[填空题]

Small, Imperfectly Formed

One has to look a long time for an American politician of any political stripe who has failed to laud small businesses. Still, many have little clue as to what makes such businesses succeed or fail.
Federal agencies aimed at helping small business, such as the Small Business Administration and the Minority Business Development Agency, have been around for half a century, yet persistent differences remain between the performance of businesses founded by white, male entrepreneurs and the rest. Blacks are less likely to be self-employed, for example, and when they are their businesses, on average, have lower sales and profits than do their white-or Asian-owned counterparts. If researchers could explain the causes of these differences, policy-makers could (at least in theory) supply small businesses with more useful help.
Two researchers for the Census Bureau’s Centre for Economic Studies, Ron Jarmin

[填空题]

Small, Imperfectly Formed

One has to look a long time for an American politician of any political stripe who has failed to laud small businesses. Still, many have little clue as to what makes such businesses succeed or fail.
Federal agencies aimed at helping small business, such as the Small Business Administration and the Minority Business Development Agency, have been around for half a century, yet persistent differences remain between the performance of businesses founded by white, male entrepreneurs and the rest. Blacks are less likely to be self-employed, for example, and when they are their businesses, on average, have lower sales and profits than do their white-or Asian-owned counterparts. If researchers could explain the causes of these differences, policy-makers could (at least in theory) supply small businesses with more useful help.
Two researchers for the Census Bureau’s Centre for Economic Studies, Ron Jarmin

[单项选择]

The decline in moral standards—which has long concerned social analysts—has at last captured the attention of average Americans. And Jean Bethke Elshtain, for one, is glad.
The fact that the ordinary citizens are now starting to think seriously about the nation’s moral climate, says this ethics professor at the University of Chicago, is reason to hope that new ideas will come forward to improve it.
But the challenge is not to be underestimated. Materialism and individualism in American society are the biggest obstacles. "The thought that ’I’m in it for me’ has become deeply-rooted in the national consciousness, " Ms. Elshtain says.
Some of this can be attributed to the disintegration of traditional communities, in which neighbors looked out for one another, she says. With today’s greater mobility and with so many couples working, those bonds have been weakened replaced by a greater emphasis on self.

A. have adapted to a new set of moral standards
B. are longing for the return of the good old days
C. have realized the importance of material things
D. are awakened to the lowering of their moral standards

[简答题]But for a small country it has a surprising range of climate. ( Passage 1 )

[单项选择] A Small Event One afternoon in January 1989, Suzan Sharp, 43, and her 8-year-old son, David ,were walking hard across an icy parking lot, when Suzan’’s cane (手杖)slid on the ice . She 【51】 face fist into the mud . David 【52】 to her side . "Are you all right, Mom " 【53】 , Suzan put herself up. "I’’m okay, honey." she said. It had been nearly two years since Suzan had trouble walking. She was falling more 【54】 now. Every inch of ice was a 【55】 danger for her. " I could do something," the boy thought. David, too, was having 【56】 of his own. The boy had a speech defect. At school he 【57】 asked questions or read aloud. One day Davids teacher announced a 【58】 assignment. "Each of you is going to come up with an invention, "she said. This was for "INVENT AMERICA!", a national competition to encourage creativity in 【59】 . An idea hit David one evening. 【60】 only his mothers cane didn’t slip on ice ,he thought. "That’’s it!" David realiz
A. easy
B. better
C. private
D. public