At last she left her house and got to the airport, only（ ）the plane flying away.

A.having seen B.to have seen C.saw D.to see

Imagine you found out that ideas invented by a computer were rated higher by independent experts than ideas created by a group of humans asked to perform the same task. Would you praise the designer of the “creative computer” for a great achievement or would you question why human talent -- usually so potent in coping with complex cognitive challenges -- created such poor ideas or maybe you would question your view of the notion of creativity. In fact, such a scenario was played out when we used a simple computerized routine to generate ideas and compared them with ideas invented by human subjects. Why did human judge perceive the computer’s outcomes as superior to human ideas when they performed the same task?Creativity is considered the ultimate human activity, a highly complex process, difficult to formalize and to control. Although there is a general agreement regarding the distinctive nature of the creative product (idea, painting, poem, and so on), there is a controversy over the nature of the creative process. Some researchers hold that the creative thinking process is qualitatively different from “ordinary” day-to-day thinking and involves a leap that cannot be formulated, analyzed, or reconstructed ——the creative spark. Others adopt a reductionist view that creative products are the outcome of ordinary thinking, only quantitatively different from everyday thinking.Because creative ideas are different from those that normally arise, people often believe that such ideas require conditions dramatically different from the usual. The notion goes that, in order to overcome mental barriers and reach creative ideas, total freedom is necessary —no directional guidance, constraints, criticism from an infinite space during the creativity process. This view prompted the emergence of various idea-generating methods: brainstorming, synectics （共同研究法），lateral thinking （水平思考，横向思维），random stimulation, and so on, all of which consist of withholding judgment and relying on analogies from other numbers in the group of on randomly selected analogies. This family of methods relies on the assumption that enhancing randomness, breaking rules and paradigms, and generating anarchy of thought increase the probability of creative idea emergence.Do these methods work? A number of researchers indicate that they do not. Ideas suggested by individuals working alone are superior to ideas suggested in brainstorming sessions and the performance of problem solvers instructed to “break the rules, get out of the square, and change paradigms” was not better than that of individuals who were not given any instructions at all.The failure of these methods to improve creative outcomes has been explained by the unstructured nature of the task. Reitman observed that many problems that lack a structuring framework are ill-defined in that the representation of one or more of the basic components ——the initial state, the operators and constraints and the goal—are seriously incomplete, and the search space is exceedingly large. Indeed, many ill—defined problems seem difficult, not because we are swamped by the enormous number of alternative possibilities, but because we have trouble thinking even of one idea worth pursuing.

1. Ideas invented by a computer are（ ）.2. The author thinks that creative thinking is（ ）.3. According to this passage,（ ）the probability of creative ideas emergence.4. It is believed that（ ）tends to improve creative outcomes.

There are many kinds of metals,（ ）its special properties

Sapphira and the Slave Girl was the last novel of Willa Cather’s distinguished literary career. Begun in the last summer of 1937 and finally completed in 1941, it is often regarded by critics as one of her most personal works. Although the story takes place in 1856, well before her own birth, she drew heavily on both vivid childhood memories and tales handed down by older relatives to describe life in rural northern Virginia in the middle of the 19th century. She even went on an extended journey to the area to give the story a further ring of authenticity.Of all of Cather’s many novels, Sapphira and the Slave Girl is the one most concerned with providing an overall picture of day to day life in a specific era. A number of the novel’s characters, it would seem, are included in the story only because they are representative of the type of people to be found in 19th-century rural Virginia; indeed, a few of them play no part whatsoever in unfolding of the plot. For instance, we are introduced to a poor white women, Mandy Ringer, who is portrayed as intelligent and content, despite the fact that she has no formal education and must toil constantly in the fields. And we meet Dr. Clevenger, a country doctor who, with his refined manners, evokes a strong image of the pre-Civil War South.The title, however, accurately suggests that the novel is mainly about slavery. Cather’s attitude toward this institution may best be summed up as somewhat ambiguous. On the one hand, she displays almost total indifference to the legal and political aspects of slavery when she misidentifies certain crucial dates in its growth and development. Nor does she ever really offer a direct condemnation of slavery. Yet on the other hand, the evil of slavery gets through to us.Although in typically subtle ways, those characters, like Mrs. Blake, who oppose institution are portrayed in a sympathetic light. Furthermore, the suffering of the slaves themselves and the petty, nasty, often cruel behavior of the slave owners are painted in harsh terms.Although Sapphira and the Slave Girl was certainly not meant to be a political tract, the novel is sometimes considered to be a denunciation of bygone days. Nothing could be further from the truth. In spite of her willingness to acknowledge that particular aspects of the past were far from ideal, Willa Cather was, if anything, a bit of a romantic. Especially in the final years of her life, an increasing note of anger about the emptiness of the present crept into her writing. Earlier generations, she concluded, had been the real heroes, the real creator of all that was good in American.

1. In the discussion of Willa Cather’s Sapphira and the Slave Girl, the author refers to the book primarily as a（ ）.2. In paragraph 2, Mandy Ringer and Dr. Clevenger are mentioned in order to emphasize which point about Sapphira and the Slave Girl?3. According to the author, why is Willa Cather's attitude toward slavery “somewhat ambiguous” (paragraphs)?4. In context, “a bit of a romantic” (paragraph 4) suggests that Willa Cather（ ）.

Those mosquito bites will itch even more if you（ ）them.

Directions: Choose ONE of the following three topics and write an essay of no fewer than 200 words.Topic 1: What are the uses of liberal arts education (人文教育)？Topic 2: What does theory mean to you?Topic 3: “In order to make a man or boy desire a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.” (Mark Twain)