Last year, this market was almost at its bottom, ____which our trade is now only recovering.

Property Market Downturn

Over the first quarter of (84) year, there has only been $50 million of turnover in the local real estate market. This compares unfavorably with the $90 million recorded at the same time last year.

Beverley Hauritz, the chair of the Professional Realty Association, told reporters that she was not surprised by the figures, which she believes are a result of the global financial crisis. (85) , she is anticipating an even bigger decrease next quarter, as investors look to reduce spending even further.

Although there has been talk among (86) that property prices may continue falling throughout the rest of the year, Ms. Hauritz remains confident that the property market will begin to pick up again in the future. Her prediction is that prices will return to their previous levels by the end of the year.

(44)

A．that

B．each

C．every

D．this

Our planet Earth is 4,600 million years old. If we reduce 【M1】______

this inconceivable time-span into an understandable concept, we

can liken the Earth with a person of 46 years of age. Nothing 【M2】______

is known about the first 7 years of this persons' life, and whilst

only scattered information exists about the middle span, we

know that only at the age of 42 did the Earth begin to flower.

Dinosaurs and the great reptiles did appear until one year 【M3】______

ago, when the planet was 45. Mammals arrived only 8 months

ago; in the middle of last week man-like apes revolved into 【M4】______

ape-like men, and at the weekend the past ice age enveloped 【M5】______

the Earth.

Modem man has been around for 4 hours. During the last

hour Man discovered the agriculture. The industrial revolution

began a minute early. During those sixty seconds of biological 【M6】______

time, Modem Man made a rubbish tip of the Paradise. He 【M7】______

has multiplied numbers to plague proportions, caused the 【M8】______

the extinction of 500 species of animals, ransacked the

planet of fuels and now stands like a brutish infant, gloating 【M9】______

over his meteoric rise to ascendancy, on the near brink of a 【M10】______

war to end all wars and of effectively destroying this oasis of

life in the solar system.

【M1】

It is only recent years that man found that the protection of our environment is no small matter to our fives.

A．直到近年来人们才发现，保护环境对我们的生存至关重要。

B．直到近年来人们才发现，环境保护在我们的生活中并不是一件小事。

C．只需几年人们就会发现，环境保护不过是生活中的一件小事。

D．直到前几年人们才发现，保护环境在我们的生活中不是一件容易的事情。

Humour, which ought to give rise to only the most light-hearted and gay feelings, can often stir up vehemence and animosity. Evidently it is dearer to us than we realize. Men will take almost any kind of criticism except the observation that they have no sense of humour. A man will admit to being a coward or a liar or a thief or a poor mechanic or a bad swimmer, but tell him he has a dreadful sense of humour and you might as well have slandered his mother. Even if he is civilized enough to pretend to make light of your statement, he will still secretly believe that he has not only a good sense of humour but are superior to most. He has, in other words, a completely blind spot on the subject. This is all the more surprising when you consider that not one man in ten million can give you any kind of intelligent answer as to what humour is or why he laughs.

One day when I was about twelve years old, it occurred to me to wonder about the phenomenon of laughter. At first I thought it is easy enough to see what I laugh at and why I am amused, but why at such times do I open my mouth and exhale in jerking gasps and wrinkle up my eyes and throw back my head and halloo like an animal? Why do I not instead rap four times on the top of my head or whistle or whirl about?

That was over twenty years ago and I am still wondering, except that I now no longer even take my first assumption for granted, I no longer clearly understand why I laugh at what amuses me nor why things are amusing. I have illustrious company in my confusion, of course. Many of the great minds of history have brought their power of concentration to bear on the mystery of humour, and, to date, their conclusions are so contradictory and ephemeral that they cannot possibly be classified as scientific.

Many definitions of the comic are incomplete and many are simply rewording of things we already know. Aristotle, for example, defined the ridiculous as that which is incongruous but represents neither danger nor pain. But that seems to me to be a most inadequate sort of observation, for of at this minute I insert here the word rutabagas, I have introduced something in congruous, something not funny. Of course, it must be admitted that Aristotle did not claim that every painless in congruity is ridiculous but as soon as we have gone as far as this admission, we begin to see that we have come to grips with a ghost when we think have it pinned, it suddenly appears behind us, mocking us.

An all-embracing definition of humour has been attempted by many philosophers, but no definition, no formula had ever been devised that is entirely satisfactory. Aristotle's definition has come to be known loosely as the "disappointment" theory, or the "frustrated expectation", but he also, discussed another theory borrowed in part from Plato which states that the pleasure we derive in laughing is an enjoyment of the misfortune of others, due to a momentary feeling of superiority or gratified vanity in appreciation of the fact that we ourselves are not in the observed predicament.

Which of the following can be inferred from the first paragraph?

A．People don't like to be considered as one with no sense of humour.

B．People will give you a satisfactory answer to what humour is.

C．People would like to be a liar or a coward.

D．People can make light of other's comment on their sense of humour.

Humour, which ought to give rise to only the most light-hearted and gay feelings, can often stir up vehemence and animosity. Evidently it is dearer to us than we realize. Men will take almost any kind of criticism except the observation that they have no sense of humour. A man will admit to being a coward or a liar or a thief or a poor mechanic or a bad swimmer, but tell him he has a dreadful sense of humour and you might as well have slandered his mother. Even if he is civilized enough to pretend to make light of your statement, he will still secretly believe that he has not only a good sense of humour but one superior to most. He has, in other words, a completely blind spot on the subject. This is all the more surprising when you consider that not one man in ten million can give you any kind of intelligent answer as to what humour is or why he laughs.

One day when I was about twelve years old, it occurred to me to wonder about the phenomenon of laughter. At first I thought it is easy enough to see what I laugh at and why I am amused, but why at such times do I open my mouth and exhale in jerking gasps and wrinkle up my eyes and throw back my head and halloo like an animal? Why do I not instead rap four times on the top of my head or whistle or whirl about?

That was over twenty years ago and I am still wondering, except that I now no longer even take my first assumption for granted, I no longer clearly understand why I laugh at what amuses me nor why things are amusing. I have illustrious company in my confusion, of course. Many of the great minds of history have brought their power of concentration to bear on the mystery of humour, and, to date, their conclusions are so contradictory and ephemeral that they cannot possibly be classified as scientific.

Many definitions of the comical are incomplete and many are simply rewordings of things we already know. Aristotle, for example, defined the ridiculous as that which is incongruous but represents neither danger nor pain. But that seems to me to be a most inadequate sort of observation, for if at this minute I insert here the word rutabagas, I have introduced something in congruous, something not funny. Of course, it must be admitted that Aristotle did not claim that every painless incongruity is ridiculous, but as soon as we have gone as far as this admission, we begin to see that we have come to grips with a ghost: when we think we have it pinned, it suddenly appears behind us, mocking us.

An all-embracing definition of humour has been attempted by many philosophers, but no definition, no formula has ever been devised that is entirely satisfactory. Aristotle's definition has come to be known loosely as the "disappointment" theory, or the "frustrated expectation". But he also discussed another theory borrowed in part from Plato which states that the pleasure we derive in laughing is an enjoyment of the misfortune of others, due to a momentary feeling of superiority or gratified vanity in appreciation of the fact that we ourselves are not in the observed predicament.

Which of the following can be inferred from the first paragraph?

A．People don't like to be considered as having no sense of humoar.

B．People will give you a satisfactory answer to what humour is.

C．People would like to be liars or a cowards.

D．People can make light of other's comments on their sense of humour.

Humour

Humour, which ought to give rise to only the most light-hearted and gay feelings, can of- ten stir up vehemence and animosity. Evidently it is dearer to us than we realize. Men will take almost any kind of criticism except the observation that they have no sense of humour. A man will admit to being a coward or a liar or a thief or a poor mechanic or a bad swimmer, but tell him he has a dreadful sense of humour and you might as well have slandered his mother. Even if he is civilized enough to pretend to make light of your statement, he will still secretly believe that he has not only a good sense of humour but are superior to most. He has, in other words, a completely blind spot on the subject. This is all the more surprising when you consider that not one man in ten million can give you any kind of intelligent answer as to what humour is or why he laughs.

One day when I was about twelve years old, it occurred to me to wonder about the phenomenon of laughter. At first I thought it is easy enough to see what I laugh at and why I am amused, but why at such times do I open my mouth and exhale in jerking gasps and wrinkle up my eyes and throw back my head and halloo like an animal? Why do I not instead rap four times on the top of my head or whistle or whirl about?

That was over twenty years ago and I am still wondering, except that I now no longer even take my first assumption for granted, I no longer clearly understand why I laugh at what amuses me nor why things are amusing. I have illustrious company in my confusion, of course. Many of the great minds, of history have brought their power of concentration to bear on the mystery of humour, and, to date, their conclusions are so contradictory and ephemeral that they cannot possibly be classified as scientific.

Many definitions of the comic are incomplete and many are simply rewording of things we already know. Aristotle, for example, defined the ridiculous as that which is incongruous but represents neither danger nor pain. But that seems to me to be a most inadequate sort of observation, for of at this minute I insert here the word rutabagas, I have introduced something in congruous, something not funny. Of course, it must be admitted that Aristotle did not claim that every painless in congruity is ridiculous but as soon as we have gone as far as this admission, we begin to see that we have come to grips with a ghost when we think have it pinned, it suddenly appears behind us, mocking us.

An all-embracing definition of humour has been attempted by many philosophers, but no definition, no formula had ever been devised that is entirely satisfactory. Aristotle's definition has come to be known loosely as the "disappointment" theory, or the "frustrated expectation", but he also, discussed another theory borrowed in part from Plato which states that the pleasure we derive in laughing is an enjoyment of the misfortune of others, due to a momentary feeling of superiority or gratified vanity in appreciation of the fact that we ourselves are not in the observed predicament.

Which of the following can be inferred from the first paragraph? ______.

A．People don't like to be considered as one with no sense of humour.

B．People will give you a satisfactory answer to what humour is.

C．People would like to be a liar or a coward.

D．People can make light of other's comment on their sense of humour.

The Economist calculates that around the world almost 290 million 15- to 24-year-olds are neither working nor studying: almost a quarter of the planets youth. On the other hand, many of the "employed" young have only informal and【C1】______jobs. In rich countries more than a third, on average, are on temporary【C2】______which make it hard to【C3】______skills In poorer ones, according to the World Bank, a fifth are【C4】______family labourers or work in the informal economy.【C5】______, nearly half of the worlds young people are either【C6】______the formal economy or contributing less【C7】______than they could. What has caused this【C8】______of joblessness? Young people have long had a raw【C9】______in the labour market. Two things make the problem more【C10】______now. The financial crisis and its consequence had an unusually big【C11】______on them. Many employers【C12】______the newest hires first, so a【C13】______raises youth joblessness disproportionately. Second, the emerging economies that have the largest and fastest-growing【C14】______of young people also have the【C15】______labour markets. Almost half of the worlds young people live in South Asia, the Middle East and Africa They also have the highest【C16】______of young people out of work or in the informal sector. In rich countries with generous welfare states this【C17】______a heavy burden on taxpayers. One estimate suggests that, in 2011, the economic loss from【C18】______young people in Europe【C19】______to $153 billion, or more than 1% of GDP. And failure to employ the young not only【C20】______growth today. It also threatens it tomorrow.

【C1】

A．regular

B．alternate

C．continuous

D．intermittent

Last year's economy should have won the Oscar for best picture. Growth in gross domestic product was 4.1 percent; profits soared; exports flourished; and inflation stayed around 3 percent for the third year. So why did so many Americans give the picture a lousy B rating? The answer is jobs. The macroeconomic situation was good, but the microeconomic numbers were not. Yes, 3 million new jobs were there, but not enough of them were permanent, good jobs paying enough to support a family. Job insecurity was rampant. Even as they announced higher sales and profits, corporations acted as if they were in a tailspin, cutting 516,069 jobs in 1994 alone, almost as many as in the recession year of 1991.

Yes, unemployment went down. But over 1 million workers were so discouraged they left the labor force. More than 6 million who wanted fun-time work were only partially employed; and another large group was either overqualified or sheltered behind the euphemism of self-employment. We lost a million good manufacturing jobs between 1990 and 1995, continuing the trend that has reduced the blue-collar work force from about 30 percent in the 1950s to about half that today.

White-collar workers found out they were no longer immune. For the first time, they were let go in numbers virtually equal to those for blue-collar workers. Many resorted to temporary work— with lower pay, fewer benefits and less status. All this in a country where people meeting for the first time say, "What do you do?"

Then there is the matter of remuneration. Whatever happened to wage gains four years into a recovery? The Labor Department recently reported that real wages fell 2.3 percent in the 12-month period ending this March. Since 1973, wages adjusted for inflation have declined by about a quarter for high school dropouts, by a sixth for high school graduates and by about 7 percent for those with some college education. Only the wages of college graduates are up, by 5 percent, and recently starting salaries, even for this group, have not kept up with inflation. While the top 5 percent of the population was setting new income records almost every year, poverty rates rose from 11 percent to 15 percent. No wonder this is beginning to be called the Silent Depression. What is going on here? In previous business cycles, companies with rising productivity raised wages to keep labor. Is the historical link between productivity improvements and income growth severed? Of all the reasons given for the wage squeeze — international competition, technology, deregulation, the decline of unions and defense cuts —technology is probably the most critical. It has favored the educated and skilled. Just think that in 1976, 78 percent of auto workers and steelworkers in good mass production jobs were high school dropouts. But these jobs are disappearing fast. Education and job training are what count. These days college graduates can expect to earn 1.9 times the likely earnings of high school, graduates, up from 1.45 times in the 1970s.

The earning squeeze on middle-class and working-class people and the scarcity of "good, high-paying" jobs will be the big political issue of the 1990s.

Americans have so far responded to their falling fortunes by working harder. American males now toil about a week and a half longer than they did in 1973, the first time this century working hours have increased over an extended period of time. Women, particularly in poorer families, are working harder, too. Two-worker families rose by more than 20 percent in the 1980s. Seven million workers hold at least two jobs, the highest proportion in half a century.

America is simply not growing fast enough to tighten the labor market and push up real wages. The danger of the information age is that while in the short run it may be cheaper to replace workers with technology, in the long run it is potentially self-destructive because there will

A．Over 1 million.

B．3 million.

C．Over 6 million.

D．7 million.

Questions 下列各are based on the following passage. There was a time not long ago when new science Ph. D. s in the United States were expected topursue a career path in academ/a (学术界).But today, most graduates end up working outsideacademia, not only in industry but also in careers such as science policy, communications, and patentlaw. partly this is a result of how bleak the academic job market is, but theres also a rising awareness ofcareer options that Ph.D. scientists havent trained for directly—but for which they have usefulknowledge, skills, and experience. Still, theres a huge disconnect between the way we currently trainscientists and the actual employment opportunities available for them, and an urgent need for dramaticimprovements in training programs to help close the gap, One critical step that could help to drive changewould be to require Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scientists to follow an individual development plan(IDP). In 2002, the U. S. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology recommended that everypostdoctoral researcher put together an IDP in consultation with an adviser. Since then, several academicinstitutions have begun to require IDPs for postdocs. And in June, the U. S. National Institutes of Health(NIH) Biomedical Research Workforce Working Group recommended that the NIH require IDPs for theapproximately 32,000 postdoctoral researchers they support. Other funding agencies, public and private,are moving in a similar direction. IDPs have long been used by government agencies and the private sector to achieve specific goals forthe employee and the organization. The aim is to ensure that employees have an explicit tool to help themunderstand their own abilities and aspirations, determine career possibilities , and set ( usually short-term)goals. In science, graduate students and new Ph.D. scientists can use an IDP to identify and navigate aneffective career path. A free Web application for this purpose, called myIDP, has become available this week. Its designed to guide early-career scientists through a confidential,,rigorous process of introspection (内省) to create acustomized career plan. Guided by expert knowledge from a panel of science-focused career advisers,each trainees self-assessment is used to rank a set of career trajectories (轨迹). After the user hasidentified a long-term career goal, myIDP walks her or him through the process of setting short-term goalsdirected toward accumulating new skills and experiences important for that career choice. Although surveys reveal the IDP process to be useful, trainees report a need for additional resourcesto help them identify a long-term career path and complete an IDP. Thus, myIDP will be most effective.when its embedded in larger career-development efforts. For example, universities could incorporate IDPsinto their graduate curricula to help students discuss, plan, prepare for, and achieve their long-termcareer goals. What do we learn about new science Ph.D. s in the United States today?

A.They lack the skills and expertise needed for their jobs.

B.They can choose from a wider range of well-paying jobs.

C.They often have to seek jobs outside the academic circle.

D.They are regarded as the nations driving force of change.