academic circle. 2. Many academics insist that the high number of publications and citations ________.
A) contributes to the enhancement of academic studies in Britain B) is a recognition of the British researchers' work
C) will encourage the British researchers to further their academic efforts D) may exert negative influence on the British researchers
3. In the fourth paragraph the author pointed out that ________.
A) universities play dirty tricks in the assessment to get more research grant B) more and more people doubt the authenticity of the improvement C) British judges were unfair in the 1996 evaluation
D) in the latest assessment international opinion refutes the judgment of the British panels
4. The British government was surprised by the results because _________.
A) the improvement was really remarkable
B) the results uncover how the ￡1.4 billion research fund was spent C) the results help to tell the world-class researches from the national ones D) the government is short of money to reward the excellent research
5. Why is research important to British universities?
A) Because research can earn both reputation and money for these universities. B) Because with the money earned from research, universities can raise more funds for the increasingly large number of students.
C) Because research projects attract more overseas students who study at their own expense.
D) Because the best research which involves overseas students can get more
government subsidies. BDADB 16
By 2030, people over 65 in Germany, the world's third-largest economy, will account for almost half the adult population, compared with one-fifth now. And unless the country's birth rate recovers from its present low of 1.3 per woman, over the same period its population of under-35s will shrink about twice as fast as the older population will grow. The net result will be that the total population, now 82m, will decline to 70m-73m. The number of people of working age will fall by a full quarter, from 40m today to 30m.
The German demographics are far from exceptional. In Japan, the world's second-largest economy, the population will peak in 2005, at around 125m. By 2050, according to the more pessimistic government forecasts, the population will have shrunk to around 95m. Long before that, around 2030, the share of the over-65s in the adult population will have grown to about half. And the birth rate in Japan, as in Germany, is down to 1.3 per woman. The figures are pretty much the same for most other developed countries, and for a good many emerging ones, especially China. Life expectancy — and with it the number of older people — has been going up steadily for 300 years. But the decline in the number of young people is something new. The only developed country that has so far avoided this fate is America. But even there the birth rate is well below replacement level, and the proportion of older people in the adult population will rise steeply in the next 30 years.
All this means that winning the support of older people will become a political imperative in every developed country. Pensions have already become a regular election issue. There is also a growing debate about the desirability of immigration to maintain the population and workforce. Together these two issues are transforming the political landscape in every developed country.
By 2030 at the latest, the age at which full retirement benefits start will have risen to the mid-70s in all developed countries, and benefits for healthy pensioners will be substantially lower than they are today. Indeed, fixed retirement ages for people in reasonable physical and mental condition may have been abolished to prevent the pensions burden on the working population from becoming unbearable. Already young and middle-aged people at work suspect that there will not be enough pension money to go round when they themselves reach traditional retirement age. But politicians everywhere continue to pretend that they can save the current pensions system.
1. In Germany ________.
A) people over 65 now constitutes about half the adult population B) Birth rate has gone up to 1.3 per woman
C) By 2030 its working force may have shrunk by 25%
D) its population of under-35s is twice as large as that of over-65s
2. The problem that the population becomes aging ________.
A) is exceptional to Germany
B) can be relieved in Japan with the shrinkage of its population to around 95m C) has become universal
D) makes the economic outlook in the developed countries even more gloomy
3. A new tendency in demographic change is that ________.
A) life expectancy has been going up steadily B) there is a decline of the young population
C) in America the birth rate has gone above replacement level D) the old population has risen sharply in USA
4. What is the political implication of the demographic change in the developed countries?
A) Winning the support of older people will become a political impetative. B) Pension policy will become a key issue in elections. C) Immigration should be banned to maintain the workforce.
D) The demographic change will change the political landscape greatly.
5. By 2030 the government in developed countries may put an end to fixed retirement ages ________.
A) to realize full retirement benifits substantially B) to ensure the benefits for healthy pensioners
C) to relieve the pensions burdern on the working population
D) to save the current pension system
CCBAC 17 While the roots of social psychology lie in the intellectual soil of the whole western tradition, its present flowering is recognized to be characteristically an American phenomenon. One reason for the striking upsurge of social psychology in the United States lies in the pragmatic tradition of this country. National emergencies and conditions of social disruption provide special incentive to invent new techniques, and to strike out boldly for solutions to practical social problems. Social psychology began to flourish soon after the First World War. This event, followed by the great depression of the 1930s, by the rise of Hitler, the genocide of Jews, race riots, the Second World War and the atomic threat, stimulated all branches of social science. A special challenge fell to social psychology. The question was asked: How is it possible to preserve the values of freedom and individual rights under condition of mounting social strain and regimentation? Can science help provide an answer? This challenging question led to a burst of creative effort that added much to our understanding of the phenomena of leadership, public opinion, rumor, propaganda, prejudice, attitude change, morale, communication, decision-making, race relations, and conflicts of war.
Reviewing the decade that followed World War II, Cartwright [1961] speaks of the \and optimism\of American social psychologists, and notes \tremendous increase in the total number of people calling themselves social psychologists.\these, we may add, show little awareness of the history of their field.
Practical and humanitarian motives have always played an important part in the development of social psychology, not only in America but in other lands as well. Yet there have been discordant and dissenting voices. In the opinion of Herbert Spencer in England, of Ludwig Gumplowicz in Austria, and of William Graham Sumner in the United States, it is both futile and dangerous for man to attempt to steer or to speed social change. Social evolution, they argue, requires time and obeys laws beyond the control of man. The only practical service of social science is to warn man not to interfere with the course of nature (or society). But these authors are in a minority. Most social psychologists share with Comte an optimistic view of man's chances to better his way of life. Has he not already improved his health via biological sciences? Why should he not better his social relationships via social sciences? For the past century this optimistic outlook has persisted in the face of slender accomplishment to date. Human relations seem stubbornly set. Wars have not been abolished, labor troubles have not abated, and racial tensions are still with us. Give us time and give us money for research, the optimists say. 1. Social psychology developed in the US ________.
A) because its roots are intellectually western in origin B) as a direct response to the great depression
C) because of its pragmatic traditions for dealing with social problems D) to meet the threat of Hitler and his policy of mass genocide
2. According to the passage, in US social psychology should help man to ________.
A) preserve individual rights B) become healthier C) be aware of history D) improve material welfare
3. According to the passage, Spencer, Cumplowicz and Sumner ________.
A) are ignorant of the historical development of the science
B) think it's man's responsibility to work vigorously for social change C) believe that, though their social laws beyond the control of man, social evolution can be quickened with man's efforts
D) only represent a small group of social psychologists
4. Who believed that man can influence social change for the good of society?
A) Cartwright. B) Spencer. C) Sumner. D) Comte.
5. From the passage we can know that ________.
A) most social psychologists believe that it's useless for man to attempt to speed social change