This kind of material was seldom used in building houses during the middle Ages. A never B rarely C often D only

The nursery is bright and cheerful.

    A pleasant B clean

    C peaceful D large

The conference explored the possibility of closer trade links.

    A denied B investigated

    C stressed D created

Almost all economists agree that nations gain by trading with one another

    A work B profit

    C rely D prove

How do you account for your absence from the class last Thursday？

    A explain B examine

    C choose D expand

The soldier displayed remarkable courage in the battle.

    A placed B showed

    C pointed D decided

New Ideas

    Icelands President Olafur Grimsson is trying to drive carbon dioxide1 underground to ___（1）___ its release into the air.

    Over the next two years， a team of scientists will try to ___（2）___ carbon dioxide-charged water into the rock underground. Scientist theory says this should work. The CO2 will react with the rock to form a stable mineral that remains in the ___（3）___ for millions of years.

    If the experiment succeeds， Iceland could give the world a new ___（4）___ to reduce CO2 emissions.

    Sigurdur Gislason， a university professor in Iceland， says his country has an ___（5）___ over other countries： “We have enormous amounts of clean ___（6）___ and a small society. You can do experiments here that you cant do anywhere else.”

    In an attempt to cut back on the use of air conditioners during summer， the Japanese government in 2005 ___（7）___ a campaign to keep office temperatures at 28°C degrees in summer. Men were also encouraged to change business suits for ___（8）___ wear. In other words， no more ties.

    “The ___（9）___ is meant to show the governments resolve to achieve Japan‘s target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent，” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda. The ___（10）___ has cut an estimated 79，000 tons of carbon dioxide gas emissions each year.

    As the country‘s 2005 Energy Policy Act ___（11）___ into force this year， more

    Americans will be encouraged to use ___（12）___ cars and energy sources.

    According to the new law， those who buy hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius can earn tax credits； or rebates， of ___（13）___ to $2，600 a year. Homemakers can also save when they renovate， claiming tax rebates ___（14）___ up to $500 simply by fitting their homes with energy-saving insulation. If they. ___（15）___ in solar water heating， the payoff at tax time is equal to 30 percent of the appliances cost or a maximum of $2，000.

    （1）.A） reduce B） narrow C） interrupt D） interfere

    （2）. A） spread B） splash C） inject D） flow

    （3）. A） air B） rock C） water D） soil

    （4）. A） era B） period C） page D） way

    （5）.A） merit B） benefit C） profit D） advantage

    （6）.A） oil B） energy C） gas D） solar-power

    （7）.A） mounted B） called C） opened D） held

    （8）.A） decent B） formal C） casual D） fashionable

    （9）.A） pledge B） move C） promise D） statement

    （10）.A） campaign B） war C） activity D） move

    （11）.A） makes B） takes C） bring D） comes

    （12）.A） fast B） cheap C） expensive D） environment-friendly

    （13）.A） under B） up C） on D） from

    （14）. A） putting B） worth C） building D） buying

    （15）.A） spend B） give C） invest D） donate

Comparative Labor Costs

    ___（1）___. Together， they constitute the unit labor cost involved in producing a commodity.

    Some countries may find that the labor wages are very low， yet they are not in a competitive position when trading with other countries， whose labor wages are very high.

    ___（2）___. On the other hand， some countries find that their productivity is much higher than that of their trading partners， yet they are not in a competitive trading position either. This is because their labor wages are much higher than those of their trading partners. ___（3）___. For instance， wages are low in most developing countries. ____（4）_____. Their productivity is low too. Success depends on the unit labor cost of the products in certain industries， such as radio production and television set assembling， unit labor cost may be low and thus they would be in a competitive position， while in others， low labor wages are offset by very low productivity. Their unit labor cost is high and they are in an unfavorable position in trading with other countries.

    Unit labor cost is an important determinant of prices of manufactured goods， but other costs also influence prices： notably， those of capital， energy and raw materials. ___（5）___.

    A. Moreover， a country‘s competitive position is not solely determined by price salesmanship. Credit terms， adherence to delivery schedules and so on also affect competitiveness.

    B. At least two factors determine a country‘s comparative position： labor productivity and wage level.

    C. So it is the unit labor cost that determines the competitive position， but only low wages or only high productivity.

    D. This may be because they neglect their low productivity.

    E. Does this mean that these countries are in a favorable position in trade？ It is not necessarily so.

    F. Generally speaking， all the countries are paying more and more attention to their wage levels.

According to the passage， human beings make themselves different from other animals by

    A. having the ability to realize danger

    B. having a special memory capacity

    C. having a distinguished memory capacity

    D. having the ability to control himself

What is the major characteristic of a human being‘s memory capacity according to the text？

    A. It can be expanded by language.

    B. It can remember all the combined words.

    C. It may keep all the information in the past.

    D. It may change what has been stored in it.

With respect to the memory storage capacity， what is the author‘s idea about the comparison between human beings and computers？

    A. Computers have no memory at all.

    B. Computers are more powerful than adults.

    C. Teenagers are inferior to computers.

    D. Human beings are far superior to computers.