U1 P8
1.WhatdelayedLizTeixeiradeMattosgoingtocollege?Whywouldshedothat?
Shedecidedtotakea"gapyear"offbetweenhighschoolandwhatwouldbeherfreshmanyearofcollegetotravel,volunteer,work,study,andotherwiserechargeherbatteriesbeforegettingbackontheacademictreadmill(para.2).
Shethoughtagapyearcouldoffersomeotherwaysoflearningthansittinginaclassroom(para.2).
2.Whatbenefitscanonegainfromthegapyearexperienceasclaimedbygapyearproponents?
Theyarguethattheout-of-classroomexperiencesofagapyeargivestudentseye-openinglifelessonsthathelpthembecomemoremature,moreawareofthewiderworld,andmoreself-sufficient,traitsthatwillultimatelyservethemwelloncethey''reoncampus(para.3).
Agapyearallowsstudentstodepressurizeafteryearsofintensestudy,whichtendstoimprovestudents’collegeperformance(para.6).
3.WhatdoesRobertBardwellthinkofthepracticeoftakingagapbreak?
Hethinksthattakingagapbreakisahardsell,andthatthereisalotofpeerpressuretogostraighttocollege(para.7).
4.Whatareparents’concerns?
Someparentsworrythattheirchildrenwillnevergotocollegeiftheydon’tgostraightoutofhighschool(para.8).
Costcanalsobeahurdle(para.9).
5.WhatisthedifferencebetweenBritishstudentsandAmericanstudentsinplanningtheirgapyear?
InBritain,gapstudentstypicallyworkformostoftheyeartoearnenoughmoneytocoverthecostofbackpackingaroundvariouspartsoftheglobeforafewmonths.Americanstudentsandtheirparentsusuallyprefertakingamoreorganizedapproach,toweavetogetherarangeofexperiences(para.10).
U2P27
1.Whatfactorsleadmentoflocktofieldsdominatedbywomen?
Thetrendappearstobedrivenbyavarietyoffactors,includingfinancialconcerns,quality-of-lifeissuesandagradualerosionofgenderstereotypes.
(Para.3)
2.Whatisastrikingtrendinthetypeofmenwhoarechoosingpink-collarjobs?Whatwerethingslikeduringtheperiodsbetween1970and1990?
From1970to1990,menwhotookso-calledpink-collarjobstendedtobeforeign-born,non-Englishspeakerswithloweducationlevels.
Nowthetrendhasspreadamongmenofnearlyallracesandages,morethanathirdofwhomhaveacollegedegree.Infact,theshiftismostpronouncedamongyoung,white,college-educatedmen.
3.WhatdidDanielWidenmeanbysaying“Shewasabeast.”?
HehadgainedrespectfornursingwhenhesawafemalemedicuseaLeathermantooltosavethelifeofhiscomrade.Hewasdeeplyimpressedbythewoman’sworkandthoughtshehadaparticularquality.
U3P40
1.Accordingtothenewsreport,whatisanewtrendcatchingonwhenitcomestopayment?
TheColophonsandotherelectronicdevicesareusedtomaketransactions.
2.Couldyounamesomenewwaysofpaymentmentionedinthispart?Haveyoueverusedsomeofthem?
Phonescanbeusedtobuytraintickets,coffee,sendandreceivemoneythroughanetworkofmoneyagents,andevenpayutilitybills.
3.WhatisthedeficiencyofGoogleWallet?
Googlewalletworksononly4kindsofphones,andnotmanymerchantsareequippedfornearfieldtechnology.
4.WhatistheprospectofPayPalasenvisionedbyJohnJ.Donahoe?
EverythingwouldbecontainedwithinPaypal.Itwouldenablethecompanytocollectvastamountsofdataaboutcustomerhabits,purchasesandbudgets.
5.WhatcanbeinferredfromthepassageonMr.Acquisti’sattitudetoPayPal’sfutureplans?
ItseemsthatthefuturePaypalwouldbeabletodoeverythingfortheusers.Itcouldbeablessing,butitmayalsoturnouttobeoutofcontrol.
U4P57
1.WhatkindofpeoplearewesterncompanieslookingfortofillthemostimportantjobsinAsia?
WesterncompaniesdoingbusinessinAsiaarenowlookingtolocalstofillthemostimportantjobsintheregion.
2.Accordingtoexperts,whatarethefactorsforthisswitch?
paragraph Keywordsindicatingreasons Para.2 ?aleveledplayingfield;
Para.3 ?securedealswithouttheaidofatranslator;
Para.5 ?beintegratedintheculture;thetimetolearnallofittakesforever;localsmaybetternavigateabusinessculture;
Para.6 ?afailedexpatriatehirecanbeacostlymistakeandslowafirm''sprogress.
3.WhatarethebenefitsSiemensgetafterhiringMei-weiCheng?
Mei-weiCheng,asSimenshadexpected,couldquicklytaplocalbusinesspartners.Heforgedtwowind-powerjointventuresinhisfirst18months.Hisadvantageliesinthathecommunicateseasilywithlocalofficials.
4.Whyisitdifficultformultinationalstofindsuitablelocalsforthemostimportantpositions?
ThecurrenttalentpoolforexecutiverolesissolimitedthatmosttopAsianexecutivessimplyrotatefromoneWesterncompanytoanother.
5.Whydoeshiringexpatriatescostsomuch?
Expatsreceivesubsidiesforhousing,transportationandprivateschooling.Altogether,abadmatchcancostacompanyasmuchas$1million,afterfiguringinrelocationcosts.
6.WhydoesDavidNovakcallhisAsia-bredregionalheadandexecutiveteamtheirsinglebiggestcompetitiveadvantage?
Chinahasbecomethecompany''sbiggestearningsdriver,comprisingmorethan40%ofoperatingprofit.
U5P72
1.Whatisthefutureevolutionofcar?
Thecarwillbecleaner,morefuel-efficientandsaferinthefuture.
2.Whatchallengeswouldthegrowthofcarownershippresenttous？
Wearefacedwithfearsomechallenges,fromcongestion,andthepriceoffueltopollutionandglobalwarming.
3.Whydoestheauthorconsiderbattery-poweredcarsdisappointing?
Battery-poweredcarsremainexpensive,lackrangeandaresometimesdirtierthantheylook.
4.Whatbenefitsmaydriversgainfromthe“driver-assistance’technology?
1).torelievestress
2).tocutaccidents(Para.5)
3).tohelptheelderlyanddisabledpeopleregaintheirpersonalmobility
4).toreduceinsurancecosts
(Theyoungwillnothavetopaycripplingmotorinsurance/
thecoststohealthsystemsandinsurers,shouldtumbledown.)
5).toreducedeathtollandinjuriesfromroadaccidents
6).toeasecongestion
7).savefuel
8).tosavehourseachdayforcarcommuterstowork,restorreadanewspaper
5.Whataresomeconcernswithregardtodriverlesscars?
Peopleareconcernedaboutthecomputerfailure.Theywillbetooterrifiedtohurtledownthemotorwayinavehicletheydonotcontrol;Carmakerswhoseself-drivingtechnologyisimplicatedinaccidentsmightfaceruinouslyexpensivelawsuits,andbeputoffcontinuingtodevelopit.
U6P88
1.Whydotraditionalmatchmakersgetinvolvedinromanticactivities?
Traditionalmatchmakerssuchasparents,priests,friendsorbureaucratsusuallywantedtogetinvolvedinromanticactivitiesbecausetheythoughttheyknewwhatittooktopairpeopleoffbetterthanthosepeopleknewthemselves.(para.1)
2.Whatisreferredtoasanewly-foundmatchmaker?Howdoesthenewmatchmakerdifferfromtheoldones?(Whatnewthingsdoestheinternetdatingsitespromise?)
Theinternetisreferredtoasanewly-foundmatchmaker.
Itdiffersfromtheoldonesbecauseinternetdatingsitespromisetwothingsthatneithertraditionalmatchmakersnorchanceencountersoffer.Oneisavastlygreaterchoiceofpotentialpartners.Theotherisascientificallyprovenwayofmatchingsuitablepeopletogether,enhancingthechanceof“happilyeverafter”.(para.2)
3.Whatdopsychologicalexpertsthinkofinternetdating?
Somepsychologistsaredeeplyunconvincedaboutthewholemulti-billion-dollaronlinedatingindustry.Theyholdadoubtfulviewtowardssuchquestionsaswhetherinternetdatingleadstobetteroutcomes,orwhether“scientificallytestedalgorithms”actuallyworks.
4.Whichcommercialpracticehasexertedanegativeeffectontestingtheeffectsofalgorithms?
Thecommonpracticeofpreservingintellectualpropertyastradesecretsratherthanmakingitpublicbypatentingithasexertedanegativeeffectontestingtheeffectsofalgorithms.Thereisthusnoindependentscientificevidencethatanyinternetdatingsite''salgorithmformatchingpeopletogetheractuallydoesenhancethechanceoftheirhittingitoffwhentheymeet.(para.5)
5.Whatarethetwomajordefectsthatoverstatethepowerofinternetdating?
Firstofall,asisassumedbutnottested,thosewithcompatiblepersonalitiesmakemoresuccessfulcouplesthanthosewithout.Therefore,theymatchpeoplewithcompatiblepersonalitytraits.However,arecentsurveyhasshownthatmembersofcoupleswithsimilarpersonalitieswereindeedhappierthanthosewhosepartnersweredissimilar,butthedifferencewasastinyas0.5%.
Secondly,somedating-sitealgorithmsdonottakethehigh-handed“weknowbest”approachbut,rather,letthepunterdecidewhatheorsheislookingfor.Thecrucialassumptionhereisthatwhatpeoplethinktheywantiswhattheyactuallyneed.However,researchdatahasdemonstratedthatpeoplearenotgoodatknowingwhattheywantandtheytendtochangetheirmindssometimelater.(para.6-10)
U7P104
1.What’sthepurposeoftheexperimentintroducedinthepassage?
Thepurposeistoexaminewhetherchangesinmusclespromptedbyexercisemightsubsequentlyaffectandimprovethebrain’sabilitytothink.
2.Hypothesis?
Peripheraltriggersmightbeactivatingthecellularandmolecularcascadesinthebrainthatledtoimprovementsincognition.
3.Whydidtheresearcherschoosetostudy“fake”exercise?
Becauseexerciseissuchacomplicatedphysiologicalstimulusthatit’sverydifficulttoisolatewhichcompoundsareinvolvedandwhattheireffectsmightbe.
4.Whatwasthefindingoftheexperiment?Didthefindingconfirmtheirprevioushypothesis?
Afteraweekofreceivingeitherofthetwodrugs(andnotexercising),themiceperformedsignificantlybetterontestsofmemoryandlearningthancontrolanimalsthathadsimplyremainedquietintheircages.TheeffectswereespeciallypronouncedfortheanimalstakingAicar.Theresultsshowedthatthedruggedanimals’brainsalsocontainedfarmorenewneuronsinbrainareascentraltolearningandmemorythanthebrainsofthecontrolmice,aneffectfoundbymicroscopicexamination.
Thefindinghasconfirmedtheirprevioushypothesis.
5.Howcanthescientistsbesurethatthechangestheywereseeingwererelatedtoanexercise-typereactioninthemusclesinsteadofbrainresponsestothedrugs?
Becausethetwodrugsdon’tcrosstheblood-brainbarriermuch.
U10P149
1.Whatisthesignificanceofthe2010FoodSafetyModernizationAct?Isitsufficienttoensureasafefoodsupply?
The2010FoodSafetyModernizationActisavictoryforthoseofuswhowanttoeatourspinachsaladsandcheeseburgerswithouttheworryofingestingdeadlyfoodbornebacteria.ThislongoverduelegislationfinallygivestheFoodandDrugAdministration,whichoverseesabout80percentofourfoodsupply,authoritytohelppreventoutbreaksinsteadofjustreactingtothem.Butitisn’tsufficienttoensureasafefoodsupplybecausethislawbarelyscratchesthesurface.
2.Whatconstitutesamoreseriousthreatthanpathogensasfarasfoodsafetyisconcerned?Why?
Thebigproblemwithourfoodsupplyisn’tpathogens,itisprocessedfood.We’rebeingkillednotbyE.coli,salmonella,orcampylobacter,butbythenutritionallyhollowcontentsofthebags,boxes,andfast-foodclamshellsthathavemanagedtopassasnourishmentinoursociety.
3.WhatchangeshasAmericans’dietundergoneoverthelastcentury?
Overthelastcentury,Americans’diethasundergoneunprecedentedchange.Some70percentofthecaloriesAmericansconsumenowcomefromhighlyprocessedfoods—loadedupwithsalt,sugar,fat,strangeadditives,andrefinedgrainsandbereftofnaturallyoccurringnutrientsandantioxidants.
4.WhatisthemostworryingcaseintermsoftheFDA’slimitedknowledgeofallthosesubstancesthatcanbedirectlyaddedtofood?
Ontopofthat,ascantfewadditiveshavebeentestedaccordingtothewaythey’reactuallyconsumed—thatis,incombinationwithamultitudeofotheradditives.
5.WhichfactormostresponsiblefortheFDA’slaxoversight?
Alotoftheblame—andthepotentialtochangethings—isinthehandsofCongress,whichhasnotgiventheFDAtheauthorityorfundingresourcesitreallyneedsforthemonumentaltaskofoverseeingour$1trillionfoodsupply.
6.Whatdoestheauthorsuggestpeopleshoulddo?
Theauthorsuggestspeoplecutdownthespaceonourplatesforprocessedfoodcloserto20or30percent.It’sonlythenthatwecancallourfoodsupplytrulysafe.
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