[单项选择]In 1885 Owen Wister (1850～1938) recorded that "it won’t be a century before the West is simply the true America, with thought, type, and life of its own" and he wanted "to be the hand that once, for all, chronicled and laid bare the virtues and the vices of this extraordinary phase of American social progress." He never became that self-envisioned Tolstoi of the old West, but in 1902 The Virginian was published. It won instant success and skyrocketed its author to fame. It is still the most popular "Western" novel ever published and the master design for the fiction of the Wild West.
The Virginian established a literary form, a formula popularly known as "horse opera", whose conventions, cliches, and values have reappeared in novels and short stories, in movies and television serials, ever since. The romantic cowboy is the hero and gentleman, one of those "good men in the humbler walks of life", who sees through shams, defends justice and a lady’s honor, shoots it out with the vil
A. The Virginian is as great a novel as War and Peace
B. Wister underestimated himself as an author
C. Wister wanted to be a writer of light novels
D. as Tolstoi had laid bare the virtues and vices of Russian society, so Wister would do for the society of the American West.

[单项选择]In 1885 Owen Wister (1850～1938) recorded that "it won’t be a century before the West is simply the true America, with thought, type, and life of its own" and he wanted "to be the hand that once, for all, chronicled and laid bare the virtues and the vices of this extraordinary phase of American social progress." He never became that self-envisioned Tolstoi of the old West, but in 1902 The Virginian was published. It won instant success and skyrocketed its author to fame. It is still the most popular "Western" novel ever published and the master design for the fiction of the Wild West.
The Virginian established a literary form, a formula popularly known as "horse opera", whose conventions, cliches, and values have reappeared in novels and short stories, in movies and television serials, ever since. The romantic cowboy is the hero and gentleman, one of those "good men in the humbler walks of life", who sees through shams, defends justice and a lady’s honor, shoots it out with the vil
A. the way of life in the West in 1885 was a passing phase
B. the cowboy in 1885 symbolized the typical American male.
C. the West would be always isolated from the rest of the country by its moral code.
D. none of thes

[多项选择]Recorded message

[单项选择]Why did Owen want to change his job
A. To put his research results into practice.
B. To find a better working environment.
C. To do something meaningful when retired.
D. To set up his own pharmaceutical company.

[单项选择]

Recorded background music first found its way into factories, shops and restaurants in the States. But it soon spread to other parts of the world. Now it is becoming increasingly difficult to go shopping or eat a meal without listening to music.
The best-known supplier of background music is an American company called "Muzak". This word also refers to recorded background music played continuously in restaurants, places of work, etc. The company has carded over a hundred studies which show that background music can create a pleasant atmosphere and improve productivity (生产效率). It must be used in the right way, though. If the type of "Muzak" is wrong, it may well cause an entire factory to sleep!

Which of the following statements is true（）
A. Background music is only used in the States.
B. Background music is used all over the world except the States.
C. Most shops and restaurants use background music now.
D. It is very difficult to listen to background music.

[单项选择]

A student reporter with a cell phone recorded scenes of police approaching one of the buildings on the campus of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg where the-shootings occurred. The events unfolded in the morning over two hours in two separate locations. University President Charles Steger says only one gunman seems to have been involved. "The shooter in Norris Hall is deceased," he said. "There are multiple fatalities. The number of fatalities has not been confirmed." Steger says Virginia Tech University was hit with a tragedy of monumental proportions. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified that this would befall us and I want to extend my deepest and most sincere and profound sympathies to the families of these victims, which include our students," he said. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says President Bush is horrified by the killings and that his thoughts and prayers are with the victims. Asked about gun control policy, Perino
A. 1 location
B. 2 separate locations
C. 3 separate locations
D. 4 separate locations

[单项选择]The census of 1851 recorded half of the population of Britain as living in towns—the first society in human history to do so. Over the (1) 70 years, the population of Britain had risen at an unprecedented (2) , passing the levels reached in earlier period of (3) when the population had been decimated by epidemics such as the Black Death.
But was there any reason for (4) The towns offered a better chance of work and (5) wages than the countryside, (6) many families were trapped in dire poverty and seasonal employment. On the other hand, the countryside was (7) . A baby born in a large town with a population of more than 100,000 in the 1820s might (8) to live to 35; in the 1830s, life expectancy was down to a (9) 29. A comparison between a desperately unhealthy large town and a small market town (10) the costs of migrating in search of work and prosperity. In 1851, a boy born in inner Liver
A. at
B. in
C. to
D. with