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1.Faced with declining enrollments and declining revenues, many public schools in the US are _____________________ get students from abroad, particularly from China.
2.Going to study in the US high school will _____________________ some Chinese students because it can increase their chances of entering an American university.
3.During a typical Romanian wedding ceremony, the newly-weds _____________________ usually _____________________ love and care from their relatives and neighbors.
4.Fifty years ago on April 12, the Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin _____________________ worldwide as he became the first man in space, propelled into orbit on a Russian made rocket.
5.The US is a country which _____________________ people of different colors, races and religions, but sometimes the diversity can lead to problems.
6.Some people have to take special precautions when they go out in spring _____________________ suffering from seasonal allergy such as sneezing, watery eyes and runny noses.
7.Baseball _____________________ in the US because it’s not simply a game, but has become woven into the fabric of American culture.
8.The 32-year-old Taiwanese star Show Luo is at the peak of his singing career now, but his career hit a low _____________________ when he lost all his hosting jobs and got cold looks from people.
9.The latest Apple iPad 2 was _____________________ by the Apple Company at the end of March in 25 countries and it caused massive line-ups at stores across the U.S.
10.Several Libyan diplomats resigned their posts and _____________________ Gaddafi, describing him as a “dictator” and calling on him to step aside to avoid further bloodshed.
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Just under a decade ago, faced with a declining economy and rising oil prices, drivers were turning away from gas-powered vehicles and toward hybrid-electric cars (油电混合动力汽车) that promised, over time, to save them millions.
That was then, In recent years, as the economy recovered and gas prices dropped, so has demand for more-fuel-efficient cars. Electric cars and hybrids now make up less than 3% of new-car purchases, down from years past. Roughly 75% of Americas who traded in a hybrid or an electric car this year took home an all-gas car, an 11-point increase from 2015
At the same time, it's unreasonable to expect drivers to change their habits purely because of a sense of duty to build a better world. Buying a Toyota Camry, for example, would save its owner about $400 yearly in gas spending (vs. a similar-size all-gas vehicle). But it would also cost an extra $3000 in advance. For Americans, that payoff isn't worth the investment.
Automakers face this stalemate (僵局)? The government. Thanks to a set of regulations, automakers are required to keep improving their average fuel efficiencies to a certain degree, no matter how oil prices might change.
But starting a true green-car revolution will require more than fuel-efficiency standards. One solution, favored by some economists and environmental activists, is an increase in the gas tax, Which hasn't been raised since 1993. Others have suggested taxing carbon emission(排放), so people will rethink how they drive. In Norway, where drivers pay both fees, the electric cars from Tesla Motors have enjoyed a brief period as the country's top-selling vehicle.
Indeed, the best approach may well be to create the impossible: an electric car that actually offers more value than its gas-powered competitor. Many are trying, from Tesla to GM, which is releasing an inexpensive all-electric car this year. The future of driving is “not going to be determined by gas prices," says economist Jeff Sachs. “It's going to be determined by technology."
1.What change has taken place in the US car market?
A.Car purchases have dropped sharply
B.People are beginning to favor all-gas cars
C.Electric cars have become the most popular
D.Hybrid-electric cars have become more expensive
2.What do Americans think of the Toyota Camry hybrid?
A.It is a good investment
B.It is perfectly comfortable.
C.It has a price disadvantage.
D.It will change bad driving habits.
3.What can we infer about green cars in Norway?
A.They will slow they country's economy.
B.They may be a big potential market.
C.They will cause an increase in the gas tax.
D.They require higher fuel-efficiency standards.
4.Which of the following will Jeff Sachs probably agree with?
A.There will be more electric cars.
B.All-gas cars will be the general trend.
C.Gas-powered cars will cost much more.
D.Technology will affect driving negatively.
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Faced with the financial crisis, many people prefer to be a saver rather than a spender and manage to _______ 40 to 50 percent of their salary.
A. put aside B. put off C. put forward D. put up
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He was faced with the severe financial _____ of caring for his wife and five children.
A.status B.burden C.target D.absence
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（题文）The Mp3 ________ young people ________ a bit of decline recently with the appearance of the Mp4.
A. intending to; has entered into B. intended for; has gone into
C. meant to; takes on D. meant for; opens up
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____ the rising birth rate and immigration, the declining death rate also ____ the population growth.
A．In consequence of; caused B．In addition to; resulted in
C．In terms of; resulted from D．In spite of; accounted for
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He added that state and local governments might have to ____ spending as a result of declining tax revenue.
A. cut back B. cut off
C. cut out D. cut in
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. ____________ the rising birth rate and immigration, the declining death rate also resulted in the population growth.
| A．In addition to | B．In terms of | C．In consequence of | D．In spite of |
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Consumers everywhere are faced with the same dilemma: given limited resources, what sorts of purchases are most likely to produce lasting happiness and satisfaction? Recent research has confirmed that experiential purchases tend to produce greater hedonic (享乐的）gains than material purchases.
The reason why experiences improve with time may be because it is possible to think about experiences in a more abstract manner than possessions. For example, if you think back to a fantastic summer from your youth, you might easily remember an abstract sense of warm sunshine and youthful exuberant (生气勃勃), but you're less likely to remember exactly what you did day-by-day.
Material possessions are harder to think about in an abstract sense. The car you bought is still a car, that great new jacket you picked up cheap is still just a jacket. It’s more likely the experience of that summer has taken on a symbolic meaning that can live longer in your memory than a possession.
Purchasing may have a negative impact on happiness because consumers often buy “joyless” material possessions, resulting in comfort but not pleasure. In general, people adapt to experiences more slowly than to material purchase. This can be seen in both negative and positive purchases: hedonic adaptation would result in a positive experience causing more happiness but a negative experience causing less happiness than the comparable material purchase with the same initial happiness level.
Experience, however, seems to be more resistant to these sorts of unfavourable comparisons. It is because of the unique nature of experience. It’s more difficult to make an unfavourable comparison when there is nothing directly comparable. After all, each of our youthful summers is different.
It’s well established that social comparisons can have a huge effect on how we view what might seem like positive events. One striking example is the finding that people prefer to earn $50,000 a year while everyone else earns $25,000, instead of earning $100,000 themselves and having other people earn $200,000.
A similar effect is seen for possessions. When there are so many flat-screen HD TVs to choose from, it's easy to make unfavourable comparisons between our choice and the others available.
1.An abstract sense in the passage refers to awareness of something __________.
A. you cannot think about
B. you can’ t remember well
C. you cannot understand
D. you cannot see or touch
2.If you make an experiential purchase before a material purchase, you may go to__________.
A. a theatre before going to a store
B. an exhibition before going to a park
C. a mall before going to a grocer's
D. a market before going to a restaurant
3.The example of earnings is given to actually indicate__________.
A. how ridiculous people are B. how people feel content
C. how nearsighted people are D. how people hold prejudice
4. It is implied in the passage that, after their material purchases, people might__________.
A. enjoy their ownership of what they have bought
B. pick every fault in the products they have got
C. regret making a wrong decision to buy the items
D. leave what they’ve purchased untouched at home
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We are faced with the problem _________ we should do with so much pollution.
A. what B. why C. that D. That