PUBLISHED AS System Development as a Rational Communicative Process G.E. Veldhuijzen van Za
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高考中的熟词生义第十讲(解析版)根据句意,选择适合语境的选项。
1.The football match will be broadcast live tonight .A.v.生活B.adj活着C.adv以现场直播方式【答案】C【解析】【熟义】生活【生义】adv以现场直播方式【翻译】今晚足球比赛将现场直播。
故选C项。
2.It is quite hard for us to find a parking lot outside this supermarket.A.很多B.全部 C.场地【答案】C【解析】【熟义】很多【生义】场地【翻译】我们很难在这家超市外面找到停车场。
故选C项。
3.Interestingly, they have quarreled seriously three times but each time they have made up and become best friends again.A.和解 B.弥补 C. 组成【答案】A【解析】【熟义】组成【生义】化妆,和解【翻译】有趣的是,他们已经严重争吵了三次,但每次他们已经弥补,并再次成为最好的朋友。
故选A项。
4.The director made her up as an old lady for the last act of the play.A.组成B.化妆 C.编写【答案】B【解析】【熟义】组成【生义】化妆,和解【翻译】这部戏的最后一幕,导演把她化妆成一位老太太。
故选B项。
5.Her sister managed on less than $ 80 a week.A.管理B.设法做成C.凑合着活下去【答案】C【解析】【熟义】设法做成【生义】勉强度日【翻译】她妹妹每周靠不到80$生活费艰难度日。
故选C项。
6.She spent the whole evening marking exam papers.A.做记号B.评阅C.纪念【答案】B【解析】【熟义】做记号【生义】评阅;纪念;标志【翻译】她花了整个晚上评阅试卷。
湖南省沅陵县第一中学2023-2024学年高二下学期期末考试英语试题一、阅读理解Seven-year-olds, with their increasing attention spans, are ready for more complex chapter books, but they still enjoy shorter stories and funny picture books. See what your second graders think of these tried-and-true read-aloud books.Chicken Cheeks by Michael Ian Black is a short, silly tale about a bear who is determined to reach some honey with the help of some of his animal friends. With minimal text, this book is a short, quick read-aloud one that appeals to the potty-humor of seven-year-olds.Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel follows the adventures of a pair of amphibian best friends, Frog and Toad. The stories are silly, heart-warming, relatable, and always a treasure to share with children.Charlotte’s Web by E. B.White, published in 1952, captivates readers of all ages with its timeless tale of friendship, love, and sacrifice. The story introduces children to the richness of language and reminds them of the influence we can have on the lives of others even if we feel small and insignificant.The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner, a series originally published in 1924, tells the story of four orphaned siblings who work together to make their home in an abandoned boxcar. The story imparts lessons such as hard work, resilience, and team work all woven into a story that will hook young readers and inspire them to investigate the rest of the series. 1.Which book should you choose if you want your children to improve their language skills?A.Chicken Cheeks.B.Charlotte’s Web.C.Frog and Toad.D.The Boxcar Children.2.Which of the four books has a continuation?A.Charlotte’s Web.B.Frog and Toad.C.The Boxcar Children.D.Chicken Cheeks.3.What do the four books have in common?A.They are all humorous.B.They were published in the 19th century.C.They are all about adventures.D.They are all suitable for second-gradechildren.Cordero is the farm manager at Ollin Farms, not far from Boulder, Colorado. The locally grown vegetables on the farm aren’t just pretty. “We play an important role in public health nutrition programs,” says Cordero’s dad, Mark Guttridge, who started this farm with his wife, Kena, 17 years ago.At a meeting with about a dozen local farmers, two state representatives, and the Colorado officials of agriculture, Guttridge explains how Boulder county has made creative investments in his farm that could be spread to the state or even national level. Before the meeting, Guttridge shows them one of those investments.A dozen sheep, which Guttridge raises for wool, feed on root vegetables like radishes that have been leftover for them. “So these guys are out fertilizing the vegetable field,” Guttridge laughs. “They’ll be out here a couple more weeks, and then we’ll get our next summer vegetables planted right there.” Around the field is a special moveable type of fencing that Ollin Farms bought using financial aid from the Boulder County Sustainability Office. It allows them to move the sheep from one field to another, fertilizing as they go. The goal of these investments is “really building up our soil health,” he explains. “That relates directly to the nutrient quality of the food-healthy soil grows healthy food.”The county also makes an effort to get that healthy food out to different communities to boost public health. That’s where the Boulder County Public Health department comes in. It created a coupon program to give discounts to people buying fruits and vegetables from Ollin Farms. Nutrition incentive programs, like those public health fruit and vegetable coupons, are spreading all over the country, and most are funded through the federal farm bill. Amy Yaroch, executive director at the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, says “It’s a trip le win. It’s basically good for the consumers who live in that particular community because they’re getting the healthy food, it’s good for the farmer, and then it’s good for the economy.”4.What does Ollin Farms do?A.It makes public nutrition health plans.B.It offers financial aid to other farms.C.It provides cheap food to the local community.D.It grows fruits and vegetables rich in nutrition.5.How does Boulder county support sustainable farming practices at Ollin Farms?A.By raising sheep on radishes.B.By buying fences for farmhouses.C.By funding the farm’s soil health.D.By giving advice about fertilizing fields. 6.What is Amy’s attitude towards “nutrition incentive programs”?A.Cautious.B.Dismissive.C.Unclear.D.Approving. 7.Which is the most suitable title for the text?A.Couponing for Health: Stimulating Nutrition ChoicesB.Growing Health: Innovations in Farm and Public Health InitiativesC.Fertile Fields and Furry Friends: A Farming Fairy TaleD.Local Produce, Global Impact: The Nutrition Choices of Ollin FarmsAt Nature Fresh Farms in Leamington, Canada, there’s something new among the rows of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and strawberries. Using thousands of sensors in every greenhouse, artificial-intelligence technology is helping the farm better aspects such as lighting, irrigation and harvest timing, aiming to increase the yields of its crops and reduce its use of power and water. Farmers use drones(无人机) to survey farms and look for information on weeds, pests and disease.A lot of research into AI and agriculture is done at institutions, but it then needs to be tested in a network of smart farms. One of the farms is Emili’s Innovation Farms. “We really show how they work in a commercial setting and in a way are being a bit of a risk mitigator(缓和) as we try out these technologies and then share with others, including other farmers, and how they actually work as a means to accelerate the adoption and full integration of those new technologies,” said Ms. Keena, managing director of Emili.It takes time to find out whether new technology has affected a crop, and this can be a barrier to adoption for farmers. Sometimes it’s within a year, or within a few years. Ms. Keena said, “We can’t ask them to take big risks on integrating new technologies at scale as part of their operations in things that are unproven.” Innovation Farms addresses a piece of one of the barriers of people needing to be able to see these technologies rolled out in a full-scale and commercialway ahead of being able to adopt them themselves.Farmers’ trust levels are also a barrier. Data are important to AI models, but farmers need to be better inspired to share their data in order to make the technology better. But over time, there’s an increase in engagement from farmers. “Farmer engagement is absolutely critical” to developing AI tools for agriculture. “If they’ve seen it demonstrated essentially in their backyard through a smart farm, well, then we’re that much further ahead toward adoption.”8.What can be learned about AI from Paragraph 1?A.It replaces employees.B.It changes how farms run.C.It adds vegetable diversity.D.It shortens production cycle.9.Why is AI technology tested at Emilli’s Innovation Farms?A.To predict its future.B.To expand its market.C.To confirm its reliability.D.To introduce its advantage.10.What’s the key to removing the barriers?A.Bettering AI models.B.Developing more AI tools.C.Enlarging the farm scales D.Gaining farmers’ recognition.11.Which can be a suitable title for the text?A.AI: a promoter of farmers’ life B.AI: a driver of agricultural developmentC.Smart farms: good examples about AI adoption D.Smart farms: pioneers inagricultural innovationArtificial intelligence(AI) models have long surpassed (超出) just creating text responses and images. Now, with only one sentence, OpenAI’s latest text-to-video model, Sora, can turn your words into video with good visual quality while completely following your content instructions (指令).Sora is said to be better than many other existing models with similar functions. The AI model can create videos at suitable aspect ratios (屏幕高宽比) for different devices. It also lets users quickly test out content in lower quality before making the high-quality version, which helps speed up output according to the user’s requests.Apart from this, its ability to present videos in a realistic and smooth manner is surprising. Sora can create detailed scenes with several characters, specific types of motion, and accurate (准确的) subject and background details. Beyond the user’s requests, it also understands how these elements exist in the real world. For example, reflections in the water change as a woman walks by.However, the current model isn’t perfect. It may have trouble accurately showing how things move in a complicated (复杂的) scene and might not get how one action leads to another. For example, if someone eats part of a cookie in a Sora-made video, the cookie might not look like it’s been bitten into. The model might mix up directions and find it hard to describe events in the right order. One possible reason is that Sora learns each basic unit of a video, known as a spacetime patch (时空补丁), independently.Sora is still in the testing stage of development. OpenAI is now inviting network security professionals to make random attacks on Sora’s system in order to test the model’s possible weaknesses and risks. Sora has also been open to some visual artists, designers and filmmakers. Their feedback will help OpenAI to improve the model to better serve creative professionals. 12.What is the main focus of paragraph 2 and 3?A.Sora’s strengths.B.Sora’s weaknesses.C.Sora’s development.D.Sora’s popularity.13.Why does the author provide the example in paragraph 4?A.To show Sora’s safety problems.B.To show Sora’s existing weaknesses.C.To show Sora’s perfect performance.D.To explain the concept of a spacetime patch. 14.What can we know about Sora up to now?A.It has experienced testing and improvement.B.It has enjoyed great popularity.C.It has made random attacks.D.It has been applied in various industries.15.What’s the best title for the text?A.Sora: A perfect text-to-video AI model B.Sora: Surpass existing ChatGPTC.Sora: Known as a spacetime patch D.Sora: Lead the way in creating videosDoes your teenager seem addicted to the Internet? Probably yes. 16 At first, parents welcome the Internet into their homes, believing they are opening up an exciting new world ofeducational chances for their children. 17 Instead of using the Internet for homework or research, they are spending hours messaging with friends, playing online games or talking to strangers in chat rooms.Keeping a healthy balance between entertainment media and other activities in their children’s lives has always been a challenge for parents. The Internet has made this challenge even more difficult. 18However, parents are usually not aware that there is a problem until it becomes serious. This is because it is easy to hide what you are doing online and Internet addiction is not widely recognized by the medical community.Children and young people can easily become hooked on online activities such as multi-player games, instant messaging and chat rooms. The most vulnerable children are those who are unpopular or shy with peers. 19 Boys, in particular, are frequent users of online role-playing games, where they assume new identities and interact with other players. For the children who are not so outgoing, playing these games with thousands of other users may apparently be a social activity.20 . So parents need to help children limit the online time to an appropriate amount.A.That is especially obvious when it comes to online social games.B.In fact, playing too much can further keep them away from friends and peers.C.The amount of time teenagers spend online is a source of concern for many parents.D.But numerous parents don’t discover this worrying situation and ignore it naturally. E.However, many parents soon realize that their kids were gradually becoming Internet addicts. F.The engaging nature of the Internet makes many children lose track of time when they’re online.G.They can be easily attracted to the opportunities for creating new identities in online communities.二、完形填空The view from the top was breathtaking. It was 2023 and I had just climbed the Hvannadals Peak in Iceland, almost seven years after becoming 21 from the chest down after aclimbing fall. My two teammates and I were on our way to becoming the first all-disabled team to cross Europe’s largest icecap, unsupported and 22 .From our start point at the western edge of the Vatnajokull, we faced a 23 , tough landscape. We would need to 24 through storm-force winds and work as a team to overcome the 25 of our spinal cord (脊髓) injuries. This was going to be the 26 challenge of my life. The plan was to 27 from the base of the ice cap to its highest point, the Hvannadals Peak. 28 together, we started toward the frozen horizon, dragging two sledges laden with equipment behind us. Just 10 minutes into our journey, I was already beginning to feel the 29 on my shoulders and arms as I used my upper body to 30 my sit-ski up the steady slope. The 31 of our equipment was a constant form of resistance as it dragged stubbornly through the snow behind us.After 11 32 days, and countless falls, slips and setbacks, our team of three 33 the eastern edge of the Vatnajokull glacier. We had overcome the odds, broken through our physical limitations and achieved success.I realised that this journey was about embracing the power of resilience (复原力), finding strength in tough moments and discovering that I was just as 34 as I always had been. No longer did I consider myself disabled or injured, because, if I could reach the 35 of a remote ice cap, I could overcome the frustrations and setbacks of day-to-day life with resilience and perseverance.21.A.survived B.enabled C.paralysed D.repeated 22.A.unfolded B.unassisted C.undone D.unwrapped 23.A.fantastic B.frozen C.watery D.rolling 24.A.battle B.breathe C.turn D.leaf 25.A.resistance B.prospects C.limits D.difficulties 26.A.widest B.toughest C.ablest D.laziest 27.A.continue B.claim C.access D.climb 28.A.Carrying on B.Setting off C.Resulting in D.Dressing up 29.A.stress B.pain C.service D.weight 30.A.maintain B.seek C.select D.press 31.A.weight B.chain C.agency D.signal32.A.dynamic B.hard-filled C.energetic D.efficient 33.A.shouldered B.resounded C.approached D.reflected 34.A.qualified B.suitable C.able-minded D.competitive 35.A.peak B.spot C.landmark D.pole三、语法填空阅读下面短文,在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
第1篇The case of R v. Dudley and Stephens (1884) is a classic English legal case that addresses the principles of salvage and the limits of human rights in the face of dire necessity. This case is significant becauseit sets a precedent for the concept of the "necessity defense" in maritime law and raises important ethical questions about the rights of individuals in extreme survival situations.Background of the CaseOn December 17, 1884, the yacht玛丽·塞尔达号(Mary Seldes)在前往巴西的途中遭遇了严重的风暴。
由于风暴的破坏,船上的食物和水几乎耗尽,船员们面临着生命的威胁。
在这种极端的生存挑战下,船长詹姆斯·杜德利(James Dudley)和船员托马斯·斯蒂芬斯(Thomas Stephens)做出了一个极具争议的决定。
The IncidentDesperate for survival, Dudley and Stephens killed the sole surviving passenger, Richard Parker, and consumed his body to stay alive. They justified their actions by claiming that they had no choice but to do so to save their own lives. When the yacht eventually reached land, the surviving crew members reported the incident to the authorities.The TrialThe case of Dudley and Stephens was tried at the Old Bailey in London. The prosecution argued that the defendants had committed murder, as they had intentionally taken the life of an innocent man. The defense, however, claimed that the necessity of the situation justified their actions.The JudgmentThe jury found Dudley and Stephens guilty of murder, but the judge, Sir Alexander Cockburn, granted them a conditional pardon. He ruled that the necessity of the situation could be considered as a mitigating factor. However, he emphasized that this was an exceptional case and that the principle of necessity could not be used to justify the taking of a life in all circumstances.Legal PrecedentThe case of R v. Dudley and Stephens established a legal precedent that would later influence maritime law and the concept of the "necessity defense." The judgment clarified that necessity could be a valid defense in certain situations, but it was not a license to kill without consequences.Ethical ImplicationsThe case raises profound ethical questions about the rights of individuals in extreme survival situations. On one hand, it highlights the natural instinct for self-preservation and the desperate measures people may take to survive. On the other hand, it emphasizes the moral imperative to respect the rights and lives of others, even in the face of dire circumstances.Legacy of the CaseThe case of R v. Dudley and Stephens remains a significant legal and ethical precedent. It has been cited in various subsequent cases, bothin England and in other countries, to address issues related to survival and necessity. The case also continues to spark debates about the balance between self-preservation and the protection of human rights.In conclusion, the case of R v. Dudley and Stephens is a classic English legal case that addresses the complex interplay between survival instincts, moral principles, and the law. It serves as a reminder of the importance of considering the rights and lives of others, even when faced with the most extreme circumstances.第2篇The Case of John Peter Zenger is one of the most celebrated cases in American legal history, serving as a cornerstone in the development of freedom of the press in the United States. This case, which took placein colonial New York, involved the freedom of the press and the right to publish information without fear of government censorship.BackgroundJohn Peter Zenger was a printer and publisher in New York City during the early 18th century. He owned a newspaper called the New York Weekly Journal, which was critical of the colonial governor, William Cosby. Zenger's newspaper published a series of articles that accused Cosby of corruption, tyranny, and abuse of power. As a result, Cosby had Zenger arrested and charged with seditious libel.The Charge and the TrialZenger was tried in 1735 for libeling the colonial governor. The charge of libel in colonial America was defined broadly, and it was common for government officials to sue critics for libel to suppress dissent. The case against Zenger was based on a series of articles published in his newspaper that were critical of Cosby's administration.During the trial, Zenger's lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, argued that thetruth of the statements made in the newspaper was a defense against the charge of libel. Hamilton presented evidence to the jury that supported the truth of the allegations made against Cosby. He argued that the press had a right to publish the truth, even if it was critical of the government.The VerdictThe jury, influenced by Hamilton's defense, returned a verdict of not guilty. This was a significant victory for freedom of the press, as it established the precedent that truth could be used as a defense against libel charges. The jury's decision sent a powerful message that the press had a right to criticize the government and publish information without fear of punishment.The ImpactThe Case of John Peter Zenger had a profound impact on the development of freedom of the press in the United States. It was one of the first cases to establish the principle that the press could not be censored by the government. This principle was enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion.The Case of John Peter Zenger also set a precedent for the role of the press in a democratic society. It demonstrated that the press serves asa check on government power by holding officials accountable and informing the public about issues of public importance.ConclusionThe Case of John Peter Zenger is a classic example of how the law can be used to protect individual rights and promote the public interest. It is a testament to the power of the press to hold government accountable and ensure transparency. The case remains a significant milestone in the history of freedom of the press and continues to be studied and celebrated for its contribution to the development of democratic valuesin the United States.Additional Notes- The Case of John Peter Zenger is often compared to the trial of the journalist John Wilkes in England, which also contributed to the development of press freedom in that country.- The case is also notable for the role played by Andrew Hamilton, who went on to become one of the most influential lawyers in America.- The case had a lasting impact on the legal system, as it led to the development of the "actual malice" standard in defamation cases, which requires the plaintiff to prove that the defendant published false statements with knowledge that they were false or with recklessdisregard for the truth.第3篇一、案件背景1954年,美国最高法院判决了一起具有历史意义的案件——布朗诉教育委员会案。
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新能源汽车外文翻译文献Electric Cars: XXX?As the XXX crises。
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英国大学留学申请书范文模板7篇英国大学留学申请书范文模板篇1Tel:email:April _Byerly Hall, 8 Garden Street, Cambridge, USAP.C:02138 Tel:(617) 495-1000 Dear Prof. _: Im Yang, a master candidate fromHarbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, P. R. China, supervised by Prof. Tang.And I ever contacted you for the password of your papers in the last time. Imsupported by a Chinese National Fund, which will support those PhD candidates inChina to go abroad to some world class Universities of their fields. Thisprogramme will cover all living cost I need in USA. After I read a lot of papersof my research area, I understand that you are working on MAX phases and havepublished quite a lot of high level scientific papers. As such, you are theleading researcher in _ in the world.I find your area fits me well, so I writeto you to see if you can give me a chance to study in your school. My CV andpublished papers have been attached.My research area is mainly about MAX phases. I have published 5 papers in thejournals including J. Mater. Res. and Solid State Commun. In addition, paperswere submitted. And now Im doing _. I am not applying a full time PhDprogramme, and this programme is a short time (12-24 months) co-educationexperiences more like a visit scholar programme. Thisprogramme is a new type ofco-educate PhD programme supported by China Scholarship Council. The studyperiod abroad varies from 12 months at least to 24 months at most. I have toaccomplish my doctor degree back to my school (Harbin Institute of Technology),so Im not supposed to acquire my doctor degree at Drexel University.And this programme runs like this, students meet the application requirementscan apply this programme, and my University and research area is among the mainsupporting Universities and areas. Students must acquire an official invitationletter from the prospective tutor/University. Therefore, all I need is anofficial invitation letter from you (or your University). The date of enrollmentIm considering is September/October . In order to make sure I can catch upwith the next years programme, I have to prepare all the application stuff(including your official invitation letter) before January, . And because itwill cost about 1 month to mail your invitation letter from USA to China, so Ireally hope you can respond me as soon as possible to make sure I can receiveyour letter before the winter vacation this year. And if you cant make thisdecision or you have a better recommendation whose research areas fit me well,please inform me. Really hope to hear from you as soon as possible!Yours sincerely,英国大学留学申请书范文模板篇2Program Applied: Computer ScienceEpicurus once said, "The joy of poverty is the most beautiful thing in theworld." This has become a source of constant inspiration for me. Poverty is veryreal to me, so is the joy that is derived from my being able to devote myself tothe study and the research of computer science.My father passed away when I was just 14 and, with this, my family wasplunged into sudden poverty. In order to save money to allow my younger sistercontinue her education, I relinquished my expensive undergraduate education andchose to attend a junior college instead, majoring in computer application. Forthree years, I made extra academic efforts as I had to work part-time toalleviate my familys financial burden. My GPA was ranked top five in my class,with particularly distinguished performance in mathematics. I was the solejunior college student who participated in the national contest in mathematicalmodeling for university students in 1996 and won the third prize in _ Province.Upon my graduation, I found employment with the Fuel Company of _ Province whereI worked as its network engineer and chief manager. What was good about this jobwas that while it provided me with a stable income it allowed me to receive anon-the-job undergraduate education in computer science so that I ultimatelyfulfilled my aspiration of obtaining a Bachelors degree in computerscience.However, the Bachelors degree did not put an end to my academic pursuit.Realizing the importance and the necessity to constantly upgrade my professionalknowledge in this age of rapid development in information technology, I found agraduate education in computer science would be vital for my further academicand career development. With due efforts in preparing for the entranceexamination, I succeeded in enrolling in University of _ where I specialized inComputer Science and Applicationat the Faculty of Computer Science. Through myundergraduate and graduate programs, I have achieved the top third rankings inmy overall GPA, laying a solid academic foundation through impressiveperformance in such core courses as Advanced Computer Network, InternetTechnology, Multimedia Network Communication, Computer Sciences Logic, AdvancedComputer System Infrastructure, and Computer Network Infrastructure. Thisacademic foundation makes possible my determination to become a computerspecialist in my future career.While making conscious efforts in my coursework, I have paid even greaterattention to the improvement of my R D ability. In the WLAN project forthe _ Mansion, I collected extensive technical materials and made in-depth studyof the WLAN technology. I independently designed the project plan that satisfiedthe particular needs of the client. In view of the inherent insecurity of WLAN,I proposed the security solution application to small-size business patterns.When evaluating the project,the relevant experts gave positive comments on myplan design, rating it as "technologically advanced, with reliable performance,and can provide guidance to the R D work in relevant fields, andapplicable to similar projects."In another two projects-the development of the Computer InformationManagement System for both the Deans Office and for School of Further Educationof University of _, I conducted comprehensive research concerning networksecurity technology, in particular the firewall technology. By undertakingextensive testing against the Ddos attacks,I gathered a large amount offirst-hand data. Based on my experiences in those two projects, I have publishedfour research papers, including The Standards of Firewall Procurement and theProspect of Firewall Technology,in the national core journals and universityjournals like Computer Application Research. All of them have been wellreceived.Over the past few years, as a key project member, I have participated in,organized and implemented a total of 12 projects which involve financialsoftware, MIS, network management system, e-commerce,industrial control andother fields. I have published a total of 10 research papers in a series oftechnical journals and my research achievements have captured the attention ofthe computer experts from the _ provincial academia. Last year I was invited toattend the International Symposium on Picture and Graphics in_ City.Currently, I have come to the final stage of my Masters dissertationentitled Research on the WLAN Security Solution and its Realization. In thisdissertation, I focus on the security mechanisms of WLAN, proposing that _ as asecurity solution can only be an alternative and that only the application ofthe true "point-to-point" mechanism can maximize network security at reasonablecosts. My dissertation has an overall theoretical framework, supplemented bydetailed plans and designs. In my repeated discussions with my supervisorconcerning my dissertation,he has given his full support of my propositions. Hehas given special praises on my ideas regarding the renovation and developmentof the existing computer technology.While perfecting my ability to carry out independent R D projects,mypast research experience has also enabled me to ferret out my own researchinterests for the future-Wireless Networking and Network Security. WLAN is oneof the most important issues in the theoretical research and technicaldevelopment of present-day computer science and itssecurity mechanism is thekey point. I have 4-year work experience as a network engineer and taught sixcourses on network and Internet technology. In my Masters program I haveconcentrated on computer network and distributive system and my dissertation ison WLAN and its security mechanism. For each of those two concentrations, I haveparticipated in two research projects, thus I have adequate practicalexperience. In my 10 research papers, 6 are concerned with those two majorfields, which fully testify to my theoretical buildup and my important researchpotential. All those constitute my important assets for more advanced academicpursuit, in which I expect to exploit them to the fullest possible extent.I wish to apply for a Ph. D. program in computer science from your esteemeduniversity because your program satisfies my wish for a full development of myresearch interests. My past education and research experience has fullyconvinced me that, as home of the worlds modern computer science andtechnology, the United States is the ideal country that offers the advancededucation and training that I am seeking. There,I will be exposed to theinstructions of world famous scholars and experts whose academic ideas willsignificantly broaden my academic horizon. Equally important is that I can enjoyan inexhaustible variety of library resource. In conclusion, I deem myself fullyqualified and well prepared for your Ph. D. program and it is my belief thatyour university is precisely the starting point of my new and rewarding academicjourney.英国大学留学申请书范文模板篇3Dear teacherHello!My name is Yu, Im 18 years old____ Senior three.At 20_ I took part in the national physics competition of middle schoolstudents in autumn of, and won the second prize. So I got to participate_ Imnot qualified. For this, I feel very surprised and honored. After considerationand weighing, I chose your university as my goal. Although facing the unknownresults, I was uneasy, but I decided to give it a try.I am a child through books to accept the Confucian and Taoist culture, Itreat people with courtesy, also can be honest and trustworthy, enthusiasticcollective. Its just that sometimes people become estranged because of too muchetiquette. Sometimes it lacks the courage to stand up. Im trying to changemyself.In my study, I have been able to rank in the top ten of the class, and mygrades are superior in the whole school. However, in front of the collegeentrance examination, this is not an ideal result. Im good at science -sometimes Im the first in my class, but Im not good at liberal arts. I like tostudy problems and problems, and I like to ponder things quietly. I am evaluatedas "a student who thinks differently from others" by the teacher. I dare not saywhether I am excellent or not, but I enjoy the feeling of being different.In the extracurricular, I have a wide range of interests, in independentresearch has also been more proud of my achievements. I once spent a year in myspare time to make a game. The work was praised for itsingenuity andcreativity, but its popularity was low due to the lack of plot. During the year,the production process was intermittent, and the program idea made me racking mybrain, constantly carrying on the psychological struggle between playing gamesand doing projects. Collect materials, algorithms, audio clips... Every step isvery attentive. Many firsts have given me a lot of experience. Then, when it isfinally completed, the joy is irreplaceable. I learned one very important thing,that is persistence.Another part-time experience that benefited me a lot was music score. BecauseI like a piece of TV music very much, I try to write it as a piano score. I havecet-5 certificate of amateur electronic organ, but it is still not easy. Afterthe bottleneck, I turned to the Internet. However, how many people will helpstrangers to do this kind of trouble? The answer is zero. So I decided to do itby myself. I didnt expect that after my own efforts, I really wrote it! Fromthis, I learned another important thing, that is, to be self reliant. No one canrely on you. It is meaningful to overcome difficulties by ourselves.Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that although I can only achieve theupper secondary school grades in the current, I will certainly be able to do mybest when I go to the university to study my favorite subjects and yearn forthem. At that time, I would choose my own career and devote myself to it.Believe me to do better - and I hope you can believe it.I think my most important advantage is that I have time - just like everyoneelse. I still have the opportunity to change myself and complete myself in myfour years of University. To fight for it, thats what Im doingnow. I hopeyour school can give me a chance to realize myself. Looking forward to yourapproval!SincerelySalute!英国大学留学申请书范文模板篇4Dear_ University Teachers:hello!My name is Yu, Female, 17 years old, is a student of science class1 in themiddle school affiliated to Northwest University.I am a lively person, I always like to get together with my classmates totalk about the big and small things around me, and also discuss some verycomplicated problems, but more is to imagine the future together, whenever thistime we will laugh very happy. In fact, I am a girl who likes to smile, becauseI firmly believe that smile can bring happiness to my friends, and I alsoharvest happiness at the same time. So I love to laugh, even in the face ofsetbacks also choose to use this attitude to meet, in order to give themselvesmore confidence. That is because I love to laugh, my classmates sometimes saythat I am like a fool, but I never mind, because I hope my friends arehappy.In my study, I have a correct attitude. I once served as a member of thelearning committee and a representative of Chinese class, and have won manyhonors. In my life, because of my smile, I became more united withmyclassmates. Therefore, I always served as the monitor in primary school. After Iwas promoted to senior grade, I began to serve as the brigade Committee andleader. For many years, I won the honors of "three good students" and "excellentclass cadres". These honors are unforgettable in my lifeThey are teachers and schools affirmation of my study and work, and theyhave always inspired me to move forward. But I have never been so proud, butwith a grateful heart, thank my teachers always care about me, love me; Thankthe teacher for the honor, let me see the value of their efforts; Thank you forteaching me how to be an upright person.My favorite sport is swimming, I think in the water can make my mind moreclear, so whether it is hot summer or cold winter, as long as I have theopportunity to soak in the water. I also like to listen to music and have a widerange of interests, from popular music to symphonies. The reason why I likelistening to music is probably because I think it can calm my heart.I always use it to relieve my stress when I fail in the exam or have trouble.I also like to write essays and graffiti, to write and draw my happiness orunhappiness, and sometimes write an article filled with indignation to commenton the current news and some social phenomena.I think Im a playful person, but Im still serious about my study. I feelthat I am a more self-control person, know when to learn, also know thatlearning can not be distracted, and can abide by it. But I dont think Im whatpeople usually call a "nerd" -- I just concentrate on my study and dont payattention to communicating with others.So I have a lot of friends, we study together, also agreed to work towardsthe goal. At the same time, my outgoing personality naturally makes me have astrong curiosity and desire to explore the outside world, which also makes myvision more open. The bigger I grow and the more I know, the stronger my desireto explore is. It drives me to "attack" the unknown world. At the same time, Ialso gain the happiness of learning.Every day I go to school, I have to go through the west power. There are manytrees in the campus. I can often smell the fragrance of green trees and grass.The simple teaching building beside makes the campus more elegant. As time goesby, I have a strong interest in the university which stands in the middle of thetrouble but can keep its original flavor. Later, I began to look at the_University information.I know that if I set a goal, I have to work hard for it, otherwise everythingwill be in vain, but sometimes I will be full of imagination about universitylife: I imagine the happiness of living with my classmates in University;Imagine the learning atmosphere when discussing problems with professors;Imagine the rich and colorful social practice activities... And now, for my goaland all the beautiful things I fantasize about, I have to study harder.But among many excellent students, I often feel powerless, even inferior,which is one of my major shortcomings. But in the process of growing up, I havebeen trying to overcome it, and I also realize that only down-to-earth, hardwork is the way to success.Im walking on this road now. Although its hard, Im willing to enjoy it. Ibelieve that since I am destined to be with you every day_ If I passby, I willstep into the gate that I have been longing for for a long time in the nearfuture with a grateful heart.英国大学留学申请书范文模板篇5Applied Program:Organizational BehaviorThe purpose behind this personal statement is to not only gain admission toyour well-established and highly respected Ph.D. program,but to impress uponyou my passion for learning and my tremendous desire to succeed in bothscholastic research and in teaching on the professional level. I have based mydecision to pursue an academic career not on purely practical reasons, butrather on my own natural interests and aptitude. My personal philosophy is thatmoney and social status should not be pursued as life-consuming objectives andthat in actuality they are the by-products of goals originating from ones innerneeds. I understand that my intellectual capacity is a gift, and I intend to usethis gift to the very best of my substantial capabilities.I am interested in the field of study of Organizational Behavior. In thepast, I have had the experience of working in settings where the people and thecorporate cultures of the companies were all different. I have found that thereis a great difference in the both the behaviors of people and of theirorganizations, depending on whether they are state-owned enterprises (SOEs),large multinational firms, or small to medium sized foreign enterprises. Onesimple example is that of the ability of an employee to act independentlywithout direct instructions from his or her boss. In many Chinese organizations,acting without direct instructionsis considered a form of disrespect towardsthe supervisor, who is generally offended by such behavior. In my experience andresearch, such organizations tend to have low operating efficiency with theemployees losing their innate ability to take the initiative.英国大学留学申请书范文模板篇6Economics and Finance Personal StatementHaving a flair for Economics and accounting I have decided that I want adegree in Accounting and Finance or Management. The many brilliantrepresentatives of the management community around the world have strengthenedthat resolve.When I worked in my school as a tutor of English as a Second Language forstudents from a community school in Muscat, I realized the importance of astrong leader who could organize, command respect, and be able to work well withothers. These ideas were further enforced by my month long internship atNovartis Pharmaceutical (Accounts and Finance Department and Human ResourcesDepartment).I attended the Harvard Model Congress in Paris and won the Award ofDistinction. One skill in particular that contributed to this award was myconfident public speaking.The last 4 months have been crucial in my learning of real world business andeconomics. For my IB Extended Essay, titled “To What Extent Does Subway in OmanOperate as an Oligopoly”, I set out to prove the oligpolistic structure of thefast food market in Oman. In this effort,I have come across many real lifecomplexities in pricing behaviour, profit making and other aspects of the Theoryof the Firm. While attempting to explain these alternate theories of firms Ihave developed a keen interest in analyzing and understanding how the world ofbusiness works.After an undergraduate degree in accounting and finance or management I planto go onto post graduate studies and work on an MBA. A strong performance in aBA will allow me to move onto an MBA and only then shall I be satisfied.For the last four years I have been part of our schools volleyball team ICE.We have retained our ISAC (Inter Schools Activities Conference, Middle East)title for four years. Playing in the power hitters (spiker) position requiresimmense physical fitness and to accomplish that I regularly go to the gym forfitness training. I am also part of my school track and field team. Being thefastest sprinter in the school since 11th grade the 100m, 200m and 400m racesare my specialty even though I still pursue long distance running. In my sparetime I explore and master the computer as I am conversant with a Visual BasicProgramming course. It is imperative for me to have the latest hardware andsoftware and I make it a point to install everything myself. I also learn Urduas it is my native tongue and a link to my culture, to maintain that iscrucial.Living in a diverse international community of over 52 nationalities hasallowed to me recognize and appreciate different cultures. With the experience Ihave and the strong motivation to craft a bright future I feel I can justify mydecision to pursue a career in Accounting and Finance or Management.。
计算机英语考试题及答案一、选择题(每题2分,共20分)1. Which of the following is not a type of computer hardware?A. CPUB. RAMC. SoftwareD. Hard Disk答案:C2. What does the acronym "USB" stand for?A. Universal Serial BusB. User System BusC. User Storage BusD. Universal Storage Bus答案:A3. What is the primary function of a router in a computer network?A. To store dataB. To process dataC. To connect multiple devicesD. To print documents答案:C4. Which of the following is a programming language?A. HTMLB. CSSC. JavaScriptD. All of the above答案:D5. What does "RAM" stand for in computer terminology?A. Random Access MethodB. Random Access MemoryC. Remote Access MemoryD. Rapid Access Memory答案:B6. What is the term for a collection of data stored on a computer?A. FileB. FolderC. DatabaseD. Memory答案:A7. Which of the following is a type of computer virus?A. WormB. TrojanC. Both A and BD. None of the above答案:C8. What is the purpose of a firewall in a computer system?A. To prevent unauthorized accessB. To speed up internet connectionsC. To store dataD. To print documents答案:A9. What does "GUI" stand for in the context of computer systems?A. Graphical User InterfaceB. General User InterfaceC. Global User InterfaceD. Graphical Universal Interface答案:A10. What is the term for a small computer program that performs a specific task?A. ApplicationB. SoftwareC. UtilityD. Script答案:D二、填空题(每题2分,共20分)1. The basic unit of data in a computer is called a____________.答案:bit2. A computer's operating system is an example of______________.答案:system software3. The process of converting data into a form that can be understood by a computer is called ______________.答案:encoding4. The term used to describe the speed of a computer's processor is ______________.答案:clock speed5. A computer network that spans a large geographical area is known as a ______________.答案:WAN (Wide Area Network)6. The process of recovering lost data is called______________.答案:data recovery7. A computer program that is designed to disrupt or damage a computer system is known as a ______________.答案:malware8. The primary storage medium for a computer's operating system and most frequently used programs is the______________.答案:hard drive9. The term used to describe the process of transferring data from one computer to another is ______________.答案:data transfer10. A computer that is part of a network and shares its resources with other computers is called a ______________.答案:server三、简答题(每题10分,共40分)1. What are the main components of a computer system?答案:The main components of a computer system include the central processing unit (CPU), memory (RAM), storage devices (hard disk, solid-state drive, etc.), input devices (keyboard, mouse, etc.), output devices (monitor, printer, etc.), andthe operating system.2. Explain the difference between hardware and software in a computer system.答案:Hardware refers to the physical components of a computer, such as the CPU, memory, and storage devices. Software, on the other hand, comprises the programs and instructions that run on the hardware, including theoperating system, applications, and utilities.3. What is the role of a firewall in a computer network?答案:A firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. It acts as a barrier between a trusted internal network and untrusted external networks,such as the Internet, to prevent unauthorized access and protect the internal network from potential threats.4. Describe the process of data encryption and its importance in computer security.答案:Data encryption is the process of converting readable data into an unreadable format, called ciphertext, using an algorithm and a key. This process ensures that only authorized parties with the correct key can access and decrypt the data. Encryption is crucial for protecting sensitive information from unauthorized access, ensuring data privacy and security in computer systems and networks.。
Adam BedeSince Adam Bede is the product of George Eliot's first serious attempt to write a novel, it is a good source for identifying some features of her development as a novelist and for seeing signs of themes in her later novels. Moreover, despite its flaws, Adam Bede deserves its status as a classic.作品简介:Adam Bede, the first novel written by George Eliot (the pen name ofMary Ann Evans), was published in 1859. It was published pseudonymously, even though Evans was a well-published and highly respected scholar of her time. The novel has remained in print ever since, and is used in university studies of19th-century English literature.亚当比德,乔治爱略特写的第一部小说(玛丽Ann伊万斯的笔名),发表在1859。
这是匿名发表的,尽管伊万斯是一个备受尊敬的学者。
小说印刷以来,一直用于19世纪大学的学习。
the plot is founded on a story told to George Eliot by her aunt Elizabeth Evans, a Methodist preacher, and the original of Dinah Morris of the novel, of a confession of child-murder, made to her by a girl in prison.这是根据作者的姑母给她讲的一个真实故事写的。
System Development as a Rational Communicative ProcessG.E.(Gert)VELDHUIJZEN V AN ZANTEN,S.J.B.A.(Stijn)HOPPENBROUWERS,andH.A.(Erik)PROPERIRIS,University of NijmegenNijmegen,The Netherlands,EUP UBLISHED AS:G.E.Veldhuijzen van Zanten,S.J.B.A.Hoppen-brouwers,and H.A.Proper.System Development asa Rational Communicative Process.In N.Callaos,D.Farsi,M.Eshagian-Wilner,T.Hanratty,andN.Rish,editors,Proceedings of the7th World Multi-conference on Systemics,Cybernetics and Informat-ics,volume XVI,pages126–130,Orlando,Florida,USA,July2003.ISBN9806560019ABSTRACTSystem development is a process in which communication plays an important role.Requirements must be elicited from vari-ous stakeholders.But stakeholders also make decisions and must understand the consequences thereof.Different view-points must be reconciled,and agreements reached.An important assumption we make is that all actions in the de-velopment process are(or should be)based on rational deci-sions.The quest for rationality is a driving force behind the communication that takes place within the development pro-cess,because it raises issues that may otherwise have remained in the subconsciousness of stakeholders.We zoom in on the role of vagueness in communication,and argue that there are good reasons not to try and formalize things too soon in the development process.The purpose of this paper is to position our ongoing research, encourage discussion about the assumptions we make,and in-spire novel approaches to system development.We work to-wards a comprehensive theory of rational system development, in which due attention is paid to development processes,com-munication,and the representations used therein.Keywords:System development,Architecture,Communica-tion,Rationality,Language,Vagueness.1INTRODUCTIONOrganizations and their information systems are becoming more and more complex,making it increasingly difficult to con-trol the process of system development,and even more so to make it effective.The alignment of information systems to or-ganizations and the work practices therein is regarded as cru-cial[Boa99].In a rapidly changing world,where an organiza-tions need to adapt quickly,alignment calls for highlyflexible systems.Architectures are recognized as important tools that help control the information system development process and at the same time help achieve better alignment[BCK98].The potential role of architecture in the development process is un-derlined by the uses of architectural descriptions,as identified in[IEE00]:•Expression of the system and its(potential)evolution.•Analysis of alternative architectures.•Business planning for transition from a legacy architecture to a new architecture.•Communication among organizations involved in the de-velopment,production,fielding,operation,and mainte-nance of a system.•Communication between acquirers and developers as a part of contract negotiations.•Providing criteria for certifying conformance of imple-mentations to the architecture.•Providing development and maintenance documentation, including material for reuse repositories and training ma-terial.•Providing input to subsequent system design and develop-ment activities.•Providing input to system generation and analysis tools.•Supporting operations and infrastructure,configuration management and repair,redesign and maintenance of sys-tems,sub-systems,and components.•Enabling planning and budget support.•Preparation of acquisition documents(e.g.,requests for proposal and statements of work).•Enabling reviewing,analysis,and evaluation of the system across its life cycle.The ArchiMate project[The03]advocates a generic architec-tural approach in which visualization and communication play a central role,alongside analysis.A primary goal of the Archi-Mate project is to improve support for the design,communica-tion,realization,and management of architectures.These are recognized as crucial areas in which support(methods,tech-niques and tools)is still lacking.In our opinion,architectures should capture the essentials of the processes and(computerized)information systems within an organization as well as their(potential)evolution,in rela-tion to the concerns of stakeholders[IEE00].Essentials con-cern only that which can be thoroughly motivated in terms of the important goals identified.Capturing essentials requires a thorough understanding of processes,systems,and stakeholder concerns.Such understanding also enables the negotiation pro-cess that is needed in dealing with different and contradicting concerns of stakeholders.In this paper,we focus on the communication aspect of(in-formation)system development,as this aspect is most tightly coupled with the goals of architecting.The concept of com-munication also takes an important place on the list of uses for architectural descriptions as discussed in[IEE00].In our view, understanding is a cornerstone for information system develop-ment.It can only be achieved through communication.Please note,however,that our communicative perspective should be seen as complementary to the descriptive perspective as taken in traditional approaches.An important assumption we make is that all actions in the de-velopment process are(or should be)based on rational deci-sions,even if this happens only in hindsight.These decisions are to guide the communication processes taking place within the development process.Hence the title of this paper:System Development as a Rational Communicative Process.The structure of the paper is as follows.We start with a brief discussion of some background:communication and rational-ity.In section2,the communicative perspective is contrasted to the representational(modeling)perspective on system develop-ment.In particular,we will discuss the limitations of the repre-sentational perspective that we intend to overcome by adopting a communicative perspective.In section3,we discuss ratio-nality and its potential role in the system development process. This is followed by the core of this paper:section4.In this section we discuss the process of system development and its constituents from a rational communicative perspective.We continue with a discussion of three key issues in system devel-opment that come to the fore when taking the rational commu-nicative perspective:•We believe negotiation and understanding are key to the success of a development process.The rational com-municative approach provides a natural starting point for negotiation among,and understanding by,the system’s stakeholders(section5);•We feel that“vagueness”has a very important role to play in system development,leading to the notion of“just-in-time formality”(section6);•A rational communicative approach to system develop-ment poses specific requirements for tool-support.We pro-vide a sketch of the functionality that should be provided (section7).2COMMUNICATIVE PERSPECTIVEAlthough the principle importance of communication in system development has been widely acknowledged,current practice fails to include concrete measures that actively support com-munication in line with advanced insights into communicative action[Rei96].Contemporary lines of thought are mainly con-cerned with representation,rather than with communicative ac-tion.Many current architectural methodologies are based on the IEEE standard1471-2000for recommended practices for architectural description of software intensive systems[IEE00], or apply a similar line of thinking.According to the IEEE standard,an architectural description consists of multiple views.Each view addresses one or more of the concerns of the system stakeholders.The term“view”is used to refer to the expression of a system’s architecture with respect to a particular viewpoint.A viewpoint establishes theconventions by which a view is created depicted and analyzed. In most cases,methodologies based on the IEEE standard ig-nore the fact that descriptions as such do not actively supportthe much sought after alignment between organizations,work-practices and information systems.The descriptions used mayseem to indicate an alignment between the different elements,but this‘alignment’occurs purely at a representational level.The descriptions on their own cannot provide sufficient proofof the alignment of the real organization,work-practices andinformation systems.We propose to extend the notion of view and viewpoint froma descriptive perspective to a communicative one,looking be-yond the representations as such,taking serious the role thatthey play in the architectural communicative process.The mereexistence of a representation does not imply that its meaning hasbeen communicated to the intended audience.Metaphoricallyspeaking,trying to construct architectural representations with-out thoroughly communicating their underlying agreements andmotivations is like writing minutes of a meeting that never tookplace.A point that is easily missed from a descriptive perspective isthat the architecting process is really a creative and collabora-tive one,in which understanding and agreement is reached onsubjects that emerge from the communication between archi-tects and other stakeholders.The descriptive perspective tendsto encourage the idea that the architecture is somehow already“out there”and only needs to be represented;it views architect-ing mostly as a modeling exercise.Architecture descriptions are the mere result of a process of developing understanding, negotiation,decision making,and creation.We are not alone in stressing the importance of the process itself.If we carefully look at the potential uses of architectural descriptions identified in the IEEE recommended practice[IEE00](as quoted in the introduction of this paper),then this list echoes our claim.Ar-chitecting is,therefore,essentially an ongoing process of nego-tiation,decision making,raising of awareness,etc,that guides and follows the co-evolution of organizations,work-practices and information systems.Architecting methodologies should support the process rather than just seek the shortest path to-wards elicitation of some“final representation”.Taking a communicative perspective implies that we view an ar-chitecture(description)as a result of a communicative process.In this process,information shouldflow from(all)stakeholdersinto the developing architecture.This contrasts the descriptiveperspective in which information in the form of architecturaldescriptionsflows towards the stakeholders in the organization.¿From the latter perspective,it appears as if stakeholder can do little more than validate the concoctions of the architects—assuming that they understand the representations offered to them,including their consequences.In line with this incomplete perspective,viewpoints tend to bedesigned with the information need of a stakeholder in mind.We emphasize that it is at least as important to consider what in-formation is to be obtained from the stakeholder.In other words, viewpoints should be designed(and selected)on the basis of the two-way communication need associated with them.In general, viewpoints should document the communicative purpose under-lying them.One of our goals is to raise the architect’s awareness of thecommunicative perspective,and in particular some of its con-sequences.For instance,when some architectural diagram ispresented to the board of directors,explained and approved,thistends to create a false sense of agreement:it is naive to assumethat everyone in the board has understood the full consequencesof what was presented.To make things worse,the diagram mayhave invoked unintended interpretations.It is extremely hard tocreate architectural representations that convey only the essen-tials,i.e.neither too much nor too little.It is an architect’s duty to minimize unintended communication,and to persevere untilcommunication has actually taken place.This is only verifiablythe case when the stakeholder demonstrates understanding.De-velopment of techniques to validate such understanding is oneof the challenges we see for future research.3RATIONALITYUnderstanding is deeply entwined with the question of why choices are made[YM94].Argumentation is often much more directly connected to a stakeholder’s concern than the architec-tural choices as such.Therefore,we advocate a rational ap-proach that emphasizes the motivation behind representations. In this paper,we view rationality as goal-directed reasoning,in which the overall goal is to achieve maximal results at minimal cost.It implies making decisions based on an assessment of their possible outcome,the likelihood of these outcomes,and their utility with respect to the goals held[RS00,Rus97].This includes assessment of the resources spent in making decisions. Making rational decisions requires estimation of the costs in-volved in accomplishing goals by certain means. Rationality,therefore,is a very convoluted principle.Cost esti-mations can in general be made more accurate by gathering in-formation.The decision to gather information should,however, also be subject to rational contemplation,because the gathering itself also consumes resources.Atfirst glance,it seems that this could go on forever;rational agents contemplating a decision by climbing meta-level after meta-level.However,rationality will generally shortcut these meta-levels,because at some point the cost of rationalization becomes too high for the expected utility. Rationality does not mean that every step of the way should be thoroughly underpinned with motivations,consideration of alternatives and deep assessments of possible consequences. What it does mean is that decisions are made with goals and the trade-offs between them in mind.The underpinning of the system development process should only go as far as is prof-itable for the goals at hand.It is important to take into account as much information as is possible but only if it is relevant to the decision,and only if it can be obtained at acceptable costs. Information is relevant to a decision if it has the potential of changing the decision’s outcome.Thus the relevance of new information depends on which information is already taken into account,and on the strength of the motivation with which the decision can be taken on the basis of the information already available.If one of the options in a decision has a much higher utility than the alternatives,then it is unlikely that the outcome of the decision will change on the basis of new information.In sum,rational system development should lead to sensible trade-offs,for instance between costs and advantages of re-quirements traceability[DP98],or between provable correct-ness through formal specifications and the ability to communi-cate with stakeholders.4THE PROCESSWe willfirst describe the system development process irrespec-tive of the communicative perspective.Thus,we supply the ba-sis to which we can add communication in section5.Our initial description of the process is rather neutral,although it already contains some devices which allow for extensions to rational and communicative principles.The system development process can be seen as the interweav-ing of three mainflows;the why-flow,the what-flow,and the how-flow—typically aiming at construction or formulation of business goals,requirements,and design,respectively.The distinction between theflows is motivated by the need to become aware of the distinction between essential and arbitrary aspects of design artefacts.Aspects in the how-flow that are not motivated by the what-flow or the why-flow are unlikely to be essential.The same holds for what-aspects unmotivated by the why-flow.Representationally,eachflow contains statements about the sys-tem under development(or on a meta-level about the develop-ment process).Typically:The whyflow contains statements about business or organiza-tional goals;The whatflow contains statements about requirements related to these goals;The howflow contains statements about design decisions made to optimize conformance to these requirements. We assume that the complete history of eachflow is accessible. Theflows are logically ordered(from‘high’to‘low’),but they progress in parallel.The system development process consists of several types of action,extending theflows by changing the set of statements therein.Within eachflow we have actions of refinement,back-tracking,and assumption.Refinement is the modification of earlier statements in the light of new insights,and the adding of detail.Refine-ment does not change the intention of statements;it cor-rects them,or makes them more precise. Backtracking is the taking back of earlier statements,to open up alternative lines of development.Assumption actions introduce statements without any logical connection to statements already present.The interweaving offlows is also achieved through actions.The higherflows provide the rationale for the lower levels.This gives rise to two additional types of action:Solution generation involves the descending from oneflow to another.Various alternative solutions may be generated, so eachflow may have several alternative solutions devel-oping in parallel.Selection involves a choice is made between these alternatives on the basis of criteria originating from the higher level flow.In figure 1,the system development process with its flows and actions is depicted.flows.The importance of design rationale,argumentation,and con-tribution structures is stressed in the literature on requirements tracing (e.g.[Jar98]).In this paper,we extend this view by not only looking at the automated system and its documentation,but also at the socio-technical system it is part of [Che81],in-cluding the mental states of the various stakeholders within it and the communication between them.Rationality also plays an important role on the level of the de-velopment process.During the process,resources are spent.These resources must be put to good use,leading to maximal results at minimal costs—our adage of rationality.5NEGOTIATION AND UNDERSTANDINGIn the description of the system development process so far,we have abstracted from the negotiation that is needed to come to an agreement.¿From a communicative perspective,it is impor-tant to note that everyone involved in the process has their own view and interpretation of the process—their own idea of what is in each flow.The views of different stakeholders are not nec-essarily in agreement.The mere existence of well-documented representations of the system under development does not guar-antee communication.The representations and the system un-der development do,however,serve as a medium for communi-cation between stakeholders.By now,it should be evident that communication is an essential part of the system development process.Yet communication takes time,the spending of which is generally not considered to be the primary goal of system development.Therefore,com-municative actions should also be scheduled in a rational way.The main goal of system development is often taken to be the construction of some automated system.For a rational approach,however,it is important to identify communicative goals as well as constructive goals.Furthermore,these goals should be subordinate to higher level business or organizationalgoals.Communicative goals are,for instance:achieve agreement between stakeholders,obtain commitment from stakeholders to supply the nec-resources,validate parts of the system,elicit information from stakeholders,anddefine concepts in which requirements can be expressed.goal of system development is to change the busi-organization in which the system is introduced.To bringchange,however,it is not sufficient to make available artefact.It requires that people in the environment are aware of the system’s implications,that they the system’s relevance to their concerns,and that committed to its implementation and operation.They to change their way of working.So,an essential in-of system development is that stakeholders’attitudes,and perceptions change in the course of the development This requires intensive communication during that pro-cess.Let us demonstrate the influence of the communicative perspec-tive with an example.When a stakeholder formulates a require-ment,various solutions meeting that requirement may be gen-erated.When these solutions or consequences thereof are pre-sented to the stakeholder,some of the alternatives may strike stakeholders as highly unwanted,even though no requirement excluding them had been formulated.Investigation of this situ-ation may lead to the formulation of new requirements of which the stakeholder was previously unaware.6VAGUENESS6.1T HE ROLE OF LANGUAGEIn conjunction with the development of a system,a language emerges that supports the communication about the system.Concepts are adopted and defined,and acquire an increasingly precise meaning during the development process.The language that stakeholders initially use to communicate about the system domain is,in general,too ‘fluid’to base the construction of computerized systems on.Concepts,functions,and entities have to be precisely defined.For example,mod-eling languages like UML aim at identifying the main con-cepts that make up the system domain,and the relations be-tween those concepts.A common misconception is that dia-grams define the meaning of concepts.Diagrams merely define the (static and dynamic)structure of concepts.The meaning of concepts is for a large part attached to the words naming them.This can easily be demonstrated by removing all words from the diagrams [Hop97].Meaning is essentially subjective.Formal techniques and di-agrams transfer meaning to an objective world in which only pure structure remains,and where the relation to the (subjec-tive,personal)concerns is lost.This implies that even in formal methods the statements expressed are vague.6.2T HE MERITS OF VAGUENESSDescriptive thinking generally opposes vagueness because it is seen as the opposite of clarity,and thus undermines understand-ing.Seen from a communicative perspective,however,vague-ness is an instrument which invites further refinement if and when the time is right.In other words,rational system develop-ment implies just-in-time formality.It helps in scheduling the communicative actions of the architecting process.This means that vagueness enables us to make motivations as explicit as is considered helpful,so that one indeed concentrates on essen-tials.Achieving precision remains an important drive within the architecting process.Vagueness,however,has its merits, and should not be banned for the wrong reasons.In line with the above,consider the following.When asked,ar-chitects in business environments name general purpose office tools,such as word-processors and generic drawing tools,as their primary means for architecture support.This fact is usu-ally noted as a weird phenomenon that is symptomatic of the immaturity of the architecting community.It is assumed that in a more mature situation,formal and semi-formal modeling tools would be used.Although from a software development point of view,formal modeling has clear advantages,this assumption misses an important point raised by taking the communicative perspective.Office tools are popular because they supply a free-dom of expression that is missing in more formal tools.The ex-pression of a vague intuition opens a dialog in which new and more refined ideas emerge through communication.Vagueness therefore is a very effective means for creating understanding, i.e.it is essential for real communication.The conclusion is that architecting is chiefly done in between the creation of represen-tations.This reduces representations to means of architectural development instead of main results.The main results are un-derstanding and agreement between stakeholders.In sum,traditionally and misguidedly vagueness is seen as a problem.In our approach,it is embraced as an invitation for refinement when required,and thus a driving force behind effi-cient and effective communication within the architecting pro-cess.It is interesting to contrast the notion of vagueness with that of abstraction.Both are means to deal with complexity.Ab-straction,however,presupposes the existence of something to be abstracted from,while vagueness is a communicative mecha-nism that presupposes that partial communication is sufficiently clear.7SUPPORTAs part of the ArchiMate project,architectural support tools are being designed in which the communicative perspective is in-grained.We envisage tools that support architecting as a com-municative process.A central architecture repository is used to reflect the common ground[Tra94,Cla92]in the negotia-tion and communication process.This repository contains ar-chitecture models,views,and visualizations,together with,im-portantly,statements concerning their underlying rationale and communicative function.To support the communication process,the tools include a goal-driven mechanism based on principles of rationality.Perceived inconsistencies,misunderstanding,disagreement,and missing information can be signaled to the architect.These signals arecollected in a device not unlike a to-do-list.The to-do-list con-tains suggestions for communicative action aiming to informsome stakeholders,initiate negotiations between them,or elicitmissing information from them.The items in the list refer torepresentations in the repository.Communication with stakeholders may not immediately yielddefinite and precise results.Nevertheless,even if tentative orimprecise,such stakeholder contributions are significant andshould be incorporated in the architecture repository.There-fore,the tools incorporate devices which allow vague expres-sions.Mere pieces of prose and sketches can be stored in thearchitecture repository,alongside formal diagrams.Apart from storing representations themselves,the repositorydoes some bookkeeping to track the communicative status ofthose representations.The communicative status tells us whichstakeholders have agreed upon which aspects of the representa-municative status is an important parameter for ar-chitecture visualization.Care should be taken to present tenta-tive models in a way that shows their tentativeness,for instance,by making them look like hand drawn sketches.This will in-vite stakeholders to ask questions and give feedback.Diagrams that are too neatly drawn may give the false impression that thepresenter highly values the particular representation,and thatcomments will not be welcomed.In many cases,however,thediagram will be shown for the explicit purpose of inviting feed-back.8CONCLUSIONWe have described system development as a rational commu-nicative process.In an approach that focuses merely on repre-sentations and modeling,some important points concerning thesystem development process are easily missed. Reconsidering the system development process from a rational and communicative perspective has led to a number of conclu-sions:•Architecture is about defining the essentials of an enter-prise,business process or organization.Sifting the essen-tials from random variations requires understanding of the goals behind the choices.•Rationality in the system development process implies striving for an overall cost-benefit analysis.•Communication is essential for reaching understanding and agreement covering all relevant concerns and stake-holders.Rationality in system development requires communication,but also communication should be ap-proached rationally.•Modeling choices are often made without full comprehen-sion of their consequences.Unintended side effects may start living a life of their own.In particular in architecture, the distinction between essential and arbitrary choices is crucial.•Commitment of stakeholders is entwined with their under-standing of the decisions made within the process.•Viewpoints should be defined with respect to their com-municative purpose.。