The Federal Government （ ）farmers by buying their surplus crops at prices above the market value.

A.pirates B.mediates C.supplements D.subsidizes

We’ve all heard about endangered animals. Creatures like the critically endangered black rhinoceros are famous. But what are the most endangered plants? They might not be as exciting or loveable as animals, but they are just as important to the ecosystem一and humanity relies on that ecosystem.Here are three of the most threatened plants today.（1） These plants occupy some of the most inaccessible, remote parts of our planet. They are threatened by habitat destruction, illegal collection, poaching, and competition with invading species.Attenborough’s pitcher plant is known only from the relatively inaccessible summit of Mount Victoria in Palawan in the Philippines. There are thought to be only a few hundred of them. （2）Attenborough’s pitcher plant is one of the biggest, with pitchers up to 30cm in height that can trap insects and rats. It was only discovered in 2007 when a team of botanists, tipped off by two Christian missionaries, scaled Mount Victoria. （3）The suicide palm is a gigantic palm found only in remote parts of north-west Madagascar. It lives for about 50 years, then flowers only once, and dies soon after. Suicide palms were discovered in 2005 by a cashew plantation manager during a family outing, and formally described in 2008. With trunks reaching 18m in height, and huge fan-leaves up to 5m across, the palms can be seen on Google Earth. （4）The coral tree, with its bright red flowers and spiny trunk, occurs only in the remote forests of south-east Tanzania. （5）However, the forest patch was cleared to grow biofuels, and the species was feared to have gone extinct again until it was re-rediscovered to 2011. There are now fewer than 50 mature individuals in the wild, in a single unprotected location.

A.Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that trap animals in liquid-filled bowls called pitchers. B.They are almost all classed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). C.It was declared extinct in 1998，but rediscovered in 2001 in a small patch of forest. D.As a result, the population has dropped more than 95% over the last 20 years. E.There are only about 90 in the wild. F.It is named after British natural history broadcaster David Attenborough.
问题2：
A.Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that trap animals in liquid-filled bowls called pitchers. B.They are almost all classed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). C.It was declared extinct in 1998，but rediscovered in 2001 in a small patch of forest. D.As a result, the population has dropped more than 95% over the last 20 years. E.There are only about 90 in the wild. F.It is named after British natural history broadcaster David Attenborough.
问题3：
A.Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that trap animals in liquid-filled bowls called pitchers. B.They are almost all classed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). C.It was declared extinct in 1998，but rediscovered in 2001 in a small patch of forest. D.As a result, the population has dropped more than 95% over the last 20 years. E.There are only about 90 in the wild. F.It is named after British natural history broadcaster David Attenborough.
问题4：
A.Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that trap animals in liquid-filled bowls called pitchers. B.They are almost all classed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). C.It was declared extinct in 1998，but rediscovered in 2001 in a small patch of forest. D.As a result, the population has dropped more than 95% over the last 20 years. E.There are only about 90 in the wild. F.It is named after British natural history broadcaster David Attenborough.
问题5：
A.Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that trap animals in liquid-filled bowls called pitchers. B.They are almost all classed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). C.It was declared extinct in 1998，but rediscovered in 2001 in a small patch of forest. D.As a result, the population has dro

She has helped thousands of men and women（ ） with things that bother them and that they could not talk about with others.

A.come to the point B.come to terms C.come into force D.come into contact

Likenesses of Buddha are these days so commonplace — the casual adornment of fashionable spas, fusion restaurants and Parisian nightclubs — that it is strange to think that artists once hesitated, out of reverence, to portray the Buddha in corporeal form. In 2nd century India, judging by a 2nd century sandstone carving excavated from Mathura, it was sufficient to simply depict an empty throne — the implication that the Buddha was a spiritual king being very clearly understood by anyone who saw it.But as the stunning new gallery of Buddhist sculpture at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum makes plain, somewhere along the line the reticence about rendering the Buddha’s likeness gave way, and the world embarked on two millenniums of rich iconography and statuary. The gallery’s 47 masterworks, culled from the museum’s renowned Asian collections, trace the Buddha’s portrayal from the 2nd to 19th centuries, in places as diverse as India, Java and Japan.Inspiration came from unexpected sources. Some sculptors in Sri Lanka and China simply shaped the Buddha in their own likenesses. A 4th century stucco bust unearthed in Afghanistan features the full lips associated with Indian Gupta art, but also fulsome curls that reflect the Greco-Roman artists brought to the region by Alexander the Great.Other enlightened souls are shown beside the Buddha. Among the gallery’s most glorious artifacts are depictions of Bodhisattvas —those who deliberately postpone their passage to nirvana, Buddhists believe, in order to help others along the eightfold path. In the 14th century, metalworkers from Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley crafted the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, a manifestation of the Buddhist lord of compassion, in gilded copper and precious-stone inlay. An androgynous-looking deity with wide hips and sensuous form (in Chinese tradition, Avalokiteshvara or Guan Yin is female, in others male), Avalokiteshvara’s serene face projects the harmony to which all Buddhists aspire.John Clarke, the gallery’s principal curator, says that Avalokiteshvara is sometimes depicted holding a blooming lotus — a symbol of spiritual purity. “It comes up from the mud, flowers, and remains untouched by the dirt that surrounded it,” he says. You could say the same thing for the wonderful richness of Buddhist art.1.Spas, restaurants and nightclubs are stated to show that（ ）.2.The 2nd century Indian case mentioned denotes that artists at that time considered it disrespectful to （ ）.3.The new gallery at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum indicates that （ ）.4.The gallery’s sculptures of Buddha reflect （ ）.5.To Buddhists, Avalokiteshvara is a deity that can help one （ ）.6.The last sentence of the passage implies that Buddhist art（ ）.

A.images of Buddha are often seen in those places B.those places are frequented by many Buddhist artists C.those places are filled with flavor of Buddhist culture D.Buddhist worshippers regularly go to those places
问题2：
A.depict the figure of Buddha B.reflect things about Buddhism C.paint Buddha in a vague form D.distort Buddhist spirituality
问题3：
A.Buddha’s portrayal came to a surge in the year of 2000 B.some Buddha sculptures have a history of about 2000 years C.the image of the Buddha has been distorted for 2000 years D.the silence on portraying Buddha was broken in 2000
问题4：
A.the sculptors’ secular views about Buddhism B.the sculptors’ imitation of an alien culture C.something about the sculptors’ own cultures D.something associated with modem art
问题5：
A.against arrogance B.control his temper C.out of greediness D.out of sufferings
问题6：
A.emerges from other art forms but retains its own features B.needs to be further explored in its complex structures C.keeps its dominant position over any other form of art D.remains a symbol of spiritual purity in the world of artists

In Second Nature，Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Gerald Edelman argues that the brain and mind are unified, but he has little patience with the claim that the brain is a computer. Fortunately for the general reader, his explanations of brain function are accessible, reinforced by concrete examples and metaphors.Edelman suggests that thanks to the recent development of instruments capable of measuring brain structure within millimeters and brain activity within milliseconds, perceptions, thoughts, memories, willed acts, and other mind matters traditionally considered private and impenetrable to scientific scrutiny now can be correlated with brain activity. Our consciousness ( a “ first-person affair ” displaying intentionality, reflecting beliefs and desires, etc. )，our creativity, even our value systems, have a basis in brain function.The author describes three unifying insights that correlate mind matters with brain activity. First, even distant neurons will establish meaningful connections ( circuits) if their firing patterns are synchronized. Second, experience can either strengthen or weaken synapses (neuronal connections). Finally, there is reentry, the continued signaling from one brain region to another and back again along massively parallel nerve fibers.Edelman concedes that neurological explanations for consciousness and other aspects of mind are not currently available, but he is confident that they will be soon. Meanwhile, he is comfortable hazarding a guess: “All of our mental life... is based on the structure and dynamics of our brain. ” Despite this optimism about the explanatory powers of neuroscience, Edelman acknowledges the pitfalls in attempting to explain all aspects of mind in neurological terms. Indeed, culture—not biology—is the primary determinant of the brain’s evolution, and has been since the emergence of language, he notes.However, I was surprised to learn that he considers Sigmund Freud “ the key expositor of the effects of unconscious processes on behavior. ” Such a comment ignores how slightly Freud’s conception of the unconscious, with its emphasis on sexuality and aggression, resembles the cognitive unconscious studied by neuroscientists.Still, Second Nature is well worth reading. It serves as a bridge between the traditionally separate camps of “hard” science and the humanities. Readers without at least some familiarity with brain science will likely find the going difficult at certain points. Nonetheless, Edelman has achieved his goal of producing a provocative exploration of “how we come to know the world and ourselves”.1.Gerald Edelman would most probably support the idea that the brain（ ） .2.It was previously felt that perceptions and other mind matters could hardly be （ ） .3.Edelman firmly believes that （ ） .4.According to Edelman, to provide a thorough explanation of human mind, neuroscience will be （ ） .5.The author disagrees with the idea that the neuroscience-based cognitive unconscious can be （ ） .6.According to the author，Second Nature is a good book because （ ） .

A.co-functions with the mind B.works like a computer C.has an accessible function D.sends signals to the mind
问题2：
A.treated as a significant issue B.studied with scientific methods C.separated from brain activity D.handled with surgical instruments
问题3：
A.brain signals will repeatedly go from one brain region to another. B.experience will have an ill effect on neuronal connections C.distant neurons will help synchronize their firing patterns D.mind matters will be explained from a neurological perspective
问题4：
A.responsible B.insufficient C.impractical D.reliable
问题5：
A.clearly explained by Freud’s theory B.affected by language acquisition C.studied relevantly to sexual behavior D.examined concerning cultural backgrounds
问题6：
A.it interests the reader in spiritual activities B.it appeals to the reader to study bioscience C.it sets the reader probing into human cognition D.it presents the advancement of natural science

Everyone knows that English departments are in trouble, but it is difficult to appreciate just how much trouble until you read the report from the Modem Language Association (MLA).The report is about Ph. D. programs, which have been in decline since 2008. These programs have gotten both more difficult and less rewarding: today, it can take almost a decade to get a doctorate, and, at the end of your program, you’re unlikely to find a tenure-track position.The core of the problem is the job market. The MLA report estimates that only sixty per cent of newly-minted Ph. D.s will find tenure-track jobs after graduation. If anything, that’s wildly optimistic: the MLA got to that figure by comparing the number of tenure-track jobs on its job list with the number of new graduates. But that leaves out the thousands of unemployed graduates from past years who are still job-hunting.Different people will tell you different stories about where all the jobs went. Some critics think that the humanities have gotten too weird—that undergrads, turned off by an overly theoretical approach, don’t want to participate anymore, and that teaching opportunities have disappeared as a result. Others point to the corporatization of universities, which are increasingly inclined to hire part-time, “ adjunct” professors, rather than full-time, tenure-track professors, to teach undergrads. Adjuncts are cheaper ；perhaps more importantly, they are easier to hire.These trends, in turn, are part of an even larger story having to do with the expansion and transformation of American education after the Second World War. Essentially, colleges grew less elite and more vocational. Before the war, relatively few people went to college. Then, in the nineteen-fifties, the Baby Boom pushed colleges to grow rapidly, bulking up on professors and graduate programs. When the boom ended and enrollments declined, colleges found themselves overextended and competing for students. By the mid-seventies, schools were seeking out new constituencies—among them, women and minorities—and creating new programs designed to attract a broader range of students.Those reforms worked: about twice as many people attend college per capita now as they did forty years ago. But all that expansion changed colleges. In the past, they had catered to elite students who were happy to major in the traditional liberal arts. Now, to attract middle-class students, colleges have had to offer more career-focused majors, in fields like business. As a result, humanities departments have found themselves drifting away from the center of the university.1.What does the word “appreciate” mean in Paragraph 1?2.What has made Ph. D. programs unpopular?3.The MLA report about the employment rate is too optimistic because it（ ）.4.University job openings are diminishing due to the fact that （ ）.5.According to Paragraph 5, the American educational institutions （ ）over the past decades .6.The final paragraph suggests that current liberal arts majors（ ）.

A.Enjoy. B.Overlook. C.Investigate. D.Understand.
问题2：
A.They no longer save your time. B.They cannot guarantee a secure job. C.They are competitive and time-consuming. D.They are not subsidized by the government.
问题3：
A.overestimates the job market B.fails to account for former graduates C.does not include all kinds of jobs D.excludes newly-graduated Ph. D.s
问题4：
A.the scale of universities is shrinking B.adjunct professors are likely to take full-time jobs C.fewer undergraduates want to major in humanities D.some theoretical approaches have been proven wrong
问题5：
A.have resulted in tenure-track professors B.have attracted more male and elite students C.have been expanding to overseas countries D.have begun to offer a variety of vocational programs
问题6：
A.are more desirable than ever before B.will cater to middle-class students C.are less appealing than business majors D.are as competitive as business majors