In 1998 consumers could purchase virtually anything over the Internet. Books, compact discs, and even stocks were available from World Wide Web sites that seemed to spring up almost dally. A few years earlier, some people had predicted that consumers accustomed to shopping in stores would be reluctant to buy things that they could not see or touch in person. For a growing number of time-starved consumers, however, shopping from their home computer was proved to be a convenient alternative to driving to the store.
   A research estimated that in 1998 US consumers would purchase $ 7.3 billion of goods over the Internet, double the 1997 total. Finding a bargain was getting easier owing to the rise of online auctions and Web sites that did comparison shopping on the Internet for the best deal.
   For all the consumer interest, retailing in cyberspace was still a largely unprofitable business, however. Internet pioneer Amazon. com, which began selling books in 1995 and liter branched into recorded music and videos, posted revenue of $ 153.7 million in the third quarter, up from $ 37.9 million in the same period of 1997. Overall, however, the company's loss widened to $ 45.2 million from $ 9.6 million, and analysis did not expect the company to turn a profit until 2001. Despite the great loss, Amazon. com had a stock market value of many billions, reflecting investors' optimism about the future of the industry Internet retailing appealed to investors because it provided an efficient means for reaching millions of consumers without having the cost of operating conventional stores with their armies of salespeople. Selling online carried its own risks, however. With so many companies competing for consumers' attention, price competition was intense and profit margins thin or nonexistent. one video retailer sold the hit movie Titanic for $ 9. 99, undercutting (削价) the $ 19.99 suggested retail price and losing about $ 6 on each copy sold. With Internet retailing still in its initial stage, companies seemed willing to absorb such losses in an attempt to establish a dominant market position.

It is all very well to blame traffic jams, the cost of petrol and the quick pace of modem life, but manners on the roads are becoming horrible. You might tolerate the rude and inconsiderate driver, but nowadays the well-mannered motorist is the exception to the rule. Perhaps the situation calls for a "Be Kind to Other Drivers" campaign, otherwise, it may get completely out of hand.
   Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense too. It takes the most cool-headed and good-tempered of drivers to resist the temptation to revenge when subjected to uncivilized behaviors. on the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards relieving the tensions of motoring. A friendly nod or a wave of acknowledgement in response to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of goodwill and tolerance so necessary in modem traffic conditions. But such acknowledgements of politeness are all too rare today. Many drivers nowadays don't even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it.
   However, improper politeness can also be dangerous. A typical example is the driver who waves a child across a crossing into the path of oncoming vehicles that may be unable to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they care to.
   A veteran driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if motorists learn to filter correctly into traffic streams one at a time without causing the total blockages (堵塞) that give rise to bad temper. Unfortunately, modem motorists can't even learn to drive, let alone be well-mannered on the road. Years ago the experts warned us that the car-ownership explosion would demand a lot more give-and-take from all road users. It is high time for all of us to take this message to heart.

The most noticeable trend among today's media companies is vertical integration--an attempt to control several related aspects of the media business at once, each part helping the other. Besides publishing magazines and books, Time Warner, for example, owns Home Box office (HBO), Warner movie studios, various cable TV systems throughout the United States and CNN as well. The Japanese company Matsushita owns MCA Records and Universal Studios and manufactures broadcast production equipment.
   To describe the financial status of today's media is also to talk about acquisitions. The media are buying and selling each other in unprecedented numbers and forming media groups to position themselves in the marketplace to maintain and increase their profits. In 1986, the first time a broadcast network had been sold, two networks were sold that year--ABC and NBC.
   Media acquisitions have skyrocketed since 1980 for two reasons. The first is that most big corporations today are publicly traded companies, which means that their stock is traded on one of the nation's stock exchanges. This makes acquisitions relatively easy.
   A media company that wants to buy a publicly owned company can buy that company's stock when the stock becomes available. The open availability of stock in these companies means that anybody with enough money can invest in the American media industries, which is exactly how Rupert Murdoch joined the media business.
   The second reason for the increase in media alliances is that beginning in 1980, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gradually deregulated the broadcast media. Before 1980, for example, the FCC allowed one company to own only five TV stations, five AM radio stations, and five FM radio stations; companies also were required to hold onto a station for three years before the station could be sold. The post1980 FCC eliminated the three-year rule and raised the number of broadcast holdings allowed for one owner. This trend of media acquisitions is continuing throughout the 1990s, as changing technology expands the market for media products.
   The issue of media ownership is important. If only a few corporations direct the media industries in this country, the outlets for differing political viewpoints and innovative ideas could be limited.

Think about what would make you really, really happy. More money? Wrong. Smiling, well-adjusted kids? Wrong again. The fact is we are terrible at predicting the source of joy. And whatever choices we do make, we likely later decide it was all for the best.
   These are insights from happiness economics, perhaps the hottest field in what used to be called the dismal science. Happiness is everywhere--on the best-seller lists, in the minds of policymakers, and front and center for economists--yet it remains elusive. The golden role of economics has always been that well-being is a simple function of income. That's why nations and people alike strive for higher incomes-money gives us choice and a measure of freedom. After a certain income can, we simply don't get any happier. And it isn't what we have, but whether we have more than our neighbor, that really matters. So the news last week that in 2006 top hedge-fund managers took home $ 240 million, minimum, probably didn't make them any happier, it just made the rest of us less so.
   Now policymakers are racing to figure out what makes people happy, and just how they should deliver it. Countries as diverse as Bhutan, Australia, China, Thailand and the U. IC are coming up with "happiness indexer," to be used alongside GDP as a guide to society's progress. In Britain, the "politics of happiness" will likely figure prominently in next year's elections. Never mind that the world's top happiness researchers recently gathered at a conference in Rome to debate whether joy is even measurable.
   Why is this all happening now? only in the last decade have economists, psychologists, biologists and philosophers begun cross-pollinating in such a way to arrive at "happiness studies". Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert humorously sums up much of the new wisdom in his book "Stumbling on Happiness". He says 24-hour television and the Internet  have allowed us all to see more seemingly happy people than ever before. "We're surrounded by the lifestyles of the rich and famous," says Gilbert, "rubbing our noses in the fact that others have more."
   of course, the idea that money isn't the real key to happiness isn't new. The 18th-centry British Enlightenment thinker Jeremy Bentham argued that public policy should try to. maximize happiness, and many prominent economists agreed but could not quite embrace the idea. There was just no way to measure happiness objectively.
   one of the early revelations of happiness research, from Richard Easterlin at the University of Southern
California, was that while the rich are typically happier than the poor, the happiness boost from extra cash isn't that great once one rises above the poverty line. The reason, says Easterlin, is the "hedonic cycle": we get used to being richer dam quick, and take it for granted or compare it to what others have, not what we used to have. Tums out, keeping up with the Joneses is hard-wired into our brains, thanks to our pack-creature roots.
   Though many happiness researchers say "work less, play more" is the formula for happiness, Ruut Veenhoven, a professor at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, suggests otherwise. Hard-working Americans ranks 17th on his list; the hard-vacationing French 39th. Human beings do want a European-style safety net, but also want freedom and opportunity.
   And perhaps our intuitions about happiness should triumph over the fuzzy data, anyway. The economics of happiness has given us a couple of fairly hard and fast roles about well-being-being truly poor is bad, and time with friends and family are good. The good news is that whatever choices we make individually and as societies in the pursuit of happiness there's good chance that they'll seem better in hindsight. Yet another truism of happiness is that "we all wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to our past decision-making," says Gilbert. Today's dreadful life choice will likely be tomorrow's happy accident.

   We are poor at prevision of the origin of hapiness, and we would probably believe the decision we made is the most satisfactory. The Happiness has become   16   everywhere but tough to define. Nations and people manage to gain higher incomes based on the principle of economics that   17   are related to hapiness, but that is not   18   .Wealth alone isn't necessarily what makes us happy. It makes different if we possess more than   19   ,and that's why we feel unhappy to find those top   20   have superlative income. Some nations are beginning to consider issues like measuring society's progress by   21   as well as GDP, and researchers held seminar to exchange surveys about the   22   ,though the influential topic was advanced 10 years ago. The issue that a state policy should be   23   the happiness of the majority, erupted many decades ago by British Enlightenment thinker Jeremy Bentham and accepted by many eminent economists, could not fairly   24   ,because happiness can not be objectively measured. The   25   of the happiness made by Richard Easterlin is that the wealth makes people happier, but their happiness will not   26   as great as it should be if they live above the   27   .The can easily take the life for granted and   28   the more expansive way of life. They are  29   to compare the life with others and manage to keep up with the Joneses. Ruut Veenhoven, a professor at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, does not support the   30   "work less, play more". According to his investigation of happiness list, people want a Europen-style   31   and want to enjoy freedom and opportunity as well. We should probably go beyond the confusing information and   32   the fairly principles of the happiness: poverty is   33   ,staying with friends and family is   34   ,and the decisions made   35   are by chance to be happy experience.

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But even the smallest fib may soon be systematically exposed, at least in the virtual World. Researchers at several universities are developing software that can detect lies in online communications such as instant messages e-mails and chatrooms. The ability to spot "digital deception", as researchers call it, has never been more crucial. Today, much of our business and social life is conducted online, making us increasingly vulnerable. White collar criminals, sexual predators, scammers, identity thieves and even terrorists surf the same Web as the rest of us.
   Conventional lie detectors look for physiological signs of anxiety--a bead of sweat or a racing pulse--but online systems examine only the liar's words. "When we're looking at Ianguage, we're looking at the tool of the lie," says Jeff Hancock, all assistant professor of communication and a member of the faculty of computing and information science at Cornell University.
   Hancock, who recently received a $ 680, 000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study digital deception, says there is a growing body of evidence that the language of dishonest messages is different than that of honest ones. For example, one study led by Hancock and due to be published this spring in Discourse Processes found the deceptive e-mail messages contained 28 percent more words on average and used a higher percentage of words associated with negative emotions than did truthful messages. Liars also tend to use fewer first-person references (such as the pronoun "I") and more third-person references (such as "he" and "they"). This may be the liar's subconscious way of distancing himself from his lie.
   More surprising, Hancock and his colleagues have observed that the targets of liars also exhibit distinctive language patterns. For instance, people who are being deceived often use shorter sentences and ask more questions. Even though they may not be aware that they are being lide to, people seem to exhibit subconscious suspicions.
   To identify the patterns of deceit, Hancock has developed an instant-messaging system at Cornell that asks users to rate the deceptiveness of each message they send. The system has already collected 10, 000 messages, of which about 6 percent qualify as patently deceptive. Eventually the results will be incorporated into software that analyzes incoming messages.
   For now, the Cornell researchers are working only with the kinds of lies told be students and faculty. It remains to be seen whether such a system can be scaled up to handle "big" lies, such as messages sent by con artists and terrorists.
   Fortunately, the research so far suggests that people lie less often in e-mail than face-to-face or on the phone. Perhaps this is because people are reluctant to put their lies in writing, Hancock speculates. "An email generates multiple copies," he says. "It will last longer than something carved in rock." So choose your words carefully. The internet may soon be rid not only deceit but also of lame excuses.

36. 
The digital polygraph conducts testing based on ______ .

37. 
List one of the differences between false pretences and unfeigned messages, according to Hancock's study.

38. 
The language patterns of those harboring suspicious perspectives would be characteristics of ______ .

39. 
Why does Hancock need the rating results of the message deceptiveness?

40. 
Why do people lie less in e-mail messages than confronting with each other according to Hancock's speculation?

The book contained a large ______ of information.
   A. deal     B. amount      C. number      D. sum

After the music had ______ there was a storm of applause.
   A. died out    B. died hard       C. died off     D. died away

They are working ______ time to fulfill the task according to the schedule.
   A. against     B. over        C. ahead of       D. before

I couldn't    the lecture at all. It was too difficult for me.
   A. take on     B. take in      C. take over       D. take upon

She is very ______ about her appearance. Half of her salary goes to clothes.
   A. particular    B. peculiar     C. special      D. unusual

The colors of that coat and hat don't ______ .
   A. suit     B. mix       C. match       D. compare

When we watch a play or a film, we all realize that the characters are sometimes
   A. imaginative    B. imaginable      C. imagined     D. imaginary

Although I spoke to him many times, he never took any ______ of what I said.
   A. notice      B. remark      C. observation     D. attention

I don't really know how to ______ the problem.
   A. draw       B. deal       C. cope        D. tackle

Many students find ______ jobs during their summer holidays.
   A. contemptible    B. temperate       C. temporary      D. contemporary

You will find the scenery is so beautiful if you view from the ______ of the hill.
   A. ceiling      B. summit      C. mantle      D. roof

Everybody likes him. He is very ______ with all his colleagues.
   A. popular     B. familiar     C. close        D. vulgar

The hall was supported by six thick ______ .
   A. torches     B. posts        C. fringes      D. pillars

Father does not like ______ meat.
   A. lean     B. slim        C. skinny       D. slender

He was fired because of his ______ refusal to follow orders.
   A. obstinate    B. obedient     C. obsolete     D. obstructive

In this factory, suggestions often have to wait fur months before they are fully ______ .
   A. admitted     B. acknowledged    C. absorbed      D. considered

The boy slipped out of the room and headed for the swimming pool without his parents' ______ .
   A. command    B. conviction       C. consent       D. compromise

He was a young man of barely eighteen years, evidently county ______ , and now, as it seemed, on his first visit to town.
   A. brought up    B. bred       C. grown up     D. raised

The town was ______ after fifty years.
   A. exclusive    B. subsequent      C. invariable       D. resolute

More than one-third of the Chinese in the United States live in California, ______ in San Francisco.
   A. previously    B. predominantly    C. practically      D. permanently

The new secretary has written a remarkably ______ report only in a few pages but with all the details.
   A. concise      B. clear       C. precise       D. elaborate

What things in life aye you most desirous ______ attaining?
   A. to       B. for        C. with        D. of

The police carded out an ______ investigation ,but the missing woman was not yet found.
   A. exhausting    B. exhaustible      C. exhaustive       D. exhausted

Jack is good, kind, hard-working and intelligent. ______ ,I can't speak too highly of him.
   A. As a result    B. By the way      C. In a word       D. on the contrary

Our research has focused on a drug which is so ______ as to be able to change brain chemistry.
   A. powerful    B. influential       C. monstrous       D. vigorous

She was afraid that unless the train speeded up she would lose her ______ to Scotland
   A. ticket       B. place        C. seat       D. connection

The ship was ______ in a storm off Jamaica.
   A. drowned    B. immerged       C. wrecked      D. submitted

A man who could ______ such treatment was a man of remarkable physical courage and moral strength.
   A. bear up on    B. stand up to      C. insist on      D. persist in

Radar is used to extend the ______ of man's senses for observing his environment, especially the sense of vision.
   A. validity     B. liability      C. capacity     D. intensity

We are writing to the manager ______ the repairs recently carried out at the above address.
   A. with the exception of        B. with the purpose of
   C. with reference to          D. with a view to

They made detailed investigations to ______ themselves with the needs of the rural market.
   A. adhere      B. acknowledge     C. acquaint      D. activate

I was ______ in my reading, and didn't at first hear the doorbell ting.
   A. immured    B. immersed       C. busy        D. infatuated

Ten minutes later, the police came and ______ the crowd.
   A. dismayed    B. dispersed       C. dismounted     D. distressed

There are ______ differences between theory and practice.
   A. legible      B. laden       C. radical      D. medieval

Will you ______ my article to find out whether I've made any mistakes?
   A. look after    B. look through     C. look up      D. look into

When he lived in that remote place, radio was the only means he had to keep ______ of current events in the country.
   A. account     B. trace       C. record        D. track

The flashing red light served as a ______ of danger ahead.
   A. predictor    B. caution      C. precaution      D. prevention

According to the weather forecast, which is usually ______ ,it will snow this afternoon.
   A. accurate    B. dull       C. awkward       D. tedious

If his father could not keep up the payments on the mortgage, his uncle might ______ it for him.
   A. redeem     B. amend      C. resemble       D. appeal

The batteries can be recharged when they run ______ .
   A. over     B. down        C. out        D. along

(81)(81) The agreement is overseen by the Committee on Agriculture which reviews progress in the implementation of commitments, and is required to monitor the follow-up on the Ministerial decision relating to the least-developed countries and net-food importing developing countries. "Peace" provisions within the agreement aim to reduce the likelihood of serious disputes or challenges on agricultural subsidies over a period of nine years.
   (82) The agreement was conceived as part of a continuing process with the long-term objective of securing substantial progressive reductions in support and protection in agriculture. It calls for further negotiations to be initiated before the end of the fifth year of implementation.
   (83) The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and phytosanitary(植物检疫的)Measures concerns the application of food safety and animal and plant health regulations.
   It recognizes governments' rights to take sanitary and phytosanitary measures but stipulates that they must be based on science, should be applied only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health and should not arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate between members where identical or similar conditions prevail.
   Members are encouraged to base their measures on international standards, guidelines and recommendations where they exist. (84)However, members may maintain or introduce measures which result in higher standards if there is scientific justification or as a consequence of consistent risk decisions based on an appropriate risk assessment.
   (85) It is expected that members will accept the sanitary and phytosanitary measures of others as equivalent if the exporting country demonstrates to the importing country that its measures achieve the importing country's appropriate level of health protection.

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85. 

恐怖活动日益猖獗的表现；
   2．分析其猖獗的原因；
   3．各国政府应采取的措施；
   4．你对我国政府所采取措施的态度或看法。