68. What does the sentence “"It's not something that would work in the real world," in the third paragraph imply?
A. Brian Mairs thinks it difficult to carry out the campaign for the moment.
B. Brian Mairs is strongly against the campaign for the moment.
C. Brian Mairs speaks highly of the campaign for the moment.
D. Brian Mairs appeals to other businesses to join in in future.
67. Why do they call the campaign “ the Robin Hood Tax” ?
A. Because Robin Hood is a millionaire.
B. Because Robin Hood robbed the rich to help the poor.
C. Because it was Robin Hood that made the law of taxation.
D. Because Robin Hood is a banker.
66. From the passage we can see the purpose of putting a 0 .05 percent tax on financial transactions between banks that don’t involve the public is ________ .
A. to deposit more money in banks to fight the crisis
B. to withdraw more money from banks to solve the problem
C. to collect some money during the transactions by taxing a bit higher
D. to rob the banks of their money
65. The best solution for implementing ( 贯彻)the 24-hour working system seems to be _________ .
A. to change shifts at longer intervals
B. to have longer shift
C. to employ some people to work on night shift only
D. to create better living conditions for night workers
C
Group of British charities has teamed up with British film actor Bill Nighy and producer Richard Curtis to campaign for what they call a "new deal between banks and society." They want to put a 0.05 percent tax on financial transactions between banks that don't involve the public in order to raise money for social services and to fight poverty and climate change. The run on the British bank Northern Rock in September 2007 marked the beginning of the world banking crisis in Britain. In the end, the British and other governments spent hundreds of millions of dollars bailing out troubled financial institutions.
Now a group of charities and celebrities has launched a campaign to get some of the money back. They call it the Robin Hood Tax after the legendary English folk hero who robbed from the rich to give to the poor. Max Lawsom is with the humanitarian advocacy group Oxfam. "Basically, trillions of dollars change hands every day between the banks. What we're saying is we could take a tiny slice of that, 0.05 percent, which could raise hundreds of billions of dollars to help for poverty in rich countries, jobs in the U.S., jobs in the UK, but also for poverty in Africa as a result of people dying because of the economic crisis," Lawson said.
That's what real-life bankers are saying, too. Brian Mairs is the spokesman for the British banking association. "It's not something that would work in the real world," he says, "Certainly not at the moment when we still have disputed trade agreements. We're indeed having cross border wars. The idea of there being a single tax which is imposed ( 强加)across the world is simply unbelievable. "Organizers say they want G20 countries to participate, and they're starting an online grassroots movement to pressure world leaders. It's on Twitter and Facebook.
"You've had thousands of people sign up to support the Robin Hood Tax and talk about it on Twitter. Interestingly, they've now started tweeting (鸟叫) to their politicians," Jonathan Tench, Oxfam's parliamentary officer said. Supporters can become "merry men and women" by putting a green mask on their online photo, or printing one to wear. If online reaction is any indicator, people are largely in favor. Some British banks are posting record profits and giving large bonuses to executives. Observers say that's causing public outrage(愤怒) against bankers that could boost the campaign. Campaigners even projected their message on the side of the Bank of England. It was one way they say to show bankers that the writing is on the wall.
64. The main problem of the round-the- clock working system lies in _______.
A. the inconveniences brought about to the workers by the introduction of automation.
B. the disturbance of the daily life cycle of workers who have to change shifts too frequently.
C. the fact that people working at night are often less effective.
D. the fact that it is difficult to find a number of good night workers
63. It is possible to find out if a person has adapted to the changes of routine by measuring his body temperature because ________ .
A. body temperature changes when the cycle of sleep and wakefulness alternates.
B. body temperature changes when he changes to night shift or back
C. the temperature reverses when the routine is changed.
D. people have higher temperatures when they are working efficiently.
62. Why is the question of “how easily people can get used to working at night” not mere an academic one?
A. Because few people like to reverse the cycle of sleep and wakefulness.
B Because sleep normally coincides with the hours of darkness.
C. Because people are required to work at night in some fields of industry.
D. Because shift work in industry requires people to change their sleeping habits.
61. Which of the following is WRONG?
A. Body temperature may act as an indication of a worker’s performance.
B. The selection of permanent night shift workers solves problems of the round-the-clock working system.
C. Taking body temperature at regular intervals can show how a person adapt to the changes of routine.
D. Disturbed sleep occurs less frequently among those on permanent night or day shift.
60. What does Obama’s quotation during his visit to Shanghai last year “consider the past, and you shall know the future” mean?
A. History proves US will respect its competitor in the long run.
B. It will be some time before US gives in to China in the end.
C. US Presidents daren’t face the reality and are not willing to either.
D. The future of US will be disappointing in comparison with China.
B
We all know that the normal human daily cycle of activity is of some 7-8 hours’ sleep alternation with some 16-17 hours’ wakefulness and that, broadly speaking, the sleep normally coincides with (与一致) the hours of darkness. Our present concern is with how easily and to what extent this cycle can be modified.
The question is no more an academic one. The ease, for example, with which people can change from working in the day to working at night is a question of growing importance in industry where automation calls for round-the-clock working of machines. It normally, takes from five days to one week for a person to adapt to a reversed routine of sleep and wakefulness, sleeping during the day and working at night. Unfortunately, it is often the case in industry that shifts are changed every week; a person may work from 12 midnight to 8 a.m. one week, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. the next, and 4 p.m. to 12 midnight the third and so on. This means that no sooner has he got used to one routine than he has to change to another, so that much of his time is spent neither working nor sleeping very efficiently.
The only real solution appears to be to hand over the night shift to a number of permanent night workers. An interesting study of the domestic life and health of night-shift workers was carried out by Brown in 1957. She found a high incidence (发生率) of disturbed sleep and other disorders among those on alternating day and night shifts, but no abnormal occurrence of theses phenomena among those on permanent night work.
This latter system then appears to be the best long-term policy , but meanwhile something may be done to relieve the strains of alternative day and night work by selecting those people who can adapt most likely to the change of routine. One way of knowing when a person has adopted is by measuring his body temperature. People engaged in normal daytime work will have a high temperature during the hours of wakefulness and a low one at night; when they change to night work the pattern will only gradually go back to match the new routine and the speed with which it does so parallels, broadly speaking, the adaptation of the body as a whole, particularly in terms of performance. Therefore, by taking body temperature at intervals of two hours throughout the period of wakefulness it can be seen how quickly a person can adapt to a reversed routine, and this could be used as a basis for selection. So far, however, such a form of selection does not seem to have been applied in practice.
59. According to the passage, why did the US leaders come to terms with reality?
A. Because China has the largest population in the world and is the largest market.
B. Because China’s economy develops so fast that it gives US more and more help.
C. Because China’s amazing growth makes US Presidents adjust their policies.
D. Because US Presidents are more clever than leaders in any other countries.
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