For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay entitled Man and Computer by commenting on the saying, “The real danger is not that the computer will begin to think like man, but that man will begin to think like the computer.” You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.
Man and Computer
In a Digital Age, Students Still Cling to Paper Textbooks
They text their friends all day long. At night, they do research for their term papers on laptops and commune with their parents on Skype. But as they walk the paths of Hamilton College, a poster-perfect liberal arts school in this upstate village, students are still hauling around bulky, old-fashioned textbooks —and loving it.
“The screen won’t go blank,” said Faton Begolli, a junior from Boston. “There can’t be a virus. It wouldn’t be the same without books. They’ve defined ’academia’ (学术) for a thousand years.”
Though the world of print is receding before a tide of digital books, blogs and other Web sites, a generation of college students growing up with technology appears to be holding fast to traditional textbooks. That loyalty comes at a price. Textbooks are expensive—a year’s worth can cost $700 to $900—and students’ frustrations with the expense, as well as the emergence of new technology, have produced a perplexing array of options for obtaining them.
Internet retailers like Amazon and Textbooks.com are selling new and used books. They have been joined by several Web services that rent textbooks to students by the semester. Some 1,500 college bookstores are also offering rentals this fall, up from 300 last year. Here at Hamilton, students this year have a new way to avoid the middleman: a nonprofit Web site, created by the college’s Entrepreneur Club, that lets them sell used books directly to one another.
The explosion of outlets and formats—including digital books, which are rapidly becoming more sophisticated—has left some students bewildered. After completing the difficult job of course selection, they are forced to weigh cost versus convenience, analyze their own study habits and guess which texts they will want for years to come and which they will not miss.
“It depends on the course,” said Victoria Adesoba, a student at New York University who was standing outside that school’s bookstore, a powder-blue book bag slung over her shoulder. “Last semester, I rented for psychology, and it was cheaper. But for something like organic chemistry, I need to keep the book. E-textbooks are good, but it’s tempting to go on Facebook, and it can strain your eyes.”
For all the talk that her generation is the most technologically knowledgeable in history, paper-and-ink textbooks do not seem destined to disappear anytime soon.
According to the National Association of College Stores, digital books make up just under 3% of textbook sales, although the association expects that share to grow to 10-15% by 2012 as more titles are made available as e-books.
In two recent studies—one by the association and another by the Student Public Interest Research Groups-three—quarters of the students surveyed said they still preferred a bound book to a digital version.
Many students are reluctant to give up the ability to flip quickly between chapters, write in the margins and highlight passages, although new software applications are beginning to allow students to use e-textbooks that way.
“Students grew up learning from print books,” said Nicole Allen, the textbooks campaign director for the research groups, “so as they transition to higher education, it’s not surprising that they prefer a format that they are most accustomed to.”
Indeed, many Hamilton students grow passionate about the weighty volumes they still cany from dorm room to lecture hall to library, even as they compulsively (克制不住地) check their smartphones for text messages and e-mails.
“I believe that the codex is one of mankind’s best inventions,” said Jonathan Piskor, a junior from North Carolina, using the Latin term for book.
That passion may be one reason that Barnes & Noble College Booksellers is working so hard to market its new software application, NOOKstudy, which allows students to navigate e-textbooks on Macs and PCs. The company, which operates 636 campus bookstores nationwide, introduced the free application last summer in hopes of luring more students to buy its electronic textbooks.
“The real obstacle is getting them to try it,” said Tracey Weber, the company’s executive vice president.
The company is giving away “College Kick-Start Kits” to students who download NOOKstudy in the fall semester, with a dozen classic e-books like The Canterbury Tales and The Scarlet Letter. CourseS-mart is letting students try any e-textbook free for two weeks.
But not every textbook is available in digital or rental format. At Hamilton, for instance, only about one-fifth of the titles are sold as e-textbooks this fall. A stroll through the campus store revealed the price difference. A book on constitutional law, for instance, was $189.85 new, $142.40 used and $85.45 for rent. (Typically, an e-textbook is cheaper than a used book, though more expensive than a rental.)
The expense of college textbooks, which is estimated to have risen four times the inflation rate in recent years, has become such a concern that some politicians are taking up the cause. Last month, Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York urged more college stores to rent books, after a survey of 38 campus bookstores in New York City and on Long Island by his office found that 16 did not offer the option.
On Thursday, students at more than 40 colleges nationwide are planning an Affordable Textbooks Day of Action to encourage faculty members to assign texts that are less expensive, or offered free online.
For now, buying books the old-fashioned way—new or used—prevails. Charles Schmidt, the spokesman for the National Association of College Stores, said that if a campus store sold a new book for $100, it would typically buy the book back for $50 at semester’s end and sell it to the next student for $75.
The buy-back price plunges, however, if the professor drops the book from the syllabus or if the bookstore has bought enough books to meet demand. When Louis Boguchwal, majoring in economics and math, tried to sell a $100 linear algebra (线性代数) textbook back to the college bookstore, he was offered $15.
“It was insulting,” he said. “They give you next to nothing.”
Thus, the creation of Hamilton’s new nonprofit Web site, getmytextbooks.org. So far, traffic has been light: only about 70 books have been sold this fall. But Jason Mariasis, president of the Entrepreneur Club, said he expected sales to pick up as word spread.
Mr. Begolli, a member of the club, recently sold three German novels for $17 on the site. “If I had sold them back to the bookstore, I would have gotten $7 or $8,” he said. “The bookstore is king when it comes to textbook sales. We felt there should be something for students, by students.”
Yet some students have to go it alone. Rosemary Rocha, an N.Y.U. student pursuing a degree in hospitality and tourism management, added up her required reading for the semester $600. “It’s harsh,” she said. “I’m currently collecting unemployment, so that’s not going to happen.”
Instead, she waits to borrow the few copies her professors leave on reserve at the library, or relies on the kindness of classmates. “My friends will let me borrow their books in exchange for coffee or a slice of pizza,” she said “I very seldom buy the textbooks, but I’m always like a chicken without a head.”
In what way are printed books frustrating to students?
They are too heavy to carry.
They take up too much space.
They cost too much money.
They often go out of print.
What can students do with the creation of the nonprofit Web site at Hamilton?
They can rent new books for a nominal fee.
They can buy books, both used and new, at a lower price.
They can read online by paying a small fee.
They can sell books to each other without a middleman.
What can we learn about textbooks from Victoria Adesoba’s case?
Printed textbooks will not disappear any time soon.
Their cost is students’ chief consideration.
E-books are the first choice of low-income students.
Science students prefer printed textbooks.
Why do most students still prefer the traditional paper-and-ink textbooks?
They can form good learning habits with printed textbooks.
They have been used to their format ever since childhood.
They can protect their eyesight using printed textbooks.
They are passionate about their physical presence.
What does Tracey Weber think is the best way to expand e-textbook sales?
Invite students to try e-book applications for free.
Open more e-book stores on university campuses.
Update e-book software to meet students’ needs.
Make the price of e-textbooks more attractive.
To combat the soaring price of textbooks, Senator Charles E. Schumer suggests that _____.
publishers offer more textbooks online
professors assign less expensive books
college stores rent books to students
students buy cheaper used books
Despite the light traffic on Hamilton’s nonprofit Web site, Jason Mariasis was confident that its book business would ______.
The man should keep his words.
She regrets asking the man for help.
Karen always supports her at work.
Karen can take her to the airport.
He can’t afford to go traveling yet.
His trip to Hawaii was not enjoyable.
He usually checks his brakes before a trip.
His trip to Hawaii has used up all his money.
There was nothing left except some pie.
The man has to find something else to eat.
The woman is going to prepare the dinner.
Julie has been invited for dinner.
Submit no more than three letters.
Present a new letter of reference.
Apply to three graduate schools.
Send Professor Smith a letter.
He declines to join the gardening club.
He is a professional gardener in town.
He prefers to keep his gardening skills to himself.
He wishes to receive formal training in gardening.
Sculpture is not a typical form of modern art.
Modern art cannot express people’s true feelings.
The recent sculpture exhibit was not well organized.
Many people do not appreciate modern art.
Bob does not have much chance to win.
She will vote for another candidate.
Bob cannot count on her vote.
She knows the right person for the position.
Transfer her to another department.
Repair the x-ray equipment.
Cut down her workload.
Allow her to go on leave for two months.
They are virtually impossible to enforce.
Neither is applicable to the woman’s case.
Both of them have been subject to criticism.
Their requirements may be difficult to meet.
Organize a mass strike.
Compensate for her loss.
Try to help her get it back.
Find her a better paying job.
He behaves in a way contrary to his real intention.
He presents his arguments in a straightforward way.
He responds readily to the other party’s proposals.
He uses lots of gestures to help make his points clear.
Both may fail when confronting experienced rivals.
The honest type is more effective than the actor type.
Both can succeed depending on the specific situation.
The actor type works better in tough negotiations.
Whether the security checks were really necessary.
How to cope with the huge crowds of visitors to the municipal building.
Whether the security checks would create lone queues at peak hours.
How to train the newly recruited security guards.
To be nearer to Zac’s school.
To look after her grandchildren.
To cut their living expenses.
To help with the household chores.
Boys enjoy playing with cubes more than girls.
Girls tend to get excited more easily than boys.
Girls seem to start reasoning earlier than boys.
Boys pay more attention to moving objects than girls.
It is a breakthrough in the study of the nerve system.
It may stimulate scientists to make further studies.
Its result helps understand babies’ language ability.
Its findings are quite contrary to previous research.
The two sides of their brain develop simultaneously.
They are better able to adapt to the surroundings.
Their bones mature earlier.
They talk at an earlier age.
Mountain climbing is becoming a popular sport, but it is also a【B1】_____ dangerous one. People can fall; they may also become ill. One of the most common dangers to climbers is altitude sickness, which can affect even very【B2】_____ climbers.
Altitude sickness usually begins when a climber goes above 8,000 or 9,000 feet. The higher one climbs, the less oxygen there is in the air. When people don’t get enough oxygen, they often begin to【B3】_____ for air. They may also feel【B4】_____ and light-headed. Besides these symptoms of altitude sickness, others such as headache and【B5】_____ may also occur. At heights of over 18,000 feet, people may be climbing in a【B6】__daze (恍惚). This state of mind can have an【B7】__ effect on their judgment.
A few【B8】_____ can help most climbers avoid altitude sickness. The first is not to go too high too fast. If you climb to 1 0,000 feet, stay at that height for a day or two. 【B9】___. Or if you do climb higher sooner, come back down to a lower height when you sleep. Also, drink plenty of liquids and avoid tobacco and alcohol. 【B10】___. You breathe less when you sleep, so you get less oxygen.
The most important warning is this: if you have severe symptoms and they don’t go away, go down! 【B11】______.
Is 20th-century capitalism failing 21st-century society? Members of the global elite debated that unusual question at the annual World Economic Forum.
It is encouraging that more than three years since the global financial crisis, a belated (迟到的) process of soul-searching has begun in search of the right lessons to learn from it.
There is a great difference, however, between being willing to talk about an issue and being ready to act.
It is a difference between those who still believe that all governments can do is get out of the way and those who believe there is a real role for governments in first reviving our economies, and then setting the right rules for future success.
If we learned anything from the 1930s, it was that governments cannot shrug their shoulders and watch as their own people are being laid off.
Nor should we forget the causes of the current growth and debt crisis as we seek to put our economies on a more sustainable footing.
Both the United States and Britain suffered because their economies were overly reliant on the financial sector’s artificial profits; living standards for the many worsened while the economic rewards went to the top 1 percent; a capitalist model encouraged short-term decision-making oriented toward quarterly profits rather than long-term health; and interest groups like giant banks were deemed too big to fail or too powerful to challenge.
We need to recognize that the trickle-down promise (benefits given to the rich will eventually be passed on to the poor) of conservative theorists has turned into a gravity-defying reality in which wealth has flowed upward disproportionately and, too often, undeservedly. To address the problem requires fresh thinking from governments about how people train for their working lives and what a living wage should be.
Governments can set better - not necessarily more - rules to encourage productive businesses that make and sell real products and services. We need rules that discourage the predatory (掠夺的) behavior of those seeking the fast buck through hostile takeovers and asset-stripping that do not have the interests of the shareholders, the employees or the economy at heart.
And governments must remember they are elected to serve the people, not the powerful lobbies who can pay for access or influence. Too often the real enemies of market capitalism are some of the leading beneficiaries of the current model, which favors big monopolies and consumer exploitation.
I believe that changing the rules of capitalism will require a change in what citizens expect and ask of politics. The question is not so much whether 20th-century capitalism is failing 21st-century society but whether politics can rise to the challenge of changing a flawed economic model.
What important lesson could be drawn from the 1930s?
The government should play a role in reviving the economy.
The government should provide subsidies for the unemployed.
The government should not ignore the role of economists in the nation’s economy.
The government should not brush aside ideas from the World Economic Forum.
What is one of the factors contributing to the recent financial crisis in the United States and Britain?
Their business giants’ neglect of attending to long-term planning.
Their governments’ unnecessary intervention in economic affairs.
Their governments failing to provide assistance for the poor and needy.
Their economies relying heavily on the operations of the financial sector.
What does the author say about the so-called trickle-down promise?
It defies conventional wisdom.
It has failed to materialize.
It will benefit both the rich and the poor once realized.
It will prove fatal to capitalist economy once broken.
What rules does the author say governments should set to guarantee sustainable economic development?
Rules that help businesses to expand fast but in a healthy way.
Rules that discourage businesses from making quick money.
Rules that encourage businesses to make and sell real products and services.
Rules that ensure the increase of shareholders’ dividends and employees’ pay.
What should the government do about the current economy according to the author?
Eliminate the real enemies of market capitalism.
Undertake to repair the flaws in the economic model.
Prevent the lobbies from exerting too much influence.
Diminish the role politics plays in national economy.
Women are half the population but only 15% of board members at big American firms, and 10% in Europe. Companies that fish in only half of the talent pool will lose out to those that cast their net more widely. There is also evidence that mixed boards make better decisions.
Mindful of this, European countries are passing laws that would force companies to promote more women to the executive suite. A new French law requires listed firms to reserve 40% of board seats for women by 2017. Norway and Spain have similar laws; Germany is considering one. The European Parliament declared this month that such quotas should be applied throughout the European Union.
There are two main arguments for compulsory quotas. One is that the men who dominate corporate boards are hopelessly sexist: they promote people like themselves and ignore any female talent.
The second argument is more subtle. Talented executives need mentors (导师) to help them climb the ladder. Male directors mentor young men but are reluctant to get friendly with young women, lest the relationship be misinterpreted. Quotas will break this vicious cycle by putting lots of women at the top, who can then offer their sisters a leg up.
There may be something in both arguments, but in most rich countries sexism is no longer the main obstacle to women’s careers. Children are. Most women take career breaks to look after them. Many care for elderly relatives, too. One study found that two-thirds of American women had at some point switched from full-time work to part-time or flexible time to balance work and family. Such choices make it harder for women to gain the experience necessary to make it to the very top.
What is more, big companies are increasingly global. Many want a boss who has worked in more than one country. Such foreign postings disrupt families; many women turn them down. And many, anticipating a career break at some point in the future, enter fields where their skills will not quickly become outdated, such as law or human resources. Some lawyers make good chief executives. But firms often want people with financial or operational experience for the top jobs, and these fields are still male-dominated.
Quotas are too blunt a tool for such a tangled problem. The women companies are compelled to put on boards are unlikely to be as useful as those they place there voluntarily. Quotas force firms either to pad their boards with token non-executive directors, or to allocate real power on the basis of sex rather than merit. Enforcing quotas for women has led to large numbers of inexperienced women being appointed to boards, and seriously damaged those firms’ performance.
What seems to prevent women from becoming board members apart from sexism?
Many of them lack the courage to face the challenge in the board room.
Male directors are afraid of women’s potential threat to their authority.
Few of them have the training and qualifications needed for executive duties.
Male directors refrain from giving them guidance to avoid misunderstanding.
What does the author say is the real barrier to women’s careers?
An apparent lack of necessary legislation.
Fierce competition from male colleagues.
The burden of taking care of their family.
The widespread sexism in the workplace.
Why do many women choose to enter such fields as law or human resources?
They allow women career breaks if need be.
They can bring a woman’s talent into full play.
They offer high salaries and attractive benefits.
They pave the way for women to become CEOs.
What does the author think of the practice of enforcing quotas for women executives?
It is a simple solution to a tangled problem.
It is an effective tool to combat sexism.
It helps fill the executive board with talents.
It adversely affects a firm’s performance.
The shorter growing seasons expected with climate change over the next 40 years will endanger hundreds of millions of already poor people in the global tropics, say researchers working【C1】______the world’s leading agricultural organisations.
The effects of climate change are likely to be seen across the entire tropical【C2】___but many areas previously considered to be【C3】food secure are likely to become highly【C4】to droughts, extreme weather and higher temperatures, say the【C5】___with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.
Intensively farmed areas【C6】___northeast Brazil and Mexico are likely to see their【C7】growing seasons fall below 120 days, which is【C8】for crops such as corn to mature. Many other places in Latin America are likely to【C9】temperatures that are too hot for bean【C10】___, a staple in the region.
The impact could be【C11】___most in India and southeast Asia More than 300 million people in south Asia are likely to be affected even with a 5% decrease in the【C12】___of the growing season.
Higher peak temperatures are also expected to take a heavy【C13】___on food producers. Today there are 56 million crop-dependent people in parts of west Africa and India who live in areas where, in 40 years, maximum daily temperatures could be higher than 30℃. This is【C14】to the maximum temperature that beans can tolerate,【C15】corn and rice yields suffer when temperatures【C16】___this level.
“We are starting to see much more clearly【C17】___the effects of climate change on agriculture could【C18】hunger and poverty,” said research leader Patti Kristjanson. “ Farmers already adapt【C19】variable weather by changing their planting schedules. What this study suggests is that the speed of climate【C20】___and the magnitude of the changes required to adapt could be much greater.”
America continues to get fatter, according to a new report on the nation’s weight crisis. Statistics for 2008-2010 show that 16 states are experiencing steep increases in adult obesity, and none has seen a notable downturn in the last four years.
Even Coloradans, long the nation’s slimmest citizens, are gaining excess pounds. With an obese population of 19.8%, it is the only state with an adult obesity rate below 20%. But in just the last four years, the ranks of the obese even in Colorado have grown 0.7%.
Getting out of the problem will not be simple, said Jeffrey Levi, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health. The report emphasized the need for a range of measures, including boosting physical activity in schools, encouraging adults to get out and exercise, broadening access to affordable healthy foods and using “pricing strategies” to encourage Americans to make better food choices.
“Until the government takes on the food industry, we’ll continue to see the appalling numbers in this report,” said Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. “Government could’ start by changing agricultural subsidies, by not making it financially attractive for companies to market unhealthy foods, by placing serious restrictions on marketing to children, and with financial policies that make healthy foods cost less and unhealthy foods cost more.”
About 30 years after the United States started seeing a steep rise in the weight of children and adults, the illnesses most closely linked to obesity have begun a dramatic upturn. Diabetes (糖尿病) rates in 12 states have jumped significantly, now affecting as many as 12.2% of adults in Alabama—the state with the highest obesity rates.
Obesity remains a condition disproportionately affecting those with poor education and low income, and closely tied to minority status. Among African American adults, obesity topped 40% in 15 states. Among Latinos, it topped 30% in 23 states.
In contrast, among white adults, obesity rates were higher than 30% in only four states, and in no state topped 32.1%.
Nearly a third of high school dropouts are obese, compared with 21.5% of those who graduated from college or technical school.
For children, the picture from the report is slightly better, said Dr. Francine Kaufman, an obesity specialist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “Children are for the most part holding steady,” she said.
Kaufman added that the report’s clear message—that obesity takes its greatest toll in low-income and minority communities—underscores that “assistance programs are definitely required” to help those populations.
2012年
85分
87道
828次