根据下面材料，回答下列各题。 Uke a tired marriage．the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly dull．E—books，however，are causing heartache． Libraries know they need digital wares if they are to remain relevant，but many publishers are too careful about piracy and lost sales to c0．operate．Among the big six．only Random House and HarperCollins license e-books with most libraries．The others have either denied requests or are reluctantly experimenting． Publishers are wise to be nervous．Owners of e．readers are exactly the customers they need：book—lovers with money-neither the devices nor broadband connections come cheap．If these wonderful people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them，what then? Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient．Unlike printed books．which must be checked out and returned to a physical library miles from where you live，book files can be downloaded at home．Digital library catalogues are often browsed at night．from a comfortable sofa．The files disappear from the device when they are due． Awkwardly for publishers，buying an e—book costs more than renting one but offers little extra value． You cannot resell it。lend it to a friend or burn it to stay warm．Owning a book is useful if you want to savour(品尝)it repeatedly，but who reads“Fifty Shades of Grey”twice? E-1ending is not simple．however．There are lots of different and often incompatible e-book formats，devices and licences．Most libraries use a company called OverDrive，a global distributor that secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format．Yet publishers and libraries are worried by OverDrive’s market dominance，as the company can increasingly dictate fees and conditions． Library boosters argue that book borrowers are also book buyers，and that libraries are vital spaces for readers to discover new work．Many were．cheered by a recent Pew survey，which found that more than half of Americans with Hbrary cards say they prefer to buy their e-books．But the report also noted that few people know that e-books are available at most libraries，and that popular titles often involve long waiting lists，which may be what inspires people to buy． So publishers keep adjusting their lending arrangements in：search of the right balance．Random House raised its licensing prices earlier this year，and Harper Collins limits libraries to lending its titles 26 times． Hachita is engaged in some secret experiments，and the others are watching with held breath．In Britain the government will soon announce a review of the matter．The story of the library e-book is a nail-biter． What can be inferred from the fast paragraph?
A.Libraries are eager to keep relationship with publishers．
B.Several publishers have sold e-books to most libraries．
C.Libraries care too much about piracy and book sales．
D.Most publishers hesitate to cooperate with libraries．
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At first, the______ of color pictures over a long distance seemed impossible, but, with painstaking efforts and at great expense, it became a reality.
A．transaction
B．transmission
C．transformation
D．transition
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No one should be forced to wear a uniform. under any circumstance. Uniforms are demanding to the human spirit and totally unnecessary in a democratic society. Uniforms tell the world that the person who wears one has no value as an individual but only lives to function as a part of a whole. The individual in a uniform. loses all self-worth
There are those who my that wearing a uniform. gives a person a sense of identification with a larger, more important concept. But what could be more important than the individual himself? If an organization must rely on the dress style. and its buttons to inspire its members, it tends to show its weakness in market competition and is going to the dogs.
Some argue that the practice of making persons wear uniforms, say in a school, so as to eliminate all envy and competition in the matter of dress. A poor student who cannot afford good-quality clothing is not to be belittled by a well-dressed student. But these arguments conveniently ignore such critical concepts as freedom of choice, motivation, and individuality. But why should one strive to be better if all others were to wear the same style. of clothing? It acted as if everyone in, society were demanded to buy the same model car, or have the same type of daily food. When this happened, all incentive to improve one's life is removed. Why would parents bother to work much hard, wishing that their children could enjoy a better life than they do when they are certain that their children are going to be forced to have exactly the same life as they do now?
Uniforms also hurt the economy. Right now, billions of dollars are spent on the fashion industry yearly. Thousands of persons are employed in designing, creating and marketing different types of clothing. If everyone were forced to wear uniforms, artistic personnel would be unnecessary. Sales persons would be superfluous as well; why bother to sell the only items that are available? The wearing of uniforms would destroy the fashion industry, which in turn would have a ripple effect on such industries as advertising and promotion. Without advertising, newspapers, magazines, and television would not be able to remain in business. One entire information and entertainment industry would collapse.
The author's primary purpose in writing this passage was to______.
A．plead for the abolishment of uniforms
B．show that uniforms are not possible in a democratic society
C．advocate stronger governmental control on the wearing of uniforms
D．convince the reader that uniforms have more disadvantages than advantages
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The peasants in India call for a reform. on land ownership because ______.
A．they do not have enough fields to support their families
B．their interests are severely infringed by the fast expansion of urban areas
C．their rights to own a piece of land have been taken by the government
D．they are losing land without getting any money from the government
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Questions 下列各 are based on the following passage. Vernon Bowman, a 75-year-old farmer from rural Indiana, did something that got him sued. Heplanted soybeans (大豆) sold as cattle feed. But Monsanto, the agricultural giant, insists it has a patenton the kind of genetically modified seeds Bowman used and that the patent continues to all of theprogeny (后代) of those seeds. Have we really gotten to the point that planting a seed can lead to a high-stakes Supreme Court patentlawsuit? We have, and that case is Bowman vs. Monsanto, which is being argued on Tuesday.Monsantos critics have attacked the company for its "merciless legal battles against small farmers," andthey are hoping this will be the case that puts it in its place. They are also hoping the courts ruling willrein in patent law, which is increasingly being used to claim new life forms as private property. Monsanto and its supporters, not surprisingly, see the case very differently. They argue that when acompany like Monsanto goes to great expense to create a valuable new genetically modified seed, it mustbe able to protect its property interests. If farmers like Bowman are able to use these seeds without payingthe designated fee, it will remove the incentives for companies like Monsanto to innovate. Monsanto accused Bowman of patent infringement and won an $ 84,456 damage award. Rather thanpay up or work out a settlement, Bowman decided to appeal--all the way to the Supreme Court. He said"Monsanto should not be able, just because theyve got billions of dollars to spend on legal fees, to try to terrify farmers into obeying their agreements by massive force and threats. " The central issue in the case is whether patent rights to living things extend to the progeny of thosethings. Monsanto argues that its patents extend to later generations. But Bowmans supporters argue thatMonsanto is trying to expand the scope of patents in ways that would enrich big corporations and hurtsmall farmers. They say that ff Monsanto wins, the impact will extend far beyond agriculture--locking upproperty rights in an array of important areas. Knowledge Ecology International contends that the SupremeCourts ruling could have "profound effects" on other biotech industries. If this were a Hollywood movie, the courageous old Indiana farmer would beat the profit-mindedcorporation before the credits rolled. But this is a real-life argument before a Supreme Court that has awell-earned reputation for looking out for the interests of large corporations. This case gives the court anopportunity to rein in the growing use of patents to protect genetically engineered crops and other lifeforms--but the court may well use it to give this trend a powerful new endorsement. Why did Vernon Bowman get sued?
A.He used genetically modified seeds to feed his cattle.
B.He planted soybeans without paying for the patent.
C.He made a profit out of Monsantos commercial secrets.
D.He obtained Monsantos patented seeds by illegal means.
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根据下面资料，回答下列各题。 Many bankers may be worried about whether some fancy product dreamed up might yet lead to a visit from the police. Daniel Dantas, a financier, who has profited by operating at the middle place where business and government meet in Brazil, has been opening the door to find the police outside for much of the past decade. On December 2nd he was convicted of a less sophisticated crime: trying to bribe police officers. Mr. Dantas, who has acquired great notoriety in Brazil, was fined $ 5 million and sentenced to ten years in prison. He has appealed against his conviction. The charge stems from a police investigation into money-laundering (洗钱)known as Operation Satiagraha. It grew out of a previous investigation into Mr. Dantas use of Kroll, a security consultancy, to watch over his business partners. During this investigation the police seized a computer from Opportunity, Mr. Dantass investment bank, which contained data from the mid-1990s to 2004 and apparently showed suspicious movements of money. The judge found that Mr. Dantas tried to pay bribes, via two go-betweens, to keep his name out of the Satiagraha investigation. A man fitted with a bugging device was offered $1 million in cash, with another $ 4 million to follow, the police say. They claim that Mr. Dantass trick involved money travelling to the Cayman Islands, then via the British Virgin Islands to an account in Ireland, on to Delaware, and then re-entering Brazil as foreign investment. For Mr. Dantas his crime is a steep fall from grace. A man who sleeps little and socializes less, he is a vegetarian and self-made billionaire, a gifted financier who has serially fallen out with his business partners. He once controlled a large telecoms firm, acting for investors who included Citigroup. He says he is the victim of a conspiracy mounted by the government. It is Mr. Dantas supposed influence in government circles that has added to his notoriety. During the1990s, when many state-owned businesses were privatized, Mr. Dantas positioned himself as the man with the needed expertise and contacts. He enjoyed easy access to the government of President Femando Henrique Cardoso, including meetings with the president himself. That influence carried through into the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Mr. Dantas is alleged to have been one of the funders of a cash-for-votes scheme in Brazils Congress mounted by leaders of Lulas Workers Party in 2003-2004. Many of those who have had dealings with Mr. Dantas insist that these have been legitimate and conducted in good faith. They include Luiz Eduardo Greenhalgh, a lawyer and PT politician, whom he hired as a consultant. What kind of crime was Daniel Dantas convicted of according to the passage?
A.A crime quite experienced and tactful.
B.A crime by operating at the middle place.
C.A crime attempting to temper police to work for him.
D.A crime in money-laundering.