[单项选择]The high living standards of the US cause its present population to ______ 25 percent of the world's oil.
A. assume
B. consume
C. resume
D. presume

[单项选择]The high living standards of the US cause its present population to ______ 25 percent of the world's oil.
A. assume
B. consume
C. resume
D. presume

[单项选择]
The differences in living standards around the world are vast. In 1993, the average American had an income of about $25,000. In the same year, the average Mexican earned $7,000, and the average Nigerian earned $1,500. Not surprisingly, this large variation in average income is reflected in various measures of the quality of life. Changes in living standards over time are also large. In the United States, incomes have historically grown about 2 percent per year (after adjusting for changes in the cost of living). At this rate, average income doubles every 35 years. In some countries, economic growth has been even more rapid. In Japan, for instance, average income has doubled in the past 20 years, and in South Korea it has doubled in the past 10 years.
What explains these large differences in living standards among countries and over time The answer is surprisingly simple. Almost all variation in livin
A. Mexico.
B. The United States.
C. Japan.
D. South Kore

[单项选择]

Text 3
Living standards soared during the twentieth century, and economists expect them to continue rising in the decades ahead. Does that mean that we humans can look forward to increasing happiness
Easterlin admits that richer people are more likely to report themselves as being happier than poorer people are. But steady improvements in the American economy have not been accompanied by steady increases in people’s self-assessments of their own happiness. "There has been not improvement in average happiness in the United States over almost a half century -- a period in which real GDP (gross domestic product) per capital more than doubled," Easterlin reports.
The explanation for this paradox may be that people become less satisfied over time with a given level of income. In Easterlin’s word: "As incomes rise, the aspiration level does too, and the effect of this increase in aspirations is to invalidate the expected growth
A. raising a question and arguing about it.
B. identifying a problem and solving it.
C. countering a flawed argument and bringing a new one.
D. discussing a problem and arguing in favor of one solution to it.

[单项选择]The statistics ______ that living standards in the area have improved drastically in recent times.
A. proves
B. is proving
C. are proving
D. prove

[简答题]Recent attempts by the US government to write its documents in “plain English” show just how important it is to express ideas clearly in words. US citizens and businesses have long complained that many of the government’s rules are written in overly technical, complicated language. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has particularly been the subject of much criticism and debate. This agency makes and enforces rules to ensure employee health and safety on the job. The problem is, even after reading the rules several times, employees often don’t know what is expected of them. Some politicians then began to speak out, saying the agency needed to make its regulations more “user-friendly.” One congressman complained employees needed “an interpreter to explain the OSHA regulations.” Others added while large corporations could pay specialists to help them understand the rules, smaller businesses were left in an almost hopeless situation. For them, sa
A. A．are wrongly expressed
B．focus on details only
C．use many technical words
D．are beyond comprehension

[单项选择]Apple sells its new computer models at a high price because ______.


A. they have new features and functions
B. they are more sophisticated than other models
C. they have new accessories attached
D. it wants to accumulate funds for future research