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Passage Two When an invention is made, the inventor has three possible courses of action open to him: he can give the invention to the world by publishing it, keep the idea secret, or patent it. A granted patent is the result of a bargain made between an inventor and the state, by which the inventor gets a limited period of monopoly (垄断) and publishes full details of his invention to the public after that period terminates (终止). Only in most exceptional circumstances is the life-span of a patent extended to alter this normal process of events. The longest extension ever granted was to Georges Valensi: his 1939 patent for color TV receiver circuitry was extended until 1971 because for most of the patent’s normal life there was no color TV to receive and thus no hope of reward for the invention. Because a patent remains permanently public after it has terminated, the shelves of the library attached to the patent office contain details of literally millions of ideas that are free for anyone to use and, if older than half a century, sometimes even re-patent. Indeed, patent experts often advise anyone wishing to avoid the high cost of conducting a search through live patents that the one sure way of avoiding violation of any other inventor’s right is to plagiarize a dead patent. Likewise, because publication of an idea in any other form permanently invalidates (使无效) further patents on that idea, it is traditionally safe to take ideas from other areas of print. Much modern technological advance is based on these presumptions of legal security. Anyone closely involved in patents and inventions soon learns that most "new" ideas are, in fact, as old as the hills. It is their reduction to commercial practice, either through necessity of dedication, or through the availability of new technology, that makes news and money. The basic patent for the theory magnetic recording dates back to 1886. Many of the original ideas behind television originate from the late 19th and early 20th century. Even the Volkswagen rear engine car was anticipated by a 1904 patent of a cart with the horse at the rear. Georges Valensi’s patent lasted until 1971 because ______ .

A. nobody would offer any reward for his patent prior to that time
B. his patent could not be put to use for an unusually long time
C. there were not enough TV stations to provide color programs
D. the color TV receiver was not available until that time.

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This method can save a lot of time; ________ (相比而言), the other one would waste too much.

丽芬是一位普通的农村妇女，丈夫常年在外打工，很少回家，而且经常抽烟喝酒，每年拿不了多少钱回家。丽芬除了种地、养猪、养牛之外，还要照顾上学的女儿以及多病的婆婆，是家庭的经济支柱。婆婆和丈夫都希望丽芬再生一个男孩，可丽芬自己不想再生第二胎，也一直没有怀上。因此，丈夫和婆婆对她总是冷言冷语，丈夫甚至以生不出男孩就离婚来威胁，有时还会打她。丽芬得不到丈夫的关心，觉得自己很没用，在村里抬不起头来。性格内向的丽芬向村里要好的姐妹诉苦，大家都很同情她。村里与她有类似经历的妇女有不少，但大家认为家丑不可外扬，都选择了忍耐和沉默。丽芬曾找过妇联主任和派出所民警，他们都做过丽芬家人的工作，但收效不大。村里人背地里对丽芬将家事告诉外人有些议论，也以“清官难断家务事”为由，没有给丽芬什么帮助。丽芬感觉活得很累，有过离婚的念头。可是，父母都住在弟弟家里，自己如果离婚，带着女儿能去哪里呢她想过自杀，但一想到女儿没了妈妈之后的日子，就打消了这个念头。她感到无助，自叹命不好，不得不认命。不久前，某社会工作服务机构在丽芬所在的村庄开展服务。丽芬经过一段时间的观望和了解，前来该机构求助。从个人、小组和社区三个层面，提出解决丽芬问题的简要策略。

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给的[A]、[B]、[C]三个选项中选出能填入相应空白处的最佳选项。 Mr. Reece is an interesting old main Mr. Reece worked (41) a farm. He and his wife (42) a lot of things and they had some cows. Every day they worked hard (43) morning till night. One day, Mr. Reece (44) his wife, "Let’s go to Portsmouth next Sunday. We can have a good lunch there and then we can go to the cinema." His wife was very (45) when she heard this, because they always ate a lot, and she didn’t like (46) three times a day. They went to Portsmouth (47) and walked about for an hour. Then, (48) it was twelve o’ clock, they wanted to have lunch. They looked at four restaurants. In front of one restaurant, they saw a notice. It (49) , "Lunch: 12:30 to 2:30, 1.5 pounds. " "Well, that’s great," Mr Reece said, "We can eat for two hours for 1.5 pounds here ! This is the (50) for us."

A. at
B. on
C. in

What Are Tropical Storms Severe storms spawned in the tropics are known by different names in different parts of the world: hurricanes in the Atlantic and east Pacific and typhoons in the northwest Pacific and cyclones in the southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean. These storms originate over tropical waters, close to the equator. If the atmosphere is calm and the water is warmer than about 27°C, evaporation forces large amounts of moisture into the air, creating a low pressure system. When this water vapor condenses, it releases heat that powers the circular winds that characterize these storms. Rainfall in the developing storm releases more heat, triggering a convection process that pulls more moisture-laden air up through the centre of the system. The storm grows via this feedback mechanism. The strongest winds are found immediately outside the centre, or "eye," of the hurricane at ground level. Every one of these systems begins as a tropical depression -- a system of thunder storms with an overall circular motion and maximum sustained winds less than 62 km/h. When a storm becomes severe enough and the winds pick up to more than 62 km/h, it is designated a tropical storm, When the winds reach 119 km/h, the system is called a hurricane, typhoon or cyclone. An average of 10 tropical storms develop over the Atlantic Ocean each year, of which about six become severe enough to be called hurricanes. Besides strong winds and heavy rain, these hurricanes also create a "storm surge," a massive wave beneath the centre of the storm. In the eye of the hurricane, air is sucked upward faster than it can rush in at the bottom. This lowers the atmospheric pressure under the eye of the storm; as a result, the eye tries to pull at the ocean itself, creating a bulge of water as much as six metres high that moves together with the storm.When is the hurricane season Hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30, but the most intense storms mainly occur between mid-August and mid-October.How are hurricanes classified Tropical storms that get strong enough to be classified as hurricanes are categorized by the intensity of their wind speeds using the Saffir-Simpson scale. Only three Category 5 hurricanes have made landfall in the U.S. in the past century one that struck the Florida Keys in 1935, Hurricane Camille in 1969, and Hurricane Andrew in 1992.How are tropical storms named A tropical storm is given a name if its winds reach a speed of 62 kilometres per hour. An international committee has drawn up a list of 126 names-half male and half female which are repeated after a six-year cycle. However, if a hurricane causes extensive dam age, its name is retired from use. So far, more than 50 names have been retired, from Hazel in 1954 to Juan in 2003.Memorable hurricanes In August and September 1992, Hurricane Andrew wrought havoc across the Caribbean and Florida. Andrew was an unusual storm-after brewing for several days at low latitudes, it weakened and nearly vanished about 600 km east of Puerto Rico. But the storm regained its strength and moved northward with devastating results. Andrew left 17,000 people homeless in Florida alone and destroyed or badly damaged 85,000 homes. The storm caused a record $ 26. S billion US in property damage. In 2002 Andrew, initially classified a Force 4, was upgraded to have actually been a Force 5 storm. ●In November 1998, Hurricane Mitch tore through Central America, killing as many as 10,000 people and leaving two million homeless in Nicaragua and Honduras. The storm’’s 300 km/h winds and heavy rains caused more than $ 3 billion US in damage more than half the combined gross domestic product of those two countries. Mitch also unleashed deadly landslides, and caused the worst flooding in the region in 200 years. In the storm’’s wake, with roads and infrastructure wiped out, thousands of people developed illnesses such as dengue fever, cholera and malaria. ●Hurricane Hugo swept across the Caribbean and the southeast U.S. in September 1989, leaving a 3,700-kilometre-long trail of destruction from Guadeloupe to the Carolinas. The storm killed at. least 28 people in the Caribbean, left up to 80,000 homeless and caused $ 2 billion US in damage. In the U. S. , it killed another 11 people and caused more than $ 750 million in damage. The storm sent giant waves crashing onto the U. S. Eastern Seaboard, with a wall of water some five metres in height washing over Charleston, S.C. ●In September 1996, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, felt the wrath of Hurricane Hortense. The storm brought 120 km/h winds and caused $ 3 million in damages, mostly due to flooding, wind damage and power outages. ● For Ontarians old enough to remember it, Hurricane Hazel was the storm of a life time-and one of the few to inflict significant damage in central Canada. Hurricane Hazel formed in early October 1954 and crossed the Caribbean and the eastern U. S. before entering southern Ontario. The storm left as many as 1,000 dead in Haiti, six more in the Bahamas, another 95 in the U.S. and 81 in the Toronto region Tropical storms and global climate trends While tropical storms seem to follow certain natural cycles, scientists are concerned about the effects of global warming and tong-term climate change. On Sept. 15, 1999, the United Nations issued a report predicting that global warming will cause more frequent and more severe tropical storms, floods and tornadoes in the coming century. "We do know that hurricane intensity is directly correlated to how warm the ocean waters are," says Petersen "And if global warming continues to occur, and this results in warmer water temperatures, then we’’ll see an undeniable signal of stronger hurricanes." A ________ is one whereby water is released as rainfall, generating heat, and causes water vapour to be pulled into the storm to replace it.