The Pilatus Mountain Railway holds an incredible record of zero accidents for 120 years.

听力原文： The wage gap is a statistical indicator often used as an index of the status of women's earnings relative to men's. It is also used to compare the earnings of other races and ethnicities to those of white males, a group generally not subject to race --or sex--based discrimination. The wage gap is expressed as a percentage (e. g. , in 2003, women earned 76% as much as men) and is calculated by dividing the median annual earnings for women by the median annual earnings for men.

The Equal Pay Act was signed in 1963, making it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who hold the same job and do the same work. At the time of the EPA's passage, women earned just 58 cents for every dollar earned by men. By 2003, 40 years later, that rate had only increased to 76 cents, an improvement of less than half a penny a year. Minority women fare the worst. African-American women earn just 65 cents to every dollar earned by white men, and for Hispanic women that figure drops to merely 54 cents per dollar.

If working women earned the same as men (those who work the same number of hours; have the same education, age, and union status; and live in the same region of the country), their annual family incomes would rise by $4,000 and poverty rates would be cut in half.

(30)

A．males.

B．ethnic males.

C．white males.

D．women.

听力原文： The wage gap is a statistical indicator often used as an index of the status of women's earnings relative to men's. It is also used to compare the earnings of other races and ethnicities to those of white males, a group generally not subject to race—or sex—based discrimination. The wage gap is expressed as a percentage(e.g., in 2003, women earned 76% as much as men) and is calculated by dividing the median annual earnings for women by the median annum earnings for men.

The Equal Pay Act was signed in 1963, making it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who hold the same job and do the same work. At the time of the EPA's passage, women earned just 58 cents for every dollar earned by men. By 2003, 40 years later, that rate had only increased to 76 cents, an improvement of less than half a penny a year. Minority women fare the worst. African-American women earn just 65 cents to every dollar earned by white men, and for Hispanic women that figure drops to merely 54 cents per dollar.

If working women earned the same as men(those who work the same number of hours; have the same education, age, and union status; and live in the same region of the country), their annual family incomes would rise by $4,000 and poverty rates would be cut in half.

(30)

A．Males.

B．Ethnic males.

C．White males.

D．Women.

The U. S. government has been covering up evidence of extraterrestrial visits for more than 50 years, an array of 20 retired Air Force, Federal Aviation Administration and intelligence officers said recently. They demanded Congress hold hearings on what they say is longstanding secret U.S. involvement with UFOs and extraterrestrials.

(46)John Callahan, a former FAA division chief of accidents and investigations, said he was directed by CIA officers to cover up a Nov. 18, 1986, incident involving a UFO and a Japanese airliner near Anchorage, Alaska. Michael Smith, a former U.S. Air Force air traffic controller stationed near Klamath Falls, Ore., in the 1960s and early 1970s, reported seeing a UFO hovering at 80,000 feet one night. "I was told you keep it to yourself," he said. "NORAD(North American Aerospace Defense Command) called me one night to say there&39;s a UFO coming up the California coastline. I asked them what to do. (47)"

Donna Hare, a NASA design illustrator with secret clearance, said UFOs were routinely airbrushed out of high altitude photos of the Earth before being released to the public.

(48)Apollo astronauts, she said, had spotted UFOs, but they "are told to keep this quiet and not to talk about it, "she said. Karl Wolf, an Air Force sergeant who was assigned to the National Security Agency, said that mysterious structures were discovered on the far side of the moon when the United States was mapping its surface before the 1969 lunar landing.(49).

(50)Despite the government&39;s refusal to discuss the issue, several witnesses have also told of being stationed at military bases or near silos containing nuclear missiles when a UFO swung by. Afterward, military officers would discover the missiles had been temporarily deactivated.

(46)

A. They said nothing, not to write it down.B. The 20 witnesses, it is said, were a fraction of the 400 people who are willing to testify.C. The Pentagon does not comment on UFOs, expect to say they do not exist and that such objects really are high altitude balloons or military aircraft.D. "We always airbrush them out before we release them to the public," one technician told her.E. These have been retrieved from a purported crash in July 1947.F. These photos too were culled out of the public record.

(47)

A. They said nothing, not to write it down.B. The 20 witnesses, it is said, were a fraction of the 400 people who are willing to testify.C. The Pentagon does not comment on UFOs, expect to say they do not exist and that such objects really are high altitude balloons or military aircraft.D. "We always airbrush them out before we release them to the public," one technician told her.E. These have been retrieved from a purported crash in July 1947.F. These photos too were culled out of the public record.

(48)

A. They said nothing, not to write it down.B. The 20 witnesses, it is said, were a fraction of the 400 people who are willing to testify.C. The Pentagon does not comment on UFOs, expect to say they do not exist and that such objects really are high altitude balloons or military aircraft.D. "We always airbrush them out before we release them to the public," one technician told her.E. These have been retrieved from a purported crash in July 1947.F. These photos too were culled out of the public record.

(49)

A. They said nothing, not to write it down.B. The 20 witnesses, it is said, were a fraction of the 400 people who are willing to testify.C. The Pentagon does not comment on UFOs, expect to say they do not exist and that such objects really are high altitude balloons or military aircraft.D. "We always airbrush them out before we release them to the public," one technician told her.E. These have been retrieved from a purported crash in July 1947.F. These photos too were culled out of the public record.

(50)

A. They said nothing, not to write it down.B. The 20 witnesses, it is said, were a fraction of the 400 people who are willing to testify.C. The Pentagon does not comment on UFOs, expect to say they do not exist and that such objects really are high altitude balloons or military aircraft.D. "We always airbrush them out before we release them to the public," one technician told her.E. These have been retrieved from a purported crash in July 1947.F. These photos too were culled out of the public record.

请帮忙给出每个问题的正确答案和分析，谢谢！

No one can be a great thinker who does not realize that as a thinker it is his first duty to follow his intellect to whatever conclusions it may lead. Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, that by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think. Not that it is solely, or chiefly, to form. great thinkers that freedom of thinking is required. On the contrary, it is much or even more indispensable to enable average human beings to attain the mental quality which they are capable of. There have been, and may again be, great individual thinkers in a general atmosphere of mental slavery. But there never has been, nor ever will be, in that atmosphere an intellectually active people. While many people have made a temporary approach to such a character, it has been because the dread of heterodox thinking was for a time suspended. Where there is an unspoken convention that principles are not to be disputed; where the discussion of the greatest questions which can occupy humanity is considered to be closed, we cannot hope to find that generally high scale of mental activity which has made some periods of history so remarkable. Never when prolonged arguments avoided the subjects which are large and important enough to rouse enthusiasm was the mind of a people stirred up from its foundations and the impulse given which raised even persons of the most ordinary intellect to something of thinking beings.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, and if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion. The rational position for him would be suspension of judgment, and unless he contents himself with that, he is either led by authority, or adopts, like the generality of the world, the side to which he feels the most inclination. Nor is it enough that he should hear the arguments of opponents from his own teachers, presented as they state them, and accompanied by what they offer as refutations. That is not the way to do justice to the arguments, or bring them into real contact with his own mind. He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them; who defend them in earnest, and do their very utmost for them. He must know them in their seemingly reasonable and persuasive for Man: he must feel the whole force of the difficulty which the true view of the subject has to encounter and dispose of; otherwise he will never really possess himself of the portion of truth which meets and removes that difficulty. Ninety-nine in a hundred of what are called educated men are in this condition, and even of those who can argue fluently for their opinions. Their conclusion may be true, but it might be false for anything they know. They have never thrown themselves into the mental position of those who think differently from them and considered what such persons may have to say.

The fundamental criterion for a great thinker consists in the fact that______.

A．his argument and judgment are sound in every way

B．he has a keen insight into the major issues of his time

C．he devotes himself to free thinking and independent reasoning

D．his conclusions, true or false, can hardly be refuted by anyone

No one can be a great thinker who does not realize that as a thinker it is his first duty to follow his intellect to whatever conclusions it may lead. Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think. Not that it is solely, or chiefly, to form. great thinkers that freedom of thinking is required. On the contrary, it is much or even more indispensable to enable average human beings to attain the mental stature, which they are capable of. There have been, and may again be, great individual thinkers in a general atmosphere of mental slavery. But there never has been, nor ever will be, in that atmosphere an intellectually active people. Where any people has made a temporary approach to such a character, it has been because the dread of heterodox speculation was for a time suspended. Where there is a tacit convention that principles are not to be disputed; where the discussion of the greatest questions which can occupy humanity is considered to be closed, we cannot hope to find that generally high scale of mental activity which has made some periods of history so remarkable. Never when controversy avoided the subjects which are large and important enough to kindle enthusiasm was the mind of people stirred up from its foundations and the impulse given which raised even persons of the most ordinary intellect to something of the dignity of thinking beings.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side; if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion. The rational position for him would be suspension of judgment and unless he contents himself with that, he is either led by authority, or adopts, like the generality of the world, the side to which he feels the most inclination. Nor is it enough that he should hear the arguments of adversaries from his own teachers, presented as they state them, and accompanied by what they offer as refutations. That is not the way to do justice to the arguments, or bring them into real contact with his own mind. He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them; who defend them in earnest, and do their very utmost for them. He must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form. he must feel the whole force of the difficulty which the true view of the subject has to encounter and dispose of else he will never really possess himself of the portion of truth which meets and removes that difficulty. Ninety-nine in a hundred of what are called educated men are in this condition, even of those who can argue fluently for their opinions. Their conclusion may be true, but it might be false for anything they know: they have never thrown themselves into the mental position of those who think differently from and considered what such persons may have to say, and consequently they do not, in any proper sense of the word, know the doctrines which they themselves profess. They do not know those parts of it which explain and justify the remainder: the considerations which show that a fact which seemingly conflicts with another is reconcilable with it, or that, of two apparently strong reasons, one and not the other ought to be preferred.

According to the author, in a great period such as the Renaissance we may expect to find ______.

A．acceptance of truth

B．enthusiasm

C．controversy over principles

D．a suspension of judgment

No one can be a great thinker who does not realize that as a thinker it is his first duty to follow his intellect to whatever conclusions it may lead. Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think. Not that it is solely, or chiefly, to form. great thinkers that freedom of thinking is required. On the contrary, it is much or even more indispensable to enable average human beings to attain the mental stature, which they are capable of. There have been, and may again be, great individual thinkers in a general atmosphere of mental slavery. But there never has been, nor ever will be, in that atmosphere an intellectually active people. Where any people has made a temporary approach to such a character, it has been because the dread of heterodox speculation was for a time suspended. Where there is a tacit convention that principles are not to be disputed; where the discussion of the greatest questions which can occupy humanity is considered to be closed, we cannot hope to find that generally high scale of mental activity which has made some periods of history so remarkable. Never when controversy avoided the subjects which are large and important enough to kindle enthusiasm was the mind of people stirred up from its foundations and the impulse given which raised even persons of the most ordinary intellect to something of the dignity of thinking beings.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side; if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion. The rational position for him would be suspension of judgment and unless he contents himself with that, he is either led by authority, or adopts, like the generality of the world, the side to which he feels the most inclination. Nor is it enough that he should hear the arguments of adversaries from his own teachers, presented as they state them, and accompanied by what they offer as refutations. That is not the way to do justice to the arguments, or bring them into real contact with his own mind. He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them; who defend them in earnest, and do their very utmost for them. He must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form. he must feel the whole force of the difficulty which the true view of the subject has to encounter and dispose of else he will never really possess himself of the portion of truth which meets and removes that difficulty. Ninety-nine in a hundred of what are called educated men are in this condition, even of those who can argue fluently for their opinions. Their conclusion may be true, but it might be false for anything they know: they have never thrown themselves into the mental position of those who think differently from and considered what such persons may have to say, and consequently they do not, in any proper sense of the word, know the doctrines which they themselves profess. They do not know those parts of it which explain and justify the remainder: the considerations which show that a fact which seemingly conflicts with another is reconcilable with it, or that, of two apparently strong reasons, one and not the other ought to be preferred.

According to the author, in a great period such as the Renaissance we may expect to find ______.

A．acceptance of truth

B．enthusiasm

C．controversy over principles

D．a suspension of judgment

No one can be a great thinker who does not realize that as a thinker it is his first duty to follow his intellect to whatever conclusions it may lead. Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think. Not that it is solely, or chiefly, to form. great thinkers that freedom of thinking is required. On the contrary, it is as much or even more indispensable to enable average human beings to attain the mental stature which they are capable of. There have been, and may again be, great individual thinkers in a general atmosphere of mental slavery. But there never has been, nor ever will be, in that atmosphere an intellectually active people. Where any people has made a temporary approach to such a character, it has been because the dread of heterodox speculation was for a time suspended. Where there is a tacit convention that principles are not to be disputed; where the discussion of the greatest questions which can occupy humanity is considered to be closed, we cannot hope to find that generally high scale of mental activity which has made some periods of history so remarkable. Never when controversy avoided the subjects which are large and important enough to kindle enthusiasm was the mind of a people stirred up from its foundations and the impulse given which raised even persons of the most ordinary intellect to something of the dignity of thinking beings.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side; if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion. The rational position for him would be suspension of judgment, and unless he contents himself with that, he is either led by authority, or adopts, like the generality of the world, the side to which he feels the most inclination. Nor is it enough that he should hear the arguments of adversaries from his own teachers, presented as they state them, and accompanied by what they offer as refutations. That is not the way to do justice to the arguments, or bring them into real contact with his own mind. He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them; who defend them in earnest, and do their very utmost for them. He must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form. he must feel the whole force of the difficulty which the true view of the subject has to encounter and dispose of; else he will never really possess himself of the portion of truth which meets and removes that difficulty. Ninety-nine in a hundred of what are called educated men are in this condition; even of those who can argue fluently for their opinions. Their conclusion may be true, but it might be false for anything they know: they have never thrown themselves into the mental position of those who think differently from them and considered what such persons may have to say; and consequently they do not, in any proper sense of the word, know the doctrines which they themselves profess. They do not know those parts of it which explain and justify the remainder; the considerations which show that a fact which seemingly conflicts with another is reconcilable with it, or that, of two apparently strong reasons, one and not the other ought to be preferred.

According to the author, it is always advisable to ______.

A．have opinions which cannot be refuted

B．adopt the point of view to which he feels the most inclination

C．be acquainted with the arguments favoring the point of view with which he disagrees

D．suspend heterodox speculation