题目内容
________ , the idea of having to work under a woman defeated him.
A. Wanting the job very much B. Although wanting the job badly
C. Though he wanted the job very much D. He wanted the job badly
C
Do you know how it is when you see someone yawn and you start yawning too? Or how hard it is to be among people laughing and not laugh yourself? Well, apparently it's because we have mirror neurons (神经元）in our brains.
Put simply, the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate (模仿)it，whether or not we actually perform the same action. This explains a great deal about how we learn to smile, talk, walk, dance or play sports. But the idea goes further： mirror neurons not only appear to explain physical actions y they also tell us that there is a biological basis for the way we understand other people.
Mirror neurons can undoubtedly be found all over our brains, but especially in the areas which relate to our ability to use languages, and to understand how other people feel. Researchers have found that mirror neurons relate strongly to language. A group of researchers discovered that if they gave people sentences to listen to ( for example ："The hand took hold of the ball" ) , the same mirror neurons were triggered as when the action was actually performed (in this example, actually taking hold of a ball).
Any problems with mirror neurons may well result in problems with behavior. Much researeh suggests that people with social and behavioral problems have mirror neurons which are not fully functioning. However, it is not yet known exactly how these discoveries might help find treatments for social disorders.
Research into mirror neurons seems to provide us with ever more information concerning how humans behave and interact(互动）.Indeed, it may turn out to be the equivalent (相等物）for ncurosciencc of what Einstein's theory of relativity was for physics. And the next time you feel the urge to cough in the cinema when someone else does--well，perhaps you'll understand why.
【小题1】Mirror neurons can explain .
| A．why we cry when we are hurt |
| B．why we cough when we suffer from a cold |
| C．why we smile when we see someone else smile |
| D．why we yawn when we see someone else stay up late |
| A．set off | B．cut off | C．built up | D．broken up |
| A．relate to human behavior and interaction |
| B．control human physical actions and feelings |
| C．result in bad behavior and social disorders |
| D．determine our knowledge and language abilities |
| A．Ways to find mirror neurons. |
| B．Problems of mirror neurons. |
| C．Existence of mirror neurons. |
| D．Functions of mirror neurons. |
If California were not already so famous for Sillicon Valley(硅谷) and Hollywood, it might be well－known for the groups of water－technology firms in its San Diego County. The reverse－osmosis (RO) spiral module, the technique that supports turning seawater and waste－water into drinkable stuff, began in San Diego in 1964. Today dozens of firms in the area supply many of the world's approximately 13，000 RO plants in places from the Persian Gulf and Israel to Australia and China.
Southern California itself, however, has not so far been a big user of its own technology. This is surprising, given that the whole American south－west faces a water problem. But now as the climate gets warmer and the population increases, there is more agreement that the existing infrastructure, consisting of vast pipes that carry water from the Sacramento Delta in the north and the Colorado River in the east, will not be enough. In places such as San Diego, which has inadequate and salty groundwater and currently imports 90% or its water, the answers must be greater conservation, reusing as much water as possible, and getting most of the rest from the sea.
The first part, conservation, has been widely accepted by the public. San Diego today uses less water with a larger population than it did in 1989, the year water consumption peaked. The second part, water recycling has been a hard sell, because of an unpleasant factor. Americans still use the term “toilet－to－tap” for recycling, even though properly treated waste－water is nowadays completely clean. Singapore made its programme acceptable in part by renaming it as NEWater.
This is where desalination comes in, which means taking the salt out of salt water. A firm called Poseidon Resources is now close to building the biggest desalination plant in America behind a power station by the beach in Carlsbad. The power plant sucks in 304m gallons of seawater a day for cooling, so Poseidon plans to change 104m gallons a day by using the RO spiral module.
Lots of people like the idea. Once fully running in 2015, the plant could produce 10% of the region's water. And there are plans for more desalination plants. Many places would need to take much less water from the endangered Colorado River. But a few people hate it a lot. Joe Geever, an expert in biology, says desalination uses too much energy and that Poseidon plant would kill too much sea life. He understands that there is a role for desalination, he says, but would rather not have it right there, right now, and on this scale.
【小题1】Which of the following is WRONG about the RO spiral module according to the passage?
| A．This technology is not widely used in its birthplace. |
| B．Today there are about 13，000 RO plants in the Persian Gulf, Israel, Australia and China. |
| C．This technology can be used in desalination plants to make sea water drinkable. |
| D．It is a promising water treatment technology welcomed by a lot of people. |
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
| A．The Colorado River is the main water source for California. |
| B．Americans still use the term “toilet－to－tap” for recycling water. |
| C．NEWater serves as a brand for recycled clean water in Singapore. |
| D．Poseidon Resources stands for the power station by the beach in Carlsbad. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Negative. | C．Optimistic. | D．Vague. |
Coupons to spend
“How did you spend your coupons?”
On their first day back to school, many students in Hangzhou greeted each other this way.
The coupons referred to the 100 yuan coupons each student received form the city government before the Spring Festival holidays. Over 260,000 primary school and middle school students were given coupons. They could use them in local stores and supermarkets, or to see movies and buy books.
The same coupons have also been given to low income families in Hangzhou. Other cities, including Chengdu and Nanjing, also gave coupons to their citizens. More cities are expected to follow their lead.
Why are local governments doing this?
These programmes are all part of a broader effort in China to increase domestic demand in the face of the global financial crisis.
The crisis has seriously affected China’s exports and investments (投资). Many factories in southern cities have been closed down. Some companies are laying off workers or reducing their pay. The stock market and real estate market have been falling.
In a time of financial crisis, people usually respond by saving money. They are uncertain about the future and are afraid that more difficult times may be ahead. Now many people are choosing not to spend money carelessly. Major chain stores have seen a sharp slowdown in sales, analysts say.
But spending keeps an economy healthy. If people don’t spend, there will be too many products in the market. Then shops will stop buying products from factories. When factories receive no orders, they close down. The workers there accordingly lose their jobs. Also, if people don’t spend, the service industry suffers. The total result is that the whole economy breaks down.
Issuing coupons is a practical and effective way to increase domestic demand in the current situation, said Jiang Zengwei, vice-minister of China’s Ministry of Commerce. Hangzhou reported a rise in customers in local markets during Spring Festival holiday.
However, issuing coupons is only a temporary measure. To increase consumers’ confidence, the government needs to establish a sound secure social system in the long term. When people don’t have to worry about education, health care and their pension, they will be more willing to spend instead of saving.
【小题1】Why are local governments issuing coupons?
| A．To increase domestic demand in the face of the global financial crisis. |
| B．To enable students to use them in local stores and supermarkets, or to see movies and buy books independently. |
| C．To help those low income families in the global financial crisis. |
| D．To show the government’s ability to solve economic problems |
| A．China’s exports and investments have been seriously affected. |
| B．People begin to spend money without a second thought. |
| C．Workers are faced with losing jobs and the reduction of the salaries. |
| D．The active stock market and real estate market have gone. |
| A．Issuing coupons is a practical and effective way to increase domestic demand in a long term. |
| B．The total result of saving money is that the whole economy breaks down. |
| C．The government may carry out new policies to encourage citizens to be willing to spend in the near future. |
| D．After issuing the coupons, the local markets have seen a rise in customers during Spring Festival holiday. |
| A．Spend now, save later. |
| B．Spend money like there’s no tomorrow; come on! |
| C．Spend money like it’s going out of style; let’s do it! |
| D．Big spender, wise spender. |
Homeownership has let us down. For generations, Americans believed that owning a home was undoubtedly good. Our political leaders hammered home the point. Franklin Roosevelt held that a country of homeowners was “unconquerable.” Homeownership could even save babies, save children, save families and save America. A house with a lawn and a fence wasn’t just a nice place to live in or a risk-free investment; it was a way to shape a nation. No wonder leaders of all political types wanted to spend more than $100 billion a year on subsidies（补助）and tax breaks to encourage people to buy.
But the dark side of homeownership is now all too apparent: Indeed, easy lending stimulated（刺激）by the cult of homeownership may have triggered（引起）the financial crisis. Housing remains a drag on the economy. Existing-home sales in April dropped 27% from the previous month, worsening fears of a double-dip. And all that is just the obvious tale of a housing bubble and what happened when it popped. The real story is deeper and darker still.
For the better part of a century, politics, industry and culture lined up to create a fetish of the idea of buying a house. Homeownership has done plenty of good over the decades; it has provided stability to tens of millions of families. Yet by idealizing the act of buying a home, we have ignored the downsides. In the bubble years, lending standards slipped dramatically, allowing many Americans to put far too much of their income into paying for their housing. And we ignored longer-term phenomena too. Homeownership contributed to the hollowing out of cities and kept renters out of the best neighborhoods. It fed America’s overuse of energy and oil. It made it more difficult for those who had lost a job to find another. Perhaps worst of all, it helped us become casually self-deceiving: By telling ourselves that homeownership was a pathway to wealth and stable communities and better test scores, we avoided dealing with these frightening issues head-on.
Now, as the U.S. recovers from the biggest housing bust（破产）since the Great Depression, it is time to rethink how realistic our expectations of homeownership are—and how much money we want to spend chasing them. Many argue that homeownership should not be a goal pursued at all costs.
【小题1】Political leaders wanted to spend money encouraging people to buy houses because______.
| A．owning a home was undoubtedly good |
| B．homeownership could shape a country |
| C．houses could save families and America |
| D．homeownership was unconquerable |
| A．homeownership has quite a lot of bad effects |
| B．there might be another housing breakdown in the U.S. |
| C．the existing-home sales will keep decreasing in the U.S. |
| D．the result of homeownership is much worse than it appears |
| A．Americans choose to live out of urban areas |
| B．it is the way to wealth to have one’s own house |
| C．it is hard for Americans to get a home loan |
| D．homeownership has made many people out of work |
| A．Cautious. | B．Ambiguous. | C．Favorable. | D．Optimistic. |