We need to consider the sustainability of forests and take a more holistic veiw towards them.

Robots The most sophisticated(先进的) Japanese robots, which have vision systems and work at very high speeds, are still based on American designs. Studies of robots, particularly computer control software, are considered to be generally less advanced in Japan than in America or Europe. Although industrial robots were originally developed as devices for simply handling objects, today their commonest uses are for more skilled work like welding(焊接), spray-painting and assembling components. In Britain, robot sales appropriately peaked in 1984, but have been declining ever since. This is partly because British wage rates are too low to make robots financially attractive and partly because engineers now have more experience with robots and are more aware of the difficulties of introducing them effectively. It has been calculated that a robot uses on average about 100 times more energy than a human to do an equivalent job. It is estimated that 20% of all comic book heroes in Japan are robots. This is an enormous number because comics are so popular that they make up a third of all material published in Japan. The reliability of robots is measured in their M.T.B.F. of mean time between failures. This has risen from about 250 hours in the mid-1970s to about 10.000 hours today (equivalent to working 18 hours a day for two years). One way robot manufacturers have increased reliability is to test every single component they buy, instead of the normal procedure of just testing a small sample. The biggest single benefit of introducing robots claimed by Japanese companies is that they increase quality control. Once programmed, the robots can work more accurately and consistently than humans, who can get tired and bored.Paragraph 2____________

A Ongoing ResearchB Extension of UseC Robot HeroesD Greater ReliabilityE Falling DemandF Hidden Danger

In the new century the WTO will______.

A．take the place of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund

B．have new rules covering trace in services and intellectual property

C．make complete new rules in every area of international trade

D．have more members and do much more to settle more problems

When he was young, Jacob Lawrence often walked more than sixty blocks from his home in the Harlem section of New York City to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Jacob wanted to be an artist, and he believed that studying the famous painting hanging in that museum would help him.

The year was 1930. The depression (经济萧条) had brought hard times.

As he walked through Harlem, Jacob noticed the people on the sidewalks. He looked hard at the churches, the funeral parlors and barbershops. Jacob stored those images in his mind, along with the images of paintings he saw in the museum.

Jacob came from a poor family. His mother believed there was little chance that her son could grow up to be a successful painter. She wanted him to aim for something more practical. But Jacob's teacher in an after-school art program saw that the youngster was talented. Alston showed him how to use poster paints and crayons (蜡笔) to make masks and stage sets.

As time passed, Alston let Jacob rent work space in his own studio. That was an exciting place for a young black man struggling to become an artist. Many creative people gathered there to talk about art and literature and history.

From these conversations, Jacob learned that history books often ignored the accomplishments of African Americans. He decided to paint a series of pictures dramatizing the story of a black hero. He chose Toussaint, a slave from the Caribbean island of Haiti, who had helped free his people from French ruling.

Many people admired Jacob's pictures, but he needed more than admiration. To help his family, he often had to work at jobs that took him away from painting. Then something encouraging happened. The government set up the Federal Art Project to help struggling artists survive the depression, and a sculptor (雕刻家) named Augusta got Jacob a job with the project. For eighteen months, Jacob was paid a salary to paint pictures. For the first time, he felt like a professional artist.

All of the following are TRUE about Jacob EXCEPT that ______.

A．he often visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art on foot when he was young

B．he grew up in poor circumstances

C．he took art classes in art programs

D．his mother loved him and supported him to become an artist

The ink is barely dry on the deal. But the agreement on China joining the World Trade Organisation is already making an impact on business in China. Analysts expect the deal to trigger a new wave of foreign investment. This will especially affect sunrise industries like telecoms and computing.

The downside of this is that Chinese companies will face harder competition. Many will rise to the challenge. But some will be forced to close. And others will lay off surplus staff.

For individual workers the WTO deal highlights the importance of upgrading skills and qualifications. New investors in China will need highly qualified people. So will the Chinese companies who compete with them.

Human resource professionals have already noticed a trend towards aggressive recruitment by Chinese companies. But this only applies to people with the skills to help them become world-beater. And that is also the attitude of growing numbers of joint ventures and foreign-owned companies.

We are seeing the establishment of a "quality line". People whose skills are below this level will find it increasingly hard to get rewarding jobs. People above it will find their opportunities increased.

A good example of this process at work can be found in the e-commerce sector. Many companies are rushing to get online. And they all need software engineers. But the demand for quality is beginning to affect all aspects of working life. Recruitment professionals have also noticed an increasing demand for secretaries and administrators. There are lots of people around with the traditional skills for these posts. But there are fewer with the IT skills needed for work in a modern, computerized office environment."

The emergence of Chinese Internet based companies has also seen a sharp rise in demand for people with a wide range of skills. Naturally, these new companies need technical and support staff. But they also want people who can write and design high quality content. And staff with the ability to sell a new and exciting proposition into the market are also required. The key to Internet companies is speed. They grow according to the principle of "first mover advantage". So for people who want to work in this sector, the time to move is now.

Increased competition is also reflected in a steady demand for sales people, especially sales managers. With companies trying to sharpen up their public image, there is also an increasingly strong flow of vacancies in advertising and public relations. For all these jobs companies are looking for experienced people with a good command of English.

These developments are evidence of a profound change in the Chinese job market. The WTO deal marks a change in emphasis. Companies are less interested in producing things and more interested in getting the best out of people. And to take advantage of this, people looking for jobs will have to get the best out of themselves. The world of work is becoming a more exciting place, but also less secure.

The passage is focused on______.

A．career direction and the changing world of work in China

B．the positive influence of China's entry into WTO

C．the demand of society after China's entry into WTO

D．the importance of upgrading skills and qualifications in job hunting

听力原文：M: The view is spectacular. Could you take a picture of me with the mountains in the background?

W: I am afraid I just ran out of film. Have you checked with Peter? He may be able to help.

Q: What does the woman mean?

(18)

A．She doesn't want to waste her film.

B．She doesn't know how to use the camera.

C．She doesn't have any more film.

D．She already took a picture of the mountains.

听力原文： Twenty of the world's top economies premised to help the rock lower its debt and help to restart the global trade talks after a two-day meeting in Mexico on Monday. Officials from the Group of 20 — G20 nations also discussed the possibility of sectioning countries that refused to cooperate in the fight against terrorism. Possible sections were not outlined at the meeting. In the declaration released at the end of the meeting. Ministers called on world trade organization — WTO members to restart the trade talks that clasped in Kankoo last month. Nations must quickly reenergize the negotiation process recognizing that flexibility and political will from all are urgently needed, it said. G20 ministers also talked about the possibility of creating a voluntary code of conduct to govern the negotiations between creditors and countries on the verge of defaulting debt. The code would outline the steps that should be taken to prevent a financial crisis. Created in 1999 to avoid financial disasters and to keep the global economies stable, the G20 is made up of the European Union and 19 other countries including Australia, Brazil, China, Japan and the US.

Which of the following was NOT on the agenda of the G20 meeting?

A．Iraq debts.

B．WTO talks.

C．Financial disasters.

D．Possible sanctions.

听力原文： The U.S. lawmakers witnessed interrogations, toured cellblocks and ate the same lunch given to detainees on the first congressional visit to the prison for suspected terrorists since criticism of it intensified in the spring. A Senate delegation also was visiting this weekend.

"The Guantanamo we saw today is not the Guantanamo we heard about a few years ago," said Rep. Ellen Tauscher.

Still, lawmakers from both parties agree more still must be done to ensure an adequate legal process is in place to handle detainee cases. In the meantime, said Rep. Joe Schwarz, "I think they're doing the best they can to define due process here."

Republicans and Democrats alike fear the prison at the U.S. Navy base in eastern Cuba is hurting the United States' image because of claims that interrogators have abused and tortured inmates. The White House and Pentagon say conditions are humane and detainees are well-treated.

Which one is not true according to the content of the news?

A．This was the first congressional visit to the prison.

B．The lawmakers ate the same launch given to detainees.

C．A Senata delegation was visiting next weekend.

D．The prison was under criticism this spring.

听力原文： The U.S. lawmakers witnessed interrogations, toured cellblocks and ate the same lunch given to detainees on the first congressional visit to the prison for suspected terrorists since criticism of it intensified in the spring. A Senate delegation also was visiting this weekend.

"The Guantanamo we saw today is not the Guantanamo we heard about a few years ago," said Rep. Elren Tauscher.

Still, lawmakers from both parties agree more still must be done to ensure an adequate legal process is in place to handle detainee cases. In the meantime, said Rep. Joe Schwarz, "I think they' re doing the best they can to define due process here."

Republicans and Democrats alike fear the prison at the U.S. Navy base in eastern Cuba is hurting the United States' image because of claims that interrogators have abused and tortured inmates. The White House and Pentagon say conditions are humane and detainees are well-treated.

Which one is not true according to the content of the news?

A．This was the first congressional visit to the prison.

B．The lawmakers ate the same launch given to detainees.

C．A Senata delegation was visiting next weekend

D．The prison was under criticism this spring.

听力原文： Should Foreign Abbreviations Be Banned on TV?

Recently, CCTV banned the use of borrowed English abbreviations such as NBA, WTO and CPI in all its programs. Some people applaud the move, maintaining that it helps preserve the purity of the Chinese language. The media is deeply engaged in the ongoing Westernization of Chinese language. If the phenomenon is not stopped, Chinese will be gradually reduced from an independent expression system to a mixture of languages.

Others, however, shake their heads. It is not persuasive, they say, that the media shy away from foreign abbreviations to preserve the purity of the Chinese language and culture. After all, languages' integration is a very complicated process and it's irrational to impose a simple ban on certain words. Besides, the use of foreign abbreviations won't shake the status of Chinese as an embodiment of and the basis of the 5,000-year-old Chinese culture.

As far as I am concerned, there is no need to ban the use of foreign abbreviations on TV. A language is great, not because of its purity, but because of its tolerance to other languages. Chinese is so rich and beautiful because it constantly absorbs words, abbreviations and phrases from other languages. It's totally unnecessary to fear about the disappearance of Chinese if we allow English to mix with Chinese.

For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the topic of Should Foreign Abbreviations Be Banned on TV?. You should write at least 150 words according to the outline given below.

目前有些电视台禁止在节目中使用外来缩略语

1.对这种做法有人表示支持

2．有人并不赞成

3．我认为……

Should Foreign Abbreviations Be Banned on TV?