Tom Burke recently tried to print out a boarding pass from home before one of the frequent flights he takes. He couldn’t. His name, or one similar to it, is now on one of the Transportation Security Administration’s terrorist watch lists.
Every day, thousands of people like Burke find themselves unable to do things like print a boarding pass and are pulled aside for extensive screening because their name, or a name that sounds like theirs, is on one of the watch lists. From the TSA’s perspective, the screening is just one of the many new layers of increased security that are designed to prevent terrorist activity. The inconvenience is regrettable, but a price that society has to pay for security. And for national security reasons, the FBI and other government agencies responsible for supplying names to the lists will not disclose the criteria they use. They say that would amount to tipping their hands to the terrorists.
But civil libertarians are more concerned about the long-term consequence of the current lists. On Sept. 11,2001, the no-fly list contained 16 names. Now, the combined lists are estimated to have as many as 20,000. Internal FBI memos from agents referred to the process as "really confused" and "not comprehensive and not centralized. Burke and others contend that such comments are disturbing, because it was during the first year after the attacks that the watch lists grew exponentially.
"The underlying danger is not that Tom Burke can no longer get a boarding pass to get on an airline," says a lawyer. "It’s that the Tom Burkes in the world may forever more be associated (with the terrorist watch list)." Burke says they do know that the lists are frequent[y updated and distributed internationally, but they don’t know how the old lists are destroyed. They also hope to ensure that sometime in the future a person whose name is on the list, but is not a terrorist, does not run into further trouble if, say, law enforcement in another country that they’re visiting comes across their name on one of the old lists.
In addition, airlines are concerned that the lists are not updated frequently enough. "We’ve been encouraging the TSA to work with all of the other federal law-enforcement agencies to get a regular review of the names that they submit to TSA, because there have been reports that these agencies have said that if there was a review, many of the names could be removed," says Diana Cronin of the Air Transport Association.
The attitudes of FBI and Burke towards the reliability of the no-fly list are

A:similar. B:opposite. C:confusing. D:ambiguous.

In a paper just published in Science, Peter Gordon of Columbia University uses his study of the Piraha and their counting system to try to answer a tricky linguistic question. The Piraha, a group of hunter-gatherers who live along the banks of the Maiei River in Brazil, use a system of counting called "one-two-many". In this, the word for "one" translates to "roughly one" (similar to "one or two" in English), the word for "two" means "a slightly larger amount than one" (similar to "a few" in English), and the word for "many" means "a much larger amount".
This question was posed by Benjamin Lee Whorl in the 1930s. Whorl studied Hopi, an Amerindian language very different from tile Eurasian languages that had hitherto been the subject of academic linguistics. His work led him to suggest that language not only influences thought but, more strongly, that it determines thought.
While there is no dispute that language influences what people think about, evidence suggesting it determines thought is inconclusive. For example, in 1972, Eleanor Rosch and Karl Heider investigated the colour-naming abilities of the Dani people of Indonesia. The Dani have words for only two colours.- black and white. But Dr. Rosch and Dr. Heider found that, even so, Dani could distinguish and comprehend other colours. That does not support the deterministic version of the Whorl hypothesis.
While recognising that there are such things as colours for which you have no name is certainly a cognitive leap, it may not be a good test of Whorf’s ideas. Colours, after all, are out there everywhere. Numbers, by contrast, are abstract, so may be a better test. Dr. Gordon therefore spent a month with the Piraha and elicited the help of seven of them to see how far their grasp of numbers extended.
The tests began simply, with a row of, say, seven evenly spaced batteries. Gradually, they got more complicated. The more complicated tests included tasks such as matching numbers of unevenly spaced objects, replicating the number of objects from memory, and copying a number of straight lines from a drawing.
In the tests that involved matching the number and layout of objects they could see, participants were pretty good when faced with two or three items, but found it harder to cope as the number of items rose. Things were worse when the participants had to remember the number of objects in a layout and replicate it "blind", rather than matching a layout they could see. In this case the success rate dropped to zero when the number of items became, in terms of their language, "many".
And line drawing produced the worst results of all--though that could have had as much to do with the fact that drawing is not part of Piraha culture as it did with the difficulties of numerical abstraction. Indeed, Dr. Gordon described the task of reproducing straight lines as being accomplished only with "heavy sighs and groans".
The performances in relation to Whorf’s claim or the Dani and the Piraha are

A:complementary B:identical C:similar D:opposite

Text 4
In a paper just published in Science, Peter Gordon of Columbia University uses his study of the
Piraha and their counting system to try to answer a tricky linguistic question. The Piraha, a group of hunter-gatherers who live along the banks of the Maici River in Brazil, use a system of counting called "one-two-many". In this, the word for "one" translates to "roughly one" (similar to "one or two" in English), the word for "two" means "a slightly larger amount than one" (similar to "a few" in English), and the word for "many" means "a much larger amount".
This question was posed by Benjamin Lee Whorl in the 1930s. Whorl studied Hopi, an Amerindian language very different from the Eurasian languages that had hitherto been the subject of academic linguistics. His work led him to suggest that language not only influences thought but, more strongly, that it determines thought.
While there is no dispute that language influences what people think about, evidence suggesting it determines thought is inconclusive. For example, in 1972, Eleanor Rosch and Karl Heider investigated the colour-naming abilities of the Dani people of Indonesia. The Dani have words for only two colours: black and white. But Dr. Rosch and Dr. Heider found that, even so, Dani could distinguish and comprehend other colours. That does not support the deterministic version of the Whorf hypothesis.
While recognising that there are such things as colours for which you have no name is certainly a cognitive leap, it may not be a good test of Whorf’s ideas. Colours, after all, are out there everywhere. Numbers, by contrast, are abstract, so may be a better test. Dr. Gordon there[ore spent a month with the Piraha and elicited the help of seven of them to see how far their grasp of numbers extended.
The tests began simply, with a row of, say, seven evenly spaced batteries. Gradually, they got more complicated. The more complicated tests included tasks such as matching numbers of unevenly spaced objects, replicating the number of objects from memory, and copying a number of straight lines from a drawing.
In the tests that involved matching the number and layout of objects they could see, participants were pretty good when faced with two or three items, but found it harder to cope as the number of items rose. Things were worse when the participants had to remember the number of objects in a layout and replicate it "blind", rather than matching a layout they could
see. In this case the success rate dropped to zero when the number of items became, in terms of their language, "many".
And line drawing produced the worst results of all—though that could have had as much to do with the fact that drawing is not part of Picaha culture as it did with the difficulties of numerical abstraction. Indeed, Dr. Gordon described the task of reproducing straight lines as being accomplished only with "heavy sighs and groans".

The performances in relation to Whorf's claim of the Dani and the Piraha are（）

A:complementary B:identical C:similar D:opposite

The discovery of life beyond Earth would transform not only our science but also our religions, our belief systems and our entire world-view. For in a sense, the search for extraterrestrial life is really a search for ourselves--who we are and what our place is in the grand sweep of the cosmos.
Contrary to popular belief, speculation that we are not alone in the universe is as old as philosophy itself. The essential steps in the reasoning were based on the atomic theory of the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus. Yet philosophy is one thing, filling in the physical details is another. Although astronomers increasingly suspect that biofriendly planets may be abundant in the universe, the chemical steps leading to life remain largely mysterious.
Traditionally, biologists believed that life is a freak--the result of a zillion-to-one accidental concatenation of molecules. It follows that the likelihood of its happening again elsewhere in the cosmos is infinitesimal. This viewpoint derives from the second law of thermodynamics, which predicts that the universe is dying--slowly and inexorably degenerating toward a state of total chaos. And similar reasoning applies to evolution. According to the orthodox view, Darwinian selection is utterly blind. Any impression that the transition from microbes to man represents progress is pure chauvinism of our part. The path of evolution is merely a random walk through the realm of possibilities.
If this is right, there can be no directionality, no innate drive forward; in particular, no push toward consciousness and intelligence. Should Earth be struck by an asteroid, destroying all higher life-forms, intelligent beings would almost certainly not arise next time around. There is, however, a contrary view--one that is gaining strength and directly challenges orthodox biology. It is that complexity can emerge spontaneously through a process of self- organization. If matter and energy have an inbuilt tendency to amplify and channel organized complexity, the odds against the formation of life and the subsequent evolution of intelligence could be drastically shortened.
Historically, Bertrand Russell argued that a universe under a death sentence from the second law of thermodynamics rendered human life ultimately futile. All our achievements, all our struggles, "all the noonday brightness of human genius," as he put it, would, in the final analysis, count for nothing if the very cosmos itself is doomed. But what if, in spite of the second law of thermodynamics, there can be systematic progress alongside decay For those who hope for a deeper meaning or purpose beneath physical existence, the presence of extraterrestrial life-forms would provide a spectacular boost, implying that we live in a universe that is in some sense getting better and better rather than worse and worse.

On the possibilities of life beyond Earth astronomers’ and ancient philosophers’ views are（　）

A:opposite. B:similar. C:divergent. D:contrary.

Text 4

The performances in relation to Whorf’s claim or the Dani and the Piraha are

A:complementary B:identical C:similar D:opposite

The horse and carriage is a thing of the past. But love and marriage are still with us and still closely interrelated. Most American marriages, particularly first marriages (1) young couples are the result of (2) attraction and affection (3) than practical considerations.
In the United States, parents do not arrange marriages for their children. Teenagers begin (4) in high school and usually find mates through their own academic and social (5) . Though young people feel (6) to choose their friends from (7) groups, most choose a mate of similar background. This is (8) in part to parental guidance. Parents cannot select spouses for their children, but they can usually (9) choices by (10) disapproval of someone they consider unsuitable.
(11) , marriages between members of different groups (interclass, interfaith, and interracial marriages) are increasing, probably because of the greater (12) of today’s youth and the fact that they are restricted by (13) prejudices than their parents. Many young people leave their home towns to attend college, (14) in the armed forces, (15) pursue a career in a bigger city. Once away from home and family, they are more (16) to date and marry outside their own social group. In mobile American society, interclass marriages are neither (17) nor shocking. Interfaith marriages are (18) the rise particularly between Protestants and Catholics. On the other hand, interracial marriage is still very uncommon. It can be difficult for interracial couples to find a place to live, maintain friendships, and (19) a family. Marriages between people of different national (20) (but the same race and religion) have been commonplace here since colonial times.

（7）（）

A:similar B:identical C:differential D:diverse

Edwin Hubble Edwin Hubble changed our ideas about the universe and how it developed. The work of few other scientists changed our understanding of 【51】 suddenly. He made his most important discoveries in the 1920s. Today, other scientists continue the work he began back then. Edwin Powell Hubble was born in 1889 in Marshfield, Missouri. He 【52】 his early years in the state of Kentucky. Then he moved with his family to Chicago, Illinois. He attended the University of Chicago, taking mathematics and astronomy 【53】 his specialty. As a student, Hubble was also a member of the University’’s basketball team and an excellent boxer. Several people urged him 【54】 for the world heavy weight boxing championship after college. Instead he decided to continue his 【55】 . In his first observations from Mount Wilson, California, Hubble used a telescope with one-hundred fifty-two and began 【56】 more and more distant objects. His first great discovery was made 【57】 he recognized a Cepheid variable star. Cepheid variable stars are stars whose brightness changes at regular periods. Hubble then began to observe more details about galaxies. He studied their shapes and brightness. By 1925, he had made enough observations to say that the universe is organized into many shapes and sizes. As stars differ from one another, he said, 【58】 galaxies. According to his observations, the galaxies have a center, and arms of matter that seem to the center like a pinwheel. Other are shaped 【59】 baseballs or eggs. A few have no special 【60】 Hubble proposed a system to describe galaxies by their shape. His system is still used today. He also showed that 【61】 are similar in the kinds of bright objects they contain. All galaxies, 【62】 , are related to each other much as members of a family are related to each other. In the late 1920s, Hubble studied the movement of galaxies through space. His investigation led to the most important 【63】 discovery of the 20th century—the expanding universe. Hubbies discovery 【64】 a major change in our ideas of the universe. The universe had not been quiet and unchanging since the beginning of time, as many people had thought. It was expanding. The expanding often is 【65】 the Big Bang.

A:likely B:like C:as D:similar to

Edwin Hubble Edwin Hubble changed our ideas about the universe and how it developed. The work of few other scientists changed our understanding of 【51】 suddenly. He made his most important discoveries in the 1920s. Today, other scientists continue the work he began back then. Edwin Powell Hubble was born in 1889 in Marshfield, Missouri. He 【52】 his early years in the state of Kentucky. Then he moved with his family to Chicago, Illinois. He attended the University of Chicago, taking mathematics and astronomy 【53】 his specialty. As a student, Hubble was also a member of the University’’s basketball team and an excellent boxer. Several people urged him 【54】 for the world heavy weight boxing championship after college. Instead he decided to continue his 【55】 . In his first observations from Mount Wilson, California, Hubble used a telescope with one-hundred fifty-two and began 【56】 more and more distant objects. His first great discovery was made 【57】 he recognized a Cepheid variable star. Cepheid variable stars are stars whose brightness changes at regular periods. Hubble then began to observe more details about galaxies. He studied their shapes and brightness. By 1925, he had made enough observations to say that the universe is organized into many shapes and sizes. As stars differ from one another, he said, 【58】 galaxies. According to his observations, the galaxies have a center, and arms of matter that seem to the center like a pinwheel. Other are shaped 【59】 baseballs or eggs. A few have no special 【60】 Hubble proposed a system to describe galaxies by their shape. His system is still used today. He also showed that 【61】 are similar in the kinds of bright objects they contain. All galaxies, 【62】 , are related to each other much as members of a family are related to each other. In the late 1920s, Hubble studied the movement of galaxies through space. His investigation led to the most important 【63】 discovery of the 20th century—the expanding universe. Hubbies discovery 【64】 a major change in our ideas of the universe. The universe had not been quiet and unchanging since the beginning of time, as many people had thought. It was expanding. The expanding often is 【65】 the Big Bang.

A:likely B:like C:as D:similar to