future of cross-disciplinary social studies

their researches help improve the research tools for economics

their researches have tremendously revolutionized the field of economics

their researches give people new insights into neglected problems

Question: We can draw a conclusion from the text that  _ .


suggest that self-medication has a long history

Question: The first paragraph is intended to  _ .

Occasional self-medication has always been part of normal living. The making and selling of drugs have a long history and are closely linked, like medical practice itself, with the belief in magic. Only during the last hundred years or so has the development of scientific techniques made it possible for some of the causes of symptoms to be understood, so that more accurate diagnosis has become possible. The doctor is now able to follow up the correct diagnosis of many illnesses with specific treatment of their causes. In many other illnesses, of which the causes remain unknown, it is still limited, like the unqualified prescriber, to the treatment of symptoms. The doctor is trained to decide when to treat symptoms only and when to attack the cause: this is the essential difference between medical prescribing and self-medication.
The advance of technology has brought about much progress in some fields of medicine, including the development of scientific drug therapy. In many countries public health organization is improving and people's nutritional standards have risen. Parallel with such beneficial trends have two adverse effects. One is the use of high-pressure advertising by the pharmaceutical industry, which has tended to influence both patients and doctors and has led to the overuse of drugs generally. The other is the emergence of the sedentary society with its faulty ways of life: lack of exercise, over-eating, unsuitable eating, insufficient sleep, excessive smoking and drinking. People with disorders arising from faulty habits such as these, as well as from unhappy human relationships, often resort to self-medication and so add the taking of pharmaceuticals to the list. Advertisers go to great lengths to catch this market.
Clever advertising, aimed at chronic sufferers who will try anything because doctors have not been able to cure them, can induce such faith in a preparation, particularly if steeply priced, that it will produce-by suggestion-a very real effect in some people. Advertisements are also aimed at people suffering from mild complaints such as simple colds and coughs, which clear up by themselves within a short time.
These are the main reasons why laxatives, indigestion remedies, painkillers, tonics, vitamin and iron tablets and many other preparations are found in quantity in many households. It is doubtful whether taking these things ever improves a person's health; it may even make it worse. Worse because the preparation may contain unsuitable ingredients; worse because the taker may become dependent on them; worse because they might be taken in excess; worse because they may cause poisoning, and worse of all because symptoms of some serious underlying cause may be masked and therefore medical help may not be sought.


they are more likely to buy the drugs advertised

they don't take to sports and easily catch colds

Question: Advertisements are aimed at people suffering from mild complaints because  _ .


those good things are not without side effects

why in modern times self-medication is still practised

Question: Paragraphs 2 and 3 explain  _ .


the reasons for keeping medicines at home

what kind of medicine people should prepare at home

the possible harms self-medication may do to people

Question: The author tells us in paragraph 4  _ .


Medical Practice
Clever Advertising
Self-Medication
Self-Treatment

Question: The best title for the passage would be  _ .