Text 2
Imagine waking up and finding the value of your assets has been halved. No, you’re not an investor in one of those hedge funds that failed completely. With the dollar slumping to a 26-year low against the pound, already-expensive London has become quite unaffordable. A coffee at Starbucks, just as unavoidable in England as it is in the United States, runs about $8.
The once all-powerful dollar isn’t doing a Titanic against just the pound. It is sitting at a record low against the euro and at a 30-year low against the Canadian dollar. Even the Argentine peso and Brazilian real are thriving against the dollar.
The weak dollar is a source of humiliation, for a nation’s self-esteem rests in part on the strength of its currency. It’s also a potential economic problem, since a declining dollar makes imported food more expensive and exerts upward pressure on interest rates. And yet there are substantial sectors of the vast U.S. economy-from giant companies like Coca-Cola to mom-and-pop restaurant operators in Miami-for which the weak dollar is most excellent news.
Many Europeans may view the U.S. as an arrogant superpower that has become hostile to foreigners. But nothing makes people think more warmly of the U.S. than a weak dollar. Through April, the total number of visitors from abroad was up 6.8 percent from last year. Should the trend continue, the number of tourists this year will finally top the 2000 peak? Many Europeans now apparently view the U.S. the way many Americans view Mexico-as a cheap place to vacation, shop and party, all while ignoring the fact that the poorer locals can’t afford to join the merrymaking.
The money tourists spend helps decrease our chronic trade deficit. So do exports, which thanks in part to the weak dollar, soared 11 percent between May 2006 and May 2007. For first five months of 2007, the trade deficit actually fell 7 percent from 2006.
If you own shares in large American corporations, you’re a winner in the weak-dollar gamble. Last week Coca-Cola’s stick bubbled to a five-year high after it reported a fantastic quarter. Foreign sales accounted for 65 percent of Coke’s beverage business. Other American companies profiting from this trend include McDonald’s and IBM.
American tourists, however, shouldn’t expect any relief soon. The dollar lost strength the way many marriages break up- slowly, and then all at once. And currencies don’t turn on a dime. So if you want to avoid the pain inflicted by the increasingly pathetic dollar, cancel that summer vacation to England and look to New England. There, the dollar is still treated with a little respect.
52. Why do Americans feel humiliated?
A) Their economy is plunging B) They can’t afford trips to Europe
C) Their currency has slumped D) They have lost half of their assets.
53_How does the current dollar affect the life of ordinary Americans?
They have to cancel their vacations in New England.
They find it unaffordable to dine in mom-and-pop restaurants.
They have to spend more money when buying imported goods.
They might lose their jobs due to potential economic problems.
54 How do many Europeans feel about the U.S with the devalued dollar?
They feel contemptuous of it
They are sympathetic with it.
They regard it as a superpower on the decline.
They think of it as a good tourist destination.
55 what is the author’s advice to Americans?
They treat the dollar with a little respect
They try to win in the weak-dollar gamble
They vacation at home rather than abroad
They treasure their marriages all the more.
56 What does the author imply by saying “currencies don’t turn on a dime” (Line 2,Para 7)?
The dollar’s value will not increase in the short term.
The value of a dollar will not be reduced to a dime
The dollar’s value will drop, but within a small margin.
Few Americans will change dollars into other currencies.
The answers as follow:
52,B, Their currency has slumped.
53,C, They have to spend more money when buying imported goods.
54,D, They think of it as a good tourist destination.
55,C, They vacation at home rather than abroad.
56,A, The dollar's value will not increase in the short term.
Text 3
It used to be so straightforward. A team of researchers working together in the laboratory would submit the results of their research to a journal. A journal editor would then remove the authors’ names and affiliations from the paper and send it to their peers for review. Depending on the comments received, the editor would accept the paper for publication or decline it. Copyright rested with the journal publisher, and researchers seeking knowledge of the results would have to subscribe to the journal.
No longer. The Internet – and pressure from funding agencies, who are questioning why commercial publishers are making money from government-funded research by restricting access to it – is making access to scientific results a reality. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)was just issued a report describing the far-reaching consequences of this. The report, by John Houghton of Victoria University in Australia and Graham Vickery of the OECD, makes heavy reading for publishers who have, so far, made handsome profits. But it goes further than that. It signals a change in what has, until now, been a key element of scientific endeavor.
The value of knowledge and the return on the public investment in research depends, in part, upon wide distribution and ready access. It is big business. In America, the core scientific publishing market is estimated at between $7 billion and $11 billion. The International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers says that there are more than 2,000 publishers worldwide specializing in these subjects. They publish more than 1.2 million articles each year in some 16,000 journals.
This is now changing. According to the OECD report, some 75% of scholarly journals are now online. Entirely new business models are emerging; three main ones were identified by the report’s authors. This is the so-called big deal, where institutional subscribers pay for access to a collection of online journal titles through site-licensing agreements. There is open-access publishing, typically supported by asking the author (or his employer) to pay for the paper to be published. Finally, there are open-access archives, where organizations such as universities or international laboratories support institutional repositories. Other models exist that are hybrids of these three, such as delayed open-access, where journals allow only subscribers to read a paper for the first six months, before making it freely available to everyone who wishes to see it. All this could change the traditional form of the peer-review process, at least for the publication of papers.
6. In the first paragraph, the author discusses
[A] the background information of journal editing.
[B] the publication routine of laboratory reports.
[C] the relations of authors with journal publishers.
[D] the traditional process of journal publication.
7. Which of the following is true of the OECD report?
[A] It criticizes government-funded research.
[B] It introduces an effective means of publication.
[C] It upsets profit-making journal publishers.
[D] It benefits scientific research considerably.
8. According to the text, online publication is significant in that
[A] it provides an easier access to scientific results.
[B] it brings huge profits to scientific researchers.
[C] it emphasizes the crucial role of scientific knowledge.
[D] it facilitates public investment in scientific research.
9. With the open-access publishing model, the author of a paper is required to
[A] cover the cost of its publication.
[B] subscribe to the journal publishing it.
[C] allow other online journals to use it freely.
[D] complete the peer-review before submission.
10. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
[A] The Internet is posing a threat to publishers.
[B] A new mode of publication is emerging.
[C] Authors welcome the new channel for publication.
[D] Publication is rendered easier by online service.
参考答案：D C A A B
26. In the first paragraph, the author discusses
[A] the background information of journal editing.
the publication routine of laboratory reports.
[C] the relations of authors with journal publishers.
[D] the traditional process of journal publication.
［正确答案］D
［答案解析］概括段落大意。本文谈的是通过互联网发表研究成果的一种新方式，指出了三大业务模式。第一段先谈传统的杂志出版（论文发表）流程，以此引出话题，所以正确答案是D。A选项journal editing沾点边，但不吻合。做这类题及主题题型可以使用逆向法，即思路是：如果真要写journal editing的，那应该从如何编辑，如何取舍及一些编辑的细节入手，而本段明显不是。B离题更远，实验报告，从何谈起呀？C作者与杂志社的关系，这个流程是涉及到，但要谈的不是这个。总之，此题从本段的内容，本段在全篇的作用，以及本文要谈的主题角度，可以确定正确答案。
［信心指数］99.9％
27. Which of the following is true of the OECD report?
[A] It criticizes government-funded research.
It introduces an effective means of publication.
[C] It upsets profit-making journal publishers.
[D] It benefits scientific research considerably.
［正确答案］C
［答案解析］A肯定不对，报告并未批评政府资助的研究，是funding agencies批评commercial publishers，也就是这些资助一些研究项目的机构质询商业出版机构，我出钱，是为社会受益，咋变成你受益了呢？这个选项错在张冠李戴。B也不对，报告引进（introduces）了一种新的出版方式吗？不是它吧？谁呢？The Internet is making access to scientific results a reality.是Internet，对吧？C正确。Why? 实际上是考对这句话的理解：The report makes heavy reading for publishers. “heavy reading”是啥意思呢？费力的阅读。此处的heavy意为hard to do or accomplish; arduous。字面的意思是，这个报告让获取巨大利润的出版商们读起来费劲。为什么读起来费劲啊？是他们的词汇量不够读不懂吗？当然不是，结合文章所述内容，是因为这个报告直指要害，触及了他们。读出了这层意思，C选项当然就可以大胆选啦！D选项不对，全文核心意思，是互联网出版方式会给科学研究带来巨大的好处，使得科学成果更容易被人分享。并不是这个报告本身对科学研究带来多大好处。当然啦，这个报告既然指出了这个趋势，或多或少总能让科研受益一些，但注意命题者还刻意加了一个considerably，一篇报告能有如此“相当的”作用？
［信心指数］99.9％
28. According to the text, online publication is significant in that
[A] it provides an easier access to scientific results.
it brings huge profits to scientific researchers.
[C] it emphasizes the crucial role of scientific knowledge.
[D] it facilitates public investment in scientific research.
［正确答案］A
［答案解析］文中两句话决定A正确，一是The Internet is making access to scientific results a reality. 二是The value of knowledge and the return on the public investment in research depends, in part, upon wide distribution and ready access. 也就是知识的价值在于其广泛传播和即时获取，而互联网使得科学成果的很容易获取变为现实。这不就是基于互联网的在线出版的重大意义吗！B不对，因为文章始终没有谈论研究者的获利问题，要说谈，它也只是谈了scientific publishing market是一个big business。而且，在线学术期刊的第二种业务模式（open-access publishing），还得研究者自己掏腰包的！科学知识本身无比重要的作用不在本文讨论范围，C不对。促进对科学研究的公共投资也无从谈起，D亦被轻松排除。
［信心指数］99.9％
29. With the open-access publishing model, the author of a paper is required to
[A] cover the cost of its publication.
subscribe to the journal publishing it.
[C] allow other online journals to use it freely.
[D] complete the peer-review before submission.
［正确答案］A
［答案解析］考对这句话的理解：There is open-access publishing, typically supported by asking the author (or his employer) to pay for the paper to be published. 通过作者本人（或其老板）付费发表的方式支持开架在线阅览，注意，这里的付费，付什么费用呀？付给出版网站的费吗？我的想应该是发表论文的研究费用，A选项所指即这个，当然这是题外话。B乃空穴来风，毫无根据。C有一定的干扰性，本来这层意思本文也是只字示提，但既然是open-access publishing嘛，那用户应该是可以免费使用的。但是不是other online journals也可以免费使用呢（转载等），这似乎就走得远了点，原文并未提供这方面的信息，排除。D选项轻松排除。
［信心指数］99.9％
30. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
[A] The Internet is posing a threat to publishers.
A new mode of publication is emerging.
[C] Authors welcome the new channel for publication.
[D] Publication is rendered easier by online service.
［正确答案］B
［答案解析］一种新的出版方式，即在线出版正悄然兴起，乃本文主题，B选项正确。A选项不对，应该说互联网对传统出版行业构成威胁，但不威胁出版本身，在线出版商也是出版商啊。作者们欢迎不欢迎新的出版方式，一呢，咱们不得而知，二呢，绝非本文主题，C不对。在线服务应该会使出版更加容易，但一未涉及，二非主题。
［信心指数］99.9％