People are, on the whole, poor at considering background inf..

第1题

People are, on the whole, poor at considering background information when making individual decisions. At first glance this might seem like a strength that 1 the ability to make judgments which are unbiased by 2 factors（）.

A.grants

B.submits

C.transmits

D.delivers

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第2题

Conversations are ________ work or group work.

A、easy

B、difficult

C、individual

D、pair

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第3题

I came across an old country guide the other day. It listed all the tradesmen in each village in my part of the country, and it was impressive to see the great variety of services which were available on one’s own doorstep in the late Victorian countryside.

Nowadays a superficial traveler in rural England might conclude that the only village tradesmen still flourishing were either selling frozen food to the inhabitants or selling antiques to visitors. Nevertheless, this would really be a false impression. Admittedly there has been a contraction of village commerce, but its vigor is still remarkable.

Our local grocer’s shop, for example, is actually expanding in spite of the competition from supermarkets in the nearest town. Women sensibly prefer to go there and exchange the local news while doing their shopping, instead of queueing up anonymously at a supermarket. And the proprietor knows well that personal service has a substantial cash value.

His prices may be a bit higher than those in the town, but he will deliver anything at any time. His assistants think nothing of bicycling down the village street in their lunch, hour to take a piece of cheese to an old-age pensioner who sent her order by word of mouth with a friend who happened to be passing. The more affluent customers telephone their shopping lists and the goods are on their doorsteps within an hour. They have only to hint at a fancy for some commodity outside the usual stock and the grocer a red-faced figure, instantly obtains it for them.

The village gains from this sort of enterprise, of course. But I also find it satisfactory because a village shop offers one of the few ways in which a modest individualist can still get along in the world without attaching himself to the big battalions of industry or commerce.

Most of the village shopkeepers I know, at any rate, are decidedly individualist in their ways. For exampie, our shoemaker is a formidable figure: a thick-set, irritable man whom children treat with marked respect, knowing that an ill-judged word can provoke an angry eruption at any time. He stares with contempt at the pairs of cheap, mass-produced shoes taken to him for repair: has it come to this, he seems to be saying, that he, a craftsman, should have to waste his skills upon such trash? But we all know he will in fact do excellent work upon them. And he makes beautiful shoes for those who can afford such luxury.

The services available in villages nowadays are

A．fewer but still very active.

B．less successful than earlier but managing to survive.

C．active in providing food and antiques.

D．surprisingly energetic considering the little demand for them.

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第4题

It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in California optional. Small wonder. Americans' life expectancy has nearly doubled over the past century. Failing hips can be replaced, clinical depression controlled, cataracts removed in a 30-minute surgical procedure. Such advances offer the aging population a quality of life that was unimaginable when I entered medicine 50 years ago. But not even a great health-care system can cure death—and our failure to confront that reality now threatens this greatness of ours.

Death is normal; we are genetically programmed to disintegrate and perish, even under ideal conditions. We all under stand that at some level, yet as medical consumers we treat death as a problem to be solved. Shielded by third-party payers from the cost of our care, we demand everything that can possibly be done for us, even if it's useless. The most obvious example is late-stage cancer care. Physicians—frustrated by their inability to cure the disease and fearing loss of hope in the patient—too often offer aggressive treatment far beyond what is scientifically justified.

In 1950, the U.S. spent $12.7 billion on health care. In 2002, the cost will be $1540 billion. Anyone can see this trend is unsustainable. Yet few seem willing to try to reverse it. Some scholars conclude that a government with finite re sources should simply stop paying for medical care that sustains life beyond a certain age—say 83 or so. Former Colorado governor Richard Lamm has been quoted as saying that the old and infirm "have a duty to die and get out of the way", so that younger, healthier people can realize their potential.

I would not go that far. Energetic people now routinely work through their 60s and beyond, and remain dazzlingly productive. At 78, Viacom chairman Stunner Redstone jokingly claims to be 53. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is in her 70s, and former surgeon general C. Everett Koop chairs an Internet start-up in his 80s. These leaders are living proof that prevention works and that we can manage the health problems that come naturally with age. As a mere 68-year-old, I wish to age as productively as they have.

Yet there are limits to what a society can spend in this pursuit. Ask a physician, I know the most costly and dramatic measures may be ineffective and painful. I also know that people in Japan and Sweden, countries that spend far less on medical care, have achieved longer, healthier lives than we have. As a nation, we may be overfunding the quest for unlikely cures while underfunding research on humbler therapies that could improve people's lives.

What is implied in the first sentence?

A．Americans are better prepared for death than other people.

B．Americans enjoy a higher life quality than ever before.

C．Americans are over-confident of their medical technology.

D．Americans take a vain pride in their long life expectancy.

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第5题

In the United States, the first day-nursery was opened in 1854. Nurseries were established in various areas during the (1)_____ half of the 19th century; most of (2)_____ were charitable. Both in Europe and in the U.S. the day nursery movement received great (3)_____ during the First World War, when (4)_____ of manpower caused the industrial employment of unprecedented numbers of women.

In some European countries nurseries were established (5)_____ in munitions plants, under direct government sponsorship. (6)_____ the number of nurseries in the U.S. also rose (7)_____, this rise was accomplished without government aid of any kind. During the years following the First World War, (8)_____, Federal, State, and local governments gradually began to exercise a measure of control (9)_____ the day-nurseries, chiefly by (10)_____ them and by inspecting and regulating the conditions within the nurseries.

The (11)_____ of the Second World War was quickly followed by an increase in the number of day-nurseries in almost all countries, ms women were (12)_____ called upon to replace men in the factories.

On this (13)_____ the U.S. government immediately supported the nursery schools, (14)_____ $6,000,000 in July, 1942 for a nursery-school program for the children of working mothers.

Many States and local communities (15)_____ this Federal aid. By the end of the war, in August, 1945, more than 100,000 children were being cared (16)_____ in daycare centers receiving Federal (17)_____. Soon afterward, the Federal government (18)_____ cut down its expenditures for this purpose and later (19)_____ them, causing a sharp drop in the number of nursery schools in operation. However, the expectation that most employed mothers would leave their (20)_____ at the end of the war was only partly fulfilled.

A．latter

B．late

C．other

D．first

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第6题

Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle viewed laughter as "a bodily exercise precious to health. " But【B1】______some claims to the contrary, laughing probably has little influence on physical fitness Laughter does【B2】______short-term changes in the function of the heart and its blood vessels,【B3】______heart rate and oxygen consumption But because hard laughter is difficult to【B4】______, a good laugh is unlikely to have【B5】______benefits the way, say, walking or jogging does.

【B6】______, instead of straining muscles to build them, as exercise does, laughter apparently accomplishes the【B7】______. Studies dating back to the 1930's indicate that laughter【B8】______muscles, decreasing muscle tone for up to 45 minutes after the laugh dies down.

Such bodily reaction might conceivably help【B9】______the effects of psychological stress. Anyway, the act of laughing probably does produce other types of【B10】______feedback that improve an individual's emotional state.【B11】______one classical theory of emotion, our feelings are partially rooted【B12】______physical reactions. It was argued at the end of the 19th century that humans do not cry【B13】______they are sad but that they become sad when the tears begin to flow.

Although sadness also【B14】______tears, evidence suggests that emotions can flow【B15】______muscular responses. In an experiment published in 1988, social psychologist Fritz Strack of the University of Würzburg in Germany asked volunteers to【B16】______a pen either with their teeththereby creating an artificial smileor with their lips, which would produce a(n)【B17】______expression. Those forced to exercise their smiling muscles【B18】______more enthusiastically to funny cartoons than did those whose mouths were contracted in a frown,【B19】______that expressions may influence emotions rather than just the other way a-round.【B20】______, the physical act of laughter could improve mood.

【B1】

A．among

B．except

C．despite

D．like

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第7题

One of the odd things about some business organizations is that they spend so much money to lure new customers and spend so little to keep them after they've been landed. It just doesn't make sense. Taking customers for granted is routine in some larger organizations, where mere bigness generates an attitude of indifference.

Loyal customers are an organization's only protection against bankruptcy, and losing them because of neglect or indifference is downright sinful. Not only do satisfied customers continue to fatten the till, they often encourage others to buy. This is advertising that doesn't cost a penny. And although there are always problems in giving good service to customers, maintaining their patronage(光顾) isn't all that difficult. It's a matter of attitude, of believing that everyone who buys from you is entitled to the best treatment you can deliver. Plus giving just a little more than you have to.

We said there are always problems in giving good service to customers. The reason, of course, is that no organization is perfect, and there's many a slip: unreasonable delays in filling orders, shipping the wrong merchandise, failing to answer letters promptly, and so on.

Sometimes these errors or failures can't be helped. For example, if you can't get parts because of material shortages or a transportation strike, customers may be denied the goods they've ordered. And not infrequently the customer is to blame—for example, failing to clearly identify the article or service required.

Yet no matter who is at fault, customers whom you value highly should generally be given the benefit of the doubt. Note that we said "customers whom you value highly." The old saying(格言) goes that all customers should be treated alike is a myth. Customers who repeatedly place large orders and pay for them will naturally, get more attention than those who buy infrequently and have to be badgered to pay what they owe. However, you have to make the assumption that all customers are good unless proved otherwise.

The main idea of the passage is best expressed by which of the following? _____

A．Business organizations should not spend so much money to attract new customers

B．Maintaining customers' patronage is the most important to business organizations'

C．Customers are kings

D．Organizations should pay more attention to the benefit of their customers

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第8题

Recent years have brought minority-owned businesses in the United States unprecedented opportunities—as well as new and significant risks. Civil right activists have long argued that one of the principal reasons why Blacks, Hispanics and other minority groups have difficulty establishing themselves in business is that they lack of access to the sizable orders and subcontracts that are generated by large companies. Now Congress, in apparent agreement, has required by law that businesses awarded federal contracts of more than $500, 000 do their best to find minority subcontractors and record their efforts to do so on forms filed with the government, Indeed, some federal and local agencies have gone so far as to set specific percentage goals for apportioning parts of public works contracts to minority enterprises.

Corporate response appears to have been substantial. According to figures collected in 1977, the total of corporate contracts with minority businesses rose from $77 million in 1972 to 1.1 billion in 1977. The projected total of corporate contracts with minority businesses for the early 1980's is estimated to be over $3 billion per year with no letup anticipated in the next decade.

Promising as it is for minority businesses, this increased patronage poses dangers for them, too. First, minority firms risk expanding too fast and overextending themselves financially, since most are small concerns and, unlike large businesses, they often need to make substantial investment in new plants, staff, equipment and the like in order to perform. work subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed expenses. The world of corporate purchasing can be frustrating for small entrepreneurs who get requests for elaborate formal estimates and bids. Both consume valuable time and resources, and a small company's efforts must soon result in orders, or both the morale and the financial health of the business will suffer.

A second risk is that White owned companies may seek to cash in on the increasing apportionment through formation of joint ventures with minority-owned concerns. Of course, in many instances there are legitimate reasons for joint ventures; clearly, White and minority enterprises can team up to acquire business that neither could acquire alone. But civil right groups and minority business owners have complained to Congress about minorities being set up as "fronts" with White backing, rather than being accepted as full partners in legitimate joint ventures.

Third, a minority enterprise that secures the business of one large corporate customer often runs the danger of becoming and remaining dependent. Even in the best of circumstances, fierce competition from larger, more established companies makes it difficult for small concerns to broaden their customer bases; when such firms have nearly guaranteed orders from a single corporate benefactor, they may truly have to struggle against complacency arising from their current success.

Notes:

civil rights activists 公民权利激进分子

Hispanics 西班牙后裔美国人

sizable orders 大额订单

subcontract 转包合同

on forms filed with the government 在政府存档备案

percentage goals 指标

apportionment 分配，分派

public works 市政工程

letup 减弱，缓和

promising as it is... 这是as引导的上步状语从句，表语倒装了

patronage 优惠

concern n. 公司

and the like 以及诸如此类的

crippling fixed expenses 引起损失的固定开支

the world of 大量的

bid 投标

to cash in on ...靠......赚钱

team up 一起工作, 合作

"fronts" 此处意为"摆门面"

Complacency 自满

The primary purpose of the text is to

A．present a commonplace idea and its inaccuracies.

B．describe a situation and its potential drawbacks.

C．propose a temporary solution to a problem.

D．analyze a frequent source of disagreement.

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第9题

Why do we need the English major? The【C1】______is in every mouth—or, at least, is discussed extensively in columns and【C2】______. The English major is vanishing from our colleges as the Latin vanished before it, were told, a【C3】______choice bound to a dead subject. This spring at Pomona College, 16 students graduated【C4】______an English major out of a student body of 1,560, a terribly【C5】______number, and from other, similar schools, other, similar numbers. 【C6】______a number of defenses have been mounted, none of them, so far, terribly persuasive even to one【C7】______them to persuade. The defenses come in two kinds: one【C8】______that English majors make better people, the other that English majors (or at least humanities majors) make【C9】______better societies; that, as Christina Pax-son, the president of Brown University, just put it in The New Republic, "there are real, definite benefits to the humanistic【C10】______—to the study of history, literature, art, theater, music, and languages." We need the humanities, she explains patiently,【C11】______they may end up giving us other stuff we actually like: "We do not always know the future benefits of what we study and【C12】______should not rush to reject some forms of research as less【C13】______than others." The study of English, to be sure,【C14】______from its own discontents: it isnt a science, and so the "research" you do is not really research. So why have English majors? Well, because many people like books. Most of those like to talk about them after theyve read them, or while theyre in the middle. One might call this a natural or【C15】______consequence of literacy. And its this living, irresistible, permanent interest in reading that【C16】______English departments, and makes【C17】______of English majors.【C18】______we closed down every English department in the country, loud, good, expert, or at least hyper-enthusiastic readers would still emerge. As one important branch of humanities, studying English wont be time-wasted. As Professor Paxson said, the humanities help us【C19】______life more and endure it better. The reason we need the humanities is because were human. Thats【C20】______.

【C1】

A．theme

B．dispute

C．issue

D．inquiry

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第10题

During recent years we have heard much about "race": how this race does certain things and that race believes certain things and so on. Yet, the (1)_____ phenomenon of race consists of a few surface indications.

We judge race usually (2)_____ the coloring of the skin: a white race, a brown race, a yellow race and a black race. But (3)_____ you were to remove the skin you could not (4)_____ anything about the race to which the individual belonged. There is (5)_____ in physical structure, the brain or the internal organs to (6)_____ a difference.

There are four types of blood. (7)_____ types are found in every race, and no type is distinct to any race. Human brains are the (8)_____. No scientists could examine a brain and tell you the race to which the individual belonged. Brains win (9)_____ in size, but this occurs within every race. (10)_____ does size have anything to do with intelligence. The largest brain (11)_____ examined belonged to a person of weak (12)_____. On the other hand, some of our most distinguished people have had (13)_____ brains.

Mental tests which are reasonably (14)_____ show no differences in intelligence between races. High and low test results both can be recorded by different members of any race. (15)_____ equal educational advantages, there will be no difference in average standings, either on account of race or geographical location. Individuals of every race (16)_____ civilization to go backward or forward. Training and education can change the response of groups of people, (17)_____ enable them to behave in a (18)_____ way.

The behavior. and ideals of people change according to circumstances, but they can always go back or go on to something new (19)_____ is better and higher than anything (20)_____ the past.

A．complete

B．full

C．total

D．whole

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