Our boss is not willing to pay the standard wage for help in our office. So we have to scrape the bottom of the ______ and end up hiring secretaries who can't type or spell.

Noise pollution is not a necessary price to pay for living in an industrial society. Much can be done to reduce the severity of the problem. For example, vehicles and other machines can be built to produce less noise. Four-cycle engines can replace much noisier two-cycle engines in such products as lawnmowers, motorboats, and jet skis. Labels that indicate the noise levels of appliances and tools can help consumers avoid noisy products and choose quieter alternatives.

Even after noise is generated, steps can be taken to reduce human exposure to it. At homes or in offices, insulation of walls and double-glazing of windows can decrease sound from traffic, neighbors, and other sources from the outside world. Sound walls along highways can shield nearby neighborhoods from traffic noise. Individuals should protect themselves with earplugs or ear protectors, particularly when noise levels exceed 85 decibels (分贝).

In the industrialized nations, governments have laws and policies to counter noise pollution. In the United States, at least six federal agencies are involved in controlling noise pollution. Since 1969 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has monitored and controlled noise from airplanes, The agency requires that new aircraft meet specified noise standards and that old ones be retrofitted (翻新) or retired. Local airport authorities, with FAA approval, reduce the impacts of noise pollution by routing flights over water or unpopulated areas on takeoff and landing, and by limiting traffic at night. The FAA also encourages airports and local governments to take steps on the ground, such as constructing sound barriers, insulating buildings, and restricting residential development in noisy areas. In extreme eases, airports have relocated people living under flight paths.

In the last 30 years, the United States and other countries have expended considerable efforts to control noise pollution. Most vehicles and many other noise producers are quieter than they used to be. On the other hand, there are more noise-making machines than ever, operating mare of the time. In the United States, most of the roles governing noise pollution were established at least two decades ago, and critics are calling for new, stronger measures, as well as for better enforcement of the old ones. What is true of most other kinds of pollution is also true of noise: Our best efforts against it tend merely to keep matters from getting dramatically worse.

The first paragraph tries to tell us how to control noise pollution by ______.

A．taking measures to reduce human exposure to noise

B．using or replacing with quieter products

C．appealing to Government to set up laws

D．people's serf consciousness

Which of the following best explains why iPhone users are willing to pay in ways that web users are not?

A．The habit of one-click purchases makes it natural to click other contents.

B．The iPhone users want to show off the convenience of their machine.

C．The iPhone users are more addicted to web resources than web users.

D．It"s far more convenient for iPhone users to download than copy from PC.

What does the laborer think of leisure?

A．He thinks he has no time for it since he has to support his family.

B．He wishes to have as little leisure as possible.

C．He hopes to have more leisure to play.

D．He thinks it more important than health and family.

— When do we have to pay the bill?

—____ December 30.

A、By

B、In

C、During

Not content with its doubtful claim to produce cheap food for our own population, the factory farming industry also argues that "hungry nations are benefiting from advances made by the poultry(家禽) industry". In fact, rather than helping the fight against malnutrition(营养不良) in "hungry nations", the spread of factory farming has, inevitably aggravated the problem.

Large-scale intensive meat and poultry production is a waste of food resources. This is because more protein has to be fed to animals in the form. of vegetable matte than can ever be recovered in the form. of meat. Much of the food value is lost in the animal' s process of digestion and cell replacement. Neither, in the case of chicken, can one eat feathers, blood, feet or head.In all, only about 44% of the live animal fits to be eaten as meat.

This means one has to feed approximately 9～10 times as much food value to the animal than one can consume from the carcass. As a system for feeding the hungry, the effects can prove disastrous. At times of crisis, grain is the food of life.

Nevertheless, the huge increase in poultry production throughout Asia and Africa continues. Normally British or US firms are involved.For instance, an American based multinational company has this year announced its involvement in projects in several African countries. Britain's largest suppliers of chickens, Ross Breeder, are also involved in projects all over the world.

Because such trade is good for exports, Western governments encourage it. In 1979, a firm in Bangladesh called Phoenix Poultry received a grant to set up a unit of 6,000 chickens and 18,000 laying hens. This almost doubled the number of poultry kept in the country all at once.

But Bangladesh lacks capital, energy and food and has large numbers of unemployed.Such chicken-raising demands capital for building and machinery, extensive use of energy resources for automation, and involves feeding chickens with potential famine- relief protein food.At present, one of Bangladesh' s main imports is food grains, because the country is unable to grow enough food to feed its population. On what then can they possibly feed the chicken?

In this passage the author argues that______。

A．efficiency must be raised in the poultry industry

B．raising poultry can provide more protein than growing grain

C．factory farming will do more harm than good to developing countries

D．hungry nations may benefit from the development of the poultry industry