II. Grammar and Vocabulary
Section A
Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
On paper alone you would never guess that I grew up poor and hungry.These years my (21)____(recent) annual salary was over $700,000.I am a Truam National Security Fellow and a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations. My publisher has just released my latest book series on quantitative finance in worldwide distribution.
(22) ____of it feels like enough.I feel(23)____I am wired(極度緊張的)for a permanent salary of fight or flight,waiting for the other shoe to drop, or the metaphorical week when I don’t eat.I’ve chosen not to have children, partly because(24)____any success-I still don’t feel I have a safety net.I have a huge minimum checking account balance in mind before I would ever consider having chidren If you knew me personally,you(25)____ get glimpses of stress, self-doubt,anxiety,and depression.
In my childhood,I spent a lot of my time (26)____pondering basic questions. Where will my next meal come from?Will have electricity tomorrow?I (27)____(acquaint) with the embarrassment of my mom trying to hide our food stamps at the grocery store checkout.Iremember panic setting in as early as age 8,at the prospect of a perpetual uncertainty about everything in life, from food to clothes to education.I knew that the life I was living couldn’t be normal.I just wasn’t sure(28)____it was that wrong with the tiny microcosm I was borninto.
As an adult I thought I’d figured that out.I’d always thought my upbringing had made me wary and cautious, in a “lessons learned”kind of way.Over the past dacades, though,that marrative(29) ____(evolve). We’ve learned that stresses(30)____(associate)with poverty have the potential to change our biology in ways we hadn’t imagined.It can reduce the surface area of your brain,shorten your telomeres and lifespan,increase your chances of obesity,and make you more likely to take outsized risks.
Section B
Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
A.magnet B.scheduled
C.ideal D.forward
E.touring F.envisioned
G.architecture H.dramatic
I.physical J.tentatively
K.headquarters
Dream Works Animation Bringing Broadway to Shanghai
Dream Works Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg’s quest to build what he hopes will be China’s answer to New York’s Broadway has taken a big step____.
Construction workers have begun work on the foundation of a 13-level tower that will be the new ____of Oriental Dream Works and linked to a large to a large,X-shaped IMAX cinema complex via a pathway____as an extended red carpet.
The waterfront development is____to open in late 2017 on a choice parcel south of Shanghai’s historic Bund district.
The Oriental Dream Works movie studio will have room for 500-plus animators,up from the company’s current 250 employees,and will be at the ____heart of the complex.
Situated on the grounds of a shuttered cement factory, the complex will have five major live performance venues with 8,500 seats in total,including a 3.000-seat facility houses in a dome where cement was once mixed.In addition to hosting international touring productions of musicals and dramas,the Dream Center is visualized as a____for pop, rock and jazz concerts; sporting events such as mixed material arts and motorbike racing;fashion shows and awards ceremonies;and conferences,art fairs and____exhibitions.
Planning is also underway for a Lego Discovery Center and an attraction____called the Kung Fu Panda Experience.The complex is designed by New York____film Kohn Pedersen Fox.Associates,which is behind the massive Hudson Yards redevelopment project on Manhattan’s West Side.
The IMAX theater,meanwhile, will have eight to nine screens and presumably be the ____venue to host premiers of productions form Oriental Dream Works----though it won’t be ready in time for the studio’s first effort,”Kung Fu Panda3”,scheduled for release in January.
III. Reading Comprehension
Section A
Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin returned from the moon,their cargo included nearly fifty pounds of rock and soil,which were packed in an aluminum box with seals designed to maintain the ____surface’s low-pressure environment.But back at Johnson Spance Center,in Houston,scientists discovered that the seals had been____—by moon dust.
Lunar dust is fine,like a powder,____it cuts like glass.It’s formed when meteoroids crash on the moon’s surface,heating rocks and dirt____them to fine particles.Since there’s no wind or water to smooth____edges,the tiny grains are sharp and sharp and jagged,and cling to nearly everything.
“The invasive____of lunar dust represents a more challenging engineering design issue,as well as a____issure for settlers,than does radiation,”wrote Harrison(Jack) Schmitt,an Apollo 17 astronaut,in his 2006 book,”Return to the Moon.” The dust sullied spacesuits and ate away layers of moon boots.Over the____of six Apollo missions, not one rock box ____its vacuum seal. Dust followed the astronauts back into their ships,too.According to Schmit,it smelled like gunpowder,where particles are bound to the moon by gravity,but are so sparse that they____collide.In the nineteen-sixties,Surveyor probes filmed a glowing cloud floating just above the lunar surface during sunrise.Later,Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan,while orbiting the moon,recorded a ____phenomenon at the sharp line where lunar day meets night,called the terminator.Cernan____a series of pictures illustrating the changing dustscape;streams of particles popped____the ground and levitatel,and the resulting cloud came into sharper focus as the astronauts’ orbiter approached daylight. ____there’s no wind to form and sustain the clouds,their origin is something of a mystery.It’s presumed that they’re made of dust,but no one fully understands how or why they do their thing.
41. A.solar B.nar
C.dusty D.mysterious
42. A.destroyed B.stained
C.changed D.redesigned
43. A.because B.however
C.but D.so
44. A.adapting B.reducing
C.tailoring D.shaping
45. A.soft B.hard
C.rough D.flat
46. A.nature B.speed
C.degree D.troops
47. A.intelligence B.health
C.fund D.future
48. A.moment B.situation
C.course D.program
49. A.installed B.lost
C.found D.maintained
50. A.coats B.affects
C.protects D.crusts
51. A.frequently B.violently
C.gently D.rarely
52. A.strange B.similar
C.common D.different
53. A.sketched B.described
C.received D.copied
54. A.out B.in
C.off D.down
55. A.Although B.Wherever
C.Unless D.Since
Section C
Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.
A.Thewriter’s festival is more than an event celebrating authors,it also celebratesthe power of literature and the power of you,the reader.
B.Storieshave been around since time began.
C.But heargued sexual pleasure is too fleeting and betrayal too common,and while friendship was better italways ended with death.
D.A 2013study found reading literary fiction can help you become more empathetic.
E.It isno coincidence that Apollo was the god of medicine as well as poetry.
F.They remind us of the university and timelessness ofemotions,helping us better understand our own.
The understanding that literature can comfort,console and heal has been around since the second millennium Bc,____.
As a bibliotherapist,I’m internsted in the therapeutic value stories have to offer us,particularly during times of stress.Here the intent around reading is different;the value of the story lies solely in our emotional response to it.
One of the greatest arguments for using literature as therapy was posited by the Renaissance essayist Michel de Montaigne,who believed there were three possible cures for loneliness:have a lover,have friends and read books.____.Therefore,the only therapy that could endure through life was the companionship of literature.
Why were the ancient Greeks and Romans right to suppose literature heals the soul?Why did Montaigne trust we could endure loneliness through a lifelong relationship with books?Why,despites all the distractions of modern life,do books still get published and writers’festival events get sold out?The answer lies in the power of stories.
____.They tell us what it is to be human,give us a context for the past and aninsight towards the future.A narrator’s voice replaces our stressed,internal monologue and takes us out of our life and into the world of a story.Paradoxically,we think we are escaping ourselver but the best stories take us back deeper into our interior worlds.Freud,who believed the “reading cure” came before the “talding cure”,once wrote that wherever he want he discovered a poet had been there before.It is difficult to access emotional language and this is why we have writes,____
What stories have shaped you?It’s a question reflecting on,as this shaping is often subconscious.The act of making it conscious will allow your future reading to perhaps have a different intent;you will be “reading” your life from now on,allowing you to live it more fully and better understand it.
IV. Summary Writing
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
Learn from mistakes
The best way to learn something is to make mistakes first.Thomas Edison.who invented the light bulb,told his colleagues:”Of the 200 light bulbs that didn’t work,every failure told me something I was able to incorporate into the next attempt.” Benjamin Franklin, the US statesman and statesman and scientist once said:”I haven’t failed.I have had 10,000 ideas that didn’t work.”
Both these people understood that failures and false starts are the condition of success.In fact, a surprising number of everyday bojects had their beginnings in a mistake or a misunderstanding.Post0-it-notes,packets of crisps and even bread are all unexpected inventions.In 2600 BC, a tired Egyptian slave invented bread when the dough rose during his sleep.And crisps were first cooked by a chief in the USA when a customer complained that his fried potatoes were not thin enough.
In 1958 Spencer Silver was trying to develop a strong adhesive when he accidentally invented a very weak glue instead.His colleague,Art Fry,decided to use it six years later,in 1974,to hold his bookmarks in his books and the post-it note was invented.
Successful businesspeople have often made big,expensive mistakes in their past.When an employee of IBM made a mistake that cost the company $600,000,Thomos Watson,the chairman,was asked if he would fire the man.”Of course not,”he replied.”I have just spent $600,000 training him.I am not going to let another company benefit from experience.”
The important thing to remember is that you need to learn fromr your mistakes.If you don’t,then there is no sense in making them.”
I. Translation
Directions: Translate the following sentences into English, using the words given in the brackets.
72.你怎么能指望在合作的過程中依靠一個(gè)言而無信的人?(expect)
73.只有在自然災(zāi)害發(fā)生的時(shí)候,人們才會(huì)真正了解到大自然的威力。(Only)
74.盡管許多西方國家在過去的十年采用了多種政策來鼓勵(lì)人們生兒育女,但至今見效甚微。(effect)
75.經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家在上個(gè)月的雜志中提醒消費(fèi)者:“便宜沒好貨”這句中國諺語并不適用多有國內(nèi)的工業(yè)品。(apply)
II.Guided Writing
Directions: Write an English composition in 120-150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.
明啟中學(xué)下周將舉辦校運(yùn)會(huì),假如你是高三(1)班的班長李明,計(jì)劃帶領(lǐng)本班志愿者服務(wù)隊(duì)為參賽選手和觀眾提供一項(xiàng)志愿者服務(wù)。請(qǐng)起草一份倡議書,向全班同學(xué)說明你的計(jì)劃,倡議書的內(nèi)容如下:
1.高三(1)班志愿者服務(wù)的具體工作內(nèi)容和人員安排;
2.提供該項(xiàng)志愿者服務(wù)的理由。
單選題 (本大題共11小題,每小題____分,共____分。)
Section B
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
(A)
After my pubic lectures on evolution, someonein the audience asks, “Are we still evolving?” People want to know if humans are getting taller, smarter,better looking or more athletic. My answer is truthful but disappointing: We’realmost certainly evolving, but we don’ t know in what direction or how fast.
We’ve seen some evolution in our speciesover the past few millennia(千年), but it was detected byreconstructing history from DNA sequences. For example, we know that during thepast 10,000 years, several populations of humans — those keeping sheep, cows orgoats for milk— gained the ability to digest dairy products. This trait wasuseless in our earlier ancestors who, after babyhood, never encountered milk.And in the past 3,000 years, Tibetans have acquired genetic adaptations thatallowed them to develop well in their high-altitude, low-oxygen home. But thesewell-documented changes are limited to particular populations, so the evidencefor recent evolution of our entire species, remains not much.
The authors of “Evolving Ourselves”disagree. Not only, they claim, are we evolving faster than ever, but we’redoing it to ourselves. Juan Enriquez and Steve Gullans argue that humans havecontrolled evolution — not just in our own species but virtually in allspecies: “For better or worse, we are increasingly in charge. We are theprimary drivers of change. We will directly and indirectly determine whatlives, what dies, where, and when. We are in a different phase of evolution:the future of life is now in our hands.”
According to the authors, we’ve replacednatural selection with what they call “unnatural selection.” Overfishing, forexample, has reduced the average size of many fish species, for taking thebiggest fish selects in favor of those that reproduce when younger and smaller.
Yet while there’s no doubt that we’rechanging the planet, the claim that we’re completely changing evolution on theplanet does not follow. Let’s take those fish that are evolving to reproducesmaller and younger. This phenomenon has been documented in many species thatwe eat, but this is just a minuscule fraction(極小的一部分) of the30,000 known species of fish.
The authors speak with unwarrantedassurance about how our species is evolving in response to nearly everything.When they assert, for example, our ingestion(攝取) of drugsand exposure to chemicals mean that “our children’ s brains are evolving fast,”they are overplaying their hand and abusing the word “evolution.” Outchildren’s brains may be changing fast in response to the new pharmacological(藥理學(xué)的)environment,but change alone is not evolution.
The two examples in Paragraph 2 are given to_________.
A. show in what direction humans evolve
B. explain the importance of DNA sequences
C. illustrate the evidence for evolution of our entire species is insufficient
D. demonstrate how slow humans have evolved over the past few millennia
(A)
After my pubic lectures on evolution, someonein the audience asks, “Are we still evolving?” People want to know if humans are getting taller, smarter,better looking or more athletic. My answer is truthful but disappointing: We’realmost certainly evolving, but we don’ t know in what direction or how fast.
We’ve seen some evolution in our speciesover the past few millennia(千年), but it was detected byreconstructing history from DNA sequences. For example, we know that during thepast 10,000 years, several populations of humans — those keeping sheep, cows orgoats for milk— gained the ability to digest dairy products. This trait wasuseless in our earlier ancestors who, after babyhood, never encountered milk.And in the past 3,000 years, Tibetans have acquired genetic adaptations thatallowed them to develop well in their high-altitude, low-oxygen home. But thesewell-documented changes are limited to particular populations, so the evidencefor recent evolution of our entire species, remains not much.
The authors of “Evolving Ourselves”disagree. Not only, they claim, are we evolving faster than ever, but we’redoing it to ourselves. Juan Enriquez and Steve Gullans argue that humans havecontrolled evolution — not just in our own species but virtually in allspecies: “For better or worse, we are increasingly in charge. We are theprimary drivers of change. We will directly and indirectly determine whatlives, what dies, where, and when. We are in a different phase of evolution:the future of life is now in our hands.”
According to the authors, we’ve replacednatural selection with what they call “unnatural selection.” Overfishing, forexample, has reduced the average size of many fish species, for taking thebiggest fish selects in favor of those that reproduce when younger and smaller.
Yet while there’s no doubt that we’rechanging the planet, the claim that we’re completely changing evolution on theplanet does not follow. Let’s take those fish that are evolving to reproducesmaller and younger. This phenomenon has been documented in many species thatwe eat, but this is just a minuscule fraction(極小的一部分) of the30,000 known species of fish.
The authors speak with unwarrantedassurance about how our species is evolving in response to nearly everything.When they assert, for example, our ingestion(攝取) of drugsand exposure to chemicals mean that “our children’ s brains are evolving fast,”they are overplaying their hand and abusing the word “evolution.” Outchildren’s brains may be changing fast in response to the new pharmacological(藥理學(xué)的)environment,but change alone is not evolution.
The authors of “Evolving Ourselves” claim that________.
A. humans dominate the future of other life
B. fish become smaller because of natural selection
C. humans are to blame for changing the planet for the worse
D. the boundary between natural selection and unnatural selection is unfixed
(A)
After my pubic lectures on evolution, someonein the audience asks, “Are we still evolving?” People want to know if humans are getting taller, smarter,better looking or more athletic. My answer is truthful but disappointing: We’realmost certainly evolving, but we don’ t know in what direction or how fast.
We’ve seen some evolution in our speciesover the past few millennia(千年), but it was detected byreconstructing history from DNA sequences. For example, we know that during thepast 10,000 years, several populations of humans — those keeping sheep, cows orgoats for milk— gained the ability to digest dairy products. This trait wasuseless in our earlier ancestors who, after babyhood, never encountered milk.And in the past 3,000 years, Tibetans have acquired genetic adaptations thatallowed them to develop well in their high-altitude, low-oxygen home. But thesewell-documented changes are limited to particular populations, so the evidencefor recent evolution of our entire species, remains not much.
The authors of “Evolving Ourselves”disagree. Not only, they claim, are we evolving faster than ever, but we’redoing it to ourselves. Juan Enriquez and Steve Gullans argue that humans havecontrolled evolution — not just in our own species but virtually in allspecies: “For better or worse, we are increasingly in charge. We are theprimary drivers of change. We will directly and indirectly determine whatlives, what dies, where, and when. We are in a different phase of evolution:the future of life is now in our hands.”
According to the authors, we’ve replacednatural selection with what they call “unnatural selection.” Overfishing, forexample, has reduced the average size of many fish species, for taking thebiggest fish selects in favor of those that reproduce when younger and smaller.
Yet while there’s no doubt that we’rechanging the planet, the claim that we’re completely changing evolution on theplanet does not follow. Let’s take those fish that are evolving to reproducesmaller and younger. This phenomenon has been documented in many species thatwe eat, but this is just a minuscule fraction(極小的一部分) of the30,000 known species of fish.
The authors speak with unwarrantedassurance about how our species is evolving in response to nearly everything.When they assert, for example, our ingestion(攝取) of drugsand exposure to chemicals mean that “our children’ s brains are evolving fast,”they are overplaying their hand and abusing the word “evolution.” Outchildren’s brains may be changing fast in response to the new pharmacological(藥理學(xué)的)environment,but change alone is not evolution.
What is the major question discussed in the passage?
A. Are humans still evolving?
B. Is unnatural selection powerful?
C. Are humans the main driver of evolution?
D. Does evolution require many genetic changes?
(B)
America’s businesses aregetting older and fatter, while many new businesses are dying in infancy.
Astudy last month by the Brookings Institution found that the proportion ofolder firms has grown steadily over several decades, while the survival rate ofnew companies has fallen. In addition, young people are starting companies at asharply lower rate than in the past.
A newreport from the National Association of Manufacturers shows a major cause: Thecost of obeying government regulations hasrisen to more than $2 trillion (12.26 trillion yuan) annually, or 12 percent ofthe GDP, and this cost falls disproportionately on smaller, newer businesses.
It’s risky, difficult andexpensive to start a business, and getting more so. Governments are imposingvarious new rules on a seemingly daily basis: health insurance, minimum wageincreases and, most recently in California, compulsory paid sick days for evenhourly employees. These regulations shift huge social welfare costs directlyonto often-struggling small businesses, while being proportionally much lesscostly for larger companies.
This is partly an unintended issue of resources—established companies can cope withnew costs more easily—but it’s also deliberate. For instance, big insurancecompanies got a seat at the table to help write Obamacare, but less politicallypowerful firms—like medical device manufacturers—got squeezed.
Mature,successful corporations can employ ex-lawmakers with connections, distributecampaign contributions and even write regulations for themselves. They are alsomore likely to want to protect steady revenue streams than revolutionize theirindustry.
Majorcompanies that have been so ill-managed they would otherwise collapse—airlines,car companies and banks—stagger(蹣跚)on because politicians ride to the rescue withbags of taxpayer money.
Thegenius of our unique system of government is the determination to protect anddefend the rights of the individual over the rights of the nation. As such, therise of a well-connected oligarchy(寡頭政治)that protects big business atthe expense of small business, and the established over the new, is opposite toAmerican ideals.
Incomeinequality—which is directly caused by faulty government policy—is beingpromoted as the reason to impose more of that bad policy. But let’s beperfectly clear, we do not have a free market but one where government pickswinners and losers through regulations and financial aids.
Politics is, and always hasbeen, about balancing competing interests seeking to benefit themselves, andthat’s as it should be, but the force of government should never be used toreduce competition, kill innovation or support and extend artificial monopolies(壟斷)by harming the consumer, thetaxpayer and the economy. Policy must breed our new and small businesses or seethe as-yet undreamed of innovations that could be our bright future die ininfancy.
We can learn from the passage that ______________.
A. over several decades, new companies have grown steadily.
B. mature, successful corporations prefer to maintain their stable incomes.
C. less politically powerful firms also have their voice in making regulations.
D. the cost of obeying government regulations falls equally on all businesses.
(B)
America’s businesses aregetting older and fatter, while many new businesses are dying in infancy.
Astudy last month by the Brookings Institution found that the proportion ofolder firms has grown steadily over several decades, while the survival rate ofnew companies has fallen. In addition, young people are starting companies at asharply lower rate than in the past.
A newreport from the National Association of Manufacturers shows a major cause: Thecost of obeying government regulations hasrisen to more than $2 trillion (12.26 trillion yuan) annually, or 12 percent ofthe GDP, and this cost falls disproportionately on smaller, newer businesses.
It’s risky, difficult andexpensive to start a business, and getting more so. Governments are imposingvarious new rules on a seemingly daily basis: health insurance, minimum wageincreases and, most recently in California, compulsory paid sick days for evenhourly employees. These regulations shift huge social welfare costs directlyonto often-struggling small businesses, while being proportionally much lesscostly for larger companies.
This is partly an unintended issue of resources—established companies can cope withnew costs more easily—but it’s also deliberate. For instance, big insurancecompanies got a seat at the table to help write Obamacare, but less politicallypowerful firms—like medical device manufacturers—got squeezed.
Mature,successful corporations can employ ex-lawmakers with connections, distributecampaign contributions and even write regulations for themselves. They are alsomore likely to want to protect steady revenue streams than revolutionize theirindustry.
Majorcompanies that have been so ill-managed they would otherwise collapse—airlines,car companies and banks—stagger(蹣跚)on because politicians ride to the rescue withbags of taxpayer money.
Thegenius of our unique system of government is the determination to protect anddefend the rights of the individual over the rights of the nation. As such, therise of a well-connected oligarchy(寡頭政治)that protects big business atthe expense of small business, and the established over the new, is opposite toAmerican ideals.
Incomeinequality—which is directly caused by faulty government policy—is beingpromoted as the reason to impose more of that bad policy. But let’s beperfectly clear, we do not have a free market but one where government pickswinners and losers through regulations and financial aids.
Politics is, and always hasbeen, about balancing competing interests seeking to benefit themselves, andthat’s as it should be, but the force of government should never be used toreduce competition, kill innovation or support and extend artificial monopolies(壟斷)by harming the consumer, thetaxpayer and the economy. Policy must breed our new and small businesses or seethe as-yet undreamed of innovations that could be our bright future die ininfancy.
We can infer from the last three paragraphs that ____________.
A. the rise of a well-connected oligarchy is contrary to American ideals
B. the state economy may depend on those innovative businesses
C. income inequality is what the government should take action to resolve
D. the government picks winners and losers through the law of free market
(B)
America’s businesses aregetting older and fatter, while many new businesses are dying in infancy.
Astudy last month by the Brookings Institution found that the proportion ofolder firms has grown steadily over several decades, while the survival rate ofnew companies has fallen. In addition, young people are starting companies at asharply lower rate than in the past.
A newreport from the National Association of Manufacturers shows a major cause: Thecost of obeying government regulations hasrisen to more than $2 trillion (12.26 trillion yuan) annually, or 12 percent ofthe GDP, and this cost falls disproportionately on smaller, newer businesses.
It’s risky, difficult andexpensive to start a business, and getting more so. Governments are imposingvarious new rules on a seemingly daily basis: health insurance, minimum wageincreases and, most recently in California, compulsory paid sick days for evenhourly employees. These regulations shift huge social welfare costs directlyonto often-struggling small businesses, while being proportionally much lesscostly for larger companies.
This is partly an unintended issue of resources—established companies can cope withnew costs more easily—but it’s also deliberate. For instance, big insurancecompanies got a seat at the table to help write Obamacare, but less politicallypowerful firms—like medical device manufacturers—got squeezed.
Mature,successful corporations can employ ex-lawmakers with connections, distributecampaign contributions and even write regulations for themselves. They are alsomore likely to want to protect steady revenue streams than revolutionize theirindustry.
Majorcompanies that have been so ill-managed they would otherwise collapse—airlines,car companies and banks—stagger(蹣跚)on because politicians ride to the rescue withbags of taxpayer money.
Thegenius of our unique system of government is the determination to protect anddefend the rights of the individual over the rights of the nation. As such, therise of a well-connected oligarchy(寡頭政治)that protects big business atthe expense of small business, and the established over the new, is opposite toAmerican ideals.
Incomeinequality—which is directly caused by faulty government policy—is beingpromoted as the reason to impose more of that bad policy. But let’s beperfectly clear, we do not have a free market but one where government pickswinners and losers through regulations and financial aids.
Politics is, and always hasbeen, about balancing competing interests seeking to benefit themselves, andthat’s as it should be, but the force of government should never be used toreduce competition, kill innovation or support and extend artificial monopolies(壟斷)by harming the consumer, thetaxpayer and the economy. Policy must breed our new and small businesses or seethe as-yet undreamed of innovations that could be our bright future die ininfancy.
It can be concluded from the passage that ______________.
A. larger and older firms have a command of resources of various aspects
B. most of the ex-lawmakers work in mature, successful corporations
C. politicians like providing financial aids to the companies of worse operation
D. big insurance companies have better relationship with Obama
(B)
America’s businesses aregetting older and fatter, while many new businesses are dying in infancy.
Astudy last month by the Brookings Institution found that the proportion ofolder firms has grown steadily over several decades, while the survival rate ofnew companies has fallen. In addition, young people are starting companies at asharply lower rate than in the past.
A newreport from the National Association of Manufacturers shows a major cause: Thecost of obeying government regulations hasrisen to more than $2 trillion (12.26 trillion yuan) annually, or 12 percent ofthe GDP, and this cost falls disproportionately on smaller, newer businesses.
It’s risky, difficult andexpensive to start a business, and getting more so. Governments are imposingvarious new rules on a seemingly daily basis: health insurance, minimum wageincreases and, most recently in California, compulsory paid sick days for evenhourly employees. These regulations shift huge social welfare costs directlyonto often-struggling small businesses, while being proportionally much lesscostly for larger companies.
This is partly an unintended issue of resources—established companies can cope withnew costs more easily—but it’s also deliberate. For instance, big insurancecompanies got a seat at the table to help write Obamacare, but less politicallypowerful firms—like medical device manufacturers—got squeezed.
Mature,successful corporations can employ ex-lawmakers with connections, distributecampaign contributions and even write regulations for themselves. They are alsomore likely to want to protect steady revenue streams than revolutionize theirindustry.
Majorcompanies that have been so ill-managed they would otherwise collapse—airlines,car companies and banks—stagger(蹣跚)on because politicians ride to the rescue withbags of taxpayer money.
Thegenius of our unique system of government is the determination to protect anddefend the rights of the individual over the rights of the nation. As such, therise of a well-connected oligarchy(寡頭政治)that protects big business atthe expense of small business, and the established over the new, is opposite toAmerican ideals.
Incomeinequality—which is directly caused by faulty government policy—is beingpromoted as the reason to impose more of that bad policy. But let’s beperfectly clear, we do not have a free market but one where government pickswinners and losers through regulations and financial aids.
Politics is, and always hasbeen, about balancing competing interests seeking to benefit themselves, andthat’s as it should be, but the force of government should never be used toreduce competition, kill innovation or support and extend artificial monopolies(壟斷)by harming the consumer, thetaxpayer and the economy. Policy must breed our new and small businesses or seethe as-yet undreamed of innovations that could be our bright future die ininfancy.
As to the development of smaller businesses, the writer is ______________.
A. contented
B. confident
C. concerned
D. convinced
(C)
Witha large part of the world's population living close to the oceans, rising sealevels bring the potential for destructive (破壞性的)results.But scientists are still unable to make predictions exact enough for people toplan to handle the loss of land and the threat to coastal communities expectedover this century.
“Weknow sea level is going to rise, but how much, and how fast, and where, wereally still don’t know," said Josh Willis, a climate scientist.
Theocean isn't like water in a bathtub. It doesn’t riseall the same as more water pours in. As global warming raises sea levels, someplaces are expected to see higher-than-average increases, and a few places, mayeven see decreases.
It’sreported that over the course of this century, sea levels will rise between 8inches and 6.6 feet around the planet. Scientists know this increase will bedriven by the expansion of water as it warms—warmer water takes up morespace—and the melting of ice. But the effects of warming water and melting iceon sea-level rise are expected to vary from area to area. And the melting ofice of the Antarctic and Greenland presents the largest uncertainty for thefuture, but air, land and water also play roles in changes to sea level. Forexample, sea level near the ice getting melt actually decreases, because theground under the melting ice rises as the heavy ice disappears.
Climatechange is expected to change ocean currents and the winds that help drive oceancurrents. These changes will affect the distribution of heat within the oceans,and, as a result, affect changes in sea level.
Nowadays,scientists use two types of models to make predictions about the future of sealevels, but the two don’t agree. If scientists can't accurately predictsea-level increase for the coming years, the least we can do is measure what ishappening today with the help of the satellite, Jason-2, but it’s reaching theend of its operational life.
The first paragraph implies that_______ .
A. coastal cities are easily affected by the rising sea levels
B. people living in coastal communities have to move
C. scientists have ways to handle the rising sea levels
D. the rising sea levels mainly happens near the coast
(C)
Witha large part of the world's population living close to the oceans, rising sealevels bring the potential for destructive (破壞性的)results.But scientists are still unable to make predictions exact enough for people toplan to handle the loss of land and the threat to coastal communities expectedover this century.
“Weknow sea level is going to rise, but how much, and how fast, and where, wereally still don’t know," said Josh Willis, a climate scientist.
Theocean isn't like water in a bathtub. It doesn’t riseall the same as more water pours in. As global warming raises sea levels, someplaces are expected to see higher-than-average increases, and a few places, mayeven see decreases.
It’sreported that over the course of this century, sea levels will rise between 8inches and 6.6 feet around the planet. Scientists know this increase will bedriven by the expansion of water as it warms—warmer water takes up morespace—and the melting of ice. But the effects of warming water and melting iceon sea-level rise are expected to vary from area to area. And the melting ofice of the Antarctic and Greenland presents the largest uncertainty for thefuture, but air, land and water also play roles in changes to sea level. Forexample, sea level near the ice getting melt actually decreases, because theground under the melting ice rises as the heavy ice disappears.
Climatechange is expected to change ocean currents and the winds that help drive oceancurrents. These changes will affect the distribution of heat within the oceans,and, as a result, affect changes in sea level.
Nowadays,scientists use two types of models to make predictions about the future of sealevels, but the two don’t agree. If scientists can't accurately predictsea-level increase for the coming years, the least we can do is measure what ishappening today with the help of the satellite, Jason-2, but it’s reaching theend of its operational life.
What does the writer mean by saying "The ocean isn’t like water in a bathtub" in the third paragraph?
A. There is too much water for us to control.
B. The ocean can be easily controlled.
C. The ocean isn’t equal to a bathtub in size.
D. The rising sea level is hard to tell.
(C)
Witha large part of the world's population living close to the oceans, rising sealevels bring the potential for destructive (破壞性的)results.But scientists are still unable to make predictions exact enough for people toplan to handle the loss of land and the threat to coastal communities expectedover this century.
“Weknow sea level is going to rise, but how much, and how fast, and where, wereally still don’t know," said Josh Willis, a climate scientist.
Theocean isn't like water in a bathtub. It doesn’t riseall the same as more water pours in. As global warming raises sea levels, someplaces are expected to see higher-than-average increases, and a few places, mayeven see decreases.
It’sreported that over the course of this century, sea levels will rise between 8inches and 6.6 feet around the planet. Scientists know this increase will bedriven by the expansion of water as it warms—warmer water takes up morespace—and the melting of ice. But the effects of warming water and melting iceon sea-level rise are expected to vary from area to area. And the melting ofice of the Antarctic and Greenland presents the largest uncertainty for thefuture, but air, land and water also play roles in changes to sea level. Forexample, sea level near the ice getting melt actually decreases, because theground under the melting ice rises as the heavy ice disappears.
Climatechange is expected to change ocean currents and the winds that help drive oceancurrents. These changes will affect the distribution of heat within the oceans,and, as a result, affect changes in sea level.
Nowadays,scientists use two types of models to make predictions about the future of sealevels, but the two don’t agree. If scientists can't accurately predictsea-level increase for the coming years, the least we can do is measure what ishappening today with the help of the satellite, Jason-2, but it’s reaching theend of its operational life.
According to the text, which of the following shows the right cause and effect?
①climate change; ②ocean currents;
③the winds; ④changes in sea level;
⑤the distribution of heat
A. ①→②→③→④→⑤
B. ③→④→⑤→②→①
C. ①→③→②→⑤→④
D. ①→⑤→③→②→④
(C)
Witha large part of the world's population living close to the oceans, rising sealevels bring the potential for destructive (破壞性的)results.But scientists are still unable to make predictions exact enough for people toplan to handle the loss of land and the threat to coastal communities expectedover this century.
“Weknow sea level is going to rise, but how much, and how fast, and where, wereally still don’t know," said Josh Willis, a climate scientist.
Theocean isn't like water in a bathtub. It doesn’t riseall the same as more water pours in. As global warming raises sea levels, someplaces are expected to see higher-than-average increases, and a few places, mayeven see decreases.
It’sreported that over the course of this century, sea levels will rise between 8inches and 6.6 feet around the planet. Scientists know this increase will bedriven by the expansion of water as it warms—warmer water takes up morespace—and the melting of ice. But the effects of warming water and melting iceon sea-level rise are expected to vary from area to area. And the melting ofice of the Antarctic and Greenland presents the largest uncertainty for thefuture, but air, land and water also play roles in changes to sea level. Forexample, sea level near the ice getting melt actually decreases, because theground under the melting ice rises as the heavy ice disappears.
Climatechange is expected to change ocean currents and the winds that help drive oceancurrents. These changes will affect the distribution of heat within the oceans,and, as a result, affect changes in sea level.
Nowadays,scientists use two types of models to make predictions about the future of sealevels, but the two don’t agree. If scientists can't accurately predictsea-level increase for the coming years, the least we can do is measure what ishappening today with the help of the satellite, Jason-2, but it’s reaching theend of its operational life.
What problems will scientists meet with in predicting future climate changes?
A. It's too difficult to measure what's happening.
B. There will probably be no satellites to help the scientists.
C. Types of models for prediction are difficult to set up.
D. There aren’t enough scientists studying the changes of sea levels.
填空題
21.most recent 22.None 23.as though 24.despite 25.might 26.pondering 27.was acquainted 28.something 29.has evolved 30.asspciated
31~40 DKFBIAEJGC
41-5 BACBC
46-0 ABCDA
51-5 DBACD
67.E 68.C 69.B 70.F
Summary:
The best way to learn something is to make mistakes first(要點(diǎn)1).And failures and false starts are the condition of success.In fact,lots of everyday objects had their beginnings in a mistake(要點(diǎn)2).Besides,Successful businesspeople have often made big.expensive mistakes in their past(要點(diǎn)3).All in all,The important thing is that you need to learn from your mistakes.
72.How can you expect to rely on a person who doesn’t keep his promise in cooperation?
73.Only when natural disasters happen,can people really learn the power of nature.
74.Although many western countries have taken a lot of measures to encourage people to bear sons and daughters in the past decade,it still takes little effect now.
75.An economist remended customers in the journal last month that the Chinese saying”the cheap goods are of poor quality” didn’t apply to all the domestic industrial products.
略
單選題
C A C B B A C A D C B
填空題
略 略 略 略 略 略 略
單選題
略 略 略 略 略 略 略 略 略 略 略
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